Category: Kids
Winner – Rajit Singh Gour
They shouted in glee, sighting the Ferrero Rocher box. The prize for digging in the shrubbery for two hours! The children sprinted into the house, proud to show mommy how quickly they solved her puzzle. She commended them, but chuckled inside – the children ended up digging out the weed for her! She hit two birds with one stone. Firstly, the kids got the divine indulgence they were longing for. Secondly, the plot got weeded!
Runner Up – Ameya Sant
“Hey, don’t do it!” I yelled when Piyush tried to scribble on the Red fort fence during our field trip. “Why shouldn’t I?” Piyush replied. “Monuments serve reflection on our history. They tell us how people lived during those times. So monuments must be conserved, not spoiled”, I responded.
Runner Up – Diya Chawla
Little mouse used to be very glum. He desired to consume fruits. But his mummy mouse thought, kids should gobble up only cheese. Uncle mouse suggested to dip fruit in melted cheese. Little mouse became joyful. He hopped everywhere in his little hole.
Special Mention – Gayathri Achar
The flower, the only one in the glen, is hidden in the undergrowth, shy to confront the huge world. She sighs, telling herself, “It’s time”. She rises up from her bed of roses, dressed in her finest colours. Suddenly, he comes, ripping her from the soil. She cries. It is over!
Special Mention – Anshika Kodukula
“Expect the unexpected!” the felony ordered tumultuously which could be simply perceived by every person who listens to this vicious guy. The lights in the second floor flickered out of the blue. I veiled myself with the violet rebozo scurrying to the bricks but just then this silhouette emerged in front of me with knife. “Goodbye!”, he skewered his knife into my torso, relished my red gore. “Shot ok!!” replied my short film director, Ms. Smriti Mukherjee.
Category: Adults
Winner – Alafiya Najmuddin
She looked him in the eye one more time before she quietly left the room. These recurring episodes were slowly killing her. There’s no more time to lose, she thought picking up the duffle to stuff her clothes, books, some money too. She noticed the sun shone more brightly the next morning.
Runner Up – Amruta Wadekar
My blood froze when he groped me on the lonely street, “Shh. You will love it”, he whispered in his drugged voice. Piercing in the eyes of the monster, “No! YOU will love this.” I smirked, kicking between his legs.
Runner Up – Chandra Sundeep
The little one in the corner trembled. Her mummy’s cries for help went unheeded. Horror-stricken, the kid froze while he cut her mother’s neck in one quick swish. Indifferent to the kid’s sufferings, he proceeded with the next killing – the bucket overflowing with freshly cut mutton.
Special Mention – Neerja Agarwal
Yes! the dim flickering light seen – our only hope in the pitch of the night revived our lost hopes. The dingy bus is, however, solid enough to shift the dying body to the clinic for cure. The sun is now shining brightly. Hope won over the gloom!
Special Mention – Gowri Bhargav
It’s 3020. One century in the sleep pods. “Becoming morphed beings now, we bow before our king – The evil virus.” Beginning of the new epoch- Virolithic Period. The muted people were responsible for the impending doom.
// Every month, we conduct a writing challenge with a difference to fuel the creativity in our writers. These are the winning entries from the September Writing Challenge which was to pen a micro story in minimum 2 and maximum 5 sentences without using the letter ‘A’ anywhere. The winners have been chosen by our juror Kajal Kapur. //