“The darkest nights reveal the most terrifying truths.”
Once upon a time, there lived a group of friends. In the group, there were two boys named Rahul and Sam, and two girls named Ananya and Kriti. They all decided to go out on New Year’s Eve. As planned, they went out together.
At Beyond the Box, we are constantly thinking of ideas to give something unique, refreshing as well as challenging to our community of writers. Two to Tango is one such endeavour to encourage the participants to work along with another writer as a team and bring about a creative synergy. 44 teams participated in Season 4 of this one-of-its-kind contest held in Sep-Oct 2024. Below prompt was given to the writers and they were asked to narrate the same story from two different points of view.
Prompt – Write a fictional story in which a letter gets delivered ten years late, impacting the present in some way. Feel free to interpret this in any context/style/genre.
The Special Mention winners in the kids’ category were Smayan & Ashvik (Team 40). Enjoy their story!
“Sometimes, a single step in the wrong direction can lead you to the most unexpected adventures.”
Once, there lived a boy named Rahul. He was 10 years old. One day, while he was sitting and watching TV, his mother asked him to bring a pack of milk.
When he was going to bring the packet of milk, he tripped over a stone. As soon as he tripped, he saw that he had landed in a beautiful place. It seemed as if it was a whole new world. He started to explore it.
Imagine the sweet rustle of leaves, the faint whisper of the trees talking to each other, and the whirr of the chainsaws coming closer.
Wait, what?
The chainsaws were unexpected, right?
Tring! Tring!
The alarm clock kept ringing incessantly. I was still feeling drowsy and didn’t want to wake up. Just then, someone knocked on the door.
“Come in,” I shouted, irritated.
To my utter surprise, Suppandi entered! Can you believe it? Yes, that character from TINKLE comics. He was in MY room, smiling at me like a fool. I sat up with a jolt.
Book Title – The Last Bear
Author – Hannan Gold
Publisher – Harper Collins
Recommended Age Group – 9 + years
The Last Bear, beautifully penned down by Hannah Gold, an enthusiastic and talented author, describes the life of a lonely bear on a deserted island of the Artic. The genre of the book is Realistic Fiction and is based on a realistic turn of events. There are two protagonists in this book. Firstly, a young girl named April who lost her mother and is trying to find a friend. She is curious and inquisitive which is how she stumbled upon Bear, the second protagonist. He suffered of loneliness and hunger because of a plastic chain on his paw, preventing him to hunt for himself. The central idea of the book is Global Warming as the icecaps are melting, leaving polar bears stranded on rocks.
Once upon a time, there was a boy named Krishiv. He had a personality of tenderness, happiness, and anger. But nobody wanted to become his friend, because nobody thought he was cool. He felt really sad.
Once upon a twinkling, there lived a beautiful girl named Moonlight. Despite her beauty and the fact that she was born with a golden spoon in her hand, she never had the vice of greed.
Citizens of the whole space adored her, but the seven stars? Nope, not a chance! They were not as kind. They couldn’t even look at her without their judgy eyes.
Under the luminous glow of the midnight moon, Amy crept into the library, her eyes searching for something to spark her adventurous spirit. It had been too long since she’d been on a quest, and the library, where her last adventure had ended, seemed the perfect place to rebuild that confidence.
I was having a normal day, swimming peacefully in the pond, until a breadcrumb hit me on the bill. And then another. It was like a hailstorm! But with breadcrumbs. I quickly turned and gobbled as many as I could.
Then, I spotted my archenemy – Peter the Rabbit – dashing around a tree. Every time I waddle to the pond, he shakes the tree I pass under, making acorns rain down on my head.
Continue reading A Duck’s Disaster – Breadcrumbs, Quakes, and a Broken Home
