Vaani was fumbling to reach out to her buzzing mobile on the bedside table, while her little one was clinging to her left hand in deep slumber. “Hello”, she managed to say as she was groggy and tired. The response from the other side shocked her. A shiver ran down her spine. “Not again,” she thought to herself as the long-forgotten voice whispered on the other side of the phone. 

“I need your help,” he said, but Vaani was only half concentrating. Her mind was travelling down through the sands of time, dredging up blurry images of broken toys, a garden shed, running by the river, and of course, lots of blood. But there was one face amongst them all, a face so cruel and menacing, a face that she would never forget. 

“Yes,” she finally managed to say faintly, “I understand. I’ll be there.”

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Vaani was fumbling to reach out to her buzzing mobile on the bedside table, while her little one was clinging to her left hand in deep slumber. “How have you been?”, a familiar grave hoarse voice blurted out immediately, breaking the dark midnight silence. Vaani couldn’t utter a single word in response as sudden overwhelming inexpressible emotions numbed her completely. After what seemed like a decade-long minute, she regained her composure with a deep breath. She had already recognized the voice by that time. It was Raman, her husband, who had been missing for the last five years. Her eyes instinctively darted to the calendar on her desk; the date took her by yet another surprise. Meanwhile, Raman kept on calling her name on the other end, asking if she could hear him.

Continue reading Write-A-Thon Story – Group 1 (Adults) →