I never liked my relations; never liked them at all to be honest. I rather trust a cocaine-addled whore who fucked her father and then her son — there’s an inkling of something human there compared to my stupid family. I despise the thin veil of politeness and caring they bring along with the Word of God, and their pathetic ...

Forever an 80s child, Cassina put on her Sony Walkman, slipped in a Bananarama record, called Venus, and skipped off for a jog. She promised her gurgling stomach that a Chinese takeaway was on the cards but only after the evening jog. The synth-enabled beats rang out in her head, and her heart kept along while her petite feet slapped ...

Craving warmth like never before, he crawled purposely towards the house that was illuminated in an inviting glow of light. So peaceful and welcoming, he thought. With a smile, and a whisper of gratitude he surreptitiously went in. He won’t make a sound, he promised himself. But just as the warmth of the house enveloped him, and the brightness of ...

A most extraordinary event took place as Ian took the phone off its cradle and began to dial his sister’s number — there was no dial tone. Shaking the receiver because he couldn’t think of anything else to do, a whimper from the dark recesses of the receiver sent a rash of goosebumps from his arm to his back and ...

He seemed reasonable enough with a sunny disposition, blue eyes, blond hair, and pink lips that revealed an enviable set of bone-white teeth. So she took him up on his casual offer when he invited her over for some tea. She was a tad bit bored with his topics of yoga, dentistry, history, and religion. But she didn’t mind; she ...

Her fingers trembled with anxiety as she separated the yolks from the whites; she urged herself to take deep breaths, calm down, and to just get on with it. She managed to deal with just four eggs as the flies gathered about forming a vague cloud at the 8 eggs her tremulous hands dropped on the floor. It’s uncanny, and ...

Two things happened last month that went beyond the definition of a coincidence. The neighbor died of a heart attack, and his dog, Sandy, was found pawing the earth at the entrance of his house the day before. No one thought anything of it, but I did. You see, ever since migrating to Sri Lanka in the 70s, I’ve been ...

Your Mama and I met one cold day in Dublin, and I knew she loved Guinness. So I bought her one. I knew how she wanted to be kissed, and what ticked her off. I also knew she dreamed of having a daughter called Alice. Life was perfect, Alice. Simply because I could predict. Because I could jump forwards and ...

I could see them wetting their lips in unison as the smell of thyme-scented steak wafted through the house and up their hungry nostrils. I smiled; they both looked embarrassed. So I invited them to stay over for a bit, and enjoy dinner, while they asked their routine questions. They said no to the wine or the apple cider. Apologetic, ...

As Michael descended in a gust of wind with lightning crackling behind him, he looked at the man lying on the ground. Unseen by the people around him, Michael looked helplessly as the mad mob were braying for his blood while the Roman soldiers marched him towards the cross. They drove nails into his hands and feet, and forced a ...

Have you? It’s beautiful, I swear. The way she purses her ruby red lips before she parts them delicately: it’s sublime. Her lips quiver like my heart, and then she lets loose. Sarah sheds a tear too overcome by emotion; Ted closes his eyes, and looks at the floor too taken up by the ethereal sounds emanating from her mouth. ...

…and as that Mexican proverb goes — they didn’t know we were seeds. But seeds we were. As Papa said — Be grateful for the opportunity to fight, because to fight means to survive. Fighting is what we’ve been doing for eons. So to war we went. And it’s at that moment when I plunged my incisors into his jugular ...

…and walked in. The familiar smell of jasmine and lavender wafted up my nose; I looked at the figure seated at the vanity table, and thought how beautiful lace looked worn like that. The lines of mascara, and the cherry red strokes of lipstick made me smile. All I could think of was how Mum’s clothes looked prettier on Dad.

Julie comes to my thoughts unbidden, and the rustle of the bedsheets shows that she has crept into bed — to plead. Again. July dripped into August and became another month, and there was no inclination to write anymore. The gentle patting of the raindrops on the windows in my room always got fervent towards the evenings, and time seemed ...

I wonder what she’s like, I thought. And just like that she came over to my desk, smiled, and plopped herself down unceremoniously on the frumpy chair in front of me. We spoke. We spoke about her requirement for 4G, and how she’s unhappy with the current list of data plans, and why her iPhone, which she bought from us, ...

Remember the days when men and women across Sri Lanka used to bathe in the sweet-smelling soapy suds of Lux? Those days were lost somewhere in the 80s; Sri Lanka had worse problems to deal with (think war, communist uprisings etc.) than (ahem!) thinking of soaps for men, and soaps for women. So picture testosterone-fueled men with bushy beards, drunk ...

When the doorbell rang, I couldn’t hide my glee. I skipped to the door, and swung it open to reveal 5 of my favorite superheroes: Batman, Superman, Spiderman, Wonderwoman, and Cyclops. We all stood looking at each other for a good 2 seconds, and then screamed in unison: Trick or Treat! This loud outburst made us all laugh, and I ...

Hey, Mama said, once I picked up the phone yesterday. You wondered why I didn’t call you all this time, she clattered over the phone. Come visit me in Colorado, she laughed. What’s up? — I asked. That’s when she barely whispered after a pregnant pause — Because then you’ll know. So I went down to Colorado, used my key ...

Sir Ian Jennings is known for a lot of things, but the one thing I know that I’ll always remember is that axiom, which he was generous enough to share with me — One should always have dreams. Truth be told, his life certainly does seem to be the stuff of dreams. In 1993, Sir Ian Jennings landed in Sri ...

I seriously need to sort out my own transport, I thought. That was the one thought that swam through my mind as Andrew Choksy raced his Lexus in Sport Mode around tuks, buses, cars, trees, and dogs as I was trying to command my stomach with Jedi-like intent to not barf. Next thing you know I’m in the middle of ...