Lol. Remember those nights when I used to tuck you in, and you used to murmur — Thank you, Chris. It haunts me. Still. Sorry, Eliza but I’m drunk right now. I ate a Lankan lamprai and washed it down with half a bottle of Jameson whiskey. Now the alcohol is pulling at my heart strings and pinching my brain. ...
Rainy days always bring in the gloom, but Jack never expected a day like today to send the peals of the door bell sauntering around the house. He also didn’t expect to see such a handsome stranger — with his rheumy and sad eyes — wearing a sunny smile on cheerful pink lips. Wars may turn boys into men, but ...
We’ve all probably heard the usual story before; you know the one where you struggle through school, university, embrace a career, and work incredibly hard to make something of yourself. That’s what most Lankans born in the 70s and 80s did: they migrated and started a new and vibrant life abroad. Dr. Maryse Selit is no different. Here was an ...
No more crappy Happy Meals for you and Mae, sweetheart. Take that money, buy yourself that Forever 21 dress that you wanted last Christmas, get Mae that Barbie, and make sure that heater gets fixed. I’m sorry I can’t be with you to celebrate our anniversary; I can see the tears coursing down your cheeks, and tremble before falling on ...
Wrapped in a heavy night gown, Grandma was exhaling labored spurts of fetid air as she asked with a staccato-paced voice for more morphine. I could’ve given it to her but the last shot was given just half an hour ago. But did it matter? She was at death’s doorstep madly knocking away, wanting ever so badly to leave a ...
Don’t destroy my dreams, my love. This is all I have. This is all I can do. These were the words he draped across my ears. I need to write what I write because the only monster haunting me is here, he said, tapping his forehead. Promise me your monsters won’t leave your books and haunt us, I whispered. The ...
The first time he gave in, he felt waves of nausea wrack his gut. Not only was he disgusted, but he was mortified that he could think up such vile intentions. The thoughts continued to haunt him: at first they dripped into his consciousness like summer rain, and then it took on an alarming crescendo of intent. And he gave ...
He dug into the chowder, and his face expressed a look of pure bliss. A minute in and his face creased, coiled, and contorted in confusion. Staring at me, he gently placed his spoon on the table, put his fingers into his mouth, and pulled out — a petite finger with a gold ring around it. As his face turned ...
He remembered an unimportant fact when the doorbell rang — The brain remains active 6 minutes after the body dies. And today, Stephen knew how he was going to die; he realized it even before opening the box handed to him by a fresh-faced delivery boy. He shook the box and laughed. He peeled away the layers of cardboard that ...
Mote-laden clouds whirled about as Chung Ling Soo took to the stage on the 24th of March. The year was 1918. Behind the mask of mascara, rouge, eye shadow, and lipstick was not an Oriental face, but one that was British. He was a charlatan. The deviousness in his eyes dissipated slowly as he solemnly readied himself for his final ...
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 ...