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 ...

Kandy is known for a lot of things, and chief among those things happens to be — gems. The tourist market is certainly prospering today, and with Tiesh having been a true gem in the jewelry business, seeks to be an inimitable provider of all things glittery for tourists. I met Ayesh De Fonseka at the Tiesh showroom on R ...

Let’s talk about PR blunders. In 2015, amid a spate of atrocious corporate communication mistakes, a few things came to light: There’s a thin line between good communication and bad communication, and one wrong message — however well-intentioned it may be — can ruin the reputation of the brand involved. Let’s take the example of Krispy Kreme, and it’s ill-advised ...

Cocooned in Sulaiman Terrace, ISSO, a restaurant dedicated to serving just prawns lays dormant on a rain-filled day. The bright orange facade stands out like a welcome beacon for not just the whole inner road but for my empty stomach that desires some spice. Sadly, I’m not a huge seafood fan. The only seafood I devour would be hot batter-fried ...

Charlie looked bemused. This quickly changed to alarm a few days later, and serious concern after a week. The reason? Because she had whispered: It’s the voices in my head, Charlie. He ignored it at first. But then she said things or rather ‘lifted the veil off things’ in a way that would’ve sent a despairing chill up someone’s spine. ...

She remembered the times he used to leave her with a wink and a whisper: I can’t kiss your lips right now, darling; they are too dry. Maybe you shouldn’t eat so much salt; your lips are wrinkled so, and it won’t do your blood pressure any good. She watched him now with his incisors glistening and his eyes dancing ...

The rain pattered down on the pavement; Marian cuddled in deeper under the duvet, and searched for Poirot’s hand. The radio filled the cool night air with static, which lingered questioningly, and then comfortingly segued into that one singular song that the Cascades were known for. As Marian, now alert and alarmed, grew cold with fear and thought — Who ...

The sky turned blue, and the sun streamed through. Baby smiled away as I smiled too. Ga-ga-ga-ga, she said; not now, I honestly felt. Blood red strawberry jam trickled down, from baby’s chin slowly and sadly to the ground. When the sky turned a sudden and dismal grey, I wanted to laugh the blues away. I want Mama — baby ...

A sincere lie that was wrapped with good intentions led to all of this. She once looked deep into his eyes, caught the fear in them, and calmed the drops of anger that threatened to spill over those luscious eye lashes. She used to say: Whatever you do, don’t give into fear. Please promise me this. Now let me kiss ...

Mum and Dad never listened when I said that there were lights blinking in the garden, and shadows playing on the walls; the reds, blues, and greens shimmered softly when everyone was asleep. But they sure did believe when we (including teddy) hovered up slowly and secretively from the beds, and were beamed up into the sky in the blink ...

It might be an ending or a beginning. I’ll find out for sure in a bit. I wrote what I felt and caressed my pistol, and placed it with a sense of exhilaration and trepidation against the side of my temple and —