Dad died unexpectedly when I was young. I never saw Mom shed a tear. After the funeral, I recall her carrying on with her day as though nothing had happened. Recently, Mom also died. Sorting through her things, I found my dad’s box of meds hidden in her closet. Inside were bottles with his name … Read more
I was home with my newborn when the doorbell rang, right in the middle of pumping. I never answer it, so I just kept going. Five minutes later, I heard a stranger talking to my husband downstairs. Then he stormed up the stairs, grabbed the baby, and said, “Sorry, I didn’t…” He didn’t finish the … Read more
I had an interview for a sales manager position. They asked me to sell them a pen. It was the third time I was asked to do this on that day, so I just looked at the expensive marker in my hands and said,‘You know what? This pen is worthless—until you have a reason to … Read more
We decided to send our son to a private school. They did a series of admission tests and the final test was an interview with the principal. She asked him a few pretty basic questions, one of which was to spell his name. He looked at her puzzled and got up to leave. Then he … Read more
I was alone in a taxi at 3 a.m. The driver kept silently making eye contact. When I arrived, I rushed out and into my building, climbing to my 8th-floor flat. Then, I heard footsteps behind me—it was the driver. Panicked, I started sprinting up the stairs, but he got closer. I turn, and to … Read more
My mom went to her aunt’s house. She, her parents, and siblings are in the kitchen while aunt is cooking. My mom can’t figure out why no one is having this delicious bread that’s on the table. She’s on her 3rd slice when the aunt leaves the room. My mom’s brother tells her, “You know … Read more
“I met my elderly neighbor near the entrance. She asked me to look at what was wrong with her computer. So I came and saw that the icon showed no signal… for my Wi-Fi. I recalled that 8 years earlier, I had installed Skype for her, got connected via my router, and forgot to disconnect … Read more
“My dad burst into the office, out of breath, asking, ‘What happened to my daughter? Is she okay?’ The principal cleared her throat and said, ‘We called you because her skirt is too short.’ My dad turned to me, his eyes scanning my outfit. He paused, then turned back to the principal and said, ‘What … Read more
We were 3 friends.One was getting married.She didn’t invite me.I didn’t understand why.Then I moved to another city. Years later, I came back and found out the reason—it turned out way deeper than I ever imagined. Back in college, it was always the three of us—Naira, Priyanka, and me. We did everything together. Midnight chai … Read more
A friend of mine worked on a cruise ship for six months. She was still paying the rent for her apartment. When she came back, she couldn’t get her door open, called the landlord, and he told her he had thrown out all of her stuff, because after one month of her cruise she didn’t … Read more
