EXTRA MILE - EDITION 1

The Author’s Blog presents

Extra Mile Edition 1

From

The Author’s Blog Archive

Featured Authors

Mallika ry Poet Flash F iction les c i t r A Short S tories Designed and Compiled by :

Danger DX

Nawal

Mehek Bassi

Satyarth Nayak

Hello!

Extra mile… One step further towards your goal, towards your ambition. We all travel the path of life, we all live and we all die.

Life is not about just covering up your path but it’s about that extra mile that dares you to move forward. It’s that extra mile that marks your existence. It’s that extra mile that makes you who you are.

Every path has obstacles and difficulties, and if there are none then maybe it’s the wrong one. One more step towards your journey, an extra mile is all you need to live your dream. True destination is nothing but a lie, the sweat you shed, the experience you gain in the journey is all that matters. Whatever extra you cover is all that matters. An extra mile is all that matters!

We all have the potential to succeed. All we need is the guidance, hard work and determination to travel that extra mile. ONE EXTRA MILE IS ALL THAT IS NEEDED. Maybe this journey will never end, maybe it’s not supposed to. So it’s better to keep moving forward then to stand still and curse your fate. It’s better to travel another mile because no one knows what’s waiting ahead. No one knows what is the end and when will it come. But one thing is certain, in the end, an extra mile will be all that matters.

EXTRA MILE is TAB’s initiative to bring forward some talented people who are willing to travel that extra mile. In this edition we’ll be featuring various debut authors and personalities who have paved their way to success. So sit back and enjoy this amazing edition. Happy Reading!

With Regards, The Author’s Blog Team The Author’s Blog

Extra Mile

In si de W

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at 's

Sneak Peek

Poetry

The Beginning Brokrn pieces Killing Me Softly Absconding the Past Full of Silly Dreams Swing of Life Fading to Darkness

Featured Author : Mallika Nawal

Articles

10 easy ways to achieve ‘Success’ Paint your Imagination Ragging Dear Son The Exam Chronicle

Featured Author : Mehek Bassi

(The Last Movie)

Flash Fiction

Rise : Fall The Last Journey The Last Leap The Other Me

Short Story

The Silent Shriek Mr Professor

Featured Author : Satyarth Nayak (The Pearly Gate)

The Author’s Blog

Extra Mile

About TAB The Author’s Blog is a writers and readers unite. It’s an association of writers, bloggers and, most essential of all, readers.

The Author’s Blog was founded in April 2013 with a motive to lay down a platform for both readers and yound aspiring writers.

Short Story, Poetry, Articles, Flash Fiction or anything else, you name it, we provide it. TAB showcases the work on aspiring writers and published authors. So if you have something to share, TAB might be your platform!

Over the months TAB has evolved multifolds from a mere blog into an organisation. With growth in members, the scope of TAB has gradually widened. Now TAB is a well established name in Book Reviewing and Book Promotion field.

TAB is an open community. Anyone interested can join hands and contribute his/her share to the world. No tight rules!

Visit our blog here.

For more info. please contact us at theauthorsblogg@gmail.com

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Extra Mile

Poetry The Beginning

by Abhishek Dixit

Broken Pieces

by Danger DX

Beginning of a new thought, a new idea, a new dream, Let the floodgates be opened for the giant stream.

Wants just a little fame and bring it to supreme, Passed through an unknown world, we were like unseen.

Waited for the right time, for right mates,

Life in its crystal form

for right scene,

More of like shattered glass

Now it’s time to free the birds from their

Each piece having its own image

bolted seam.

So versatile yet so brutal

Life is getting easy as we started deem,

Magnificent & rendering with age

It’s not owing to single effort, it’s all due

Interrelated within the frame

to a team.

Not as pieces but bitsy cage

Happiness we have, we gained, we deserve

The stories, the emotions bound intact

this beam.

As on a wimpy diary’s page

Demolished all the failures with monstrous scream.

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Extra Mile

Poetry Killing Me Softly

by Danger DX

Absconding the past

by Danger DX

Clung to my captious soul Following your footsteps like a juvenile Walking each course, counting every mile Adapting, conforming, adjusting to every phase

Draining every thing but life Like an offset gothic art Deep and dark during night

Dressing every scene comporting your

Let me slyly beguile you

ways

For once in a while

From hearty czar-dom to a lackey’s

Breaching through the brawny fence

grade Reliving each memory before they fade Subsiding every moral, breaking any rule Kneeling afore your love, loosing against

Counterpoising for the grotty wile Ain’t any place so secluded Even my shadow can’t find

your tool Yet I keep loving you wildly and madly

While your love is killing me softly

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Extra Mile

Poetry Full of Silly Dreams

Fading to Darkness

by Danger Dx

by Sharmishtha Basu It lives and breathes in a world of its own created through its own dreams does not plans or understands the twists and turns of reality it breaks to pieces and then mends itself it laughs one second cries in the next one it rises and falls the heart of a young one because it lives because it breathes

The Swing of Life

by Sharmishtha Basu

Sometimes it swings on its own

Ego pressed against the mighty wind Delusional like a rusty iron’s ding Fear & respect drowning slowly Commanding aura losing its glory As my power is fading to darkness Sweetness overruled by strange bitterness Relationship twisted, life’s the new hell Mutual understanding gone by far Tangled excuses stressing the bar For my love is fading to darkness The only hope is farthest to reach Learning lessons but no one to teach Walking amongst paths, which one to follow?

Life’s very own foundation; weak and hollow!

And my faith is fading to darkness

with a pleasant gait the gentle wind caresses smiling face sometimes its thrill swinging higher and higher till touching sky then dipping down with beating heart to swing up again The Author’s Blog

Extra Mile

Featured Author

Mallika Nawal

is a professor-cum-writer. She is about to complete her doctorate in marketing from IIT Kharagpur. She is a best-selling author of three management books and has taught at reputed institutes like Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneswar, S.P. Jain Center of Management Dubai and IIT Kharagpur.

In her free time, she enjoys reading, travelling, adventure sports, and playing with her two precious dogs.

She serves as a Panelist on the WHO’s Network of Experts for Psycho-Social Working Environment in Developing Countries.

She was also part of the subcommittee on Management Education and made recommendations to the Ministry of HRD for the 11th Five-Year-Plan.

Mallika Nawal is wonderful person and an amazing mentor.

Already the best selling author of 3 management books, she entered the world of fiction with her first novel, ‘I’m a Woman & I’m on Sale’ which is nominated in the ‘Hindu Best Fiction 2014’. Her book has already topped the charts of various leading online and offline book stores.

The Author’s Blog

Extra Mile

Featured Author Her book is already running out of stock on stores. You can grab a copy of her book from Flipkart.

Connect with the author on Facebook here.

Connect with the author on Goodreads here.

Here’s a peice of writing which Mallika contributed for our first edition.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep…

And miles to go before I sleep…

Language is a powerful weapon. Sometimes, it rises majestically and you can almost touch the heavens. And yet, often it casts you into the deepest darkest recesses of hell.

The concept of heaven and hell is not just biblical. Truth be told, we all carry our own little heaven and hell: a world of our making – a world of our own – a world hidden deep within us.

Alas! It’s never easy to reach the heavens. That road is paved with dangerous vile creatures.

The ugly monster called ‘Doubt’ attacks the all-seeing-eye. It makes you powerless to even see the bare truth and you inevitably lose your way. It draws its power from you – feeding of every positive emotion as clarity and confidence slowly drains out from your weak weary body.

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Extra Mile

Featured Author The green giant called ‘Jealousy’ eats away your soul. Its firespitting mouth chars you as you spend agonizing moments living and reliving the singeing sharp stabs of its sickness. Jealousy is a disease that refuses to let you rest in peace.

The fearsome fiend called ‘Fear’ latches on to your heart. It makes your heart race even though it keeps you rooted to the spot. Fear brings a slow death that slowly obliterates everything, whence nothing remains but a dark oblivion.

The brute beast called ‘Despair’ casts a violent hex. It plunges you inside despondency and dejection till you eventually give up. Distraught and distressed, despair leaves you with depression and desperation.

But all’s not lost! There is a weapon powerful enough to slay these monsters: a weapon cast in light – a weapon called HOPE! Hope is brighter than sun and clearer than water. It is what we fight with when everything else is lost.

So when you’re walking through the woods; at battle with the monsters; with your soul in torment; use hope as the guiding light and let it cajole you to walk another mile…just another mile.

The Author’s Blog

Extra Mile

Articles 10 easy ways to achieve ‘Success’

by Danger DX

7. Change your best friend’s name to ‘success’ in your phone.

Text him to call you.

8. Buy a plane white T-shirt.

Use custom printing to print ‘success’ on its front & back portion.

9. Change your user login account name to ‘success’. Use the same account to login every time.

1. Create a new folder & move your academic records in it. Rename it to ‘success’.

2. Use the C language to create a program with following output“Press any key to achieve success” “Success achieved” 3. Visit a pet shop. Name your favorite pet ‘success’. Buy it.

4. Write ‘success’ with bold marker on your dad’s hand. Irritate him to the extent that he slaps you.

5. Write ‘success’ in bold letters on a blank piece of paper.

Mail it to your own address.

6. Type ‘success’ in WordPad. Click print.

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10. Hack your friend’s facebook account. Change his first name to success. Poke yourself through his account.

Paint Your Imagination

by Sandeep Sharma

TODAY I will tell you the secrets of painting your Imagination…

Step number 1 – Take the betel leaf in hand, fold it in style, open your mouth like you are going to mimic the lion’s roar and put the leaf in the far corner of your mouth.

Extra Mile

Articles Step number 2 - Chew the stuff in your mouth with passion.

Chew it like the world’s going to end after this. Chew it like it’s your last paan for this birth.

Now when your mouth has fully reached the level of its capacity, go to step 3.

So here comes the most important step, Step number 3 - Put a V shaped finger gesture on your lips, fold your upper lip in such a way that you spit the longest distance. Now you know the secret of spitting. Spit here and spit there and then spit everywhere.

Help India in becoming the red society.

‘Ye India hai aur hum hai Indians, we are free to spit anywhere.’ This has become the mentality of common man.

Chew it, and ‘paint your imagination’ through paan. I think paan has become the biggest competitor for Berger paints.

If you go to visit any government office you will see very talented paan spitters. Years The Author’s Blog

and years of practice of paan spitting have made them a very rare species on this planet, rare because their accuracy beats the highest in Olympics. I think there should be a competition in Olympics regarding paan spitting, so that India can win at least one gold every time.

Please stop this nuisance of spitting. We have been given such a beautiful planet to live, full of different colors. Please don’t paint it red!

Ragging

by Sharmishtha Basu

Ragging and bullying - one in college life, the other often throughout life, dished out by disturbed, stronger in tongue or physique to the weaker.

Those who are on the giving side think its cool, smart – those in the receiving side are too meek, and often they accept it as something natural Extra Mile

Articles which if we see animals then we can say is natural, but animals mostly spare weaker one when it surrenders, which bullies don’t – so then again its unnatural.

These two activities don’t break ice, often they leave scars, beyond healing.

Saying those who do it to quit it will be waste of time, most enjoy doing it, but those who play the role of mute spectators can stop it- teachers, parents and superiors should step in and stop it, by power or by convincing.

Dear Son

by Tannya Seth

This is a note written on the behalf of a mother.

Who expects Nothing but Love...

Dear Son, 23 Years ago, I was bearing a life in me . That was the first time I felt I’m alive, I lived for you .. and I’m dying because of...

You were in my womb, a lovely and beautiful feeling of every woman’s The Author’s Blog

life. I was Very happy and glad.

You know, you used to hit a lot, that pained, but I smiled because that described your presence.

Things have changed so much my son, now it breaks my heart when you hit me now…

I remember son, I ate only to feed you. I left my food to care for you… those awful nights when you used to wake me up… were lovely. I din’t sleep.. but loved watching you sleep.

Times have changed my son , now you don’t give me space to sleep.

For the first time when you called me maaa, it was one of the most wonderful word I ever listened in my life.Time have changed my son, now you address me differently. Years passed I haven’t listened the word ‘maa’.

A mother can nurture many sons but those number of sons cannot nurture a mother!

You are my son. Butinstead of calling me mother you call me a burden!

Time is passing just like these wrinkles on my body. And my eyes are getting weaker. But still I’m waiting to see you.. love you.. touch you.. hug you.

When it comes to this old age home,

I feel dead.I first felt you in my womb, hope you will come back before I go to tomb.....

Extra Mile

Articles

The Exam Chronicle

by Danger DX

We all have something in common, something that we unanimously hate; EXAMS. This is the period where mental stress overrules all other emotions. No matter what level of student you are, you can’t escape its wrath.

This is what drives most of us crazy during the exams; THE EXAM PRESSURE. Whether you’ve prepared for it or you’re in the process or about to proceed, the pressure is there. This pressure accounts for our weird behavior and lack of sanity.

Going through this process repeatedly, I have devised some fruitful ways to relieve/divert this excessive pressure. Here are the top ones…

•Study(That’s the most important and most reliable way) •Try to study(Effective in cases where the previous step can’t be implemented) •Take a walk in between sessions(somewhat relieves the pressure) •Eat(An empty stomach results in lack of focus) •Eat more(Keeps you busy and prepares your body to take the pressure) •Punch the wall(Activates all your senses) •Punch the wall again(Causes pain which diverts your mind from pressure) *Note – A third time is not advised as it may cause temporary or permanent scratch/fracture/bruise/clotting.

•Eat lots of chocolate(Makes you spend money which in turn troubles your weekly/monthly budget causing you to pay immediate attention at your budget management) •Talk to friends(This is one of the best stress relievers during exams and makes you forget any pressure or mind buster) •Listen to good music(Please pay attention to the word ‘GOOD’ here) •Take 5 minutes break at regular intervals(An efficient diversion) •Sleep(This part is mandatory) So these were some of the ways to relieve exam pressure. Let’s hope some of you may find these helpful.

Statutory warning : Implement at your own risk!

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Extra Mile

Featured Author

Mehek Bassi

is an Author from Ludhiana, currently in second year of Computer Engineering. Born on 08th December, she’s a typical Sagittarius, a fond traveller, an optimist, narcissist and a girl who is very easily bored of a routine life. She has written one book ‘Chained’, and several short stories.

One of her most popular stories is – Arranged Series Trilogy which narrates the story about an unmatchable bond of a couple in an arranged alliance. Her stories always have a traditional touch, thus keeping her rooted to the Indian culture.

She manages a page on Facebook – A Girl’s Heart, an ocean of secrets – where she posts her short stories on regular intervals.

Apart from being an author, she’s an avid nail artist and paints her stories on little canvasses on her fingers. She likes cooking and baking in her spare time, the irony being, she gets no spare time at all! She is also a fond singer, and if she hadn’t been a writer, she’d have been a singer for sure!

All her short stories written till date can be found online. You can know more about her and her works, on her website: www.mehek.in The Author’s Blog

Extra Mile

Featured Author

The Last Movie

by Mehek Bassi

Kiara was 5 now, a perfect age to take her to the movie, her mother, Kanak thought. She had now entered a big school, and was no more going to crèches or play schools. The biggest screen she had seen till now was the 46-inches LCD screen TV at her home. According to her, it was the biggest screen as the TV rooms in her play school, had the traditional boxstyled television sets, which no more amused her.

‘Who is this?’ Kiara picked up the newspaper, and asked Kanak.

Kanak examined the newspaper, there were a lot of advertisements and news filled in it, but Kiara was pointing to a specific corner of the paper, which had a photograph of the star of the millennium, Mr Amitabh Bachchan. Kanak knew, explaining about this great personality to her little soul would be a difficult thing, but she was also a stubborn child, with a curious mind.

‘Tell me, why is this man everywhere? I see him on TV also…’

‘This is Amitabh Bachchan…a great actor, a superstar!’

‘What is an actor, mom?’

‘Ummm…someone who enacts is known as an actor. Like, if I become Kiara for some time, I’ll be an actor, as I won’t be turning into you, but I’ll be acting to be you, understood?’

‘Then what is a star? Aren’t the stars those shiny little dots in night sky?’

‘Yes, they are sweetheart, indeed they are! But actors are called stars, because even after they’re gone, their movies keep inspiring us, they stay with us like guiding light…’

‘What is a guiding light?’

‘Enough now, Kiara, get up and change your uniform, your questions never stop!’

‘Mom, today in class, the teacher talked about pets, she asked everyone if they had any pets.’

‘And what did you say?’

‘I took Mr Fluffy’s name.’

‘Mr Fluffy?’

‘That huge brown teddy bear I have? Isn’t it a pet?’

Kanak laughed, Kiara had a long way to go, still.

‘No…! It’s a toy, not a pet!’ she couldn’t stop laughing. Kiara stared at her blankly, still wondering what was there to laugh.

‘You know, you’re too sweet…you’re my pet, aren’t you?’ Kanak snuggled and cuddled with her, pulled and kissed her cheeks and her forehead, she tickled her tummy and Kiara giggled and laughed.

Mother-daughter time was best spent in the evening, when Kiara’s father was at work, and Kiara would discuss all the stupid things with Kanak proudly. Kanak herself was a proud woman for have given birth to such a curious beautiful thing.

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Extra Mile

Featured Author ‘I won’t go to school tomorrow with this two pig tails, mom!’

‘And why?’

‘Because girls come with open hair, I also want to open my hair and go to school.’

‘They have short haircuts sweetie, you have such long hair!’

‘Then I’ll have a haircut first, and then open my hair.’

‘No! I’m not getting you any haircut, see, your beautiful golden-brown locks, such soft hair, no ways, I’m not letting you get even a single strand of your hair-cut!’

‘But mom, please!’

‘No means no! Ask your father, he’ll come home in evening, and we’re going for a movie…’

‘Movie? What movie?’ Kiara was diverted from the haircut to the movie.

‘We’re going to watch ‘Krrish’, you liked the trailers, right?’

‘Which Krish? I don’t remember now!’

‘That movie with a flying superhero!’

‘Ohh, movie of shine? Daddy said the hero is shine!’

‘It’s Hrithik Roshan, and Roshan means shine, your daddy explains you stupid things to get rid of your never-ending questions. Now come on, get ready, he’ll be home any moment.’

Just as Kiara’s mother went to Kiara’s room to get a dress for her, she heard the phone ring.

It was her husband.

‘Hey! Where are you? Kiara is waiting for you…’

‘Darling I won’t be able to come today, I’m stuck up in a meeting, you take the car and go with Kiara, don’t tell her I’m not coming, and don’t cancel it either, she’ll be very upset!’

‘Okay…as you say…try to be home soon, please! I miss you…love you…’ she hung up and went back to Kiara’s room, to search for a suitable dress for the evening. It was an important day for Kiara as she was going to watch the first movie of her life. She chose a beautiful pink dress with white lace covering it at the borders, and a pair of little white sandals to match up.

‘Kiara…come here…’

‘Mom! Come fast…’

Kiara’s mother rushed to the bedroom in a worry that she may have hurt herself, ‘What happened? Are you okay?’

‘Yes, mom, I’m okay! See this, is this the movie we are going to see today?’

Kiara was watching the trailer of the movie on the TV with anticipation and extreme curiosity.

As Kanak changed her clothes and dressed her up, Kiara shot a stream of questions at her, asking various different things like: ‘How can the hero fly? Can I also get such a super-power? Why is milk so bad? Is cow also bad for giving bad milk? Is the movie theatre as big as our TV or even bigger? What will we do in a movie? Will I also get popcorn to eat? Can I also take my friend, Vishi with me?’

‘Okay, you’re perfect! Now let mommy dress up, you stay here and don’t try to explore anything. Just sit here quietly. Don’t spoil your dress now, it’s a brand new, remember?’

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Extra Mile

Featured Author ‘Yeah, remember! Granny got it from America, it’s a brand new one, I remember!’ Kiara shouted. This was the tenth time she was wearing the same dress, and still Kanak reminded her of its newness every time she wore it.

Kanak locked her room and changed her clothes. Kiara was sitting outside, and admiring the white lace at the border. The velvety soft lace seemed tempting to her, she picked up the border, and chewed some lace to taste it. It was tasteless, means, useless!

Within a few minutes, Kanak was ready, the door opened up and Kiara got up setting the border, and trying to avoid Kanak from looking at it.

‘Show me…you chewed it? Tell me the truth…’ Kanak asked her. She could see the saliva marks on the lace and it was also torn from a few places. The delicate fibre strands broke as Kiara tried to chew it. There was nothing new to it though, every time she wore that dress, she always chewed the border-lace to taste it, but it never turned of chocolates.

Kanak would always scold her, but the little kid never understood that clothes couldn’t be turned into chocolates!

‘But mom…’

‘I know what you’re going to say, but it’s real life! We don’t live in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, now move…’

That saccharine movie released a year ago, impressed Kiara so much that the day she watched it, she licked, bit, chewed, and tasted almost everything in her home to check if anything was made of chocolates, but all she got in return was disappointment. Nothing tasted like chocolates, rather some things were really bad in taste, like the spoonful of coffee powder she tasted in disguise of chocolate powder! From that day onwards, Kanak kept the coffee in the topmost drawer, where Kiara could simply not reach.

‘Come on…we’re late!’ Kanak picked up tiny baby Kiara and made her sit on the back seat of car. She then fastened up her seat belt.

‘This is tight, I don’t want to wear it, mom!’

‘No excuses…sit tight, we’re leaving!’ Kanak pressed the accelerator and she drove the car to the mall. As they reached the mall, Kanak witnessed a huge crowd outside the mall. She was suspicious about the tickets now. She parked her car in a secluded area, got off with Kiara, and reached the ticket counter within ten minutes. Half of the show was sold out and only a few selected tickets were left, and that too of front rows.

‘No, let’s go home sweetie, we’re not watching it today!’

‘Mom…no…please, mom!’ Kiara’s eyes welled up with tears.

‘Ohh…come on, my baby! Don’t cry, brave girls don’t cry, right?’ Kanak patted her back, but Kiara wasn’t ready to negotiate. Shine had impressed her too much now, and she wanted to watch this movie right now at any cost.

Kanak called up her husband, who listened to half things and said a blunt ‘yes’ as he was stuck in a meeting himself. Kanak finally bought the tickets of second row. She didn’t want to see the movie from so close, as it could affect Kiara’s eyes, but her stubborn daughter wasn’t ready to listen today.

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Extra Mile

Featured Author They entered the multiplex, and the smell of freshly popped pop-corns filled it. Kanak bought a large tub for Kiara, and she started munching right there.

‘Stop, sweetheart! Save something for the movie…’

‘I love this thing! Can’t you make it at home?’

‘I can, but too many of them, and that too daily, are harmful!’

‘Mom, you always keep calculating so much…’ Kiara stuffed her mouth with another handful of popcorns, and the announcement of movie could be heard around.

‘Come on, Kiara, fast…the movie has started!’ Kanak picked her up and entered the movie hall. She showed her tickets to the officer standing at the entrance and he guided her to her seats. She then placed Kiara on her seat who was astonished to see such a huge screen for the first time in her life!

‘Mom, this is so big! This is even bigger than the TV we have at home…can we take it home?’

‘No! Now, ssshhh…don’t make noise, and sit quietly. There are many other people who are coming to see a movie here. Alright?’

Kiara mocked her mother by placing her index finger on her lips and signalling her to keep quiet.

‘Good Girl!’

Soon, the advertisements started playing.

‘Mom, I love this movie…this is the best movie I’ve ever seen!’

‘Sweetie, the movie hasn’t started yet…I told you to…ssshhh!’

Kiara looked at her with amazed eyes. If the movie didn’t start, then why were they showing things on the screen? Soon, all her questions were answered, as shine emerged on screen.

‘Mom! Look, it’s shine! He’s so big!’ stars shined in her eyes, brighter than they would shine on screen!

‘Kiara!’ Kanak warned her this time that either she’ll watch the entire movie quietly, or they’ll go home right now. The little girl knew well what to do. She sat quietly for the next three hours and enjoyed the movie. Looking at her mother at random intervals, with questions and words in her mouth, but then she preferred to remain quiet.

The movie was over.

‘Can I speak now?’ Kiara hushed to her mother.

‘Yes! Finally!’

‘I have so many things to ask, mom!’

‘Not here, on our way home. Now come-on, and stay with me. Walk with me, Kiara!’ Kanak told her to hold her hand, but she instead held a corner of her kurti. Kanak could feel her walking beside her. There were so many people in the movie hall that an entire world seemed to exit the hall as the movie ended. As Kanak reached outside the cinema-hall, she looked around her, Kiara was nowhere to be seen. She was horrified, she rushed inside the theatre, searched all around, but didn’t find her. She started crying and screaming, her only daughter of 5 was lost in the crowd.

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Extra Mile

Featured Author The theatre officials made several announcements, and the guards sealed the cinema-hall entrances and exits, but no use. For the next one hour, nobody had any clue about Kiara.

Kanak was almost half dead by crying and weeping. She called up her husband, Pranav, who reached within minutes, upon hearing the news of his daughter’s disappearance.

‘Hey, Kanak!’ Pranav shouted from outside.

‘He’s my husband, please let him in…’ Kanak was crying.

Pranav hugged her tight and consoled her. Then he calmly asked her about what happened. Kanak narrated the whole story in a single breath, she was being restless about her daughter. Pranav was worried more than anyone, but he tried to stay calm and composed.

He filed an FIR immediately and police arrived, they searched the mall, the toilets, the trial rooms, but no clue. It was 01:00 am, but still nobody had any idea about Kiara’s whereabouts.

24 hours passed, Kanak was sick and tired, and Pranav was worn out. They filed a missing report of their little angel. Nobody had a hint, such a thing would happen in a fraction of a second.

‘It’s all my fault, I shouldn’t have taken her to the movie without you!’

‘Sweetheart, there’s no use of blaming anyone now…we have to be strong right now and not weaken ourselves by putting allegations…calm down, relax!’ Pranav caressed her and tried to calm her down a bit.

Soon they got a call, about a girl who was recovered from a dump. It was a little baby girl, Pranav and Kanak were called to identify. The girl was hospitalized immediately, she had a bruised face, that made it difficult to recognize her.

As Kanak entered the hospital premises, she just prayed that it should be Kiara. No matter hurt or bruised, at least she was alive! Within 24 hours of her disappearance, they had lost all hopes of her survival. Being a small girl, without any knowledge of the world, how could she survive even one hour, let alone one full day on her own?

‘Pranav…I’m scared…’

‘Don’t worry, sweetie. Have faith on God. He won’t do injustice to us!’

They reached the general ward where a police official met them, and guided them to the little girl’s bed.

‘Oh my God! Kiara…’ Kanak broke down. It was Kiara. Her clothes were torn, but still her pink skirt was identifiable.

Pranav placed a caring hand on Kiara’s head. She was partially conscious, mumbling in her sleep, with a couple of needles injected into her veins and flushing her blood with various medicines, the little soul was fighting to survive.

‘What happened to her, officer?’ Pranav asked.

‘We don’t know, Sir. The medical reports are yet to come…’

A nurse came with the medical file, as they were talking, ‘Sir, here are the medical reports.

She has been raped multiple times, and the rapists attempted to kill her by strangling her neck, there are bruises on her face and neck, but it’s a miracle that she survived.’

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Featured Author Kanak fainted as she heard that horrendous news. Pranav was set aback, he held the officer’s shoulder for support, and started crying. Soon they witnessed a steep fall in her heartbeat. The nurse gave her shocks, but the pulse-rate was falling rapidly. Doctors were called, she was taken to operation theatre, but her little body couldn’t bear such a horrible act. It gave up, and everyone’s loved and adored Kiara went to heavens.

What had a little girl of 5 done to provoke them that they raped her? What had that poor innocent soul done to invite her to molest her in the worst way possible? RAPE is a CRIME which is simply unforgivable. The only justice to the victims is death penalty to the rapists, or castration…

This was a short story from Mehek. If you liked here writing style and narration, you might like here novel, ‘Chained’.

You can find her book on any of the leading online stores. Mehek is highly active on social networking sites. You can connect with her on Facebook or vist her website, www.mehek.in.

Her stories are getting published in various anthologies this year. And she might as well launch her next book sometime soon. So stay in touch with her in order to grab the first few copies of her next book.

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Flash Fiction

RISE : FALL

by Danger DX

“And today we are on the brink of a new divide; a world ready for change.

The penny & listless will rise to take back what is snipped from them; the very right that has been sequestered & usurped by the raunchy marauders who smell the fear within us & suppress us with power & schemes. The blood has been boiling for far too long, the heat is beyond control now. It’s time that the callous fences of these fancy autocrats be shattered & destroyed & the holy grail brought back to its sacred place. For long we’ve suffered under this reign of darkness. There is no sun for us which will rise & force away this darkness. We need to ignite our inner chi & blaze like a sun, a sun within ourselves ready to pierce this darkness by its emanating rays of faith, strive & sacrifice. Let us unite & show this world that we stand taller by might & hardship. Prepare yourselves for the war is……”

BANG! The reporters gasped as streams of blood splattered all across their faces.

There was a stampede of party members & supporters as they screamed & ran around in terror. Every heart present mourned as their leader fell from the stage to the ground. The rise of a new revolution was embarked by the fall of a great leader.

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Flash Fiction The Last Journey

by Abhishek Dixit

I hadn’t seen this beauty of nature before nor would i see in long future. Sun was going down the lap of horizon as if it was bidding goodbye to me. Birds were going to their nests, reminding me to reach at home as soon as possible because I always misinformed my child that stubborn boy’s father never come to home early. Cool wind was smashing my face so hard that I wasn’t sure I would be there for my next breath. First time I felt suffocated in this amount of air. I closed my eyes but the next moment I opened them because this might be my first and last chance to witness this loveliness of nature and I didn’t want to miss it.

The Last Leap

by Sandeep Sharma

“Crime is never big or small, crime is just a crime.” a flash of my father’s image was in front of me. I could now feel the pain on my hand. My father’s stick was the only thing i feared in this whole world.

Father’s image disappeared in a flash and another began to appear. I could hear her cry. “You cheated on me rascal.

I will never forgive you for that.” She was my girlfriend . This was the last thing she said to me. I could see her now hanging from the ceiling fan. I was feeling terrified. I started running towards my drawing room. There I saw her. She was my mother. But how could this happen.

She’s dead. She’s looking at me blankly.

“I have told you not to come back to this house ? Then what are you doing here?”

She said and disappeared.

I started running away and reached the terrace. There was no one there. I felt relaxed. Then I heard people shouting. Behind me i could see a huge crowd ready to grab my neck and beat me to death. I could remember some faces but mostly were unknown to me. I started running ………

Being a skydiver, decreasing distance of earth should have filled you with ecstasy.

But if you have an inoperative parachute, increasing height of sky would threaten FRAUD COMPANY’S CEO FOUND you to death. I was parting from this DEAD, SUICIDE. This was the heading world as I was parting from the sky. With of the local newspaper next morning. the great impact of the earth I departed this life.

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Flash Fiction The Other Me

by Sandeep Sharma

He was trembling. Keeping his head low, he was trying to figure out what has just happened with him. His control over his breath was completely lost. His eyes were searching for something which never existed in his life. PEACE. He was sitting on a chair in front of a large mirror. He was supposed to see his own companion on the other side of the world which existed behind that mirror, but he couldn’t collect the courage to see. Darkness was filled both inside & outside of that boy sitting there.

He was sweating heavily. He was muttering something which even his own ears couldn’t listen. His sweat was mixing with his tears. He was feeling guilty but now it was too late.

“Time has flown away my friend, it will never come back.” His companion from the other side of the mirror said. He continued when he received no reaction from his listener, “Look at me…. LOOK AT ME.” Now the boy slowly lifted his head to see his own reflection, his companion, sitting calmly as always, on the other side of the mirror.

“You shouldn’t have done that.” His companion said with a charm in his eyes which could fool anyone other than the boy listening him.

“You Just Keep Your Mouth Shut.” The boy yelled at him but left no impact on his companion. “You know why I have done this. I never wanted my life to come at this point. I never imagined it before…. before you came in my life. You are the one behind everything which went wrong in my life.” He bursted out everything he had in his heart and now he felt relaxed.

“I have just helped you to achieve your dreams. I showed you the path which you yourself could never see.” His companion said.

“You showed me the path….?” The boy said in sarcastic way. “Yes, you have showed me the path; you have showed me the path to this.” He said while signalling towards the corner of the room.

The boy himself was lying there, dead. He had took poison.

“I killed myself, just to run away from you but……….” He cried harder.

“But you can’t. You can’t runaway from me because I am the other you and you are the other me. We can’t runaway from each other.” His companion watched the boy crying like a baby. He slowly forwarded his hand out of the mirror and took him in his world. World of infinity, behind that mirror.

HINDUSTAN TIMES Mental Hospital, New Delhi: Patient found dead within the walls of his room. Police initially thinks that it is a case of suicide but can’t give any official statement before receiving the postpartum reports. Police is also investigating on how a bottle of poison reached inside the cell.

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Featured Author

Satyarth Nayak is a Delhi based author and script-writer. His short stories have been published in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. In 2006, his short story ‘Eve’ won the British Council Prize. His mystery thriller novel ‘The Emperor’s Riddles’ released in February 2014 has been acclaimed by Amish Tripathi & Ashwin Sanghi and has made it to several bestseller lists.

You can easily find his book on any of the leading online and offline book stores.

To know more about Satyartha, connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and other social platforms.

Satyarth has contributed a short story for this edition. Enjoy his short story.

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Featured Author

The Pearly Gate

by Satyartha Nayak

I have no boom Mummy.

Five words which floated in the air for the fifth time. And all of us standing there knew what it meant. And what came next.

Of course Poopi. Everybody here knows my girl has no boom. Booms are nasty things. We will just hold each other’s hands and walk through it. Such nice red lights see. Red red lights.

The nice red lights atop the wooden frame were spelling WAIT and then spelling WALK. Non-stop. Again and again. As if punished by an invisible teacher.

After a point there was no difference.

WAIT-WALK-WAIT-WALK-WAIT-WALK-WAIT-WALK-WAITWALK-WAIT-WALK-WAIT-WALK-WAIT-WALK-WAIT-WALKWAIT-WALK-WAIT-WALK-WAIT-WALK-WAIT-WALK-WAITWALK-WAIT-WALK-WAIT-WALK-WAIT-WALK-WAIT-WALKWAIT-WALK-WAIT-WALK-WAIT-WALK-WAIT-WALKThe man in the uniform had one hand on his waist. He held a smaller detector like a key to a secret. The metal hummed a beep now and then. And the queue was dancing to it.

No Teddy. Don’t worry. We will just walk through. See nice lights. I will hug you.

Look Mummy. Teddy’s afraid. Sweet Teddy. Do you like Teddy Mummy?

Oh yes Poopi. Look at his brown nose. His nose is just like yours.

Not nose mummy. Eyes. His eyes. Like my eyes. Big and white. I love his eyes. Kiss mummy. Kiss his eyes.

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Featured Author White shiny eyes. I had seen those eyes. Those eyes had seen me. Our eyes had glinted at each other. They spoke again now as the girl mounted the wooden platform after her mother.

The machine beamed.

WALK. The man screamed.

STOP. I saw. I saw those fingers grabbing the stuffed toy. The detector kissing it on the forehead. Palms sniffing it round and round. Cuddling the head. Squeezing the belly. Pinching the ears. Scrunching the tail. The girl was looking. Staring at the man and the teddy in his hands. Staring…

No boom. No boom mummy.

The queue was hissing. The girl’s hair was jumping up and down with the wind. And the old man was staring.

Some old man standing next to the wooden frame. Some old man watching us pass. Some old man who had not been able to cross.

The queue woke up again. It was my turn to go over the plank. The metal branded me. The girl and her teddy had become dots in the distance.

As I went through my eyes ran down to the earth below. I saw it again. It lay there.

The eye. One plastic white eye.

It sparkled lonely through the green grass in the crescent moon.

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Short Story The Silent Shriek

by Krishnapriya

There was this sudden creak of the door. I thought I was dreaming, but then I felt my phone buzzing. Just then, I realized, it wasn’t a dream. I picked up my phone to check the time. There were one hundred and seventeen messages from just two conversations. Just when I was about to check who it was to disturb me so late at night, the door creaked again. I looked up to see nobody. There was nothing but the walls.

I stood up, walked up to the washroom door, stood there for sometime, wondering what to do next. I don’t remember for how long I stood there, but I’m certain that it was not a short span of time. My head grew heavy, and my sight grew dim, but I somehow managed to switch on the washroom lights, went inside, opened the hot water tap ans washed my face. I felt relaxed. It had been a tiresome night. I looked at myself, my swollen eyes. I smiled at the mirror, switched off the lights, shut the door and went to bed. Checking my phone, I noticed something odd. I looked to the wall that stood to my right, saw nothing. Maybe I was just hallucinating. Shut my eyes, I went to sleep. It hadn’t even been a couple of seconds , when I opened my eyes wide again. Looked again to the wall that was to my right, and what I saw, sent chills to my bones. My favorite ‘Pink Floyd’ poster was missing! I was scared to death. Not because I heard that creak again (though I had locked the door earlier), not because my poster was missing, but because that wall was now three quarters of an inch ahead of where it was before. I locked my eyes upon it, and just when I realized what really was happening, my heart refused to beat!

I didn’t know what to do or how to react; I went numb! However much I wanted to move and run out of the room, my muscles refused to work. They were jammed.

Somehow I gathered courage and tried to move. It was as if I was paralyzed. But I gave my mind all the reasons to instruct my muscles and bones to start working. And right then, I felt a sudden rush of blood to my face. My face turned red from pale.

I rushed to take all my blades, needles and sharp tools, and while reaching for the door, got hit by something very hard. I fell down. There was blood coming out from the middle finger of my left foot, I could not help but cry. I stood up with determination, and very carefully reached for the door. By now, all the walls were about nine inches ahead of where they were before. I tried to unlock the door, and caught the door handle. The door did not open. I pushed it hard, it did not move. I was locked inside….

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Short Story The walls were closing in. I could hear them laughing, laughing at me, mocking me. Apart from the walls, there was just visible darkness and nothing else. And right then, the window caught my eye. I reached out for it. Not surprisingly, it was locked too. But I was not going to give up this easily. I let the walls laugh. My room was now thirty by fifty inches wide. I punched hard in the glass, it broke and I could finally smell fresh air, the beautiful fragrance of the soil outside. I jumped through the window and felt free! I was hit, but sat down on the road itself and tried to reach out for my left foot to see how deep the wound was, and right then, I woke up!

I was in my bed, with my friend fast asleep, beside me. I felt my facial muscles relaxing, It was a terrifying dream. I felt so loose and weightless. I wiped my face, which was sweating, walked up to the washroom door and washed my hands, feet and finally, face. I came out of the washroom, took my iPod and earphones and just went out in the balcony. It was somewhere around 0300 hours in the morning.

It was so beautiful out there, silent, quiet, peaceful, and most important, it was dark!

There was something in the air that was hypnotizing me. It was making me lose myself. It seemed as if my soul and my body had departed. I felt so light, like I could float in the air, like I was in paradise…. I was comfortably numb and it felt great.

The time had stopped. There were absolutely no thoughts in my head. I could hear the air. It went past me, whispering something really strange, in my ear. I could feel the grass, the wet dew drops that tickled my feet. I was in Heaven… I closed my eyes and tried to move my wrist to reach out for the black rose that was just inches away from me. But I couldn’t move. I woke up, again!

I was in the woods, running, yelling, shrieking at the top of my voice. Screaming so loud that my vocal cords hurt. I was not tired, I had enough energy to cover a mile more, sprinting. I started crying, crying hard, harder than ever. I bumped into a broken trunk of a maple tree, and fell down. I didn’t stand up again. I rather hugged the tree and then sat beside it, sobbing, quietly. There were marks on my body. Marks of blades, needles and scissors. I was carrying all of these things in my left hand. I spotted some red spots on the ground. I looked up to find nothing. I looked at my foot, it wasn’t bleeding. I looked at my wrist, it was fine too. Just then I caught a glance of my left palm. It was bleeding. There was a deep cut caused by the scissors.

I didn’t bother to wash it or cover it, instead I took the very blade that had been there with me all these years, and made quick, outrageous cuts on my wrist. I was trying to let my frustration out. I was yelling, there were tears in my eyes. I kept going on.

When I stopped, my whole hand was red. There was absolutely no sign of skin. I started to peel off my skin from my fingers. I ate that skin.

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Short Story I was doing good, and was feeling happy, when I felt a hand over my shoulder. My eyes followed the length of the hand, and then the body, finally reaching the face.

It was my favorite friend. At that very moment, I realized that I was missing him.

He sat beside me and wiped my tears away. We walked and sang together.It was so much fun. But then he started off with cleaning my wounds. I wasn’t really liking it. I didn’t want him to do that. But he she me up! It was in his eyes, how much he wanted me to give in this habit. I made a false promise to him because I knew that he would never understand how important it was to me to be suffering from physical pain. He was glad. I was glad he was happy. We started walking out of the woods, singing, talking and laughing. It was a beautiful day. It was drizzling too. We were having a really good time together.

With time, I started disliking him, rather hating him. I was getting emotionally attached to him. I did not want that. I have always been a loner and would very much like it that way. Nobody is important to me and will never be. I am too scared of getting close to anybody. I don’t want to be hurt! I did not want him to come any closer to me. I could not let him in. and so, I left. I ran away from him. I could hear his voice, he was calling out my name, looking for me. But I kept running. And I ran far, far away. His voice now grew fainter. Tired, I sat down and surprisingly, fell asleep.

I woke up, again! This time, in my room, with music and books. I was in my favorite sweatshirt and had a pen in my hand. I looked around to find a notepad in which I had written some six pages. And then it dawned on me that I had fallen asleep while writing. I smiled at myself, looked up at the ceiling, realizing that I was now in the real world….

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Short Story Mr Professor

by Shubham J.Singh

The man was asleep, lost in dreams and nonchalant of the mundane. His destined station was about to come. Alarm rang and the train was on its scheduled time. Lucky the man was! The professor, in his mid-fifties, took his black branded suitcase and joined the row of passengers to de-board.

These passengers act like prisoners, who rush to exit gates as if being released after life imprisonment. No matter the chaos they cook or the discomfort, they just stick to the gate ready to jump on very sight of the platform.

The old man headed to his booked hotel and later reached university office to complete his assigned task. It was noon till then, an ideal time for lunch.

To serve his taste, he went to a peculiar restaurant. It had a perfect blend of reposing lights and smothering music enough to saturate your hunger. No sooner did he enter that a young man ran into him. He obeisantly greeted the professor and they shook hands. “It’s a great pleasure to see you after such long time, sir!“ the young man spoke. Professor smiled and nodded in return.

They both sat to lunch. The young man dressed well in black suit and enthusiastic of spirits assumed all virtues of a host. He ordered best of all dishes and red wine to suit the occasion. Professor was still busy in his mind to figure out the right identity of young lad. They discussed politics, sports, education and destiny while savoring. Desserts ended the meal like the delight of a fest. Professor riding all horses of mind was now exhausted. His excruciation flowed through his mouth. He said “Forgive my weak memory but tell me in which batch were you...?”

Young man smiled; paused for a moment; raised his head and looked directly in the eyes like saint revealing great secrets of the mystics. He replied “Few years back, you were invigilating university examinations and i was one of the examinees. You caught me cheating. I asked for forgiveness but all went in vain. University rusticated me from the college and my degree was cancelled. My father loaned from a bank for my studies, he couldn’t bear the shock and died”. The professor sat confounded.

The young man paid the bill, stood up and moved through the exit gate.

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Extra Mile

We hope you guys enjoyed this compilation presented by The Author’s Blog.

The journey doesn’t end here, it’s just the beginning. So prepare yourselves for much more fun as the future presentations of TAB are gonna be much more interesting and much more fun.

Keep writing guys! And don’t forget to submit your entries for the next edition. You can mail us your articles at theauthorsblogg@gmail.com.

The articles chosen by our editorial team will find their place in the next edition. There is as such no theme for the next edition so you’re free to submit anything you like.

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