From the author of Ayesha at Last comes a sparkling new rom-com for fans of “You’ve Got Mail,” set in two competing halal restaurants
Sales are slow at Three Sisters Biryani Poutine, the only halal restaurant in the close-knit Golden Crescent neighbourhood. Hana waitresses there part time, but what she really wants is to tell stories on the radio. If she can just outshine her fellow intern at the city radio station, she may have a chance at landing a job. In the meantime, Hana pours her thoughts and dreams into a podcast, where she forms a lively relationship with one of her listeners. But soon she’ll need all the support she can get: a new competing restaurant, a more upscale halal place, is about to open in the Golden Crescent, threatening Three Sisters.
When her mysterious aunt and her teenage cousin arrive from India for a surprise visit, they draw Hana into a long-buried family secret. A hate-motivated attack on their neighbourhood complicates the situation further, as does Hana’s growing attraction for Aydin, the young owner of the rival restaurant—who might not be a complete stranger after all.
As life on the Golden Crescent unravels, Hana must learn to use her voice, draw on the strength of her community and decide what her future should be.
“My father says that trying to stop hate is like trying to stop the tides,” Rashid said. “The best thing you can do is take advantage of it. Don’t stop the tide from flowing. Build a hydroelectric dam and make electricity instead, enough to power ten thousand houses. That’s how you stop hate.”
Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin
Two endearing rom-com books that also talk about important subjects like Islamophobia and finding your identity in a foreign country, has made Uma Jalaluddin a go-to author for me.
If you’re thinking of skipping reading this book because it says ‘rom-com’ or a ‘you’ve got mail’ remake, then I urge you to reconsider. Although the story is inspired from the concept of you’ve got mail, for me, the story was far more than your usual romantic comedy. While our protagonist Hana Khan navigates her own struggles with identity and her feelings for her online friend and her real life nemesis, we also get to know about the stories of other characters in the book and how each one rebelled against some convention to experience freedom in the real sense of the word. The freedom to choose.
Obviously, we have Hana and Aydin at the centre of the story, but my favorite characters were actually the playful yet intelligent Rashid and the feisty and sarcastic Kawkab Khala. There are a whole gamut of supporting characters that I felt endeared to, and I had a lot of respect for Hana’s mother too, as she reminded me of my own hardworking and unwavering yet vulnerable mom 🙂
The story and the incidents in the book make you realise about the blatant Islamophobia as well as the subtle prejudices that people of colour or of different religions face in a foreign country. I am no novice to the fact that there is such discrimination in my own country. In the outright violence that Hana faces when she goes to watch a game with her family to the subtle preconceived notions that she has to deal with, with her white boss, I felt a form of kinship with Hana and outrage on her behalf. But I love the fact that the author humanises and demystifies Islam by giving us a peak into the lives of a Muslim woman born in a country like Canada. At the end of the day, they’re no different from us. I also appreciated the fact that from this story, Uzma talks about facing hate with love and not giving in to fear. A lovely message to readers.
The pacing of the story is good and an easy read. The romance isn’t steamy and very clean, which is something that I personally prefer. For me however, more than the romance, I enjoyed reading about the friendships that Hana has and makes along the way and learning about the stories of her family.
I enjoyed the book and will be looking forward to Uzma Jalaluddin’s next book with bated breath 🙂
**Thank you to Colored Pages Tours for selecting me to be a part of this tour and thank you to Corvus/Atlantic Books for providing me with a physical copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this review are my own. **
Blog Tour Schedule
Click on the image below to view reviews and the blog tour schedule for the book 🙂
GIVEAWAY
For this tour there is a giveaway of three (3) copies of Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin. ENTER HERE for your chance to win!
Open Internationally
Ends on 17th June 2021 (11:59pm EST)
The winner will be announced on Colored Pages’s Instagram. (This giveaway is not affiliated/endorsed by Instagram).
About the Author
I am the author of AYESHA AT LAST (2018), a retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in a Toronto Muslim community. My second novel HANA KHAN CARRIES ON (2021) is inspired by the movie ‘You’ve Got Mail’ and set in rival halal restaurants. I also write a funny parenting column for The Toronto Star, and have written for The Atlantic. I live in Toronto with my husband and two sons. Find out more at www.uzmajalaluddin.com and thanks for visiting!
I wanted to stop writing these wrap up posts. I was doing a pretty good job of it so far when I don’t know, for some reason, I decided, ‘hey, lets do one of those life and reading wrap up posts again!’.
Funny thing is, that I decided to stop doing those wrap up posts this year, because I wasn’t doing anything new, this being the lockdown and pandemic and all. And I’m still not doing anything new, just trying to keep up with the old habits. But here goes the wrap up post nevertheless 🤷🏽♀️
May 2021 Planner
If I have to look at my life in the last two years, I’d say its quite neatly blocked into these areas : Work (aka my 9-5 job, which does not warrant much mention), family (aka being a mom, since that’s the predominant family role lately), reading, writing, exercising and debauchery (which includes unhealthy food, alcohol over the weekends, watching random YouTube videos or Netflix and enjoying music – aka entertainment). But for the purpose of this wrap up, I shall split this post into simple bullet points. Easy peasy eh?
Reading:
I read five brilliant books in May 🙂
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) – A non fiction book with superb advice on writing
The Stationary Shop by Marjan Kamali (⭐️⭐️⭐️) – A love story set in Iran and UK, spanning seven decades!
My Grandmother sends her Regards and Apologies by Fredrik Backman (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) – A book in translation that was my absolute favorite this month 🙂
Rea and the Blood of the Nectar by Payal Doshi (⭐️⭐️⭐️✨) – Middle grade own voice fantasy featuring India and an Indian protagonist
Conversations on Love by Natasha Lunn (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) – Collection of conversations with famous writers on love (all forms of it)
Writing
As always, I participated in the Story A Day in May, which started off well but shimmered off during the last ten days of the month. So I plan to finish the rest of the prompts in June, and revise all the stories from May using the Bradbury Challenge suggested by my writer friend Tammy. More on that later though. In addition to writing short stories, I also posted a couple of blogs in May, and journaled quite a bit. Overall, I felt I put in a better effort in May, but still far away from my ideal writing schedule and habits.
Socials, Life and Other Updates:
My five year old surprised me with this adorable card for Mother’s Day! 🥰
My peers and I hosted an Instagram Live session to roast books as part of the Mental Health Awareness month theme for the Belongg Library Network – Pune & Mumbai Chapter volunteer endeavour 🙂
I finally received my much awaited ‘Dear Reader’ book box after almost a year of waiting and every product in it was worth it!!
I managed to exercise (run, walk, do yoga, or abs, or dance) most of the days of the month. I ran/walked for 16 days in May and the stats look so much better than Feb’s 🙂 I’m feeling good about my exercise routine these days
Bugs!! My daughter is obsessed with the bugs and beetles and ants that grace our balcony, thanks to all our plants and the constant rains 🙂
Shows and Music that I loved/discovered in May:
I’ve been loving AURORA as an artist all of this month! Absolutely fan grilling over her songs! 😍
Then there’s the usual electronic/funk/disco music that I usually get drawn to. Troye Sivan is a recurring favorite and never disappoints.
In TV/Shows – I’ve been slowly savouring Schitt’s Creek and loving it. It’s similar to Modern Family and Friends for me – so funny, clean and heartwarming. Almost like medicine in these difficult times 🙂 I’m on the last season now. In addition to that, my husband and I were quite hooked and impressed with these detective shows – Mare of East town (exceptional acting by Kate Winslet) and Criminals UK (excellent screenplay, scripting and concept. Amazed at the performances – watch out for the Kit Harrington episode in S2 especially)
So, that was my month gone. How was yours? Have you read any of these books, or watched any of these shows? Which artist did you discover or re-discover in May? Tell me all about your month in the comments section 🙂
It all begins on thenight Rea turns twelve. After a big fight with her twin brother Rohan on their birthday, Rea’s life in the small village of Darjeeling, India, gets turned on its head. It’s four in the morning and Rohan is nowhere to be found.It hasn’t even been a day and Amma acts like Rohan’s gone forever. Her grandmother, too, is behaving strangely. Unwilling to give up on her brother, Rea and her friend Leela meet Mishti Daadi, a wrinkly old fortune-teller whose powers of divination set them off on a thrilling and secret quest. In the shade of night, they portal into an otherworldly realm and travel to Astranthia, a land full of magic and whimsy. There with the help of Xeranther, an Astranthian barrow boy, and Flula, a pari, Rea battles serpent-lilies and blood-sucking banshees, encounters a butterfly-faced woman and blue lizard-men, and learns that Rohan has been captured. Rea also discovers that she is a princess with magic. Only she has no idea how to use it.Struggling with the truth her Amma has kept hidden from her, Rea must solve clues that lead to Rohan, find a way to rescue him and save Astranthia from a potentially deadly fate. But the clock is ticking. Can she rescue Rohan, save Astranthia, and live to see it all?
Book Review
I was ecstatic to read this own voice middle grade fantasy, set in, *drumroll please* our very own Darjeeling, in India!! The blurb above gives you a pretty good idea about the story of the book, but it was a pleasant surprise to read about a twelve year old who uses Indian colloquialisms, wears Indian clothes, celebrates Indian festivals, plays Indian sports and eats Indian food. My stomach was literally growling with hunger at all the mentions of the Diwali and street food delicacies such as pakoras, laddoos and thukpas. Delicious!!
Rea’s adventure starts from the streets of Darjeeling but most of the book is situated in the fantastical world of Astranthia. As with a good plot and adventure story, Rea’s quest to find and rescue her twin brother keeps you absolutely hooked, with ample twists and turns and scary creatures. The story is fresh and familiar at the same time.
I really enjoyed the riddles and the challenges Rea has to solve and the way she forms friendships with some very likeable characters such as Leela from India and Xeranther and Flula from Astranthia. Queen Razya as the antagonist was quite a treat and not one of your typical black and white villain. I like a villain who is difficult to hate.
It was also interesting to note that this story wasn’t your typical chosen one story. Yes, there are some elements of it, but the story also addresses many other issues such as sibling rivalry, allowing friendships into your life, considering other’s needs before your own, a bit of political tension, the subtle favouritism of the male child. I wondered how twelve year olds across the world will relate to this when they read the book 🙂
All in all, a wholesome, entertaining own voices story from Payal Doshi, in the first of the Astranthia series. I am really keen to see where the story will head next 🙂
A huge thank you to Lonely Pages Book Tours, the author Payal Doshi and the Publishers for sharing a review copy of the book and allowing me to participate in this blog tour. All opinions are my own.
About The Author
Payal Doshi has a Masters in CreativeWriting (Fiction) from The New School, New York. Having lived in the UK and US, she noticed a lack of Indian protagonists in global children’s fiction and one day wrote the opening paragraph to what would become her first children’s novel. She was born and raised in Mumbai, India, and currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her husband and three-year-old daughter. When she isn’t writing or spending time with her family, you can find her nose deep in a book with a cup of coffee or daydreaming of fantasy realms to send her characters off into. She loves the smell of old, yellowed books. Rea and the Blood of the Nectar, the first book in TheChronicles of Astranthiaseries is her debut middle grade novel. For more information, visit her website, www.payaldoshiauthor.com, or follow her on Instagram @payaldoshiauthor and on Twitter @payaldwrites.
I was an avid reader as a child. Then I had this whole Mills and Boons phase when I was in college. And then there was this huge decade long gap when my reading was restricted to work emails and text messages.
Fast forward to 2016 when I became a mom and had a lot of ‘sitting time’. And when Facebook was on the rise for me too. I re-discovered my joy of reading, which now, five years later has turned into a very healthy obsession, I would say. However, now I also have a very active online reading life, which is also called ‘Bookstagram’.
I posted the picture above this morning on my Instagram/Bookstagram account with a question – what do you see when you look at this picture? Do you see a reader who was caught unawares on the shutterbug, or do you see a poser? 😉 I’d like to read your thoughts in the comment sections on that too.
Interestingly, most of my reader friends were able to guess the reality behind this picture. Looks like we’re all in the same boat 😀 So, here are a few things that are not quite as they seem to be as per my social media bookstagram account 😉 😀
First and foremost, if you ever see a picture of me reading a book on social media, then yes, you’re right – I have either had that picture taken using my phone’s timer option, or asked my five year old to click a dozen pictures before I get to one that looks decent enough to be posted, or I have cornered my husband into taking one in order to show his support for his wife’s reading endeavour, or I have caught an unsuspecting stranger to take a picture of me with the book as the prop. The last one usually never happens, but one can dream right?
If you think my ‘To-Read’ list and ‘Books-I’m-Supposed-To-Have-Read-This-Month-As-Per-Plan’ are all under control from my Bookstagram feed and that is making you hyperventilate about your own hot mess of a reading life, then let me break the truth for you here and make you feel better. I am a hot mess of a reader myself. I’m constantly changing my TBR at any given point in time and trying to read books in parallel and eventually end up reading nothing as per plan. But I guess that’s fun in a way?
My Bookstagram book mail posts scream that I support Independent stores and only buy books from them. Which is true, thank goodness, 90% of the times. But sometimes, I confess, I have given in and bought books from Amazon because I couldn’t wait or because a well meaning friend have given me an Amazon Gift Card (shrugs!). I know, I have sinned..
I maintain my book log in almost five different places – I have a notebook where I note down initial thoughts, then I update my reviews and currently reading status on Goodreads and Storygraph, then I add a video of random ramblings about the book I read on Instagram stories and finally I post a pretty picture of the book with my review. And yet, when I’m on a group discussion with my other bookish or non bookish friends and they ask me what I read recently or a book recommendation on a certain subject, I’m tongue tied. It is much later in the night, that the answers come rushing to me like the Randha Falls in Maharashtra. Sighhh..
My book hoarding habit is fuelled by Bookstagram. I see all those beautiful, aesthetic pictures by bookstagrammers and then the independent book sellers post pictures of beautiful covers of upcoming releases from my favorite authors or new authors to check out and I’m sold. Take my money, book capitalism!!
I have a few more confessions to make, but I’m not going to let all my secrets out of Pandora’s box now am I? Hehehe..How about you? Any bookish confessions you’d like to make in the comments about the truth about your Bookstagram/Online Reading Life? Go ahead, I won’t judge 😉
Two years back, I would have said I was a beach bum. Not in the absolute sense of the term, but yes, at least twice a year you would find me either traveling near a water body or talking about traveling to a water body. Then towards the end of 2019, right when I was having a wonderful vacation with my family in the Andaman Islands south of India, a scary, villainous virus was tunnelling its way from China to the rest of the World. Oh how oblivious I was then. Silly me, what did I know.
Fast forward 2021, almost a year and a half later, and we find ourselves locked in. Trying to stay safe inside our homes. Not traveling, not meeting people. Battling this virus with a ferocity.
If I thought I was a book bum two years back, I hadn’t seen this coming. Just like the whooshing sound of the waves crashing in front of me, soothed me then, escaping into the world of books have been saving me in these last two years. We’ll talk about what is saving us during the pandemics in another post.
For now, here are the ways I realised I’ve become a book bum from a beach bum. If any of these apply to you as well, welcome to the book bum club and give me a virtual high five! 😉
Image Credit: Giphy
When people were hoarding groceries and toilet paper and funky PJs, I was hoarding books. I’m not kidding, ask my mom. She was aghast one day when she opened my cupboard (yes we have cupboards here in India, no walk in closets for us :P), and found two shelves filled with books that I’d bought and only half a shelf devoted to my clothes. if clothes had feelings, they probably would’ve been planning a coupe to overthrow the ‘reign of the books’ 😀
When others were posting delectable pictures and videos of all the home-masterchef dishes they were cooking and baking up, I was spamming my social media feed with delectable pictures of books that I’d read and books that I’d bought and books that I planned to read. My non reader friends were truly bored. But my perseverance and passion paid off, because the bookstagram community seemed to be full of people like me – who preferred devouring books 😉
When my friends and family were dealing with the stress and trauma brought on by the virus by binge watching shows on Netflix, I was dealing with the same by binge reading book series.
When my friends were joining Watsapp, Telegram, and Discord groups that provided updates on the pandemic situation globally, I was on multiple reading challenge groups – The Poppy War challenge, Asian Reading Challenge, Indian Lit Reading Challenge…etc etc
Sometimes I stand in front of my bookshelf, and stare longingly and lovingly at my books and plan for the future – which of these books will travel with me next? Which book will be lucky enough to be featured in the next exotic location bookstagram picture?
On my lockdown birthday last year, I bought myself a bunch of books. And all of my friends and relatives bought me a bunch of books. I felt absolutely grateful for friends and family who understood me and loved me so much! 😀 I’m hoping some of them will read this post and will take that as a cue for this year’s lockdown birthday present idea too 😉
When my friends and family and the world was and is continuing to reel with the tragedy of losing someone dear to the pandemic, or struggling with keeping abreast because of the lockdown and loss of employment and education, and when I have no idea how to comfort them, I send them pictures of quotes from the books I’m reading, that have comforted me. Some said, those lines comforted them too. Like Boyzone sang, “Its only words, and words are all I have, to take your heart away...” (Please don’t unfollow me for quoting Boyzone now :D)
I’m sure I have missed a few other reasons and signs about me turning into a book bum during the pandemic. Maybe you guys can fill those in the comments section? 😉
I couldn’t make myself write a single post in April. There were many times when I wanted to write about hope, about being positive, about heartbreak, and struggle and frustration and anger. But every time I decided to open my laptop to do so, I couldn’t make my fingers type.
I don’t believe in God, yet, praying is the only thing I can do at this stage. I don’t have the skills to help people recover. And this virus is such that not stepping out to help people is a better way to help, so we can curb the spread of the virus. Absolutely frustrating. Maybe the Universe will stop punishing us soon?
I did read my usual quota of books and read the finales of three series 🙂 Books have been, and still continue to be a constant source of support since the last year. Felt good to conclude some of these. So here is a wrap up of the books I read and concluding thoughts.
Only a child-like mind can overpower a child villain with super powers. Don’t you think? One of my favorite reads this month, you can’t go wrong with the Discworld books if you want to have a laugh in the face of probable apocalypse.
The finale of this epic trilogy, a must read for anyone who loves history and fantasy, was shattering but oh so satisfying. At the end of the series, there were a million questions on my mind. But the most important one was, how far will you be willing to go, to lead? What is justifiable when there is no certainty about the future and you just have a vision to go on?
A short story that I absolutely loved! A detective story with a female detective set in steampunk Cairo, where Angels, Ifrits, and robots all are embroiled in this murder mystery. I was so entertained reading this short story, that the one question I kept thinking of when I finished was, what would it take to be able to write stories like P. Djeli Clark? LOL 😉
Oh well, the cat and mouse game continues. I was shocked when I read about the death of a favorite character, but that character is immediately replaced by two others, so that the cat and mouse chase continues. Entertaining as ever with really good illustrations, but the treatment of Misa Misa is still continuing to annoy me. So the questions still remain, why was this hugely famous Manga series so sexist?
Another series finale. This one is the last book of the Cursebreakers trilogy. I liked this much better than the second book, but overall, I think the series fizzled out after the first book for me. However, the best part of the trilogy was this feminist re-telling of beauty and beast and reading about relationships that are based on friendship, respect and trust more than just simple attraction, lust and ownership. I kept wondering though, that why is it that it is hard to write interesting romances that are realistic?
This was a much hyped book which was high on my expectation list of being a 5-starrer. However, I think because of the lack of continuity between the first part and the second part, along with the verbosity of the text, I found it hard to enjoy this book. That said, the author does try to tackle a gamut of issues that women struggle with, even in developed countries like Japan. After reading this I wondered, has the progressive society only ended up creating more challenges for women? Will our challenges never end?
And finally, the last read of April, and also the finale of the ‘Brown Sisters’ romance trilogy series. Oohh..I loved it! I loved all the three books in the series and such great romances! Highly recommended if you’re looking for a laugh riot of a romance featuring characters and supporting characters struggling with different able-ism issues. In the finale, Eve and Jacob, both are on the autistic spectrum, but its amazing how the author hasn’t made them look awkward or cliched in any way. I wondered however, why are even the real romances fairy tale like? Because I haven’t come across a single Red, Zaphir or Jacob in real life…Have you? 🙂
So, those were the books I read in April. How about you? Have you read any of the books above? Do drop me a note on how you’re coping or if you just want to chat about nothing in general. I know how I’m feeling right now, so I will be happy to tell you, you are not alone in your feelings of doom, and depression, and frustration and helplessness, all wrapped up with a little bit of hope and a lot of prayers.
And just like that, March is over and we’re back in the doom and gloom situation of the second wave of Covid and lockdown here in India. I seriously hate this frigging virus. I don’t like cursing, but I am cursing the life of this cursed virus at this point. Go die already!! Ok, I have vented. Breathe in, breathe out..woosa..woosa..inner peace..
March is celebrated as International Women’s Day and I decided to read books written by female authors to celebrate this month 🙂 At first I thought I might have trouble finding only women authors to read, until I realised that my bookshelf was brimming with books written by women! Wow..:)
So I read a mix and mash of genres and keeping up with the tradition of this book talk series, here are the books I read by female authors and this is what their writing made me think about 🙂
Talk about breaking tropes and gender stereotypes and writing a breakthrough book that has a diverse set of characters and is masterfully crafted fantasy mixed with science fiction!! One of my favorite reads of March – Andrea Stewart’s writing reinforced my beliefs in fighting against gender stereotypes in the world of writing and literature 🙂
On the opposite end, we have writers who spoil it all. Who ensure that the female author cliches will remain and who will ensure that women will only want to read about fluffy subjects, food and being eternally confused about the man they are supposed to like. Forget about the serious subjects like abandonment by family, or dealing with a toxic relationship, or talking about religion and the tensions around it, or the work that comes with starting your own business. According to this writer, life can just be glossed over. Utterly disappointing read. The premise of the book shop was the only saviour in this book for me.
Talk about getting better and better with each book you write! Talk about literally growing up with your book and the character of your book! Did you know that Sarah J Maas wrote the first book in this series when she was just 16??!! Impressed. Also, I just loved the fact that we have this ass kicking heroine who also has a string of hot men helping her out in each book 😉 I mean if James Bond can have a new heroine in every movie, why not Celeana Sardothien!? You go girl!
It takes so much courage and strength to become completely naked in front of strangers. To lay your soul bare and talk about your deepest fears and your darkest secrets? To talk about abuse and dealing or not dealing with it? To call yourself out and to call the society out for making women feel guilty for the abuse they go through. For making us feel that changing our bodies can make things better for us? I was as usual blown away by her honesty.
It was about time that us women defended our romances and started questioning everyone who looked down on us for reading romance or ‘chicklit’ (ugh I hate this term), why they think this doesn’t count as reading or writing? Have you read romance novels lately? Most of these stories take about friendship, supportive families, realistic and relatable characters, characters dealing with realistic issues – and a lot of important things written in a manner that will leave you with a smile at the end. Why are people so wary of love and friendship and laughter? I’m so thankful to Rachel Lynn Solomon for saying that aloud through her character Rowan, in this book 🙂
And finally, this non fiction collection of essays written by a Muslim Indian female author about what it is to be Muslim in the world and in India in the polarised times we live in today. I learned that she and I have so many similarities in terms of the cultural ceremonies we have, or our religious learnings/texts or the food we prepare during festivals. If there are so many similarities, why is there this stigma of ‘otherness’ added to people of this faith? What will it take for the world and India to be truly inclusive and secular?
Have you read any of the books above? If yes, did you think about the same things I did, or did you have different questions or thoughts in your head? I’d love to discuss any of the books above if you’re interested, in the comments section 🙂
And just like that, we’re on the last day of the challenge. My prompts are still not over though, so hopefully, I will be able to write and publish three more stories or scenes here to practise my writing 🙂
I was sitting in my balcony, sipping my morning cup of coffee, when a loud caw disturbed my peaceful morning routine. I looked up to see a large gray black crow perched on the ledge in my balcony. I thought that was strange, since I was sitting in the balcony and the birds never perch if a human being has occupied the space. They always wait till we clear out. But this one, he, or maybe she was a she, I wouldn’t know, but she kept sitting there, cawking. Suddenly, she turned her neck, and I could have sworn she looked straight into my eyes.
It was an unnerving thing, to look straight into the eyes of a crow. Those intelligent, obsidian eyes. But I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She wasn’t beautiful in any sense. Her voice was coarse to the ears and she had the most dull colours when it came to her feathers. But those eyes, I could feel myself losing in their dark depths. Who was this crow?
The next thing I knew, it was night and I was still sitting in the balcony, my coffee cold and untouched. I felt disoriented. I stood up, and marvelled at the fact that there was not a single ache in my body, having dozed off the entire day on that hard chair. I stretched my arms out and decided I’ll go to the doctor tomorrow. It wasn’t natural to just sleep or faint for an entire day.
It was then that I heard the click of the door , and some loud noises, that I couldn’t quite make much of. It was then that I turned around to see my pale dead body still sitting on the chair. It was then that I opened my mouth to scream, but instead heard myself caw.
I hope you enjoyed this story. If you did, do share and comment on my blog 🙂 Now, as tradition for the #wordshare prompt requires, here is my word for other writers who want to try their hand at a short story – DREAM 🙂
Nope, you haven’t missed the stories for the previous two days. I just haven’t been able to come up with something to share here yet. I’ll get on to those, once I finish today’s story. Can you believe it? The penultimate day of this super fun challenge!! 🙂
Roshni decided to wing it. She wasn’t afraid of the ocean, and actually loved the feeling of the salty water dripping from her skin and her surfboard, every time she tackled a wave and came back up. She loved surfing. But this competition was far from over. She knew she could take the newcomer down, but his skills were really good and so far they had been neck to neck with their scores. When the whistle blew for half time, she decided to get to know her formidable opponent a little better.
“You don’t look like you’re from the coastal areas and yet your surfing skills are superb!”, she said, a little breathlessly, as she tried to run up towards the tall, pale guy.
He looked at her with an arched eyebrow and a not quite there smile and said, “That was probably the best Darcy opening line I’ve ever heard anyone say. And you’re not even a guy. ” When she looked even more confused, he elaborated, “don’t tell me you’re not a Pride and Prejudice fan. I just meant, I couldn’t figure out if you were actually giving me a compliment back there, or being racist, just because I’m pale skinned.”
Oh dear, she really had said that, hadn’t she? “Oh gosh, I’m really sorry. If its any consolation, I’ve been told multiple times that I have the world’s worst conversation skills. I really didn’t mean it like that..”
His smile deepened at her discomfort, but he let her off the hook by saying, “well, you are sort of right to be curious. My home is full of Birch trees and you wouldn’t see a body of water with waves this magnificent anywhere close to the place. But that’s the beauty of internet. One look at a video of a surfer, when I was ten years old, and that’s literally all I could dream of. So yes, the colour of my skin is genetics and geography probably, but my skills with surfing is hard earned.”
“I can see that, but I’m going to beat you nevertheless. Just wanted to know who my formidable opponent was today. I’m Roshni by the way.” Roshni extended a hand towards him.
“I’m Daniel.”
In five minutes, the whistle blew, and they were back, dancing with the waves, each trying their best to win the competition.
