Theme 207 - Guilt

From @lilmississues:

I have this dream. I’m 7 years old, scribbling bracelets around my wrists to make them pretty. Jake, my 2^nd grade lover gives me that smile, we’re going to be forever.

It’s been 20 years. My wrists have bracelets of blood. Jake just left.

Quit acting like you’re the only one who spends their nights awake.

From @SugarsNSpice: 

She trusted him the most. Often, fighting the world to prove his lies were the truth. Then one day the cracks appeared. He always said if the glass is broken, it can never be mended completely. She still cries for the lost love. The guilt of not been able to stop her kill him everyday.

From @AwaaraMaseeha: 

"She loved him, undoubtedly. But he loved him too. And he was pretty sure of his sexuality. One way was lifelong happiness of mind but anguish of heart. The other way was a shortcut to apocalypse, where all hell would break loose and he would be damned, forever. Whose was the guilt? His, or their?"

Theme 206 - Speculate

From @kanakkupullai:

"I have a superb secret to tell. I traded stocks, and gained over two lakhs."
"What?? Why didn't you tell me before?"
"Speculation is a risky business, you wouldn't have allowed me!"
"So, you conveniently ignored my feelings?"
"Well..I just..."
"Shut up! You chose to speculate not just on stocks, but on me as well!"

From @chaosparticle: She called him as the train chugged away from the platform. There was room for a last conversation at the convocation. But they had speculated a callous dealing of emotions, which got the better of memories. Now as he heard her voice one last time, the call dropped. "Out of network coverage," the screen read.

From @deescjockey: There was an unmistakable spring in her step this morning. Noone had failed to notice the gradual brightening up of her choice in kurtas ever since Prof Madhavan joined. As her colleagues huddled in the staff room, sharing gossip and speculation of varying viciousness, they had no idea how close they were to the truth.

From @RBtrary: Holding hands and strolling beside the flower-beds; few stolen kisses and warm cuddles. World seems better, future looks bright and rosy.Time passes-by and possessiveness grows. For few the mind wanders and in come the commitment woes.Ever-changing speculations and infinite blind turns is what keeps the gamblers enthralled in the game called Love. 

From @sohamsabnis: Seed never speculates. It fall for the soil and longs for sunlight. It survives, cracks the soil and shoots towards the sky. It is never alone in that soil, with minerals and microbes; it grows and later learns to dance with the wind. Learning not to break, but to bend.

From @MirrorofErised_ : It didn't matter if it suited her choice, if the decision pleased her. All that mattered was what was fodder for the media. Her celebrity-status needed constant approval from her audience. One move wrongly played,  and her image would be tossed away like a defeated pawn in chess.

From @Whiteness: She was musing over an idea that came upon to her mind. It was so sudden that she could resist her own standards. After all, why should women always sacrifice her desires for the family? Without further speculation she savored the last gulab jamun that was left in the jar before her son could ask.

From @iyer_raman:  “Captain’s wicket, third ball of the next over, 10 to 1” said the old man, placing a fresh wad of notes. The wicket fell. He downed his drink, and collapsed, clutching his chest. The chairman smiled, pocketed the notes and then called for an ambulance. “Sorry son…shouldn’t have overheard…” were the old man’s last thoughts.

From @BeingInane: I waited for you to say something,something that will silent the ghosts in my mind.I know you are a man of few words,but people need reassurance.And I am no different.My assumptions ruined us.But how can you blame me ?..What more can an insecure mind do than speculate.

Theme 205 - Carnage

From @labellagorda: All he had ever wanted to do was maul those vicious beings that made him run, that mocked him with their stinking rubbery existence and drove him wild. Today it was his turn as he was finally faced with his nemesis: his master's Nikes! Today was the day for total carnage, thought the puppy!

From @thebongbabe: The five year old who played amongst the fields, the 12 year old who loved studying and wanted to become a pilot, the 16 year old who day-dreamed about her prince charming. They were all dead. Killed the instant she looked into the eyes of the rich, withered old man she was to call “husband”.

From @aaroo4: “So mom, I was wondering- can I not study history anymore?” Saul asked. “Honey, it is part of who we are. You need to learn that stuff” countered his mom. “ Eeks, reading about the appalling carnage in that war torn country makes me want to puke. I want to learn about robots” he whined.

From @RBtrary: When he released the trigger of his automatic machine-gun, blood drenched bodies lying there terrified him. Mental rehearsals used to be so different. Sight of the carnage that he’d caused killed him inside a thousand times before being shot by the police.

And a few-hundred miles away, across the border, they celebrated the terrorist’s ‘martyrdom’.

From @monathais:

The Blue Galaxy was puffing heavily.

There was space left for only one reincarnation.

Wherever you looked, you could see the same soul: crushed, mashed, bloodied, mutilated, slayed and consumed over and over again.

She had repeated the story for billions of years.

She was the master of her own carnage.

From @zoarcher: Rahul wore his anger and arrogance on his sleeve. Being the boss gave him the license to do so. He constantly kept his 200-strong team on tenterhooks by abusing them. While everyone braved the salvos, they silently died inside. One day, a braveheart finally raised his head and ended the daily massacre of everyone’s confidence.

From @vidulachakradeo: On a dreaded mission, he was Bill on the kill. He removed his weapons, wore his shield, gave his signature terrorizing laughter and jumped in the battlefield. “You all are dead” he screamed, massacring them one by one. They ran to save themselves. Just little roaches, they were no match for the mighty Bill X-terminator. 

From @divigyaan: The day has come. Preparations  are at their high. Guest list, check. Menu, check. Music, check. Kitchen is nothing but a war zone. Everything fresh is the criteria and carnage in the kitchen is the only way. Because, no chicken. No party. We are punjabis.

From @lucidillusions_ :

He sat there in the corner. He felt at peace; looking at the carnage he created. The sudden outburst, the violence, everything was over in a fraction. There they were, dead, burnt, a few still trying to run away from him.

He got up picked his magnifying glass and went in search for another ant-hill.

Theme 204 - Blind

From @shaaqt: Her drink was finished. Every time the door opened, she looked up, restless and hopeful, at its latest offering. And every time a man walked in, she hoped he wouldn't notice her or the shiny earrings she was wearing. She told herself that dating was bad for her heart, particularly the blind kind.

From @flirtingshadows: You were too enamored with his words, his lopsided smile and the simmering texts to notice the tell-tale signs. His tarrying, his lying, his vices. You always turned a blind eye to them all. There was little you could do, you admitted. And blinded by the light, you didn’t see me lurking in the shadows. 

From @tweettabulous: 

Strangers on a train exchanging flirty glances day after day. Weeks later, a bold step taken. Seduction led to throes of passion. The cold bathroom floor home to their unison. A night both wouldn’t forget, their bodies made to satiate each other.

Lying in bed, reminiscing how blinded by lust they forgot their marital vows.

From @swordfish19: 

The window rolled down and a hand holding a tenner came out. The note was placed in the outstretched palms of the beggar with dark eyeglasses.

The lights turned green and the car started moving. Suddenly, a crow swooped dangerously low and the beggar ducked. The astounded eyes saw this in the rear view mirror.   

From @ImNotThatWitty: I was standing there, not sure what to do. Once again in my life, I was blind to which road I should go. I wanted to go on a right path which leads me to glory. Both seemed easy and hard. I really wish, I had Captain Jack Sparrow's compass right now! .Is this the end ?

From @fungeetu: 

It's a long night. He wants to talk, there is no one around. The silence, the night are complete as is his solitude, his aloneness. He has put up with stuff in pasts,pain,barbs,bullets-life. But this here is his nemesis. His Achilles' heel. Indifference.

Complete.
Unconditional.
Fearless.
Cold.
Feral.
Blind.
Like love.

From @MirrorOfErised_ : The tinkling of her bangles notified me of her presence. The aroma of dal and rice mixed with her jasmine body odour wafted in the air. "Open your mouth, honey," her nightingale voice reverberated in my ears. Her touch sent shivers down my spine. In my world of black, she was my ray of sunshine.

From @divigyaan: Became a part of the cause. Fought his way and took it as a tast. He didn't know he was already the talk of the town.  Wagging his  tail he crossed the line but shockingly he disappeared in time. A stray, partially blind became the surprise element and the timeless story of the mumbai dream marathon.

From @vishalshriyan: He smiled as the child finished breakfast. It was a daily ritual. Even though she didn't know that he was with her. Nor that he wouldn't be around for long. The monitors showing his vital signs said so. He was thankful for the life across his hospital window. In the house with the open blind.

From @drun007: 

Pinkal read that love was blind. She never believed.

She finds her perfect love. Her world suddenly seemed different. Parents disapproving, friends advising, colleagues mocking.

"So what if my love is twice as old?"

"So what if my love is married?"

"So what if my love is a She?"

"It's magical for us."

Theme 203 - Wall

From @choasparticle: It once bore the marks of the bride's vermilioned palms. And the sons' graffiti in early years. Today it embodied estrangement between the brothers. The wall was dying. But even today, it allowed the widowed mother to hide her tears and wails in its crevices. "Thank God I ain't human", it seemed to say.

From @numbyaar: In the dark dingy room, the Emperor was suffocating. Darkness and loneliness hurt him less than deceit by his own blood. He knew he had to escape at any cost. In the end he was found dead and a wall bore testimony to his failed attempts. History however would call it a symbol of love.  

From @shekhartripathi: 

I woke in a small room. “How’d I get there? Was I dead? Kidnapped?”

Terrified, I scraped the wall. “Cardboard? Where am I? What is this place?”

Slowly I tore a hole to look through. By night I could wiggle through the hole.

“Was I free?” Exhausted!! I lay there tired and fell fast asleep!!

From @sermonsinstone: 

He wanted to paint the room blue. She preferred pink. Only a few days remained for the baby to arrive. They argued and argued.

*********

She was a shy little girl with rosy cheeks. They chose her at once. “What’s her name?” she asked. “Orange”, the matron said. They looked at each other and smiled. 

From @writingchalk: 

“Chote, I have a light saber, a .44 Magnum pistol, a pair of nunchucks and a Father Time scythe. What do you have?”

My elder brother laughed evilly. He ran at me with those deadly weapons.

Thankfully, my mom came between the two of us. I replied, tongue firmly in cheek, “Mere pass maa hai.”

From @tweettabulous: 

Dark complexion. Spectacled. Stout stature. Slight lisp.

Judgmental society sprout insecurities, lack of confidence and forced into a shell.

 

Books, the only true companion offered refuge. Excelled in School and college, secured a noteworthy doctorate. The world that shunned is rather welcoming now. Knowledge my weapon, shattering the cocoon I built around me...

From @swordfish19: 

There used to be a house with a red wall in our village. It used to fascinate us. Then, the war happened and we had to leave the village. 
Many years later when I went back, I saw that the red wall stood in the same place, majestically. However, the house was no longer there. 

From @zoarcher: 

I’m in the mood for some fun

Gliding, sliding, on a wild run

Catching flying treats on my slimy tongue

I then gotta hide behind hanging frames, run for my life  

Helter-skelter, slipping, yelping inside

When people hound

Trying desperately to stick on to the smooth surface  

Which for me, is my playground

From @fungeetu: 

He could see the wet highway. Sprawled endlessly in front, smelling of rides and memories past. But this seemed different. The smell, the sweat, the dream unrequisitioned, the desire, the promise unrequited. But he rides on hope. For riding is all he knows and he does it well before he crashes into a WALL From @quratzafar: The wall grew taller and the hearts grew fonder. 'What will it take to bring it down?' They whispered late at night. 'The death of several innocents, a carnage.' From @The_Lie_Lama: He only saw her a couple of times. Picking up newspapers through the apartment door, carelessly dressed, rubbing eyes, cursing the morning glare.        He wished she knew she had an ardent rooter this side of her bedroom wall. The room where she suffered being a shanghaied and abused wife. From @flirtingshadows: The wall was her canvas. A silent witness to her angst and its expressions. She wrote, painted and drove holes through it. Picking apart the peeling paint helped build concentration, she said. Scrubbing the color off it reinstated her belief in clean new beginnings. The wall was her punching bag, her confidante, her agony aunt.  From @vidulachakradeo: He had a long feud with God. Abandoned by father, penury burnt, baked him. Struggle killed his mother every day. He hated God. Then, one day, desperation to save his dying mother compelled him to seek God. “Aaj khush toh bahot hoge tum” screamed Vijay; resounding the unshakable stature of ‘the deewar’ of Indian cinema. From @MirrorofErised_ :  Her brutal life had thickened her soul, Her heart had but a hole. Tired of hanging emotions on her sleeve, She decided never to believe. Tormented, distressed she laid,  Inflicting pain with a blade. Life taught a lesson, She became a bitter person. Switching off her empathy, She built around herself a wall of insensitivity From @divigyaan;  Son: I don't want to study any further Father: huh? whats with you? Son: i don't need no education Father:  hmmm i see Son: what? It's my opinion dad. I think it is just another brick in the wall. Don't i think great? Father: son, i too am Pink Floyd fan. Now, get ready for school. From @vishalshriyan: He smiled as their son turned and blew a kiss. He knew she would put the child to bed. And come back and lay beside him. But not with him. Yet again he rued the one slip on his part. Nobody else knew, but he'd lost her forever that day. To a wall of silence.

Theme 202 - Tempt

From @flirtingshadows: Some days, when I hear the hum or feel the vibration announcing the arrival of a text message, I try my best to avoid looking at it right away. Ditto for a missed call. The suspense thrills me, with its myriad possibilities. It tempts me, like an uneaten chocolate, until I can resist no more.

From @zoarcher: The distance created by two years of separation stood between them. The party’s celebratory fervour was initially lost on them. As the night became darker, the music grew louder, the drunken revelry became wilder. A glance, a touch was all it would take. She ached to throw caution to the winds and tempt fate. 

From @ImNotThatWitty: " It's been almost 4 years now. But the memory is still fresh in my mind. I waited for the clock to struck 12 so I'll have a reason to speak with her again. I was being immature and childish but the temptation was at its peak to ignore. My heart was tempted by her beauty. "

From @iyer_raman:

 “He was here yesterday. Why didn’t you finish him off?” he hissed. Calmly, she pulled out an expertly concealed .32 colt.

“Ohh, neat” he said, and tapped on a cigarette. “For how much?”

“Ten” she said.

“I’ll give you 20”

She took a moment to consider. He clicked his lighter, and his bullet found her.

Theme 201 - Immediately

From @RuthSaldanha: ‘Change must come Immediately!’, she screamed, hysterical, her eyes darting over the sea of humanity, each as rabid as her. ‘All men are dogs! Death to them all!’ As the teeming mass below bayed for blood, she exited in triumph. She couldn’t be late. Her husband needed his dinner on the table sharp at 8.

From @roshd: Boss wanted the report. NOW. "Don't email it from home, but stay back and send it, NOW!" But she took the bus home. She'd email it from home. If he called her extension, it was forwarded to her cell. Also, he was too lazy to come down to her floor to check on her. Ta-dum.

From @flirtingshadows: She lived in the difference between urgent and important, in the fine line between a genuine mistake and careless error, in the gray between the completed and pending tasks. Every email was urgent, of the highest priority and had to be tackled immediately. It was a relay, a repartee and a volley, all at once.

From @vidulachakradeo: Tick tock tick tock. Slowly, at a snail’s pace. No. Slow enough to let a snail win. Taking baby steps. Mexican wave of yawns taking over. One experiencing all possible definitions of ‘waiting’. A queue drags till the end of patience. Even after that. And someone utters immediately “Aisa toh sirf India mein hota hai.”

From @kanakkupullai:

“Sir, I am leaving for the day.”
“So early?”
“I had informed earlier that I have to leave early,” he persisted.
“I want this work done, are you questioning me?”
“No.. it’s just..”
“I want this WORK DONE IMMEDIATELY!”
“Yes Sir! Right away.” He ran into his little cubicle and drowned into the messy paperwork.

From @divigyaan: Bring me my orange juice immediately. Switch on the AC NOWWW. I want to see my stylish right away. Need a new boy friend without delay. Her life wanted everything immediately. Hope, she doesn't behave the same when confirmed pregnant. 9 months is a long wait, if not patient, she won’t see the next she.

Theme 200 - People

From @awsmbong: She gave birth. Again. A lull in the family. It was a girl. The mother was worn out. Probably, the last she could bear a child. And, of herself. She wished to herself, a last wish as it were, as people are born with golden spoons, “She” should have been born with some cyanide in it.

From @tweettabulous: 

Happy people. Sad people.
Smart people. Dull people.
Fun people. Boring people.
Sweet people. Mean people.
Caring people. Selfish people.
Well read people. Blah people.
Honest people. Horrible people.
Loving people. Vicious people. 
Trusting people. Paranoid people.

Million people. Billion kind of people... In the world. Heart settles on him, the one I can't have.

From @kunalbaidmehta: There were hundreds of them. All had come together to show their humane side. Each of them believed that they were a good human being. As soon as they entered the alley, they were greeted with a row of mirrors. Not a single reflection of people. Each mirror reflected a beast, their inner evil! 

From @lucidillusions_ : 

"They make no sense ! No sense at all."

"They only see themselves in everyone,", he continued, "they never expect others to be nice to them, cause they always want something in return."

"Oh well God, I know how these people are daft down there. Remember I spent quite sometime with them, before they crucified me."

Theme 199 - Connect

From @viveklectic: 

He felt as he was drifting in a void without any purpose. This one day of his life had made him feel dissociated with those who lived around him.

He felt nothing toward this world.

In despair he shook his head and tapped his index finger once more. The broadband simply wouldn’t connect.

From @zoarcher: 

Riya (putting loudspeakers to shame): Rishi, why is our room always so messy?!! And today also your wet towel is on my side of the bed!!!

Rishi: You know darling….how many sixes Dhoni hit today?

Riya (few decibels louder): Is there any connect here?!!!

Rishi (laughingly): Yeah…One topic is your love…the other, mine.   

From @flirtingshadows:

The telephone was her favorite gadget. Connect a call for her and she’d be the happiest person. She had her priorities; the husband, had he taken his medicines; each of her sons; had they eaten breakfast; her grandchildren, what time were they heading home after school/college? A dial tone and a click, she was set. 

From @DNRamki: 

‘Hey guys, we have a problem. Look what he’s doing!’

‘What’s the matter?’

‘Can’t you see? He’s doing it all wrong. Doesn’t he know the numbers? I am number 5! He’s supposed to get here, not skip forward to 23 lying there!’

The little kid kept drawing random lines, oblivious to the tiny dot’s uneasiness. 

From @minolajekar: 

Her eyes look animated, her hands are making the appropriate gestures, her lips are definitely moving, may be words pouring out, but those words were not translating to sound to him.

This may be blind date #555, but there was just no spark, maybe his sister is right, what did she say emotionally distant?

From @lucidillusions_ : 

"Him.", he muttered. He looked around. "Ah! She'll be perfect."

He started generating random numbers. Each number resulting in random events. Each event resulting in them approaching closer.

 He tweaked the system, she stumbled, he caught her. They both felt something stir within.  "My work here is done," said Destiny,"another pair of soul-mates connected"

Theme 198 - Invent

From @kunalbaidmehta: 

Churning out stories from thin air!

Creating something on a page, where nothing existed moments ago. With every word, a chain is formed. A series of such chains is what leads to a creation. Sometimes the word limit of 55 keeps the chain small. But, if this is not an invention, then what is?

From @jhalli_talli: She was huge, white and black, cute, lovable. We were all very amazed to see the pregnant cat running with a huge tummy, it almost scared me how she would manage the process all by herself. In the evening we saw five kittens by her side; she mewed and purred showing us what she accomplished.

From @divigyaan: It is the only creation in this world that is possessed by one and all. It can solve problems and can let someone fall for you. You can use it as a weapon or charm, it completely depends on you. The inventor never claimed copyrights. He left it to the world to name it ‘SMILE’.

From @SaniaaSan: "In displeasures of daily life, in crowded elevators and minds: they created a space somewhere between each other, a place of perfect calm. In time, it turned into something they took immense pride in. This was their best secret invention ever."

From @DNRamki: 

Here in the real world, it seemed dull. The same cold people and their colder voices. It was all mundane, monotonous. Even stones seemed interesting.
But, in his very own world, people were interesting. They talked to him, made him laugh, and even danced with him. He liked this world.
Outside, the doctor said “Schizophrenia” 

Theme 197 - Runaway

From @flirtingshadows: It’s late Sunday night but you’re edgy, consumed by insomnia, Monday morning blues and creeping, nagging self-thoughts that have parked themselves in the head for the night. You try your utmost to rein in those runaway emotions, the fears and the self-doubts. But you feel yourself drown into a troubled sleep, shielded by droopy eyelids. 

From @vidulachakradeo: My hands touch the ‘ektara’. The strings sing a melody unheard. My feet swirl on the ground of ecstasy. My mind lost in the reverie of his memories.  My eyes see none but him. My body whirls in the air of love. They call me Merabai. But, I am a bride in a runaway marriage. 

From @DNRamki: The calendar read ‘Vacation @ Home’, but that was hardly the mood. They seemed to be squabbling, almost perennially. There was hardly any excitement remaining. It seemed like he wasn’t welcome anymore. It just didn’t feel right. Even at home, he wasn’t really home. He wanted to run away. 

From @SugarsNSpice: My eyes were wet and hands moist. Sweat trickled down from my head. This was no anxious fear, but a phobia. I was supposed to be happily excited, but than Raul was someone I met just a while back. He was perfect for the family. But, what about me? Hence, I became the 'Runaway Bride'.

From @zoarcher: The formidable walls, the air thick with breaths of callous indifference suffocated him. He knew he didn’t deserve to be in this hole-in-the-wall cell. He didn’t have blood on his hands. He had to escape. But then, how would he ever clear his name? He would always be identified as the convict who ran away.