Theme 157 - Illusion

From @gauravjagwani: She saw them all rise and applaud. She joined. To her surprise, she easily got to the backstage. On meeting the man, she said, 'That was some magic.'They are all mere illusions', said he. 'Does it matter? You got a standing ovation!' 'Exactly! Mere illusions. You are the only one backstage, no?' She was.

From @vivekisms: "We live with our illusions. Don't we?", he asked him. Waiting for a response. Something to hang on to. Goodbyes need something to hold on to. "Yes we do", he responded, smiling, knowing what his answer meant.

From @maruwahna:

Now why did the local area network stop working? Bah , battery backup issues , they claim. Hogwash !
I start fiddling around with the wifi settings.
OMG YAAY OPEN NETWORK! CONNECT CONNECT !
Connected and google chrome opened.
*Please enter your credit card details to start using the internet.*
ydjid!#948#!

From @brownicetea: Been ugly for so long that when called pretty she feels uncomfortable. From that tiny cocoon to the caterpillar it was a tough journey to be a butterfly. She is used to the fact of being ugly. Now that colours have been splashed on her, she is scared a bit. All of this seems like a lie, just an illusion. Everyone is going to end up Ugly.

From @kunalbaidmehta:

Samir woke up with a startle.
Was this a nightmare? Or was this real?
Was he really lying on the hospital bed? Or was that also part of a dream that he was still having?
What was reality and what was an illusion was something he had to decipher.
The hash brownies had played their trick.

From @quratzafar: She contemplated the syringe infront of her. The drug would get her high and grant oblivion. She knew it wouldn't be enough though: that man had made her feel loved and protected and no illusion felt better than that.

From @viveklectic:

The chimera of money was more attractive than the living world around him.

Running after his dreams like mirages he lost his first love, then friends, family was the last to go.

Sitting all alone at the mahogany table of success the old man reflected at the illusion of life.

From @nefritri: Simon was the world’s greatest illusionist. He could walk on water, be invisible. One day he saw her standing across the road, he rushed to meet her & was hit by a car. Before dying, he saw that it was just a life size poster of her.  The illusionist was killed by an illusion.

From @tweettabulous:

His charm captivated me. He stirred emotions that were long gone, made me believe in love again. Those endless conversations, the passionate love making and blissful moments spent together.
I caught him with another woman.
Mind fucked.
Psyche shattered.
All a facade.
Realized, I was just his muse and he played the perfect “Grey Illusionist.”

From @lucidillusions_ :

She closed her eyes, she knew they were deceiving her. She could still hear him, commanding her. She opened her eyes and he looked at her angrily. She could never realize how her hallucinations could be so lucid.

Never once did she thought that she herself was an illusion, and he the reality, the creator.

From @Greyllusionist: You exist. Right behind my ears, whispering amidst the noise. Hiding behind the clouds, keeping the silver line lit for me. In the ripples of my bed, infusing dreams in my sleep. They’ve garlanded a frame of yours but they aren't aware you come alive for a red rose and that fav chocolate of yours…

From @divyasangwan:

Meher & Sameer had dreams of seeing their only daughter, Syra,a pretty girl,getting married to a guy of their choice.

One fine morning, Syra was missing from her bedroom. she was searched everywhere, only to be found later that she had eloped with her boyfriend.

Alas! Her parents were living in an illusion.

Theme 156 - Romance

From @aaroo4: “Please don’t tell Earl about my illness. We have made plans to go to Venice this month end, ride on the gondola during sunset under the bridge of sighs. It is said your love will be eternal if you do. I want to die cherishing the romance, the 60yrs of togetherness” she told her doctor.

From @Pscripturient: The doctor’s waiting room boils with pain and joy. Open bottles of chemistry, the cackling of impatient phones, and heartbeats of their anxious fortnightly meetings. He pretends to work on a dead phone; she reads a magazine upside down. They are both here to talk of broken hearts. A new romance is in the offing.

From @swordfish19: We reached Mirik and walked by the lake, our hands held together. She wanted a horseback ride, but I wasn’t up to it. So we took a boat ride instead. A dense cloud of mist had gathered on the lake. We could barely see beyond a couple of feet. Our hands were still locked.

From @quratzafar: The air is thick with romance and it feels right. He with his peppered hair and haphazardly buttoned sweater, a book lying beside him...but does he feel it?

Nah, he's in love with my sister.

From @wannabesanyasin: Two whole years. She might have called her a friend but it certainly wasn't just that. She saw her. Hugged her real tight. Looked into her eyes. Tears trickled down. Their breaths merged and she started shivering. She held onto her, tightly.  As the alarm cried out loud, she found herself romancing, in her dreams.

From @flirtingshadows: Dear Ganapati, Thank you for helping me rediscover the joy and romance called Bombay. I’ve relished the food, prayed with fervor and reveled in the devotion. But I loathe the cacophony we subject you to, as we celebrate your arrival, presence and departure. Promise you’ll do something about it the next year? Much love, Me.

From @roshd: It was the fairytale wedding of the century. Heir to the throne marries the beautiful 18year old girl. What killed the romance? The return of his ex-girlfriend or her unreal expectations? The truth crashed in the tunnel chased by the paparazzi. He remains the heir. She has long since been canonized ‘The Queen of Hearts'.

From @dneha: "Romance is a delightful playlist of lovers. Each story has its own peculiar OST. Each lover/maestro immortalizes his tune with her. 2002– Talk Tonight by Oasis, 2005 – Fake Plastic Trees by Radio head, 2010 – Big Jet Plane by Angus and Julia Stone. She leaves them with a nonchalantly honest 29 yrs by The National (2002-present)"

From @monathais:

Her sweet tongue was circling the words, while her lips honeyed them out in a musical string.

Les plantes de l'amour - les aphrodisiaques et leurs usages.

The man in the front row was undressing her with his eyes. His heart had been conquered.

Her striking beauty was hiding in the Romance language she spoke.

From @slokabs:

Sunshine, flowers, butterflies and birds;
Darkness, candles, soft and special words;
From see to sense to touch to feel;
A sense of belonging, every lover's dream!
Happiness in conversation, comfort in silence,
Solace in togetherness, a divine confluence;
Maybe a kiss or a hug or simply a fleeting look;
Each time, the emotion, privately understood!

From @asteroidosmic:

"Let's blast it."
"No! That will only create more debris."
"Let's deflect it."
"How?"
"With an impactor"
"We've never tried this before. How big an impactor? What if we fail?"
"Sorry we cannot fund you."
The asteroid hit Jupiter. Our silent, ever vigilant guardian. Of course it remained unaffected, big fat giant that it is.

From @whiteness: They met in painting exhibition. They exchanged smiles and got acquainted quickly. They decided to have a conversation over coffee, in restaurant they touched each others' legs and behaved casually as if it happened accidentally. They discovered that they both love classic films and European languages. By evening, they had drinks and then kissed goodbye.

From @nishantways: He goes to the beach often these days. Alone, you can say. There are lots of couples walking the beach, hand in hand. He doesn’t envy them. He has someone with him always. Up there. He smiles at her. She romances with him every moment. Can he be alone? No, he can’t. He is never.

From @ponderpuffman: Summer Insufficient words. Fulfilling silences. Curious touches. Playful distances. Purposeful hurts. Accidental cares. Attentive ignorances. Carefree gestures. Pleasant abuses. Awkward pleasantries. Winter Delicate trust. Robust hope. Secret whispers. Loud affections. Forever breaths. Momentary arguments. Rains One umbrella. Infinite cups and saucers. Long poems. Short naps. French songs. Unexplainable vows. Same love. Different kind of romance.

From @absoluteme: The skip in her stride The chuckle in her laughter Did you notice it? Her desk got tidier You could hear her hum all the time So apparent! She started loving kids She even complemented the canteen cook! When inquired, she just smiled shyly. But she went overboard when she wore pink glasses to office!

From @Greyllusionist: romance, n.: You called in for the flowers and candles and the aromas for the evening. I came absolutely empty handed to the twinkle of your eyes, sparkle of your smile and the scent of your sweat.

From @vivekisms: He couldn't leave him. He didn't expect him to leave his wife. The situation was strange and yet there was love. No morals. No judgment. Just the idea of a walk on a beach. Accidental touching of fingers. Or maybe not. Just.

From @tweettabulous: Every time I rose in love. There's no falling I believed. Some affairs were casual, others meaningful passionate ones, few were short-lived just for the heat of the moment and the rest provided solace to the soul.

Each in their own way have made me who I am today.Books how much I cherish thee.

Theme 155 - Gesture

From @krishna_marathe: They met at the party. He remembered her as the woman who knew what she wanted. She wanted to walk away; she did. Silver lining from clouds reflected in her tresses now. She smiled and hugged him...tight. it wasn't a gesture, it was SOS.

From @slokabs: The traffic cop directed the unruly traffic with his hands.  A woman coyly winked at someone across the road. He waved and nodded!  Another woman scorned, pretending to slap a rickshaw driver on almost getting hit. Nayan’s view from the pavement was abruptly blocked by the white van marked “Sunshine school for the deaf and mute”.

From @swordfish19:

Karim stood stranded under the awning of a shop and watched the rain fall heavily. He was just two blocks away from office.
“Would you care to walk with me?” A man with a large umbrella asked him.
“Thanks” beamed Karim.
Outwardly, a nice gesture, but little did Karim know that he was a pickpocket.

From @xmanishaa:

They met. Fell in love. Were happy. Everything fell apart suddenly. Cancer came in their way.
He loved her a lot. Never made her feel like they would ever part.
She always remembers him while putting the reddest of roses on his grave.
A small gesture made him feel loved while being in heaven.

From @roshd: The couple was seated at the next table at the restaurant having a rollicking conversation, laughing uncontrollably. Her eyes were moist with mirth and she was glued to each word coming from him. I felt like such a retard sitting there, watching them, yet not understanding a word of their beautiful sign language.

From @deescjockey: The woman placed the padded ring on her head and another labourer started piling the bricks over it. She had five more trips to make to the first floor of the building under construction. Her two-year-old picked up a broken brick and started toddling along with her. She laughed at the useless but well-meaning gesture.

From @bright_eclipse:

Hello. You are gorgeous. I am sorry, but I couldn’t resist. I adore your beauty. I am usually not an extrovert... but the frown on your beautiful face was very disturbing... so I thought of sharing a little bit of my happiness...

The mute boy went on and on. The blind girl simply didn’t care.

From @tweettabulous: My friends called me stupid. But I couldn't let go of him.  He was married. There's no future they said.But he managed to soothe the mayhem of my soul, bring happiness to my mundane life and provide tranquility to the mind. His daily messages kept me sane... How could I give it up?

Theme 154 - Disgrace

From @slokabs: She walked like a princess, twirled like a dream. The audience watched, awestruck by her beauty and poise. Suddenly, without warning, her bustier gave way. Grasping it just in time, she scurried backstage. The audience murmured in disbelief. No applause, no sympathies. One dark moment had brought the curtains down on her illustrious modeling career.

From @roshd:

“This Peter turned out to be a disgrace even in death”
“Why is that? What happened? How did he die?”
“Well, he fell from grace.”
“Whaat?”
“Yup. Lily refused to marry him”
“So?”
“Grace Apartment is the 12 storeyed building where Lily lived”

From @purplebrains: We are all guilty of having disgraced our ten year old selves. In having forgotten and sold off our many dreams, wishes, hopes and faith, we became what we had tried to deny. Becoming skeptical of rainbows and imaginary friends, we no longer remain children of any God. Therein lies our punishment for each sin.

From @tweettabulous:

We longed for it. It came. It blew our minds. It taught us beautiful lessons.
It gave others hope. The world went gaga over it.
His immense talent was the talk of the town. New Superstar.
We were proud. We had finally made something “different”
Till the videos came out and it reeked of plagiarism.

From @PeaceOVent: She danced to the tune of the beats. She moved like she was being tamed by a snake charmer. Everyone was riveted. All eyes were on her. Then the song ended. The patrons came to her and threw Rs 10 notes at her. The life of a bar dancer.

From @eklavyagupte: The freedom speech that you delivered was incomplete without your head on our shoulders. Yet you chose to run away the exact moment when we needed you the most. You told us that heavyweights fight for power and that lightweights fight for freedom. I am sorry to say you were nothing but a disgrace.

From @rajaet: Amidst the market ,she clutched the cleaved penis in her hand. Hands and clothes, flushed in blood. The dead manhood-less body of the man did not completely satisfy her vengeance for the disgrace he brought upon her.
The people around could only talk about how disgraceful was it for a woman to be so gutsy.

From @mitchellez: She knew pure love. She had known it since she was six. She had accepted Him as her spouse and was not afraid to say it out loud. She abandoned her family, riches and fame. She sat among sages and danced on the streets. She was in love with Gopal and her name was Meera.

From @deescjockey: 'Honour' might sound like an abstract thing to you, growing up in your pretty little homes with nothing to ever question your sense of who you are. You never spent your days scraping your life together, an abstract idea of honour the only thing keeping you sane. Of course, my disgrace means nothing to you.

Theme 153 - Fall

From @aaroo4:

“Listen to me carefully- close your eyes, and fold your arms on your chest” he instructed her.

“Ok, now what?” she asked impatiently.

“Now, remember, no questions”, he said in a tone that meant business.

“Hmm” she mumbled.

“Just let go & fall backwards”, he said.

“What the …”she stopped herself, landing  into his arms.

From @swordfish19: It was a strange day. First there was snow. Then it rained, turning the snow to sludge. Then there was hail, large pellets of it. We stayed indoors. Then, just before night fell, the power went off in our suburb. It was as dark as the inside of an infidel. We fell asleep somehow.

From @MsTitli: Aadi was the perfect guy for her. They were best friends until Aadi realized his part of love.Today after 30years of marriage, he still gives her a rose everyday saying "a rose for my beautiful rose". She never aimed at falling in love, she wanted to rise in love, and she rose!

From @slokabs: It was storytime for class 3-D of Sunshine High. The teacher was animatedly relating to her students the story of Hitler. Some listened intently, some pretended to. She didn't notice little Abhay's head lilting sleepily. "And thus, he fell, only to rise!", she completed the chapter. At that precise moment, Abhay’s forehead hit the table!.

From @deescjockey: Grandpa sighed as I wheeled him around the ruins. "I shot some of my best scenes right here. You won't believe how young girls fawned upon me..." We did this every year, visiting the old studio, reliving his days in the limelight. This visit in 1972 was to be our last.

From @visualizashan:

I fucking hate when your questions question my answer to your question. I hate when my sensible explanations don't make sense,when you move your face away when I try to kiss you.  May be you no longer have the value and respect that you once had for me.

Today's word is 'Fall' not 'Hate'.

From @tweettabulous:

He was known as the King of the share market, had amassed a huge empire with grandeur assets.His judgments were trusted blindly. Friends would entrust their hard money with him. He’d always given them profits.That autumn brought sheer misfortune. He filed for bankruptcy and was forced to sell his possessions.

TIME:  The Fall.

From @roshd:

“OK I’m an unemployed drunkard but your mother’s no angel. D’you know what ‘work’ she did? She was a whore”, he spat on her as she sobbed.

Ravi hugged and kissed  his mother.

“I’m even more proud of her now. If you’re still here after one hour I’ll strangle you to death you worthless pimp.”

From @MinolAjekar:

It was meant to be casual. Booty call. Friends with benefits. No emotionality. Fun and games and sex.  A plus one for those hard times.

Falling in love was not the plan of action, in any way or form.

From @vivekisms: He was forewarned. He was told. He had gone through it before. And yet it happened. Once again. Yet. Logic was shown the window. He fell in love. One more time.

From @ladycardiidae: "This is my fall from grace," she said. It was the death of her self-respect. The last of it. "I let them undress my conscience," she said, as she gathered her belongings into a tethered carton. As she stepped out of the 9-5 whirlpool, there arrived a blue envelope which pushed her back into it.

Theme 152 - Furtive

From @roshd: It's open house day in school. He is chatting with other parents. She looks at him furtively from across the room. Looks are exchanged. After their respective turns meeting the teacher they go their own separate ways. Not all games are played to win. Some are played for the love of the game.

From @CruciFire:

“I will kill you if you don’t tell me.”

“I am the wrong person.”

“TELL ME!”

“Why don’t you understand… it would be the height of irony!”

“FUCK YOU! Just tell me what I need to know so that I can start writing my story.”

“OK FINE! The meaning of Furtive is sly, secretive. Happy?”

From @aar004: He sat there nursing his drink, the meetings were done and he had the evening all to himself. The bartender poured a shot, pushing the glass towards him. He looked up, surprised. The bartender signaled with his head. There she was! Furtive glances, waiting for a signal, a response.. He smiled coyly.. Their glasses clinked..

From @The_Bufffmaster: Those glances from her window towards the end he lived, where they exchanged stories meagrely through eyes. Those sneak outs to his room jumping through terraces while everyone was asleep, and then, grazing the stars till the morning birds sang. Teardrops roll down today while holding her ring, as she remembers those magical furtive moments.

From @viveklectic: Thoughts of revenge clouded her mind. He had used her for too long. He had forbidden her from talk about their furtive relationship.She saw the light in his room. She pressed the doorbell and waited. As she heard the shuffling footsteps inside, she felt the bulge of solid steel in her handbag.

From @MinolAjekar:

She sat on the bar stool, legs firmly clasped together, like a lady. But those closed legs held a secret, a secret that makes her cold.

She was sure her secret was safe but the guilty unease kept her on edge. She only went commando to inspire her drummer boyfriend’s debut performance.

From @kunalbaidmehta: Sitting at a cafe in Paris, Raul kept giving furtive glances to Lolita while sipping his cup of coffee.Anyone noticing this would have thought Raul to be shy and not being able to walk across and speak to her. No one knew that Raul was a detective hired to keep a watch on Lolita.

From @tweettabulous:

She was the new intern and had the deepest green eyes. Her effervescent nature got my attention and soon I was in love with her. We moved in together.She sent me a sext and I rushed home. House. Empty. Nothing left. She had disappeared.

If only, I paid heed to the brain’s warnings…

From @sinpinklove: She stood there making slight furitive glances as the police were conducting their enquiry about a lost necklace of the maharaja era. She, being with them for many years was treated as a family member and not subject to any questioning. They had no knowledge of her ailing husband and his expensive treatment.

Theme 151 - Brazen

From @aaliznat:

"I've been stuck for 2 days now thinking of an adjective that would be perfect for her open, fierce, I don't care what you think I will do my own thing personality."

"Brazen."

"What?"

"Use brazen."

"Its an anagram for a zebra with an n."

"So, the stripes have changed, that's all."

From @MsTitli: They were caught by a cop near the highway in a car. They were scared and the cop was shouting from the top. Out of anger and fear, he acted brazenly and roared, go find out your son and daughter first then search for others, and drove away!

From @roshd:

All the cute guys were self obsessed and the plain guys were well... boring. So unlike her jijaji. She was getting tired of decking up to meet prospective grooms coming home to 'interview' her.

"Maasi wants to know what she should reply to that engineer-boy's folks". Her mom called out, "Tell them to f**k off"

From @kunalbaidmehta: Having always been a topper Derek didn't want to miss it this time either. But this time it was different. He was caught cheating. Instead of being brazen about it, he broke down. The death of his mother a month back didn't allow him to prepare and his first attempt at cheating had fallen flat.

From @aaroo4: “Look at her, man- standing tall, defending herself against those hooligans. She is my kinda girl” Max beamed. “Gah, she is just being stupid, going to get hurt or scared & come back with her tail tucked between her legs” Carl smirked. “Take that, they retreated. She truly is awesome, my brazen gal” purred Max. 

From @minolajekar:  She walked tall and proud and looked into their eyes. It was like she was peering into their soul. They were the criminals here, making her parade nude, for what a biological accident of inferior birth. She could hear cries of brazen whore, but she walked taller and prouder.

From @mitchellez: She laughed at his face. He was not man enough to take her on. He drank, lost his control and bruised her with words or whatever he got his hands on. “What do you know about love, you prostitute?” He’d ask. She had had enough but decided to brazen it out, “It hurts,” she said

From @Crucifire:

2 years of their relationship and all he could muster was a 1st base, once. He was desperate. And restless.  Tonight was his birthday.

She came over, sat on his lap and let her shawl fall to the floor.

Red lingerie held up her soft, supple breasts.

He was at peace.

BraZen moment it was!

From @bright_eclipse:

He sat. She swung.
He cleared his throat. She pointed at the glass of water.
He drank. She burped.
He spat on her. She guffawed.
He offered her his kerchief shyly.
She removed her t-shirt and winked at him seductively.
6months later, the Shy Pervert and the Brazen Bitch tied the knot.