Retake!

Hello, dear readers, First things first. I bow down in gratitude to all of you who have kept supporting me so far. (ﾉ >-<)ﾉ It means a lot to me. Without your support, I would have lost my motivation to write long ago. So, thanks a lot! My city is being hit by thunderstorms a lot lately. Power outages are very frequent. Although it’s not raining much but it’s almost always cloudy. Hard to dry our clothes, lol. {(>_<)} I, for no reason, find myself nostalgic when it rains. Do you feel the same? Well, I think the monsoon will hit sooner this year. Almost half of the summers were skipped this year due to frequent rains. Global warming is showing its effects sooner than we expected, right? It could just rain anytime. That's how unpredictable weather has become here. So, keep an umbrella with you whenever you are going outside and it’s cloudy, everyone. ((^∀^)) Now, with the end of chapter 6, Act 1 of the story comes to an end. It’s definitely not the end. If anything, it’s ...

So, previous chapters saw the usage of few more bangla words. Let me clear their meanings real quick! Bhat-Badi - It’s also known as Mukhe-Bhat, or just Bhat (Bhat means Rice). In many other parts of India, it’s instead called Annaprashan. It is a ceremony to celebrate the introduction of solid food to an infant. In Indian culture, the child cannot eat rice until the annaprashana has occurred. It's typically performed around six months of age and signifies the baby's transition from exclusively breastfeeding or formula-feeding to solid food. Like all the Bengali rituals, it accompanies a feast to behold. Ghorer shotru Vibhishon -  It could be translated to “House’s enemy Vibhishon”. It’s an old saying about having a traitor or enemy right inside your own house, or among your close ones. Yeah, it’s taken from the Ramayan. Ravan’s brother Vibhishan (spelt Vibhishon in Bangla) betrayed him and sided with Lord Ram. So that’s the little backstory about this Idiom. I think they have ...

BEEP BEEP BEEP BE- “Okay, a new morning this is.” I got up and extended my arms upwards. I took a deep breath and sat on the bed. “I feel butterflies,” I said, holding my stomach. Whenever I thought about what happened last night, I could not help but feel a strange sense of happiness and confidence inside me. “Could it be that Chhaya had fallen fo-” I quickly covered my face with my hands and fell on my bed, curling up like a caterpillar. “No, no, no. This cannot be true.” If you were to see me, I would look more like a red-faced caterpillar. However, I have never seen one in real life. “Hehehehe” I kept giggling like a child for several minutes, still lying on my bed. “WAKE UP AHAN! You will be late for school,” my mother screamed from the kitchen. It seems her voice could be heard by the neighbours as well. “YES! I am awake now.” I controlled myself and got up from the bed. “Wow, I feel so much better already. Might just skip brushing my teeth today.” That thought crossed my mind. I...

CREAK SHUT “...” I closed the main door behind me and began walking across the street. The month has changed. It was already the last month of the year. No, Christmas is still very far. Yet, the winds have picked up their pace. They were almost kicking me in the stomach through my double-layered jacket. As the wind blew past me, it accompanied a bunch of dry leaves and some winter insects. Winters suck but this was the worse.  I was walking through the neighbourhood towards the market area. The sky was clear blue with no streaks of white running across. “Ah, just like that day,” I said aloud. As I walked past the station, I was in the market area now. The variety of shops one can find here is limitless. There was a newspaper shop, bakery, restaurants, coaching centres, banks, consultancy offices, game centres, medical shops, movie theatres and anything you would ever need in life. I wondered if there are people who have visited every single building in this area.  “That person...

Hello readers! Last chapter saw usage of a few Bangla words. Yes, they were in Bangla, if you didn't know. The story is set in Kolkata, so I had to add some cultural aspects to it. But let me clear up their meanings quickly: Luchi - It's called 'Puri' in most other parts of India. It's a type of flatbread, but deep-fried. So yeah, it is a bit unhealthy, only if you eat it everyday though. Alur-Dom - It's called 'Dum-Aloo' in most other parts of India. Alur-Dom is the variant used in the West Bengal and Odisha regions. It's contains medium-sized potatoes dipped in a spice-rich gravy. Combined with Luchi (Puri), it's a commonly served breakfast in the West Bengal region, although it's also served on special occasions. Bolta - She is Mishti's dog. 'Bolta' in Bangla means Wasp. She named her dog a wasp. Well, because it's a Chihuahua! Di - 'Di' is a common suffix in Bangla, used to address a young woman who is older than y...

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEE- “Ah, I didn’t have any sleep last night,” I murmured as I turned off my alarm. “ARGH! Why did it go into snooze now?!” What is the purpose they give the snooze option for? The only reason I use it is by mistake. I disabled the alarm clock in the app and re-enabled it, effectively turning off the snooze. I got up on my bed and scratched my hair, fixing the bends. After sitting for a while, I got up and went to the washroom.  What happened last night? What did I do to make her so furious? Does she hate taking photos? But she was clearly overreacting. She could have just denied me and ended there. I didn’t force her either. But she overreacted to the idea and went off. Is there something more than that? Something I was not able to catch back then? CLINK-FLOOOSH Think, think, think. What am I missing? Something I could not notice about her. BRUSH-BRUSH-BRUSH She was late, then she suddenly appeared out of nowhere. We then had our first photography ses...

“Damn, I’m late!” By the time I reached our meeting spot, it was already 6 PM. The moon has risen, but it was hidden by a layer of black clouds. They were so thick that no light coming from the moon could pass. It was only a translucent shadow that told the position of the moon. “Man, why does this building have no lift?!” I murmured while climbing up to the roof. I wondered if Chhaya was already there. Come to think of it, she did ask me to come a little early, but that little runt, Ishika. Well, she might not be that bad. After all, thanks to her, I got the stuff I needed. She also behaved exceptionally nicely after that with me, it’s quite concerning. I never thought she, of all people, would come out to help me. It does feel bad to accept such an expensive gift, honestly. But I think I will just have to repay her someday. Yeah, that will do. “Huh, Chhaya is not here yet?!” I exclaimed as I climbed up to the roof. It was completely empty. There were no tripods or any other equipment...