Tales in the City Volume II

By Achal Mogla Rupali Patil, Mohammad Aga Hussain Andrea Cerdon and Chinmay Chakravarthy Sanjh Sabharwal

""A city isn't so unlike a person. They both have the marks to show they have

many stories to tell. They see many faces. They tear things down and make new

again."

― Rasmenia Massoud, Broken Abroad"

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ukiyoto Publishing
• Release date: Oct 26, 2022
• ISBN: 9789360495459

Book preview

Tales in the City

Volume II

Adapted into Short Film

Ukiyoto Publishing

All global publishing rights are held by

Ukiyoto Publishing

Published in 2022

Content Copyright © Ukiyoto

ISBN

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated, without the publisher’s prior consent, in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published.

Contents

Short Story by Rupali Patil

Short Story by Andrea Cerdon

Short Story by Sanjh Sabharwal

Short Story by Chinmay Chakravarty

Poem by Mohammad Aga Hussain

Short Story by Achal Mogla

Short Story by Kakoli Majumdar Ghosh

Short Story by Priyanka Joshi More

Poems by Navya Karey (Naveena)

About the Authors

Short Story by Rupali Patil

The Player

You look divine in this saree. It reminds me of the first time I saw you, Shekhar said, looking at her.

Sneha smiled and looked down at her feet pretending to adjust the pleats. He stood there, unmoved for a moment, but she didn’t look up. He sighed as he turned his back and started walking towards the door.

Your lunchbox is kept above the shoe rack, she said in a loud and hasty tone.

He waved her goodbye without looking back. She breathed a sigh of relief. This was her most favorite part of the day. It started right when he went off to work bearing the weight of the bills and she stayed indoors with ten hours to fill. She picked up the bowl of marigold flowers lying on the table and immersed her nose into it. That fragrance transported her straight to her childhood. For her, Diwali was always about a lot of marigold garlands hanging in the house. An effortless smile emerged on her face. She looked up and her eyes met Sid’s. His body leaned slothfully against the wall and his face carried a bothered look.

What? she said, rolling her eyes.

Why are you so cold towards dad? Since the time I have come home, I can see that he is being so nice to you but you just don’t reciprocate. Are you mad at him or something? Sid said, trying to make eye contact with her.

Why would I be mad at him? Sneha shrugged her shoulders and fixed her gaze on the needle again.

Then why don’t I see you two spending time together anymore? You never talk to him except about the stuff that is absolutely necessary.

Why does that concern you? That is how a mature marriage works. You left home 6 years ago and that’s a long time. His work pressure has doubled since then and I have so many responsibilities at home to fulfill. And honestly, I don’t like him talking to me romantically in front of you. I feel it’s totally inappropriate. What’s the need? She threw her hands in the air.

I think it’s cute! You are unnecessarily giving him a hard time with your….

"I don’t want to talk about it, Sid. Just because you have graduated, doesn’t mean you can discuss your parents’ married life with them, understand? Now will you please excuse me, I have tons of tasks to finish before tonight’s Pooja," she said, turning her back towards him.

Sid didn’t know what to say. Sneha had clearly indicated that she was not going to entertain this topic anymore. He just grabbed the car keys and left the house in a frenzy. Her words kept echoing in his head. She had changed a lot in the last couple of years. Sid could feel her indifference towards his father. They never fought or argued with each other but an invisible tension never left the room that they shared. Sid was sure that his mother had a major role to play in this. He was watching that his father was trying to add charm in their married life with one thing or another but it seemed like nothing could make her happy. No amount of thinking and driving around the traffic in Mumbai could lead him to any conclusion. Rather, the reckless driving on streets and potholes made him regret his decision to go on a drive. That is when he decided to head back home.

When he returned, it looked like a whole new place. Dozens of candles and clay lamps were placed throughout the living room and the balcony had numerous hanging garlands and lamps to light up the dark night. Sneha walked out from the kitchen and Sid’s eyes got fixated on her. She looked flawless in the cherry red silk saree that was neatly draped around her petite body frame. Her long silky black hair was neatly set in a bun. She wore some light makeup but it couldn’t hide those few wrinkles on her beautiful brown face. Rare gray streaks appeared in her lustrous hair. Although age had done its part, she had the same infectious smile and eyes that spoke a thousand words in a look.

As she walked around the room, she noticed Sid standing at the door and staring at her. She smiled at him and gestured to him to change his clothes. He smiled back and headed towards the bedroom. He slowed down at the door that was locked from inside. Surprised, he started knocking. After a few seconds, Shekhar opened the door and appeared relieved to see his son.

What were you doing in my room, dad? Sid was taken aback by this sudden seizure of his room in his absence.

Look, I have bought a diamond necklace for your mother as a Diwali gift. I couldn’t keep it in our room, else she would have found it. So I had to hide it in your closet. I hope you understand, Shekhar said in a pleading voice.

Aren’t you the cutest? Sid said adorably, punching his father’s shoulder.

Well, now I will go, freshen up and change. You too get ready and come out soon, okay? Shekhar left Sid’s room hurriedly, closing the door behind him. Sid was still smiling when his chain of thoughts was disrupted with the incessant beeping.

Ting…ting…ting…ting

Sid’s eyes fell on the mobile phone resting on his bed. It was his dad’s phone. He seemed to have forgotten it there. Sid picked it up and glanced at the screen. He felt weak in the knees to see the flashed text message from someone named Garima. Since the screen was locked, he couldn’t read the first three messages that appeared on it as unread notifications, but the last one came right when he was looking at the screen. There were three kissing emoticons in that message. Sid’s eyes widened for a moment and the last message also started appearing as an unread notification the next moment. He couldn’t believe his eyes. There was no way to validate what he had just seen as he had no clue about the