https://blog.karthikrp.com/tags/fiction/Recent content in fiction on ReflectionsHugo -- gohugo.ioen-us© Karthik Ramaswamy PadmanabhanThu, 18 Jan 2024 17:27:24 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/motorcycle-diaries/Thu, 18 Jan 2024 17:27:24 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/motorcycle-diaries/If you were to happen upon the intersection of Ranga Road and West Circular Road in the suburbs of the South Indian city of Chennai on a hot summer afternoon in 2002, you might think something odd was happening. You would come across a group of people staring intently and/or expectantly at an older man in the middle of the street. The crowd would consist of about 20 people, with the average age skewing towards the younger side.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/finding-a-partner-in-crime/Thu, 30 Mar 2023 22:26:25 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/finding-a-partner-in-crime/“You gents need some women in your life.” I heard Melissa’s voice coming from inside the bathroom. “I have not seen a dirtier place in my life.” I turned to look at Santosh, my roommate who was sitting on the other end of the couch in the living room, half in embarrassment, half in amusement. He stared back at me with a similar mix of emotions. We were actually not going to be roommates for long.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/love/Mon, 24 Jan 2022 22:18:47 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/love/Love. It is very hard isn’t it? Being in love. It certainly brings unbound joy and amazing experiences on several occasions. But sometimes, it only gives you pain and sadness. And during those especially sad moments, it is incredibly painful and agonizing. You can tell fairy tales are made up simply because most of them do not talk about these hard times. They mostly focus on the happily ever afters.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/3pm/Thu, 19 Nov 2020 22:21:25 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/3pm/Ding, dong! The shrill noise of the doorbell broke the heavy silence that currently occupied the house at 1521 Rosewood Way, Minneapolis, Minnesota. The floor creaked as fifty-four-year-old Chinmayi Venkatesan walked from the kitchen and looked through the peephole before opening the door. She managed to catch a glimpse of the delivery UPS truck leaving the driveway. She glanced at the name of the sender as she picked up the cardboard box at the doorstep.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/summer-of-98/Wed, 30 Sep 2015 22:14:48 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/summer-of-98/The giant clock in the living room read 4.55 pm as Shenaz Treasuryvala chose yet another ridiculous-looking letter from out of her pile. Ten year old Nitin closed his eyes. He couldn’t take the suspense. He knew that everyone else in the room was tense too. He could hear his eldest cousin sitting next to him silently uttering a prayer to the Almighty under her breath. Please be the Titanic song.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/love-at-work/Sat, 30 Jan 2010 22:11:52 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/love-at-work/I hated to work on Saturday evenings. Especially since all my roommates would be enjoying in Kilroy’s Sports Bar, while I would be cleaning up trash, or serving burritos. That Saturday, I was put up at the Italian food joint, and it was particularly busy. I had never seen so much crowd before, and it was tiring. The only solace was that Hafize was working in a place right opposite to mine.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/game-over/Sat, 15 Aug 2009 22:05:32 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/game-over/“Welcome to Indianapolis!”, the driver announced as the shuttle entered the airport. Though it was the second time I was going to Indy, something about the place looked unfamiliar to me. Maybe it was the weather? I didn’t know. It was kind of chill and foggy when I got down from the shuttle. There was the scent of rain, but I hoped it wouldn’t rain, at least not till I get back inside the safety of my apartment.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/the-trip-to-somewhere/Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:00:14 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/the-trip-to-somewhere/The bus finally screeched to a halt by late evening. We were starving. It had been a nine hour travel, with no stops in between. The roads had been terrible, and the bus equally pathetic. All of us were suffering from backache, and we badly needed food and some sleep. We set off in search of a hotel. We started walking along the crowded and noisy road that seemed more likely to have a hotel.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/the-lilliput/Thu, 05 Mar 2009 21:57:24 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/the-lilliput/Saturday, July 11 2009 It was nearly evening when I reached Senate Hall where the specimen was to be kept for display. The place was crowded with so many people such that it looked as if there was a carnival going on. The excitement was understandable. The discovery was amazing, almost next to impossible. Before this, people had discovered fossils of new dinosaurs, a few Jurassic age insects, and stuff like that.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/valentines-day/Sat, 14 Feb 2009 21:44:29 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/valentines-day/My first attempt at 55Fiction: She watched as her love crossed the road and came towards where she was sitting. She knew he was going to propose today, the 14th February. He looked tense. Understandable. “I wanna tell you something.” “Yes?” She waited for the three words to come out of his mouth. “I am gay.”https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/the-story-of-muthu/Sat, 07 Feb 2009 21:42:38 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/the-story-of-muthu/Muthu was an ordinary individual. He was as ordinary as you and me, and all other ordinary human beings in the world. Muthu was a trader. He was always honest, and never tried to cheat any of his customers. He wouldn’t even think about it. All his goods were of top quality, and so all the people flocked to buy his wares. He sold them very cheap, and so didn’t get much profit.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/iam-a-snake/Thu, 15 Jan 2009 21:41:20 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/iam-a-snake/My pleasant salutations to all the human beings out there. My name is Raven, and I am a King Cobra. Yes, I am a snake. For all those intelligent humans out there who think we snakes cannot communicate, I am here to prove all of you wrong. We may lack a ear to hear stuff, smell through our tongues, and may lack the ability to talk in various languages like you humans do.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/when-money-flies/Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:35:53 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/when-money-flies/“So, where shall we go?” my eldest sister, Radhika, asked no one in particular. “I suggest we go to the beach. And have nice hot onion bajjis.” my younger brother Mukund, a die-hard foodie, replied. “Shut up, Mukund.” It was Vindhya, my second sister. “Why don’t you try thinking about something other than food?” “Oh Vindhya, stop teasing him.” Radhika managed to prevent yet another fight between the two warring siblings.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/the-rainbow/Sat, 27 Dec 2008 21:32:15 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/the-rainbow/The air inside the room carried the odour of a dead rat. Not that it mattered much. That was all he could afford. His troupe had been in dire straits for the past ten years. But he was forever an optimist. He always told them that there would be a miracle. And there would be money. Though it all sounded encouraging then, now it seemed a lot hollow. But he still had hope, and he still hoped for that miracle to occur.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/the-last-wednesday/Wed, 24 Dec 2008 21:29:18 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/the-last-wednesday/The last rays of the winter sun fell on the window beside me when my cell phone started ringing. It was Akhilesh. “Hello papa? When are you coming home? It is almost six o clock!!!” He was almost screaming into the phone. “Just leaving office, beta.” I replied. I had forgotten that it was the last Wednesday of the month. “Sorry beta had some important work. Will be there in twenty minutes.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/wrong-number/Sat, 05 Jul 2008 21:27:24 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/wrong-number/The time was exactly 11 PM when the phone rang. Its shrill ring filled the house and I rushed and picked up the receiver before mom and dad could wake up. “Hello?” My voice was very sleepy. “Hello. Can I speak to Mr. Anantharaman? I’m his friend Rajan speaking.” “I’m sorry. It is the wrong number.” I replied, camouflaging my irritation as far as possible. “Oh I am sorry. Please forgive me.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/the-accidental-date/Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:15:29 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/the-accidental-date/“Eat something and go!” My mom shouted from the kitchen. “No, ma. It is already late! I’m leaving. Bye!!” I shouted back and as I went out through the front door, I tripped on the carpet and almost fell down. Unfortunately, my mom happened to see this. “Come inside, sit down, and drink water. It is a bad sign if you trip when you are going out.” she told me.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/the-unforgettable-exam/Thu, 29 May 2008 21:13:20 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/the-unforgettable-exam/It was the day of my last exam after which the summer holidays were about to begin. My parents had already planned a trip to Ooty during the holidays, and I was too preoccupied with it, that I hardly prepared for the exam. Not that the exam needed preparation. The subject was General Knowledge, in which I was the topper, every time. I was also good in quizzing, and my general knowledge was much higher than that of an average seventh class student.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/turbulences/Tue, 27 May 2008 21:11:12 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/turbulences/The sky grew darker as I stepped out from the elevator on to the terrace. A strong wind was blowing across my face and dark clouds were gathering everywhere. I felt as if the sky reflected the situation inside my mind. Life was so perfect, some years back. The company was doing good and his family life was so happy. Everything was moving as if nothing could go wrong. Then, everything went wrong.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/the-museum-mystery-part-3/Sun, 25 May 2008 21:07:18 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/the-museum-mystery-part-3/If you missed out on Part 1 and Part 2, please click on the respective links to read it. The alarm woke me up at exactly 4 in the morning. It was still dark and cold, but there was work to do. I had already decided what to do that day. After a shower and a quick breakfast of roast bread, I was on my way to my office. I called up Harvey on the way.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/the-museum-mystery-part-2/Sat, 24 May 2008 21:02:32 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/the-museum-mystery-part-2/For those of you who missed Part 1, please click here to read it. I walked into the curator’s room. It was filled with press and media persons. They rose as I entered the room, and asked me to comment on the situation and about the suspects. I was in no mood to interact with the press, and therefore declined to comment, saying there will be an official press release soon.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/the-museum-mystery-part-1/Thu, 22 May 2008 20:58:37 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/the-museum-mystery-part-1/She was standing on top of the Eiffel tower. She was wearing a black dress, in which she looked ravishing, as usual. She looked very happy, and was calling me towards her. I went towards her with glee. I was inches away from her as her lips parted and came towards mine. Then suddenly, she started singing “Scotty doesn’t know” in a coarse male voice. I couldn’t get understand a thing of what was happening.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/inside-the-bus/Thu, 22 May 2008 20:56:40 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/inside-the-bus/It was a really hot day. The bus stop was crowded and there wasn’t any bus in sight. I was sweating profusely and my shirt had already become wet. I was praying that a bus should come soon, when I saw her crossing the road from the college gate towards the bus stop. Anjana was my classmate and the prettiest girl in my college. Though we were classmates, I hardly spoke to her and she could, at best, be classified just as my acquaintance.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/process-out-of-control/Wed, 21 May 2008 17:43:27 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/process-out-of-control/The bell rang exactly at 2 o clock, signaling the start of my Process Control exam. The examiner started giving out the question paper. I had hardly prepared for the exam, with it being the last, I had already gotten into a holiday mood when I had written my previous exam. This being the toughest paper in the semester and having the highest number of credits, all my friends were breaking their head trying to memorize all the formulae and work out all the problems given in the reference books.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/the-expedition/Tue, 20 May 2008 07:07:42 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/the-expedition/It was our fifth day aboard USS Kentucky. The dipping temperature told us that we weren’t too far from our destination. It wasn’t exactly a smooth voyage. We had encountered a horrible storm near French Polynesia, and another in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean. It was noon, but the climate was so cold that we had to wear layers of warm clothing. It all started two weeks back.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/super-moped/Sun, 18 May 2008 09:28:50 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/super-moped/We reached the usual place where we regularly had lemon juice at around eight o clock. It was another hard day at the tuition center. There was a surprise test in chemistry, and we couldn’t answer even one question. As usual, we ordered each of us a lemon juice and were seriously thinking about what we were going to do in the Board exams, even if they were half as tough.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/first-love/Sun, 18 May 2008 04:19:06 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/first-love/Love was something that never appealed to me. Since the time I entered college, people all around me were falling in love. I thought it was all stupidity when people described love as divine, everything in life. Every time when I heard of some guy who had committed suicide just because his love wouldn’t accept him, I felt as if I should go and slap him in heaven or hell, wherever he is.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/stranger-in-the-mirror/Tue, 06 May 2008 02:24:43 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/stranger-in-the-mirror/It was late in the evening when I entered the crowded street. It was unusually more crowded that day. The more the crowd, the better, I thought to myself. The streets were not only full of people, but also of rotten vegetables and fruits, and other such waste. I negotiated the crowds carefully and after a walk of five minutes, reached the designated place. It was a tough decision for me, but I had to take revenge.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/a-walk-down-the-street/Tue, 22 Apr 2008 20:12:41 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/a-walk-down-the-street/It was a pleasant evening. The wind was cool and the sun was mild. The usually crowded street was empty except a few dry leaves stained with blood and a couple of empty magazines. Almost all the buildings were in ruins. Some were completely destroyed. She remembered that, not very long back, the street was full of people. Happy people, who were always ready to help others. Very few of them were now alive.https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/my-neighbor/Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:15:19 -0500https://blog.karthikrp.com/posts/my-neighbor/Mention childhood, and all of us become nostalgic. Everyone gets reminded of their school days, their friends and the games they used to play. But my childhood was different. It had one important person I can never forget in my life- Lakshmi aunty. When I was a child, I had no one to play with. Both my parents were working, and came home late. I had to spend my time after school in a creche till I was eight years old, and then I spent them in Lakshmi aunty’s house.