Short Fiction

It was the summer before her final year of college when Vaidehi first saw Suresh Babu.

Her joints are stiff, but it’s nothing to worry about. It’s her natural condition.

Alice pressed her palm to the cool glass as her husband snipped away at the fabric that would form his fourth hat that week.

Maybe it wasn’t her love that was strange. Maybe it was Grandpa’s.

When she sipped from the flowers, she would make sure that her wings were stretched out and displayed properly for him.

You don’t know me but I have lived a lifetime with you.

The man’s voice had reached where his hands couldn’t have.

Bright lights flash about her, and the city steeps in her lap for an unexpected reunion.

What does her smile look like? Does she have crooked teeth like me? Do her eyes crinkle up when she smiles?

Layers upon layers of fabric, he knew, were surely hampering his beloved white butterflies from fluttering in the breeze.

I was always watching you but you never felt the heat of my gaze.

There is nothing to be said. The hour is past, and he should leave.