Puloma had not cleaned the room in a month. Her loss was a personal one. A star she wished to be reborn. She was now alone. Puloma made a mask with her tea towel. The dust had settled into every crevice. She cleared away the brand new cloth nappies bought in the hopes of reducing waste. She coughed through her tea towel mask. Dusting always gave her the allergies. She wiped every speck of dust away. Every wipe made her cry tears that had been locked away deep inside. She decided to start afresh. The paint was in the garden shed. She didn’t know which color to choose. She opened the dusty garden shed door and there in the corner, right behind the paint cans, squawking and squealing with their tiny beaks were little birds. Suddenly she was not alone anymore. Her many stars reborn.
The Mission of a Lifetime
A one-way trip to Mars. A water source has been discovered. Possibly green too. Jothi and a whole team of exploratory members rocket off to a planet of new possibilities. A year later, the exploratory team are running low on resources. They look through their scope and spot something green in a sea of blue. They look closer. The lights are dotted all over the earth’s surface like gold and diamond dust.
Where are the farmers?
Soubin’s year of mandatory military service was here. He packed his bags with essentials, a photo of his family, a drawing by his daughter and some of his favorite food. The borders were hostile with active mines, uninhabitable terrain and arid vegetation. A war had broken out. One so intense, the likes of which had never been seen before. The poor and vulnerable had no choice but to serve. Countries everywhere fought. They fought for a very long period of time until they could no more. They could fight no more not because they had lost the will to fight but because they had lost so many in the fight. There weren’t enough people. The country’s birth rate had fallen. They had to pull back. So did their neighbors. Feeding their families was far more important than any war in the world. In the meantime, there was no food at Soubin’s home as the farmers had gone to fight.
Love’s Plight
It was the rush hour. The bus was always packed at this time. Luckily, Anvi found a seat. She looked at the strikingly handsome man sitting on the other side and smiled. They were on the same route. A couple with a child seat next to him were trying to pacify the baby. Anvi glanced at the teeny bit of space between the man and the child’s seat. There was hope. The older couple to her left gave her a knowing smile as they left. Now was her chance. She offered her seat to the couple with the baby. Anvi was now seated next to him. A sigh of relief as their hands touched, the rings on their fingers shone the words “A ❤️ V”.