June 2017
Sam does not smoke; at least no more at present. In his boyhood days, he used to inhale an occasional puff or two from a friend maybe, but not now. Smoking does not fascinate him, in spite of Nancy being fond of that acrid tobacco smell. She calls it an 'intellectual smell' on a man who is supposed to be a thinker. Sam knows it to be absurd, but you do not always love a girl for her normalcy.
Nancy loves to read, predominantly fictions of the different genre. So does Sam. That was how they met, in a library. It was about five years back. Sam was just out of his college and had joined as a clerk in an export agency. Nancy did not start her freelance journalism yet. They talked of books. Sam talked about his hidden desire to be an author. Yet, the desire has only remained a desire all these years. Sam could come out with nothing of substance in all these years as he continued with his prosaic job. Yet, they kept trusting each other, though never thought of getting married.
If Sam thought writing fiction is easy, he was in for heartbreak. He had imagined so many situations, only to discover these to be already plotted by his predecessors. He did not believe in run-of-the-mill stuff. He wanted to come out with something special that would not only evoke interest in Nancy, but also in the entire prospective audience. He tried his hands in poetry as well. But so many stalwarts of present and yesteryears seemed to have penned his ideas already. He was at his wit's end.
Nancy is a believer of psychic things; not that Sam approves of it. Only yesterday, she came up with this smoking pipe. Seemingly, some soothsayer gave it to her.
"Smoke from this pipe, and that is going to change your life." There was a mystique smile on her lips.
"All pipe-smokers would be millionaires in such a case." Sam could only manage a croaky cough.
"Believing or not is up to you. The only thing I can say is maybe you are missing the chance of a lifetime." Nancy had walked away breezily.
Hope, they say, is a queer thing. It keeps dwindling and creeping up. 'There is no harm in giving it a try,' thought Sam the next day. 'What if nothing comes up? As such, I am in no great position. Then, miracles do happen at times.'
The thought kept hovering in his mind throughout the day. As he returned home at dusk, he thought it worth giving a try. He chose the secluded bench near an abandoned lake for a trial. He was almost sure that nothing was going to come out of such weird workout. Finally, he would have to hide a blush. Nothing could be better than a forlorn place as this.
'What will happen? A genie like that from Aladdin's lamp will come out of the pipe as soon as I lit it?' mused Sam. 'What do you wish me to do for you, Master? - It will ask. Give me never-before plots for stories that will shoot me to fame. - I will say. How far-fetched! Hah!' He felt ridiculous. He felt like leaving the place.
The next moment he struck the matchbox with a stick and the stick caught flame that looked ordinary. Surprisingly, he noticed his hand trembling. Finally, he lit the pipe.
Nothing extraordinary happened. A coil of bluish white smoke emerged from the top of pipe emitting the flavour of scented tobacco. Creech!---- A homebound bird chirped in a rebuking manner at a distance.
'Hell! Shouldn't have believed in such tomfoolery! Now I made a mockery of myself.' Sam leaned on the backrest of the bench in frustration. He inhaled a mouthful of smoke only to blow it out shortly.
'Where does this smoke come from?' he wondered. 'Obviously from fire,' pat came the reply from within. 'Now, where does the fire come from?' came the vital question. Sam loves to philosophise. 'Fire is different depending on its source. A fireplace blazes with a different nature of fire than that of a smoking pipe. Again, the fire in this pipe is different from that in an incense-stick. Yet every fire has got a charm of its own.' Sam remained pensive, though in a subdued mood.
Then it changed all of a sudden to that of elation. 'Fire!' he wondered, 'fire is the answer. The fire has to be from within and indigenous. It has to reflect my ingenuity the same way this pipe reflects its own brand of fire! There is no place for a copycat in style of writing. Let my brand have its own flavour like the smoke from the pipe. Wonder why it didn't occur to me so long! Thus, the expressions are bound to be apt, not necessarily adorned with superfluous ideas or pompous words!'
While surfing the net at night, Sam came across a global literary webzine, PICNSTORY. They invited submissions from authors all over for stories based on a variety of pictures displayed therein. A popular website as this could serve as a launching pad for his onward literary journey. However, the number of stories published each month was very limited. He went through a few of these. 'These are classy pieces,' he reflected. 'However, I can match them if I remain honest to myself.' He brimmed with his newfound confidence.
Picture ID: 72 gave him a jolt. 'Hey, the man with the pipe looks so similar to me! Even the surroundings are similar! It begs me to reproduce what I went through today.'
He did so and was published. That was how a great literary voyage started.
"Your smoking pipe was magical," told Sam Fernandez, the phenomenal author, two years later to his lovely wife, Nancy, in a cosy night. Yes, they got married a few months back. Sam still does not smoke. Nancy does not mind now.
Debaprasad Mukherjee is from Bilaspur in India. A doctor by profession, he is a regular contributor to PICNSTORY. In addition to his stray submissions, he has authored two short story collections and two novels, Odyssey of a Postmaster being the latest novel. Boltu, another of his novel, is displayed in the PICNSTORY bookshelf.
Sarba Roy
September 2018
I knew the basics of survival. My mother had already given up on trying to confine my unmanageable bouts of adventure and had resigned instead to teaching me a few life hacks in the hope of preventing my untimely death.
Debaprasad Mukherjee
March 2018
Ahiliya, the beautiful princess of Magadha, was sitting on the balcony of her palace brooding over her loneliness. She had a score of girls to keep company though. Yet, everything looked so lacklustre.
Michael "Fynn" Lange
June 2017
"There are two lives that can be lived," said Mother Cat to her kittens, "the one you have with me safe at home, nestled in comfort... or ..."
Debaprasad Mukherjee
June 2017
Sam does not smoke; at least no more at present. In his boyhood days, he used to inhale an occasional puff or two from a friend maybe, but not now.
Aishwarya Chandrasekhar
June 2017
It was a regular Friday morning, the last working day of the week. As much as my little princess Ziva, I was also pretty excited about the weekend.
Aanchal Bharara
June 2017
There was a 12-year-old boy who had a lot of money to spend and enjoy his life. He lived in a mansion like house and studied in one of the best schools in the country.
(Voinks) Val Portelli
April 2017
Let me see dear. Oh yes, I should do. I've lived there for nearly fifty years. Was there anyone in particular you were looking for? I might know them.
Debaprasad Mukherjee
April 2017
'Handle with care' used to be written on the bottles into which my father poured his finest blends. My brewer father and simpleton mother handled me with utmost care.
Amina Bezzazi
April 2017
First shot for the late Hero... Second shot for the noble mission he died for... Third shot for the honorable corpse he so bravely served... Fourth shot for the departed Martyr.
Michael "Fynn" Lange
March 2017
Word had come through the mountains, along the long winding trails of our jungle and finally along the river, Yenzi was coming.
Hákon Gunnarsson
March 2017
It's evening, and we are walking on the beach. The sun is going down, and the sky is so beautiful. She is beautiful too, and laughs like a pixie.Of course, I've never seen or heard a pixie, but I love her.
Debaprasad Mukherjee
March 2017
Molly: Hey Tommy! You, goody-goody! Why on earth you're peeping through the window?
Cheryl Russell
March 2017
Lou looked up from her school exercise book and looked across at her gorgeous teddy she called Eddie bear.
Cheryl Russell
February 2017
She looked around uncertainly. The station was crowded, how was she supposed to find her daughter amongst the crowds.
Debaprasad Mukherjee
February 2017
Look at this snap, I say. Isn't it so telltale? Doesn't it speak volumes on our closeness? Our relationship could be the subject of a great novel of romances.
Voinks (Val Portelli)
February 2017
Although it was dangerous, I had no choice. We needed to eat and there was nothing left in our old habitat.
Joshua Hedges
January 2017
Life is complex, putting most answers on a spectrum, which I suppose places me between ordinary and special, smack dab in the middle of average.
Sheenah Middle
January 2017
God! He had been lucky, what if he had not walked back into that place today? Tomorrow would have been a disaster; his life would have changed completely.
Cheryl Russell
January 2017
The two girls Grace and Charlotte stood watching, fascinated by what they were seeing. Grace put her hand over her mouth to stop herself crying out.
Debaprasad Mukherjee
January 2017
The plan chalked out in the morning had nothing to do with birthday plans. They wanted to visit the Forbidden Fortress. It is a place they are told to stay off.
Joshua Roberts
December 2016
Janette was a head and half taller than her sister Susan who stood just in front of her under an arching entrance to an alleyway off the side of a cobbled street.
C. M. Turner
December 2016
Scarlet and Ashley had been told not to leave the castle. They stood in the doorway watching something flying overhead. It wasn't all that large as dragons go.
Sheenah Middle
December 2016
"Fred! How are you?" Jim said to the man that had stopped in the street before him. He had been cycling down the road trying to keep warm...
Val Portelli (Voinks)
December 2016
I can imagine you in a pinny. I've just been up to the cemetery; it would have been Ethel's birthday today so I took her a few flowers.
Cheryl Russell
November 2016
The enormous looking egg sat there with a look of abject horror on its face. A human was trying to take the layer of shell off.
Hákon Gunnarsson
November 2016
Charlie came running out of the woods in the morning mist. When he saw the lake pier, he slowed down to a walking pace.
Aishwarya Chandrasekhar
November 2016
We trees are pretty awesome. Don't you think so? Just look at me! How blessed I am to have these orange beauties all over me.
Michael "Fynn" Lange
November 2016
His niece turned to her teddy bear. A notebook opened upon her lap. She had been scribbling along pretending she knew how to write.
Cheryl Russell
November 2016
He walked along the road, arm out hoping to catch the eye of a passing motorist. It was a lonely stretch of road with trees lining it.
Drew Hill
November 2016
Two young girls, one looked to be ten while the other looked no older than six, were running around the tavern with trays over their heads.
Margaret Jennings
October 2016
Darkness in the trees that reflect his mood. A match that will not light. Thoughts that take him far from serenity.
Kelley Mether
October 2016
He tried to judge her accent. Possibly Spanish. Definitely another backpacker, like himself. If she wondered about him, she didn't show it.
Janice Joseph
October 2016
He pressed his face on the fence very hard. He looked far into the empty street to see if there were any signs of life.
Voinks (Val Portelli)
October 2016
I was beginning to go stir-crazy being cooped up indoors. All the things you take for granted suddenly became insurmountable mountains.
Keith Dwyer
October 2016
It had started in college. In the summers Jake had worked for a catering company in the resort area south of his hometown.
Michael "Fynn" Lange
September 2016
I was a mathlete, my teachers always called me the Bell Curve Breaker.
Cheryl Russell
September 2016
They were camping. It was supposed to be a relaxing break from the hectic pace of the last few weeks.
Joanna Hunter
September 2016
They say there is no such thing as the Bogeyman. But I know different. And right now we are playing hide and seek.
Janice Joseph
September 2016
"Why are you staring at the water? We pass by this stream daily and I can't see anything new. Are you ok?"
Lisa Wood
September 2016
He'd been waiting for hours for God only knows what. Frank wasn't an information guy. They told him to wait here, so here he waited.
Ajay Gregory Antony
September 2016
"Why did I leave home? Why am I here? Does any of this make sense?" I kept questioning myself over and again.
Michael "Fynn" Lange
September 2016
"You came all this way just for college?" Cody said to his little brother. Cody looked around himself.
Cheryl Russell
September 2016
Father and son were enjoying some quality time together. It was late September but still the weather was nice.
Aishwarya Chandrasekhar
August 2016
"Sometimes it is not the person we miss; it is the feeling you had when you were with them."
Voinks (Val Portelli)
August 2016
My romantic nature pondered whether the 'special something' he wanted to buy me would be an engagement ring.
Janice Joseph
August 2016
For me, the bridge was a gateway to a new life and for Ryan; the bridge was something he never wanted to cross.
Debaprasad Mukherjee
August 2016
I kept flapping around my house with similar haplessness until the quake subsided. I empathise with the bird.
Tiffany C. Lockhart
August 2016
A blonde-haired woman wearing a bright green trench coat walked down the streets of a bustling city, her nose buried in her phone.
Aishwarya Chandrasekhar
August 2016
Rambo came into Maggie's life a couple of weeks ago. The moment she saw him, she fell in love with him.
Janice Joseph
August 2016
I lay in the bathtub with my eyes closed. I pressed the straight razor against my wrist.
Janice Joseph
July 2016
"No, not again", I sighed. It has been a routine now to search for my pen in the morning before leaving for work.
Joshua Hedges
July 2016
Yumi couldn't feel her hands. She pushed her fingers through her hair. Nothing. Her heart didn't beat.
Michael "Fynn" Lange
July 2016
My fingers caressing its strings like they once caressed the only woman's skin that I have ever loved.
Janice Joseph
July 2016
No one would give a job to a homeless young man. Prejudices never gave an opportunity for survival for the homeless.
Debaprasad Mukherjee
July 2016
If I tell you, 'I've made this bridge', you will laugh at me; because you know me. I have never done anything constructive.
Aishwarya Chandrasekhar
July 2016
I am here at the park; taking a stroll with the person I love the most, My Dad!
Janine W. Cox
July 2016
This love started many years ago when they lived in the same neighborhood, a couple of houses away from each other.
Debaprasad Mukherjee
June 2016
Croaka was pensive as he sat down on the slimy stone near a puddle formed by a steady stream at a corner of Mughal Gardens.
Steve Brown
June 2016
It was just past midnight when she arrived at the cordoned off station. There was a yellow Ka parked by the front.
Gerry Hounchell
June 2016
Not sure who took that picture, but it's me hitching a ride, my backside anyway, age 17, running away from home.
Janice Joseph
June 2016
I am Wahid. I came here nearly 40 years ago. I live in the next street. Are you here with your family?", the old man asked.
Sarah GC David
June 2016
It is a typical evening; a cool breeze surrounds the insides of the subway. Never do they notice the intentions of each other.
Joshua Roberts
June 2016
The cold winter air stung his nostrils as Stephan walked along the brick covered sidewalk next to the tracks.
Voinks (Val Portelli)
June 2016
It had started innocently enough; the place had been packed, he had asked if he could share my table. The hour flew by as we started talking.
Janine W. Cox
June 2016
Sam was on that lonely stretch of road and he had his thumb leading the way. He was out there all morning.
Jacqueline Driggers
June 2016
What if all the books were worlds, and when she opened one, she opened a door to that world that she could go through? Wouldn't that be awesome?
Joshua Hedges
June 2016
John's wheezed as he ran through the forest. He was a runner, why was he wheezing? Couldn't he outrun his six-year-old?
Janine W. Cox
June 2016
Pete was at a cross roads and he had to make a decision fast or else he was going to lose everything.
Ajay Gregory Antony
June 2016
The narrow road at the corner is the way to the blissful nature, where one will find true bliss.
Janice Joseph
June 2016
The fight is over forever. It is all numb now. There is no more pain. Life is setting me free. Let me fly...float in the clouds and forget my wounds.
Janine W. Cox
June 2016
Marty's number was called and he had to report to Parris Island, South Carolina for 12 weeks of basic training.
Steve Brown
May 2016
Bruno knew something was wrong long before I did. He was a dog amongst dogs and saw things before anyone else.