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101 Word Short Stories

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Hope

November 17, 2022 8 Comments

By Yogi

I feel suffocated in this crowded ladies’ compartment. Pressed between fat women holding handle bars, their saris stuck to their sweaty bodies and their blouses unabashedly displaying the sweat marks under their arms, my body sways to the rhythm of the train. I touch my belly, feel the life inside me, and dream of fresh air.

Later, I stare into a bright light beneath a green-masked surgeon and a nurse with emotionless eyes, and I hear a small heart beating. There is no time for pity now, or despair, and I decide here this whore’s child will find a better world.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anna says

    November 17, 2022 at 5:21 pm

    Love the emotion in this. And the evocative description of the ladies’ carriage.

    Reply
    • Yogita says

      November 17, 2022 at 11:28 pm

      Thank you Anna. That’s how it works to this day..in the Mumbai local trains.

      Reply
  2. Joanna says

    November 18, 2022 at 3:48 pm

    Great story. Can really visualise this piece. ?

    Reply
  3. Joanna says

    November 18, 2022 at 3:49 pm

    The ? Was a smiley face. Don’t know why it posted as a question mark:)

    Reply
  4. Liz says

    November 20, 2022 at 2:08 am

    Tragic.
    Brilliant.

    Reply
  5. DAVID HIGHAM says

    November 23, 2022 at 12:12 pm

    Really powerful. So much packed into so few words.

    Reply
  6. Doug Jacquier says

    November 23, 2022 at 5:26 pm

    We can only hope so.

    Reply
  7. Chetana Vaishnavi says

    November 25, 2022 at 11:15 am

    You reminded me of Mumbai, my birth place. All so nostalgic

    Reply

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