Storyy Hut

The crisp air of Mussoorie enveloped me as I returned to my ancestral home after thirteen years. Memories flooded my mind, especially those of a childhood friend whose laughter lingered in the recesses of my memory. Her image remained vivid—a bubbly girl with lush black hair intertwined into curls framing her rosy-cheeked face. It was the summer of '99 when we shared a tender moment, our first kiss, just before I  departed for Delhi, merely a month after my 13 th birthday. Fate had swept me away, leaving behind cherished memories and an ache in my heart. Returning to Mussoorie, I sought her amidst familiar streets and homes, only to find her residence occupied by strangers. But fate always has a peculiar way of reuniting kindred spirits, I liked to believe so for faith was one of the few things keeping me together nowadays- I sighed. One particular serendipitous day, while lost in the reverie of our past adventures, I glimpsed a figure in the woods—familiar, yet surreal. I raced o

“I am sorry but we did everything we could” the heads surgeon’s words landed heavily on me. My heart fell at those words and within a jiffy my world came tumbling down, shattering into a thousand pieces. A lone tear traced its path down my cheek as I rushed towards her. The walls of the hospital were closing in on me with the never ending fluorescent lights casting an unsettling pallor. My footsteps echoed through the corridor and reverberated with my unsteady heart. At-last I reached the room where she was kept. I looked at the plate besides the door- the name “Divya” engraved on it and delicately embraced by twin rose leafs. It was the same room where we had spent hours dreaming about our life together once this ordeal was over… oblivious to the fact that it were to meet such a fateful end. My hands trembled and time seemed to distort as I slowly started to push open the door afraid of shattering the delicate illusion that she was still with me… I drew the curtains aside and th

I drew the curtains aside to let the glorious rays of sun illuminate my lonely house with its glorious light. It was the perfect autumn evening, the sun on the verge of setting scattered its crimson hue across the sky (save upon a slight cover of dark bellied clouds) while leaves rustled with the gentle breeze as if dancing with pure delight and bringing life to this static setting. “Nothing beats an autumn evening,” I murmured to myself. Not wanting to miss this opportunity up close, I hurriedly slipped into my shoes and decided to take a stroll down the otherwise gloomy streets of the city and enjoy the beauty of the season. I walked through the marketplace and stopped at a cozy café to get my usual cup of coffee. As I sat down however I felt a sudden tug at my chest. It was the broken heart around my neck, a remembrance of a childhood friendship that had yet to find its counterpart or perhaps the bearer of the other portion didn’t want to. As I leisurely sipped through my co