Wordplay: The Reading Spot

"Forsan  et haec olim meminisse iuvabit" - Virgil [trans .  Perhaps one day, it will be pleasing to remember even these things. ] ** Some time into the somewhat distant future... "Alright listen up, everybody!"  All the members of Squadron 27 gradually stopped chattering among themselves and began to gather in front of my dear friend, Eric, who also happens to be the last-minute captain of our squadron. There were quite a few new faces alongside the familiar ones, but I noticed a few familiar ones missing as well. I took a deep breath, and immediately regretted it. Once I'd finished coughing, I took my place among my squadmates and turned to face Eric. "Does anybody here wish to give a recap of the past few weeks?" "Aye, sir!" a young-looking, tall chap with dark brown hair yelled at once. "Let's hear it then, shall we?" He nervously gulped and said, "Aye. Our planet intercepted a strange, invisible beam on Sunday morning.....

“Every one is really responsible to all men for all men and for everything.” - Fyodor Dostoevsky Rafe boarded the train just before the compartment doors shut. He breathed a sigh of relief, but only momentarily, and hurried further to find the debriefed compartment. This time, unlike his previous assignments, not only did Rafe not know the face of his target, but he was also late. The target was to get off at the next station, which was only thirty-four minutes away. The odds were against him, and he was not very happy about it.  Having a rather modest, yet relatively respectable record of eight accomplished assignments, with no breaches, if Rafe were to botch this particular mission, he wouldn't be spared from being treated as a beginner's luck-riding rookie. His promotion being on the line certainly alleviated none of this pressure. Compartment 38...40...and there, Rafe reached the 42nd compartment, as mentioned in his briefing, with thirty minutes left. Rafe scanned his vici...

"What are we, if not characters, from one story or another, playing our part, knowingly or unknowingly, willingly or unwillingly" - Sandip Khade You know how people get 'kicks' out of doing something daring, say, over-speeding on their bikes, or breaking dress codes, purposely attempting to get away with something illegal, etc.? Well, and I don't mean to sound like that guy , I've always gotten a kick out of giving to the needy; this could manifest in the form of giving money to the traffic signal dwellers, small community charity contributions, the monthly blood drive, or buying your practically broke friend his favorite energy drink when you sense a potential 'head-butt alert!' conversation vibe in the air. I groaned when I realized it's one of those days, and walked into our PG hostel's canteen area.  Most of our guy-classmates stay at this PG, since it's pretty close, and dirt cheap for its surprisingly un-pathetic living conditions. It...

"A wounded animal will bite and claw." -Mimi Matthews I'm running as fast as I can. All I know about where I'm headed is that it's far from here; far away from that house. Far from those four walls of suffocating hell, far from those dreadful needles and the shimmering acids that followed... And certainly far from him. It's easy to lose track of time when you're kept in a square cell, far into the woods, cut off from the rest of the townsfolk and the diurnal village affairs. I wondered if my friend Polly was looking for me, determined to set me free. She probably was, given that I'd do the same for her. My freedom, or what minuscule tinge was left of it, never exceeded the dining hall of that house. He'd kept me locked in that room, with a bucket, a pale excuse of a mattress, a lantern and not a window in sight. It was easy to forget humans even existed, until he would occasionally break in with bland and tasteless meals. He spoke harshly and coldl...