Meraki

A  peculiar place lies in a space unseen by mankind. Floating in between waves of sand is a dome of water. A reversed island. Within it exists a species called ‘Buzos’, evolved from humans. It had been their ancestors’ deep love for scuba diving that led them to adapt to the water over generations. They’d unleashed their inner merselves, surrendering to the calm of the water world. A discovery marks this deviation in homo sapiens. “I can’t breathe”, a Buzo forefather had choked on sticking his head out after a particularly soothing dive. Only ducking underwater relaxed his lungs. Equipment set aside, he’d rushed to his wife to inform her about this breathlessly. The bathtub became his bedroom. Their child was born with this fishy tendency as well. She only ate duckweed and never left her kiddie pool. The family broke into a massive aquarium when normal conditions weren’t cushioning their survival anymore. The employees, of course, had...

Nalsar recently held a Literary Fest, giving me the opportunity to send in a creative work as part of the writing competition. I poured my whole heart into writing a story; did so with meraki. It was a 'Miss India' moment when I found out my story won me the first prize. As an aspiring writer, it was sweet reassurance. Here is the story,'Enlightenment of Enigmas' based on the theme of 'Boundaries': Yugen truly understood his name as he watched the stars. It was a Japanese word, capturing a profound sense of the universe in its meaning. “A sight like this really stirs your thoughts”, he said out loud to himself. Small baskets of plants dangled from the balcony ceiling, underneath which he stood. Vines were intertwined with its curved railing. Fresh raindrops awoke their green scent. He was intrigued by how a mere look at the marvels of nature made us question so much. The indescribable feeling a clear night sky could trigger or the grand aura t...