A short story & my goals for this newsletter

I want to master the short story. Join me on the journey.

Hi!

I have an update: I quit my job.

The bottom line: it wasn’t giving me enough time to do anything apart from work in life and I figured no matter how hard it would be to figure out the following steps, it wasn’t worth the stay. I was going to take a break from this newsletter till I find a better day job suited to my preferences, I also figured I write to make sense of the world and would need it a lot more now than at any other time.

So, my goal for this newsletter is to keep putting my foot forward, without getting lost in a labyrinth of decision-making involving the competence of my work. I will write as slowly and badly as I can, but I will continue to write. The focus here is to learn the art of writing short stories using goals from my own life and fictionalising them.

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Short story numero uno

The goal in Naya’s life: Slowing down while trying to figure things out

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He wore a smile on his face with his eyes closed and it felt so natural, much the same way eating feels natural when one is hungry. However, she couldn’t help but think about starvation and the respite thereof.

Naya was fascinated with his being.

“You know, you’re pretty awesome.”

“I know.”

Nothing in the world could make this moment better than it already was for she had everything she needed in front of her - her own, precious safety net. What, then, was causing the turmoil in her heart, a ragged feeling making her placidly sigh an inaudible dissatisfaction? She didn’t like to be codependent. As much as Avi was a great support in helping her fight her demons, she didn’t want to rely. Was it ego? No one could tell from the depth of it.

Reluctantly, she mouths that he should leave and both of them should get on with their days. Not an entire minute passes before the feeling comes tumbling back into her effortful consciousness and she admits she doesn’t want him to leave. With mild but tiring compassion, Avi says, “Find something you really like and go, do it. You’ll not think of me much, then.”

Naya’s voice seeks a lower pitch and her lips pout, “But you are the thing I like more than anything else.”

“Say that again”, Avi’s eyes sparkle and a smile lingers on his lips, appearing in instalments as she repeats herself.

“There’s nothing I like more than you right now.”

His face lights up and Naya sees what ‘smiling ear-to-ear’ wholeheartedly looks like. She chuckles and thinks about how things will figure themselves out as long as she keeps this Avi in her now happy mind…

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