Z for Zone #AtoZChallenge

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You have a name. You have a designation. A resume with bullet points of your accomplishments. You have a visage. A skin of a certain colour. A body that may or may not be flattering. You have a past that people know about. A socio-economic background. A certain religion or caste, irrespective of your beliefs. You have all of these features and more that define you. You are to the world a combination of labels.

Y for YOLO #AtoZChallenge

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Today is just another day. 

You may have your daily meals, do your daily chores, and while away the rest of time in store. 

Today in the now, you alone stand for all that has happened to you before. 

You are what became of all your days of the past, all your tears and laughs of what was. 

But you are also what stands for the unknown ahead, the could-be's and maybes' of the morrow. 

You are today the prologue to possibilities, 

The hopes of a happier haven.

Today may be just another day. 

But tomorrow is empty and waiting.
It could be anything in the making.

X for the Unknown #AtoZChallenge

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Two thousand years before this dawn

The Arabs had the symbols drawn;

Al-jabr, though the name had been,

Algebra is the name we've seen. 

Equations of the mastermind

Lacked a value yet to find.

'Shay-un', though its name had been,

X is all that we have seen. 

W for Writing #AtoZChallenge

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In the eighth grade classroom of a Central school, all hell had broken loose. It was a commotion so profound that calling it a fish market would be an understatement. In the midst of the futile screams of the class-monitor were flying cloth dusters, pencil pouches, and a black shoe. While some were seen hopping over the desks, others crawled underneath them for reasons unknown. Vigorous pen-fights and matches of odd-or-even were being played over multiple groups. A few were found asking around for completed notebooks, graph papers, rulers, and a missing shoe. You see, it was a free period.

V for Vexation #AtoZChallenge

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In the past three years, it has religiously arrived every night. Just around the time the clock turned nine. It didn't matter what I was doing at the time. I could be studying, watching a movie, reading a book, or even rushing back to the hostel from the city or college. But it would come without fail. The vexation.

U for Usefulness #AtoZChallenge

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Standing before you are two magnificent figures. The abyss of despair and the mountain of hope. We're playing the game of fate. You and your loved one are the players. Your role has the liberty of deciding how involved you can be in the game, for the fate is that of your loved one. Each time fate decides to deal against him, the abyss moves closer to where he stands. All you need to do is to guide him towards the mountain. Simple.

T for True-Self #AtoZChallenge

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"He knows our true names, Eragon. We are his slaves forever." - Murtagh

Excerpt from Eldest, the second book of The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini

My thirteen-year-old self had just finished reading Inheritance*. Eragon had finally discovered his true name. The true name of someone was a bunch of words in the Ancient language that defined the person as a whole. It summarised their existence, perhaps even their purpose, and gave them the complete knowledge of their own self. To have someone know your true name meant to have them see you naked. They would know every inch of your mind and soul, allowing them to have complete control over yourself.

S for Sensitivity #AtoZChallenge

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In the lone bed of a hostel room two floors above the ground lies a flat pillow. This poor pillow has been victim to much abuse by its owner. It has been squeezed, twisted, soaked with tears, brutally folded multiple times, and occasionally dropped on the dusty floor. On multiple occasions, it has also been surprisingly ignored. That was usually when its owner found insufficient space in the bed to have a breakdown and chose to sit on the floor instead.

R for Remembering #AtoZChallenge

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"You're all about Harry Potter. Have you even read Dan Brown?"
"Of course! I love the Da Vince Code!"
"Sure. I don't think you've read it."
"I did long ago!"
"Oh yeah? Then tell me the climax of the story."
"Alright. In the end Langdon goes...ehh....Langdon..."

Q for Quitter #AtoZChallenge

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Every inch of my suit dripped with sweat. Strands of wet hair stuck to my flushed face. I could almost hear my racing heartbeat, hot blood pumping through the veins. My heels didn't touch the ground, the feet prepared to pounce at any moment. Be it to attack or to quickly retreat in defence, I had to be ready for anything. My arms were in position before me, fists clenched and eyes fixed on the opponent's. Waiting.

P for Paunch #AtoZChallenge

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She hung there in all her glory, putting all the ones around her to shame. The fabric clung well to accentuate the shape, complementing the waistlines to perfection. The shade of royal blue gave her a mesmerizing glow, the bare neck descending sideways to slender sleeves. Her style screamed of confidence. Her looks invited admiration. She was ideal for flaunting the body. She was meant to be. But just not for me.

O for Overthinking #AtoZChallenge

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The cursor blinked in the empty spreadsheet before me. I typed down the heading and watched it blink some more. I had a half-mind about writing it down. It seemed like a great idea thirty seconds ago. But now the dubiousness crawled in. My fingers hung on top of the keyboard, waiting for the brain to give the green signal. But the brain was busy processing the gazillion thoughts that'd poured in all of a sudden. 

N for Needful #AtoZChallenge

source: Dreamstime

It is 7 'o clock in the evening. Mom and dad are watching the day's news from the living room. I casually walk across the room to the front door, my mobile phone hidden well in my pyjamas. 

"Where are you going?" Mom starts. I shrug.

"Just for a walk in the terrace." 

Before either of them could get curious, I make for the stairs. From up there in the dark, I fish out my phone and make a call. No, not to my boyfriend. But to my best friend. The information to be conveyed was confidential and couldn't risk being shared from the bedroom. She picks up the call from the other end and I know that she's moved over to her own private location.

L for Left-Out #AtoZChallenge

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In the comfort of room number 111, I reclined in my single bed basking in the sweet solitude. What a pity for the ones who couldn't enjoy their own company! Having some me-time was always lovely. Even necessary, I'd say. While the ones from the other rooms gathered around in times of boredom, I found myself hardly ever encountering that term. Smiling to myself, I sat enjoying the private freedom within the room when the phone rang.

K for Knowledge #AtoZChallenge

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Laughing hysterically at the stories tossed back and forth in the group, we sat in a circle on the master bed. Slumber parties were meant for long stories. The tidbits of gossip at work, little-known histories of our fellow mates, the likes and dislikes of the circle...so on and so forth. But of course, there comes a point where we run out of things to talk about. Here's where the games begin. And pretty often, there is this one game which is always among the first choices.

J for Judgements #AtoZChallenge

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I don't know if the world has ever been shut down the way it is today. Today, when stepping outdoors is a risk no one is willing to take, when all of social media brims with quarantine tips and pieces of advice, and when the news is entirely about the new number of coronavirus cases or deaths. It feels like a long holiday but it also doesn't. We have time in plenty in our hands and yet can only conform to limited activities. We sheepishly enjoy the much-needed rest, but also feel bored. We feel guilty of our trivial thoughts during quarantine when the world is struggling to survive. For once, the same fate is faced all through the globe, where each of us can relate to the other. This period is going down in history.

I for Individuality #AtoZChallenge

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"You want some help?"
"NO" I cried, a little harsher than was intended. She nodded and left me alone with my words.

The hardcover of my diary had begun to peel off from overuse. Passages edited and re-edited were strewn across the pages, sometimes with blue ink, sometimes with black. I clicked the pen against the edge of the page, deep in reverie.

H for Hurt #AtoZChallenge

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You know what the scariest thing about love is? The vulnerability of it. How you voluntarily expose yourself to another person, giving them all the strength to empower you, but also destroy you. It is scary to open up and give yourself away. You may choose not to, but there may come a time when opening up becomes a necessity to keep your sanity. Opening up at such a point gives you this blissful relief you didn't know you could be entitled to. Opening up makes you realize how much you needed the support that you're receiving now. Opening up makes you realize that however big a risk it might seem to lay bare before another, the result can turn out to be one of the most precious things you could possibly possess. The thing called love.

G for gymming #AtoZChallenge

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For the fourth time, my dad called out for breakfast. In my dreams, I had woken up and walked about three times already. But when my eyelids were finally torn open, I felt like my legs were nailed to the bed.

F for Failure #AtoZChallenge

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Their faces were pleasant and smiling. But somehow, they intimidated me. I sat restlessly rubbing my fingers against each other, waiting for them to finish reading my resume. It was my first placement interview and I was brimming with worry. Waiting patiently for them to begin, I watched as they made notes from that sheet of paper that defined me professionally.