The house was a hundred years old.
I would be here for a year working on my latest project.
By the time the men helping with the luggage left, it was dark.
I do not remember when I fell asleep.
The sound of someone walking in the attic woke me up.
My watch told me it was two in the morning.
Picking up a cane, I crept up expecting to find a thief but found no one there.
Too tired to investigate, I went back to sleep.
The next day I was busy unpacking when I heard the noise again.
I rushed up the stairs that opened into the attic, prepared for battle.
In the middle of the room stood a cat. I wanted to shoo it away but stopped.
I realized that I was not alone anymore.
I had a friend.
less than one fifty words
Nature’s alarm clocks – a short, short story
“Need to buy batteries for the wall clocks,” I thought.
I get up at four in the morning. My phone alarm would wake me up. After that, I tracked the day using the wall clocks.
My grandfather could tell the time by watching the shadows the sun cast. I wondered if that would work for me.
After all, I was living in the same house.
I began observing the day as it unfolded.
I heard the frogs croaking in the pond behind my house as I woke up.
Birds would start chirping around 5.15.
The outlines of the coconut trees would be visible against the grey morning sky by 5.30.
I checked and rechecked over a few days and found that nature’s timekeepers were spot on every day.
“Maybe I can delay buying the batteries for some time!” I thought.
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Worrying Mindfully – a short, short story
I was just back from a ten-day meditation retreat.
Ten days of no talking, no contact with other humans. All that we had to do was concentrate on our breath.
It sounded simple in the brochures but turned out to be complicated stuff when put into practice.
Ten days later, I returned refreshed and recharged.
Before I could ring the bell, the door opened, and my wife rushed out.
“I have to go out to buy the groceries,” my wife said, managing a smile.
As I closed the door behind her, the bell rang.
It was the watchman with a hand full of bills.
I was checking them when my son opened the door of his room.
“The roof is leaking. I have moved my desktop for now. You need to get the waterproofing done.”
I was back in my world of mindfully worrying!
Short Stories for All 