I want to apologize for the long periods of delay between posts. I was swamped with yearlies and recurring assessments, losing writing inspiration at the rate of light years (1 parsec, anyone?). I will attempt to post more regularly henceforth and try my best to minimize the unnecessary wait caused.

The last time I wrote a post on Durga Puja was three years ago. Or something. All I know is time flew by, getting sucked into a wormhole, and I found myself, once again this year, celebrating the same Puja again.

For readers of Girl in Pieces and The Way I Used to Be comes an emotionally gripping story about facing hard truths in the aftermath of sexual assault. Mara and Owen are as close as twins can get, so when Mara’s friend Hannah accuses Owen of rape, Mara doesn’t know what to think. Can her brother really be guilty of such a violent act? Torn between her family and her sense of right and wrong, Mara feels lost, and it doesn’t help that things are strained with her ex-girlfriend, Charlie. As Mara, Hannah, and Charlie come together in the aftermath of this terrible crime, Mara must face a trauma from her own past and decide where Charlie fits into her future. With sensitivity and openness, this timely novel confronts the difficult questions surrounding consent, victim blaming, and sexual assault.

• Girl Made Of Stars, by Ashley Herring Blake

An entry for a writing competition I recently participated in, with the theme “Tomorrow”. It’s an allusion to the conflict we currently face, so find out if you can do some poem analysis right there :D.

Tomorrow, aren’t I brave?

Tomorrow, please take me away.

Tomorrow reaches out a loving hand,

Just to snatch it away.

staring at the ceiling
once again the clock striking twelve
joints, you can’t be moving
once again feeling me dissolve

When I look at your smile,

My world spins on a dwindling axis,

When you hold me close in your arms,

My heart beats, matching your ebb and flow.

her smile was bittersweet
but it might’ve just been me
or more likely the not-completely-ripe orange
that i chose to eat this morning

Seven tickets. An island of dreams. The chance of a lifetime.

Sometimes I stand there, barefoot in my nightwear,
The emotion in my eyes, concentrated in an angry glare,
In my heart’s abyss, burns a furious flame,
Everyone around me, on them I pin the blame.

“Cough, cough, achoo!”

Here come the holidays,

And once more, poor old Mili,

Is down with the darned flu.

Due to a sudden, extreme case of writer’s block and a completely uninspiring week because of assessment tasks, we have a guest writer, one of my friends, saving my graces today! Shoutout to him for his amazing writing, and thank you for helping me out today.

Enjoy:)