When Silence Speaks...

In the far end of the world, on the land stretched with endless deserts, walks an old merchant, Mejhul, the nameless, the faceless.   The name had fallen on him, as he was an orphan raised on the streets of different cities, growing up along the caravans of traders. And eventually he had come to like his name, for he was unknown, moving from one new place to another, no home to return to, no one that he belonged to. A nomad, a wanderer, he travels with his camel, Arkadash, who was truly his friend. From the time he ventured on this journey, Arkadash was with him, for over three decades now.  Mejhul spent his life, with half the year in the world out there, around people and their unlimited stories. And the rest half of the year of winter months in these deserts, wrapped in the night sky and their eternal tales.  He was no longer nameless though, he was now known, known as the Listener of the Fallen Stars.  Sitting in front of his tent in this fairly cold winter, lean...

Yes. It’s 2021.   And Yes. I am still single.  And I love the way you use ‘still’.  Like you know what’s right for me. Like you know me, my life, and it’s plans. That ‘still’ word used to sting me when I started hearing it first. Those were the days when I trusted the ways of world. Then slowly I got used to the ‘still’ word. But nevertheless, it made me uncomfortable, feel embarrassed.  You made me feel like a lesser being. The tone of that ‘still’ made my skin crawl. Every time you said ‘still single’, you forced me to compare myself to all other lives around me, like everyone was climbing slowly up the cliff and I was falling into the gorge. I will never forget that suffocation I felt, because of your word ‘still’.  And then I did drown. I did not know how to swim. I bobbed my head above, kicked my legs hard, drank murky water, I struggled to find a shore, while you stood there watching.  And that’s when I started seeing myself. More and more of myself. ...

2020 was a year unlike any other. Well, I probably have said that for all the past years as well, haven't I.  Alright, but honestly 2020 was quite a handful. And yet, I have had quite a remarkable journey. Although, none of my travel plans materialized, nor was I able to get my tattoo done, but still I did end up having quite a few feathers up my sleeve. For starters, like one of my friend said "I Survived Covid" . And managed to stay healthy and safe -  physically ,  mentally  and financially. That's a huge accomplishment. But then thanks to all the lockdown and confinement to "your own home", I had to find way to liberate myself. I wrote a lot in 2020 . I started writing short stories. I also bought a fountain pen and started recording hand-written poems in my poetry book. Some of my posts on insta and blog touched few of my readers hearts, and that was a bonus for me. And I read a lot . Yes. I was inclined to traditional reading, smel...

He woke up to the constant buzzing of his doorbell. A sound that’s almost disgusting for a saturday morning.  He knew it wasn’t any of his usual suspects; the maid, the cook, the delivery boy or his crazy friends. His saturday morning was going to be uneventful. Precisely why he was up until 3 AM previous night, binge watching a Netflix series that was long due.  And when he had finally gone to bed, after cleaning a bowl of instant noodles and beer, he had no intentions of moving any part of his body till late that afternoon. So this constant buzzing was not just a mild discomfort but a breach of code, an unforgivable act of crime. He thought to himself... The person was either foolish or sadistic. No one in their right mind would think of waking up an office going guy on a saturday early morning 8 AM without prior notice. As though the damn corporate finance job was not enough to squeeze the life out of my soul, here comes Lucifer, the devil himself to wreck my weekend...

“ What makes you think it’s you? ” She asked cocking her head to her right giving him a studying glance. He thought he was sure, but now looking at her piercing eyes, he wasn’t so sure after all. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair and clearing his throat said “ Well, you know, you always write about broken heart. And ahem, we both know, how that happened. So.. you know, I thought that it’s written around our relationship .” “ Hmm ” she said, straightening and sipping her bourbon.  “ But now looks like I was a fool to think that? ” Now it was his turn to shot that questioning glance. “ You were always a fool. You know that right. But anyway you were my fool! ” She smiled. “ I like the sound of ‘my’ there. But I am getting a feeling there’s no place for it anymore? ” he asked with slight nervousness. “ Tell me Erhan, why are you really here? I have my assumptions but I want to hear it from you. Tell me. ” She leaned forward, throwing her full weight on the table and her full atten...

You don’t know me. And what you know of me is not even half of who I am.  It’s not that I am too private. I say what I feel, and although I am on open book, I am just not too easily readable. But tell me, why would you want to know me? Or rather know EVERYTHING about me? We as humans obsess about knowing everything about each other, especially about the ones we love. We want to believe that we KNOW what they think, what they like, who they are etc.. I think it comes to us naturally.  But, we don’t. No matter how close we are, there’s a part of us that’s always too private. That cannot be shared. Sometimes we ourselves don’t know who we are. I believe, you should just be happy with the part they share with you, and who they are when they are around you. And remember, who they are when they are with you depends on who you are around them. There’s always a disclaimer- they are a different person when they are with someone else. And they are a different person when t...