Winning Entries for Short Story Writing Competition
Our winners are -
1. Kadambari Gupta
Short Story -
Waliga was a shy, quiet, introverted girl who couldn’t make friends very easily. Talking to new people often seemed to be a task for her. Every time at the dinner table, there were conversations around how many friends her aunt and parents had. When they were young, and their daughter had only one, they would often make negative comments, comparing.
There, darling, with her cousin's stomach would hurt hearing those words; food seemed poison to be consumed. So, making an excuse about going to the washroom, she would cry, locking the door for hours together. These episodes continue, and their darling grew up from a child to a young lady, taking care of aging parents, a cousin, who was really unwell one day while having dinner, was checking her phone when her father interrupted and said, What is more important than food on the table??
Nothing, Dad, " she replied. Then why are you not eating? Put your phone down right now, Yes dad keeping she said and put it down. After having dinner checked the phone in peace. It was a party where all the people known were. Together, she sent a message online that read had fun alone, couldn't bother to call this being sending this message, reply came soon, didn’t feel the need when you would reply. Her family is not well.
Invited you for Felita’s birthday only because she pressured us to invite you. Yet you ditched us at the last moment, so from now on, no such messages and locked their profile. Much broken and shattered, she felt reading those replies that crushed the phone with her hands under the pillow, wiping those rushing tears with tissues that had lost count.
The next day went to a small tea sat there sipping her tea, and then began a conversation between her mind and heart, which felt that this burden of trying to fit and pleasing people, not disappointing others, caused her much harm, and this pattern needs to stop.
Accepting oneself the way one is the right thing, and as the tea was finished, she handed over the money, danced, smiled, left the place, shopped for herself, helped a girl with her stuff, made a new friend there itself and finally found peace with herself.
2. Dr. Bhavana Jain
Short Story -
It started on a normal day.
I was scrolling through my phone, switching between apps, trying to distract myself from a feeling I couldn’t explain.
“Are you done running?” a voice said.
I froze.
There was no one around.
“Who’s there?” I asked, my heart beating faster.
A soft laugh followed. “You hear everyone else… but never me.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I’m your mind,” it said. “The one you keep ignoring.”
I sat up, suddenly aware of the silence around me.
“I don’t ignore you,” I replied.
“Really?” it asked. “Then why do you silence me with distractions every time I try to speak?”
I had no answer.
It continued, calmer now. “You keep searching for peace outside, but I’ve been asking you to sit with yourself for so long.”
“I’m scared,” I admitted quietly.
“I know,” it said. “That’s why I’ve been patient.”
Something was comforting in that.
“Then why does it feel so heavy?” I asked.
“Because you carry everything alone,” my mind replied. “You think being strong means not breaking. But even I get tired of holding all this for you.”
I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.
“So what should I do?” I whispered.
“For today,” it said gently, “just stop running.”
The room felt the same.
Nothing around me had changed.
But for the first time, I put my phone aside.
I sat there, in silence—
not to escape it,
but to understand it.
And slowly, the heaviness I had been carrying
didn’t disappear,
but it felt lighter—
like it no longer belonged to me alone.
Maybe my mind didn’t need me to fix everything.
Maybe it just needed me to listen.
And for the first time,
I wasn’t trying to escape my thoughts—
I was learning how to stay.
3. Dr. Deepikha Barathan
Short Story -
My mind is always thinking certain things subconsciously, though I feel happy at heart.
It says many things to me. Some of the questions my mind is asking me are given below.
Are you with the right person? Are you in the right place? Are you receiving the Joy what you give?
Are you receiving the loyalty that you showered upon people? Are you happy and receiving the happiness that you have given to people?
Are you peaceful and receiving the calmness that you have given to people around you, be it friends, family, or any other form of relationship?
Are you receiving the care from friends to whom you have been loyal for all these past years?
Are you receiving love from your loved ones to whom you were showering love throughout the day, throughout the week, throughout the months, throughout the year, around?
The answers would be different from my end. I received all the above feelings only for a short period of time in my life
The unsaid feeling that I received the most is pain. It is because of disappointment and expectations.
But they gave me a good experience to carry forth for a lifetime.
It shaped me into a better human being, and I am proud of who I am today!
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