characters – Iniya Writes

Top Books of August

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
This book was so well-written and filled with so many cool details and characters. Rin has worked hard her entire life, so when her parents announce that she’ll be married off, her hard work gone to waste, she decides to act. She studies for the notoriously hard civil service exams, and someone pulls through, plunging her into a world of danger and intelligence. This was such a well-written book and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Sanskari Sweetheart by Ananya Devarajan
This was an amazing, sweet book about Raina, who needs to prove to her mom that she can make dance a career. But in doing so, she’s pushing away everyone close to her. She realizes this when she gets stuck in a timeloop, forced to repeat the day over and over until she solves her problem. This book was super cute and interesting!
The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks
This was such an interesting collection of stories that detailed different medical conditions- from lacking certain sensations or images to feeling too many sensations. I learned a lot from this book and every story was incredibly interesting.
Love Craves Cardamom by Aashna Avachat
This was such a cute book! Archi is planning to have the best senior year overseas in India. She needs to complete her capstone project and she gets to do it in her parents’ homeland. And, she meets a cute guy who really likes her. But when she realizes not everything is as it seems, life gets complicated. This was such a well-written and sweet book and I really enjoyed it!

Breakfast these days was a bar of soap. Nothing less, nothing more. Maisie’s grandmother had told her stories of humans and their fragile stomachs couldn’t handle the taste of soap, and honestly, Maisie found that hard to believe. Her kind, the AnDroids as humans liked to call them, had been raised on different meals- the oil of a model car, for example, or the bottom of a letter- the part that contained the x’s and o’s.
She made her way downstairs, where Grandma was just serving breakfast. The radio was on, the AnDroid announcer prattling on about the latest misdeeds of humans. They wanted war with the AnDroids, it seemed, claiming their jobs were being stolen, running amok with no sense of cohesion whatever. Grandma’s snort told Maisie everything she needed to know- it was beneath them.
Breakfast over, Maisie slipped into her room. Grandma would be out for the most of the day, going around, shopping, talking to the neighbors, buying fabrics and funny little buttons that Maisie loved to sort and play with. So, knowing that Grandma would be out, Maisie pried up the loose board in the corner of her room, taking out a CD player. Grandma wasn’t a big fan of human artifact, in fact, saying that she hated them wouldn’t be too far from the truth. But Maisie couldn’t stay away from music. She’d gotten the CDs from a previous classmate- back in elementary school, before the humans decided the AnDroids were too dangerous for their kids to be around.
Maisie knew when Grandma was back, she’d have to pretend to hate humans and all their inventions again. But for now, she swayed to the music, closing her eyes and letting herself pretend peace was the reality.

Selkies and Summer

I wrote this story based off the prompt “Set your story at a party, festival, or local celebration”. I hope you enjoy it!

The party was in full swing. Kids were running around the boardwalk, ice cream cones in hand, dripping over to create sticky fingers. Everywhere you looked were classic carnival games, stocked with balloons and plushies of all shapes and sizes. The sun was shining, bright, and the water was a glistening shade of aquamarine. By all means, it was a perfect day. Ana really did feel content as she strolled through the streets of the idyllic town, clutching a plush of a bunny close to her chest, the other hand holding a camera. The streets were empty, everyone attending the summer festival. Albatross, the city which she had grown up in, faced a major spike in tourism every summer, visitors loving the sunshine-y energy of the town. Ana didn’t mind. Sure, sometimes the tourists were annoying, but it meant more people to photograph, more experiences to capture.
She crouched down at the cove she’d discovered a few yards away from the beach, setting the plush bunny down at the edge of the water cautiously. A few minutes passed, then a seal flopped up onto the shore, nudging the bunny curiously, to which Ana offered an enthusiastic nod. She turned away, and when she’d turned back around, the seal had turned into a human- a human Ana had come to know and care for. Naida’s smile was small, “Hey. Cute plush. You won it?”
Ana nodded, “Mm. Summer festival. Did the hammer bell game-thingy. You like it?”
Naida nodded. She was a selkie, her seal skin now wrapped protectively around her body. Ana studied her, then grinned, slipping a hand inside her bag to grab a big tub of cotton candy.
“Here. You mentioned you wanted to try more sweets last time. I love cotton candy. It just…melts in your mouth.”
Naida furrowed her brow but obediently pulled a small chunk of the pink sweet away from the tub, touching it to the tip of her tongue carefully. Ana’s camera was there to capture the moment her expression lit up, delighted at the rush of sugar. Naida glanced at Ana, eyes sparkling. “It’s…wow.”
Ana grinned, dimples flashing, “Good, right? You can get some year-round, but I think it’s the best during summer. It’s like…infused with joy. Or something.”

A distant shout rang out, in the direction of the cove. Ana glanced out, “Shoot. I should go. Take care. I’ll…I’ll let you know when I can meet again, ok? Take the plush. Think of it as…a replacement me.” Her smile was easy, not betraying the upset roiling underneath. Naida nodded, slipping the seal-skin back on, diving into the waters below. Ana resurfaced, cotton candy back in the bag, a sunny smile on her face, just a girl who was exploring.
But later, around the bonfire, Ana couldn’t help but smile as she admired the photo she’d taken- of Naida, her eyes bright, her cheeks flushed, the cotton candy melting into sugar. She’d see the selkie again soon. It wasn’t goodbye, it never was.

Primp the ghost

This was another writing prompt based story! I hope you enjoy!

When Marie-Ellis saw a ghost for the first time, she thought it was a speck of dust. A rather large, somewhat translucent speck of dust. So she had picked up her broom and swept the poor thing away. The ghost, Primp, she had learned, had not appreciated this in the slightest. Yet, that hadn’t stopped him from being all too intrigued by Marie-Ellis. He insisted on following her everywhere she went, which led to their current situation- the small pouch tied onto Marie-Ellis’ belt. Primp resided there, all cozy and comfortable. Of course, the pouch lent itself to questions. Marie-Ellis was the managing director of a huge firm, known for dressing and acting sensibly, no frills or bits and bobs. Yet, all of a sudden, a pouch appeared. Marie-Ellis didn’t respond to any questions thrown her way, just flashed the questioner a serene smile and went on her way. It was evening- a time of day when Marie-Ellis didn’t really do much. She lived alone, and was happy that way. Primp had truly thrown a cork into her plans, but she supposed it wasn’t a bad cork. Not really.

As she sat down at her sewing machine, she raised an eyebrow at Primp, “Well? What today?”. Primp had grown obsessed with plush toys. He found them enjoyable, reminiscent of his own childhood. So, today, he requested a plush dinosaur. Marie-Ellis sighed, then reached into her sewing handbag, pulling out the necessary green scraps of fabric and stuffing. She hummed a little tune as she worked, quite content with the little life she’d created. It had taken a while- she’d quit her first ever job on the second day of work- turns out, some people weren’t made to be air traffic controllers and her second job didn’t go much better. No matter how much propaganda they push out, being an undertaker is truly an awful job.

But now, as Marie-Ellis sat at her sewing machine, and the rain began to first patter, then pour, she knew in her heart that she was truly happy.

Winning the Lottery

Recently, I tried out a new writing website! It generates ideas for you to incorporate into your writing. The result, while a little over the place, was very entertaining and I had a lot of fun writing it. I hope you enjoy!

You’d think that when you won the lottery, you’d spend the money on something grand. Something that truly wowed, something magnificent. Maybe you’d do something nice for your parents, maybe you’d treat yourself…Max bought a chicken. Just one. Not even a fancy chicken- to compete in shows or to eat. Just a chicken. And his reasoning? “I wanted a friend!”.
I finally convinced him the chicken wasn’t the best idea and he should buy something else with the money. He bought a cat. A cute one, sure, but a cat. I did not see how this would help us in our investigation. Ms. Emme had hired us to figure out who had been behind the airplane crash that had killed her youngest daughter. And so, I’d advised Max, pretty wisely, I would say, to buy something to help us figure out who did it. Maybe save some money to bribe some corrupt officers, you know what I mean? Instead he bought a cat. And a chicken. I can’t forget the chicken.
He said he’d “try to do right by me” today. I’m hoping he’ll use the money for information, for something that’ll help us take at least one step in the right direction.
…There’s a knock at the door. It better be Max with the information.
I’m back. It was not, in fact, Max with the information. It was Max with a random guy. A cameraman, for heaven’s sake. We don’t need a cameraman. And we definitely don’t need the eggs that the chicken’s been laying all over the place. I walked in this morning and there was one in my hat. My nicest one, too, fit with feathers and fabric.

Some may call it drastic, but Max’s delusions and unorthodox behavior have gone on too long. It’s time for some revenge.
First. I’ll steal the money. There’s still around 10 million left. That’s enough for me to buy a new office, snoop around, and have tons of money left over.
Then, I’ll get this company off the ground. We’ve been a small private investigative company for too long and with this money, anyone would respect us.
Finally, I’ll buy a better fan for this office. Well. I guess that goes with buying a new office. But, seriously. Who rents a space with no fan? Max, that’s who. We’ve been surviving with paper fans. Paper. fans.
Maybe I’d give some money to Max too. He was my best friend, after all. He never really enjoyed being an investigator. He’d probably become a DJ. He’d be good, too. Or maybe a blacksmith, though maybe that job interest was just a passing fascination.

And that’s how much I wrote in 10 minutes! I definitely enjoyed this exercise.

Independent Book Store Day

Last Saturday was Independent Book Store Day, a day to celebrate small bookstores. I visited 2 indie bookstores that I’d never been to before and thoroughly enjoyed both of them!

In today’s world, where we can order anything online, bookstores aren’t getting the same traffic as they used to. Therefore, Indie Bookstore Day encourages readers to support these small bookstores to help them thrive and continue to serve the community.

The first bookshop I visited was Good On Paper. Their shop was so pretty and had such a great collection of books for all ages- kids to young adults to adult/nonfiction. They also had lots of stationary, with cute journals and pens. It was so nice to check out a new bookshop and I can’t wait to read the book I bought from there!

After Good on Paper, I visited Kaboom Books, a used book store. They had so many books, filling every shelf, on all topics. I loved getting lost in the maze of books, just scanning the shelves. I exited with two books about mythology and have already started reading them!

Support Indie Bookstores!

The Spanaritar

This is a short story that I wrote for the Scholastic Art and Writing Competition! It won an honorable mention.

It had been a nice, normal, spring day. Before the man, before his daughter, before…well. It started with cherry blossoms. They were the first thing Aryan noticed as he headed outside, his plan to relax, to take a break. The pink flowers littered the pavement and as Aryan passed the movie theater, the smell of popcorn wafted through the open doors. All around, kids were laughing, couples were talking, and, well, everyone seemed joyful. As Aryan scanned the crowd, a pleasant smile lit up his face. It really was what some would call a perfect day.
As he continued to observe the sights, setting a leisurely pace, he startled at the sight of someone unhappy. A middle-aged man was sitting on a bench, his face buried in his palms. Something drew Aryan to the man, something that he couldn’t quite explain, but couldn’t quite ignore either. Aryan laid his hand on the man’s shoulder, startling him. The man looked up, alarmed, his teary gaze meeting Aryan’s calm, steady one.
“Hey. What’s wrong? Well, obviously, I’m a stranger, but…if you have anything that’s troubling you…you can tell me”.
The man tried in vain to smile, “That’s-that’s nice of you, thanks. I-, well, I guess I sound stupid, but um. My daughter- she, she’s going to kill me, I swear”
Aryan furrowed his brow, “Um, well. I’m sure it’s not that bad, but you can stay with me for now? If you prefer?”
The man shook his head frantically, “No. I must get back to her, I must! I can’t, I have to see her again!” As much as Aryan was put off by the situation, he couldn’t help but pity the man. He must have been having some family problems, maybe a fight had broken out between the two and his daughter had gotten terrifyingly vicious. Though I don’t understand why he’d exaggerate so much…
Aryan sighed, “Fine. But promise me you’ll let me walk back with you. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
The man’s face collapsed in a relieved grin, “Yes. Yes, thank you so, so much. I’d appreciate that. Just…stay back, ok? If…if it happens again, you should stay safe.”
No matter Aryan’s wariness, he nodded, following the man closely.

Aryan and the man walked together in relative silence, the man occasionally glancing over as if to make sure Aryan didn’t disappear completely. Aryan surveyed the apartment complex they walked up to, satisfied when he saw nothing wrong.
He turned to smile at the man, “There. Is your daught-”. He stopped suddenly, surveying the man’s withdrawn expression, the fear returned to his eyes, “What’s wrong?”
“She-she’s there. Don’t you see her?” He raised a finger, slowly pointing at a figure in the window. Aryan’s eyes narrowed, watching her closely. On first glance, she had blended in with her surroundings- her matted black hair and rumpled clothes matching the darkness of the room behind her.

As Aryan continued to pay attention, the figure turned around, an almost evil gleam in her eye and a manic smile making its way up those red-lined lips. He found himself backing away subconsciously, his overwhelming selfishness and greed to live overpowering his desire to help the man. Even as his legs trembled, he couldn’t look away, eyes locked onto the girl in the window.
She lifted an instrument to her lips, then began to play. Aryan watched in horror as the man seemed to collapse onto himself, clutching his head desperately. As he gazed upon the man’s obvious turmoil, terror bleached his brain.
The instrument….it couldn’t be? Unless… it was what he thought it was. But there’s no way- she shouldn’t have one of those…
If it really was what he thought…well, they were all screwed. It was a device of legends, an instrument said to control the listener, to force them to listen to its twisted tunes, burrowing its way into their brain, until…well, until they were gone.
The last Aryan saw of the man was him getting dragged into the building by some kind of force, his eyes dark and tornmented, his lips barely pushing out the words, “No- please. The Spanaritar, please. Save me.”

I hope you enjoyed!

Kyoho: A short story

Here’s a short story I wrote based on the song “Lost Umbrella” by Inabakumori!

Mayumi held her hands over her head, a makeshift umbrella, as she bobbed and weaved through the throngs of shoppers, her gaze solely on the small black cat in front of her- Kyoho, as she had dubbed it. The cat glanced back, as if to check she was still following, then plodded on determinedly. Mayumi’s breath caught as Kyoho disappeared from her gaze, eyes narrowing as she searched the crowd, before it reappeared, letting out a plaintive mewl. Mayumi exhaled, relieved, increasing her speed.

Kyoho had appeared right when she had lost her umbrella, the wind sweeping away the bright yellow parasol. Mayumi had stared after it despondently, hand reaching out in a futile attempt to grab it. It had been yet another unlucky event on top of a slew of bad days. Just when she was about to step into the protection of an awning and wonder if she should just go home, the sensation of something winding between her legs caught her attention. She had looked down, startled, to see Kyoho, the small creature looking up at her innocently. As she bent to scoop it up, it had taken off, with the occasional backwards glance to see if she was following.

She was. She didn’t know why she was, but she trusted the cat. Call it a soft spot, call it idiocy…but still. Kyoho seemed like a friend. A feline friend who couldn’t quite talk, sure, but a friend all the same.

Kyoho rounded a corner, and Mayumi, nearly out of breath, did the same moments later- only to come face to face with the umbrella, tangled in the branches of a tree. Mayumi sucked in a breath, staring wonderously at the cat, back to winding around her feet. She cautiously made her way over to the tree, reaching up on her tiptoes to try and nudge it back to the ground. It fluttered down, along with a few ginkgo leaves, a young, bright green, hopeful, determined. As if to symbolize that it wasn’t all lost. That there was still hope. Mayumi picked up the umbrella, turning to thank Kyoho, to express some form of gratitude to the cat, but when she turned back…it was gone. Vanished into the sea of people, off to perhaps save another lost soul.

Mayumi took a deep breath, hefted the umbrella back over her shoulder, and set back off on her journey.

I hope you enjoyed!

Top Books of February

This Boy’s Life by Tobias Wolff
I read this book for school and it was really interesting! Tobias, or Jack, has followed his mother to Utah, hoping for a new life. However, wherever they turn, misfortune follows them, as Jack learns who he is and what he truly wants in life. It was a really interesting book!
One Thousand and One Nights by Hanan al-Shaykh
This was a retelling of the story of Scheherazade, who told stories to a cruel king so that she wouldn’t die. I really loved the way the stories were written, each individual story a part of something bigger. It was beautiful to read and I definitely recommend it to you!
Tales of India: Folktales from Bengal, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu by Svabhu Kohli and Viplov Singh
This book contained folktales from India, as well as the most gorgeous illustrations! I really enjoyed the way the stories were told in simple terms with Indian vocabulary. It was really enjoyable to read and learn about all these folktales!
An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson

Lennon’s life, once ruined, was saved by the Drayton College. The college specializes in “persuasion” and Lennon is one of the most gifted students. But the corruption that lurks around the school is terrifying, ad well as its past. I really enjoyed this book and its plot!

Category: characters