Novels by Sadia Soria

"Hey.""Hi," I breathed, letting myself melt into my bedsheets at the way his voice made my chest tremble slightly."You know, I'm on a walk.""Oh yeah?" A smile broke out across my face when I heard Rani's protesting 'mrewol' from aside. "I guess cats aren't big walkers." It was a week after a whirlwind of exams and sleepless nights, and the day before the new moon of Ramadan.A tantalising smell of beef managed to seep in through the slit under my door, making me sniff at the air. From the kitchen, Ma and Khammi's loud exchange could be heard as they argued over the right time to put in the garlic cloves in the curry. "Yeah...and there's this lake in here. It's small. Almost cute. And you know what, come over, and bring a change of clothes. I'm gonna teach you swimming," Samar said."I-I kinda have guests over," I hesitated, despite having perked up at the idea at first. "Khammi's here with Fariah.""Seriously? It's nine in the morning," he complained as Rani again meowed loudly fr

what a fucked up little worldMy blood running cold, I gingerly raised my arms as instructed, exchanging a terrified look with West. Romeo's dashboard had started to ping manically with messages from Doc, but viewing them was out of the question now. We stepped out of the car on shaky legs. The two black-clad men pointing the guns at our heads had pale skin and monolidded eyes, and their accent was glaringly Asian when they commanded us to move forward. I noticed West's strides becoming steadier with each step while mine turned more rickety. Inching closer to me, he interlaced his fingers with mine, whispering, "Don't worry, they won't dream of hurting us, they're- they're my mother's men."I gripped West's hand with fierce force, glad that the men holding us hostage didn't mind. Although it was evident by the conviction in his voice that he knew what he was talking about, West's words had little impact on the chemical reactions raging on inside my head - how I didn't vomit then was

we'll never make itWest's grip on my hand was firm enough to break my fall with a sharp tug. "What the hell?" I cried, studying the gobsmacked expression gracing West's features. Pulling myself upright, hand still in West's, I followed his gaze to the gaping blackness where the bookcase had stood moments ago. Gently pushing me aside, he took a tentative step across the threshold.At once, a series of lights flipped on inside as if by magic. I jumped a little with surprise, my hand shooting up to clutch at his arm, a whirlwind of wonder and trepidation rapidly rising in my chest.The staircase that had now emerged plunged deeper into the earth with each glass step. West and I exchanged an anxious look. "This is some next level shit," I finally said, shaking my head with disbelief. "A fucking secret door? Explain yourself, West.""I-I've never seen this before," West stammered, making me raise a brow in concern. "You knocked out this book," he said, letting go of my waist to crouch do

let's forget all the crazy things happening, just for tonighthttps://images.app.goo.gl/1z6JXrmFLHeNrbxv6The rose gold choker necklace glinted in the orange glow of the lamp overhead. I picked it up from the dresser and inspected the glinting set of the choker and jhumkas, perfectly matching my simple yellow saree with pink floral pattern on its sheer organza surface which came with a lovely onion pink blouse. Fariah had gifted me the saree in exchange for helping her come out to Khammi as bi, and a small smile appeared on my face at the remembrance.Quickly slipping them on, I took a few seconds to appreciate my cat eyeliner, rich pink lipstick and painstakingly perfected hair.Let's forget all the crazy things happening, just for tonight.A loud knock at the front door managed to make my heart stop for a split second. "Coming!" I yelled loudly, and slipped my phone inside the hidden pocket on the underside of my blouse. The Taryn Rose heels fit my feet like Cinderella's slippers. A

I turned the blue scissors in my grip from side to side, as if the logic of what I was about to do was etched on its surface. DON'T DO IT! - part of me screamed. YASS BITCH JUST DO IT - the other part yelled louder. Trembling, my hand guided the glinting metal all the way up until it was just above my neck.Snap. A lengthy black lock of curly hair plummeted to the bathroom floor. "Holy shit," I muttered at my gawking reflection. "This is a really shitty coping mechanism. I love it."Snap, snap, snap.-"How's it going with the dance? Isn't it tomorrow?" Bapi asked, plopping down on my bed and taking a bite of the samosa Khammi had brought yesterday. Reeking of Old Spice, he had evidently tried his best to clean up for his first day at work after 9 days. "Don't worry, I haven't messed up any more," I muttered. As I cracked my knuckles, the crunches sounded thunderous in the autumn silence."No, I mean, who're you going with?" He finished off the samosa without a hint of gusto and disc

funnily enough, even though the nights seemed everlasting, the thoughts wouldn't end when the sun came outI woke up to a startlingly loud sob. Groggily, I untangled myself from the sheets, the white dress from last night clinging to my body. The rattle of the newspaper guy's old cycle echoed up through the window as he cycled past us. Trying to rub the sleep from my eyes, I followed the feminine sobs down the stairs.Khammi appeared distraught. Dressed in a simple cotton kameez, she sat on a tool near the base of the stairs, trying to muffle her sobs with her pink dupatta. The moment she spotted me with her bulging watery eyes, making me yelp, she launched up from her seat and pulled me into a crushing hug, her wailing jumping a pitch. Mortified, I scrambled away from her, wondering what the hell was happening. The clock hanging on the wall above the couch said that it was 7 in the morning and it had brightened outside, but nobody had remembered to turn off the glaring light. Consi