short fiction

I’ve been writing stories for as long as I remember, although it was only from 2020 onwards (during the Covid-19 pandemic) that I started to seriously edit and send out my work to different markets.

Most of them fall under the genre of “speculative” fiction—fantasy, sci-fi, magic realism, and a dash of myth—featuring sad and angry girls, against an unjust world, navigating questions of identity, self-hood, and agency.

* indicates the story is free to read online.

Recent Publications

  • “Swan Sisters“. Kaleidotrope. Forthcoming. 2023 [1600 words]

A tale of twin sisters, separated by an accident. A love letter to toys and childhood fantasies, with a vintage vibe.

  • “The Other Wives“. Dark Matter Presents: Human Monsters. A horror anthology from Dark Matter Magazine, edited by Sadie Hartmann and Ashley Saywer. Forthcoming October, 2022. [2600 words].

A science-y retelling of the Bluebeard tale.

  • “Sirena’s Collection of Tarot Cards“. Moonflowers and Nightshade: an anthology of sapphic horror, edited by Samantha Kolesnik. Forthcoming October, 2022. [2700 words].

Sirena is a professional medium who makes it a point to not date her clients. But when she falls in love with the budding actress Lorna, the real and the magical worlds begin to collide…

  • “The Weaver“. Every Breath Alight: an anthology from Dandelion Revolution Press. Forthcoming September, 2022. [5400 words]

Lola, a bot, is heartbroken when her boyfriend cheats on her. When the drugs or the twink vats of her cyberpunk city don’t help her to move on, she visits the mysterious entity called the “Weaver” hoping to rewrite the story/code of her life.

A bittersweet romance that blends South Asian customs with Celtic mythology, set amidst an ecological crisis.

  • *”Rabbitheart“. Zooscape. December, 2021. [3030 words].

A young “unlucky” rabbit makes a bargain to bring her beloved master back to life. A story of bravery, adventure, and unlikely magic.

  • “The Heart of Winter“. A Cold Christmas and the Darkest of Winters. Anthology from Cinnabar Moth Publishing. 2021. [3500 words].

A faerytale for a cold winter’s night that puts a new spin on Hansel and Gretel.

  • “Aster’s List“. Nightmares of Strangers: An Anthology of Eerie, Strange, and Spooky Stories. TouchPoint Press. 2021. [3200 words].

You and your best friend are trapped in a deserted diner until you complete all the items on Aster’s nightmarish list. But can you? A mind-bending tale of horror and friendship.

A Sleeping Beauty retelling, with lucid dreaming.

A  flash fiction piece about family and loss, that reworks the familiar “monster under the bed” trope in a space-y context.

  • *“Lady Fortune”. Anathema Magazine. May, 2021. [2700 words]

A woman visits a tarot-card reader at a magical fair and discovers a new truth about her identity.

Featured on Locug Mag’s Recommended Reading List.
Featured on Strange Horizon’s Short Fiction Treasures.

A magic-realist story interweaving witchcraft and the pangs of teenage love, set in a sleepy suburban Indian town.

Cinderella and Red Riding Hood interweave in and out, in this quaint faerytale about girlhood, trauma healing, and almost loves. 

“It’s a wrenching and beautiful take on time, memory, friendship, and healing.”- Charles Payseur (QuickSip Reviews)

The monk travels far and wide, collecting stories from those on their deathbed. One stormy night, he stops at a lighthouse, where three strange sisters tend to him. With stories nested within each other, like a Russian doll, the tale is a love letter to folklore and oral storytelling traditions.

Also republished in Three Crows Magazine’s Best of Year 2 Anthology.

  • *“Charmed Honeycake”. Hexagon Speculative Fiction Magazine, Issue 3. November, 2020. [[1500 words]

A family recipe, passed down the generations, reveals a hidden secret, involving the Fae.

Nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

Featured on Tor.com’s  “Must-Read Speculative Short Fiction” November Reading List
“A gorgeous piece of work, fanciful and haunting at the same time.”- Alex Brown (reviewer at Tor)

  • *“The Moon Thief”. Nightshift Studios, Print Edition, Vol. 6. November, 2020. [9000 words]

An orphan child, working at a printing press, steals a page from a mysterious beautifully illuminated manuscript. Unbeknownst to her, it disrupts the order of the natural world, and she must venture into the Forest, enlist the help of animals, and set right past wrongs. A faerytale about promises and sacrifices, in lavishly poetic prose.

Aer, a time-traveler from the future, is stuck horribly in the present, in the middle of the pandemic, after a failed mission. Will she be able to return home to her partner Zel? A timey-wimey sci-fi love story.

  • Nominated for the Washington DC Science Fiction Association Award for Short Fiction.

Older Publications

  • “Mythology of Childhood”. Open Road Magazine. 2016.
    • Finalist in the Open Road Review Short Story Contest, 2016.
  • “Presents”. Tales To Tell: Romance. Bee Books, 2016.