Warning: There are dangers that lie in the darkness we cannot see, and there are dangers right in front of us that we choose not to see. This is one such danger. Proceed at your own risk. Continue? No Yes ✓ Proceeding… Step 1: Inspect your House The sofa cover is a bit scrunched up, but it’s okay— your three-year-old toddler was playing with her toys there. The kitchen is wiped clean. You smile; after all, your househelp is finally doing her work the way she’s supposed to. Y

I bloomed in a prairie grassland, somewhere in the middle of nowhere. The weather has always been kind to me— the sun warm enough to help me grow, and the rain soft enough to let me rest. I like facing the sun whenever I can. I’m not sure if it’s because I like the hearth, or simply because I was made like this by the creator. The grassland I live in is, unfortunately, inhabited by humans as well. So it’s no joke when I say that I’ve seen pretty strange things, despite my sho

The wind often whispers to me. At the beginning, I thought it was nothing. Eventually, it started caressing me even on days where there were no signs of wind. And then it started speaking to me. Softly, faintly– It would graze my face like the hand of a concerned mother. It would direct me to paths I didn't know existed by gushing me towards it. And strangely, I listened. Maybe because it was the only constant I had. Unlike walls that changed colour, or ceilings that sloped a

Warning:  Once you hold a moment, you cannot  let go of it. No matter what the circumstances are, or how high the stakes are. Proceed with caution.  Continue to proceed? Yes   ✓        No Proceeding… Step 1:  Open Your Eyes Look around you. See the sand underneath your feet? Feels soft? Good. Walk towards the sea. Look at the flamingo pink sky. The Sun is smiling at you. It knows what you’re doing. It knows it all. The water touches your feet and sends up a shiver up your spi

I was built with two planks, a kettle, and a dream. That was forty years ago. Since then, I’ve fed warmth to a thousand winters, and quiet to a million mouths. People think I’m just wood, rust, and steam. But if I had a rupee for every heartbreak, argument, or political debate I’ve overheard, I’d be a franchise by now. Honestly, the soap opera never ends around here—and the chai’s always better than the gossip. I’ve seen people age through the street. Children accompanying th

After he left, I sat with my hands in my lap like I was waiting for someone to call my name. The door didn’t slam when you left. It just sighed, like it had been expecting it all along. Like it had watched too many arguments die in the hallway and knew this one wouldn't resurrect. You didn’t yell. You didn’t even look back. You just walked—past the windows that trembled in their frames like they might shatter under the weight of your absence. I’ve always wondered– what our la

21st January, 2025 Amsterdam, Netherlands “Hey! Walk slowly, I can’t keep up with you otherwise,” Agatha huffed as she put her hands on her knees. Her legs wobbled in the cold weather, despite wearing 3 layers of leggings and dark-blue jeans, and 2 layers of shirt and a white jumper. It was just 2.5°C, which she should’ve been used to, considering she spent her entire twenty four years of life over here. “Not my fault that you don’t have any stamina,” Aart scoffed and stopped

“I think the stars are flirting with each other. Look! That one is giggling,” Adele smiles as she rests her head on the soft grass. The chilly air is about to slice her cheek when Silas shifts his windbreaker onto her. "The sky is alive tonight," she thinks, eyes tracing constellations. "A million tiny heartbeats scattered across the dark, winking secrets at the dreamers below. If I listen closely, maybe I’ll hear them hum." "They're massive spheres of burning gas," Silas re

“I wish you were dead,” is something I grew up hearing. Don’t feel sorry— I’m used to it. I suppose I was four the first time I heard it. It was my princess-themed birthday party when Dad forgot to bring my cake, and my mother was furious. One thing led to another, and my dad ended up with a heavy blow to his head. That was also the day my mother told him, “I wish you were dead.” Or perhaps it was when I was five years old, in a garden, playing house with my friends, while my

The dust mucks up over me as I wonder if someone will visit me today. The fading ink of the books whispers amongst themselves, wondering if someone will pick them up. It wasn’t always like this. I have hoarded hundreds of books upon my old wood, still strong all through these years. There was a time when the children were excited to visit the library, grateful to have access to the information. I would be dusted off daily, along with the books on me. I’ve seen generations gro

A Deep-Dive Into Pseudo-feminism Imagine being discriminated against because of your gender. Most, if not all, women have experienced it at some point. Some rise above it, learning from their experiences and using them to empower not just themselves but others around them. But not everyone handles such situations gracefully, and honestly? That’s okay. People process pain differently.  Sometimes, though, the way they cope turns unhealthy. It becomes toxic. And that’s where the

To: cosmos@noreligion.com From: thegirlonherphone@earth.in Subject: Just, Because. Dear Cosmos, I am terrified. I really am. And frankly, I don’t know how to deal with this. I don’t know how to fix everything or how to please everyone at the same time. Each time I look at this world, all I see are unhappy people pretending to smile so that their loved ones don’t get saddened. But here’s the thing, cosmos, their loved ones are doing the same thing. And so are their other loved

I could see love in his eyes. Not the kind of love that speaks in words, but the quiet, unrelenting kind—the kind that’s carved into the creases of his frustrated forehead and the rough edges of his calloused hands. I felt it in the pause of his ragged breaths as he worked over me, shaping me, molding me, sculpting me into something new. And when he stepped back to admire his work, I knew he loved me. Not because I’m beautiful. Not because I’m special. He loved me because I a

Before anyone says ‘I told you so,’ I want to clarify one thing. I did not, in any form, expect this to happen. And how could I? Unlike Janus, I cannot look into the future. Everything I know about are sweet things. Like flowers, ribbons, rainbows, puppies, and… and a lot of things. So I don’t know how to explain to Jupiter that the most amazing, gorgeous, flabbergasting  Goddess of Love might’ve innocently, unknowingly, accidentally , caused another  mortal to die. So much h

To: goddessofcreation@myth.in Cc: cosmos@noreligion.com Subject: Was It Worth This? Dear Thesis, I'm sick of this world. I'm sick of the humans that reside in it. I'm sick of all the negativity in here. But I cannot complain. I'm the one who made them this way. I'm the one who wanted them to be flawed, to be imperfect. Because if they were perfect, would they be human? But then again, I could not create a perfect being even if I wished to. I'm not perfect myself. Then how can

The first time I held my daughter, I knew we weren’t going to get along. Don’t get me wrong—she’s a very sweet child. She looks adorable, speaks adorably, and is kind to everyone. I don’t know why, but I just can’t seem to bring myself to like her, to care for her, to adore her… to love her. I must be a terrible mother. I’ve never once in my life looked at her with affection. I’ve never wanted to kiss her on her cheeks. I’ve never bothered with her education, either. She’s al

Knowledge is a privilege. Knowledge is power. Knowledge is revolution. Knowledge is rebellion. Knowledge is carnage. To render anyone powerless, you don't need to cut off their limbs or take their ability to write or torture their intestines out. All you need to do is snatch their source of knowledge. When you take their source of knowledge, they will not have information. They will not be literate. They will not have the ability to think. They will not have the ability to be

There are currently over 8 billion people on this planet as I write this very sentence. Out of these people, some will proudly call themselves ‘cool’ millennials, others will belong to the middle-aged Generation X, and there are even a few unlucky ones in the iPad generation, also known as “Generation Alpha.” But among all these groups, there’s one that stands out—a generation that’s a little funny, a little reckless, and filled with a whole new wave of ideas. We call them Ge

The Feminine Forces of Halloween Imagine a dark hat with a long body, its peak so crooked that it is coiled up, with a purple ribbon at its rim, a head with long dark hair and pale white skin wearing it. The wearer’s eyes glisten with echoes of power. She is the one with a smile so silent that you cannot imagine the screams caused by it. Now, isn’t that how we normally describe witches? Cruel, malicious beings, waiting to feast on our terrors. This is the way that the stories