Kartikey Mishra
Stories (11)
Filter by community
The Path To One Question
Once upon a time, there existed a traveler in a faraway land. He wasn't a merchant seeking buyers for his goods, nor was he an explorer in search of riches beyond this world, but a mere man - broken and lonely, crossing land upon land to break free of something invisible to his eyes but felt by his soul. Walking under the skies stitched with shimmering stars, he met bizarre wonders known to not many people. He gained knowledge of this world and beyond, from books and scrolls and from scholars and legends, he found truth and he found myth. But even after knowing so much, one question still puzzled him all the same - as it has done for all those past years. 'Why was he so devastated over the loss of something that wasn't his to even begin with?' The wound burned in his heart alive and fresh every day, refusing to give any reason or to be forgotten.
By Kartikey Mishra9 months ago in Fiction
The Last Letter
The door now unaccustomed to being touched creaked as I opened it. I couldn't exactly remember the last time I came to my son's room. The room wasn't covered in dust as one would have expected from one left alone for twenty years, pointing to the fact that his mother perhaps cleaned it regularly. Maybe she was stronger than me, maybe her hands didn't shake on the doorknob, maybe her eyes didn't blur as she entered the room. But the memories must surely be flooding her mind each time too, playing everything frame-by-frame, starting from his birth, going through the joy of his first shaky baby-step that he took. It wasn't like I was not proud of him, I was. I was as proud of him as a father can ever possibly be. But carrying one's son, so young and still just a beautiful kid on his shoulders is not a fate any father deserves and is also not something that heals with time.
By Kartikey Mishra9 months ago in Fiction
The Final Quest
I sat there, reflecting on the many years of practice - nearly fourteen years of it. The countless hours I had devoted to honing my skills, pushing my body to its absolute limit time and time again, mastering every technique I could find, and studying every aspect of combat. As I sat there, awaiting the final test, I felt no nerves or fear. Rather, I was filled with confidence, convinced that I would triumph over this test just as I had triumphed over all the others. And when it was all over, I would emerge victorious - as one of the greatest young warriors to have ever existed.
By Kartikey Mishraabout a year ago in Fiction
Beyond Those Stars
"Ivy loved the night sky. For her it wasn't just a dark expanse of nothingness like most people, but a portal to endless mysteries and fascination. She liked to sit under the moonlight for hours, speculating questions like 'Miles, do you know how stars die?' or 'Have you ever thought what might be at the end of the universe?'. Her favorite one that she always came back to was 'Do you think there is a world beyond those stars? What do you think that world is like?' I used to just nod and laugh at her questions and then attempted reasonings, telling her that she was thinking too much. But the truth was, the sky didn't intrigue me like it did her, I just loved listening to her talk. It was like she took you to a different world with herself, one brighter and better than this one."
By Kartikey Mishraabout a year ago in Fiction
In a Puff Of Smoke
"I don't like it when you smoke," she said quietly — trying and failing to hide the disappointment in her voice. I exhaled a puff of white smoke and watched it float away and then disappear. Silence lingered in the air as I kept staring at the sky.
By Kartikey Mishraabout a year ago in Fiction
