Latest Stories
Most recently published stories on Vocal.
The Measure of Strength
Rashid had always believed that being a man meant showing no weakness. Growing up, his father had drilled the idea into him through harsh words and strict discipline: a man must endure, a man must provide, a man must protect. Rashid followed the code diligently, hiding doubts and fears, stuffing emotions into corners of his mind where no one could see. Yet by the time he turned twenty-eight, he realized that the weight of unspoken burdens had grown heavier than any physical challenge he had faced.
By Sudais Zakwan4 days ago in Men
Shadows of the Alley
In the heart of the city, where the streets narrowed and sunlight barely touched the ground, there existed a network of alleys that most people avoided. They were lined with crumbling brick walls, overflowing trash bins, and the stench of decay that clung to everything. Few knew what actually happened there after dusk. For Malik, however, the alleys were home. Not by choice, but by circumstance. Life had shoved him into the shadows, teaching him lessons in survival that no school could offer.
By Sudais Zakwan4 days ago in Filthy
The Weight of One More Step
When Arman collapsed halfway up the hill, he was certain of one thing: he did not belong there. Around him, runners moved with steady rhythm, their breaths controlled, their strides confident. The annual charity hill marathon had drawn athletes from across the region, and Arman felt like an imposter among them. He had signed up three months earlier during a burst of enthusiasm, convinced that this race would mark a turning point in his life. Now, staring at the steep incline ahead, he questioned every decision that had brought him to this moment.
By Sudais Zakwan4 days ago in Motivation
The Man Who Stole Time
In the city of Brookhollow, crime was usually predictable. Pickpocketing in crowded markets, the occasional burglary in quiet neighborhoods, and once in a while, a carefully planned bank fraud. Detective Haris Malik had spent fifteen years studying patterns, believing that every criminal left behind a trail—no matter how small. But the case that unsettled him most involved a suspect who seemed to steal something no camera could record and no law clearly defined: time.
By Sudais Zakwan4 days ago in Criminal
The House with Two Front Doors
When the Rahman family bought the old corner house, most people admired its wide balcony and flowering garden, but few understood why it had two identical front doors. The previous owner had built it that way decades ago for reasons no one clearly remembered. To Aadil Rahman, however, the two doors felt symbolic. His family was not simple or uniform. It was layered, stitched together from different personalities, opinions, and unspoken histories. In many ways, they were like two households sharing one roof.
By Sudais Zakwan4 days ago in Families
The Silent Algorithm
In the near future, cities no longer relied entirely on human decision-making. Traffic lights adjusted themselves, hospitals predicted patient surges weeks in advance, and financial markets shifted according to patterns only machines could see. At the center of Ardent City’s transformation was a system known simply as “Core.” Designed by a team of elite engineers, Core analyzed billions of data points every second, optimizing everything from public transport to energy consumption. It was efficient, impartial, and, according to officials, incapable of error.
By Sudais Zakwan4 days ago in Futurism
The Last Seat at the Table
The aroma of roasted spices and slow-cooked meat drifted through the narrow streets long before sunset, guiding neighbors like an invisible invitation toward the Khan family home. Every year, on the first evening of spring, the Khans hosted a grand dinner that people in the neighborhood simply called “the feast.” It was more than a meal; it was tradition, memory, and reunion served on wide copper platters. This year, however, felt different. After Mr. Khan’s sudden passing the previous winter, many wondered if the tradition would quietly fade away.
By Sudais Zakwan4 days ago in Feast
Beyond the Final Whistle
The stadium lights felt hotter than usual that evening, or maybe it was just the pressure building inside Hamza’s chest. The regional championship final was only minutes away, and the stands were packed with chanting fans dressed in their school colors. Hamza sat quietly on the wooden bench in the locker room, staring down at his worn football cleats. They were not the newest pair on the team, and the white stripes along the sides had faded from countless practices on rough fields. Yet to him, they were more than equipment. They were proof of every early morning run, every blister, every time he had chosen discipline over comfort.
By Sudais Zakwan4 days ago in Cleats
The Code Beyond the Screen
Ayaan Rahman had always believed that every problem in the world could be reduced to logic. As a software engineering student known among his friends as “the debugger,” he thrived on broken systems. Whether it was a crashing app or a corrupted database, he approached every issue the same way: isolate variables, trace dependencies, eliminate noise. Life, to him, was simply a larger version of code—complex but ultimately solvable. That belief began to crack the night his laptop displayed something it was never programmed to show.
By Sudais Zakwan4 days ago in Geeks
The Map to Nowhere
Ethan Cole found the map hidden inside a secondhand book he had purchased from a quiet street market. The book itself was ordinary, a worn adventure novel with yellowed pages and a cracked spine, but when he flipped through it later that evening, a folded parchment slipped out and landed at his feet. At first glance, it looked hand-drawn, its edges frayed and stained as though it had survived years of travel. Strange symbols lined the borders, and in the center was a winding path leading to a place labeled only as “Nowhere.” There were no countries marked, no oceans or continents, just an intricate maze of forests, mountains, and a single star drawn at the final destination.
By Sudais Zakwan4 days ago in Fiction
