Akash sat on the window tracks, looking at the moon shining in the night sky. He watched as the moon hid behind the clouds and played peek-a-boo with everyone down on Earth. A smile crossed his face as he continued to look at the dark sky and the bright moon along with the stars. The number of stars is far more than the number of the moon yet everyone just notices the one moon and praises it a lot more than they do it for the stars. Akash, too, had just focused on the moon. 

Through his peripheral vision, he noticed his phone screen had brightened. Must have been a notification but his eyes were now fixed on his lock screen image. He smiled. It was an image of his older brother and him. As the phone screen started to dim, Akash looked at the moon again, comparing it with his brother. There were as much as a few hundred people in Akash’s life. Friends, Relatives, Neighbors, Acquaintances, etc. Its not like Akash didn’t appreciate their presence in his life. He loved them. He adored them. He admired them. Just not as much as he did for his brother. Akash was so used to his brother and his presence, his talks, his mischiefs, his ideas, his beliefs that he couldn’t compare any of that with anyone else. No one was remotely as close as him. Sure, as siblings they had their fair share of arguments and fights, but whenever anything troubled Akash, the solution was his brother. The bond of siblings was strange, he realized, when you are with them, you fight with them. When you not with them, you want to be with them so you can fight with them. The goal is that the conversation must go on, come what may. Silence was never accepted. He never told his brother how much his presence and words mattered to him. Never needed to. He just understood. 

Akash now felt a little alone. His brother had moved abroad for studies. Sure, there were people in his life whom he could confide into but were they as close as brother. Not really. He missed him. Just as he misses the moon when its not in the sky. He got down from the window tracks and was about to move to the bed when his phone rang. A smile came upon his face. It was his brother. He sat back and answered the call as the conversation began. He looked in the sky and watched as the moon no longer was behind the clouds. 

Published in Children's, Mini Story, Short Story, Stories on

Responses

  1. Charvi Bhatnagar

    Hello. First of all, I really loved how you managed to construe symbolism out of the intricacies of the relationship the narrator shares with their brother. The moon works perfectly for capturing the desolate if not melancholic state the narrator depicts. The phone screen also illuminates with their picture, just as the moon. While the narrator experiences a detachment from their brother, the reader would be hooked admiring the convoluted relationship you have managed to portray in the second paragraph. While it is small and crisp, the story really symbolizes the melancholic effect of the moon with the memories of the brother. I personally appreciate the sweet resolution you drove towards, making the proximity feel lesser, as appears the moon in the sky.

  2. Risha Tiwari

    This is my first story which I have read in this app and I must say that I am not disappointed with it. It is said that we humans always value something when we either lose it or we doesn’t have access to that thing or person anymore. Family is same the, we can say that it is the most important but underrated aspect of our live. We always think that they are going to be with us anyway so no worries but we fail to appreciate them and adore them. The story is beautifully showing the bonding of two brothers. It’s a light story with good message.