He walked through the snow, mouth wide open and eyes focused and half closed, trying to land a snowflake on his tongue. All kinds of flakes made their way down from the heavens, fat ones and tiny ones, all moving too fast for his mortal eyes to make out, much less appreciate, the intricacies of… Continue reading Kismet
Author: obaidf
The Walled City
The old city of Fes is a world unto itself. It’s one of the oldest Islamic Medinas in Morocco and one of the best kept; sans light bulbs, radios, and the odd television, it is easy to imagine it would have been the same centuries ago. The alleyways of the city are narrow: come during… Continue reading The Walled City
Infinities
“The last computable infinity,” he said, “is the biggest infinity that we can work with. Beyond that is a host of infinities, infinitely incomputable and yet infinitesimally out of our reach. There are infinities greater than other infinities, ones that we can classify and construct and others that are a magical mess of numbers and bits, stretching on… Continue reading Infinities
A Simple Request
I first noticed him long ago, but he didn't start to annoy me until my commute lead me past him every afternoon. He became a landmark for me, so often did he take his post, always in the same uncomfortable, genius position resting on the handrails between the descending escalator and the stairs at the subway… Continue reading A Simple Request
Three Strikes
I was just scanning the room when she caught my attention, gray hijab and mascara-lined eyes. I didn't want to break the first look. I looked a second too long. Her eyes met mine. We both glanced away. After a moment I thought that the coast was clear. Perhaps she chalked it up to a… Continue reading Three Strikes
Song in a Subway Station
You notice him as you get off the train and make your way down the platform. He’s wearing an oversized hoodie bill-boarding the name of a band you haven’t heard of since middle school. He looks like he would smell like stale cigarettes, but he’s too far away for your nose to confirm your suspicions.… Continue reading Song in a Subway Station
Kumar
To provide a little context on why we found ourselves eating breakfast out of a newspaper in the backseat of a Qualis that smelled like cigarettes and beedis on our way to illegally jump off a mountain, let me tell you that this was not Plan A. Plan A was to have gone through an… Continue reading Kumar
Waterfalls
There’s something calming and oddly soothing about the roar of waterfalls. Which is funny when you think about it, because a waterfall is one of nature’s most terrifying natural features: water, along with its inhabitants and cargo, flows smoothly smoothly smoothly until it crashes down violently, endlessly, forcefully, pressing down and giving no moment for breath to anyone who… Continue reading Waterfalls
Lightyears
Never ask before you do something good, for you can't know just how far its ripples will travel. Imagine if the star looking out onto a dark, expansive universe had asked, all those millions of miles away, "Who is there that will benefit from me, on whose eyes shall I shine?" Had it asked that,… Continue reading Lightyears
Sunset at Sunrise
He sat looking outwards through the grilled windows of the blue train car he was sitting in, watching the afternoon sun color the countryside with a golden hue. His fresh law degree sat in his briefcase by his feet...
Obaid Farooqui 