It was a bright spring morning when everything went disastrously wrong. At the tender age of 16, I was still a high school student enrolled in a specialized School of Arts program. I had mapped out my day perfectly—staying home to study for an important acting exam scheduled for the afternoon. I even confidently told …
A Balloon, A Dream, And A Vanishing Act At sixteen, I perched atop a red balloon, floating weightlessly above a sea of cactuses. Suspended between reality and unconsciousness, I felt myself rising, drifting, escaping. And then—I ran. I ran into the world, believing I had left everything behind. But my body lingered. It stood between …
The years had slipped by, and suddenly, it was time—I was auditioning for drama school. My best friend from high school had the same dream, and he’d found a coach to prepare us both. “We’ll train together,” he said, his voice brimming with excitement. I nodded, pretending I wasn’t terrified. The Night She Arrived Like …
The First Taste of Truth “Good evening, Mother.” That was all I had to say. Three simple words. And yet, there I stood, repeating them over and over again under the relentless gaze of my director—my slightly unhinged, wildly passionate director. I met him in my first year of high school while writing for the …
From the novel ‘I’m An Echo Burnt By The Sun’ “I was born in noise.” That’s how my mother always begins the story. “Somewhere at the turning of seasons,” she’d say, with a mix of nostalgia and exasperation. “A storm raged outside, but you? You were calm. Until you weren’t.” I wish I had been …
