Worthing Flash

The Human-Spider Rathin Bhattacharjee  Rhea, kept looking at the monstrous spider behind her husband's bed. She couldn't take her eyes off the gorgeous grasshopper fighting a lost battle in the web. The creepy spider crawled down, dealt a deathly blow into the grasshopper to go back up again. It was one laborious act of playing, poking, piercing to feed on a healthy insect.  When the grasshopper fell from the web some weeks later, Rhea swept it off, recalling how Arnab, the man she dreamt of spending the rest of her days with, left her mentally dead when she'd nothing more to offer him, physically.  The end

End Game This is the end game. “If only, I reported being sick, when I had mild symptoms, if only I was more careful, if only…” The thoughts echoed in my head as I lay on the ventilator, struggling to breathe, fighting for life. The patient in my next bed suddenly deteriorated. By the time, the anaesthetist will be ready, donning the PPE kit, it might be too late. I removed the mask and jumped to action. Within minutes, I intubated the patient and was back in bed. I am a doctor, I will do my duties till my last breath. Dr. Bhargavi Chatterjea Bhattacharyya,

War   We are going to Grandma's place for the weekend. The children and the dog are very excited. She lives in a quaint little house in the countryside. The children look forward to the walks in the Countryside, the lush green fields, the mushroom hunting, the barbecue and of course, freshly baked bread. Grandma greets them at the porch and the smell of the bread in the oven wafts through the air. The kids take turns to feed the chickens and grandma tells them stories of the good old days.   And then came the war.

  It was dark and the road was deserted. I was driving, my friend sat in the back seat.   Suddenly two motorcycles started chasing us. They signalled us to slow down. "They are robbers," said my friend. "They have been tipped that there is cash in the car. Drive on."    Instead, I slowed down. One motorcycle overtook the car and blocked our way. I pressed the accelerator pedal. The motorcycle lost balance and fell by the wayside. The other motorcycle too gave up the chase.    I drove on and stopped the car only when I reached the next town.   -- Dr. Bhargavi Chatterjea Bhattacharyya MRCPsych (London)