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First Winner of TATA Literature Live! 2015’s Flash Fiction Contest

By Lekha Nambiar

16th October 2015

My crane tipped junk into the landfill. The stench of decomposing waste

filled the air.

The sky was dark, for a ‘bright’ summer day. It started to rain- I watched the

paint on my crane buckle and warp with each drop.

Then I saw him, a tall broad -shouldered man, walking through that

desolation.

” Get out,” I screamed, ” it’s poisonous”

The nothingness in his eyes coalesced into painful bitterness. I watched in

horror as his clothes melted off him. His scarf was now a snake, coiled

around his neck.

Slowly, sadly, he began to dance.