3 questions on this paper's topics

Platform lights

Original contemporary fiction; Dev and his younger sister Leena wait for a relative at a small railway station.

1. 1Dev had chosen the middle bench because from there he could see both the footbridge and the station entrance.
2. 2He told Leena it was the warmest seat. She tested the metal with her palm and said nothing.
3. 3The platform lights stood in a patient row, each holding its pale circle above the rain. Beyond them, everything blurred.
4. 4Water threaded the station name, dividing its familiar letters into uncertain fragments. Dev read it twice without meaning to.
5. 5Leena balanced her suitcase upright between her shoes. Its bright strap looked absurdly cheerful beside the dark hem of her coat.
6. 6Every few minutes the loudspeaker cleared its throat. Each time Dev straightened, but the announcement concerned some other journey.
7. 7He had rehearsed a greeting on the bus. Here, with the empty track in front of him, it sounded unbearably formal.
8. 8Leena asked whether their uncle would recognise them. Dev said that people did not change very much in six years.
9. 9She looked at his new shoes, then at the photograph on his phone, but kindly declined to argue.
10. 10A train entered without stopping. For several seconds the platform was all reflected windows, so many brief and inaccessible rooms.
11. 11In one of them a boy held a paper crown over a sleeping woman. Then the train was gone.
12. 12Leena laughed at the crown. Dev laughed too, surprised to discover that his mouth could still make that shape.
13. 13Afterwards the platform seemed emptier. He put the phone away and took it out again, checking the same unanswered message.
14. 14The station clock moved forward with a small mechanical jump. Leena’s suitcase tilted, and he steadied it before it fell.
15. 15On the footbridge a figure paused beneath a broken lamp. Dev rose so quickly that the bench struck his knees.
16. 16The figure lifted a hand. He lifted his. Then another passenger emerged behind them and received the wave.
17. 17Dev sat down carefully. Leena drew the suitcase closer and began telling him a story about a dog from school.
18. 18He knew the story already. This time he listened to every detail, allowing her to reach the ending without interruption.
19. 19As she spoke, she moved her cold hand into his sleeve. He closed his fingers around it beneath the cuff.
20. 20The loudspeaker crackled again. Neither of them looked up immediately; for another moment, the dog was still escaping through the gate.

Original fiction written for this course.

Platform lights

Original contemporary fiction; Dev and his younger sister Leena wait for a relative at a small railway station.

1. 1Dev had chosen the middle bench because from there he could see both the footbridge and the station entrance.
2. 2He told Leena it was the warmest seat. She tested the metal with her palm and said nothing.
3. 3The platform lights stood in a patient row, each holding its pale circle above the rain. Beyond them, everything blurred.
4. 4Water threaded the station name, dividing its familiar letters into uncertain fragments. Dev read it twice without meaning to.
5. 5Leena balanced her suitcase upright between her shoes. Its bright strap looked absurdly cheerful beside the dark hem of her coat.
6. 6Every few minutes the loudspeaker cleared its throat. Each time Dev straightened, but the announcement concerned some other journey.
7. 7He had rehearsed a greeting on the bus. Here, with the empty track in front of him, it sounded unbearably formal.
8. 8Leena asked whether their uncle would recognise them. Dev said that people did not change very much in six years.
9. 9She looked at his new shoes, then at the photograph on his phone, but kindly declined to argue.
10. 10A train entered without stopping. For several seconds the platform was all reflected windows, so many brief and inaccessible rooms.
11. 11In one of them a boy held a paper crown over a sleeping woman. Then the train was gone.
12. 12Leena laughed at the crown. Dev laughed too, surprised to discover that his mouth could still make that shape.
13. 13Afterwards the platform seemed emptier. He put the phone away and took it out again, checking the same unanswered message.
14. 14The station clock moved forward with a small mechanical jump. Leena’s suitcase tilted, and he steadied it before it fell.
15. 15On the footbridge a figure paused beneath a broken lamp. Dev rose so quickly that the bench struck his knees.
16. 16The figure lifted a hand. He lifted his. Then another passenger emerged behind them and received the wave.
17. 17Dev sat down carefully. Leena drew the suitcase closer and began telling him a story about a dog from school.
18. 18He knew the story already. This time he listened to every detail, allowing her to reach the ending without interruption.
19. 19As she spoke, she moved her cold hand into his sleeve. He closed his fingers around it beneath the cuff.
20. 20The loudspeaker crackled again. Neither of them looked up immediately; for another moment, the dog was still escaping through the gate.

Original fiction written for this course.

The uncollected parcel

Original practice fiction, written in 2026.

1. 1At half past six, Mara reached the village shop. The window was dark, but a strip of yellow light lay under the side door.
2. 2She carried an empty basket. Her mother had asked for bread; the baker had already sold his last loaf.
3. 3Beside the door stood a parcel wrapped in brown paper. Rain had softened one corner, leaving the string slack.
4. 4Mara read the label twice. It bore her father’s name, although he had left the village before she could remember.
5. 5She raised her hand to knock, then lowered it. A voice inside was saying that some things were better left where they were.
6. 6When the latch clicked, Mara stepped back into the road. She held the basket against her chest as if it contained something breakable.
7. 7The shopkeeper appeared with a lamp. Behind him the shelves gleamed, and a new loaf rested on the counter.
8. 8“I was expecting you,” he said. He looked at the basket, then at the parcel. Mara wished he had looked at neither.

Original fiction written for this course.