Twenty-threestories. Noneend well.
Read to you
Seven stories narrated out loud, with the words lit as they are spoken. English, Tamil and Tanglish.
What Followed Him Home
He slept eleven hours a night and woke up exhausted. So we filmed him. On the fourth night, he answered a question nobody asked.
Speak After the Tone
Nineteen voicemails from your own number. The first one is from Tuesday. You have not made a call since Sunday.
The Long Field
Eight hours of an empty field at night. On the fourth playback, under the silence, something is counting.
முக்காடு
இரவு முழுக்க உடலோடு உட்கார்ந்திருக்கணும். முக்காட்டை எடுக்கக்கூடாது. பதில் சொல்லக்கூடாது.
பதினொன்றரை
அந்த வீட்டில் இருக்கிற எல்லா கடிகாரமும் இரவு பதினொன்றரைக்கு நின்னுடும். ஒவ்வொரு நாளும்.
Terrace-la Yaaro
Top floor flat. 2 AM. Mela yaaro nadakraanga. Terrace-ku key rendu thaan iruku — onnu en kitta.
Group-la Oruthar
Family WhatsApp group. 47 members. Onnu ezhudhitte irukaaru — rendu varusham munnaadi iranthavaru.
You decide
Sixteen that branch. Hesitate and they choose for you.
Tape 07 — Corridor 3B
Recovered footage from a decommissioned hospital wing. Four minutes of corridor. Three people went in.
Block C, Room 13
Hostel-la 3 AM-ku mela nobody walks in the corridor. Today somebody is. And they're counting doors.
The Night Shift
A rollback you didn't trigger. A commit you didn't write. You are the only one badged into the building.
Tape 19 — Kadaloram
Night shoot. Empty beach. Oru meenavar warning kuduthaaru — 'thanni-kitta poga koodadhu'. Camera-la rendu per irundhaanga.
Nalla Neram
Auto-la night shift. 3 AM to 3:30 AM sawari eduka koodadhu — ellarukkum theriyum. Inniki oruthan kai kaatraan.
Thirteen Steps
Your grandmother's staircase has twelve steps. You have counted them your whole life. Tonight you are on the thirteenth.
The Last Train from Nowhere
You board the 11:52. It never reaches a station.
Pei Kadhai
A village road at midnight. A woman asking for a lift. One old rule you were told never to break.
3:33
You wake at the same minute every night. Something is counting down.
Ward Nine
Night duty on a closed ward. Nine beds. Nine charts. Ten patients.
The Tenant Below
The flat downstairs has been empty for two years. Someone is moving furniture at night.
Room 404
The hotel has no fourth floor. Your key card says 404.
Signal Lost
You are the only operator at a relay station in the hills. At 1am, something starts answering.
The Nine O'Clock Tape
A VHS in a house clearance. Forty minutes of your childhood living room, filmed while you slept.
Deep Field
A flooded quarry, forty metres down, one torch. There is a village at the bottom, and its lights are on.
The Substitute
Detention, 6pm, an empty school. The teacher supervising you retired in 1997.
All stories are fiction. None of them are about you. Probably.