Words by a Phoenix

Title: Duma Key Author: Stephen King Picture: Sonia Shrestha © Stephen King needs no introduction. True to his name, he is a King with a crown and I do not see him giving that up anytime soon. As a child, I was drawn to King only because my favourite Australian cricketer mentioned that Stephen King was his favourite author. I agree I picked up his first book only because I wanted to know about my favourite's taste in books but that one step changed everything forever. Firestarter was the first Stephen King book that I read and I finished the whole book in one sitting. The gripping tale, the fast paced action and the impeccable writing style made it impossible for me to leave the book. It was just the beginning. I have absolutely come to admire King and his writing - the ability to keep one awake all night in fervour is not a small task. Being a King lover, I have tried to get my hands on as many books as possible. So, on one of my book hauls, I found this beauty Duma

 IS THIS WHAT HAS BECOME OF LOVE? Published on Elephant Journal  Extract from the article: (To read the entire article, click here .) "...“I love you” became the morning coffee and “I miss you” became the warm, fuzzy feelings of winter nights under the blanket. It felt like a vast ocean, where you want to take a dive and get lost in the depths. It was like the rainforest of Amazon. Yes, his eyes felt like the Amazon—deep and full of dangers. Still, I decided to venture and take my share of risk. It was wonderful. The jungle was vast, with mysterious places and creepy creatures lurking in the most unlikely places—the kind of mystery I loved. The days went by, and my love for his intricacies only increased. I was so deeply amazed that I did not foresee the danger I was jumping into. Is this What has become of Love? It all looked otherworldly—like out of my favorite novel. But, as is known, fiction cannot become reality, and novels cannot come to life. I s

I have ceased to believe in the idea/concept of "forever". While I have my own personal reasons for this, my belief in the nonexistence of this idea is not personally prejudiced. I have pondered on the use of the term "forever" seriously; the term means existing beyond human existence, but how is that even acutely possible? Every matter on this blob is transient, how can we attribute permanence to any situation/feeling in such a scenario? In the past, I am ashamed to say, I have been using this term quite frequently in my everyday conversations without giving it a second thought. I always felt that by saying "forever" , I was simply strengthening the power of the phrases being used. "I love you for e ver" "I am going to stick by your side for ever" "We are going to be together, for ever." Can you imagine how hollow these words look? How long is "forever"? Can you precisely tell me the number of years that make

You lose and yet, I congratulate you. Quite an irony, eh? To get the hang of things, I will have to go back to where we began --- the good old, lovely days of being in love. We talked, became friends. Oh! you gave me the attention I always craved. You made me believe in you and then slowly, my dearest, you became my confidant. I confided even the smallest of my feelings in you; I did what I normally hesitate from doing: I trusted you. So, like in every happy 'man-woman' relationship, we went out; stayed together. We laughed and cried, argued and made up. It was very 'fairy tale-ish'. I should have known life doesn't work like that; fairy tales do not happen. But like any person who has been hit by cupid's arrow, I was blinded.  I fell deeper, and it is never too wise to fall. I fell just to find out you had no ladder to help me climb out. Oh! The agony. You left me down in the pit, with my own salty waters drowning me further. Oh darling, I felt terrified; it