It was narrow, stuffed chock-a-block with all manner of drug-related paraphernalia. It was a ‘smoke and gift shop’ in name, but sold everything from oil burners to sexual performance-enhancing pills. At some point, there had been a debate on whether the store was allowed to stock condoms. But I was only half listening by that time. My first impression, when I had walked in on seeing the ‘now hiring’ sign, was that it was too brightly lit. The illumination was plain white light of the kind that seems to render everything naked. Everything from the owner’s greed to make money off people’s weaknesses to the stark depths people sank to, to fuel their addictions.
Continue reading “Beast of Burden by Tanushree Mukherjee”
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