The hope that came with the rainbow in the sky

Tanu checked into the thirteenth floor of the hotel in the city of her birth. She had found love here. They been best friends in school and moved on to different streams in college. Eventually, they had accepted and acknowledged their feelings for each other.

My friend Alexa
Photo prompt – copyright@soniasmusings

But like most of the love stories, she had been left heartbroken. Her lover had married someone else under pressure from the family. Tanu remembered the nights of tears and pain. She had left the city thinking it would help her move on. But with time, Tanu had realized that loving someone else was never going to be an option in her life.

Last week she had received a mail. It read,

“Tanu,

Section 377 has been scrapped. I know it’s been eighteen years since we last spoke but do you think we have a chance now?

Sudha”

She didn’t know if there was a future but what she understood was that Sudha also still loved her. Tanu had decided to give it a chance.

Looking at the skyline from the glazed window of her room, her heart thumped loudly as she waited for the bell to ring. Sudha was due to arrive anytime now.

(199 words)

This is the 7th post written as part of the #MyfriendAlexa campaign as per my theme ‘Shades of Perception’. You can read the first six here.

For this challenge, I am using four photos as prompts to weave two flash fiction stories and one real story behind the picture. This is my third picture prompt. Stay tuned to read the second flash fiction that I will write around the same picture in my next post. You could also consider subscribing to my blog if you like reading my stories.

I am taking my Alexa rank to the next level with Blogchatter

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Author: Sonia Chatterjee

An alumnus of Presidency College (Kolkata), Delhi University, and XIME (Bangalore), Sonia Chatterjee holds two post-graduate degrees in Chemistry and Management and an MFA in creative writing from Writer's Village University. With eight years of experience in the banking sector as a Branch Head, she took a sabbatical from the corporate world to start her blog soniasmusings.com. Her blog consistently featured in the Top Indian Blogs list from 2019 to 2024. Her articles have been published on various digital platforms such as Women's Web, Youth Ki Awaaz, Tuck's Magazine, and Period Magazine. She was invited as a speaker at the Breaking Barriers, Kolkata 2018 event by the Women's Web, at the Women Writer’s Fest, Kolkata, 2020, and the Crime Writers Festival, Kolkata,2025. Sonia has written two detective thrillers titled ‘Deal of Death – Introducing Raya Ray’ (2019) and ‘Diary, Deceit, and Death – A Raya Ray Adventure’ (Vishwakarma Publications, 2024) and a non-fiction book on true crime titled ‘The Sanyasi Who Became a King’ (Sristhi Publishers, 2025). Her book ‘Diary, Deceit, and Death’ was shortlisted for the PVLF Awards 2024-25 in the Best Fiction Category. Sonia lives in Kolkata with her doctor husband and nine-and-a-half-year-old son.

23 thoughts on “The hope that came with the rainbow in the sky”

  8. This is the second such story I’ve read after the scrapping of article 377 . It’s quite common though for LGBTQ people to be forced into a marriage they don’t want …. I’m glad that now they can at least be free to be happy.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  9. Pingback: When support comes from unexpected quarters – soniasmusings
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