Short Story: Migration by Priyanka Chakraborty

Priyanka Chakraborty’s short story is a moving portrayal of a person living away from their home and the mixed feelings a ‘homecoming’ evokes every time.

My heart always feels a little lighter when I come back home after a long time. The polluted air seems crispy and fresh, if you lick it, it tastes like freedom. The roads seem cleaner and even the strangers seem like old friends. There is no place like home. 

I have lived in this big, murky city for almost a decade now, but it always feels like a day-old story. Every year the city gets a little more developed and a little darker. If you look closely, you’d see at least one construction site within a 2 km radius. Some places are getting repaired. These are the landmarks that the children have grown up seeing. I can no longer recognise them. There are a lot of people like me here. People who are far from their parents and a little closer to their dreams. People who still believe in the things this city has to offer.