Short Story: Shape of Words by Mayuresh V. Belsare

In this short story, Mayuresh Belsare tells a captivating tale full of mystery and intrigue that runs high on emotions.

Mobile phones then were yet to evolve beyond simple text messaging and calling devices, though the handsets and pre-paid calling plans were affordable for anyone earning a modest income of 15,000–20,000 INR per month. Shiva was delighted to read a classified ad that called for someone with good handwriting to write letters. The employer was an old Parsi gentleman named Dinshaw Cooper, who lived in the sprawling Parsi Colony near Byculla, Mumbai, manned by vigilant security.

The terms of engagement were clear: every hour of the written page would be paid with 150 INR in cash. And the act of writing entailed copying the contents from a specified source. For Shiva, the prospect of getting the remuneration in cash was too tempting to ignore.