The story begins at the end by Sujay is an interesting collection of short stories. Love means different things to different people and Love here plays the key factor in all the sixteen short stories. Love can happen at any time and with anyone. Love plays different roles in this sweet anthology.
The Thing Called Love-
The first short story is a heart-touching tale. In the age where everything is instant, old school love always wins the heart. This is a beautiful story of a man in uniform and the separation from his beloved. The story is well narrated and the first short story would surely impress the reader.
Panchamirtham-
The Mahabharata is my favourite Indian Epic and this short story is a retelling through the eyes of Draupadi. There is an unexpected twist and it is completely the author’s imagination. Draupadi speaks about her marriage to the five Pandava brothers and womanhood. The title ‘Panchamirtham’ means a mixture of five foods used in Hindu Worship and Puja. I found the title intriguing.
Monsoon love-
This is a beautiful tale of two friends. KG falls in love with his childhood best friend, but hides his feelings for her. He dreams to serve the nation like his father and misses all his chances at love. Will he confess his feelings for Anaida before it is too late?
The Messenger-
The fourth short story is a twisted tale. Coatalene had always been loyal and perfect for her job, she did it no matter how heartbreaking it was. Coatalene was a messenger carrying a dreadful news. This time like never before, She caught herself falling in love with her new client, Damien Gray, contradicting the nature of her job. Her heart desires to save him, but will that question her loyalty to the job?
This is my favourite short story. The plot of the story is very different and intriguing. The moral of the story is a definite take away. The story does begin at the end.
That one night-
The fifth short story is a thrilling and gripping tale. Two months away from his retirement, Police Officer Roy comes across a life-changing case. Cases involving high profile people are often one-sided and they cover the dirt by giving false information. Karma teaches a lesson for those misleading the justice.
The painting-
Roger had nothing or no one to lose. He lived half his life on the streets. A painting changes the life of a man from the streets. A strange connection with the painting makes him track the owner of the painting. Was the person just the owner of the painting or something more?
Death and a life-
In this country of one point three billion, there was hardly one soul to care about her. She went through hard times for no fault of hers. The life of a girl from a village and her tragedy was so beautifully written. This is such a deep story.
A friend and a tiger-
The protagonist chooses his dreams, breaking the stereotypes. He becomes the part of the Committee for Wildlife Studies (CWS). Will his love and trust in wild animals affect the decision on a sensitive matter?
Apple of my eye-
A country sleeps peacefully as the soldier performs his duty. The captain was put in a dangerous situation and an angel comes to rescue. The apple of my eye is a heart touching story.
The final leap of faith: The loss of two women-
The loss of our loved ones would shatter our hearts. Life would not be the same in their absence. This is a story of two women who take different decisions after the demise of their partners and those decisions would change their lives forever. This is an important and eye-opening short story.
True Love: Stranger than fiction?-
This story didn’t work well for me. I found the title very intriguing. It would be very creepy if someone showed his love for his beloved in such a manner. I like the author’s choice of words.
The other five stories are for you to discover. ❤️
The title of every short story is unique and catchy. The language used is okay, simple and easy to understand. The plot of every story is well written. There is an unexpected twist at the end of each story. There were a few stories that didn’t work well for me.
The cover of the story begins at the end is very beautiful.
I recommend this refreshing collection of short stories for beginners and short story lovers. Looking forward to read more works by author Sujay.
I would give 4/5 Stars for the story begins at the end by Sujay.
