The clock moved. Sarah felt as if she was floating in space, giddy, as light as a feather. One by one, the tenants started to recount the mysteries of Gemvilla.
Fleeing from grief, Sarah takes solace in a small campus town. Apprehensive yet hopeful, she settles into her new life in a rented studio apartment at Gemvilla.
At a dinner party, she meets and befriends her neighbours—a reclusive musician, a literature student, a shaman, a conspiracist, a reluctant engineering student. The night brings with it rumours of her room, of how it had driven away its previous tenants, and her scepticism turns to curiosity as her neighbours narrate its peculiar history. The promise and excitement of a fresh start soon becomes a descent into fear, shame, and alienation.
In vivid vignettes, The Heart Flutters at Night follows a writer’s journey of rediscovery as Sarah travels back and forth in time, negotiating the spaces of memory and reality to piece together the story of a child whose voice had been silenced.
About the Author
Mariam Henna is a writer and publisher currently residing in Ernakulam, Kerala. She has completed her postgraduate degree in English from Manipal Centre for Humanities, Karnataka.
Over the years, she has worked in the field of literature and arts as an editor, designer, and research assistant. In 2020, she and her partner co-founded a creative studio as well as a literary imprint with a vision of providing a platform for new and unheard voices. She spends her time learning and exploring her interests in literature, gender studies, literary theory and history, publishing, and creative writing.
The Heart Flutters at Night is her debut novella.
