Life is too short to gain all knowledge by personal experience; one needs to learn from the experiences of others. The best way to do this is through books. A short story deals with an issue generally faced by us at different stages in life and interestingly shows how to tackle it. Whether you agree with the author or not it is certainly educative. Stories may be short but their impact would continue to reverberate for a long time in the reader's mind. Beware! Authors have a knack of casting a spell on you and attracting you to their point of view. Readers should step off from the author from time to time and reexamine author's logic critically. This is a collection of stories; therefore I am giving a brief idea of each story. Time warp: One is likely to face several crossroads during life, at which one needs to take a decision. One's experiences are one's past; one's expectations and ambitions are one's future. The former tends to caution the latter. In this story both of them were personified and brought to the same plane as the present to advise Murthy who was at a crossroads in his life. Another world: This is fiction drifting into a fairy tale; it is Venkat's first contact with a raw unkind world. Crime and punishment: Some husbands like Marthandam are unreasonably cruel toward's their wives. Once the torture crosses the limit of tolerance of the woman, she chooses an effective way to set things right, like Chidrupi did in this story. A.I.I.E.: Sometimes, well known persons might look bewitchingly attractive and make you run after them! That was what Murthy discovered. So was it written: A construction worker Bhadradri found a copper plate which lured him to find the hidden tresure. He succeeded but could not survive to enjoy the find! Divine justice: A greedy Kiran tried to grab the property of Kalyani by disputing her parentage. Scientific evidence nailed her lie in the open court. Scorpion's sting: In a weaker moment, even a good person like the manager of the choultry, might fall victim to evil influence. A circumstance might induce him to reform himself by renouncing everything and becoming a sanyasi. A husband's folly: Unlike Narayana, husbands and wives should trust each other implicitly (Even in spite of occasional lapses). Extraction of truth: Professional etiquette is essential for every professional but more so for physicians. A small mistake of Dr.Satyamurthy and his effort to cover it up boom-ranged on him. A tale of two 'Friends': Beware! Sometimes, we come across wicked persons like Gireesh who use friendship for purely selfish purposes. ---------