A Swollen Life - By Nethusha Ravisuthan

Written By: Nethusha Ravisuthan

Category: Non-Fiction, Short Story, Self Help

Competition: Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026

In the Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026, Nethusha Ravisuthan presents "A Swollen Life," a compelling piece that falls under the Creative Writing category. This narrative offers a profound exploration of life's subtle pressures and the resilience required to navigate them. Through a seemingly mundane experience with a faulty phone, Ravisuthan delves into the intricate layers of human emotions and the quiet defiance against life's unavoidable strains.

About the Work

"A Swollen Life" is a poignant reflection on the unnoticed burdens we carry and the eventual need for change. Ravisuthan uses vivid imagery and metaphor to draw parallels between technology and human endurance. This narrative invites readers to consider the importance of self-care and the recognition of personal limits, encouraging a mindful approach to life's demands.

A Swollen Life

Original Submission by Nethusha Ravisuthan

A Swollen Life

I

t began not with a bang, but with a slight defiance of geometry. My phone, a faithful, scarred rectangle of black glass and silver metal on it’s sides filled with memories of a lifetime, no longer lays flat on the table. It wobbled.

A gentle rock if I pressed it’s center. I ignored it at first as we do with the first subtle warping of our life. The stiffness in the morning that lingers a minute too long, the cynicism that coats a genuine laugh, the way patience now feels like a finite resource granular and depleting. The phone was over a decade old. A relic. We had been through everything together. It held a map through the cities I’ve forgotten; the notes filled with ambitions both achieved and abandoned over time; camera roll a fossil record of the sunsets, seas witnessed alone and with family, friends and acquaintances now lost.

It absorbed every charge, the frantic midnight top-ups, the rush before work and lectures, the slow and steady plugs during long quiet nights of late-night studies or constant worry about the future. It endured heat left off of tables at the park, turned to a cold block during the rain and that battery percentage plummeting like my own morale in the cold. It was charged with anxiety, joy, with boredom and with love where each angle was more like a tiny death and rebirth of its own.

And then I witnessed the bulge grow slowly. The seam along its side whispers a promise of separation. The back glass once fused perfectly to the body, now showed a faint crack of rebellion. I knew I should change. I said to myself I’d numerous times. But there was a perverse loyalty to it’s distended form. It was still functional holding my world. I said to myself. Giving up on it felt like an admission that time & use and the simple physics of existence had rendered it unsafe. A HAZARD.

Isn’t that how we so often live?

Feeling the internal pressure building the unresolved arguments of life layered like thermal cycles, the compromises that formulates into quiet regret, The dreams that deferred generate a slow heat and that’s when we feel the casing of our persona strain. We develop a wobble and yet we power through it all. We ignore the subtle separation of the feeling we are no longer one solid thing, but a collection of parts held together by habit & fear. We pretend the bulge isn’t there, that we can still lie flat against the expectations of the world.

And on one utterly ordinary Friday it happened. I picked it up after forgetting about it’s existence for a while. It didn’t turn back on. I tried charging it. It seemed like it was thirsty yet unable to hold any charge. There was a soft crack, a sighing hiss not violent but final. Like a breath held for years finally released. The screen went black. And the back glass instantly spider webbed with veins cracked open.

It wasn’t an explosion. It was more like surrender.

And in that quiet burst I saw my own potential rupture. Not dramatic but definitive. The years of small constant stress, the heat of anger poorly cooled, the cold dread of giving without replenishing the body, the mind, the soul and not being infinitely resilient. They have a chemistry and they also do have tolerances.

We are all lithium-ion hearts in a fragile shell. We are designed for cycles, not perpetuity. We degrade. The electrolytes of our own hope can evaporate over time to prolonged poor maintenance of oneself. The anodes of our passion could also crumble. And yet we ignore the swelling of one’s soul also known as the warning signs / symptoms of our own strained geometry, our own wobbling spirit. We risk a quiet internal short circuit that renders us inert.

I carefully wrapped the phone in a piece of paper, while its ruptured body being a stark lesson in my hands. Its life wasn’t defined by its burst but by everything that led to it. The connections, the sneaked chats I had with my long-distance friends, the light it held, the stories it carried. Its failure was not a moral failing, but a physical inevitability accelerated by consistent neglect.

Now, I charge my new device & use it differently. I unplug it before it reaches 100% and I don’t neglect it like I did earlier. I keep it from extreme temperatures. And more than that I try to extend the same courtesy to myself and convey the same to people around me. Start to notice the wobble, respect the chemistry. Understand that life is like a battery – a vessel for temporary energy. It isn’t meant to be used to the optimum level, discharged in services of light and connection and then carefully recharge again.

The old phone’s burst was its truthful communication. A message etched in fractured glass & spent chemistry. Nothing withstands constant strain without a change in the environment. Not metal. Not lithium. Not heart. The only way to prevent a burst is to acknowledge the swell and work on getting over it without a strain.

~ Nethusha R

About the Competition

The Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026 by Hashtag Kalakar celebrates the richness of creative expression across diverse mediums. This prestigious platform provides writers worldwide the opportunity to share their unique voices and stories, fostering a global community of literary talent. Participants engage with thought-provoking themes, inviting reflection and dialogue through the art of writing.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to Nethusha Ravisuthan for sharing "A Swollen Life" with us in the Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026. Your insightful narrative offers valuable lessons on resilience and self-awareness. We look forward to seeing more of your thoughtful reflections and creative endeavors in the future.

About Hashtag Kalakar

Hashtag Kalakar is a creative platform dedicated to providing artists, writers, singers and other creative talents with opportunities to showcase their work and reach wider audiences through competitions, features and creative initiatives.