Still Thinking and Unfinished - By Fima Sheikh

Written By: Fima Sheikh

Category: Philosophical Fiction

Competition: Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026

In the realm of philosophical fiction, Fima Sheikh presents "Still Thinking and Unfinished," a thought-provoking narrative submitted to the Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026. This introspective piece delves into the fluid boundaries between dreams and reality, offering a deep exploration of identity and perception. Through a series of vivid, dream-like sequences, Fima invites readers on a journey that challenges conventional understanding, making this work a notable contribution to the competition.

About the Work

"Still Thinking and Unfinished" weaves a tapestry of surreal dreams and shifting realities, reflecting on the complexity of the human mind. With its rich, imaginative narrative, the work explores themes of identity, transformation, and the nature of existence. Fima Sheikh crafts a world where the line between reality and imagination blurs, prompting readers to question their own perceptions. The narrative's dream-like quality and introspective tone create a unique reading experience that lingers in the mind.

Still thinking and unfinished

Original Submission by Fima Sheikh

Title: Still Thinking and Unfinished.

The story I want is that everyone will be okay.

It started when I woke up from a dream. It was daytime, and I looked outside from my villa. I was so angry that I booked a plane and went directly to the president’s office. I made a clear speech with him and told him how I wanted everyone to be okay. He agreed. I was surprised - wait, it was so easy! Then he told me, “Now you are the president. On behalf of me, do anything and everything you want to do.”

I was so happy, extremely happy. Everyone knew me, said hi, and tried to call me. They saw on the news that from now on, I was the president - the world president. Every work in this world, I would take care of it. My orders were for doing everything

Now it started. I held down my breath. Everyone seemed quite surprised. I greeted them and said, “Now I am here. No one will be sad.” I ordered that every building in this world would be broken down, and the world would be made from scratch again. People gasped, “Wait, what? We cannot do this! How will we be able to eat?”

Then I smiled and said, “Healthy and right food does not need shade. It only needs farming.” But some people still tried to deny it. They said, “We cannot get water if we break everything.” So I said, “Where the rains are heavy, go there and collect as much water as you want. Even in lakes or ponds, there will be enough. And do not forget my latest invention, from which you can easily filter ocean water to make it easy to drink

Then the work started. By the next day, from adults to kids, everyone was working everywhere in the world - even the former president - breaking houses and everything. Their belongings were kept inside the farms they owned. Afterwards, when the breaking was completed, it took four months.

Then I said, “Now I will give you all the function of how to recycle everything you have. Nothing will be wasted. Everything will become useful again. Then we will make our entire houses again from scratch.”

Afterwards, everyone started to collect waste materials like bottles, cans, packets, and bins, and recycled them. When raw useful material was prepared, the people were happy because they had actually done something. The sky was so beautiful without factory mist. It was now clean as ice and looked majestically beautiful.

Then the president told everyone, “Now it’s time to tell you all how to build homes for yourselves.” He said every house needed to be four rooms on one floor, and it should only have four floors. Each house should have a distance of about 1 km. After every 10 houses, there should be a market big enough to store food for one year for 100 houses, and a school in the middle of the city. Every 500 houses would be called a city. Between every two cities, there would be farms, ponds, and a place for recycling things. There would also be one big house for letting everyone work to get new things - like working for trees, working for clothes, working for anything by hand. In every 10,000 houses, there should be four big buildings where everyone could work whenever they wanted, whatever they wanted. Whenever a product was missing or no more, they could make it again. And there would be one more building for inventing things that would never make pollution.

Everyone agreed. They started to work on this project. And then it ended.

The next day, I woke up. I was miserably dirty, and I could sniff my own stink even in the cold. No one was there. It was a very cold day. I woke up and walked the 1 km distance, just by walking. There was a big tree hanging on, even in that much cold. I said hello to it, smiled, hugged it, and cried. Then I broke a tiny branch from it and ate it. Afterwards, I returned to my home and slept.

The next day, when I woke up, I was in an amusement park. My dad called me, saying, “Beta, wake up, you were sleeping for 30 minutes.” I did not remember when I came into this amusement park. It was looking like a park to me. There were not many rides, but it was amazing.

I thought, “Oh, I remember - just today in the morning I came here with my parents.” What a lovely sky! I don’t know who would want to miss this scenery, but I will never.

When I was sitting in the car, I slept again. And in the night, when I woke up…

It was chilling, almost like that night wanted to eat me. I called my parents, but they were not there. Wait - who am I calling? I live alone.

Then I looked through the window. Oh, it’s still day. The moon is so beautiful. Its green color can really soothe anyone. Everyone seemed full of energy today. Oh, that little cat is flying! Let me grab my paper and take a picture of it.

When I grabbed my paper and clicked the picture, suddenly it was midday. I was working in the hot summer. Everyone was looking at me, almost like I had done a mistake. But I do not remember when I came here.

Where is my home? I remembered - no, no, no! Why did I do it? Why did I take those bundles of paper and burn them? At that time, paper was the most important thing. No one dared to hold one unless it was an emergency.

Everyone asked me, “Why did you do it? Why, why, why?”

I said, “Sorry… I was very scared. I don’t know why.” They kept telling me not to do it again, but I had already done it by mistake. Everyone saw it - my hand slipped. Still, no wonder this world is very harsh.

It looked like I needed to sleep. That was enough work. I would work later.

And then, when I woke up again…

Well, where am I? I cannot breathe. I really wanted to eat that bread my grandmother made for me. I guess now I can sleep peacefully.

Then a hand grabbed me and told me, “That’s enough for today.” It was the swimming coach. I remembered - this was my first day. The coach was yelling at another classmate because he lied, saying this pool was for new people who did not know swimming yet. And I had jumped in without thinking.

While I was going down, my leg slipped and bumped into the staircase. I was drowning unconsciously. I was still bleeding, but for some reason I was not able to feel the pain. The coach looked at me and shouted, “Kid! Doctor, doctor, he is bleeding so much!”

I was very tired but could not sleep at that time. Everyone was screaming. Then I saw my face in the mirror. A doctor told me to look at it. My head was very clean, but near my ear I had a very hard bruise that cut my ear in half. No one saw it at first because of my hair - it was stuck to that area. Then, when the coach saw the blood, he took me to the hospital.

The doctor said…

I woke up again. I am a girl. Am I forgetting something? Are my hair okay? Yes. My ear? Yes, fully intact. And I smell like flowers.

Then it was the day of my first day at school. I got on the bus. I wore my pink dress and my pink ribbon. It was looking so beautiful on me.

My first day at school, Miss told us to give our introductions. I heard a voice that said, “Gimmy.”

Then the voice shouted, “Gimmy, you know me!”

Its face crossed me at light speed and said, “What did you say? What did you say? Say it again!”

I was scared. I tried to run, tried to call for help. Everyone else was behaving normal. Only that girl was shouting at me, “You know me, right? Tell them you know me!”

Then the teacher said, “So, Gimmy, you love piano.”

I stared at her seat. There was already that girl sitting there. But this was something else - not her.

I woke up. I said, “My name is ____.”

Miss said, “You love piano.”

I was shocked. I saw myself fighting with something I knew, but right now I could not see it clearly. For that moment, there were two of me - one fighting that shadow, and one here, looking at Miss and smiling. But I never smiled by myself; it was forced. I don’t know why.

I had replaced places with that girl.

Miss said to me, “Gimmy, you know that girl.” She was asking about that me - the one fighting that thing. But now that version of me had vanished.

Only the girl I saw seated there remained. Her name was Gimmy. But the teacher did not call her Gimmy - she called me “Gimmy,.

The girl was smiling. She said, “Miss, she does not know me.”

Miss replied, “Oh, I thought she was looking at you, so I thought you knew each other.”

And then I felt a very sharp pain near my ear, almost like I had been hit by a bus. I did not know why. I was scared and could not speak because of what had just happened.

I could not believe in them - that they could help me. Still, a girl said something. I remembered her: curly hair, brown skin. She was very worried about me.

Then she called my real name.

“Royan.”

And I woke up.

My name is Royan Ri. I am 23 years old, an office worker. I work in a company that makes food for animals, and it’s really a nice company.

I am a man with a happy family. My wife’s name is Iru. She is very beautiful and has curly hair. We met when we were in college. Back then, we didn’t talk much, but afterwards we had our journey together, and now we are a family.

I have a little daughter too. And Iru always takes care of me and our daughter.

When I woke up, I saw her. She was crying, calling my name, saying, “Please open your eyes.” My daughter was crying too.

I asked, “What happened?”

My wife said, “You… you collapsed right after standing up from your seat. You were just reading the newspaper, then stood up and collapsed. I heard your voice, but you were unconscious. Our daughter tried to call you out, but you weren’t responding. It’s been three days that you were collapsed. You were talking while sleeping… and you were calling me, Iru.”

But the thing he heard was not real. Indeed, he had a wife - but she had straight hair, and her name was Suman. His own name was Rohan. And they had two daughters, twins.

He did not believe it. He said, “No, no, no… this is not reality.” He wanted to say something like this, but his mouth was not in control. He tried to speak, but the words came out different.

And then, at a moment, he was somewhere else - seeing every story from the side. He kept living. It was never a dream. He himself was never something. He was nothing but a thought in the mind of a man who was thinking while watching a movie.

That man had seen many movies, so he was imagining scenarios. And that was the exact moment he remembered: he was watching a movie. The movie had already ended.

He said to himself, “Oh man, again I missed the ending. No worries… let’s dive into another movie.”

And the scene here said:

The last word.

The story ended.

About the Competition

The Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026 by Hashtag Kalakar is a prestigious platform celebrating diverse voices in literature. This competition invites writers from around the world to share their unique stories, poems, and essays, fostering creativity and innovation in the literary arts. Participants have the opportunity to engage with a vibrant community of writers and showcase their work to a global audience.

We extend our sincere gratitude to Fima Sheikh for sharing "Still Thinking and Unfinished" with us in the Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026. Your exploration of dreams and identity offers a profound journey into the human psyche. Thank you for contributing to our literary community with your thought-provoking narrative.

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.