Not October

In a country trembling under its own shadow, a womanreturns to a house that may never have been hers, haunted by a husband whomayhavenever loved her -orexisted at all. As her memories fray and voices close in, she resolves to belong only to the earth, rooting herself like a tree in a land that demands loyalty, faith, and certainty. When a young carpenter - armed with his ideology and fear - arrives to fix her door, the boundary between sanity and survival splinters. What follows is a quiet war of belief, identity, and the dangerous violence of righteousness. Astory of fractured memory, fragile freedom, and the terrifying simplicity of hatred, "Not October" burrows into the loneliness we carry when the world no longer recognizes us - or itself. Shanaya Stephens is an aspiring young adult and teen fiction writer from Vadodara, Gujarat, India.She is author of four poetry collections- 'Vagabond', 'Modern Aphrodite', 'Love Gospel Be thy Queen', 'Small Things', and a novel-'The Bucketlist'. She is a Wattpad writer, and writes under the username- pea0buttersandwich. Her writings are deeply influenced by slam word artist, and renowned poet - Andrea Gibson, and Neil Hilborn.She is the recipient of Gold Award in Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition (2022) in Senior Category. She also emerged as the winner of 'Christmas Contest 2.0' organised by the internationally acclaimed, GOI recognised Inkzoid Foundation and received an honourable mention in 'Inkzoid Book Of Records' for her feat.Instagram: shanaya_stephens_Email: stephensshanaya@gmail.com