family
Sky Call
I hadn’t heard my mother’s voice in twenty years. When the flight attendants anxiously told us to call our loved ones, I don’t know why I immediately found her name in my contacts. Elizabeth Shire. It was sitting there taunting me as my plane jerked downwards. My stomach lifted as we made a sharp decline before quickly leveling out again. I felt light as we dawdled in the sky. The masks dropped from the ceiling like marionettes, and I pulled mine over my hair and took slow breaths into it. It smelt like rubber and cleaning chemicals. The red lavatory light flickered green as a young man with a Cubs jersey rushed to the closest open seat. I took a sharp breath.
By Jessica Klein5 years ago in Fiction
Fruit of the Tree
It had seemed for a long time to Delilah Brown that the pear tree hanging over her grandma’s porch was waiting for emancipation. “Emancipation” was a five syllable word she learned in school, one of her favorite things to do was count the syllables in words, it made her feel accomplished.
By Lindsey Rose5 years ago in Fiction
Too Soft
Home is at the end of an old road no one goes down anymore, tucked away and sleeping. My mother’s birdhouses hang from the pine trees like corpses. Ye be warned. I trudge down the gravel driveway, the dead pine needles poking at my ankles as the warblers sing overhead. It’s morning and hot already.
By Lauren Parks5 years ago in Fiction
Strength Amongst the Sunflowers
Busy work. That's what they call it right, when someone spends hours upon hours doing monotonous work. The type of thing that becomes so routine that your mind ceases to wander, and just seems to run on autopilot until someone or something interrupts the flow of things. Busy work, meditation, "creative hobby" are all synonymous in this sense. She's not really sure what the goal is, nor is she sure that spending all of her time in the garden has an end in sight. What she does know is this.. Spending her time in the garden, that was the only way that she could feel close to Mimi anymore.
By Dalton Boggs5 years ago in Fiction
The Old Man
“I hope he's not standing there again today," Jack thought as he turned the corner. Jack and Tina had only been here for five weeks, getting accustomed to their new jobs and the new apartment. They’d met when they were both in their final year of university and, after a whirlwind romance, moved into a small apartment downtown after graduation. After living in their first apartment for a few months and realizing that they couldn't afford to stay downtown any longer, they packed up and moved to the city's east end. They moved here for two reasons. The rent was much more affordable in this part of the city, and they could be closer to Jack's parents as his father was not well and spending a lot of time in and out of the hospital close to the new apartment.
By Gerald Holmes5 years ago in Fiction
Big Sister Leaving Town
The bright lights have always called to me. I mean really, them over this? There isn’t any question. Here its all lager, pool, watching stupid boys fight over meaningless things and then wanting to cop a feel after hours. Yeah, that versus the theatres, restaurants and real nightlife. Go figure.
By Simon Morrell5 years ago in Fiction
Northern Penguins
The girl was sitting on the bed reading a book she had brought with her. It was Road Dahl’s The Witches. She was almost finished with the book and she only had a few left. On the first days of the trip, she had read seven of her thirteen books and she would not be able to get more of them until they returned to Juneau.
By Giovanni Murtha5 years ago in Fiction
I'm, Oliver
I’ve never been an outdoors kind of guy. I was born in the city, grew up in the city, and now have been ejected from it. It’s crazy to think a mother could just send their own child away for messing up a few times. I mean, I guess it was more than a few times, but still. I think sending me to Alaska is a bit of an overreaction. It makes sense though, she had two other boys to worry about, both younger than me. She didn’t have any time for a “bad kid”, which is all I ever was to her. It also set an example for the other two boys in the house, I’m guessing they are studying or something right now, to avoid my fate. I think I’m gonna miss those idiots the most.
By Justin Michaels5 years ago in Fiction
Family Business
Charles scuffled into the old Green Light Tavern, his lifelong favorite watering hole ready and waiting to serve him his usual: grilled cheese, tater tots, and an ice cold soda to start. When conversations got going, he'd throw back his sodas like they were ice cold summertime beers; the kind that give you that refreshing sense of relief after sweating in the relentless sun. Charles liked to come to the bar and watch the television, or survey new patrons and the good ol' regulars, occasionally finding a decent conversation to have with a youngster who had little knowledge of old-time farming and what life once was. His final act of the night would be buying a young gentleman a snack and asking him to pay it forward someday.
By Dani Banani5 years ago in Fiction
The Frozen Cup of Happiness
As the breeze whistled through the barren trees in its own unique language, this ice mistress could feel the coming Winter Solstice, and all the bright energy of the time of new born light. This winter should prove most magical, she thought as she gazed out the window at the frozen pond.
By Amy Chris Keiper aka LC Harrison5 years ago in Fiction
