Love
Ribbed Cages.
It was the kind of day where the air pressed your skin with its heat. The fiery sun stung my cheeks as I hurried the last couple steps into the old barn. The only place in town I felt steady. The intense heat did not drop away in the shelter of the shadows. It clung to my body just like the heavy burden of my emotions. I could not seem to catch my breath lately-on the inside was a whirlwind of chaos-on the outside, my perfectly calm demeanor.
By Franchessica Hannawacker 5 years ago in Fiction
Forgiven
“It’s just an old barn,” the little boy said, as he watched the wrecking ball collide with the warped, weathered boards that wrapped around the fragile wooden structure in front of him. “I wonder what they’re goin' to put in its place. A baseball field?..Maybe they’ll put up a playground! Wouldn’t that be nice, grandpa?…Grandpa?”
By Laura Griffin5 years ago in Fiction
Anything But Sugar
"Gavin, honey! Go out to the coop for the eggs before you leave for school." The call reached Gavin in his bathroom where he stood in his boxers brushing his teeth. He spit a white glob into the sink, "Alright, Ma." At 18, he already had an impressive growth of facial hair which he examined in the mirror. Gavin liked it because it made him look like his dad. Gavin's mother on the other hand didn't like it because it made him look like his dad. In his room, freshly shaved, he pulled on his well worn jeans and a gray t-shirt, Thornbury Stinging Wasps in gold and red emblazoned across the front.
By Catherine Langenkamp5 years ago in Fiction
Seconds
The man sat alone in the restaurant at a round table in a nook with a cushioned bench. The place where he had chosen to sit was dimly lit and secluded from the other guests, though many of them still noticed how jittery he was. He could hardly sit still, as if the bench were made of rocks and he couldn’t get comfortable. His leg bounced, and it made a taptaptaptap on the floor until he put his hand on his knee and it stopped. The man took a comb out of his back pocket and smoothed his hair, which was salt-and-pepper gray but not balding, and put the comb back. The napkin wasn’t perfectly straight, so he adjusted it.
By Teralyn Pilgrim5 years ago in Fiction
Barns and Heavens
Gretchen stood just outside the crumbling door frame. The faded red paint cracked and peeled away from the wood siding of the ancient building. The windows were busted, littering the overrun grass with shards that threatened to cut anyone who got too close. The sliding door hung awkwardly, the rollers rusted and broken now. She could hear the floorboards straining to hold their own weight. The harsh wind whistled through the multitude of cracks in the walls.
By Amber Toney5 years ago in Fiction
Barn Dance
Meryl and Shandy had been dating about a year and were deeply in love. At 18 and 19 they already knew they would spend the rest of their lives together. They were talking a walk along the lane near her grandmother's house on their way to the store. It was a bright sunny day when suddenly a cloud appeared and before they knew it they were being soaked by the rain. They dashed into a neighbor's barn that was not currently being used and huddled together as they shook the wet from their clothes.
By Cheryl E Preston5 years ago in Fiction
Kissing Jacob Jones
It was the evening before the big night and I found myself in there again. The barn, quite cold this late in the evening, was almost ready for the annual Dolesdale Dance. Popcorn streamers, flickering lanterns, and the half-hidden smell of manure filled the wooden space. The empty barrels used for feed were cleared out to make room for the band and finger foods were set to be served at the back corner, where the dogs couldn't reach. And though I'd been inside preparing for hours, I couldn't wait to return the following day at 6:15 p.m. sharp to welcome the whole town myself.
By Sarah Said5 years ago in Fiction
