family

Family unites us; but it's also a challenge. All about fighting to stay together, and loving every moment of it.

The Cowardly Lion
Thump. Linus shot forward from his slouched position on the sofa, just barely stopping himself from keeling over the coffee table. He put his elbows on his knees and rubbed his tired eyes. What was that noise?
By Oriel5 years ago in Humans
The People In The Black Notebook
The ringing in my ears was punctuated by the flat line sound emanating from the machine. My eyes wandered over to the moving yet straight line. With a quick glance at his wristwatch, the doctor pronounced my mother’s time of death. He nodded to the hospital staff who then wheeled my mother’s body away. Although my mother was pronounced as DOA, “Dead on Arrival”, I still needed to settle the bills for all the efforts required in attempting to resuscitate my mother. In the end, the fluids they pumped into her veins, the electric shock they sent to her heart, and the oxygen they supplied to her airways were not enough to repair what the doctor dubbed as a literally broken heart. An equally exhausted looking woman peered at me from behind the billing desk while I scrambled to hand over almost my entire week’s paycheck. I bit the inside of my cheek, wondering “Where the hell could I get the money to give my mother a decent funeral?”.
By Rebecca Galicha5 years ago in Humans
Stepping to the plate
It was a perfect summer day. You know the type warm bright sunshine, lite cool breeze, the smell of flowers and fresh grass, and the feeling that adventure could be around any turn. In a small town, in a tight knit cal-de-sac young Raymond Moore was kicking a can down the sidewalk. Raymond was deep in thought. How to earn enough money to sign up for local baseball league? His father thought this was a good time to learn the value of money. His mother thought he was ready for this challenge. Raymond thought his parents were being unfair but he really wanted to play so he'd get the money as soon as he had an idea how. This was his third time around the block so he didn't see what house he was at and was startled when he heard someone calling his name. "Raymond!" it was Mrs. Ruth Von Meter, everyone called her Grandma Ruth, she had lived on the street longer than anyone. Grandma Ruth was old, Raymond thought but she didn't look that old so maybe not.
By TJ Ferry5 years ago in Humans
The Hidden Notebook
Another pair of eyes looking at him with that look that they think are telling him “I am so sorry for your loss”, but what he can plainly tell is really saying, “I have no idea what to say to this guy”. Sure, some of the distant family and his older friends might know what it’s like to lose someone they love, but at only twenty-seven, John was the only person he could think of that had managed to lose both of his parents. His mother had passed away when he was young, plenty of time and love for those wounds to heal, his dad had seen to that. John was an only child, though he never felt alone. So when his dad recently had passed away in his sleep, it had hit John like a ton of bricks. Another firm handshake and a hand on his shoulder jolted him out of the escape into his mind. His father’s longtime friend Charlie and to Johns surprise, also his father’s attorney, told him that he needed to see him in his father’s office once the reception was over. The rest of the reception went by without much recollection from John.
By Josh Jamieson5 years ago in Humans
Coming Home
At the sound of the captain’s voice, Jessi opened her eyes, “Folk’s we’re coming up on final approach. The time in Anchorage is 6:00 a.m., temperature is 48 degrees, looking to your right, we have a beautiful view of Denali.” Lifting the window shade, Jessi smiled and sighed. Despite her emotional exhaustion, she felt that familiar tingle inside, Alaska had always been that ‘take-your-breath-away’ kind of place to her.
By Melody Barrett5 years ago in Humans
The Space Between Suns
I am afraid of the dark. Charles didn’t know that until our first night together, when the passion cooled into the warmth of a moment I couldn’t bear to break with words. He slid away for only a moment, probably to get us a drink, but the sudden emptiness by my side as I was enveloped in the darkness was more than I could pretend to face.
By Jordan Parkinson5 years ago in Humans
All Good Things Come To An End
It was a bright sunny day here in Pittsburgh. There was a nice cool breeze, the birds were chirping, kids were running around, the bees were buzzing, and the clouds were moving. "It was going to be a good day" said Louise. Louise was a 23-year-old girl working at a pharmacy just down the street from her house and lived with her mother named "faith" in a two-story building. Her dad left when Louise was ten years old, so it has been just her and her mother since. Louise's parents had bought the two-story building when she was eight years old.
By Phoebe Donley5 years ago in Humans
Ida
This is wrong. The car flipped, crushing the driver inside. This is wrong. The casket was gently lowered into the ground.
By Alice Schwager5 years ago in Humans
Woman in the Green Jacket
Virginia was worried that awful woman in the green jacket would come back again today. It was Virginia’s seventieth birthday and she didn’t want to deal with any strangers knocking at the door.
By Kody Smith5 years ago in Humans
The day life changed
Pandemic I woke up to what I thought was regular day only to find out something different. It seemed ordinary my normal ritual of mouthwash swish to brushing my teeth with my eyes squinted open. To washing my face and sticking it in the water as I shower wash it off with my face cloth now I am awake and starting my day. Starting with a bowl of crunchy cereal and cold milk and a glass of orange juice but as turned on the tv this day turned into mayhem. Shutdown across my state the United States, Italy,Japan and it goes on and on speaking of a deadly unknown airborne virus.
By Lavetta Watkins5 years ago in Humans
A notebook, an amethyst and a picture
Never before have I felt this numbing sensation in my stomach. A strange blend of sadness and anxiety is making my head spin, which makes my vision blurry as if I were dreaming. I walk into her room, my heartbeat accelerating with every step I take. It is the first time I walk through that door since she passed away in her bed a month ago. Her departure, as heartbreaking was it, was not a surprise to anyone; lung cancer fighters rarely make it for more than four years, like she did. But my gran-mother, Marguerite, was not only the strongest, most determined person I knew, but also an undeniable dreamer. The last night of her life, she shared with me once again her hopes to find an incredibly effective cure to her illness that could allow us to go to Paris together, so I can finally visit the city in which I was born. As I laughed imagining how wonderful that scenario could be, I drank my last sip of tea and got up to get her a fresh glass of water. By the time I was back she had already fell asleep, in result of the obnoxious quantity of medications she had been prescribed. I kissed her forehead and went home, unaware that it would be the last time I would see her laying there so peacefully in her bed. After I left, the universe took her away from her sufferings. She fell asleep peacefully and simply never woke up. A well-deserve rest for a fierce fighter.
By Éléna Bigalke5 years ago in Humans
Living on Borrowed Interests
I feel like the reason we aren't born as fully formed adults but rather grow up is because we are all supposed to define who we are. Our sex, our body parts and our looks are all decided for us; creating our own identities is the only thing we have control of after we are born. From birth we are constantly manipulated by others and the circumstances we find ourselves in. Our parents train us to be members of society but no one can train us to become who we are supposed to be.
By Fay Swittlor5 years ago in Humans