Life

Red Envelopes for Strangers
Red Envelopes for Strangers The night train to Xi’an was always too warm in winter. Liu Shan sat by the window, her coat folded on her lap, watching frost blur the glass. Outside, villages flickered past like brief memories. Inside, the carriage smelled of instant noodles, oranges, and tired people going home.
By Zidaneabout 5 hours ago in Writers
Craft over catharsis.
I like reading, 📚 I like writing, ✍🏾 I like sharing, I like exploring, and I like art. All the above, connect you to something. If I create by writing, I will want to share. Writing is an art, and a preserver of history, culture, and values. While art allows me to explore. Craft is a generic term for all kinds of art. It is not selfless but desires to share. It looks for a problem to solve, and solutions to adapt. When I think of catharsis, it is a temporary state, fleeting, might be exciting, and less involving. It sounds lazy, laid-back, and a bit selfish.
By Kusauka Chimbeabout 17 hours ago in Writers
Poof! It's gone.
I rub three time. Nothing. I do it again. Nothing. I whisper a prayer. nothing changes. One more time, to no avail. Wait! I have it somewhere. I’ll look for it. My magic eight ball. I find it and ask it if I will be able to write today? Its reply, “without a doubt.” I do it again and ask the same question. “Outlook not so good.” This is insane! Make up your mind, already. Final time, “will I be able to write, today?” I turn the wicked little thing and get, “Concentrate and ask again.”
By Alexandra Grantabout 18 hours ago in Writers
James Assali: A Deep Dive Into His Personal Life and Professional Career
James Assali is not a polished, overnight success story. His life and career reflect something founders, business owners, and creators understand well: momentum built through resilience, conviction, and long-term thinking. At a time when entrepreneurship is often framed around shortcuts and hype, James Assali’s journey stands out because it’s grounded in lived experience, personal loss, faith, and sustained execution.
By CEO A&S Developersabout 18 hours ago in Writers
James Assali: A Deep Dive Into His Personal Life and Professional Career
James Assali is not a polished, overnight success story. His life and career reflect something founders, business owners, and creators understand well: momentum built through resilience, conviction, and long-term thinking. At a time when entrepreneurship is often framed around shortcuts and hype, James Assali’s journey stands out because it’s grounded in lived experience, personal loss, faith, and sustained execution.
By CEO A&S Developersabout 19 hours ago in Writers
They Lied
I have been going back and forward on where to start this and how to start it, it seems to be my biggest challenge when telling a story. Stories have to have a beginning, middle and end but my stories never do. It’s more like they latch on to part of me and Im actually never sure when it began or even if it ends. They follow me.
By Ella Loftusa day ago in Writers
Sentence I Kept Avoiding
The sentence had been sitting there for three weeks. Not unfinished—worse. Almost finished. A blinking cursor waited at the end of a line that felt too honest to touch. Every time I opened the document, my eyes slid past it like it was dangerous. I adjusted margins. I reread earlier paragraphs. I told myself I was “warming up.”
By Luna Vania day ago in Writers
Is it me you're looking for?
The phone rang. He searched everywhere for it. His excuses of old age were wearing thin; his wife’s patience had worn even thinner long ago. He found it in his raincoat pocket. They laughed together at his joke. ‘Saving it for a rainy day.’ He had missed the call from his son in New Zealand. He wouldn’t ring back, not all that way. It must be expensive, it’s the other side of the World, isn’t it?
By Keith Butlera day ago in Writers
The Room That Didn't Flinch
The Room That Didn’t Flinch The room never flinched. That mattered more than people realised. It was always the same temperature, the same light, the same chair legs scraping the floor in exactly the same irritating way. The clock didn’t tick. I’d bought it on purpose after one client told me ticking made their thoughts speed up until they couldn’t catch any of them. People think therapists like silence. We don’t. We like predictability.
By Teena Quinn a day ago in Writers
When an Accident Changes Everything
Finding clarity and balance after an unexpected injury Accidents rarely give advance notice. One ordinary moment, life feels predictable and familiar. The next, everything changes because of an injury you did not see coming. Whether it happens on the road, at work, or in a public place, the sudden shift can feel overwhelming.
By Eka Intana day ago in Writers
Bless em all. Content Warning.
Nancy pulls the blind tight against the sunlight. In this side room, the ward’s buzzers and beeps are muffled, distant. The fluorescent light flickers, highlighting white stubble on Rod's face, as he lies against the pillows. Ken stares as the taped cannula metronomically drips colourless liquid. Wife and son sit sentry at his deathbed as the monitor counts out his heart’s closing rhythm. Nancy’s tears slip down her face as she holds his thin, liver-spotted hand. Ken, face harrowed by helplessness, plucks at the bedsheet.
By Keith Butler2 days ago in Writers
Bridge over Troubled Water
Monday 12th. Caught the 57. Took my seat at my regular table. Patted my cushion three times. Grunted a greeting to partner and began shuffling the cards. Two riffle and five overhand shuffles.
By Keith Butler2 days ago in Writers