family
Family unites us; but it's also a challenge. All about fighting to stay together, and loving every moment of it.
Families Aren't All Perfect
On June 26, 1989, I prematurely made my way into the world. I wasn’t due for another 2 months. My family quickly helped my parents move into the tiny house they had just bought. It wasn’t extravagant by any means, but it would do. It needed a lot of work done, but it was what they could afford at the time. Besides, my dad was really handy when it came to repairs. For the next 3 years, my mom and dad figured out their new life with a child. On January 10, 1993, my sister Rachael was born. She was a little red-head with shirley temple curls. I now had a partner in crime as she got older. Someone I could play with...and fight with. Once she outgrew the crib, we got bunk beds for our room. And then on July 14, 1996, we had yet another adjustment to make. My sister Amanda was born. And then there were 5...and a dog...all in our tiny house. A crib and bunk beds all in the same room. On the outside, everyone thought we were doing so well. Little did they know, our family was far from ok.
By Joy Beyond the Dark5 years ago in Humans
The Christening
“We are going to be so late, are you ready yet?” “It’s alright for you, you didn’t have to feed two hungry children, you didn’t have to sort out a babysitter, you just swan in from work, shower and put a suit on and you’re done, just remember, I didn’t want this at all.”
By Eric Harvey5 years ago in Humans
Storms bring out what calm seas cannot
Lettie had come out here to die. All her life she had moments like this where her mind rationalized it would be better to be gone from this world than to be part of it. She had driven out to the dock and untethered her parents' ship from where it had sat for years. There was a film of slime all over the controls but other than that she smiled when engine sputtered on.
By yanina maysonet5 years ago in Humans
Patchy & Mitch
Somewhere in the mountains, in a small space with the smell of lavender lingering around. Coming from a candle placed on a square rag. There are apple kernels and chocolate wrappers crumpled in a pile. Scraps of cloth and tattered blankets lying on the ground. Used as beds for the two siblings, an older brother and younger sister tasked by their father to survive 7 nights on their own. Hone their skills as a hunter and scavenge while he went solo on a sailing mission. So, they took camp in a pit in a mountain next to the docs. Planning to catch fish for the duration of their stay. Although on most days they had empty stomachs since Mitch didn't like when his hands got slimy from the bait and would gag when it squirmed on the hook. For some reason, he was in awe when he saw his cutesy sister with the squeaky voice play with it in her hands. Patchy was different than most girls and Mitch didn't like to fish unlike most boys. It was his turn to get the big meal for the day and every time a meal is had, there is always a tale to tell.
By Lauryn Greene5 years ago in Humans
The Art of Letting Go
Lucy had trouble letting things go. Not in the sense that she held grudges but actual things. It was a fact that Lucy’s home was a museum of memorabilia from her life; worthless but tangible objects that were priceless to her, each infused with special memories. Lucy held on to them, year after year, unwilling to unwind herself from the security that each memory offered her.
By Tammy Baxter5 years ago in Humans
The Thornton Triplets
It was hard not to notice the Thornton triplets. If it wasn’t for their bright ginger, curly locks, then it was for their loud damn mouths. 19 long years have I had to deal with the noisy nigglers and it seems with age, they aren’t getting much better.
By Matthew Grantham5 years ago in Humans
Summer Cousins
There was magic in our lake. That’s what Grammy always said. But then again, Grammy had a bit of magic in her, too. Each year on the last day of summer, Grammy packed her picnic hamper and together we’d carry it down to the old dock where the reeds were thin and the ducks liked to gather. We’d sit for hours with our feet dangling in the water, just Grammy and me, because I was the oldest and (I suspected), that made me the favorite. We ate cheese sandwiches wrapped in crinkled brown paper and thick slices of Great Aunt Millie’s angel food cake, and Grammy told me stories about when she was a girl. I’d swat at the horseflies and watch the rich people’s boats sway in the breeze while I imagined a little girl version of Grammy splashing in the water and racing her older sisters across the shoreline. On these Last Days, I could tell Grammy all of my secrets, and Grammy only ever listened as she stroked my hair until the sky turned purple and one last lonely boat fluttered on the horizon.
By Jessica Conaway5 years ago in Humans
Passing Fancy 2
Passing Fancy 2 Alfred, who insisted on being called Al ever since he discovered Alfred was Batman’s butler, stood tall and straight on the beach, barefoot, the warm wet sand at the ocean's edge squishing up through his toes, his eyes shut against the sun as his face tilted toward its warmth. Sea breezes blew through his wind-tousled white hair which had somehow remained full and thick while the hair of his friends whitened and eased away with age.
By Cleve Taylor 5 years ago in Humans
Let’s Just Say - It’s Complicated
The buzzing sound of the alarm clock jolted me awake. I slowly opened my eyes, got up and walked to the window. The sun was shining, the sky flawless, the temperature cosy with a slight breeze and I thought to myself, “Wow, I’m so grateful for my life.” I could hear my two boys in the next room already wide awake and playing computer games.
By Rejoice Denhere5 years ago in Humans
Star Bodies
I spend a lot of time sprawled beneath the cover of the stars, hoping it will make me feel closer to them. I lay out in the field behind my house and press myself flat against the ground, fingers sifting through grass and dirt, searching for the earth’s pulse. Sometimes I think that if I dig my nails in hard enough for the soil to cake or if I look up with enough longing, it’ll spark something deep between my ribs. That feeling of the organs inside me coming together to fill the gaps the blood always sloshes through.
By R. S. Gonzalez5 years ago in Humans
