Our Tribe
how it ended
Our friendship ended in a silence no one heard, surrounded by the chanting, the honking horns, the chorus at the intersection, the quieting snow beginning to stick to the roads.
I saw you first. The hat I made you with the chunky orange wool stood out from the clusters of black, green, red, blue and white. I thought wildly, for a minute: did someone take it? Had you given it away in a bag of things that no longer fit? And then your jacket: that vintage rusty sunset you bought after I told you your windbreaker wouldn't carry you through a New York winter.
The number of things that went unspoken in our friendship had grown like parking lot snow piles, things we pushed aside and dumped somewhere we wouldn't have to navigate. By the time you found my playlist labeled, Songs in the key of justice, you didn't even ask me what it meant. We swallowed everything that would've divided us sooner. Told ourselves we were above us and them. Prided ourselves on thinking of each other as, people, first.
I hadn't planned to go to the protest at all, but I skipped my usual route to the coffee shop. I don't know why. I know that when I stopped to watch, one group called: who does your silence serve? and I thought instantly of your smile. I stayed, knowing it would hurt you if you knew. It didn't occur to me that you'd have made that calculation, too.
About the Creator
Dane BH
By day, I'm a cog in the nonprofit machine, and poet. By night, I'm a creature of the internet. My soul is a grumpy cat who'd rather be sleeping.
Top Story count: 17
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Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
On-point and relevant
Writing reflected the title & theme
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Eye opening
Niche topic & fresh perspectives
Masterful proofreading
Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
Expert insights and opinions
Arguments were carefully researched and presented
THE LAST WISH
In the small town of Raven's Hollow, nestled deep within the shadows of ancient, gnarled trees, a chilling legend lurked—a tale whispered in hushed tones and only shared in the darkest corners of the local tavern. The townsfolk spoke of a mysterious entity known as "The Last Wish," a malevolent force said to grant one final desire to those desperate enough to summon it. However, the cost of that wish was far more terrifying than anyone could fathom.
By Keyur Porecha2 days ago in Fiction
My To Be Read List
I have been taking some time away from writing. I haven't forgotten about Vocal, the truth is I just have been too busy pursuing other things to write online and honestly, my little family and I just had a really hard month between the flu and a weird eye infection/cold circulating our house. I'm currently sipping some warm peppermint tea because my throat is sore.
By Chloe Rose Violet 🌹a day ago in BookClub
Comments (23)
Fantastic! This poem made me question the depths of my relationships. I forgot how simple life could be and how easy it is to bury chalk when no one wants to draw.
Heavy, but a great read Dan. Brilliant idea to take this prompt and change it up completely, so that the snow isn’t the main focus, but rather the growing divide and eventual sighting of the split between these two. “like parking lot snow piles, things we pushed aside and dumped somewhere we wouldn't have to navigate.” is great, and shows us so much about the relationship. Well done 👏
Congratulations! Beautifully written! Well done!
Congrats! A unique snow setting and a well written piece!
Sad yet beautiful. I'm left with a kind of longing.... A loss that cannot be fixed. Very relatable. Congratulations on your well deserved win.
Wow this was really good. Excellent work.
So much to read into this. Extraordinary really. Very relatable and yet I feel a fly on the wall of another's mind. Congratulations, well deserved! ❤️
Congratulations on the win!!
This is so sadly beautiful and so full of melancholy. Pulls at the heartstrings and reaches out for a hug. Beautifully done Dane. Congrats on your win.
This is beautifully and sensitively written. Whether the faithful record of an experience or fiction, it is an impressive story. Congratulations on 1st place!
I appreciate the tension you create between painting a visual and carving space for interpretation. You've given me enough to chew on as a reader, and enough to delight in as an editor, and so much to detect as a person. I love it! Beautifully written. Congratulations on the Challenge Win!
Reading tuis felt like Iwas eavesdropping on an intimate conversation in a coffee shop. I read it with guilt, almost. The story feels unfinished and leaves me begging for more. Why did the friendship end, why did that protest remind her of the deiend's smile. There is beauty in this un-told-ness..
Congratulations on the win!
Great writing!
Congratulations!! What a heart-piecing story that immediately activates the brain and then leaves us with such important musings. Your writing is beautiful, and I love the metaphors. Exquisitely crafted.
Congratulations! Such a great story in such few words
Congratulations, Dane!!! This is such a thought-provoking story. You provide a full picture in such few words - your reflections on the hat and the jacket say so much about your characters' friendship and the tenderness in their love. This makes the end (depending on which way you read it) either all the more heartbreaking or heartwarming. You bring to life full characters, their relationship, and this story with technical proficiency and leave your readers with an impactful experience that leaves them thinking about how the story relates to their own life and relationships. This is brilliantly done, Dane, and I was so pleased to see it come in first. Your story has stuck with me. Beautiful work. 💓💗
Congratulations, friend!! Beautiful, powerful work 💙
Congratulations Dane on your First Place win in the Snow Micro challenge!!!
Congratulations on your win! The metaphor of melting snow, dirty piles and a fading friendship (?) was inspired. You made every word count. Well done.
Well DAMN. This is just... no words. Just wow.
Congratulations on a beautiful story of friendship lost and torn apart by divisions in the world. So much was said in very few words. Well done
This made me really sad. The breakdown of what was a great friendship because of opposing views? Is that it? Or same views because they are at the same protest but doing it separately now? Either way, the fact that they put "people, first" but antagonise each other - the irony is not lost on me. Great micro.