family
Ashes of the first flame
In the heart of Lagos, under the golden hues of a wedding sunset, Ifeanyi and Chiamaka had once danced in love. He had chased her for three years — flowers, letters, midnight phone calls, poems that made her cry — the whole fairytale. Chiamaka was the daughter of a retired school teacher, gentle and simple, but her beauty made men lose their way. Ifeanyi had loved her truly. Or so it seemed.
By Ikeagbo daniella about a year ago in Fiction
Ruby Valley Trek: Gemstones, Goat Trails, and the Art of Questioning Life Choices
Let me preface this: if the Gosaikunda Trek was a spiritual slap in the face, the Ruby Valley Trek was like a 5-day group hug from Mother Nature—with occasional moments of her whispering, “Darling, why are you so slow?”
By michal lendenabout a year ago in Fiction
Little Red Riding Hood
Once upon a time, in a quiet village at the edge of a big forest, there lived a sweet girl named Lily. She was kind, cheerful, and helpful to everyone. But what made her most special was the red hooded cloak her grandmother had sewn for her. She wore it so often that people began to call her Little Red Riding Hood, and the name stuck.
By Jeno Treshan about a year ago in Fiction
The Fragrance of Old Days
The tree in the backyard is still there, where we used to play for hours as children. That tree was special because there was a small swing under it, and we always believed that if we closed our eyes while swinging, we would soar into the sky. It was under that tree that we created some of the most beautiful memories, memories that are still deeply cherished in my heart. My friends Ali and Maryam were always with me. Our world was limited to that small neighborhood, and nothing else seemed as important. Yet, in that world, we found everything we needed to be happy. There was something unique about us: we put so much love into everything we did, as if that little world was created just for the three of us. Ali always had a passion for kite flying, and he would often take me to the roof so we could fly kites together. While flying kites, we learned so many things: how to understand the flow of the wind and how to control the kite. Those moments are some of the most beautiful moments of my life. Maryam was always my partner when we would draw lines on the ground and play that it was our kingdom, and we were the king and queen of it. Sometimes, we would play hide-and-seek, and Maryam would always get upset when she stayed hidden and we couldn’t find her. I would always manage to find her, and she would be happy for me. It was a time when the world was simple, and we found happiness in little things. We never thought that time would pass so quickly. I remember one day when we all built a small “camp” together. We used branches from the trees to create a small structure and then went inside to make tea. It wasn’t made on a kitchen stove but rather on a small stove made from a piece of string that we had crafted ourselves. Those moments were so joyful that even today, I can still recall the fragrance of them. Our games were always special. Ali loved kite flying and had become an expert at controlling the kites. Maryam was fond of poetry and telling stories. She would always tell stories, and I would get lost in them. Our lives were so simple and joyful that we never felt the need for anything else. We were always together, and that was what made our friendship so special. I remember one day when we made a bright kite with colorful strings that flew high above our roof. That day was so special that we decided to call it the best day of our lives. We flew the kite as high as it could go, and with it, our hearts soared too. Time passed, and then one day came when we all went our separate ways. Maryam’s family moved to another city due to her mother’s job transfer. Ali also decided to move to another city with his parents. I, who had always been with them, suddenly felt alone. That tree, that swing, those small games—everything was left behind as we moved on to new chapters of our lives. But those moments, those memories, never faded. Today, whenever I feel anxious or my heart feels heavy, I close my eyes and retreat to those days of my childhood, reliving those memories. The tree is still there, but my friends and I are no longer around it. Yet, those memories live on. The fragrance of those days will forever remain in my heart. The fragrance that came from the tree’s branches, the fragrance from the strings of the kite, the fragrance that came from Maryam’s smile—those childhood days will never die because those memories will always stay alive in my heart. Time’s fast pace has separated us, but those moments will never change. At every stage of my life, whenever I need peace, I will sit beneath the tree of my childhood and reconnect with those memories that will forever be a part of me.
By Ten Brothers wri8ersabout a year ago in Fiction
Can You See Me Now?
Being invisible is my superpower. I don’t mean that I’m a superhero who is out slaughtering villains, cape flapping in the wind as I zoom over the New York skyline. The truth is, instead, that I am a “woman of a certain age” who has suddenly morphed into invisibility.
By Muhammad Hameedul Haqabout a year ago in Fiction
Guardians and Angels | Chapter Four (Part 13). Content Warning.
"Christopher his home!" I can smell him. I usually smell him a mile away or more when he comes home. Cotton and Cherry Coke. Perspiration from running, pepperoni on his breath. I can smell him long before I can hear him, usually. They didn't teach me to smell at the school for the blind people where Carol met me. No, it was my gift. I was born with it. I could smell better than all the other dogs since I was a puppy. My brothers and sisters knew too. I wasn't the strongest, or the fastest, but I damn sure could smell the best. I could smell the scents, the traces of the scents... the memory of the traces of the scents; and I could see everything in my mind.
By Christopher Dubbsabout a year ago in Fiction
"The Sky’s True Colors: Understanding Why It’s Blue"
**What gives the sky its blue hue? ** When you looked up on a sunny day with clear skies, did you ever wonder why the sky was blue? It's one of those everyday wonders that we often forget about. The answer is a combination of science, light, and the way sunlight interacts with our atmosphere. Let's learn about the fascinating phenomenon beneath the blue sky and the physics that created it. ### The Nature of Sunlight To understand why the sky is blue, we must first comprehend the components of sunlight. Sunlight, also known as white light, is composed of the colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. You may have observed this in action when sunlight is divided into these colors by a prism or a rainbow. Each color in this spectrum corresponds to a different wavelength of light. Red light has the longest wavelength (around 700 nanometers), while violet has the shortest (around 400 nanometers). Blue light sits on the shorter end of this range, with wavelengths between roughly 450 and 495 nanometers. ### Step Into the Ambience The atmosphere, which is made up of gases, water vapor, dust, and other tiny particles, must be traversed before sunlight can reach Earth. When light passes through this mixture, it doesn't go straight through like it would in a vacuum. Instead, it interacts with the molecules and particles in the air. Scattering is a phenomenon brought on by this interaction. When light hits small particles, it bounces around in different directions. But not all wavelengths scatter equally. Here, the fundamental scientific concept of Rayleigh scattering comes into play. ### What is Rayleigh Scattering? Rayleigh scattering, which takes its name from the British scientist Lord Rayleigh, explains how light scatters particles that are much smaller than its wavelength. This principle states that light with shorter wavelengths, like blue and violet, scatters more than light with longer wavelengths, like red and orange. In point of fact, blue light scatters ten times more than red light. As sunlight moves through the atmosphere, this scattering causes the blue wavelengths to be redirected in all directions. As a result, the sky appears blue when you look up during the day because of the scattered blue light that comes from all directions. Violet, however, why not? Why doesn't the sky appear violet instead? If violet light is scattered even more than blue light, why is that? The answer lies in two things: **our eyes** and the **Sun’s light spectrum**. Firstly, our eyes are more sensitive to blue light than to violet. Violet is on the edge of our visible spectrum, so our eyes are programmed to respond more strongly to blues, greens, and reds. Secondly, the Sun emits less violet light compared to blue. So, even though violet is scattered more, the combination of less violet light and our reduced sensitivity to it means we perceive the sky as blue. ### The Sunrise and Sunset Color Changes It's possible that you've noticed that the sky isn't always blue. The sky frequently glows pink, orange, and red at sunrise and sunset. Why does this happen? Because the Sun is low on the horizon at these times of day, its light must travel through much more atmosphere to reach our eyes. The extra distance means even more scattering happens—especially of the shorter blue and violet wavelengths. As a result, the sky's color is dominated by longer wavelengths like red and orange because most of the blue light is scattered out of sight. That’s why sunsets and sunrises are often filled with warm, fiery hues. ### What About Other Planets? Interestingly, not all skies are blue. The scattering of light and the atmosphere of a planet determine the sky's color. For instance, Mars has a thin atmosphere full of fine dust and mostly composed of carbon dioxide. The sky on Mars often appears a yellowish-brown during the day and can turn bluish near the Sun at sunset, which is the opposite of Earth’s behavior. The sky is pitch black even in daylight on planets without atmospheres, like the Moon, because there is nothing to reflect sunlight. ### A Beautiful Quirk of Physics The blue sky is a beautiful byproduct of light, atmosphere, and the human eye. It serves as a wonderful reminder that extraordinary natural processes produce even the simplest sights. So, the next time you look up at the sky on a clear afternoon, keep in mind that you aren't just looking at empty space. You’re witnessing a dance of photons, particles, and physics that turns invisible sunlight into a canvas of blue.
By Al Amin Islam about a year ago in Fiction
