family

Puny humans, let's start again.. Top Story - July 2022.
Should he have brought a gift? Scott stood at the bottom of the stairwell, wishing he had a smoke. It had been twelve years since his last one, and twenty since his pack-a-day habit, and lord, some cravings ought to stay gone.
By Spencer Reaves4 years ago in Fiction
Positive.
Keira paced outside the closed bathroom door and checked her watch again. Why had she closed the door? Her roommate, Hailey, who was also her best friend since second grade, wasn't home. She couldn't hide from the test. She had to go back in there and see what it had to say. Today was the day after Valentine's day, she and Hailey had spent last night sharing a bottle of wine, and swearing off men forever. But after her second glass, Keira realized she felt sick, again. She couldn't remember her last period but that was nothing new, they were not regular and the birth control pills made them more sporadic. After digging around under the shared bathroom sink, she found a pregnancy test that Hailey had left over from a scare last year with her ex-boyfriend. Keira wasn't irresponsible and she wasn't promiscuous. She only had sex if she was in a serious relationship and she was careful about the men she chose to be in relationships with. But everyone makes mistakes. And Bobby ended up being a huge mistake. When they first met, he came across as friendly, charming, kind, and considerate. After four months together, his true colors slowly emerged and a new picture came into focus. Condescending comments about her appearance, insults disguised as jokes, inconsiderate behavior, and that was just the beginning of it. After calling off a date with her at the last minute because he wasn't feeling well, she and Hailey went out anyways. They stopped by his apartment to check on him but he wasn't home, when she called him, she got no answer. The next day he refused to answer when she asked where he was and instead got angry that she stopped by and called her a stalker. She felt ridiculous. Keira decided to end the relationship after asking for an explanation about some flirty comments left by a woman she didn't know on his Instagram. Bobby would only say she was a friend and Keira decided that she deserved more than a man who was still interested in other women. She didn't need or want a ring but she needed commitment.
By Sasha Austin4 years ago in Fiction
Sunshine
Sunshine is a girl who is always barefoot with long brown hair stretching down her back; highlighted with the colours of Autumn: rich golds and fiery reds. Her eyes are strikingly deep green against her ivory skin. She glows with happiness and adventure; this is what makes her beautiful, shining from the inside out.
By Katie Simmonds4 years ago in Fiction
Sleeping Beauty
Jennette's father had always been crazy. For as long as she knew, he had been talking with what he called his "angels", three of them. They apparently came in Crayola beginner's set colors of blue, green, and red. Every night before falling asleep in his armchair, tv on but with the sound down to a low unintelligible mutter, he would drowse into unconsciousness in a convivial conversation with one or more of them, as if he were speaking to his wife in a 50's style bedroom, lights out, beds separated by a side table with frill like a doll's dress around it. Half sentences, words spoken with the knowledge that the listener could piece together his meanings as a string of nuances, without full form.
By Nyssa Lyon4 years ago in Fiction
I want to be free?
"I want to be free, dad!" said an adult to his father "Free from what, my child?" his father, with a gentle voice, responded to his son...
By Santogo4 years ago in Fiction
Shadows Vanish From the Night
Callie and her family had often loved visiting the Old Growth of Blue River, and it was a beautiful place where she often felt free to bask in the beauty of bright blue skies and summers that seemed to last forever.
By Sai Marie Johnson4 years ago in Fiction
Her Brother's Flower
Her legs felt heavy as they carried her through the greenhouse. It was one of the first nice days of spring. The air was gentle and warm enough to wear shorts and a comfy sweater, so she took advantage of it. April was one of the most unpredictable months of the year in the Midwest. One day, it could be sunny and wonderful; the next likely brought sub-freezing wind chills and flurries. She stood still and smiled as the sun hit her legs, curiously looking at the world around her. She knew she wasn’t much of a plant person. She deeply admired a beautiful garden when she saw one, but she wasn’t the best at keeping them alive on her own. Back home, her mom had the most wonderful green thumb. Although she only visited once or twice a year, she looked forward to seeing what masterpiece her mom had created; she had so much open ground to play with on the farm. Of everything her mom cared for, her favorite was the giant rose bush in the front yard, by the old basketball goal. It bloomed once a year and produced the most brilliantly different shades of pink roses.
By Isabelle Robuck4 years ago in Fiction
My Three Fathers part 1
Marriage has always proved irresistible to my family. We try and fail and try again, somehow maintaining our belief in an institution that has made fools of us all. I’ve married twice; so has my sister. Our mother had three husbands. None of us intended this to happen. We meant to stick our landing on the first try, but we stumbled. My parents divorced when I was five. My mother and my stepfather Mike had their final parting when I was twenty-four. She married Darrell when I was twenty-seven, and they stayed together until he died, in 2018, when I was fifty-four. My problems were never ones of scarcity. I suffered from abundance, too much and too many. There are worse problems to have.
By SATPOWER4 years ago in Fiction
The peas
You can buy fried peas and fried peas at the stall selling smoked fried goods at the north market entrance, and at Wang Er's stall in my novel "Bizarre Bing". You can buy a small packet of them for twenty yuan, sprinkle a little salt on them, and eat them on the way to your home, and when you get there, you're done.
By Moxadple ggg4 years ago in Fiction
The Musician
Her name was Prudence Destiny Blakefield. This was an omen of the life she’d lead. She always thought her mother had been a little dazed from the experience of bringing a child into the world. That would certainly explain shackling her only child with an old-fashioned name designed to ensure an onslaught of bullying.
By Magdelene D.D.4 years ago in Fiction
The Surprising Sweetness of Stone Soup. Runner-Up in Dads Are No Joke Challenge.
THE BOY deeply inhaled the loamy, sandy smell of the vineyard soil warmed by the sun. Home! After filling his lungs with air, the boy held his breath and closed his eyes. So he sat there for a while, his tousled dark blond hair making him look like a runaway convent student practicing the art of immersion. Individual rays of the sun, already high above the vineyards, fell through the canopy of the old beech tree and tickled the tip of the boy's nose, who smiled in response and wrinkled his nose a few times in delight. After about a minute, the boy inhaled audibly and opened his eyes. He then eyed the ground around him and reached for a reddish stone. He examined the stone with a critical eye before putting it in his pants pocket. Then he turned back to the ground.
By Martin S.4 years ago in Fiction
I Love You, Daddy
The woman sits at the Lakeside Restaurant in Central Park, gazing into a rain-soaked October night. Her eyes are fixed on some distant point, and she doesn't notice the thick drops of water that fall around her. Memories from years past flood her mind. The memories that all lead up to this moment.
By Holly Rae4 years ago in Fiction