family
When Oceans Collide
The all encompassing, blue hues of the sky fill Catherine's view as she wanders aimlessly along the deserted shoreline, a cloudless day. The sun, a blinding blur that pierces the eyes, has moved steadily across the sky. The ocean harnessing the sunlight to create a spectacle of shimmering, illusive diamonds to adorn her tumultuous waters with. Normally catching onlookers and passersby in a mesmerising pull to her beauty and magnificence, her waters have a scarce few admirers today though.
By Alyssa Burns5 years ago in Fiction
The Magic Bottle
The preacher stepped down from the pulpit, wood groaning beneath his weight. “Are there any other miracles you’d like to share?” he wanted to know. He was talking about real miracles—death, blindness and paralysis being revoked. So far it’d only been run of the mill stuff like the untwisting of an ankle or the successful birth of someone’s granddaughter or great niece or whatever. A heavily manicured hand shot up, belonging to a woman looking every bit like an overeager student thrilled to share the correct answer with the class. “Yes, Beverly?” Beverly Jackson stood up and licked the lipstick off her teeth before she began. “Well, I have dealt with eczema for most of my life as some of you may know.” A handful of heads bobbed in unison before turning toward the woman. She pulled her sleeves down over scarred forearms, where attention had been drawn. “And it wasn’t just a flare up here or there—it was painful sores and blisters, skin coming off in big ol’ patches. Y’all know I’ve missed my fair share of Sundays on account of it.” Again the heads bobbed up and down politely. “Some days I wouldn’t even leave the house. If I couldn’t stand to look at it, how could other people stomach it? I wouldn’t even look at my own body in the mirror. I was so scared to catch sight of it. And sweet mother Mary, the pain!” A few sighs and sympathetic interjections came from the congregation. “After years of quack doctors, steroids, ointments, creams, pills, you name it, none of ‘em helped. Paul and I were pretty much hopeless, on the brink of bankruptcy!” She stopped here to tear up. Hands belonging to people on every side of her appeared to rub small comforting circles into her back. “To think a skin condition could ruin a marriage,” she shook her head in disgust, sucking back snot. “Then finally, finally! The good Lord led us to Dr. Linden. He prescribed me a lotion that actually worked. Rashes and woes begone! Overnight!” Small gasps issue forth from the congregation, urging Beverly on. “But it was a very, very expensive lotion and like I said, Paul and I were in some serious hot water financially speaking. Boiling hot! Well, it was getting down to my last drop of lotion—hold it up to the light and you couldn’t see nothin’ at all! We prayed and prayed for God to help us find the money for it but the money never came. It never fell from the sky old testament style. Nope, it sure didn’t. Now I still haven’t been able to go back to Dr. Linden since he prescribed me that first six-month supply,” Bev started looking around the room like she was about to ask for a handout, bottom lip quivering. Some of the men present made a show of readjusting their weight and stuffing hands into pockets in search of their wallets. But lo! She flashed her audience a 120-watt smile. “And I swear to you that lotion has never run out! Been a year and a half today!” Bev had only been building the suspense, not asking for charity. Clapping and whooping erupted from the pews. Beverly took her seat. Her face flushed pink and proud as she uttered, “God is good.” “Amen! God is good!” the preacher echoed, his full voice bouncing off the stained glass. “Praise be!” “Can He do that with my toilet paper?” an old man snorted. “Hallelujah!” In another pew in this tiny sweltering church sat Charlie Anderson. Charlie stared at Beverly with a gaping mouth, fresh belief blooming in her heart. She’d never heard of anything so wonderful in her life. “You tryna catch flies, Charlotte?” Her mother hissed in her ear, tapping her jaw shut.
By Lauren Elam5 years ago in Fiction
Troubled Waters
Welp! Here I am traveling along route 66 and I cannot wait to get out of this car. My dad Job transferred him to San Francisco California He’s a safety engineer for public transportation. Yeah! me a Texas girl, I hope I can fit in the fast city. Well, we pull over to this Native American store in Alberqurque New Mexico. “LAGUNA TRIBE”, I gazed across the trinkets with fascination as I stumbled over this stone looked like shapes drawn on it… I noticed an elderly woman sitting in the corner staring into space skin as dry as the bed of a dessert. “ Shika anilyeeda!” she was saying as she exhaled. “I’m sorry, I exclaimed. “shika anilyeeda, she said again. “you’d have to excuse my mother. “A firm voice said coming from behind me She haven’t been herself they said since she was 17 years of age. “I turned to find a beautiful woman who was standing against the wall. I tried to greet her almost tripping over this Native American blanket. I bend to pick it up and she yelled. “No, don’t move it.” In a trembling voice. “I stare at her not noticing my father at the door. Is everything okay? “He asks. “Yes, the lady answers. “Your daughter was just telling me that you guys were on your way to “San Francisco, is it?” she looked at me and grinned. I was just about to give her this stone for peace and prosperity. I’m still lost for words because I did not tell her anything let alone where we were going, she hands me a stone and an extra blanket like the one on the floor… 16 Hours later we finally arrive at Palou. Its pretty cold here. I do not see how people can go surfing all day… 4317 Palou Street. In this house that has a basement. “Alright Kiddo, we’ve finally arrived. I’d entered the house. There’s the living room to the left them, a room straight ahead to the left. To my right is the kitchen dining room a bathroom and. A little den. Up the stairs are two bedrooms. I claimed the room facing the road. While my dad had a beautiful view to the ocean. He says it’s to clear his mind from a stressful day. “Knock! Knock! Knock! Hello, my name is Amelia this is my daughter London. “My Dad was speechless and so I introduced us. I am Lilliana and this is my father, Timothy. We just arrived from Texas. She says’ well how about them cowboys she blurted her, and my dad laughed. Clearly, she’s a niner. We introduce ourselves and somehow got invited to go to peer 39 this Saturday…. Saturday early morning and nothings unpacked but the clothes in our traveling bag. London and Amelia offered to show us around. Finally, we arrived at the pier it was unique, diverse. The culture was live. My dad got excited when he saw the tour to “Alcatraz”. We must go. Amelia and London looked at us as if we were two looney tunes. “Mom, you know I haven’t…” “it’s okay honey we will be fine… I confirm to London that we would be fine. We finally get on the fairy that takes us to the prison. The tour guide tells us that it’s supposed to be haunted. I’m even more excited. We get there and suddenly I got this weird feeling that came over me. My dad and Amelia go ahead while I was literally babysitting London. As the tour go on there were different sounds and the background like closing cell doors, burning smells. My dad was staring out into a holding cell “Dad…. Da.’ “Yes! Kid, he finally answered. The tour was finally over, and we headed home because my dad wasn’t feeling well. My dad went to his room to lay down I sat in the living room and noticed a thick fog coming from the top of the mountain. So, I started a fire and grabbed the blanket that the woman at the Native American store gave me. The crackle from the fireplace woke me up. Not realizing that I fell asleep. I sit up and noticed a glare in my vision I can see a silhouette. “Dad,” I said in a raspy voice. “ Shika anylieeda,” Da’, my dad walks in the Livingroom and stops as I throw the blanket off me he suddenly stop and stared in the blanket direction. I did not feel like going outside so I lounged around the house until my dad got home from work. He walks in with a pizza my favorite. He sits at the kitchen island staring into the sky. It’s been days since my father said a word to me. “Knock, Knock.” I open it to London who I invited in. She looked a little off. “What’s up, she looked at me and I saw this cold look in her eyes. “Ever since the day we meet my mom has done nothing, but stare into space, she doesn’t talk to me anymore. She cooks my favorite food and just sit there. She leaves every day and I tried following her one day and she met your dad at the pier. They kept going to the “Alcatraz Tour.” It was okay until one day she came back into my room sat on my bed and started crying I wanted to ask her was she okay, but she hadn’t spoken to me ever since the day we all went. Right then I see a flash… “So did you see that too?” London asked! “Yes, I did,” I responded.” She explains that she has been seeing lightening ever since that day as well. I asked if she could stay the night that way, we can go follow our parents in the morning. The next day we wake up and have not eaten in days, so we didn’t worry about skipping breakfast. We head to the pier and low and behold flashes of lighting started in strong, and the sounds of crying fill the air. We catch the fairy to Alcatraz, and We see our parents standing in front of the cell, He was holding Amelia, what a weird date I thought, but I noticed Ms. Amelia was crying. Overwhelmed with frustration I immediately walk to my dad and start yelling at him. He continued to ignore me. He kept saying “My little girl, my baby.” I turned and looked to my surprise the cell was filled with flowers covering two picture frames holding, London and my pictures. Flash struck us again. We both stuck in disbelieve I noticed a familiar face standing in the crowd with the tourist. I run to her with London on my heels. “What have you done to me, why did you do this?” I ask in anger. “She tells me I need to leave now, or I would forever be trapped here.’’ Not understanding London and I catch the fairy back with her. So, what happened to us? She ignored my question the whole ride until we go to her car. She held her cell phone up as if she had it on speaker. “You know if people saw me talking to you then they would think that I am crazy.” She first explained that if we would have stayed an extra ten minutes then our souls would be trapped at “Alcatraz,” with the rest of the souls. She told us we were not the first souls to be trapped at Alcatraz. The only reason she came was because her grandmother soul was trapped there. She explained how a lost soul had taken over her grandmother’s body, when she came to visit San Francisco as a teen and she have a gift because her grandmother had a prearrange marriage and that’s how her and her family came about, but she was the only one that picked up the gift. Her Uncle stay here so the family could come back and visit her. She explained that my blanket was for protection against evil spirits. “WHAT HAPPENED TO US? “You both were walking around, and you went to the cell where they electrocute people. I do not know how, why or who, started the electrical current, but you guys were too close to the chair. She closes her eyes and starts to speak again with them close. London thought she saw a man hovering in the dark corners she fell against the chair and grabbed you, I saw the flash and once again started smelling the burning smell… “It all makes sense, All the time I was calling my dad he was answering Amelia’s mom, Why I thought he was ignoring me. The burning smell, the lack of appetite. One night my dad was standing in the kitchen he walked into the living room… well at least until the blanket you gave me feel then he stopped.” “He did what?” she asked the blanket fell on the floor, and he stopped.” “Oh no, you are not alone, your dad and London your mom are transporting spirits across the waters.” Spirits feed on emotions and heartache, their getting into your parent’s body and coming over souls would get trapped with the rest of the souls that didn’t make it across the waters.…that means you parents souls are trapped on the island.” You guys must get the blanket and corner your parents they cannot touch they fear the blanket…. Later that night London stayed with me as we hear our parents enter the home. My bedroom door opens their eyes fixated on the blanket laying at the foot of the bed. both parents’ side by side with this devilish grin. I see we don’t like to play fair.
By MynlessKoncept5 years ago in Fiction
She Used to Talk to the Wind
The woman walked her usual route around the kitchen, muttering to the spaghetti sauce simmering in her pot. Her kids were already seated for dinner in the next room, all five of them in a riot. The youngest was giggling, the oldest was shouting at them to shut up, and the rest were screeching at the chaos and smacking their hands together in enjoyment. Her husband sat slumped dejectedly at the end of the table, scratching his stubble and sliding his eyes over the blue screen of the phone. He had never been one for talk, so the woman found it easier to carry her own conversations.
By Sophia Milner5 years ago in Fiction
Illusions
If shopping were an Olympic sport my mother would have held multiple gold medals. Mary Lou seldom paid full price for anything and yet valued quality. She new every bargain basement and discount outlet in our city of Chicago and workers at these establishments frequently knew her by name, giving her tips on upcoming sales and warning her off items that may not measure up once she got them home. To her, shopping was not a sprint but a marathon. She started early in the morning and went well into night and could easily spend 2 or 3 hours in one store. As a kid, shopping with my mom was tortuous. I dreaded being dragged from store to store while she thoroughly searched racks and aisles, going back to the same aisle multiple times as she made decisions about which items were worth her limited amount of cash and which were better left behind,
By Dawn Olderr-Montalvo5 years ago in Fiction
