Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Humans.
Things I’ve Had To Tell My Black Nephew While Taking a Walk
“Don’t move your arms so much.” “Don’t stop there.” “Don’t walk so far ahead of me.” “Don’t make eye contact with that man.”
C.R. HughesPublished about 5 hours ago in HumansLizzie's Diary - Entry 18
3rd day of April in the year 2140 It’s been months since I last wrote in this. I finally have a moment to breathe. The halfway house had a rocky start. More kids were sent our way as the angels addressed more cases. A few of these abusive parents tried to rally together in protest, but the rest of the colony wasn’t having it. They lost custody of their children, and they’re lucky they weren’t kicked out of the colony.
Natasha PennPublished about 6 hours ago in Humans
Mama
Sometimes it ain’t easy to talk about my mama. We had a rough go at it in the beginning. More like my sister sometimes, but my mama nonetheless. She met me kicking and screaming in the fall of ’82 and if you ask her, I gave her about as much trouble since. My mama wasn’t raised like women are now, she was taught to cook her husband’s dinner, and smile, and eat whatever bullshit life gave her with a silver spoon. She rallied against it as best she could, but she was what her mother had intended her to be in those early years of her marriage to my Daddy. She tried to get me to be a good little woman too, but that just wasn’t in the cards for me. When my Daddy left her, she cried in a rocking chair and asked me to stay with her, but I left. I feel nothing but shame now remembering how pathetic I thought she was. Sometimes I wish I had stayed that day, but that wasn’t what was meant to happen, so it didn’t. I spent a lot of time thinking my mama was weak, or even stupid back then. Took me havin’ my own life and kids to see just how hard it can be, and how we are all just running around like chickens with our heads cut off tryin’ to do our best. And she really did her best. We always had clean clothes and good food on the table. My mama may have screamed a lot, but she loved us just as loud. We may not have had every new toy, but we found little notes in our lunch boxes, and came home to our dolls dressed up perfectly in my baby sister’s old clothes. I could never dress them up right like my mama could. She made us wear a jacket when it was cold, and she cleaned our blood away when we got hurt. She was a good mama, but after some years had passed, she discovered that maybe she just wasn’t that good a woman after all, and maybe she didn’t need to be. Maybe she didn’t want to be. She changed after the divorce. She cared less what people thought of her, especially what the church thought. She smoked and cussed when she wanted to, and she told us to fix our own dinner. She lost weight and began to really live her life for what seemed like the first time ever. I started to see my mama in a different light then, she was not the weak woman that Daddy made her, but stronger than I knew. Stronger than I could ever know, even now. She was there when we needed her, she is there even now if I need her. She won’t tell you everything is okay, and she won’t feel sorry for you, but she will be there. I used to want a mother that would hold my hand every time I felt sad, someone who would do my hair for a dance, or tell me they are sorry my boyfriend hurt my feelings, but that wasn’t my mama. There were worst things than a broken heart or a messy head of hair, and she knew it from personal experience. I now know that I get my strength from her. I don’t sit and wallow in whatever sad predicaments I may face, because I hear my mama’s voice telling me there are worst things, and to quit feeling sorry for myself. I hear her telling me to keep going, that nothing is so constant as change, and that things can’t be that bad for too long. I know I will be okay after every breakup, because she was. I know my kids will turn out okay, even if I am not perfect, because we did. I can’t tell you all of the sacrifices she made for us, but I can say they were many. I know she worried a lot more than anyone should, and she cried when she was mad, like I do now. I will never know the struggles she faced in reality, but I know they were there everyday and she did her damndest so that we wouldn’t have to face so many when we grew up. I know that everything good in me is from her. I used to want to be nothing like her when I was too young to know this world, and now when people say I am like my mom, I take it as one of the biggest compliments someone can give.
Leslie StatonPublished about 7 hours ago in Humans
How to Choose the Right Friends
It has been said, "You are who you befriend." Therefore, you should be extremely careful who you choose to be your friend because that person could have a great influence on your life. Below are some things to consider when deciding who to spend precious time with and who to confide in.
Margaret MinnicksPublished about 8 hours ago in Humans
The offering
Darling, let us keep the light. Which robe should I wear tonight? Blue poet — with words, words inside and out, and around
Giedre (Gary) PutelytePublished about 8 hours ago in Humans
5 Signs You’re Falling In Love With A Hopeless Romantic
Falling head-over-heels in love with that special someone can be a very euphoric experience and also entices the mind into romanticism. Having strong romantic feelings when a significant lover comes along can spark friction in a relationship but how does one know they are falling in love with someone who dreams of a fantastical love, a romanticist dream beyond the fishbowl that can be called life?
Setsuko AliaPublished about 8 hours ago in HumansThe Ghoul Pool
They say sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. But sometimes people are just cruel. And sometimes kind can win out in the end.
Donna L. Roberts, PhD (Psych Pstuff)Published about 9 hours ago in HumansTurn the Page
Written words have always consumed me. From the time I could read until now, I have always loved the way written words could perfectly express something that your lips just could not say.
Chloe Rose VioletPublished about 9 hours ago in HumansSahirah's Strengthening
A rush of air flowed through the room and a low whisper seemed to come in with it, "Are you always this loud?" came her low tone, arms suddenly risen with chill bumps. To the onlooker, such things would appear as if they came in with the draft, but the truth was electric sensations flowed through her body all because of the static that seemed to linger within the air.
Sai Marie JohnsonPublished about 9 hours ago in Humans
Color of Sunshine
I could choose one color, but none of them describe you. You’re a burning rainbow with no color rule. You’re far too complex, beautiful and abstract. I couldn’t simply choose orange because nothing rhymes with that. Yet I see within your soul what burns and dances like a flame. Yellow shines because you are fierce as the light.. wild yet tame. As a Phoenix rises above the ashes with a fiery burning red. The color leads me to your heart it is pure as gold piercing through my head. A bright white blinds me as you sparkle different angles. As a diamond you shine bright like that of an angel.
Gena AdamsonPublished about 10 hours ago in Humans
The 4 Best Gay Bear Events confirmed for 2021
The 2021 warmer seasons are coming, and gay bears are ready to take off their shirts, proudly showing those hairy chests under the sun after this long and stressful winter we’re in. To get ready for the parties, I made a list of the best gay bear places that will be opening in the summer. Of course, the question is: will it be possible to enjoy summer at a pool party with no social distancing and masks?
Frederico CostaPublished about 10 hours ago in Humans
Five Dollar Fiction
FIVE DOLLAR FICTION VOLUME ONE I know you got the email I sent out to everyone on my mailing list last February. If you didn’t see that email, you won’t see this one either. It’s probably sitting in your spam folder. So, I decided to post this email here on VOCAL in the hope that you have noticed my Facebook posts about the short stories I’ve recently had published. So, you came here to VOCAL to check them out, right?. Many of those short stories are the direct result of that February email.
David ZinkePublished about 10 hours ago in Humans
