Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Humans.
i miss my dad, and the skeletons in his attic
The ladder to the attic groans in protest underneath my mud-caked wingtips, my feet like deadweight as I swivel my body in a precarious dance to leverage another box of Pop’s infamous whatsits against my waist. The man was a closeted hoarder; a survival technique turned obsession that may have served him well when he first left his country to settle here in the States. He always seemed to have two of everything, like our house was Noah’s Ark. Need a pair of jumper cables? Garage, left hand cabinet in front of the Buick. An air fryer? In the living room underneath the floral-print table cover, still in its original box being used as a makeshift coffee table. Maybe he felt more like a pharoah—pillaging the American Dream, padding the inside of his pyramid with appliances that would ward off boredom in the afterlife. The twist at the end is that he passed in the ICU surrounded by entirely new objects, sounds, and people (he had somehow avoided ever going to the hospital in his life). My mom and I, unfortunately, had to say goodbye over the phone. It was the first time he ever used Facetime, and we spent our last conversation with him looking up into his nose and repeatedly reminding him to flip his camera back around. Covid is one hell of a virus.
star torresPublished 3 years ago in HumansMy World
Everyone passing by thought I was mad. I didn’t care. I was so close to finding out the truth. Maybe at this point I was mad. At least a little manic. It had been days since I last slept and I’m sure the dark circles and rubbed mascara didn’t help my overall appearance. Some people stopped me in the street to ask if I was okay. Some even tried to pull me from the ground. But I wouldn’t move, even if it meant putting on my craziest face and yelling at the benevolent strangers. Even the birds were making sure they were flying nowhere near me as I sat on a patch of grass next to the sidewalk, covered in dirt, digging up the answers I’ve been searching for.
Morgan LewellingPublished 3 years ago in HumansHis money, Her problems
The day began just like any other day. Camille was sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee while eating her toast. She felt not like herself this current morning. something was off but she couldn't put her finger on it. As she looked at all the unpaid bills all she could do was hang her head and cry. at this point she felt completely defeated. She always was the type of woman who could fix any situation. Due to the current circumstances, she knew that would be impossible. "Why Henry of all years to die, why the hell Nowwww" she screamed throwing all the bills to the floor. Her abusive, cheating husband had finally kicked the bucket. She was grateful for that, but it was too soon. Everything was in shambles. Camille hadn't had the chance to execute her escape plans. Now she was left with nothing. Her only reason for staying in the toxic marriage for so many years was because of his millions. The thing she couldn't baffle to save her life was where was all the money. She knew Henry was loaded but why didn't she have access to the money. Now after all she had endured, she was left with nothing but bills and regret. Sitting in this big beautiful house she was broke. With only a few thousand dollars in the bank, she needed to figure something out fast.
Arielle Danielle TalbertPublished 3 years ago in HumansOn the backwards bookshelf
Down on her luck. That is how people who knew Lilly Cook described her, and she was tired of it. Tired of the frowns and the pitiful looks. Tired of people judging her for being 37 and single. It may seem depressing, this life of hers, and it was, but that was not for others to decide. And yes, it may seem that she is “down on her luck”, if luck was something she believed in, which it wasn’t. To have lost her job, house, car, and boyfriend all in one year does seem awfully unlucky. But shit happens. And all of Lilly’s shit happened to happen in the same horrific year. It had nothing to do with luck, because luck does not exist.
Annie BornsteinPublished 3 years ago in HumansThe Blind Date
Kate Sanderson gave her reflection one last critical look. Ocean-colored eyes stared back at her, the pupils rimmed with gold in a way that made them appear vaguely cat-like. She’d gone easy on her make-up, wearing only mascara and a thin coating of pink gloss. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a complicated twist, though pieces were already beginning to escape here and there.
The Hercule-ean Discovery
Kristin drummed her fingers on the choppy wood of the old desk. Dum dum dum. Dum dum dum. Only three hours left of her shift. She pushed back in the leather-bound chair, stretching her arms and arching her back to loosen the tension that came with sitting at the reception desk of the Purdue County Library for six hours a day. She sighed at the empty foyer. The storm outside had kept people away for most of the day - not that she ever saw many people anyway. Being a big, rural place only few of the folks that called Purdue County home had much need for libraries. Purdue was a farming community and Kristin's family was one of the few non-farming families that called it home. Many of the other local teens used the summer months to help their families on the farm while school was out of session. Kristin spun around in her chair and stared at the fluorescent lights beaming along the ceiling. Her mom had been adamant that she picked up a job to keep busy like the rest of her friends, so she put together a quick cover letter and resume (one that consisted of mostly volunteer work) and send it in to three different employers. She had heard back from the library and the ice cream shop. She wondered vaguely if the ice cream shop would have been more her speed but shook off the feeling. Mr. VanderFrost had been so persuasive about the library, offering to pay her double whatever the ice cream shop would have offered. He was a bit of an outsider, choosing to keep to his office all hours of the day, and only offering a polite hello and goodbye to Kristin as walked in and out of the doors. To most, his offer for double profits seemed strange, but Kristin didn’t mind. She needed the money to buy the new iPhone that had been announced this weekend. She stretched at the desk one more time before the crack of thunder outside reminded her that she wasn’t seeing many visitors for the day. Standing up and pushing her chair back, she wandered the stacks slowly, seeking something to read. She browsed the section on 1960s hairstyles, slowed down to read the spines of historical mysteries, but eventually found herself in the detective fiction aisle. Kristin pulled down an Agatha Christie novel, her favorite, and headed back to the front reception desk. She placed the book in front of her on the wood and pulled her chair back before the loud bang of a door and the frightful sound of two men with raised voices berated the quiet peace of the library.
Haleigh WilliamsPublished 3 years ago in HumansStrangers
On the train alone at midnight, I found Johnny Brown’s notebook. It was underneath the seat across from mine, forgotten like a gum wrapper. I know you should never touch things on the subway, let alone on the grimy floor. But I felt compelled to at least see what it was.
Kelly AndersonPublished 3 years ago in HumansThe Hat Box
It was a cold and grey morning as Melody sat on the floor combing through her mother’s belongings. It had been a week since the funeral but it was all a blur. She couldn’t believe her mother was gone. There was still so much she wanted to say to her. She didn’t feel like she had enough time with her and just like that, she was no longer here to hug or hold or ask advise. She smelled her mother’s favorite blue blazer, the one that made her mom’s blue eyes sparkle. She was overcome with heartache and sadness. She sobbed into the pile of her mother’s clothes and let the unbearable feelings wash over her. She emerges only to take a breath. She looks over at her precious baby girl sleeping in her rocking swing. A Beethoven song plays and lulls baby Rose deeper and deeper into her sweet slumber. Melody takes a deep breath. Through teary eyes, she sees her mother’s flower hat box. She slowly pulls it closer. She knows her mother kept all of her most special memories in that antique keepsake. Melody opens the hat box and sees her mother’s tattered journal, her little black book. Her mother loved to write and had many journals throughout the years, but the little black book was special and contained all of her mother’s biggest hopes and dreams. Again Melody is overcome with sadness and she lets the tears flow and fall as she hugs her mother’s dream journal. She opens the journal and an envelope falls out. It has her name written on the front in her mother’s perfect cursive handwriting. She opens the envelope and there is a check for $20,000 dollars in it. Melody is shocked because all of her mother’s savings was spent on hospital bills. She reads the note her mother wrote, she can hear her mother’s voice so clearly. “My dearest Melody, you are my greatest gift and my biggest accomplishment. I am so proud of the woman you’ve become. Your perseverance and positive attitude are such a strength in this world. But you are stubborn like I am, and you take care of everyone else and forget about yourself. So I need you to promise me that you will use this money to follow your dream and open a dance studio. Children need a safe place to dream big and know that their dreams matter. And your dreams matter. I’m sorry if I didn’t tell you that enough. Please tell my granddaughter her dreams are special and worthy of a life long pursuit. I am so proud of you my sweet Melody. I’ve admired you since the day you were born. I love you forever and always and beyond. Until we walk in heaven together, hand in hand, I’ll be watching over you and baby Rose. Love, mom.” Melody let’s out a cry and baby Rose wakes up. She picks up her precious baby girl and holds her tight. “We’re gonna be ok. We’re gonna be ok”.
Jenna FugaPublished 3 years ago in HumansSomething Remembered
She had slept in late again, and it was almost noon by the time she sat with a cup of coffee to sort through the morning’s mail. “More junk,” she said to herself, and put everything in the bin except a handwritten envelope she felt should probably be opened. Inside was a card and a cheque addressed to Mrs Sandy Hall for $20,000. Her eyes widened, but the shock was by now so familiar that it passed almost immediately. Still, this was a big one, and had come all the way from America. “Here’s another one Tiddles,” she said to the cat.
Nathan SherwoodPublished 3 years ago in HumansThe Last Page
You almost walk by it. Many probably had. After all, there’s not many who’ll pick up trash that isn’t theirs, even fewer still that would leave the nature trail to do so. You wish you could have said it was good intentions that made you do it but, truthfully, it was curiosity. Plastic bags were, unfortunately, plentiful enough. This one, though, called to you. Maybe it was the way the freezer bag stiffly held itself or maybe it was the past autumn leaves that had been gathered and piled around and on top of it. Something about it lured you over, making you take a closer peek.
Ms. Annie NohnPublished 3 years ago in HumansThe Bucket List
“Jordan, it’s March 20th. You know what that means.” I sigh inwardly. I had been expecting this ever since the schedule came out.
Tim JosephPublished 3 years ago in HumansA dollar and a Dream
A Dollar and a Dream Chris is your average hard worker. Works two jobs to support his mom and siblings. Goes to work, plays basketball on the weekends and repeat. Really your average blue collar worker. Chris is the only person close to his grandmother in the family. Cut off for her streak of crime back in the day no one else would be bothered with her. So on one faithful night she passed and the family didn’t blink an eye. That is except Chris. Chris couldn’t eat, and called out of work two days in a row. He never missed a day in all his years at both jobs, which prompted coworkers assuming the worst to contact him all day. Chris told everyone he was just fine even though deep down he felt his heart breaking. He then receives a call, “hello Chris I was your grandmother’s lawyer, she didn’t have much but she left you her life savings. A little under $21,000.” Still sad Chris didn’t pay much mind to it. He worked so hard so he had barely any debt piled up. He went back to work and continued business as usual, starting to get in better spirits. He takes a picture of the cash he has and posts it on social media with the hashtag Ballin. Chris found it odd to have 100 likes in less than an hour as none of his other posts have even been close to that.
Kaleil WashingtonPublished 3 years ago in Humans