Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Humans.
The tail of the Andes
03/28/2015 Dear Gaby, I hate to say it, but you were right. I really should have done that Duolingo app or at least learned some basic phrases before getting here. I landed about an hour ago, paid way too much for a taxi (how many pesos do you get for a dollar, again?), and ended up at this coffee shop because the only words I knew were “café” and “por favor”. On a positive note, the coffee really is good, and I can see the tail of the Andes from my table outside. It is hot, but it is that dry heat where you don’t really notice that it is 90 degrees outside. I think I will come back here tomorrow. I have a feeling I’ve discovered my new favorite writing spot. Not too bad for a first day in Mendoza, huh?
By the Black Trees
The black trees outside Rowan's cottage had never been so still or silent in all his years. His life, long yet fleeting, had been spent listening to the leaves cheering when the waltzing winds visited, the serenades of the birds and their ancient, elegant rhythm. From the window he would watch the generations of leap-foxes scamper down and excavate the soil for the juiciest bugs. When rains came he would sit not in his cottage but underneath the tallest tree, and allow the petrichor to caress him. He'd close his eyes for an instant, and be woken hours later by Faye. A scrunched face could not hide the amusement his wife felt in that silly routine. In this silence, Rowan felt knots in his stomach he had never tied before. He pinched some bruised berries and dumped them in his pocket, and then moved to the door. He edged it open millimeter by millimeter, hoping not to interrupt the snores in the next room.
Jordan AbuzarPublished 3 years ago in HumansBathtub
She used her finger to scrape the last bits of peanut butter out of the jar and divided the smear amongst two slices of toast. Thank god neither of the twins is allergic, she thought to herself. She really couldn’t afford another breakfast option. She called up the stairs once more and finally heard the dull thud of a child leaving its bed. Then another one. It was now safe to grind coffee and not end up with two grumpy little beasts, startled by her morning fix. She heard their hooves stampede towards the kitchen and laid two mismatched plates on the table.
Jessie LeighPublished 3 years ago in HumansWet Dreams
The sun was shining brightly through the window, the glare was irritating but a ray of light caught the metal of her pen, sending a prism to her right, which acted as a sign for the teenage boy that seen it. Her pen was flying across the paper, the ink smoothly printing and drying as her handwriting looped every which way like a kite in the sky.
Hope, KS
Nothing good ever happened in Hope, Kansas. To be fair, nothing terribly bad happened either. Hope was just a run-of-the-mill small town in the middle of America with a Walmart, a Dairy Queen, and a Main Street that had seen better days. Most of the residents of Hope worked either at the Walmart or on one of the local farms - Davey’s Turkey Farm or Macon’s Dairy Farm. Some traveled out to towns like Abilene or Chapman to sell cars or tractors at the dealerships or wait tables at the Applebee’s or Chili’s. Hope was shrinking, to be sure. Job growth over the past decade was in the negative numbers. None of the young people wanted to stay past high school, and those who could, left within three months of graduation to attend college or to find jobs in Topeka or Kansas City.
Patricia TayPublished 3 years ago in HumansFortune Note
My friend Sina won’t stop asking me how I got so much money to pay off my debts. I have always ignored her questions because I didn’t know how to tell her my story. I honestly don't think Sina or anyone would believe me if I shared how I came about the money. They’ll probably think I'm crazy or lying. But as crazy as it may sound, I am now ready to share my story with the world.
Daisza WatsonPublished 3 years ago in HumansYou Will Never Regret Being Kind
Three years ago was a different time. Sometimes when I remember that day, I wonder if it had just been by chance, or whether fate had planted me on that route. But nevertheless, I will never forget the wonders of that day. I had finished my classes for the day, I was a full-time student back then and I had started a business that sold my leather handicrafts I would make in my apartment.
Nadira El KhangPublished 3 years ago in HumansA Life in Colour
I leaned into the breeze filtering through the cracked window, trying to enjoy what I felt was going to be the last moment of simplicity for a very long time. Lush Maryland fields had melted from New Jersey neon, plains of Empire State concrete from azure suburban Connecticut skies, the swaying Rhode Islandian wheatgrass tumbling out of the river-run Bay State metropolis of eastern Massachusetts, all birthed from the mountainous highways of New Hampshire; a blur of hour after countless hour of wheels on tarmac.
Betsy ChadbournPublished 3 years ago in HumansPortraits and Stars
Cenn raised me amongst the ruins of a forgotten civilization. The worn stone shambles of what may have once been a massive building echoed my giggles back to me as I hid behind the ruins of a stone pillar. Now, the place was scattered in pieces, the only four walls made of canvas, stretched across a corner to shield us from the elements.
A midsummer encounter
She was eyeing his notebook from the bench across the main cross walk in Central Park. The curiosity was burning within to find out what the subject matter was. Just who inspired whatever was being penned down onto the opposite side of the cover so fervently. It took all that was in her not to make her way over to take a peek. Curiosity was further kindled for he kept gazing toward her direction every couple of minutes or so, followed by a deep dive back onto the page.
Melinda HorvathPublished 3 years ago in HumansLibra
Libra Let’s start with our supposed strength. Number 1 is Cooperative, and I am very cooperative as long as everyone is willing to do things exactly as I want them. Number 2 diplomatic, oh, that is me to a tee, that’s why I can’t understand why I’ve been fired so much. I mean, on my last job, I am pretty sure that I told my boss he was the biggest idiot I had ever met. After he had turned down an 11,000,000.00 investor that I lined up for him, oh boy, was I diplomatic. I used no foul language when I informed him that with another brain, he’d be a halfwit Number 3. Libras are gracious; I can be every other Sunday as long as there is a bottle of Medoc around. 4.Fair-minded, I want to be fair, but life and GOP don’t give you a lot of slack on that one. Social – Sure, as long as everyone leaves me the f**k alone. So, Let’s hear it for my strong points. Hoora----y!
Michael Lee TuckerPublished 3 years ago in HumansLike a Fool
I sat in the parking lot behind the historic red building that housed a small room on the top floor I was allowed to use as an office.