friendship
C.S Lewis got it right: friendship is born when one person says to another: "What! You too? I thought I was the only one!"
Junk Hunters
The figures - there were three of them - breached the summit of rot and rubble, black-clad and vaguely human-shaped. Upon closer inspection, they might have been identified as young adults, two males and one female. As it happened, an authority drone on a routine circuit did just that after first scanning their identity bar codes and searching its database for infractions. The three were all clear. The males wore full-face visors and UV protective ponchos over street clothes. Street clothes were black, unisex bodysuits. The female of their crew was also in black, though she didn’t have to be. Those with the credits printed custom skin-tone-matched suits and, if you could afford them, body enhancements. She wore black in solidarity with her lower-caste friends in the form of a corseted, tailored, hooded hazmat suit with built-in backpack and detachable boots. It didn’t bother her at all that black cost less. She was egalitarian that way.
By cityashram6 years ago in Humans
Inipi
Lu DiGrazia She said I was the smartest person she knew. I pulled back slightly and raised my eyebrows. No one had ever said that to me. We had long intellectual conversations that lasted for over an hour on many occasions. We became companions by accident due to our mutual respect and attraction to each other that led to me being hired by her to help her out. I could anticipate her anxiety and was able to get her to breathe through it and say, “What do you have to worry about right now?” She never had an answer for that. She felt very vulnerable and as a result her emotions could be easily triggered.
By Louisa DiGrazia6 years ago in Humans
THOBY'S ROOM
The morning of January the fourth, 1986, haunts me to this day. For two, at the time, seemingly unrelated reasons. First was the sudden disappearance of my “lodger” Thoby. He was an old school friend who had managed to live rent free with me for the previous two years. Thoby was always on the brink of some life changing breakthrough that would drag him from obscurity into the life he deserved. Truth is, he made Walter Mitty look like a jaded pessimist. Luckily, like many ex-public schoolboys, he had lots of old pals with a spare room!
By Iain Cooper6 years ago in Humans
Weeks of Good Deeds
Carly passed McMansion after McMansion looking for the perfect chair. She just needed one. Or a coffee table. Or anything that could be rescued with a coat of paint. Then she could make enough money to feed the guinea pigs for a few more weeks. The contributions of wilted lettuce and droopy carrots from the grocery clerk, Ron, were enough to get by, but the guinea pigs vacuumed salads like fully-charged Roombas.
By Holly Howard6 years ago in Humans
The Source
Christopher Greene never enters a room with his left foot first. When the forecast calls for thunderstorms, he will not be dressed in red. If you clink a glass with him in celebration, you can be sure of two things. One, he is not drinking water. And two, he will, without a doubt, look you in the eyes as you toast.
By Brittany Jane6 years ago in Humans
Chloe's Garden
“Excuse me.” A man’s voice croaks in my ear. I look up from my screen, slightly dazed. The man reaches past my ear to pull a copy of the Latest Bestselling Mystery from the bookshelf. “Libraries are for reading,” he adds, shuffling away, leaving only the faint smell of cigar smoke behind.
By Katherine B6 years ago in Humans
All That Glitters
What a time - the summer of 1963. Up until that point, I hadn’t been living, just existing. The local accounting firm Kamerski and Roberts had just taken me on as an intern, one step closer to my dream job. I live in the small town of Nowhere, Wisconsin. Yeah, you heard that right. The town is named Nowhere. The nail in the coffin of my absolutely ordinary existence. I was never ambitious, but I worked hard in school and planned to be financially stable. I was introverted but never wanted to miss out. I wanted thrills, but cautiously considered the risks.
By Annie Johnson6 years ago in Humans
Faye's Luck
When her thoughts gain too much speed, Faye walks Olive, her 120 pound Bull Mastiff, through the woods behind her house. The moon, shinny brightly, casts the kind of light that makes Faye feel equal parts calm and alert. With each step the tempest of anxiety begins to slow. Faye scans the landscape, catching a glimpse of her shadow.
By Marta Alise6 years ago in Humans
The Laundromat and the Duffle Bag
You could hear a pin drop in the usually cacophonous, bohemian-styled dorm room. In a confession circle, roommates Leila, Rachel, Corine, and Alicia sat frozen. Every so often they glanced toward the daunting duffle bag adjacent to them. Mirroring each other's body language, they remained rattled and motionless. It was almost as if the cast of That’s 70s Show had suddenly strayed from their blissful, frolicsome Fox abode and sheepishly, if not ignorantly, wandered straight into the unsympathetic, hospitable arms of an HBO drama.
By Aleah Floyd6 years ago in Humans
