literature

Whether written centuries ago or just last year, literary couples show that love is timeless.

Fate Deals the Cards. Freedom Chooses How You Play.
The hospital waiting room had nineteen chairs and one broken clock. My mother sat in the third chair from the door. She held a plastic bag with her medication, her bus card, and a half-eaten bun wrapped in paper. She had arrived forty minutes early because she did not trust the traffic. I had come straight from work with a laptop in my bag and a rent transfer still pending on my phone.
By Jin5 days ago in Humans
To the Queer Person on the Bundang Line
The weather in Korea turned dry and suffocating. The bitter cold bit my skin until the heaters of the subway station kicked on. I tore off my scarf, mimicking the other passengers struggling to find relief while we waited for the next subway car.
By Kera Hollow12 days ago in Humans
Who?. Top Story - October 2026.
Content note: this story deals with domestic abuse and thoughts of suicide. …Sobbing. "Mother, please help me!" A loud, drunken voice yelled, "She is not going to help you; she knows better!" The young man looked at his mother with desperate tears in his eyes, wanting her protection. She stood by the sink, tugging her sleeve down over the purple bruise on her wrist, the way she always did. They shared a moment's stare, looking directly into each other's eyes, into each other's souls. Her lip trembled. For a second, he thought she would speak. The mother broke into tears and hung her head. Then the back of his stepfather's hand caught him across the jaw. A chair crashed to the floor beside him, and the kitchen spun as the young man's vision went blurry. He tasted blood. His stepfather was looking down on him, laughing, and said, "You are as worthless as she is; why don't you do us all a favor and end it."
By Dr. George Shannon Ferguson24 days ago in Humans
If you don’t know what to say to a cancer patient, say nothing
If you don’t know what to say to a cancer patient, say nothing A cancer researcher and crash survivor explains why “stay positive” can hurt, and what actually helps.
By Jin25 days ago in Humans
Lyric Breakdown: Drop Dead
** “I know that the bar closes at 11, But I hope you never finish that beer. You know all the words to "Just Like Heaven,” And I know why he wrote them now that you're standin' right here.”
By Gabriel B. Shames26 days ago in Humans
I’m 43. Money Is Tight. The New Status Symbol Is Saying “I’m Free.”
Born in ’83, 43, Money Is Tight, and the Scoreboard Changed An old classmate posted on WeChat Moments. Instant coffee, two slices of toast. Caption: “Eating breakfast alone, saving quite a bit.” A dozen likes below.
By Jinabout a month ago in Humans
I’m 35, Never Married, and I’ve Lived With 5 Men. This Is What I Know Now.
I’m thirty-five. I’ve dated five men. Laugh if you want. I lived with almost all of them. Plain truth: thirty-five, never married, five relationships. At the start of each one, I thought it would be the last. Life doesn’t settle by “the last.” It settles by “at the time.”
By Jinabout a month ago in Humans
The Crack in the Door
Friday nights are my favorite because my granddaughters come to stay the night. They love playing games with me and I am old but not too old for them. I never will be, I would do anything for them. I cook for them almost as much as my wife does. She’s an angel on earth but I don’t say that out loud, it’s not what men are expected to do. We are expected to provide and protect and I have done that for several decades, through all of my kids lives. I used to drink but God changed that. I am a better man because of Christ. I am a hard worker and I used to show my anger with my large, tough hands. But even that was love, or I thought it was. I thought I was teaching them how to behave. I was wrong. Now I work with the same hands to provide, to cook, the play hide and seek with grandkids. To cut wood for fire to keep them warm. And sometimes, when no one is looking, bring my wife a coffee and tuck her in with a blanket. Because she really is an angel and even a tough old man like me can show her gentleness sometimes.
By Raine Fielderabout a month ago in Humans
My Memory of You
I once had feelings for you. And you knew it. You told me you were surprised because you never thought I would actually admit it to you.
By Alixabout a month ago in Humans
She Had a PhD and a Hospital Job. Then She Quit to Deliver Takeout.
She Quit Her Postdoc to Deliver Takeout The rain in Zhuhai comes fast. Liu Zihan parked her electric scooter outside a convenience store. The lid of her delivery box was not closed all the way, and water ran down the plastic edge. She went in and bought a bottle of water. When she came out, her phone buzzed. New order: three kilometers, a congee shop. She looked at it and did not accept. She opened the water, drank, leaned back on the seat, and waited for the rain to ease.
By Jinabout a month ago in Humans
Sit Down: The Night a Concert Proposal Turned a Packed Arena Into a Boundary Dispute
That night at the Bird’s Nest, the lights went down. Glow sticks swayed like wheat. Zhao Lei reached the chorus of some song. In the middle section of the stands, someone stood up. A young man pulled a ring box from his pocket. The box was small, velvet, and it popped open with a snap. The woman beside him covered her mouth. He pulled out a handful of candy and threw it. The candy landed on plastic seats, bounced onto the steps, and rolled to other people’s shoes. Some people bent down to pick it up. Some frowned. The woman stood. Her skirt brushed the seats. From behind, people shouted, “Sit down!” The voices came from several directions. A security guard’s flashlight swept over from the aisle entrance. The beam wobbled across the crowd. The young man froze. The ring box stayed raised. The woman sat back down, stood up again, sat down again. The guard said, “Either sit down or get out.” Around them, everything went quiet for a few seconds. The song kept playing. Some people clapped. Some booed. The young man closed the ring box and shoved it into his pocket. The candy stayed on the ground.
By Jinabout a month ago in Humans
The Midlife Libido Myth: Women Don’t Peak at 40 or 50
The female libido peak is not a midlife event Dirty thirties. Cougar. MILF. Mrs. Robinson. Samantha Jones. Hollywood has sold the same story for decades: a woman turns forty and her desire outruns everything she felt at twenty. The story is catchy. It is not the average.
By Jinabout a month ago in Humans