literature

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

Pre-Rich
“I am not broke. I am pre-rich. I am.. pre-rich. I have access to everything that I need. Money? It’s not a problem. Oh you want to know how I can say that with such ease? Well it’s simply because I am abundant. I am prosperous. I am a literal money magnet. Yes, yes, yes. I can see it now, my checking and savings account are growing exponentially.”
By Jasmin Chestnut6 years ago in Humans
Time Stops For No One
00:05.13 They pushed their auburn curls out of their face in a swift movement that enhanced the reflection of the glistening rays. Their smile so big that you could feel their warmth radiate off of them. They're song reaches my ears.
By Shannon M Fischer6 years ago in Humans
Dimner Avenue
“Congratulations Miss Spalding. I’m sorry for your loss.” The lawyer handed Collette a check, a deed and an antique fountain pen she couldn’t get to work. She pulled a plastic ballpoint from her purse and signed the check for $20,000 and the deed to the mansion owned by her late Aunt Aria.
By Ryan Hunter Phillips6 years ago in Humans
As it is in Heaven
It’s the longest day of the year and Marlo is over it. Hot and overwhelmed, Marlo leans back in her chair and crosses her arms over her head. As she closes her eyes, she slowly drifts away from all of life’s problems that were waiting for her at the local library. Her past due medical bills and rent, her struggle in finding a job and her student loan debt all went away temporarily as she placed herself in a mental oasis. Just when Marlo was about to crawl into her hammock on the beach, she was brought back to reality by a tug on her shirt. “Sorry to bother you, but are you done with the computer? I want to play a game” said the young child, who couldn’t have been no older than ten. “No, I’m not, sorry” Marlo responded groggily. Reluctantly, Marlo returned to her work. Marlo has been at the library most of the day looking for resources to help her out financially. As she searched, she wrote down every resource that she was eligible for in her favorite black, leatherback journal. Her grandmother bought it for her as a souvenir when she visited Spain last year. Marlo uses this black book to write down almost everything from budgeting to her dreams and aspirations.
By DeVandra6 years ago in Humans
London Culling
Unforunately, I missed the deadline for the Little Black Notebook Writing Contest. Here is my late submission: Part 1 Boot up sequence. Initializing. Iconic Mac noise. Open Firefox. Or Safari. Who cares? Same shit, different day. Same saying, different day. Wake up, eat garbage, go to work, be a drone, smile, nod, laugh at the boss’ stupid jokes, go home, eat garbage, consume streaming schlock, sleep. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
By Aaron Kirby6 years ago in Humans
The Debts That Bind
Charlotte found the diary inside a dryer, one Tuesday when she’d gone to the Laundromat to do her day-off washing. Extracting the small, black, leather-bound book, she’d had no premonitions, simply puzzled why someone would leave a journal inside a dryer — especially such a nice one! As the cover warmed in her hand, she smelled hide tamed by tannins. So odd.
By christianna6 years ago in Humans
The Cottage at Avebury Corner
The beamed ceilings were low and the room sizes small, made smaller by patterned wallpaper, but it all felt very spacious compared to her one bedroom flat in cold, rainy Birmingham. The cottage was surprisingly larger inside than the grey, unassuming exterior would have you believe. The furniture was unquestionably old fashioned and not items she herself would have chosen but elegant in their own way and, to her, expensive looking, an eclectic mix of styles, some of which looked like antiques, almost as strange and as beautiful as some of the pieces in Heritage homes she had visited as a schoolgirl. She was struck by the sense of history and learning inside this home, the antique furniture being complemented by bookshelves, crammed with more books than she had seen in her entire life. She gasped at the sheer quantity and beauty of those books. All around there were comfortable, worn and sometimes shabby pieces of furniture, everything rather dusty, a feeling of faded luxury and a bygone era.
By Vita K. Jones6 years ago in Humans
Just What I Needed
I woke up with that knife-in-the heart feeling. “Dang it,” I thought to myself. “It wasn’t just a dream.” I’d been waking up with the same feeling for five mornings straight. I felt it before I went to sleep, too. And when I woke up 2 or 3 or 24 times every night. And then I felt it pretty much around the clock, as well. I kept expecting a slight dissipation each day to show that I was healing with the passing days. But it wasn’t happening this time. I needed a pattern interrupt. I just couldn’t keep feeling this heart broken another minute longer.
By Jennifer Lankford6 years ago in Humans
Little Black Book
Have you ever wished that some miracle would happen and you would all of a sudden be able to easily pay all of your bills and debts; that you would then still have plenty of money left for fun things? It’s definitely something I had wished for many times. Of course I worked jobs- sometimes two or three at a time- but they only ever paid just enough. Enough to pay my bills, eat, get a new outfit every now and then, and maybe save a few dollars. Two years ago, I was thinking about this very thing while I walked to the bus stop for work when some random person shoved a little black book at me. I grabbed it because it’s an automatic reaction to being handed something. By the time I even realized I’d been handed something, the person was already gone so I didn’t have a chance to tell them I didn’t want this little black book. Though, now I’m glad about that. I looked down at the little black book- it was leather, about the size of my hand, with a band around it that snapped in the front. There was nothing written on the outside- it was just plain, smooth leather. Then I opened it and there on the first page of lined paper it said, “Congratulations! You are the recipient of $20,000! There are only three things we want you to do: 1) Accept this money! 2) Invest it! 3) Pay it forward! Whenever you’re ready, put $20,000 in the book and pass it on to a random stranger. Let’s keep the good fortune moving! Thanks in advance for helping someone out!” I was shocked. In the middle of the book, tucked securely in the binding, was a check for $20,000.
By Lis E.6 years ago in Humans
The Day Private Parker Died
Hordes of shattered mortar shells ripped through the roof of Private Sullivan Parker’s hastily constructed burrow. The morning ambush had decimated Parker’s platoon. They had learned of it only an hour before. Parker had taken his combat shovel and a few precious belongings and stuffed them underneath the burrow for survivors to discover long after the war’s conclusion. He had stuffed sandbags on top of the precious hole to prevent anyone from stumbling upon it. He needn’t worry about that now. Everyone was dead.
By Tyler Philbrook6 years ago in Humans
Written
Written by Catherine Reyes Mysterious Little Black Notebook The subtle breeze numbed her fingers as she flipped through the pages of the little black notebook. Keira could still not fathom the depth of what she is reading. Where did these stories come from? How? All she knows is that they are here. They have happened.
By CATHY REYES6 years ago in Humans
Little Black Notebook
Chrissie closed the back end of her SUV and carried the last box to her quaint, renovated farmhouse. Her friend Henry had just thrown her a retirement party at his posh clubhouse in the subdivision he lived in. Technically, she had taken an early retirement without pay some ten plus years ago. Therefore, she was surprised at the turnout of friends and former colleagues at the party. But then again, Henry's parties always drew a crowd, plus he was a retired district employee as well, so that helped.
By Lisa Brasher6 years ago in Humans