Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Chapters.
Why am different . Content Warning.
Throughout my adolescence, I was haunted by a question: Why am I different from everyone else? I don't worship cows or drink alcohol. Am I superior, or are they? The answer I eventually arrived at was simple: I was lucky. I had the fortune to hear the words of God, while others did not.
By yousif haji2 years ago in Chapters
Old Enough. Top Story - May 2024.
I get up early cause I know Pearl will make biscuits, eggs, and crisp bacon and let me lick the warm salty lard with my fingers from the skillet once it cools off. I watch her go "mmmm, mmmm" and squeeze her lips into a smile. She starts the percolator for Paw-Paw, pours me a big glass of ice cold milk and stands over me saying, "drink it down." Pearl always makes hard things seem easy, not so good days feel okay and I wish she were my Momma. We don't look the same but if she asked me to be her child I'd be the luckiest girl alive. She pulls my fingers out of my mouth, " you get worms now, hear me?" I most definitely don't want worms so I am really trying to stop chewing my nails. Pearl's nails are always clean, trimmed, with a clear, shiny gloss. Her lips are full, ripe, like a fresh dark purple plum. She has fine teeth, big hazel eyes and wears tiny gold studs in each earlobe. I want earrings, but the thought of a needle being pushed though my ear doesn't sound like it's worth the trouble, at least right now. I would like some tap shoes though. Pearl laughs when I tell her about my dancing dreams. She says I have happy feet cause I am wiggling my toes all the time. When Paw-Paw goes out on the porch to smoke his pipe I always show him my latest moves. After breakfast, Pearl starts washing our sheets and says there is a dust bunny under my bed. I don't want to look. I scare myself enough just looking at hobos. Anyway, back to the railroad. Just can't help myself. I don't curse, smoke, steal or commit sins that I know of, but I can tell you right here and right now, hobos teach and preach more than any one body needs. I confess I became on friendly terms with a man named Hank. He'd wave and say, " Hey, May! Keep smilin' kiddo!" and he'd sometimes be laying in the shade right calm when I snuck up to see him. He always looked sad just before he caught sight of me. Soon as my big trap started jabbering he'd change like a chameleon. That is, he'd try to make life seem so fine. I new he was hungry. I started taking biscuits on the days I figured he'd be around and he was always obliged. Just like the song, Mr. Bojangles, I began to show off my dancing moves to cheer ole Hank up. How is it we just know someone isn't happy? He laughed and smiled; in my mind he had a harmonica or some groovy steps he'd show me, but he never did. When the rest of the jumpers, as he referred to his fellow train hopping hobos as, came around he'd shoo me off. He told me in a kind, yet tough way to go on home. Where Hank went I never knew; in my heart I liked to hold it was somewhere much better than the hard ass dirt he slept on, full of God only knows what, and lonesome nights with an empty belly and mosquitos. Back home, I'm hosed down. Pearl gives me a hard stare; I am guessing she is guessing where the heck I've been. I am full of cockleburs, red from the sun. She leaves Paw-Paw and me my favourite, whipped cream and orange jello. I always hug her when she heads back to the place she calls home; I will make sure that this summer I follow Pearl like a cat stalks, curious that is, not aiming to find trouble. Late, when Paw-Paw is loving his heap of second helpings from supper, I ease out from my bedroom and stand right in front of the late night news. Paw-Paw's old Grandpa eyes widen and I start dancing; I pretend to tap dance and point my toes toward the ceiling fan, clap my hands and fall onto the thick, Persian patterned carpet. Paw-Paw laughs with his belly bouncing. I guess for now, summer is getting off to a good start. I slink down the long hallway and slither into bed. I wonder where Hank is now; Memphis, Baton Rouge, New Orleans? By now, hobos, I mean, jumpers, could be anywhere. I say out loud as if I am praying, "Goodnight jumper Hank; goodnight Pearl". I wiggle my toes one more time, roll over toward the moon shining through my window and smile.
By ROCK aka Andrea Polla (Simmons)2 years ago in Chapters
Old Enough
Should read PART III of YA series ~"Old Enough; Surviving Summer~ From under the white, formican kitchen table I watch Pearl's feet as she moves about the room. She has on white shoes, the kind that are for old feet or nurses, with knee high nylon hose. Her dark skin peeks out and says, " let me out!". It's too hot for anything, I don't have on socks and I would certainly not want to be in nylon knee highs. Her ankles are swollen; her legs look real strong though. Her yellow and white plaid dress buttons from the bottom up and her arms, although I can't see them from here, are busy as her hands as she whistles and slaps a big mound of dough. I watch flour dust fall to the floor like a fall morning's frost. I slither slowly toward Pearl's feet and grab onto her left leg and squeeze real tight. She just acts like I'm not here and says, " Hmmm. I smell a snake." I hiss and coil up, then unwind and slide back under the table. Pearl rolls an apple across the floor and it arrives to my den powdered in flour. " I hope snake has brushed it's teeth this morning." Snake bites into the apple with a mean grip and inches down the long hallway to the bathroom.
By ROCK aka Andrea Polla (Simmons)2 years ago in Chapters
Old Enough. Top Story - June 2024.
Truth has so many lessons, so many meanings and the lord knows it's a debatable subject when sitting around the supper table. I always make sure I look busy eating; nobody knows what I see in a day. Truth is, I ran straight to the railroad tracks after breakfast this morning, cut through tall, dry, grass where clumps of broken beer bottles and cans swell up on unkempt lots, where people have dumped ole fridge-a-dares, washing machines and just about anything they don't want. I was told never to do such a thing, that is, go to the railroad tracks. By being obedient in other ways, on time for meals, helping carry groceries, running the vacuum cleaner down the long hallway to Paw-Paw's room, well, I earned that big, little, title of "Trust-worthy." Truth is I am trust worthy when it comes down to it; if I hear someone passing hearsay around about Paw-Paw, I correct them or I run home and tell him. So, at the railroad tracks I saw a man drunk at 8.30 in the morning today, a little boy crying with his Mom dragging him behind her with no shoes and some good tires to make swings out of; I have a swing made from wood, but somebody could make a swing if they wanted to. The drunk man looked familiar. I stared at him until he growled; I jumped backwards behind a poison ivy covered oak tree and well, that would draw some attention to me later on, but it shook off that ole smelly hobo for a bit. I am eight and smart but my teacher told Paw-Paw I talk too much; I am fascinated by hobo's. I think about hopping on the back of a real caboose, hanging on like I do at the schoolyard's merry-go-round, screaming my fool head off. I want to see what's out there beyond the sycamore and brow beating summer heat. Paw-Paw loves Jimmy Dean sausage; this afternoon I saw a trailer bed with Jimmy Dean written fancy across it; I almost blew it and told Paw-Paw. That's how much I talk. Learning to be quiet at the supper table is my goal for the summer. Pearl, Paw-Paw's help, sets the table for us and he always tells her to take a plate home for herself. She's pretty with chocolate milk coloured skin that is as smooth as a satin pillow case. When here, she wears her hair pulled back in a small coal bun right at the nape of her neck with a net over it. A little charcoal bun in a net. My hair flies all over the place until the day before school starts up. That's when Pearl takes me into town and has it cut into a pixie with bangs. I don't look forward to that day. For now, summer is endless, miles from here, full of nothing to do day's. Before supper, Pearl always checks me for ticks and hoses me down so I don't track mud in. She is playful with me. I love her; I wonder if Paw-Paw loves her, too. It's lonely sometimes with just me and Paw-Paw; his grand-paw eyes grow heavy after supper and he falls asleep right quick, sprawled out on the gold, plush sofa he snores away and I sneak around the house looking for treasures. I am a tom-cat, meow! I am a spy for "Get Smart" and use radar. Suddenly, I drop down on the floor crawling, I am a hostage escaping through secret tunnels under Paw-Paw's bed; I am a pilot steering my jet over the endless tree tops, beyond the drunken hobo's and rusty, iron train tracks. Whoooa! I can see Pearl shucking corn and singing, I go higher and higher above the midnight street lamps, the moon is full of cheese, smiling by my side; I am soaring until I plop from my parachute into my marshmallow bed where I lay until dawn dreaming.
By ROCK aka Andrea Polla (Simmons)2 years ago in Chapters
Richest man in world. Content Warning. AI-Generated.
If someone asked you who the richest people in history were, who would you name? Perhaps a billionaire banker or corporate mogul, like Bill Gates or John D. Rockefeller. How about African King Musa Keita I? Ruling the Mali Empire in the 14th century CE, Mansa Musa, or the King of Kings, amassed a fortune that possibly made him one of the wealthiest people who ever lived. But his vast wealth was only one piece of his rich legacy. When Mansa Musa came to power in 1312, much of Europe was racked by famine and civil wars. But many African kingdoms and the Islamic world were flourishing, and Mansa Musa played a great role in bringing the fruits of this flourishing to his own realm. By strategically annexing the city of Timbuktu, and reestablishing power over the city of Gao, he gained control over important trade routes between the Mediterranean and the West African Coast, continuing a period of expansion, which dramatically increased Mali's size. The territory of the Mali Empire was rich in natural resources, such as gold and salt. The world first witnessed the extent of Mansa Musa's wealth in 1324 when he took his pilgrimage to Mecca. Not one to travel on a budget, he brought a caravan stretching as far as the eye could see. Accounts of this journey are mostly based on an oral testimony and differing written records, so it's difficult to determine the exact details. But what most agree on is the extravagant scale of the excursion. Chroniclers describe an entourage of tens of thousands of soldiers, civilians, and slaves, 500 heralds bearing gold staffs and dressed in fine silks, and many camels and horses bearing an abundance of gold bars. Stopping in cities such as Cairo, Mansa Musa is said to have spent massive quantities of gold, giving to the poor, buying souvenirs, and even having mosques built along the way. In fact, his spending may have destabilized the regional economy, causing mass inflation. This journey reportedly took over a year, and by the time Mansa Musa returned, tales of h
By Timothy Mwiti2 years ago in Chapters
APPLE JUICE. Content Warning. AI-Generated.
apple cider vinegar I think is something that's been around for I think quite a while in the wellness space I myself as a registered nutritionist encounter it probably every week if I'm being honest in terms of the amount of people that come in having heard claims about weight loss about insulin sensitivity and there is a new study that came out in 2024 so it's a randomized control trial it's got good data behind it but we still need in my opinion a larger sample size when it comes to weight loss and the claims that apple cider vinegar has around it it's almost got what I call a health Halo [Music] impact a health Halo food is what we tend to call in the nutrition industry an item that is perceived as Superior to others so you probably heard the term a while ago superfoods for once it was protein you know protein was on every single packet on even chocolate bars and therefore people seem to think it's better for their health I feel like apple cider vinegar is one of those items now that people kind of have an idea that it's Associated or linked to health benefits therefore they are more likely to consume it for that reason the mechanisms are still not fully understood we've got rodent trials we have a very small amount of human trials and in fact the most recent study was conducted on overweight people and obese individuals there's also a confusion around links with diabetes so it may potentially be beneficial for type two diabetes that's a very different issue for people with type one which is [Music] autoimmune I would honestly say for people that are going to suddenly take a shot of apple cider vinegar please consult with your care professional and do it in the right way because it can cause all sorts of digestive discomfort if you haven't diluted it to the correct ratio for some people it can flare up digestive systems that are already underlying we're looking at very on the edge science I would say some that isn't quite robust enough for me to say on a public health level everyone should be taking .
By Timothy Mwiti2 years ago in Chapters
Embarrassment to Nation
In yet another instance of the Nepali society failing to provide a safe space to women, a 16-year girl was raped in Panchadewal Binayak Municipality in Achham on Monday. The victim was staying in a chhau goth, or menstrual shed, at her maternal uncle’s home when she was violated by her distant relative. After years of awareness campaigns and the breaking of chhau sheds by central and local governments as well as non-governmental agencies, the victimisation of women remains a daily occurrence in several parts of Nepal, especially Karnali and Sudurpaschim provinces.
By Haratima Foundation2 years ago in Chapters
Why can’t good things stay the same?
Change is inevitable. Actually, it is something that we need in life — to grow, to learn, and to appreciate. It’s a truth we know but a hard pill to swallow, because sometimes, or most of the time, in this ever changing world, we long for the good things we cherish to stay the same.
By fleeting.serenics2 years ago in Chapters
Emily
The alarm rang much to early. She wished to stay under her warm blankets but she knew this was her only chance. She silenced it quickly, rolled out of bed and pulled on her boots. Her legs were stiff from sleeping in her jeans. She eased them into movement as she snuck across the house. From the chair she grabbed her bag and in its place she set the letter. As she slipped out the front door her wild mane of long auburn hair bounced behind her. She second guessed the decision to leave like this but she knew conversion would never get anywhere. Her long powerful legs crossed the rocky path effortlessly. In a blink she stood before the barn. Her equine friend barely noted her presences, the saddle, the bridle, but he shifted at her nerves. Soon she stood at the open field, working up to a striding trot she needed some distance before sunrise. The rhythmic bounce of the horse would probably jostle the thoughts of most but she had always found the rhythm like a metronome, it keeps her thoughts in balance and steady. Her breathing aligned and the smell of horse flooded her nostrils. Her athletic arms rested with a loose reign. Everyone in town had noticed she was different despite the effort to blend, to be "normal" but they talked when she walked by. She had learned to ride very quickly because out here she didn't have to hide. Her heart was wild, untamed, and that flame glowed like hot embers in her green eyes. Her hands and feet burned with idleness. Over the last few weeks she had collected all the information she could. Every rumor and every whisper she had heard pointed North, to the mountains. Somewhere within the snow peaks lay clues to where she was from, why she was here, and more importantly what she was. She was finally far enough that she knew no one would follow and no one would know. She let her sweater slide off her arms. She felt the stretch and ache that came with the lack of motion as her wings unfolded from her back, tilting in and out of the wind. Extending out past her open arms the feathers ruffled in the first beaming raise of sun. Freedom in all its majesty.
By Maili Paul2 years ago in Chapters
