Latest Stories

Most recently published stories in Families.

If you're watching this, I'm not dead
After his shift at the office, Greg Greaves went to his favorite Chinese restaurant on West 38th Street. Thank God, it’s Friday, he thought to himself as he exits the train station. Greg is usually average. He’s lived in the same run-down studio apartment since he graduated from college, although he could afford something nicer. He worked the same job for the past eight years, trying to climb up the corporate ladder. Greg didn’t allocate time for anything other than work, not even a relationship. He wasn’t homely or anything but dating didn’t fit into his mundane schedule. Under his daily suit and tie, he had a robust build, and an olive complexion to match his black wavy hair. A few of the women he worked with have even made jokes about leaving their husbands for him.
By Azarra Lucas5 years ago in Families
Helping Out
I was worried about dad. He worked so hard, he was never happy or had time to play any more. He was asleep on the couch - he passed out as soon as he got home, just after I woke up. I don’t know why he had to work so late. He said he helped people by giving them money when they needed it, but at school I heard him tell my teacher he worked in waste disposal. All the other garbage men I saw worked early in the morning, whereas dad always seemed to be out all night.
By SL5 years ago in Families
To My Querida, or Querido
“Ring around the rosies, pocket full of posies, ashes, ashes, we all fall down.” i. Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.
By Dneecey5 years ago in Families
The Stars Will Be There Tomorrow
Living his tenth year since birth, a boy sturdy enough to carry all of his ancestors’ honor and surrounded by his sleeping siblings stares at the stars from the gaps in the roof. They take him away from the truth of it all. They give him the hope that he will change everything for his family. Everything is in those stars.
By Lynda Hernandez Medellin5 years ago in Families
Unknown Caller
The plane was circling above the airport and the pilot was assuring us that we would be landing within minutes. His reassurances were not making me feel any better, but he sounded in control. “We have been cleared to approach, our landing is imminent.” I grabbed my purse that I had placed in the seat beside me and found my cell phone. I wanted to be ready when we landed to verify my rental car so that I wouldn’t have to wait in line.
By Priscilla Welbourn5 years ago in Families
Leaving Lego, Loss, and Ligature Points
The internal surface area of my home is an active minefield. Camouflaged, a stealth dagger caught me forgetting slippers in my hurry to feed Benji. I stifle a howl, managing not to curse, but I can’t be the only parent who’s let a “shit” or a “dammit” slip out after stepping on yet another Lego piece.
By The Dani Writer5 years ago in Families
The Stories We Told
My Grandmother died in a kindergarten classroom. She would visit once a month to read her latest stories to the children, before they would be published for the world. She would call them her focus group. If too many children became fussy, she knew the story wasn’t ready. She had begun this practise when I had first attended the school and kept at it long after my graduation. Despite her books adorning the classrooms and bedrooms of children around the world, she always preferred to have them read aloud. She thought it made them come alive.
By B. Wallis 5 years ago in Families
Crooked Dances
In the quiet of morning’s light, I am convulsed by dissonance, jarring and sudden as a swift-knocking jackhammer into concrete, wrapped in cold wind.
By Samuel Wilson5 years ago in Families
Secret to life
Turning off the lights to the barn after that evenings chores, Bella was exhausted but satisfied in tonight’s training progress. This new colt had come in 30 days ago with a whole year off of riding and she finally felt like she had consistency with his behavior. He was settling in, making friends and learning to trust her.
By Alli Hartwig5 years ago in Families
There You Are
I always thought I would be the first to die. I hadn’t planned the way exactly, but it was expected. I was definitely the most reckless out of all of my sisters.
By Chelsea Leger5 years ago in Families
Granny's Greatest Secret
The thumping of Jane and Fred’s boots rang louder than their mourning hearts. Grandma’s porch was icier than usual, and threatened the pair of twins a great slipping ordeal ahead.
By A.X. Blight5 years ago in Families
Empty Pages
“This book will help someone when they need it most” said the old man. It didn’t look like it help anybody when they need it most, thought Maria. It was an old, pocket sized, leather bound notebook with a silk ribbon attached from the spine. The corners looked rounded but comforting and the black leather was soft, although it was scuffed and scratched with a smudge on the front cover.
By David Calvert5 years ago in Families