Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
Alexander
His lips were moving but Alex couldn't comprehend what he was saying. Alex saw that he was handing him a small black book. There were words being said but, all at once Alex couldn't hear beyond the beeping of the EKG machine and the noise of the nursing staff busy at work. Alex's vision was clouding as the heat and moisture swelled beneath his eyelids. "Don't cry." Alex told himself. "You have to be a man now. You have to take care of your family." Alex saw his father's eyes shift to his mother and brighten. They dimmed. He died.
By Devon Soriano5 years ago in Families
Trapped Like Mice
TRAPPED, LIKE MICE My life had turned into a big fat zero. I was out of work. I had put my mother into a nursing home because I was unable or didn’t want to handle the responsibility of taking care of her. Bill collectors had me on their speed dial, and I continued to ignore their calls. Worst of all, I was beginning to get the small-town blues. I didn’t want to remain in Newberry for the rest of my life. I felt trapped, frightened, helpless, and desperate. When a man finds himself in a desperate situation, logic and good reasoning are the first things to flee.
By James Myers5 years ago in Families
Recipes For Success
Susan thumbed the pages nervously, listening to the paper crinkle. She opened the small black book, then closed it, and then opened it again. The bright morning sun illumined the pages, stained and yellowed with age. Each page contained a secret, carefully scribed in faded blue ink. It was not scrawled or scribbled; each letter was marshalled with impeccable penmanship onto ruled lines that had faded nearly out of existence.
By Patrick H-K5 years ago in Families
Giving Is Caring
“Move out of my way you fuckin’ mut!” Jason Mars screamed, followed by a shove to my back, causing every paper I had to fly out of my arms. As I stood up and turned around, I saw Jason’s closed fist coming straight to my face, but before he could connect, BAM! A science book smacked Jason right in the back of the head. “ Leave him alone Jason! Go pick on someone who aint afraid of you!” I heard a high pitched voice yell from down the hall. I was shocked when I realized where the voice came from. It was Regina Fontain, the most beautiful girl in school; well according to myself and the rest of the guys. She didn’t stay to fight, or even converse with me, but still I was in awe. Should I have been embarrassed of being rescued by a girl? If so I wasn’t; I had bigger things to worry about. I almost forgot to mention, I'm Jeffery Mosely. Sometimes it seems like the other students shit on me just for being smart Or because my Momma is white. I've made the honor roll every semester since high school started. My Father passed when I was a freshman, leaving my mother with myself and six of my siblings. I just want to give Ma the world someday. With that being said, I roll with the punches, come to school everyday and work my ass off.
By Natoshe'Ona Henderson5 years ago in Families
Mama
I feel weak. It’s not like the weakness you feel when you’re about to pass out. Rather, it’s the weakness of not doing enough; not being enough. I have no energy, yet it’s 3 am and I’m wide awake. My eyes were open before I heard her cries. Instinct? Maybe. But it doesn’t make it any easier for me to get out of bed. There’s a guilt that forms in the pit of my stomach as I slowly make my way to her bedroom followed by the feeling of resentment. Am I resenting myself for feeling like this when all I ever wanted was her? Or am I resenting her? Either way, I hate feeling like this, and I shouldn’t feel like this, but it’s hard to see past the looming dark cloud that’s been hanging over my head for nine months now.
By Nicole Lovell5 years ago in Families
Time Reveals All
I don’t know if I ever really knew my grandmother. Maybe I’m not special and no one every really knows their grandparents or even their own parents for that matter. I think there was a small piece of me that always wished I was more like her. She saw no value in the common niceties and false bravado that many people feel they have to show the people around them. My grandmother was a slight woman even frail some might say, and she had a soft voice that even as a child I knew deep down in her throat there was boiling heat just waiting for its moment to spring across her tongue.
By Katie Moore5 years ago in Families
Between the Pages
Leah Ellison is a 24-year-old single mother living in Gainesville, Florida and raising her 4-year-old twin boys, Michael & Legion. She works two part-time jobs as a cashier at a local grocery store during the day and she works as a waitress overnight at a local diner. After losing her mother, Denise six months ago, Leah was not able to afford the rent to remain at mother’s apartment. She and her sons moved out the week after she died with little money and no chance of being able to move into an apartment of her own anytime soon due to her poor rental history. Leah was left with no other choice but to move in with her best friend, Nikki and her two children. The six of them were living under one roof in a small one bedroom apartment in constant fear of being kicked out if Nikki’s landlord found out about her living arrangement with Leah and her sons living in the apartment without his authorization. While Leah was appreciative to Nikki for taking the risk to make sure she and her sons weren’t sleeping on the street, Leah wanted more and she didn’t want to live this way for the rest of her life.
By Aundrya Richardson5 years ago in Families
The Legacy of a Connection
L.B.B. Those are his initials. My best friend. My grandpa. Lawrence Brandon Baker on his birth certificate, “Bop Bop” to me. When I was a young child just learning how to speak, I could never quite utter the words, “Grandpa Baker,” it always came out as “Bop Bop.” My family apparently thought this was uproarious and from then on, he was known as, “Bop Bop.” Unfortunately, my dad tragically passed away when I was only two years old. He was a firefighter and was trapped in a devastating house fire. My mom was a traumatized wreck after the sudden passing of my dad. She was angry, forlorn, discombobulated, and incapable of raising a child on her own. Bop Bop graciously volunteered to help take care of me whenever my bereft mother needed it. He was still mourning the unexpected loss of my father, his son, yet he stepped in to help my mother pick up the pieces.
By Katie McKenzie5 years ago in Families
Sweet Dreams
I never imagined having a 50th wedding anniversary, let alone share it with so many amazing individuals. The evening began with my precious granddaughter Magdalena recounting a memory to our party guests. As her captivating voice exploded through the microphone, I fought hard to hold back the tears. After surveying the room, I noticed not a dry eye in the house and sobbed aloud. Upon completing her heartfelt story, she presented the handwritten tale, to my wife and me. I will do my best not to dampen the pages as I recite her written story with you now.
By Bob Calvin5 years ago in Families
