Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
The New House
It was hers. Finally, hers! After weeks of waiting and hoping, piles of paperwork, hours of praying, repeated meetings with the bank and the relator. Finally, the house was hers! She stood quietly inside the front door and slowly looked around, taking it all in. Gently she closed the door and took a step forward, her boot clattering on the solid wood floor of the living room. Stopping, she looked down at her boots, smiling in total contentment at the sound as she imagined the boys running down the halls in their bare feet in the mornings.
By Jill Wedige Gettert5 years ago in Families
UNSTAGED TRUTH FROM PERFORMER TO MOTHERHOOD
Since the age of six, I was already dreaming of the life as a performer. Nothing else interested me growing up as long as dance was a part of my life, I was a very happy girl. I am so grateful that my parents gave me the freedom to do what really inspired me through my growing years and allowed me to either grow through the industry or perhaps take a different path. Well I never did take that different path, I knew music, movement and creativity was what made my soul happy. I knew this was my path in life and I never doubted it for a minute.
By A M Y Uncensored & Real5 years ago in Families
The Forgotten Neighbor
Sarah walked through the cemetery stopping on occasion to take a picture of a headstone and jot a few notes on her list. She enjoyed spending Sunday afternoons working on genealogy while her kids played at grandma's house. Sarah also helped others by taking pictures of headstones for a couple of websites in which descendants are able to make requests.
By Skye Paige5 years ago in Families
Hannah's Attic
Hannah finished clearing her plate from lunch and remembered that she still hadn’t found that old family photo album she was looking for. She went back to her bedroom and looked one last time in the back of her closet, behind all the shoeboxes and backpacks. She knew it wouldn’t be there but she thought she’d check once more just to be sure. Now that she had looked everywhere it could be, she became overwhelmed by the idea of taking the stairs up to the dark and dusty attic. She knew that it must be up there. She grabbed a flashlight off the hall table and headed toward the attic stairs. She climbed the long staircase with the stream of light from her flashlight guiding her. She reached the attic landing and turned on the Victorian pink shaded glass lamp. A pinkish hue was cast across to the corners of the large attic room. She saw stacked towers of boxes of all sizes all across the back wall of the attic. Next to them in the corner was an antique mahogany wooden coat hanger with some dusty old coats hanging on it. She saw the shadows the coats cast on the wall in the pink dusty light. In the shadows it looked as if someone was standing in the corner.
By Mary McDonald5 years ago in Families
A 60's Tale
A 60’s Tale 1962, Friday, 2:15 pm. Barbara sits in her car, her long dark hair hangs limp in front of her face. She stares out the window at nothing as she replays that last forty five minutes in her heard. She walked into her estranged husband’s offices, as she walked through the beige, dim lit corridors towards his office she noticed the sympathetic looks from the secretaries, even other business men. How could they know? Did they really know who Stanley is? She reached his office. Time seemed to warped and grow foggy. The words “keep the damn house, do what you want with it, sell it. But don’t contact me again” ring and blast through her ears. A traffic warden taps on the hood of her car, bringing her back from her thoughts. She begins the slow drive home. In her rearview mirror she looks at her son and daughter’s clutter on the backseat, wrappers from rhubarb and custards litter the floor and sandy footprints line the interior. Barbara smiles to herself thinking the freedom they must feel, her smile fades when she thinks of them for too long.
By Charlotte Gould5 years ago in Families
The Attic
Mom, you were only fifty years old… Was all I could think as I packed up my mom three-bedroom home. The very home I was raised in and the very last place that my mom took her last breath at. I looked around and shook my head at how much more I had to pack. I had no siblings; I was an only child. My dad died when I was only fourteen years old. Since then, it’s been only my mom and me. And now it was just me. I grabbed a few trash bags as I headed up to the attic. I haven’t been up there since I was a teenager. I’m twenty-five now so you can do your own math on that. To get to the attic, I had to grab a chair from the hall closet so that I can reach the string attached to the attic door. I was only 4’9, Mom use to always handle all the “tall-things” for me.
By Tyecha Duncan5 years ago in Families
Old Man Miller's Place
"Thanks so much for coming home with me this weekend, Julie." Emma kicked aside some dead branches on the overgrown path and pushed her auburn-braid off her shoulder. "When my mom said she needed to have a 'serious' talk with me, I figured she'd seen my Biology grade." Emma turned to her college roommate, who was struggling to push aside a low-hanging tree branch. "She's not going to get too mad in front of you."
By Heather M Mosko5 years ago in Families
Aster's Inheritance
Aster stared straight ahead, refusing to even blink, just in case the tears burning against the back of her eyes fell. Just a little while longer. She only had to hold on for a few minutes more before this horrid ordeal would be over. She squirmed in the ugly overstuffed chair as the lawyer droned on and on. Suddenly a thought struck her; she didn’t have to stay! She could leave and she would. The mistress employing her was dead; all her hard work had boiled down to a small, square, rather plain black notebook. What was the point of hearing how the old lady had divvied up her assets among her brood? She clearly had not been nearly as valued as she had once thought.
By Lady Coy Haddock5 years ago in Families
The Beach House
Normally Tracy loved being at her grandparents beach house, even in the winter. It was her favorite place to be. Staying with Grams and Pops all summer and some Christmases was her greatest joys growing up. Coming here felt like coming home, even empty, the same scents still lingered in the air of cinnamon, pipe tobacco and rose water, grams perfume. Memories rushed to the surface of laughter, adventure and family. Today those memories were crowding close and she found herself continually blinking back the burning tears that threatened to overflow. Tracy had come back to the old beach house to clean out her grandparents things. They were suddenly gone and coming to the beach house would never be the same. She looked out the big bay window that overlooked the beach. The waters were choppy and turbulent, as though they mirrored her inner turmoil.
By Jeronn Russell5 years ago in Families
The Black Wig
If I knew my day was going to start as it did, I would've definitely passed on drinking last night! I'll start at the beginning of this whole ordeal.....practicing in front of the mirror. I was cast as the lead in Romeo & Juliet, and I was not only practicing my lines I was practicing Juliets' aswell. Well hey...they say all good actors learn and practice all the lines, so why not!? So there I am in the mirror saying "Romeo, Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo!" Then all of a sudden... "Daylon! Daylon! Come here right now!" inside I'm thinking "Oh lord did they find the stiletto red bottom pumps I've been hiding? 'Cause Lord today isn't the day to come out of the closet." Walking with masculinity in viewpoint I walk into the family room and go "Yes mother?" Then she goes "Don't play silly! You are supposed to go get all of the stuff out of the attic and set it outside for trash pick up!" Inside I am so relieved I simply forgot about taking out the trash. No coming out of the closet and dealing with that conversation a little while longer whew! Little did I know I was about to be in little "fairy-boy" Heaven. Once I arrived to the attic I started opening the boxes before I took them out to the trash. If I know my mother anything important stays so I begin to look through everything. Then I found it, it was a regular U-Haul moving box that looked brand new. I opened it and sitting on top was this little black book. So what else was I going to do, not read it? So I began reading it and what I read absolutely floored me. It was just a friendly letter address to me. It read:
By Daylon Eugene Brown5 years ago in Families
Deja vu
Ok google… what is reincarnation? “Here is the definition of reincarnation, the rebirth of a soul in a new body.” Interesting. That was the only word that caught my attention during my teacher's hour lecture. Thankfully my mom walked in and told her she could go home early. I believe she saw the agony in my face.
By Adrienne Prophet5 years ago in Families
