Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
Shirley, You've Been So Good To Me
Moving around from one house to another all over London wasn't easy for me as a child. Before I turned eight, I lived in seven different houses that were all in different neighbourhoods. Some of the areas where I lived weren't as safe as seemed and some didn't have the amenities that a parent wanted for their child such as parks and leisure centres for kids to enjoy. My parents were also going through a divorce which was difficult for me to handle at the time. So having many birthday parties in several houses and witnessing my parents going through their darkest moment is a memory of mine that will never be forgotten. With all the switching and changing from one house to the next, I never had a place to call home until my grandma introduced my mum, brother, and I to Shirley. No not Shirley Mcclain, Shirley the small town in the South of London or preferably known as the edge of the British Capital.
By Bethany Gordon5 years ago in Families
Cryptic
Cryptic Humping boxes out of my late father’s flat to a deadline imposed by the condo management, I clumsily knock a large vase with my elbow. It smashes. Damn, that could have been worth a few cents. Glancing down at the shards I spot a palm-sized black Moleskine and a kind of USB stick in the mess. I pick them up and leaf through the notebook. Strings of words written in his recognisably neat, bold hand:
By Susannah Bolt5 years ago in Families
Fifteen hundred pound Bull
Here's one you won't normally hear, from my personal vault of only known by a few, true stories. Of all the adventures to have in life, in our modern world we found some untouched by time's movement into the modern era moments. In this one, a true story as I have said, I hope you see my Huck Finn-ishness combined with my Tom Sawyer-nese. Right out of circa 1887, we here in our small town found a test of manhood that most 12 or 13 year olds are not faced with in this world today. it was either 1990 or 1991, but I and my two pals, all three of us the same age had decided to walk a long distance in search of a ride home because we were slightly stranded in the vast landscape of our hometown. I had begun a discussion about tests of manhood and adventure. I told them this would test us. It didn't seem very strenuous or much of a test, we merely had to walk like ten miles. We couldn't quite sit still and wait plus our town is always teeming with traffic, the streets, less busy than many streets, allowed us to get away with walking these country roads with less fear of being hit by a car then. I was rambling on and on and the guys were just looking at me and listening so I was the first to see it and it astonished me. I think at that time my cousin was telling me that I wasn't God, that I dpn't always have the right answer. I was a 69 pound pip squeak by the way. But I have noted in my life time I have saved our life something like hundreds of times. I didn't want to alarm the boys because I knew that would disadvantage us. So, I think, I just calmly transitioned in story to, "Remember when I was talking about adventure and testing our manhood? Well, I may have unwittingly called a little more down upon us than I had intended, too." My cousin said, "What do you mean?" and Ryan just kept smiling. I remember Ryan hadn't said much during most of the talk he just listened and smiled. So, I answered my cousin. I said, "I don't want to alarm you because we need to keep a calm head right now." And he said, "Jimmmmmyyy." a little frustration in his tone. So I continued, "It's just that there is a fifteen hundred pound Bull right there." and they turned and looked, and I continued even more with "and that fence looks small and flimsy. I'm not sure how a fifteen hundred pound bull is kept confined by such a shabby fence. If he learns that he can turn that fence to matchsticks we are in trouble." And then my cousin said, "What do we do?" and there was no smile on Ryan's face anymore. So I said, "Keep walking a normal pace, I'm going to show you something. See, they say red makes a bull charge but I'm sure it isn't the color of the cloth at all. I think it is movement and he's staring at us, so, do you see that big tree over there? I'm going to to get that bull moving and we need to run to that tree and get behind it out of sight. So when I say, run fast to the tree." I turned so that I was walking backwards when I took off my ball cap before the bull could gently walk up to and through the fence and gave my ball cap a wave as I watched him. Then I said run, and we ran and it started to chase us. We got to the tree and around it and out of sight. My cousin asked, "Is it still coming after us?" And I said,"No." He said, "How do you know?" I said, "I didn't hear the fence break." I said, "Chuck, can you please carefully look around the tree to confirm that?" We called Ryan Chuck for a nickname. My cousin said, "What would you have done if it broke through the fence? I said, "I would have thrown you in that tree and made you pull me up and I would pull him up because bulls don't climb trees." At that point I peaked cautiously around the tree and the bull had lost interest and was heading back up the hill away from the tiny fence that somehow contained him. I looked at Ryan, who hadn't spoken in a very long time and said, "I guess I should have told you 'and report back to me what you see' huh? Because I guess when I said look to see you decided you would keep that information to yourself but I did want you to report it back to me. That's ok though." Then we walked back out from behind the tree down the road away from the large beast and my cousin asked, "What do we do if he chases us again?" I said, "Just keep walking steady, we could run to that house if we needed but I think we are far enough away to be less concerned and then we will be far enough to be unconcerned." We saw my uncle in his own yard just ahead and I asked him is it a little unusual for a fifteen hundred pound bull to be kept in a yard behind a fence that seems to be made of material as flimsy as a bunch of McDonald's straws strung together, especially so close to town?" And he said, "There's a bull?" And I said yeah right over there. It was at his neighbors house on the backside of Main Street and he didn't even know it, hadn't even seen it. He walked out to his car and looked down the road and you could see the visible shock on his face. I said ok, you might want to tell the police because it is so close tot the center of town and if it got loose and rampaged that wouldn't be good. I might tell them, also" And he said Yeah. Then I said have a nice day. And the three of us wandered on down the road. That is my hometown. A little bit 1700 something, a little bit 1800 something, a little bit 1950 and a little bit 1970. A crazy mix of time capsule country and a part of what made me.
By James M. Piehl5 years ago in Families
The Katapotis' Inheritance
Chapter 1—Shock Overload Zena Katopotis was a librarian whose parents unexpectedly died one night in the home where she had grown up as a child. She was visiting with her beloved husband Peter and her two well-behaved boys, Remis and Azrael. Remis and Azrael were shocked when they found grandma and grandpa holding hands together in bed and still due to rigor mortis setting in. They had passed quickly and without incident, without pain or discomfort.
By Elizabeth Berndt5 years ago in Families
Looter's Landing
Lisa thought her father’s eccentric personality resulted from his alcoholic family. She disapproved of his carefree lifestyle and often criticized his lack of ambition or college education. But Missy loved her gramps and all his exciting pirating adventures, even if the tales weren’t true. Despite her mother’s attempt to change Missy’s perspective of her grandfather, she refused to yield to her mom’s snobbish way of thinking.
By Irene Wintermyer5 years ago in Families
The Obsidian Book of Delacroix
“She shouldn’t have something like that! She’s only 15,” Uncle Roland objected. He stood beside his wife and two children who all remained seated. It appeared as if they didn’t share his feelings of disapproval. None of the Delacroix family who was present did either. Today was the distribution of my grandfather’s assets to all of the beneficiaries.
By Charles Allen5 years ago in Families
The Baker and the Witch
“Thank you miss, have a good evening.” A male customer smiled widely at Serena as he wheeled his grocery cart away from her. “You do the same.” She reluctantly retreated to the store’s bakery where she worked. The young woman finished cleaning up, flicked off the fluorescent lights, then headed up front to clock out and go home for the night. Forcing a smile and a courteous manner was very draining on her, it wasn’t that she was incapable of smiling and being friendly to people it was just her current state of mind. Serena has dealt with struggles and mental illness for most of her life and there’s only so long you can stay strong externally. As she started up her frosty cold car her mind swirled with worries and narratives from her day. She found herself feeling more and more resentful toward her coworkers and managers, but it wasn’t their fault, they’re all just pawns in the game like she was. This “real world” was too much for her, her soul yearned to travel, find refuge in nature and be free. Yet she felt incredibly stuck and like her dreams were a childlike fantasy. She drove home on autopilot, too distracted by her suffering to pay much attention to the repetitive details of her daily commute. As she shut her black car door, she noticed the bright shining reflection of the moon in the car paint. She turned around to look up at it. The moon had always brought her comfort, something about it felt very nurturing and safe. Serena could tell the moon all of her secrets, hopes and dreams and she would feel heard and understood in its silent presence. “Thank you for being there beautiful.” She smiled softly and felt at peace, her racing mind ceased, and a calm came over her body. With a sigh of relief, she headed up the stairs to her front door. Upstairs her family was warm and cozy playing video games. “Mommy!” a little boy set down the Xbox controller and ran up to serena with outstretched arms. “My big man! Did you have a good day?!” her face lit up and she embraced her son. “Yeah! Race!” he pulled her over to the desk where he was gaming. “You’re racing Emmie? Are you winning?” she joked, bending down to give her wife a big kiss and hug. Serena’s home life was the best it had ever been she was so blessed to have a loving partner and son, a warm home with plenty of food and entertainment to be had. And yet Serena and her wife Emily were barely scraping by and felt burnt out on the daily. They wondered together how other adults managed to live such full and rich lives, we’re making the most money we’ve ever earned and yet still living paycheck to paycheck. They were optimistic that together they could accomplish anything despite their hardships. That night they lay in bed together talking and cuddling. Emily turned to Serena and said, “If $20,000 fell from the sky tomorrow I would pay off my car loan and we would have so much more money to put into savings for our first home!” she giggled. Serena turned to Emily. “Okay, sounds good let’s do it!” she said with seriousness. She sat up in the dim light of their bedroom, “We already have that money. We already have our home. What we speak comes into existence.” Serena said matter of fact. “I read that if you say things like they’re already done that it can manifest it into existence. “Alright then. We paid off my car loan, saved up enough money to buy a house and property and are planning a trip to another country.” Emily said with a smirk and laced her fingers resting them on her abdomen. Serena gave her wife a warm smile and kissed her forehead before turning the light off for the night. “Sweet dreams.” They sweetly kissed goodnight.
By Amber Henninger5 years ago in Families
