Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
Little Black Book
Little Black Book By Heidi Bacon January 22, 2021 Belinda had seen it there before, an unassuming little black book over on the very end of the third shelf in the library, sandwiched between the Anthology of Ancient Times and Dogbert’s Management Handbook. The last time she noticed it, the volume had been slightly pulled forward, which brought it to her attention and made her wonder if someone had recently slid it into place, or if it was left askew as the neighboring book had been pulled from the shelf. Had it been there all along or was it a new addition? And why would it matter either way? Up until last week, no one would have cared.
By Heidi Bacon5 years ago in Families
STILL STANDING
She was born the oldest of four from her mother and the middle of seven from her father. She was her parents only child together. Most of her life she felt like the black sheep in both parents’ household. It was not always that way she could remember as far back as the age of five, when children saw the good in everything and everyone. She was blessed not only to know both her grandmothers as well as her grandfather she was blessed to have her great-grandparents as a part of her life also.
By Goddess By Nature5 years ago in Families
“I love you mommy!”
Children are so resilient. They are the best at giving completely unconditional love. The best thing I have ever done to date is to become a mom. I regret nothing about that. I had my first daughter at the age of 20. I was out of high school and in college. People don't talk about postpartum depression a whole lot. It is real though and more new moms suffer from it than we think. I suffered from it. As I said, I gave birth at the age of 20. Finding out I was pregnant made me grow up really quickly. The fact that another person was going to be depending on me for every aspect of their life terrified me. I was still kind of a child myself honestly. Too late to turn back now though. The baby was real and growing inside me. I immediately got to work and started making moves. I was a manger at Popeyes at the time. I was making $8.25 an hour. That wasn't enough to take care of a child in my mind. It was barely enough for just me and I was still living at home with my parents. I left traditional college and enrolled in a trade school. I walked across the stage at 5 months pregnant! I became a nationally registered certified medical assistant and phlebotomist. I was hired in a multi-specialty clinic a month later. My pay rate was now $13.50. Next on my list was a car. I bought my car in January, gave birth in February and signed the lease to my apartment when my baby was 11 days old. Phew! Mama was busy.
By Latoya Giles 5 years ago in Families
Mysterious Black Notebook
Today is a Friday after school, I am walking down the sidewalk towards my home until a strong gust of wind passes through me. Hear a soft thud, I look down and see a small black notebook as if one of those mini-composite notebook. Looking at the front and back cover, there is no writing of who it belongs to and no title to indicate what it is. Thinking that maybe it’s inside the cover, I open the front cover, only to see nothing except a short explanation and three rules.
By Amanda Nielsen5 years ago in Families
A Sweet Discovery
The Duncan’s lived in a large old home. The Duncan’s had an incredibly beautiful and intelligent daughter named Sadie. This eleven-year-old girl was wise beyond her years. She was a quite simple girl, was well spoken and mostly kept to herself. Her parents on the other hand, don’t realize what a special girl they have at hand. Unfortunately, the Duncan’s were not best fit best to raise a child. As they have some internal conflict and unresolved issues of their own. Their self-sabotaging behavior left an impact on Sadie. She realized at an early age that not all parents are superheroes. They can be mean, uncaring and forgetful. Sadie often indulged herself in reading all sorts of books. Though she knew she doesn’t have the best parents, she found comfort and reading in the good ones in her books. Since she was often alone in her room, she often made up a pretend family of her own. Her play family loved her and adored her. They would read books with. Her play mother would wake her up with a kiss each morning and take a golden handle brush and gently brush her long golden hair. Her play father was a successful writer and let Sadie read the manuscript of all his books before they were published. It was nice to dream, wasn’t it? Sadie’s real parents were immersed with garbage on television. One time Sadie swore she saw a flower drop down one time her mother walked outside. It was all she knew. Despite all this, Sadie remained a good person and was nothing like them. There was one family member that Sadie did admire. Her Aunt, Mr. Duncan’s sister Rosie. Rosie used to make homemade jam and honey and sell it and eventually became successful. She opened her own shop called ‘Naturally Sweet’. Mr. Duncan on the other hand wasn’t so happy about her success. He was very jealous. He was so driven by money that he would do anything to get it. One day he even went to lengths to stealing a few jars of her honey and trying to make profit from it. He had no choice since he couldn’t find out what the secret ingredient in her jam was that made it so delicious. Rosie eventually found out about it and became upset by her own brethren’s actions. Since Mr. Duncan was living with Rosie at the time because he couldn’t hold down a job, she sent him out of the house. She realized she let him lie around the couch and do nothing for too long while he claimed to be looking for a job. Him going behind her back was the last straw. Enraged and still jealous of her success, Mr. Duncan had planned a horrible thing. He hired a couple of men to destroy Rosie’s store. He promised to pay themselves by taking the money from her register. It was in the newspaper about her store being destroyed. Rosie was grief stricken and had her suspicions on who could have done so. Rosie tried to confront her brother because she knew it had to be him. He did nothing but gaslight her and call her a bad sister for saying it was him. They got into a big argument. Rosie was still upset about the store and for what she knew her brother did but didn’t admit. One day, she just packed her bags from her home to start a new life and disappeared. A day later, the men that Mr. Duncan had hired to destroy the store said when they looked in the cash register, they didn’t find a cent. Mr. Duncan lied and said he would pay them back in no time and like some fools they believed him. By that time, Mr. Duncan, Mrs. Duncan and a five-year-old Sadie wife fled away into a new city. Sadie doesn’t know the full truth of this. When asked about why she doesn’t see her aunt anymore. He tells her that she tried to steal from him. She knows it’s not the truth because she knows her father is notorious for lying. Unfortunately, Rosie has long passed. Sadie holds on the few memories she has visiting and spending time with her before they moved.
By Elizabeth A5 years ago in Families
The Red House by the Lake
Grandpa never really explained why the world is the way it is. He told me everything's always been broken, but I think that’s just not true. Grandpa is just like that, I think. He used to have dark brown hair and a smile that seemed all too forced, but a bunch of sunrises ago he passed away with his hair grey and the smile replaced by a snarl. If the buildings and the roads were anything like Grandpa, they would have had a cheery look to them before they broke. That’s what I think anyway, but Grandpa always told me the world has always been the same, and Grandpa always had protected me, so I trusted him. Then again, he also said I should go to the red house by the lake the sunset just before he died, but he always told me little boys like myself should never go too far away from the city. Grandpa never made any sense to me, but he told me to follow the red arrow on my compass until the road became smooth. Grandpa always protected me, so I trusted him. I was a little scared though, because the red arrow on my compass takes me through the place where the buildings still drop rocks and the road is so sharp it’ll make a cut bleed for days.
By The DemonMaster5 years ago in Families
A Daddy For Hannah
She regains her balance after pulling herself onto the roof. Although, she has scraped herself many-a-time on the rough shingle tiles getting to her favorite place, she is now an expert at achieving this feat and now does it scrap-free. This sanctuary of solitude provides a place where she can let out all her frustrations, dream that she is a princess held hostage in a tower about to be rescued by her knight in shining armor, or just be left alone to gaze at the vast universe above. The summer months make it comfortable to sit out under the stars and imagine how different things could be. As she settles in, she waits for the next shooting star to appear so she can make her wish. Most times she is left disappointed, but tonight, she sees it, the unmistakable streak of light shooting across the sky. “There it is! There it is!” She exclaims out loud, almost losing her balance jumping up and down in excitement. “I knew I would see you again!” Careful not to take her eyes off of the shooting star, she says, “Daddy, I miss you. Oh, Daddy I miss you so much! Come back to me, please?"
By Robyn Moss 5 years ago in Families
The Mystery of the little black book
The Mystery of the little black book It was raining, again. Another long dark cold night. I didn’t want to go out in this kind of weather, but it seemed I had no choice. The message was clear, be on the north corner of 5th and Main at 18:00 if you ever want to see your dog again.
By Connie Sahlin5 years ago in Families
*Notebook
The day he died, my grandfather gave me a small black notebook. The cover was worn and corners were tattered, but he'd been carrying it for as long as I could remember, so I was a surprised when he pressed it into my hands. Perhaps if I'd known he was about to die it would have meant more to me, but at the time it just seemed strange.
By Karissa Davison5 years ago in Families
