fact or fiction
Is it fact or merely fiction? Fact or Fiction explores the myths and beliefs we hold about our family dynamics, traditions, and if there's such thing as a 'perfect family.'
Mom's Celebration Chocolate Cake
It had been over four years since Matilda had eaten a piece of chocolate cake. The only chocolate cake she had ever eaten was her mother’s special, secret-recipe, Celebration Chocolate Cake. Her mother had made this cake for every celebration and special occasion of Matilda’s life. That is, when she was alive to do it.
By Mackenzie Larsen 5 years ago in Families
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL KIND OF PAIN
The Most Beautiful Kind of Pain Maybe if I cleared everything out of the room, he wouldn’t have anything to throw around this time. This thought went through my head as I watched my son, Arnold, move from one side of the room to the other while kicking his ball. He had just started walking some months ago and that day still topped as the happiest recent day of my life. At the age of one, when other kids were walking and he wasn’t, I had become very worried but he never disappointed me. He just needed more time. Every time I saw him take a step, I felt like my life turned meaningful again. He was the light in the darkness that my marriage to Emeka threw me into. Arnold was now a year and three months and like any toddler, he was always on the move. I put away the suspiciously wrapped brown box that was delivered to our apartment earlier today. It had Emeka’s name on it and I didn’t want it to be the first thing he saw. These days, whenever we got one of those strange packages usually wrapped in brown paper, he got extra angry and mean after opening it. I have no idea what was inside but I didn’t want it to be the first thing he did because it would be if I left it lying in plain sight.
By Nneka Anieze5 years ago in Families
A day worth remembering
It was a very glorious day. I was turning 18 today. All my life I had heard about how hard it was for my mother to take care of me since my father died. Some days I thought she resented him because he did die and left her to take care of me alone. She would work all day long while I was at school and she was so tired all the time. She spent every evening trying to do everything she could and needed to do around the house. I knew I would not get a car or even a new outfit but I did have friends and I was going to celebrate.
By Crystal Dawn Lesher5 years ago in Families
A chocolate story
I sit at the counter waiting for the results, nervously clicking a pen I must have grabbed while at the attorney. It had the number and was more functional than a piece of paper unless you needed to fix a wobbly table. These past two weeks have been absolute hell. I can finally feel my left cheek, and my eye looks horrible, but at least I can see now. I can hear my grandmother coming down the stairs slowly. She enters the room, and our eyes met briefly. I cannot face her, and she cannot look at me what a fright I must be and such a disappointment. With nothing to say, she grabs her worn apron and hands me the spare. I put it on obligatorily while tying the knot, and she begins to dictate to me.
By Page Neihoff5 years ago in Families
DEATH BY CHOCOLATE
DEATH BY CHOCOLATE WRITTEN BY: TIFFANY CALDWELL The mood in the house was an eerie one the day dad went away. We jokingly call it the day the ghost left the building. We got the term from the old saying “Elvis has left the building” because much like Elvis my dad was somewhat of a legend. A high school football star with a full scholarship to Cornell. He had brains and brawn, something that is very uncommon in my small southern town… especially in todays politically correct world of soft sissies and dodo birds. He was a ghost that became a ghost. We hardly ever saw my dad before he left and now, we never see him. He’s gone. Disappeared. Vanished without a trace. He left everything behind. His wife. His kids. His clothes. His car. And a half full glass of milk sitting next to a plate with a piece of mom’s homemade chocolate cake. The cake had never been touched.
By Tiffany Caldwell5 years ago in Families
A Slice of Life
Chase finished his work for the day and saw it was almost time to pick up Maddie from work. It had been five months since she moved back and fixed the old barn; every weekend something seemed to be happening there and it brought the town together. Chase worked with Maddie on hosting the events or planning them. He was even in the process of renting it out to others. Things with them were going good they found they still liked each other a lot and started dating. Even his sister, Emily, reconnected with Maddie and they were hanging out again. Finished with loading his tools, Chase took off towards the bakery.
By Rebecca Hackney5 years ago in Families
Building Sanctuary
Marti pulled into the overgrown circle driveway and sat, staring at her own last name on the big, L-shaped, hip-roofed barn. She had never wanted the name she was given when she first came to this place at age five. She had been Martina Lopez before the farm. Sometimes Abuela called her “Marti”, but the way she said it, with a rolled “r” and long vowels was musical. The flat, midwestern pronunciation of her new family just wasn’t the same. “Your name is Mar-dee Miller now,” they told her. She hated it, but she didn’t have much choice. For as long as she could remember, Abuela and Catarina had taken care of her. But then Abuela had a stroke and the lady said that Catarina, at age nine, wasn’t old enough to take care of them. Not that she hadn’t tried. Cat had always been a little mother – looking after everyone else. Even now, her older sister had taken time out of her busy, suburban mom life to call and make sure Marti was okay.
By Allison Rice5 years ago in Families
The Waiting Sticks
Brittle grass crunched beneath the man’s tired boots, which were greying with age and folding away at the corners. Still they carried him dutifully up the crest of the pasture, away from the sodden bales of hay and the crooked, lichen-drenched fences.
By Lanie Campbell5 years ago in Families
The Old Red Barn of Pa's
Entire generations of Webber families must have used the now rickety old red barn that sat on the property line’s very outskirt and had a rather falling down roof, as a sort of soul dumping ground. All of the old toys like the eyeless and once-hawked as porcelain dolls were there with the outgrown children’s clothes, all aside assorted hopes and dreams; conglomerated, safe from the eyes of the outer world perhaps, but not from gnashing teeth of the extra-large rats who enjoyed more than their fill of options for food and nesting fodder.
By cora lynnish5 years ago in Families
Miracle barn
MIRACLE RANCH We had just got married when we bought this place back in 1945. It was a little run down but we were going to fix it up. We were the proud new owners of fifty acres. It was just a small cabin from the 1800's and needed some fixing up. Down the way past the big oak tree was an old barn with a hay loft. There was 30 acres of pasture and the rest was thick woods. Down in the trees was the most beautiful waterfall and creek that ran through the property. After we fixed up the house we built the chicken coop. I loved to watch them and see all of the beautiful colors in thier feathers glisten in the sun. We enjoyed them so much, we decided to get more animals. But first, the old barn needed some work. Your grandma and I loved sitting on the porch swing and watch the sunrise and sunsets. By the time I had the barn finished, it was almost our anniversary. I built a tower lookout on top of the barn with an old porch swing and windows all around. Youre grandma loved it and before long we spent alot of time up there in that old barn. It was so serene, and we would go there to pray. The deer and turkey would come out from the trees with the sunset that only the good Lord could paint. We eventually got some goats and cows. We eventually built a nice heard of brahman cattle. The bull would lay out in the pasture at the edge of the trees and call. They were so gentle, just like big puppy dogs. We eventually had a garden and orchard so abundant it was an eden. We had our acreage, we were surrounded by beauty and it seemed we had everything we could have dreamed of. We never actually knew how special our little piece of paradise was until the summer of 1950. We started to notice that alot of our neighbors crops were not doing to good and thier animals were not doing too well. We were in the beginning of the worst drought I had ever seen. As we watched life around us seem to dry up and wither away, our farm still thrived. One of our cows got out of the fence, by the time we found her days later she was weak and barely walking. Not knowing if she was going to make it through the night, we brought her into the barn. We stayed with her as long as we could then went to bed. Expecting to loose her overnight. The next morning we woke up and didnt even have our coffee before going to see her. To our suprise, she was just fine and not only just fine but better than before. She gad put on weight and was instantly the healthiest looking cow we had. The neighbors and people in town asked about her and shocked how well she was doing. They started wondering why our farm appeared unaffected by the drought and how we had a miracle cow while thier livestock was dying. After word got around, a girl and her mom showed up with a dog. It had been hit by a car and they asked if they could just sit in our barn with him. We lit a lantern for them and me and your grandma went to the tower to pray. We had been up there for just a few minutes when we heard "oh my God !!". The dog was completely healed. Your grandma and I were just as amazed. Well as you can imagine, there was no keeping that a secret. Another year went by and as the drought continued, we found out your grandma was pregnant with your mom. We were so excited to have our first child on this beautiful thriving farm. When the doctor delivered her, she wasn't crying. The doctor said she was still born. We were devastated. We took her home to bury her on the farm. But grandma wanted to sit with her for a few minutes to grieve and say goodbye. She took her up to the tower. The cows must have sensed something because they all came running to the barn. Just then, I heard crying. Not sad crying and not your grandma. It was the baby, she was alive! God had come down to visit the miracle barn that day. To this day the Lord blesses us and that farm and to Him be the glory for that miracle barn. That precious little child you now know as mom.
By Levi dotson5 years ago in Families
