humanity
For better or for worse, relationships reveal the core of the human condition.
Where's the magic?
I was eight years old when I found out Father Christmas isn’t real. I remember the moment, the sounds and smells. The crackling notes of Christmas songs as the stylus jumped and bumped its way through the nicks and grooves of the vinyl record. The smell of freshly made mince pies and pine needles. Quiet voices and shuffling came from the sitting room as I sat on the stairs, looking through the wooden banisters.
By Pamela Mungroo5 years ago in Humans
Audition (The Fools Who Dream): An Original Short Story Based on The Oscar-Nominated Song
My aunt used to live in Paris. I remember she used to tell my sister and me these stories about living abroad whenever my family visited her. She told us that she jumped into a river once, barefoot and in a dress. She smiled as she relived this story. I remember her telling us that she was driving by the Seine and had this impulse to pull over next to it. She looked down and decided to take off her shoes and run to the edge of the bridge she had parked on. She leaped in without even looking where she was going and landed cleanly into the Seine. The water was freezing, enveloping her completely. She managed to climb out of the river and drive home, but that evening, she started feeling stuffy. She spent the rest of the month with a cold. Even after that, though, she told us that if she had gotten the chance to do it, she was more than willing to jump into the Seine again. She was so invigorated by the sudden rush the cold water gave her and by the fact that she did it in the first place that the idea of doing it again made her excited.
By Jamie Lammers5 years ago in Humans
Unconquerable
With the onset of the second wave of COVID-19, India is dealing with one of the worse crises of all time. There have been tremendous loss of lives and livelihoods and the tragedy seems to take a more frightening turn with every new day. People are anxious and are struggling with both their physical and mental health. All in all, it is really a difficult time for the entire country. But the unbelievable resilience of human beings is triumphing over the pandemic and how..!
By Nayanika Mukherjee5 years ago in Humans
Green
“It looks like alien blood.” He was right. It didn’t look like anything that human veins could emit. My right hand, held firmly and unmoving in his grasp, was wrapped in gauze, oozing vibrant stains of red and green onto the white. Beneath the gauze a strange appendage stuck up straight like a sixth finger. I almost couldn’t believe that thing was my hand, but the pang of lightning burning from my finger up the inside of my arm was too real for it not to be.
By Deirdre Anna5 years ago in Humans
That Night
THAT NIGHT The weather couldn’t have been more inclement. The Midwest was famous for these sudden summer afternoon Thunderstorms. The temperature had dropped more than fifteen degrees in less than twenty minutes. Thunderheads loomed large on the eastern horizon and lightening sparked often enough to make thunderclaps sound continuous. Maureen Talbot pulled off the road as soon as she could. The Paradise Park Motor Lodge looked a bit too seedy for her upper middle class sensibilities but with the impending storm she couldn’t be too picky. A delay would make her late to the attorney’s office for the deposition but she had to think about her child’s safety first. Once the rain started, the roads would be slippery and although she was confident of her own driving ability, she wisely distrusted the stranger on the road unaware of how to avoid hydroplaning. It hadn’t begun raining yet but her apprehension ballooned with every wind-blown minute.
By David Zinke aka ZINK5 years ago in Humans
The Joe Rogan Experience
Recently, during one of his podcasts Joe Rogan's statement to the question whether or not healthy youths should receive the CoViD 19 vaccine became the source of public outrage, and depending on what side of the political isle one stands on, it became canon fodder, used to attack either of the two partisan positions that have declared war against each other over a year ago on the battlegrounds of CoViD factualness. Needless to say, the entire subject is highly volatile.
By Meko James 5 years ago in Humans
The Deceiver
“Draco!” An infuriated Fawn growled as she chased the blonde boy down the dirt path. Draco ran deep into the heavy trees and hid inside a rotting tree trunk, steadying his breath to keep himself hidden. He could hear her heavy breathing closing in. “Draco!” She yelled into the green forest. “You had no right to trick my little sister like that! Enough is enough!” Draco felt a twig snap beneath him. He stood up and saw Fawn standing less than a few feet from him.
By Ana Schlegel5 years ago in Humans
Paperback Writer: The Beatles Song in Short Story Form
“Hey, excuse me? Can someone help? I need somebody to read my book!” I look around at the busy publishing center. People are rushing like mad to sort files and take phone calls. It’s pretty chaotic. Thankfully, someone’s at the front desk to take care of the clients that come in looking for their magnum opus to be released to the public and maybe become a bestseller, if they’re lucky. The nametag on his desk says “Mr. Kite.” He takes a second to look me up and down.
By Jamie Lammers5 years ago in Humans
