humanity
For better or for worse, relationships reveal the core of the human condition.
Men with Broken Faces
Eleanor walked up the steps to Frognal House, a former Jacobean Mansion situated on the southwest grounds of the Queen’s Hospital. She double-checked the address from her agent, Philippe, still confused as to why he would send her here. Eleanor thought she might be going to a gallery or studio and thought the doctor might be an art collector wanting to show examples of his artistic preferences. She never thought she would have any business at a hospital. She surveyed the hallways of the charming administration building, transformed into something more practical than its former self with shiny, polished floors, dull walls, and strong medicinal smells.
By Mark Carpan5 years ago in Humans
Little Black Notebooks
Vince lay on the roof outside his window gazing into the clear night's sky. Despite the light pollution of Edinburgh city, it was still possible to see the hundreds of stars that glittered above his head. He closed his eyes and invited Lena to join him, feeling the soft caress of her hair as she cuddled into his chest. The warmth of her skin and how perfectly the curvature of her body fit against his was so deeply imprinted on him that it almost felt real. Lena's essence was still very much alive inside Vince's heart. Her love had been so vibrant, so powerful, that even two years after the accident he still found it easy to imagine her next to him.
By Kayleigh Fraser ✨5 years ago in Humans
The Little Black Book of Birds
He was mentally one with the winged creature riding the wind, anticipating its every move. The gravel road crunched under his boots while taking rapid fire pictures of the short eared owl flying low over the snowy hill. Martin was pretending that he belonged elbow to elbow with this group of professional wildlife photographers. Getting his first shorty owl flight shots had his heart pumping, but he was more excited to be standing next to Kathy-Margaret Murphy, aka Kam Murphy, the world famous host of the BioPlanet show, “Rendezvous With Raptors.” The owl turned and banked in the golden light, right before diving straight to the ground. He wasn’t quite sure what he was seeing through his viewfinder. There was a jumble of motion and then two owls faced off in mid air before him. Time slowed as his inner focus and camera focus synced. His shutter release clicked loudly, and he knew he’d just captured his best owl picture. Kam’s camera was going off like a gatling gun with a silencer. The owls separated and then flew to the opposite side of the marsh. The photographers groaned in unison at their disappearance.
By Shannon K. Culpepper 5 years ago in Humans
Just Another Ghost In The Street
Hello, friend. I call you friend yet you do not know me, my name does not matter, so I will not introduce myself. I, however, have known you your entire life. I was with you when you were born, I am with you as you read this passage, I will be with you when you die. The mention of death does add a certain, perhaps, darkness to my manner of speaking, but do not fear me, please friend, I only wish to understand that which makes up the human experience. Whatever it is, I have laid witness to it since the beginning of time, yet I have never been able to understand, I cannot experience it myself, for I am nothing but what I can describe to you as, ‘it.’
By Fior Raspbell5 years ago in Humans
When Among the Living
A tavern dances to the music that carouses through the small harbor town. Joyous voices accompany the hurdy-gurdy and the drumming past the docks, past the ships, and throughout the cove. Inside, groups shuffle haphazardly atop tables; others drain tankards of woody rum and ale, its smell clashing with that of salt and sweat. Everything moves without inherent purpose.
By Canan Devorak5 years ago in Humans
Nothing happens by chance
We are water…of course water is regenerative for my soul. This is how my shower ponderings began today. Relishing in the steam enveloping me, I dropped into myself enough to feel my pores swallow the soft beads of water - I imagined my energy being recalibrated by the negative ions. The shower is where I have moments of clarity and true introspection. Today, I am profoundly in my feelings; it’s a big day, a day for existential thoughts. I felt a warm wave rush through me as I pictured all the other human beings on earth having a moment with themselves at the exact same time and I felt inextricably connected to them. How incredible it is that in a world of so much noise, solitude cannot escape us. We cannot escape ourselves. Every person has this opportunity - the chance to soak up their own self, feel their existence deeply, connect with their essence - this launched goosebumps all over my body. Then, my mind pivoted: isn't it funny how almost every day begins the same? we get blindsided by the best, the worst, and the mundane in life. Today was one of those days.
By Camille Cortina5 years ago in Humans
The Lighthouse & the Little Black Book
Torrential rain and howling wind were no strange thing to the man who lived all by his lonesome in a small, run-down shack near the base of the great lighthouse on an island north of the town. He was used to the stormy sea winds, the deafening sound of raindrops the size of cannonballs crashing into the window and onto the roof, and the smashing of wrathful waves against the rocks.
By Kyle Gardner5 years ago in Humans
