humanity

For better or for worse, relationships reveal the core of the human condition.

Sprinklers
Conrad stopped in his tracks, tiny pieces of dirt from the alley he was cutting through crept into his shoes. Annoyed by the intruders, he flung off his shoes and began to run across the lava-like ground. The reason for the sudden stop was the big dog that was trying to jump the fence to confront him in the alley. Though the dog didn’t succeed, he wasn’t gonna stick around until he did.
By Jason Charotte 5 years ago in Humans
Train of Thought
The train station was almost deserted when Ellie Fraser stepped through the turnstiles after paying her fare. All except for an elderly man down the end under the awning. She glanced at her watch and saw her train was not for another hour and was thankful she had thought to pack her e-reader into her bag before she had left. Looking around for a spot that was comfy enough to read, she headed for the nearest seat in the shade but was still far enough to be alone.
By Ashleigh Holmes5 years ago in Humans
Subs, Watches, and Dancing Model X's
I hate not being able to sleep. It’s number four on my Top Five List of Least Favorite Things, right behind stubbing the pinky toe and just before brain freezes. Then again, brain freezes might be number four. But in any case, I need to sleep. With a groan and a sigh, I sit up in my empty bed in my damn near empty studio apartment and glance around the lonesome room. I should be out partying, celebrating my first and only stroke of good luck in almost a decade. Well, maybe that’s a stretch, but it’s been a rough go of it.
By Nicolas Rivera5 years ago in Humans
A New Door
A New Door Mornings at Clifton Beach are alive with birdsong and sounds of the Coral Sea. A kaleidoscope of sunrise reds glitter hopefully on gentle waves with the promise of another day in paradise. Perched in the mottled light of a leafy melaleuca, two kookaburras cackle raucously. It’s a private joke that they don’t share with Ella before winging inland in search of breakfast and something else to laugh at. Sitting on the slatted park bench she glances down at the journal on her lap, that indefatigable witness and keeper of her most private secrets. Every morning she writes a list of what she calls her “gratitudes” for the gifts of the previous twenty-four hours. Not just conceptual, Ella’s expressions of gratitude are a courageous ongoing practice of discipline central to maintaining a balanced mind and spirit. Today, hers is a life of abundance born of the courage to open and walk through a new more healthy door, closing it firmly on a chaotic past. Ella has learned the hard way that if she wants to be the noun, she has to do the verb.
By Lisa Livingston5 years ago in Humans
In Pursuit Of A Stranger
Lilly was happy to sit for a while. It had been a busy day at the bank and she had welcomed closing time. Having an unreliable car had a silver lining, she loved walking through Riverside Park on her way home and would often stop to watch the sunset. Of course, she would have to eventually get her car fixed but summer was on the way and she could make do for a while. Right now she needed her pay for a part time caregiver for her ailing mother and for her night classes. It would be well worth it when she was a certified financial planner.
By Suzanne Burfield-Hancock5 years ago in Humans
A Pinch of Spice
Miss Dorothea “Dottie” Perkins was an eccentric former opera singer who lived tucked up in a three-story Victorian with three lively Russian Blue cats and a French bulldog. At 98, she still sang and gardened and dressed up her porcelain doll collection in miniature French couture. My momma used to say Miss Dottie was jilted when she was young and went a bit mad like Miss Haversham in that Dicken’s book, but we’ll never know the truth, because Dottie’s the last of her line, and most folks who knew her then have gone to their great reward.
By Jade Phoenix5 years ago in Humans
Charity
I am more than only a little black notebook, because she picked me. She glanced over the “Seize the Day” and the “Daily Planner” notebooks – paused momentarily at the “Dream Big” notebook. She must have liked the words “Give More Than You Take” tattooed on me, because her expression softened when she saw me, and she purchased me. She must have intended for me a great purpose, because she chose me to start a journey with some money in my covers and her name on my first page. She must have trusted in me to deliver her dreams, because her smile was dazzling and bright as she handed me to a pair of new hands; a new owner. I learned charity as she waved goodbye and didn’t turn back.
By Joyce Lam5 years ago in Humans
Paint
“Page 1. A Message to the Reader: I am writing this in hopes that this book will land in the hands of a dreamer with goals of never giving up.
By BeetheGoat 5 years ago in Humans
Anonymous
She finds it in the least expected place. Or maybe it’s the most. An innocuous small and hard surface under the wrought iron chair in a hole in the wall café. Her heel hits it as a particle from the caramel syrup in her latte passes unexpectedly through her lips. The sudden texture change startles her, her foot fidgets and instead of space, she meets solid matter. She looks under her seat to discover a brown leather-bound journal with bronze corner caps at the top and bottom of the book flaps. There is a stamped seal on the top left corner, a wolf’s head surrounded by ivy on both sides. It looks expensive and feels heavy, which is odd for a little notebook. She remembers that this table was empty when she came in, it always is at 10 pm on a school night. You would expect this café to be filled with hipsters and alt teenagers with its gothic architecture and mismatching flatware. But it seemed to be noticeable only to those who needed a break. Only to those who valued the calm silence displaced by ripples of quiet sips and the slightest clinking of silverware cutting into savory shepherd’s pie or a sweet muffin dancing through the air. She knows this table as her table, so it surprises her when she finds a little brown book under her chair. She places it on the table next to her black teacup with a golden rim that sat atop an antique-looking rose-designed saucer. The singular hooked clasp sits innocently, unguarded and stationary, waiting. She looks up and around to see if anyone also recognizes the peculiar item, only to realize she is alone except for the 2 baristas who are sitting in the corner, hunched over laptops and whispering about what seems to be statistics homework…ugh.
By Nora Tee5 years ago in Humans
Dear Future Husband
Dear Future Husband, Hey, how ya doing? Did you get lost trying to find me? Because I’m still looking for you. Being played along the way. Men who are actually boys suck so much. I really wish we could be cuddling already, I really miss that intimacy, I’ve had to be the “big spoon” in my relationships so far, I know right…How have your relationships been? Seems we’re all broken somehow but as long as your not an angry person over it then we will be fine. I often wonder if I’ve already found you and we just met at the wrong time, I’ve been through a lot in the last 10 years but feeling much better now. Have you put in the work to heal from what life brings us? No problem I can be your shoulder if you need. I am that for a lot of people even myself most days. I wish I had your shoulder to cry on when my life gets hectic but I also know dealing alone has made me the strong woman you will admire. It can also make me kind of a bitch at times, take it in stride it isn’t your fault, life’s just fucked me a few times. It wouldn’t be life if it was easy right?
By Moon Child 5 years ago in Humans
No Good Deed
Nathan glanced at his battered timex watch with a patinaed leather strap as he waited patiently for the x22 public bus. The watch belonged to his deceased veteran grandfather, he sat proudly remembering him. It reminded him of his strength and resilience, a man of character. He stood to his feet walking to the corner, the sky was overcast ready to downpour at any second. A woman wearing a bright pink suited waiting for the bus as well, she was busy consoling her young child, soothing the uncontrollable cries for sleep.
By Bejoe Varughese5 years ago in Humans
Wish Fulfilled
6’2, athletic build, long black, wavy, elven braided tied back hair and light green eyes, keanu walked into the futuristic style mcdonalds. He saw his estranged uncle with some now old exfriends of his, just leaving a booth near a window table. He noticed his uncle robert leave a expensive little black book on the chair, and he went and picked it up. He meant to return it to his uncle. But when he turned around robert and company were nowhere to be seen, he rushed outside to the parking lot, hoping to catch them, so he could return it, but they were gone. He turned around and proceeded back inside and placed his regular filet o fish meal order and sat down at the same booth his uncle and crew had vacated. He opened the black book, and got the surprise, of his life.
By cynthia sonsalla5 years ago in Humans