humanity
For better or for worse, relationships reveal the core of the human condition.
To Be Kind
I stared at the popcorn ceiling until face shapes formed. Unfamiliar scented sheets covered my body and offered nothing to soothe me. No matter how many times I replayed the last few months in my mind, I still couldn’t believe I was here. I rolled to my side. Street lights filtered in through the blinds, casting beams on the walls. Sighing, I sat up. My hand reached for the lamp beside me and on the third try I finally found the knob. My heart sank like iron as I studied the words in the black notebook before me.
By Marilyn Evelyn Evans5 years ago in Humans
Down and Out
I can hear the slur in my voice as I try, unconvincingly, to tell her that I’m sober enough to function and I haven’t let her down. Her eyes are welling up with anger, not disappointment or upset, yet she steps aside and lets me into our flat. I say our flat, as if I’ve contributed in some way, but that would be generous to say.
By V A Harker5 years ago in Humans
Defining What's Lucky
I hopped off the crosstown bus into a torrential downpour. Commuting home from work in these conditions always makes me wet and miserable. Of course, I left my umbrella at home so I had no one to blame but myself. I scurried down the sidewalk, dodging puddles. As I rounded the corner onto Broadway, I saw something on the sidewalk. It was a little black notebook lying there, forlorn and lost. “Somebody must have dropped it,” I thought to myself. I reached down and scooped it up. It wasn’t soaked, so it couldn’t have been there long. Without much thought, I dropped into my satchel. I just wanted to get home and out of these wet clothes.
By Brenda Ransome Fonseca5 years ago in Humans
Found
Normally he would have ignored her. He wasn’t mean, just very shy. But nothing about life was normal any more, not since covid. Besides, he couldn’t get to the front door without passing her, and even behind the mask he could tell that she was upset, really upset. She was slumped on the front steps of the building, staring into space yet somehow completely present. It was her eyes that caught his attention: they were deep, intense, as if witnessing a thousand internal images at once. Keeping a social distance, he asked her gently, “Are you alright?”
By Kate Lawson Gould5 years ago in Humans
Quar (What is it Good For?)
Today I did nothing. It was a good day. Before all this nothing, I used to love donating blood. Not just because my insides were exposed and headed off to unknown parts. Not only because some part of me would become part of someone else, either. The sweetest detail was that I could be at most 100 feet away from children with leukemia or another annihilating disease I’ve never seriously considered. I’d be that close to a child who has only ever lived my nightmare and get called a hero for sitting still for twenty minutes. Then, juice and snacks. Then I make another appointment to be so close to death remaining completely self-involved.
By Rachel Crowe5 years ago in Humans
Lockdown and the introvert.
LOCKDOWN AND THE INTROVERT As a self-confessed introvert, I love being alone. I love my own company and I love having no expectations of having to interact with other humans on a daily basis. It sounds a little anti-social, I agree but I can live with that.
By Kate McGovern5 years ago in Humans
The Lucky Stranger
“Mr. William, is everything okay? I noticed you’ve been strangely quiet today. Can I get you anything, Sir?” My back was facing Rose when she entered my office. I was sitting in my favorite chair staring out the window. It was a gloomy day indeed. The rain poured, distorting my view of the garden as if I were gazing at a watercolor painting.
By Rachel Elizabeth 5 years ago in Humans
Beginnings
“You’re the inspiration” by Chicago, came through softly on the Mercury Mariner stereo. The 39 year old man smiled to himself; his deep blue eyes crinkled. This is song brought back good memories of his middle school days before life got crazy. He pushed a wayward light brown curl out of his eye and focused on the road to his new destination. He knew he needed a haircut badly to tame his mess of curls, but he hadn’t had time to go to a stylist or even find one in his new area.
By Julie Achterman5 years ago in Humans
Little Lion Sleeps
When I was young the world was a vast magical plain filled with tall golden grasses and speckled with trees that held stardust in their branches. The universal expanse called out to me on warm summer evenings singing songs I would never understand. In moments of awe I would imagine myself drifting from galaxy to star cluster swirling with all the gases of the cosmos and they would cradle me in their endless dance.
By Fuzzy Slippers5 years ago in Humans
