humanity

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

Little black book and a key
Walking alone on the beach, wondering if my life could possibly get any worse I see something washed up. It looks like an old shirt and as I only have the one on my back I pick it up. “My day just got a little better “ I thought to myself, as I shake it out to see what I got I noticed a plastic bag in the pocket. I pulled out the bag and inside is a little black book, surprisingly it wasn’t damaged. As I open the book I see that it’s a journal, and listed are dates and a line beside the date, things like “March 3rd, She smiled at me today” and “April 10th, our first kiss “ and I thought “that’s sweet”. As I was about to throw the little black book away I discovered a key that was taped to the last page. I thought that maybe it was a key to a house or something so I slipped book and key into my pocket.
By Brian Reed5 years ago in Humans
Empty houses
Empty houses and empty bodies: I suppose the rest of the observation is obvious enough. But the familiarity of the comparison doesn’t douse the poignancy of the moment when you look at a house you thought had life in it and realize that the person who made it something more than just a building is gone.
By Benjamin Kibbey5 years ago in Humans
On Serendipity: The Magic Of Bougainvilleas
I don’t know if it’s the season - but I see Bougainville everywhere. I stare and stare, but their magic doesn’t fade away. I linger to move away to “work,” but my mind is with the bougainvilleas, always.
By Rochi Zalani5 years ago in Humans
Open: Time
To start things off and my friends can attest to this, I HATE the saying, “Time is Money”. Not only is it the go to cliché for capitalism, regardless of your feelings on our system of commerce (and governance, really), it really hasn’t worked out very well for the lion’s share of us, but I’m not here to complain ab out being poor, what I really want to talk about is Time. Not only do I not care for that saying because it undermines a lot of my personal beliefs, but rather I feel it is logically incorrect. Now I say this is an opinion and to be taken as such, but really the “math” works out. Follow me on this.
By Quinten Larsen5 years ago in Humans
An Army of Horseman
It was obvious to Napoleon that this day was to be like any other day, as he woke up with a feeling deep in his gut that he was alone—his mangled body curled into a capital C around a silk body pillow—and this feeling, without question, had the potential to follow him all day, reducing every interaction with another to a solipsistic reflection of his own aloneness. Luckily, coffee. By the time he got his cup of black coffee, he’d usually managed to dull this feeling into submission so he could go to his office and say hi to Claire at the front desk with a half-smile and sit at his workstation with an ergonomic office chair, pretending to be lost in a flurry of deep thinking when all he really did was work for ninety minutes a given day and fill the rest of the time with his favorite internet subculture: otherkin. This subset of people believed they were not human but in fact ethereal beings—usually vampires or ghosts.
By Keegan Swenson5 years ago in Humans
The book of wishes
Someone says," be careful what you wish for" However, how about the good wishes? Nothing is impossible isn’t it, so the wishes can go as high as they can be. I have many wishes in my life so far, most of them came true. Well, I have a secret about it. I have a little black notebook that my grandma gave me a few years ago before she passed away. She told me if we have wishes we need to write them down. We need to have faith in it, and it will come true. As simple as that she said. Really? Well, here is the story.
By Novita5 years ago in Humans
Goddess of Beauty
It had taken her two hours to pick out a blouse. Linen, almost weightless as it fell over her shoulders. A rich navy to contrast the stark white of her capris; a swatch of skin revealed with each slip of her neckline. She stared into the mirror, ebony would go well with the ensemble, as would a deep tan. Of course, she couldn’t control the color of her flesh. Most of the time it was too much of a chore to even contemplate what pigment painted her complexion.
By M Martin5 years ago in Humans
The Life You Save
“Uh, no one under eighteen allowed in the hot tub,” Charlie says. “She’s eighteen,” a balding man jokes, gesturing to his daughter. She’s wearing a bathing suit with a silver, purple-maned unicorn on it.
By Janie McQueen5 years ago in Humans
Reasonable Request
She bought the little notebook because it already had writing on the first page. She opened the black cover to reveal the words, ‘buy this book’ written hastily on the first page. It made her laugh. She had a Roomba named Marco and an intense attachment to her maroon car named Stephanie, so of course she couldn’t say no to an inanimate object commanding her to buy it. However, like so many impulse purchases before it, it sat on top of her bookshelf. She didn't really think much of it.
By Kiley Pawneshing5 years ago in Humans
Opportunity is a Gift
“Make up your mind already.” I was jarred back to reality by the Barista at my favorite coffee and donut shop. I had zoned out again.
By Leah Harris5 years ago in Humans
Winter Storm
“Whoa, careful!” Karen admonished herself as she slipped on the ice-covered snow outside her house. Central Texas didn’t often have winter storm warnings but a fierce storm had taken everyone by surprise. A quarter-inch of ice had settled on the ground early yesterday followed by five inches of snow this morning. Now light sleet and a dusting of snow were falling, creating another layer of ice on top of the snow. She had spent the night shivering under three layers of blankets when the power had cut off. She woke to find her pipes would yield only a trickle of water.
By TG Gilliam5 years ago in Humans
The Secret of My Black Book
Since the beginning of time, many people have heard the saying the Little Black Book. Of course, this could be anything ranging from phone numbers, business acquaintances, even important dates.
By Travis Rogers5 years ago in Humans