humanity
For better or for worse, relationships reveal the core of the human condition.
I'm Doing You a Favor
When I walked into my boss's office, I was ready to talk. I had to push to even get this meeting, a meeting which they had promised I would have when I first signed my provisional contract some five months before. The promise was adamant: "After your trial run, we'll have a meeting to discuss whether we'll keep you on and pay you the amount we initially offered, or whether we don't think you'll fit here."
By Arcane Static5 years ago in Humans
The Boy Who Loved Me
No, it’s not about a guy I was in a relationship with. No, we didn’t have it complicated. No, I was not in a relationship with someone else while he pined for me. It was nothing. He was a nobody to me. I didn’t mean anything to him. I think I knew him. He knew of me. We were strangers who would share a passing glance occasionally but mostly avoid each other.
By Monisha Sen5 years ago in Humans
One Step at a Time
With a warning glare from the curator, I allowed the last tour group for the morning to walk around the chapel unattended. I disappeared between the out-of-towners snapping pictures of the chapel to upload to their Facebook accounts and the students from the nearby community college (in a former house of worship, I prayed some of the cute guys were at least eighteen—I had just turned twenty-four) at least feigning interest for participation points. I had honestly tried to hang in there with that job, but the combination of my curator’s obsession with making his tour guides follow a strict scripted speech and people’s inability to appreciate a Gothic church in the middle of the desert, I kept applications to museums in Albuquerque in my locker. I soaked the image of Our Lady of Light chapel and its Miracle Staircase even deeper into my skin; the only miracle I would have believed in then would be a reason to stay.
By L.K. Thornback5 years ago in Humans
Be the Change
I guess you'd say I'm like so many others who are living paycheck to paycheck, working day in, day out trying to make ends meet. No savings, no "buffer" account in case of emergencies, no insurance, no sick pay, nothing. Always living just on the edge, hoping that whatever income that comes in will cover the bills, with the constant stress of knowing that if I don't work for a few weeks, we may begin a downward spiral that will take a long time to dig out of. Or worse, lose it all.
By Heidi Bacon5 years ago in Humans
Gift from a stranger
Care. Generosity. Selflessness. These all seem so hard to find or see as each day passes me by. I've always been so optimistic growing up. My teachers would wish me that I always keep it, and I never really understood why.... I realized, as I grew into a women, how greedy and selfish a lot of the world is. Even the the charitable people felt the need to be publicized or it wasn't worth it.
By Kyla Lister5 years ago in Humans
Meet And Greet
Hello everyone. My name is Brandon Talbot. Welcome to my "blog" on Vocal! I've been writing on Medium for a little while but have focused my efforts more on Vocal lately. This seems like a better place to interact with people who are passionate about writing and get more views on my posts. Writing doesn't do a lot for anyone unless people read it.
By Brandon Talbot5 years ago in Humans
How To Stay
“It’s yours...but for a specific purpose.” The words hang above a stack of $20,000. My boss, who is the unfortunate recipient of a terminal diagnosis, has decided with his infinite fortune, to grant the workers of his enormous corporation a bonus. Dolled out in numerous ways, in numerous amounts, and to everyone of every level.
By VillainousTitan5 years ago in Humans
The Apple House
Mary wondered what the heck she had been thinking. Maybe it wasn't thinking, but rather feeling that convinced her to buy this particular house. The minute she saw it she fell in love with it. The outside was your typical ranch style house in a quiet suburban neighborhood. Nothing about it seemed special, but it called her name as loudly as if it could speak. She went with her gut and purchased it without even going inside. The price was right, a mere 89, 000.00 in a neighborhood where most of the houses sold for well over 200,000.00.
By Mariellen O'Dowd Lashoones5 years ago in Humans
Flower Within a Glass Case
A small town looks like a shining community which never loses its luster. For generations it keeps the same quality year-in and year-out. Every year you visited as a child the town seemed unchanged, perfectly preserved like a flower within a glass case. You never notice any new faces; even the visitors that book into the caravan park alongside your family when you were young are consistent. You each believe you have struck gold in discovering the idyllic holiday town with a grass always the same shade of bright green and the lake always full and rippling with the blue of a perfect day.
By Eloise Robertson 5 years ago in Humans
The Sunflower Field and the Little Black Book
Her luck had not been the greatest as of late! Ramona had rcently lost her job, laid off in a middle of a pandemic! Her boyfriend of five years decided that he didn't want to be in relationship anymore and to make matters worst, he pulled a fast one on her and made off with most of her money, leaving her trying to figure out how she would make ends meet! It had been about a month since her misfortunes began and she was at her wits ends at this point! It was hard for her to find a job in her profession being that she was in the hospitality industry and most things dealing with it were completely shutdown! Waking up one morning, she decides that she is going to be positive that day, she get up makes some breakfast, listens to some of favorite music, smiling and laughing like she didn't have a care in the world. Being that she had not been outside in weeks she decided to go outside and get some fresh air for the day! Romona lived right outside of town, she had a wrap around porch, with a swing on it and a large back yard where she would normally plant an array of different flowers according to the season! It was the time of year where she would normally plant suflowers behind her home , where they would usually grow as high as her, she would stand next to them and smell them coming face to face with her radiant sunflowers! She stood in the middle of the bare garden in her backyard, wearing a long black and yellow long flowing sundress, she ponders what to do next! She walks back onto her porch and sits on her porch swing, swinging back and forth allowing the cool summer breeze to flow through her hair! Enjoying the sounds of nature it relaxes her and she decides to grab her keys and head into town, locking up behind her she heads to her truck, but being that it was such a beautiful day she decides to take a quick hike into town! Along her walk she is encountered by a strange old lady! She looks at Ramona and compliments her on her beauty, she tells her that although she has had misfortune, she can see a glow from her and that her luck would soon change! She tells her to go in town and get some sunflower seeds, plant them in her back yard make them grow and by time there was harvest of these sunflowers that everything would change! Romona laughed, smiled at the old lady, entertaining the conversation but not believing a word she said, she thanked her and is on her way! No matter how much she tried to push what the lady said about planting the sunflowers, thinking to herself, what the hell, she goes into her local seed store and buys all the sunflower seeds that she could buy! She takes in the cool breeze of the day as she walks back home and as she approaches her home, she looks up and sees the same little lady from before swinging on her porch swing, with her head down holding a little black book! Trying to figure out what this lady was doing sitting on her porch, she clears her throat, alarming the little lady, she looks up at Ramona and says to her, " I look forward to seeing your sunflower field every year and I am really looking forward to seeing your harvest this year, but instead of growing them how you usually grow them, take this black book and follow the instructions to the letter! Not only will you grow the most beautiful and taller than you have ever seen before, your harvest will be tied to them as well! Ramona hesitantly takes little black book from the lady's hands, and as the book transfers from the little old lady's hand to Ramona's , she feels a source of power radiating from the book as the sun shines directly onto the porch, specifically shining directly onto Ramona, she feels a sense of peace flow through her body! The little old lady hops down off of the swing looks at Ramona and says, "Now take this book and remember follow it to the letter, the sunflower has always been your source of peace and now it will lead you back to it! Be well my child!" Puzzled, Ramona begins to thumb through the little black book, carefully reading the instructions, word for word thinking that she has never planted them like this before, she turns around to ask the lady a question, but when she turns around, the lady was no where in sight! She thinks this is wierd, where could she have gone so quickly? She looks around for her one more time, shakes it off and heads to the backyard, pulls out the seeds and begins to plant them just like the book was instructing her to do...........the take 20 steps and begin to plant the first row of sunflowers, 5 seeds per row 4 feet apart from each other, that go four rows back! That will give you 20 sunflowers, when they are in full bloom, read the final page of this book and not a moment earlier! Thinking this is a bit odd, she does as the book instructed her, She takes her steps, then measures the feet apart to plant the sunflowers, once she plants the last seed, she looks over the instructions once again to make sure that she completed all the instructions! Seeing that she had done as she was instructed she gets to the last line that reads, do not read the last page until all of the sunflowers has bloomed! She goes to flip through the book seeing all blank pages and when she gets a few pages away from the last page, thunder rolls and lightning strikes in the distance, she quickly slams the book shut before reading the last page and runs inside , making it to the porch just before it begins to pour down rain! She rushes into the house, she rushes to her bedroom, tucks the little black book away so she would not be tempted to read the last page! Sweaty and dirty from gardening in the backyard, she strips off her sundress, jumping in the shower enjoying the water hitting her body, thinking about the happenings of the day, she steps out dries off and lays in her bed, exhausted and listening to the rain softly crashing up against the house she drifts off into a deep sleep not waking up until the next morning when the sun rises, shining brightly through her bedroom window! Waking up from a very deep sleep, Romona stretches, hops out of bed, slips on another sundress, goes outside enjoying her porch swing before heading out back to tend to her sunflower field, watering it just as she was instructed by the book, repeating this routine every morning, noticing that the sunflowers were moving along at a much more rapid pace than she had ever experienced before, she smiles and continues to water as instructed! She notices that her luck is changing and actually gets a job offer ten days in of doing this routine, and an offer in her field that actually allowed her to work from home, making a little more than she was making before! Adding working into the mix but still following her routine, and noticing her harvest rapidly progressing, her outlook on life continues to improve! On the 15th day of doing this she walks onto her porch, swinging back and forth on her Porch swing, she looks out to the road where she sees a man standing at the road in front of her house! He walks up towards her and says," I am sorry to startle you but I saw you as I was walking into town I had never seen you before, I just had to meet you! She blushes and talks to him for a few minutes, before excusing herself to tend to her sunflowers in the back! Intrigued, he asks if he could see them, which she allows! In awe of the site, he complements her on the sight before his eyes, and he then ask her out , which she hesistantly accepted but did so as she felt an instant nudge to say yes, and feels a strong connection to him!
By More Than Words5 years ago in Humans
