literature
Whether written centuries ago or just last year, literary couples show that love is timeless.
AS FATE WOULD HAVE IT
If there was one thing about the pandemic that Jewell appreciated, it was the ability to work from home. Although she loved her job, the commute was horrible and she hated driving in the traffic, but she hated even more the thought of public transportation or worse, taxi cabs. She had tried walking because it was not much more than a mile, but one time pushing through the mob with no way to avoid contact had been enough. She shuddered just recalling it. She was from a small town in southern Iowa, where you might have some traffic weekday mornings, and you will meet very few people walking anywhere. Except for the mall walkers, which is why she’d stopped going there.
By Terri Ruley5 years ago in Humans
A Piece of Home
One thing I’ve learned in my 35 years is that home isn’t always a singular place, not really anyway. My belief is that it’s pieces of us scattered everywhere along our journey. The places and people, the moments frozen in our memories that captured pieces of our hearts, our souls. Those who bring solace by just residing in their presence. My heart ached for that peace more than ever before and fluttered in anticipation as the drive grew closer to a piece of my home. The elation dimmed by the devastation of knowing that while the place would still be an incomparable comfort, the people had passed. It had been a year of chaos and tragedy, ending with the unexpected loss of my grandparents. The small town of Barre, VT, would always hold some of my most cherished memories but never again would they be shared with those I held so dear. A sense of belonging rushed through me as I pulled uphill into the familiar dirt driveway shaded by towering pines; it was all so bittersweet. The tears betrayed my strong facade, streaming uncontrollably down my cheeks. I let them fall and gave into a loud, deep scream, allowing all the built up pain to escape. There was land for miles, wide open fields and dense forests to drown out the volume of my emotions and allow my soul to breathe once again.
By Michelle Harper5 years ago in Humans
How To
You ever impulse buy things? Yeah. I do that a lot. Probably too much. You know how the cycle goes. Bored, scrolling through your phone, and that, well… impulse just hits you. You want to buy something. You don’t need it, but you need it. Of course, then it arrives however long later, and you realise you didn’t actually want it in the first place. What am I going to do with a replica card game set straight out of a video game? Yeah, that kind of a thing.
By Callum Hamilton5 years ago in Humans
In case of loss, please return to:
Sam waits for the park to empty of the last runners and children and dogs sniffing at shadows. Then takes a final look at the note, traces the words with a trembling finger and tucks the book into the elbow of an elm tree. Beyond the pink edges of canopy, the hollow shells of buildings begin to wink Morse code until the city is aglow again. The sound of water and its message stops rushing through his head and Sam wonders if there’s any chance of finding them here. A faint equation of hope carries him home on the subway.
By Tamryn Bennett5 years ago in Humans
Fortunate
It was definitely time for Chinese food. Sesame chicken was calling to me. Actually, it was more likely that my mouth was demanding some MSG. A fortune cookie or three also wouldn’t hurt. Either way, I was headed downtown to The Great Wall. It was my absolute favorite Chinese place.
By Rainey Eddy5 years ago in Humans
Little Black Book
Thick clouds of ashes rose with each sudden movement, flying with the raging winds. Every step fuelled my curiosity and led my eyes across the embers. Single bricks lay scattered along with torn pages and cracked glass. I glanced around, always keeping my head down, with my arms folded across my chest. A turbulent wind threw the embers into the sky, revealing a simple black cover. Carefully, I picked up the black book and brushed off the remaining ash. I peeled open the cover before feasting my eyes on the cream pages. Some had been folded or ripped but many had stains of coloured ink or indents of written words. Immediately, I stumbled across a disturbing question. Did this particular book belong purely to the library that once stood here, or was it hidden for another reason? I paced around the area looking for any remaining clues that could hint to what this book was really for. I gripped the book tightly in my right hand and walked briskly towards home.
By Claire Schomann5 years ago in Humans
The Desk
Though the sky was heavy hung with creamy terracotta clouds like the fleshy belly of a salmon— clouds that promised rain to come— Doll did not give a second thought to the laundry she had left out on the washing line. Something had happened, something so inexplicably wonderful that even now, when she held the slip of paper with her name and that number printed in such wondrous, terrifying proximity that she could scarce believe it, or even allow herself to consider believing it.
By Elizabeth Jean Bowie5 years ago in Humans
The Area of a Circle
“Are you sure you’re going to be OK up here by yourself?” The two men had left Salmon, Idaho, a little after eight that morning. Their fifty-mile drive took them more than two hours. After crossing the river on a one lane bridge west of town they bumped over ever-narrowing gravel roads, crossed a ridge, and dropped into the Panther Creek drainage. For the final eighteen miles the rocky track twisted up hogback ridges and through narrow saddles as tree branches pinstriped the sides of their four-wheel drive pickups and the forest changed from stately yellow-barked Ponderosa to Lodge Pole Pine and Douglas Fir. Turnouts for passing other vehicles were spaced every half mile, but were unneeded. It took them a half hour to shovel their way through a snow drift on a shaded curve a mile above the small clearing where they now stood in front of a sixteen-by-sixteen-foot A-frame cabin.
By David Vaughn5 years ago in Humans
Raincoast Mystery
Even though it was my day off I was still working, and still tired. All of my trips for the day were taken up by Rick, Hannah, Sam, or Terry. But I needed to change the oil and replace a fuel filter. One of the starboard side windows was loose. I had stuffed a rolled up paper coffee cup between it and the frame to prevent it from rattling unpleasantly whenever I hit choppier waves, so obviously that needed to be addressed too. It was always something.
By Evan Brill5 years ago in Humans
