Latest Stories

Most recently published stories on Vocal.

17 months
Today is that day I mark 17 months without you. I have learned a lot in these 17 months without you. I learned to stand and speak my mind to people who I need to deal with.
By Terri Rosall17 days ago in Families
Why the Right Bag Matters More Than You Think. AI-Generated.
Bags are more than just containers for your belongings. The right bag can shape how you move, how prepared you feel, and how smoothly your day unfolds—especially when you’re on the go. Whether you’re commuting to work, heading out on a weekend trip, or navigating an airport terminal, choosing the right bag can make a noticeable difference in comfort, organization, and efficiency.
By Kyn Dane17 days ago in Wander
The Quiet Power of a Homily
The church bell rang with a sound that seemed older than the town itself—deep, steady, and patient. It echoed through narrow streets, over small houses with worn roofs, and into the hearts of people who had learned to measure their weeks by its call. On this Sunday morning, the bell did not know that something unusual was about to happen. It rang as it always had, faithful and unchanged.
By Farhad17 days ago in Humans
The Previous Second
The previous second does not announce itself. It does not knock, does not clear its throat, does not ask to be remembered.
By Farhad17 days ago in Motivation
The Locksmith’s Revenge
The Locksmith’s Revenge He worked in silence, keys spread like knives across the table. Each lock he touched remembered his touch, betrayed its weakness.
By Marie381Uk 17 days ago in Poets
A Mirror in the Mist
Renee Good reminds me of myself for a few reasons: a mother, a poet, and an activist with a hope that her words and witnessing could make a difference and shape awareness and intellectuality as she approached human-drenched topics like love, loss, life, and death, and the cycling through each of them. There is a specific kind of burden carried by those who feel the vibration of the world’s pain through the ink of their pens.
By Sai Marie Johnson17 days ago in Humans
Vampires
My skull, a volcano My hair, lava because it flowed down my back ACDC logo humped my black t shirt
By DJ Robbins17 days ago in Poets
The Memory of Ice
Ice was born without noise, without applause, without the drama of flame. It arrived as a pause in motion, a held breath of water
By Farhad17 days ago in Poets
The Listening Room
I made a room inside my day where nobody gets to interrupt me. No phone buzzing like a bee, no “be positive,” No rushing to fix the feeling
By Milan Milic17 days ago in Poets
The Star That Remembers Us
Before the night learned how to speak in darkness, before silence discovered the courage to glow, there was a star— not loud, not commanding,
By Farhad17 days ago in Humor
NOTICE OF CONTINUED OPERATION: SPIRITUAL MAINTENANCE PROTOCOL. AI-Generated.
Issued without fanfare. Effective upon receipt. All persons are advised that endurance is still required. Faith has not been discontinued, though it may feel
By Jessica Higginbotham17 days ago in Fiction
Drawing Back the Lines of Life
The first time Elias heard the phrase drawing back, it was not spoken aloud. It appeared instead in the slow movement of his own hands, hovering above a blank sheet of paper, uncertain whether to move forward or retreat. He was a draftsman by trade, a quiet observer by nature, and for most of his life he believed that progress meant only one thing: pushing ahead, adding lines, filling spaces, refusing to erase. Drawing back felt like failure. Like fear.
By Farhad17 days ago in Fiction