I watched as the homeless man collided with her. “Spare some change for a cuppa coffee?” Lois looked at the ragged man, then seemed to melt. “Sure. Wait a minute.” She opened her pocketbook, rummaged around, and came up with a five dollar bill, which she gave to the man, smiling. “Ma’am that’s real great of ya… could you maybe stretch it to ten? I haven’t eaten since yesterday.” She paused for a heartbeat, then dug back i...

I’ve walked in darkness my whole life. Each day I wake up and wonder if today is the day I will slip away into the darkness – then resolve, like an alcoholic, that I will hold out for just one more day. Death is my addiction, and I work to hold it off every day. People talk casually about being depressed. Therapists correct that and say rather that it is living with depression. Churchill, who struggled with depression mos...

“I’m sorry, I wish I had better news.” The doctor wears the face all doctors wear when delivering news no patient ever wanted to hear. “Do you have any questions?” I nod, then smile politely, unable to find the right words. How am I supposed to react? What is the proper etiquette after being handed down this sentence? Thank you? Questions? I have to have questions, right? But all the questions I should have at this moment...

As good as I can remember, I was somewhere between four and five years old. Easter was fast approaching. In a matter of weeks, I would be starting school. My dad was at work and my mother took me for a walk in the park. It seems funny how I can remember that day so vividly. My mother was holding my hand as I skipped along to keep up with her. One hand held on to her, whilst my other gripped hold of a bright red balloon sh...

Oh no, he’s about to recount the story of me falling out of a rowing boat. I told my brother that story always embarrassed me, he never listens. For god sake, I was only ten at the time and had never fished off a boat before. Oh well, at least it gave everyone a laugh. I suppose it is funny looking back. Mum looks happy, sitting there in her floral dress. She always loved that dress. I remember buying that out of my first...

It all began with something moving in my bubble tea—something too round to be a bug and too sparkly to be boba: a diamond ring. Glancing around the cafe didn't help me figure out how it had gotten there, nor did poking at it with my straw or looking under my table. For a moment, the world simply went on around me, and after a moment I realized that… this was not a joke. If it had been, the punchline would have come by now...

As I sat on the Greyhound bus I opened the window as it pulled away. I knew what I had to do, what I promised to do. Pulling the letter out of my pocket I stared at the brownish stains. Closing my eyes and once again being transported to the lush greenery of Vietnam. "Sarge I don't feel I will make it out of here," PFC James (Jimbo Lighthing) Smith told me as he handed me a letter addressed to his mother. Taking his lette...

He hadn't planned this. No one ever planned to be homeless. A few more conscious passersby noticed the tragic irony of where he slept. Directly above him was a store window showcasing a fanciful adorned bed, complete with fluffed pillows, fur blankets, and satin sheets. His bed for the night – a bitter-cold, unforgiving pavement. Those who dared soil their perfect lives by glancing his way either thought him asleep or pas...

“Dad, grandma’s floatin’ in the kitchen,” my five-year-old daughter matter-of-factly said as I’d just settled in to watch the game. “Her foot’s caught on the damn ceilin’ fan again. She’s just spinnin’ ‘round and ‘round… “ “Language,” I gently scolded my youngest before motioning with the TV remote for her to hand me my unfiltered smokes, pork rinds, and beer. “Is your brother at her yet with the sling shot?” “Na. He’s lo...

When she was a girl, her world was shaky. Her father had left them and the mother, well, she needed those meds to keep her brain clear. Instead, the mother shoved them down the drain and listened to the gurgle of the disposal. It seemed to match the hush sounds, all those whispers in her ears. When she was a girl, she searched for love the way you’d search for tulips, daisies, or roses in a lush garden, choosing carefully...

Shadows dancing before your eyes Strange sounds in the stillness Expecting to be suprised Heartbeat racing Waiting for the final blow The shock does you in

To everyone in the room, she seems like just a normal girl wearing Vans, blue jeans, and a red hoodie, but to me, she is so much more.  This outwardly unassuming woman is not who she claims to be. She is not the woman everyone sees. They see the version she presents because she is so skilled at it. Years of practice have trained her to blend in; to give the people what they want to see. What would make them comfortable, s...

I’ve managed to get myself in a bit of a routine lately, I never thought I could. Untidiness was just one of my little ways. He said he liked that about me, at first. Of course, people change when you've been with them for a while. Now I’m as tidy as tidy can be, nothing is out of place. I’m still the same old me though, just a lot tidier. Having a bit of a lay-in was always one of my guilty pleasures. But, he gets up ear...

There’s a girl who I frequently see on my street. Each morning for the past week or so, I watch from the living room window of my lower east side home as she passes by. It’s usually at the same time and she is always dressed neatly; a valid assumption that she must be walking to her place of employment. She is strikingly beautiful and often I think I should go down, accidentally bump into her. I could time it so that I am...

To everyone in the room, she seemed like just a normal girl wearing Vans, blue jeans, and a red hoodie. Such a first impression meant a lot to Saffy, because a sense of normality set her in good stead for the admissions interview she'd dreaded for so long. It was all about confidence, and although The College of Further Education was very undemanding, Saffy had absolutely nothing on paper other than court and care orders...