Rite of passage Stories

It’s funny how some memories stay with you during your lifetime—things you did as a kid or a young adult that still shape who you are today. The older I get, the more I look back and think I didn’t appreciate how much simpler life was or how few responsibilities I had. Lately, one memory has been on my mind, prompted by a search through my iTunes library while looking for uplifting music to listen to while I walked the be...

At my mother ’s bed an apparition of a swirling, unending, conduit of time containing the moment each daughter of my ancesters, kissed their dying mothers, in succession enveloped me and feeling embraced by these ancient sisters I received the courage to kiss my mother and say goodbye.

The Gift Melanie, a further education teacher crossed the road, from the college bracing herself against the rain and wind. She needed to return her sister's call in privacy. Shivering, she stepped into the phone box and dialled her Teresa's number. “You’d better go down to the hospital soon, they said mummy has only got a couple of days to live now!” Teresa told her.  “I’ll go to the hospital tomorrow. I’ve got a class t...