Image Source: Unsplash- Michael Steinman It was two nights before Thanksgiving, and Maya and her brother, twin Charlie, were driving to their grandparents’ house to spend Thanksgiving with them. However, what they weren’t expecting was for it to start snowing when they had almost an hour left in their drive. The snow was getting heavier,…

Image Credit: Unsplash- Obie Fernandez Mia’s twenty-first birthday was coming up, and all she wanted was a quiet karaoke night at home with her closest friends. Her best friends—Lillian, Blaire, Norah—and her boyfriend, Teddy, loved the idea and were excited to celebrate with her. She planned to order pizza from her favorite spot, Sal’s Pizza,…

Image Credit: Pexels- Leloo The First One afternoon, Gracie’s dark brown eyes lit up with excitement as her owner, Ethel, came home from work. Gracie walked over to Ethel, and she started whining for more food because she was hungry. Ethel kicked off her brown penny loafers and said, “Hold on a minute, Gracie. I…

Image Credit: Unsplash: Donald Martinez She opened the door, and the room was empty—yet somehow familiar. The walls hummed softly, carrying the scent of rain and old books. Shadows stretched long across the floor, moving like restless memories. Her footsteps echoed in the stillness as she stepped inside, heart pounding with both dread and hope.…

Image Credit: Unsplash- Wolfgang Hasselman In the dead of night, Stella moved in with her boyfriend and her two children – a six-year-old daughter and a four-year-old son. As an unemployed mother of two, she was expected to do most of the household chores and prepare her children for school. The eldest child was in…

Image Credit: Pexels- Andrea Piacquadio This story is dedicated to my fiancé, Ian Peters. Thank you, Ian, for everything that you do for me and for loving me in so many ways. One cool autumn morning in early September, Audrey was sitting in her living room drinking her morning tea and reading the job section in…

Image Credit: Pexels- Asad Photo Maldives That didn’t take long, I mused. Roseann was bound to be the one to go down first. Shelly had brought her a glass of water, and Juan was telling her what to do from the door. Heaven forbid he step into the room and lend a hand. “Juan, why…

Image Credit: Freepik- stockking Despite the Zwane family’s dire circumstances, the household head seemed oblivious to his family’s struggles. While his wife worked tirelessly to provide for their five children, he spent most of his time at the local shebeen, leaving her to bear the burden alone. Like her husband, the mother was unemployed. She…

Image Credit: Unsplash- Jan Dreams can sometimes take you back in time. Memories make you live through the past; they’re really a time machine. I sometimes wonder if I could ever go back in time, where would I really go? 8th grade? Or maybe Kindergarten? Perhaps before school was even a thing. Maybe I’d go…

Image Credit: Pixabay This story is dedicated to my father, Brandon Perry, because the cat stories I write are his favorites. Every morning, I sit on the beach and smell salty ocean air through my tiny pink nose. I can feel the sand between my four little paws, and some of it gets caught in…