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Latest Stories

December 05, 2023
General Stories Michael Barlett

The Bringer Of Death

Tanganyika, 1922 The Maasai people call it The Serengeti, which means the endless plain. It looks much the same now as it did 50,000 years ago when our ancestors left the Rift Valley to populate the rest of the world. The Serengeti is still home to herds of…
December 05, 2023
Poetry Paweł Markiewicz

Dazzling Pyramid

Daphnaie becoming she-conjurer Thou – ethereal enlightenment You are a sunflower The elixir is tender poetry And You are longing for wisdom I wish, she had hope for destiny Rumination Epimelides bewitching she-seer Thou – bucolic romanticism You are a violet…
December 05, 2023
Science Fiction Stories Kiara C. McClary

Starforged Anthology : Reverly Of Flames Writing as "Moon Pie"

Kiara C.McClary 1 In the depths of the magmell sinkhole, time and climate seemed to flow & function differently than it did topside. While the top dwellers suffered through endless winters, Aceobal woke up every morning to the warm glow of the subterranean…
December 05, 2023
Fantasy Stories David Henson

Missing Hand

“Dorothy, your hand!” Josh Wyman says when his wife of 42 years enters the kitchen. He jumps up from his chair and bumps the table. “Josh, your coffee.” Dorothy blots the spill with a napkin. Her silver hair grazes her shoulders. A bit of a modern day hippie,…
December 02, 2023
General Stories Michael Barlett

The Sanctuary

CHAPTER ONE The Deputy Sheriff instructed her to stay in her own vehicle while he cautiously approached and knocked on the door. The old farmhouse was practically derelict with a sagging front porch, peeling paint and shutters askew. There was an ancient…
December 02, 2023
Flash Fiction Ben Davies

A Different Time

It was a different time, as the last embers of a shoddily rolled joint reached your fingers, passed to you by your favourite English teacher. A small bottle of Bacardi Breezer in your left hand as you pretended to indulge in both, when the reality was you…
December 02, 2023
Science Fiction Stories Nelly Shulman

The Awakening

Red Martian soil stained Mark’s fingers and he smiled. A terracotta pot, hosting his only companion, a prickly aloe, took water. His rough palms embraced the cold surface and he stood there for a while, drinking the silence of the Second Post. The concrete…
December 02, 2023
General Stories Michael Barlett

Final Destination

The Drake Passage The Drake Passage is a one-thousand kilometer bottleneck that lies between Cape Horn at the tip of South America and the frozen expanse of Antarctica. Notorious for its violent seas, it is a place where the cold water from the southern ocean…
December 02, 2023
Mystery Stories Michael Glennon

Janey’s Got A Club

“Is someone there?” Dick called as he lay stretched on the sofa watching soft porn on cable, a can of beer within easy reach on the coffee table. Dick was taking the afternoon off in the townhouse of a friend who lived not far from Dick’s office. His friend,…
November 27, 2023
Crime Stories William Kitcher

Encounter At The Albatross Club

I was sitting at the bar of the Albatross Club, chewing the fat with my friend, Danny the bartender, a 30-year-old with red hair like a fireball and a face that looked like it had fallen off the back of a radish truck, about current politics, when a punk I…
November 27, 2023
Romance Stories Gwyneth

Dream

Jennie has been having recurring dreams for years in which a man provides care for her, buys her favorite coffee, gives her affection, but the man's face is kind of hazy. She believed to herself that the man in her dreams is the one meant to be with her, like…
November 27, 2023
Science Fiction Stories MacLeod

M-I-C,K-AI

“I don’t know what all the hullabaloo is,” said Gene wearily as he sucked absently on his pencil. “They really can’t think on their own. They just synthesize data faster than we can. All they do is compile and mimic things we’ve already done, we humans I…

“So…I’m not really sure what to do here? I’ve never had a professional talk with you.”

“Why don’t you start with your name?”

“Uh, Kathryn…”

“Your full name.”

“Kathryn Marie Edslar.”

“And why are you here, Kathryn?”

“Because…I’m scared.”

“What are you scared of?”

“Life.”

“What about life scares you?”

“Everything…college…bills…being a real adult. Everything.”

“Okay. Let’s start with college. What are you majoring in?”

“Vet Science.”

“You want to be a Veterinarian?”

“Yeah.”

“Is there anything else you want to do?”

“Play basketball.”

“What position do you play?”

“I’m a two. The university’s coach said I’m good enough to make the team, but I gotta try out.”

“It sounds to me like you’ve got a good foot in already. Why are you scared?”

“I don’t know. I’m just scared. I want to go to college, it’s not that. I just…I’m scared that I’m going to fail. Everyone in the family has at least a Bachelor’s. I don’t want to be the first to flunk.”

“Anything else?”

“…I’m scared I won’t make the basketball team. I’m scared of having a psycho roommate…classes…moving away from home.”

“Are any of your friends going to the same school?”

“Just my boyfriend’s, but I watch a lot of T.V. I’m scared he’s going to find someone prettier than me and cheat on me, or something. I’m scared that nobody’s going to like me.”

“Keep going.”

“I’m scared something bad’s going to happen while I’m at school. And even if I make it through college, I know the economy sucks right now. What if I can’t find a job? I don’t know how to buy a house. What if I don’t have enough money for bills? What if something happens to my car? What is something happens to me!?”

She began to get emotional and stopped. Tears streamed down her face as she covered her mouth with her hand. I offered her a tissue from the box on the coffee table between us.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Take your time.”

“I’m fine.” She blew her nose. “I’m just scared.”

I nodded. “Scared of life.”

She sniffled. “Yeah.”

I sat back in the chair. “Do you want my personal opinion or my professional diagnosis?”

“I don’t know. Professional.”

I shook my head slightly. “You’re not crazy. You’re a high school senior. Would you like my personal opinion?”

She nodded, obviously relieved that she was not a mental case. “Yeah.”

“I think it’s good to feel these feelings. It means that you care about your life. I think that if you use these feelings to drive you, to make sure you do your very best on the court and in the classroom, you will be a better student and athlete. As far as your boyfriend goes, things will work themselves out, for better or worse. Who knows, you might even get married.”

“I hope so. I love him.”

“I know. Life after college is not something you need to worry about right now. Just take things one step at a time. You’ve already been accepted, just worry about getting there, getting to class on time, and trying out for the team. I’ve got a feeling that once you get there, you’ll learn that it’s not as terrible as you thought. They say it’s the best years of your life.”

That brought a smile to Kathryn’s face. “Okay.”

“Do you feel better?”

“Yes.”

Together, we rose from the comfortable couches in the middle of my office. She collected her flower backpack from the ground next to her seat and walked toward the closed door at the end of the hallway behind her chair. Before she reached the door, she turned and smiled at me.

“Thanks Mom.”

I smiled and winked. She opened the door, disappearing into the busy hallway of students walking to their next class. I sighed as I sat behind my desk, swelling with pride at the possibly life-changing mother-daughter heart-to-heart conversation. Being a high school counselor had its perks.

 

Author Bio: J. K. Miller II was born in Mountain View, CA and began writing at age ten. His debut novel, Reborn, is scheduled to be released March 1, 2012.

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