After Howard and Jeremy closed their store for the day, they drove to Love and Locket Jeweler’s, run by Mrs. Johnson. When they entered the shop, they saw her daughter, Wendy, at the counter. “Hello there, can I interest you gentlemen in anniversary gifts?” “We’re actually here to ask you a question,” Howard said. “Jeremy, ...

“Ridiculous! Sawyer wouldn’t steal!” Martha Benson declared. She slammed down a spoonful of mashed potatoes she was serving onto Jeremy’s plate. “We said the same, but this Pickiner guy won’t listen.” Jeremy wiped a glob of potato off his shirt. “Why go through that for a fancy rock? He thinks that wedding rings are an ...

An hour later, all five people were at the police station, talking over one another. “He is a thief!” the thin man exclaimed. “I swear on my life, I’m not!” Sawyer yelled. “Sawyer’s an honest guy; he’d never steal!” Jeremy said. “The evidence says otherwise,” the tall person said. “A gemstone falling out of a ...

I took the well-traversed path, the broad way to destruction. I took his outstretched, shadowed hand. And we became fast friends. Hand in hand we skipped along, my friend and I. Skipping along, singing a song, my friend and I. To what extent will we carry on, my friend and I? I tried to be ...

The gray morning sky clouds hovered over Nantucket. Howard Benson, a local fishmonger, drove down the street to his family’s shop, Howard and Son. Jeremy was already waiting for him. He and his father caught local fish for the store with help from Sawyer, a family friend who owned a boat. On Tuesdays, it was ...

Content warning: This story contains mentions of suicide, self-harm, and trauma. This story is written for an adult audience. Midnight-black shadows cascaded over the bright blue-painted walls of a studio-apartment-sized home. Crickets chirped outside a barely cracked open window that displayed an open, blanketed heavenly sky. The stars themselves twinkled like gems across a desert ...

I pour my heart out on the page.Heartbreak, happiness,Bitterness, rage.This blank screen is now my stage.This is my letter to the world.This is my life unfurled. Take my hand.Walk with me.This journey is now ours to see.All the love, the tears,The laughter, joys, and fears.This life we make so much better,When we walk life’s road ...

Oh, woe to me. I rue the day I ever met you. An innocent, petite angel, I believed you to be. A victim of hate, having little friends, you took my pity and softened my heart. Little did I realize, the ones who deserted you were no villains or enemies. They became warriors reborn and ...

Mummy has no clue that her first cousin, Kishen Arora, has been residing in San Diego for years. Bhaboji’s (mom’s mother) youngest brother is his father. Over time, his older brothers left India to travel across the continents. Kishen and his spouse, Bonnie, travel back to the old country. They have been going back and ...

“Join me at my place for lunch and let’s prepare mouthwatering Indian cuisine.” The suggestion came from Leslie, our Caucasian friend who loves Asian food. There are three of us in total. Both Anila and I come from Indian heritage. The proposal urges me to search through my assortment of clippings, handwritten scraps, and a ...