A Short Friendly Conversation

School is a place where children learn different social…

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…a few miles from the barn that was on the border there was a school yard used as a healthy exercise classroom where the students could learn basic social skills while playing. This was the time when young Paulie would interact with the villagers despite having the responsibility of being the closest real…

By Marc OBrien

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Lost Lunches

Eustacia's boss makes her job intolerable. When she quits, she finds out who her friends are.

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…a physical blow, Andrew Amundsen's harsh words pummeled Eustacia Fleming and made her feel sick. She had been the office manager at Amundsen Insurance for ten years. Loyal, trustworthy, friendly, competent: those were words that Andrew had used to describe Eustacia on her last…

By Anita G. Gorman

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Stuff My Grandpa Told Me

Stories my grandfather told me

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…use the word friend often. The reason for this practice is due to my grandfather's tutelage and instruction in his many lessons of life. I was almost twelve years old fishing with my grandpa at Castle Rock Lake in Wisconsin. Actually I was the one doing the fishing, he threw in a line and left it…

By Judge Burdon

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Thicker Than Water

…had been waiting outside the gate for a long, unsettling time. I had a lot of thinking to do out there in the oppressive, midmorning sun. I looked to the left and the right. I saw nothing but the large guard tower. There was a strange sound overhead in the powerlines, the sound of static electricity. There was a fly, one pesky little bugger, who kept buzzing around my face. "Shoo," I said, trying to scare it away. But the former…

By Jack Bristow

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Motherless Daughter

Hi - this piece was inspired by the death of my mum when I was 14

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…pricking behind her eyes. Her mind foggy with the pain of what was happening. She felt unsure of her footing as she left the hospital room and walked. She didn’t know where. She just knew she needed to leave. Leave the sights. The sounds. The smells. Somehow leave the sorrow of what she was witnessing behind…

By Zoë Ricard

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Cincinnatus

A boy named Cincinnatus learns Roman history and decides to model his life after the ancient hero.

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…Cincinnatus was born, his father made a pronouncement.

"Adelaide," he said to his wife, "I'd like to name our son Cincinnatus."

"But we don't live in Cincinnati. And if we did, wouldn't it be…

By Anita G. Gorman

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Southern Sweet Mint Tea

Sometimes we associate different kinds of things with love.

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…Elsa filled the small pan with water at the sink, she looked out the kitchen window, and her mind wandered back to her childhood. (How many times had she done this same routine early in the morning of a hot summer day?) When she had filled the pan with just the right amount of…

By Nancy Lou Henderson

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Saintly Intervention

…ago, in a village, there lived two friends. One was Aarvi, 10 years old and Arnav, 15 years old. They used to do everything together. They were inseparable. They play, read, eat, gossip together. Arnav used to play flute which was euphoric to Aarvi. Every afternoon Arnav used to play flute and Aarvi used to listen silently. While listening to the sound of the flute, Aarvi used to get mesmerised in blissful…

By Monalisa Parida

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