It was a busy day, with many things happening all at once. A concert for my older sisters, both in the school’s concert band. The release of a new movie- no one remembers which. My father had just been promoted to a supervisor role. I was also there, somewhere, running up a concrete jungle. Dragging…
Category: Non-fiction
Erosion by Melissa J. Troutman
Erosion: An Exploration of Loss, Grief, and Hope in Chronic Illness Inspired by the Aftermath of Hurricane Ida at the Bernadette Morales Nature Preserve in Flemington, NJ I see it even before I reach the bridge, as I round the first bend to the sweeping curve of the stream. I hear it even before…
Adventure by Josephine Yockim
The morning was still new. Gwyn and I were both still damp from showers taken before meeting up at my house. We both lived down the street from one another, so it became our summer routine to go to each other’s house after practice. First, we would usually get up around 6 am or some…
Mujer! by Tracy Thatcher
When my mother’s father, Grandpa Vigil, passed away, my grandma moved in with our family and lived with us for many years. As I consider that time now, it was simply something our family did. There was no question where grandma would go next; she would come to live with us. At the time, I…
Toe Tag by Mariah Crawford
Death used to call me on the phone. Under the fluorescent lighting of the insurance call center, my phone would ring with the news of whom Death had recently claimed. Death has always been a shapeshifter so the voice on the other end of the phone was constantly changing. Sometimes it was the grieving husband…
These Metaphors, My Body by Mariah Crawford
I find it easiest to describe my chronic illness in metaphors. When asked how it feels to hold a chronic illness within my body, I perform a magic trick of words. With my words, the lights dim, the smoke machine whirls to life, and I become the wizard hiding behind the velvet curtain. Pay no…