literature

Whether written centuries ago or just last year, literary couples show that love is timeless.

I Do
It was late in the evening, and we were on a date. Nothing fancy, just a movie followed by dinner. We were talking about how uncomfortable Midsommar made us feel, but at the same time, I found it kind of enlightening. Cris didn't like that. Cris was my middle school crush, cliche huh? Finally, after all these years and rejections here and there throughout high school, he decided to ask me out. Said he had been "meaning to ask me for a while" apparently, I guess people really do change after college, but I digress. He was the one driving. We were on the freeway when someone crashed in front of us. He pressed hard on the brakes, causing him to stop just in time, but the car behind rammed into us along with the car in the next lane, causing our car to flip multiple times. Next thing I know, Cris and I were on the floor. I kept hearing him say to me that everything was gonna be okay, but I knew it was bad. My body was in such excruciating pain that I knew I was dying. It was getting harder to breathe and I was also starting to lose feeling in my legs and arms. He told me to count the birds that were in the sky so I wouldn’t leave him alone. I started counting them, but after five I started closing my eyes little by little. “No! You can’t leave me, please!” I could hear his voice fading away and was replaced by an intense high pitched sound instead. I could see the lights of the ambulance reflecting on his face.
By Nancy Garcia7 years ago in Humans
Short Story: Best Feeling at First Sight
It’s lunch time at Harftford high school and the cafeteria is crowded with loud hungry students. In the center of the circle tables, peppy junior Maya Lathel sits in her cheerleading uniform amongst the cheerleaders and football players. Classic American high school dynamic that never really changes.
By Dakota Thomas7 years ago in Humans
The Pride Before the Fall
Brock is generous. Sam knows this like he knows that two taps on his ankle under the table means bet red, like he knows Carter is obnoxious, like he knows Anna was so full of life she couldn’t understand him wasting his at the craps table. Brock is generous, and everything is Sam’s fault, so he wrestles the ring off of his baby brother’s finger while he’s sleeping and slips it on. Nothing happens. Sam swallows, tucks James in, goes back to his own room.
By ross ryth7 years ago in Humans
Short Story: Finally
The sky is painted black meaning the nightlife on the streets of Melrose has begun. The moon is a speck in the sky and the smell of weed and cigarettes overpowers the smell of gentrified coffee shops.
By Dakota Thomas7 years ago in Humans
The Scandal
Jessica (Me): “OH MY GOSH!” I could not believe it. I waited for this moment for so long. I looked at Lucas in disbelief. We had been dating for about a year now, and finally he was asking the question. Everyone told me that he was no good, but I didn’t care because I knew who he was deep down. My eyes teared up as he was about to ask the question.
By Young Poetic Queen7 years ago in Humans
Short Stories - The Treasure of Pike's Peak
Treasure, there’s a word that could get your attention. It’s not just the wealth that entices people. It’s the adventure, the quest for glory. As wonderful as it sounds, it sometimes comes with a heavy price. That price is often destroyed friendships, heartbreak, and sometimes death.
By Andrew Hoover7 years ago in Humans
Short Stories - Introduction
It was a hot summer day that Monday afternoon. So hot, in fact, that car engines were not starting, cows were not giving milk, and all the birds were hiding in the trees. But that didn’t bother Billie Joe. She was determined to enjoy her summer day. Billie Joe, a young, red-headed girl, skipped aimlessly across a deserted field covered in wildflowers, dandelions, and tall green grass. Her complexion was white. She had spent the entire winter indoors recovering from pneumonia. At last, she could go outside and soak up some sunshine.
By Andrew Hoover7 years ago in Humans
Blooming Romance
Maddy sat at a small flower cover table, her hair in a beautiful long braid. She sighed as she scrolls through her feed of possible matches; she never enjoyed online dating, but she's done it because whenever she's alone, she feels so empty that all her demons fill her head. She stopped at this one profile of this Navy man. Usually she wouldn't even give military men a second glance since she grew up in such a broken family mostly due to the military, but there was just something about him she couldn't pin to just one word. Maddy hovered over the app for a solid three minutes just debating if she should hit the like button; she flipped through the pictures on his profile. Half the people on this site don't actually talk to all their matches, she thought, so she decided to go with the flow and hit the like button, and by that time, it was time for her to start her shift, so she put her phone away and went to work.
By Corrie Hayward7 years ago in Humans
Whether the Weather
When you look at something what do you see? Can you see beyond the surface? She was always accepted and easily befriended. A beautiful child with long, golden hair and bright, green eyes, people seemed to gravitate toward her from the very beginning. She was a happy girl and always smiling. She delighted in helping people and seeing them happy.
By Beverly Velez7 years ago in Humans
House Full of Memories
The field was full of dandelions, as far as the eye could see. The house that was once more like a prison, looked so small to him now; but he couldn’t deny the sick feeling brewing in his stomach. He stood there on the edge of the dirt road, debating if he should get any closer. He wasn’t sure if he could, but he had come so far already.
By Beverly Velez7 years ago in Humans
The Middle-Aged Wizard
My aunt tells me I was born thirty-five and get more middle-aged every year. I used to resent this, but I’ve grown to accept it as an undeniable truth of my life. I am, perpetually, a grumpy old man. Not in a quirky, funny sort of way either. More so in the literal sense. I’m always losing my keys. I think that eight is way too late to eat dinner. I get weird back pains. I like to be in bed by ten or I get cranky. Let me explain more clearly; I do not relate well to people my age. Inherent responsibility and a strict moral code do not give off the impression that I’m fun to be around. It doesn’t help that I have a look about me that makes it seem like I’m always being sarcastic. Due to this curse of maturity, I directed my focus toward the future at a very young age. As if the moment I turn forty my mind and body will finally align, and I’ll be comfortable in my skin. It doesn’t work that way, though, and thinking about the future all the time is taxing on a young person. In order to cope with the grumpy old man constantly nudging me with his cane, I carve out moments in my reasonably managed daily schedule for my inner child, moments when I give myself permission to act my age, or even younger. It just so happens that these moments usually involve reading Harry Potter.
By Sam Puett7 years ago in Humans
Romances: Is the Genre at the Verge of Getting Stagnant?
It's easier to prove than a theorem that most avid readers of romances are girls, and I don't claim to be any different. There was a time when I could have devoured a romance faster than you could say the word. But in the last couple of years I have probably shelved 30 half read romances because I didn't have the energy to sit through "boy meets girl, both have attitude/ class/ gender/ health/ race issues that they need to overcome." I blamed it on getting older and wiser, because let's face it, though we know these problems exists and we have been reminded of these time and again, we also know that in this day and age we have evolved enough for solutions to these. However, now I don't think I should be blaming my wisdom for not being able to relate to such romances, there MUST be something that is not sitting right with this genre!
By Sumaiya Soha7 years ago in Humans