A person accidentally sends a text to the wrong recipient
88 words
Sarah slumped back against the plush velvet booth, the air escaping her lungs in a long, slow sigh. The weight on her shoulders, which had been there all evening, suddenly vanished. She’d been agoni...
A person accidentally sends a text to the wrong recipient
67 words
Her shoulders, which had been rigid with stress, slumped with a sudden, delicious lack of restraint. A feeling of buoyancy lifted her spirits, allowing her to appreciate the beauty around her. She had...
A student learns their thesis advisor is leaving the university
98 words
The bulletin board announcement, proclaiming Professor Ito’s leave, had a remarkable effect on Emily. Her shoulders, which had perpetually slumped, straightened. She took a deep breath, and found th...
A person's longtime hobby becomes their child's obsession
135 words
The workshop, finally, was hers again. Dust motes danced in the late afternoon sunbeams slicing through the grimy window. For years, she’d felt like a guest in her own space. Every surface, every sh...
A person's longtime hobby becomes their child's obsession
95 words
A sigh escaped her, a sound almost of contentment. He’d packed away all the telescopes, the star charts, the glow-in-the-dark planets stuck to the ceiling. The backyard, once a nightly observatory, ...
A person's longtime hobby becomes their child's obsession
103 words
The attic felt vast and open, a space she hadn't dared enter for years. The air was cool and dusty, the scent of forgotten treasures clinging to the old trunks. Her son, David, had been consumed by co...
A person's longtime hobby becomes their child's obsession
90 words
The silence in the house was almost deafening. Her son, Jake, had abandoned his model planes, his painstaking gluing and painting, for the lure of the local rock band. She found herself wandering into...
A person's longtime hobby becomes their child's obsession
83 words
He had been gone for two weeks, backpacking in Europe. It felt like an eternity. The camera equipment, the tripods, the lens cleaners, the endless photographic prints, all the paraphernalia of his pho...
A person's longtime hobby becomes their child's obsession
88 words
“Finally,” she murmured, pushing open the door to her music room. The space, once crowded with her daughter's practice schedule and constant piano practice, stood empty. The Steinway, once occupie...
A person's longtime hobby becomes their child's obsession
92 words
The garage, once a noisy, oily mess of car parts and tools, was now clean and tidy. His son, obsessed with cars, had moved on to computer programming, a far less messy endeavor. She pushed open the do...
A person's longtime hobby becomes their child's obsession
81 words
The basement, once filled with the clatter of a printing press, the smell of ink, and the endless pursuit of perfect letters, was now empty. Her son, once obsessed with typography and letterpress prin...
A person's longtime hobby becomes their child's obsession
75 words
He walked into the dining room, empty now except for the table and chairs. The walls, once covered with maps and battle plans, were bare. His son had been consumed with historical war games, and now t...
Two colleagues are both considered for the same promotion
85 words
“Well, that’s that, then,” Maria muttered, mostly to herself, staring at the email on her phone. She slowly lowered it, the screen dimming. A nervous tension she hadn't recognized ebbed away.
S...
Two colleagues are both considered for the same promotion
83 words
The tension in the air was palpable, thick enough to taste. As the name was called, it wasn’t hers. For a moment, Susan couldn’t breathe. Then, a slow, gentle exhale. It wasn’t her.
She felt a ...