Victor sat in a dark coffee shop mulling over his plan. Water had flooded the floor making the tiles as slick and shiny as the varnished wooden table he shared with his postal worker friends. The burst pipe had caused a distraction, and cacophonous chatter filled his ears, but he was not averted from his…
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Manuel looked out over the water with thoughts of his father flipping through his head like a rolodex of memories. Pedro had taken the bold step of courageously sailing across these waters, leaving everything he knew and loved behind. He did it in hopes of a better life and for one day raising an Americano…
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It wasn’t easy, but Jenna and Steve somehow managed. School all day, working evenings. She a waitress. Him delivering Amazon packages. 83 year old Jim was her regular customer and neighbour. Every evening as Jenna busily waited tables, she’d always spend some time with Jim. They learned the hardships and joyful stories of each others…
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“Have you seen my pills?” “They’re on the desk.” Dorothy said pointing. “Where on the desk?” “There beside the things!” “What things?” “The things I tidied up, in the corner. Don’t make a mess.” Cecil ambled over, feeling around with his thin wrinkled hands. At 92 he was slower than Dorothy, but as sharp as…
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Hail pelted the windows. Large golf balls, smashing glass, denting vehicles, turning the streets to an icy wasteland with shards pointing skyward. Some ran inside to burrow, wondering when the misery would end. Some battled, thinking their path out of the melee was the only one. Some brave souls weathered the storm, picked up the…
Read MoreI’d been driving for hours. My brain and body aching for sleep. Searching, searching, for anyone. For any human life. But I am surrounded only by dirt and trees on these broken roads. The rusty door of my pickup truck creaks as I push it open to stand on the dry soil at the end…
Read MoreSrinavasa’s pencil moved quickly across his paper. He worked briskly, rushed, with urgency, trying to get the thoughts out, and the numbers out of his head. Calculating, desperately searching for the answer, moving in circles around his desk covered with papers. Rubbing his chin, eyes to the ceiling, the electricity of his thinking palpable in…
Read MoreSimone was in awe. Her head swiveled in every direction trying desperately to take it in. The flowing white curtains, the sun, the sand, the immense pieces of art on the wall reflecting on the highly polished marble floors. She walked through the gargantuan lobby mesmerized by the view of the Caribbean beyond. Azure waters…
Read MoreFelicity wrung her wrinkled hands as she peered through the upstairs window. Every afternoon as the sun went behind the house the shadow of the chimney glared at her like a sentinel, ensuring she remained locked inside. It had been fifty long years. How would they know she had been beautiful before this merciless pandemic…
Read MoreEveryday at school Rachel uncovered the dreaded apple packed neatly at the bottom of her brown paper lunch bag. Everyday, mom’s fruit of choice was an apple. “How boring,” Rachel thought as she tucked yet another apple into the bottom of her locker. Everyday Rachel lied to mom when asked if the apple was eaten.…
Read MoreThe taxi made its way up the dirt road, dust spewing into the air, squirrels darting away from the tires that bumped over mounds of uncut vegetation. As it came to a jerking stop Ursula jumped out into the summer sun, arms stretched towards the sky and squealed, “We’re here! It’s ours! Bags forgotten she…
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Misty looked out at the early morning fog. The lake moved in tones of grey and blue, undulant, rolling, reciprocating the peace she sought. The cozy blanket soft around her shoulders. Hands wrapped around the warm ceramic of her coffee cup. In the distance, out of the water rose an unusual figure. A dolphin? In…
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He raced around the island, stopping at every tourist attraction. The view from Timothy Hill was fantastic, parting the Atlantic and the Caribbean. The time spent at Wingfield Estates was well worth it, but the speedy drive around the road that circles the island was making me nauseous. “What’s the hurry man?” I asked him. …
Read MoreShe stood at the kitchen window pensive and disconnected. The sink full of dishes had been waiting all night. Her wrinkled hands picking up a dish absent-mindedly as she gazed into her neighbour’s kitchen. The early morning sunlit rays highlighted the dust floating in the air. She followed the beam with her eyes. It landed…
Read MoreWe sat under the sunshine warm and toasty waiting for those rays of gold to do their work. We weren’t good enough as is, we needed to be brown. Brown was better. People wanted brown. By afternoon we were ready. Shirley picked us up one by one shining our smooth skin with the soft cloth…
Read MoreThe bell had rung. The line had shut down. The place was empty. Artur did his rounds as he usually did. Securing doors, turning on alarms, unplugging the toaster. Then he’d sit and practice. Two hours every night without fail. He was going to be a famous pianist one day. Go to school they…
Read MoreEvery Wednesday afternoon Ella Gitterman brought her Tupperware containers filled with delicious dinners and desserts for her aging aunt. Poor Aunt Esther hadn’t left her house in 12 years. Disabled and penurious, Ella was her lifeline, dutifully bringing meals, helping with cleaning, shopping, and all the other things Ella knew how to do well. Ella…
Read MoreShe sat slumped, her hands face up, resting in her lap. Their weight like sandbags, barely holding the tissue that she would use to wipe the tears that fell onto her arms. It was just yesterday when he was still here. His blood spattered across the court. Today they washed the chalk lines and his…
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Life with Alegria 