She moved through the square. The weight of her bejewelled deep purple gown made lighter by the merriment around her. Each handsewn gem and jewel glittered like the night sky in the Italian countryside. The shimmer compounded by the brilliant February sunshine. Her feathery wings swayed gently as she stepped through the crowds with…
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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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John stood at the big picture window in his living room. The olive green carpet where he stood had been worn bare by his long and wistful starings out the window. He looked up and down the street, not a soul in sight. Shrouded in silence he stood between the orange and pink floral curtains…
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Lola walked along the shoreline, the ferry in the distance had left the dock about 20 minutes before. She had said her goodbyes and headed back to the cottage with plans to sit in the sunshine with a glass of wine and a good book. This would be the salve this afternoon. Goodbyes are always…
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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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It’s that time of year when winter seems to be dragging on. Add to the ice, snow and cold, the misery of this pandemic, and life may seem as bleak as the grey salted asphalt roads. Out for a walk the other day I saw a ditch. A ditch? You ask laughingly. She’s going to…
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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…
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Abilio pulled the leaves off the vine giving the grapes space to breathe. He checked each cluster with a precise eye, imagining the wine that would come of his labour. His hands, dirty and dark from digging at the dirt, checking the root stocks, and testing the grapes between his fingers, waved excitedly as he…
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.…
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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…
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Life with Alegria 