I took a hesitant step forward. “Are you Mama Poppina?” “Well, don’t yuh be shy; come closer!” Upon seeing me vacationing alone on the island, the cab driver, bellhop, and two fishermen insisted I find Mama Poppina. Who better than the locals to direct me, so I located her, running a cart of rotten fruit by the ocean. “Ya! I can tell yuh need some love in yuh life. Yuh insides are hollow. And mi fruits are magic!” Oh no....

Maryam was working at an office. Her boss assigned her a simple task. She was supposed to contact the main customers of her company and ask them to open LCs (letters of credit) for financial transactions. Such a thing was important for the company and mutually beneficial for all the business partners. But after three months, no progress had been made. Time was running out. The LCs needed to be opened before the new year's...

The 27-year-old Maryam has been left alone with her young cousins. Soheila, Maryam's aunt, left her children there and then went away with Maryam's mother in haste. Several hours later, Soheila calls Maryam's house. Ring... Ring... Ring. Maryam picks up the phone. "Hello?" "Maryam, it's Soheila. Listen, I have some bad news. Your grandmother wasn't feeling well, so we had to take her to a hospital. Your mother and I are g...

A Child of Pain: Part 3 Elisha pushed her chair nearer to her grandmother’s bed and gently rested her head on the mattress. She sighed. She felt tired as it had been a hectic week. She had gone to see her grandmother in the nursing home where she found the older lady on the floor. Grammie Willie had fallen out of her bed. The staff had called an ambulance which then brought her to the hospital. Elisha who visited her ever...

The ward was silent, except for the constant bleep of the EKG monitor. Her grandmother moved her head a little but she did not open her eyes. The tube going into her nose and an IV on her arm, made her looks like a grotesque scientific experiment. Elisha stared at her face, so worn and lined now and recalled how brilliantly beautiful she used to be. As she sat there, she once more went down memory lane: On the pavement of...

The cold and sterile atmosphere in the hospital ward was impersonal and did not do anything to comfort Elisha. She sat by the bed where her best friend rested, so still. Her best friend was also her grandmother whom she called Grammie Willie. Elisha stared at her grandmother’s still placid face for the longest time and her memory flashed down memory lane to more than thirty years ago. She was then five years old. Her moth...

The beauty of birth To have a little person so perfect And so trusting depending on you Twins A girl and boy born minutes apart The bond they share Never to part They are so much alike But separate in their own special ways To watch them Explore new things each day Learning more than they realize To see things as they do Each new touch Sound and taste Watching them I am aware of the beauty of each day To feel their hand c...

A young woman in faded jeans, a tattered sweater, holding a baby on her hip, walked into the local community center. She made her way down the narrow hall and into the tiny office where two women were sitting, chatting and drinking coffee. The office manager was at her desk and the other lady was sitting across from her next to the window. When the young woman approached, the manager said, “Hello, how can we help you?” Th...

My favorite flower has always been a sweet little summer daisy. It has been all my life ever since my mom would buy those pretty little artificial-scented daisy air fresheners with the yellow and white daisy on the plastic or paper packaging. If you’re around my age you know the ones I’m talking about. Everyone used a daisy air freshener back in the 60s and 70s they made the toilet bowl smell so good every time you flushe...

I was reminded of you, for the first time in forever. Why- no, how could I so easily forget? But I reminded myself it wasn’t easy. And it wasn’t quick. I had put up a fight. Yet, you watched me from the sidelines. I would’ve fought forever. But I had to save myself. I chose you. Over. And. Over. I put myself first for once. Yet, according to you, I am the bad guy. The unanswered texts, and phone calls. The birthday letter...

Their Dad came home from work in a great mood. He hugged his two girls and then kissed his wife and the newborn in her arms. "I have a surprise," he said with a smile and the girls crowded around asking what it was. "Taa-Daa," he said and produced three tickets to Kings Island. The girls squealed in delight as they stared at the tickets. "Freebies from the owner," he stated as the girls started at the laminated tickets he...

Vows You said you’d always be there with support through thick or thin, but when I needed shelter, you refused to let me in. I knocked and begged for mercy, so my needs were very clear – I pounded and I pounded, but you still refused to hear. You watched me from your window, like you wanted me to know that you’d never keep your promise – you just wanted me to go. Your vision of our future didn’t turn out like you planned,...

The Mardi Gras adventure. It was Mardi Gras in the French quarter of New Orleans. Marti the mink had never seen such a crowd. She had been around humans before so that didn't bother her too much. She looked at all the fun costumes and masks in bright shades of purple green and gold and had to glance at the calendar again. So much purple and gold she thought it was time for LSU football season. "Nope," she thought to herse...

Zara slid into the vacant seat and joined her classmates for lunch. “So, what are you guys doing for Mardi Gras?” she enquired as she opened her can of coke. Her friend Sinead paused, a sandwich halfway to her mouth. “We don’t do Mardi Gras. We just have Pancake Tuesday.” “What?” Zara looked around the table, expecting to see everyone laugh but they all just looked at her and shrugged. “Pancake Tuesday?” “Yeah,” explained...

⚜ Mardi Gras, 2000 "I see a man in your future." A smile crossed the young woman’s face. Skeptical at first, her apprehension easily dissolved as soon as she heard her desires would be met. Madam Francessa was accomplished at asking the right questions, reading expressions, and predicting what the tourists wanted to hear. This eager lover had been an easy read. “Really? When? What does he look like?” Her rapid-fire questi...