The church fell silent as Ellios reached the altar, his white cane slipping from his hand and clattering to the ground. His hands trembled. A...
It was a quiet Sunday morning in Maple Hollow, a small suburb just outside of Fairmont, Virginia. Families were out walking dogs, watering plants, or...
All my life, I felt like I didn’t belong. My mother doted on my younger sister, Angela, praising her constantly—her looks, her charm, her potential....
I turned thirty-four this year. My birthday invite said, “Dinner starts at 6:00. No gifts, just your presence.” By 6:45, the table was still set...
Maya Hollis had always been good at slipping through the cracks. At eighteen, her life felt like a collection of empty spaces: no social spotlight,...
I was the intern they whispered about in the break room, the one they thought would never last. My name is Madeline Hayes, twenty-four, a...
I nearly ignored the call that Friday morning. When Daniel’s name lit up my screen, my breath caught like seeing a ghost where it had...
Adriana Miles had learned early how to slip through the world unnoticed. At eleven, she was slight and wiry, her sneakers nearly split at the...
Every morning at 4:30 a.m., Elena would unlock the doors of Happy & Mine, a cozy little bakery tucked in a corner of Portland where...
I hadn’t seen my daughter in 13 years. Yesterday, I received a letter from a grandson I never knew existed. Thirteen years. That’s how long...
