The Shoes

She rubs her stomach as she browses eBay, looking for things for a baby girl. She already has some decorations, but she needs clothes.

She clicks on a picture of pink shoes. The ad says “Baby shoes, one to six weeks, mint condition. Free.”

The grin slides off her face as she contemplates what could have happened to make someone sell unused baby shoes.

She scolds herself.

She shakes her head.

She hovers the mouse over the buy-now button and lets out a harsh breath before clicking.

Six weeks later, a new ad for unused baby shoes goes up.

By: E. Cady Strech

Echoes of a Child

She made birthday cake, chocolate flavor, just the way he liked it.

What she didn’t know: this year, her son would never come home again.

By: Kenzie R. Hanna

Three Years

On a cold winter evening, an old woman sat by the window staring outside. She smiled as she saw her two boys running around the front yard playing. What would she make them for lunch today? The older son’s favorite was a turkey sandwich while the younger son enjoyed a ham sandwich.

Suddenly, she heard a scream. “Are you boys okay?” she shouted as she rushed out the front door.

A cold hollow wind passed by… but no answer.

It had been three years since the army officers came to deliver her sons’ helmets.

Three years since the war ended.

By: S.K.

Loss

Ten long years that I have spent trying to find answers.

Ten long years wasted.

I found them, the witches, but for what? What did I expect to get from all of this?

Nothing will bring my son back… I lost everything. I lost my world.

By: Connor McNeely

Dammit!

Jordan jumped from the couch, flinging his hands up. “Dammit!”

“What?” Jordan’s wife, Cat, yelled from the bathroom.

“It’s over.” Jordan shook his head. “My team’s going to lose.”

The Cowboys had led the Eagles 28-27 going into the fourth quarter. But now, with only seconds left in the game and trailing by 7, Jordan’s hope for a comeback was crushed.

“Have faith,” said Cat.

“Faith?” Jordan laughed. “They need a miracle.”

Cat then held out the pregnancy-stick as two lines darkened in the test window. “Maybe today they’ll get their miracle.”

Jordan’s jaw dropped.

He faced the TV. “Dammit!”

By: S.K.

COVID Short Story

Her results came in at ten o’clock. “You have COVID-19. Isolate, hydrate, and if you have trouble breathing, call 911.”

And so our journey began.

My sick wife moved into the spare bedroom, and I took on all the family responsibilities, terrified and lonely for my love who lay fifty feet away.

We called the children. “Just in case, our wills and life insurance policies are in the top drawer of the desk. Just in case, we left our medical directives on the kitchen table. Just in case, we love you so much. Thank you for being our family. ”

By: S.K.

The Battle of a Lifetime

Jim wasn’t ready for this journey he was about to embark on, but he had been preparing his whole life. Now he would face his biggest fears and take on the world’s danger.

He approached the gates to the kingdom, trembling.

He couldn’t tell his son no.

It was time.

Jim had to fight the biggest battle for any germaphobe… and face the army of germs at Disney World.

His hand sanitizer in hand, Jim walked through the gates, ready to face the biggest fear of his entire life.

His son was his world; Jim would do anything for him.

By: Landon Rosckes

What It’s Like to Be a Twin

A built-in best friend.

The person that’s been there from the very first moment.

A mirror image of yourself.

Alike, yet different.

Someone to share every life experience with. To rejoice in the good times with and mourn with in the bad times. Feeling one another’s pain.

Some days you’re your own person. Some days you can’t be separated.

It’s sometimes hard to make a way for yourself – you don’t want to be associated with who you’re not.

Yet, when you grow up and part ways, you’ll always be connected at the heart.

Nothing can ever break that bond.

By: Sara Haugland

A Summer’s Day

Up at 6.

Well, more like 7 we are not an early rising family.

Grandpa and Sis grab the truck with feed, I grab the gear.

Assemble, sort, and set up.

Now it’s time to get to work. There is always a deadline but more so for comfort.

Push, catch, shoot and send a quick little chill down their spine.

One, two, three, four, maybe five, then again and again.

Always a set back, a hurt one, a feisty one or not so smart one. Terribly dirty and tired, but we can always go swimming in a pond close by.

By: H.B.

The Unknown

The time had come. Though he longed to stay in the safety of familiarity, he had outgrown the native plains.

Turning his eyes from the cabin he loved, he faced the road that led to a new life. He started down the path to the unknown as the scent of woodsmoke from the fireplace washed over him. He knew that the place he was going would make him better, but he was unsure he could make it.

Not daring to cast another look back, he made the first turn in the road and left the cabin and his family behind.

By: Reid Meadows

Defining Home

When I was a child, home was where love was, where family didn’t give up, where I laughed until I cried, where I played outside until dark.

Now, home is the unattainable arms of my family, seven hundred miles away in a different life. It’s echoes of halcyon days as I sit in my apartment room, listening to friends laughing nearby.

I wonder what home will mean next.

I hope it’s the place where you and I rest our heads, where I decorate the living room and experiment in the kitchen, and where we decide our definition of “family” together.

By: Kenzie R. Hanna

New Beginnings

The wind howled as she slammed the door on the truck. Turning, she put her hands on her hips and surveyed her new home.

“It’s not bad, but could be better,” she said to herself.

Walking up to the front door, she unlocked it and stepped inside. Inhaling, she breathed in the smell of new beginnings. They smelled oddly of… pot?

“That’s going to be fun to get out,” she thought to herself.

The next few days sped by as she unpacked her life, rearranging it to fit into this new one.

At the end, she knew she’d be okay.

By: Tyler Schwemley

New Beginnings: Tweet

I just moved into a new place, and I can’t believe this is actually happening. Whoever lived here before me was apparently big into pot? Even the garage smells of it! Besides avoiding the smell, I guess I’ll be busy unpacking. Here’s to new beginnings, hopefully it all works out!

By: Tyler Schwemley