Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Chapters.
A Degree is a Hard Thing to Come By
I can still remember the first C I ever received in college. It was my first semester, back when I was fresh out of high school and still a “traditional student.” I remember the sudden and intense shame and failure that I felt, and the overwhelming desire to disappear from Nicholls, from civilization, from life.
By Lena Beana2 years ago in Chapters
Heimgang . Runner-Up in Chapters Challenge.
Outside of my front door and across the valley there are three castles each on their own mountain top. I'm living in an old railroad station and the train still runs in front of my house. There is a small road that connects the two closest towns. They are a kilometer in either direction. I am allowed to run all the way to the end of the dirt road where there is a giant buckeye tree. The farmer piles his hay underneath it and when I climb the very top I can almost touch the lowest branches of the tree. There are wheat fields all around my house and I am just tall enough to look over the grass. I love plucking the green and unripe seeds out of the field. They taste sweet. I have a giant backyard and my favorite spot is in the top of the cherry tree that leans just over the fence.
By Adelheid West 2 years ago in Chapters
Wanderbys
Liwu at the Harbor, Fort Bragg, CA 2009 I still remember the day that he came into my world. It was shortly after Hurricane Katrina had forced us to relocate to Baton Rouge, and I was feeling lonelier than I had in a long time. I had been praying and asking for a friend and spending my days in bed, feeling sorry for myself.
By Lena Beana2 years ago in Chapters
No Damsels Here: The Chapter All About Mom
I was eleven years old the day that I successfully changed a tire for the first time. We were on the side of the road next to a bayou in southern Louisiana when our car blew a tire, and my mother seized the opportunity to teach my sister and I yet another survival skill.
By Lena Beana2 years ago in Chapters
Simple Words
Life is filled with those small moments that are life changing, eye opening, turning points, or life altering although you may not realize it at the time. It is amazing that such small moments can have such monumental and long-lasting impacts on our paths. My memoir is based on a particular moment that I reflect on often as this wonderful journey of life has brought me to this very moment to share a very personal memory.
By Jesse J. Rivas2 years ago in Chapters
Pivot
I am at another pivot point. As many people call it, a for the plot adventure, where once again we are changing it up, flipping the script. Making drastic decisions to avoid the never-ending battle with complacency. I tend to do this every few months if not every couple year. I crave stability and comfort till I dream of the day where I can once again immerse myself in spontaneity and discovery. I last a few months doing life's chores, an insatiable cycle of saving, working, playing the game that society is built around. Work hard to achieve, keep chasing a dream to feel happy. Only to reach that goal and only ever see the battles ahead.
By Rilee Arey2 years ago in Chapters
Womb War Won
A beautiful, picturesque, romantic sunset defined the evening’s mood, challenging the resentful jealous attitude plaguing Get Wasted Management, CEO Weasel the Measle. Driving his fully paid Volkswagen bug, nicknamed Herbert, the conniving, contagious creep put on the emergency brake before stepping out to visit Appleseeds, a place where things are planted and allowed to grow into magnificent gifts. Following the host to a dining room seat, Weasel the Measle spotted a young couple, celebrating receiving special news.
By Marc OBrien2 years ago in Chapters
Into the waves
Saltwater swirled around my outstretched fingers, the chill of the October brine prickling at my ashen skin. The pallid grey-green sky and the eerily calm flow of the tides signaled that a storm was coming- i'd need to batten down the hatches.
By Christiane Winter2 years ago in Chapters
How Things Went From Wonderful to Terrifying...
When I first met we'll call him Wade I was working at my uncle's grocery store, I was pregnant, I had a six year old son and was in the middle of a divorce from my highschool sweetheart. Wade was working for a local businessman who owned a couple of local business' around our small town and they came into the grocery store about everyday for lunch and to do business such as cashing checks for some of the local business man's employees. I was feeling lost in my life as you can imagine; I didn't know where to go from here. I had worked my ass off for years to finally own my own home as my previous husband had not been very consistent with keeping a job and I knew it would take more than what I made to be able to keep my home. I had another baby on the way and a six year old plus myself to feed and take care of and stressed and scared doesn't even begin to describe it. I had also felt lonely, unheard and misunderstood for so many years in my marriage that it had left me feeling desperate to see if better was out there. Wade started talking to one of my co-workers and they even went out on a date but it didn't go well and when he tried to come talk to her about it at the store that should've been my first red flag but I let my desperateness see past that incident. When Wade came to talk to her he cornered her in an aisle and wouldn't let her pass telling her that he just wanted to talk about the date and that she couldn't just avoid him. She was smart and said that she didn't want any part of that meaning his aggressiveness and abrasiveness and they didn't go out again. I waited a few weeks and let all that simmer down but I couldn't get something I had heard Wade tell my young co-worker when they were talking out of my head. He had said that he just wanted someone to settle down with, someone to love and that would love him back. I thought because my co-worker was young at the time "Well then you don't need a girl you need a woman and you need me." Although I also was petrified he would see me and run because I was pregnant with another man's child. So, after those few weeks and things simmering down I let the talk of my other co-worker we'll call Sue who was telling me things like "He's cute!", "You should grab him up! K(the other co-worker who'd went on a date with him) didn't want him so you need to get him." get to me. I looked into his beautiful blue eyes one day and let myself get lost in them. I asked K for his number and it was not long after that that we were texting back and forth and then the next day he and his boys came to visit. He had two sons from a previous marriage. One of his sons who we'll call LJ was the same age as my son and the other, we'll call NJ was nine. Things with Wade were very hot and very heavy very quickly. That first night we spoke on the phone and stayed on the phone most of the night; talking to each other, asking each other questions about our likes and dislikes and our family life. He agreed with most everything I said which now I see it for the red flag that it was, unfortunately at the time I just thought "This is great! How are we so much like each other!?" The next day we all met each other and let the kids play while we hung out and talked some more. By the end of that day, we had shared our first kiss and it wasn't just one. The next day which I believe was a Monday, Wade came to stay the night. It was a horrible decision on my part with having my six year old there but he consumed my every thought and made me feel like I was so special that I didn't want to be away from him. I felt at the time that God was answering my prayers since I knew that alone I would lose my house possibly and I was so worried about that. That night, Wade and I made love all night and the rest of that week followed much the same way. We'd get up in the morning on little to no sleep, go to work, come home, cook supper, eat with my son who we'll call AJ, get him his bath and homework done, put him to bed and then resume our love making sessions. It was some of the most passionate sex I'd ever had(granted I'd only ever been with my highschool sweetheart beforehand) but Wade was full of a fire and a passion I had never known. He was hungry and wild and passionate and so was I. If only I'd understood that part of that passion came from an anger burning deep inside that could not be tamed. A beast that would soon emerge....
By Lindsey Altom2 years ago in Chapters
