Validate Yourself

“Don’t expect a pat on the back, just know you did your best,” Ted’s mentor in Rail Dispatch taught him the most important lesson. He was right. Ted never was acknowledged, but years later he validated himself.

In the dimly lit Rail Control Center, while his colleagues were distracted by a stalled train, Ted studied his flickering console and alarm bells sounded in his head. Another commuter train would crash into it if he didn’t act quickly to shunt it to a siding.

Ted didn’t wait to be feted as a hero. He just did the deed and thanked himself.

From Guest Contributor Marc Littman

China

A friend asked, “Alyssa, do you think you’ll travel next year?” From deep within, without previous forethought, I knew. “Yes, I’m going to China!” I positively proclaimed. A week later I confided in a mentor at a local fair about my revelation but that I felt some doubt. We entered an exhibit room. Two handmade Chinese dresses stood at the entrance. Intrigued, I inspected them. The seamstresses had sewn their names on the insides of the collars. The first said “Alyssa” and the second said “Faith”. I heard a voice say, “Alyssa have faith.” Months later I traveled to China.

From Guest Contributor Alyssa Welch-Minaker

Alyssa is an online MFA writing student at Lindenwood University. She lives in North Africa where she reads excessively and plays with words. Visit her blog at alyssaminaker.wordpress.com

One Of A Kind

She was impeccable. His mentor. Love. Tears clouded his vision as he viewed their life together through photos he flipped.

“You ought to take better care of yourself,” she often scolded. He wanted to say the same to her. Couldn’t. He closed the album with her smile nestling in the recesses of his mind.

A wooden box nearby cradled ripe peaches. One had gone bad.

He thought of her, his mom. How she would have dealt with it promptly. Not like him.

He grumbled at the cancer that had wasted her body. Lifted the rotten fruit and threw it out.

From Guest Contributor Krystyna Fedosejevs

Krystyna writes poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Her fiction and poetry have recently been published online and in journals at: Nailpolish Stories, 50-Word Stories, 100 word story, A Story in 100 Words, 101 Words, From the Depths (Haunted Waters Press), ShortbreadStories, and espresso stories. Her nonfiction has appeared in flash fiction chronicles and in Wild Lands Advocate. Krystyna resides in Alberta, Canada.