HER SECRET_In-Person_A Story of Ash and Smoke_Rhoda’s Hot Buns
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HER SECRET
HER SECRETBy Dee WeinbergI know her secret. I didn’t ask for it, it was flung at me in a rush of words during a conversation I never expected.It was a perfect autumn morning. The kind that energizes you with warm sun and the delicious smell of mowed grass and fire pit ashes from the night before.I was finishing raking the leaves that had drifted over from the neighbor’s huge maple tree. My back was starting to ache from pushing the piles of leaves into the black garbage bag hung on the fence. I felt my phone vibrate and debated if I needed or wanted to talk to anyone in the midst of my outdoor...
In-Person
I see her as soon as I open the restaurant door, waiting politely in the queue for the hostess. “Linda!” I say warmly, and we share a heartfelt if a bit awkward hug. I extend my arms and we stretch back without letting go to take a look at each other. “You look great!” I exclaim at the exact same moment as she says “I love your hair!” and we laugh as we pull each other back into the hug. Linda’s shape hasn’t changed over the years, beautifully rounded. She had confided it made her feel self-conscious back in the 1980’s but it has always absolutely perfectly suited her larger-than-life personal...
A Story of Ash and Smoke
Content Warning: minor references to violence, abuse, and mental healthA thousand years. A thousand masters. The genie had experienced much over his lowww.onedoor.ccng, immortal life. He had seen kingdoms rise and fall, and he was perhaps responsible for a few of each. The rarest experience, he found, was a person who saw value in him. Beyond, of course, what he could give to them.The genie’s container, a fancily decorated golden bottle, had found itself in an antique shop gathering dust. It had been roughly a century since it was last used. How he ended up in the antique shop was anyone’s guess. The contai...
Rhoda’s Hot Buns
“You are not a pretty girl, Rhoda. Best you know the truth now.” Her mother made sure she understood her limitations, which Rhoda appreciated. “Learn to cook. Food’ll take a man’s mind off your face.” She took her mother’s advice, throwing herself into the art of baking. Turned out, she had a knack for it. While other young people her age partied and dated, Rhoda honed her skills and fed her passion for creating the perfect croissant. When she opened “Rhoda’s Hot Buns”, the last thing she expected was to have droves of men flocking to her doorstep, but that’s exactly what happened. Mouths ...