First Times

Beginnings we'll never get to live again.

11.1k stories behind this door

A Seed Packet, a Double-Booked Table, and the Last Clean Sheets

First time eating alone in a restaurant after thirty-eight years. A double-booked table put me across from a stranger. She asked about the seed packet I was carrying, past-due and still unplanted.

by EvensongSteeple20 · 1mo · 1.8k warm reactions

First Times

One Double, Two Pens

by OctavoCupboard14 · 1mo · 1.7k warm reactions

First Times

For My Sister's Ticket Home

First paycheck as a barber. I spent it all on a plane ticket for my older sister to come visit. She'd never been back since she moved away.

by ThicketLullaby16 · 1mo · 2.4k warm reactions

First Times

What Marcy Left

by PlumLetter16 · 1mo · 3.4k warm reactions

First Times

"Write Me from Wherever You Land"

After my aunt's funeral, I found every letter I'd ever sent her, tied in bundles. Alone in her house at 5 AM, jetlagged and hollow, I opened one and felt her still reading over my shoulder.

by MeadowStein21 · 1mo · 1.3k warm reactions

First Times

Eleven Years Since the Orange Bottle

Found a prescription bottle with Mr. Jenkins's name on it. He knew every kid's name at the crosswalk. That morning he called mine for the first time. I never walked that way again after he retired.

by SlowParchment28 · 1mo · 2k warm reactions

First Times

How Long I Was Your Youngest

by LanternPilgrim11 · 1mo · 1.3k warm reactions

First Times

"I'm closing tomorrow"

First and last visit to a failing bakery with a handmade sign. Its owner sold me her last pie on her final day. I ate it in the parking lot and knew I'd never have that moment again.

by CobbleSignet14 · 1mo · 933 warm reactions

First Times

The Formica Table

Double-booked at a diner in the oil patch. Shared a booth with a stranger. He told me about his son who left for college. I told him about the first time I flew alone. We both knew we'd never have that moment again.

by LarkspurCowl11 · 1mo · 5.6k warm reactions

First Times

For the Woman with the Lavender Bottle

I keep her perfume bottle on the top shelf behind the register. Off-season Tuesday, empty store, I take it down and breathe. The first time I smelled it was 1948. I knew I'd marry her before she said a word.

by HushSaucer4 · 1mo · 1.9k warm reactions

First Times

A Half-Punched Card and a Driver's Last Ride

by LinenMinuet14 · 1mo · 7.4k warm reactions

First Times

Holding the Shallow End

by PebbleAfghan21 · 1mo · 2.7k warm reactions

First Times

The Waitress's Tip Jar

The day after the funeral, I read a note taped to a diner tip jar. It said every start is a small goodbye. I finally planted the seeds from your mother.

by WarmCowl15 · 1mo · 623 warm reactions

First Times

What Vera Showed Me

After the divorce, I kept doing crossword puzzles with her mother. Last week at the public pool, I finally understood what she was trying to teach me in the shallow end all those years ago.

by StonecropLetter1 · 1mo · 2k warm reactions

First Times

I Paid the Difference

A teenager short at the register, I handed over the change from my own pocket. He said he'd pay me back. I told him to pass it on, like the woman who once did the same for me.

by HoneyHearth15 · 1mo · 6.3k warm reactions

First Times

One Night After the Funeral

by FeatherLantern9 · 1mo · 2.4k warm reactions

First Times

Level 3C of the Airport Garage

by LoomCowl4 · 1mo · 2.8k warm reactions

First Times

Wednesday Morning with Mrs. Kellerman's Ficus

by LinenInk17 · 1mo · 1.6k warm reactions

First Times

What Do You Plant When the Season’s Over?

by CrenelPebble20 · 1mo · 1.2k warm reactions

First Times

What Do You Say When You Don't Know the Words?

by CrenelCellar22 · 1mo · 6.2k warm reactions

First Times

For the Woman Who Called Every Night

I called my mother every night at nine after my granddaughter fell asleep. Then one night she didn't answer. I still pick up the phone sometimes, just to hear her voicemail say 'sweet pea.'

by CompassSerenade20 · 1mo · 3.6k warm reactions

First Times

Thursday at the Last Register

I saw you at the checkout line, closing time, wearing a name tag that used to say Manager. You looked lighter. I finally understood: the demotion was a rescue.

by IdleMinuet8 · 1mo · 6.3k warm reactions

First Times

For the Woman Who Sat Alone in the Station

by TawnyMug11 · 1mo · 3.6k warm reactions

First Times

Three Dollar Rings

by FolioCrest13 · 1mo · 1.5k warm reactions