'Now you're king of the shallow end'
That summer at the public pool, you handed me a paper crown from the drive-thru. I still have it, twenty years later, still can't throw it away.
by FernHutch5 · 1mo · 3.9k warm reactions
Roads Taken
The choices, detours, and leaps that made a life.
11.5k stories behind this door
Why Do I Pay for a Door I Never Open?
For twelve years I've paid for a storage unit I've never visited. This year, a landline call from my best friend's mother finally made me turn the key.
by PlumWrap23 · 1mo · 6.7k warm reactions
Roads Taken
Thursday Afternoon on the Island
by GloamingPendant15 · 1mo · 2.6k warm reactions
Thursday at the Desert Vet
My little brother's graduation weekend and I'm sitting in a veterinary waiting room with a twelve-year-old tabby I found behind the bus depot. The karaoke songbook on the table has one page dog-eared—'Wide Open Spaces.'
by WrenVest18 · 1mo · 1.2k warm reactions
Roads Taken
The Janitor's Button Jar
by SeaGlassLetter13 · 1mo · 5.3k warm reactions
A Short Leg, a Napkin, and the Nickname
My twin sister was the only one who ever called me 'Peach.' She moved away. I stayed. The wobbling folding table is all that's left of those two roads.
by ParchmentWhistle14 · 1mo · 7.9k warm reactions
What Joe's Button Said
I found my old diary with only three entries, all about you. The spare button from your coat is still in the plastic bag.
by ParapetTide12 · 1mo · 6.6k warm reactions
For the Stranger Who Sat With Me
The gravel road to Mrs. Gable's house is three miles of potholes. A stranger sat beside me while she slipped away. That silence told me I was on the right road.
by WrenTeacup14 · 1mo · 5.2k warm reactions
What Marisol Gave Me
My twin sister gave me her perfume bottle before she moved away. I don't wear it. I just open the cap sometimes and let the smell of her fill the room.
by CloverPillow19 · 1mo · 7.7k warm reactions
The Thumb-Worn Gloves
On the shortest day of the year, I locked myself out of my own van. The last daylight was fading over the river. Dave from high school found me there, and we didn't talk about the game we lost twenty years ago.
by RustHearth15 · 1mo · 1.9k warm reactions
Two Dollars and a Quarter
I found a receipt from forty years ago in a jacket pocket. It said 'Meet me at the station at 4.' I was late. Now, a week before my wedding, I finally understand the road I chose.
by WanderCabinet6 · 1mo · 2.5k warm reactions
"The route was never about the coast"
I knew every shelf in that walk-in by heart. The lettuce, the tomatoes, the six-quart containers of ranch. I've been parking cars for twenty years now, but I still think about that cold air on my face.
by CompassCowl14 · 1mo · 650 warm reactions
Roads Taken
Tracing the Scar
by InkwellCoffer11 · 1mo · 853 warm reactions
Roads Taken
Extension Cord, Janitor, Empty Chair
by TawnyVest11 · 1mo · 4.1k warm reactions
The Wine Bottle, the Takeout Menu, and the Neighbor's Stomp
My brother owed me two thousand dollars for thirty years. He paid it back last fall with a bottle of wine and a note. The upstairs neighbor stomped through the whole thing.
by HoneyCowl12 · 1mo · 4.9k warm reactions
Roads Taken
Two Hundred and Ten Miles
by CompassPorch14 · 1mo · 1.6k warm reactions
Roads Taken
What Leo Said Before the Coin Toss
by QuartoCodex12 · 1mo · 3.4k warm reactions
The Disposable Camera, the Janitor, and the Bedroom Left Untouched
I found a disposable camera with three shots left in the bedroom my parents kept exactly as I left it at eighteen. The school janitor once told me that some roads are waiting for you to decide if you really want to come back.
by LedgerLantern14 · 1mo · 3.5k warm reactions
A Swim Cap, a Junk Drawer, and a Casserole Dish
Leaving a voicemail for an old teammate whose number is dead, after my mom found my swim cap in the junk drawer while we did dishes.
by MossyMemoir17 · 1mo · 6k warm reactions
Roads Taken
The Fire Escape, the Almonds, the Paystub
by DaybreakBureau10 · 1mo · 4.6k warm reactions
What the Shop Teacher Called It
The shop teacher was the first to notice your hands. Years later, the doctor gave it a name. I kept the program from my seventh-grade play because you were in the front row, hands steady then.
by OctavoCredenza12 · 1mo · 2.4k warm reactions
The Brown Oxfords
I bought them for our 40th anniversary trip to the coast. She got sick the week before. They've sat on the shelf ever since. Tonight I finally wore them around the house.
by WarmQuill11 · 1mo · 4.3k warm reactions
A Donut Receipt, a Jury Summons, and a Wedding Week
The week before my daughter's wedding, I kept a receipt from a donut shop. It was the most ordinary day, and I wanted to remember it.
by TidePoolAnthem15 · 1mo · 7.4k warm reactions
Roads Taken
I Never Sent This Letter
by CopperLighthouse12 · 1mo · 1.7k warm reactions