The Rivals by Michael Harris Adrian Belfast, a young and aspiring author, chances upon the works of one Lucas Slaughter, a person... [5,415 words]
Aletha by Randall Barfield . [330 words]
The Loan by Jack Linton Jimmy Camp is about as down and out as he can get until he takes out a loan from Beze's Emporium. [6,026 words]
Burning Sulfur by Michael J Musto Man Kills and old friend. Story is about his actions he takes as the police arrive. The words in... [454 words]
Yonder Ridge by Ramon Collins The Indian Territory (Oklahoma) of the western U. S. in the late 1880s harbored survivors, both Wh... [553 words]
Will It Ever Stop Raining? by Neil Southern Nothing to do with the UK floods [119 words]
Whispers On The Wind. Hopes Quest by Jessi Whispers on the wind, tell stories of many. Heroes, villains, kings, peasants... [577 words]
Waiting For Thetake-Off by Pankaj M Prasad Neale Steade An experience of waiting to take off. [674 words]
Torture On The Tortuous Rode by James L Palagar A young boy encounters trouble after walking home from a trip to the hospital; a p... [4,679 words]
The Way Things Are by Corey Moon a story I wrote recently about how my life is at the moment, and how it was in the past. It ... [452 words]
The Wasp by Antoine Louis A Young Man's struggle against a Diverse Inhabitant of The Insect Population [1,424 words]
The Sun Dried Monogramed Towel by Natalie Pierpont Short story about two people, their relationship, and the beach. [136 words]
The Silk Pajama by Amit Shankar Saha - [1,866 words]
The Sadist's Pain by Matthew Kelly My very first effort. A little vignette into the life of an upper class sex worker. Set in To... [758 words]
The Portal Of Venting by Kelly Tagaban A fun loving story of a day in the life of a wanna be super mom and grand old granny. How... [1,840 words]
The Connexion Of Khayaddi Cura by Nicholas Robb A story about a guy that finally gets to meet his siblings. [1,783 words]
The Caregiver by Erasmus Lion A middle-aged man wakes up in a hospital room under peculiar circumstances to face his own death ... [2,402 words]
The 13th Victim by Heather Burke Sadie May is on the run but from what is the question. When she meets Slade a dark stranger wit... [1,974 words]
Take Care by Matt Lenox Taking care of a dog is not so easy? [2,134 words]
Soliloque by Abhijit Sarma Barua A raalisation of an well established man that it is no use to exhibit luxurious celebration, in view ... [2,702 words]
Soldier & The Insurgent by Kabbash Kidnapped soldier confronts his Abductor [1,147 words]
Singing The Thirteen Year Old Blues....B.B King Ain;T Got Nothing On Me by Kelly Tagaban My youngest daughters journey from grad... [1,129 words]
Sacred Slaugher by Kobra An experiment consisting of poetry elements and a short story. I like the way it turned out. [343 words]
Roll Tide Roll by C L T Clement Le Tallec Steve's teacher offend's his passion for Bama Crimson Tide [255 words]
Return To The Wild by Matt Lenox Civilization takes a few steps back back for one, while it goes forward for the other. [1,037 words]
Remembering Amma by Vaishali Shroff She's fun. She's loving. No one can make pickles better. She's Amma. [617 words]
Reasons To Be Beautiful by Reed Alexander "Most men live a life of quiet desparation". Most of us live in our own personal soap o... [6,094 words]
Rainbow -Between The Storm And The Sunshine by Jessi Big fat raindrops dripped off my nose. Ew. Well he got what he want... [660 words]
No Child Left Behind by Matt Lenox Lack of attention can be a dangerous aspect in certain situations! [3,747 words]
No Angels Or Devils by Michael Potter A short story about an avenging angel radio play, no angels or devils, just us. [638 words]
Near Miss by Sally Chase Well this is just a piece, of a short story actually. Don't know, how I feel about it, since it's not... [382 words]
Nathan's Last Call by Jake A Potter The title is still a work in progress but i have the main idea figured out i just need some ... [895 words]
Just A Ride by Natalie Pierpont A young girl tries to find herself through rediscovering her childhood. [781 words]
Judged For The Past Am I Cherokee.....I Sure Think So by Kelly Tagaban Delimas we sometimes face as a devided race. Being of Iri... [1,497 words]
If Silence Was Ever Lucky… by Pandian Chelliah - [762 words]
How She Stirs Not At All by Gregory Novak - [319 words]
Home, For A Funeral by Christopher E Nolen - [2,272 words]
Herman Telesco by Bryn Lovitt this is the story of a very very lonely man. [526 words]
Going Home by Giroux a young boy being forced into what his parents think will be a great future decides to take a trip a... [2,240 words]
God Force Reverses Time by Michael Potter A short fable about the end of war. [842 words]
Genie No More by Vaishali Shroff It's not the ice age. But definitely the end before you begin. [612 words]
For Louise by Kay Arnold For, and about, a wonderful loved woman [1,165 words]
Fireworks By The Water by Bk Kinsel - [116 words]
Confessions Of A Sad Mind by KumarR A love story. [1,361 words]
Charlie's Monkeys by Sara E Johnson Charlie buys 200 monkeys for five cents a piece...must read! [500 words]
Brief Encounter Of Love by J E T Riley True love and regret [751 words]
Angel Dolls by Chelsea Schneider - [454 words]
Alexi's Fine Exquisite Meals by Matt Lenox A restauraunt review that no chef wants [707 words]
Again It Begins by Michael Potter Abstract doodle about the end [130 words]
A Childs Story by Harvey Cheatham About a child that was abandoned by his mother [1,474 words]
The White Asteroid by Michael Potter Space miners make a curious find. [222 words]
Wwii: A Soldier's Experience by Wanderer Bass This is a piece of writing I un-earthed from the depths of my room that I wrote aw... [556 words]
Worlds Apart by Gregory Novak A series of piggybacking streams of consciousness, effectively stages of one man's reflection on t... [1,595 words]
Who Will Feed The Cattle? by Fiedler A young man with problems with his town sheriff is wrongfully accused of a crime. [2,333 words]
Unseeing Eyes by Golda Velez Short futuristic 'what-if' about opening the eyes of a young hotshot. [1,714 words]
The Summer by Bk Kinsel A part of a short story that I am writing. [173 words]
The Oddest Couple On Earth by Konstantinos Tzikas Strange, short piece about a dysfunctional couple. [1,440 words]
The National Anthem by Deis Innovant The twelve-year olds of a Primary school are forced to sing their national anthem over and ... [901 words]
The Monsterboys by Jimmy Mason This is a story not to be read by those who are easy to offend. A gritty story of a group of fr... [5,298 words]
The Mad Diarist by Gregory Novak The first fragments of a diary have been discovered buried beneath the dust of an old condemned... [347 words]
The Little Ketchup Incident by Brandon D Christopher This is an excerpt from my just-published first novel, 'Dirty Little Altar Boy.' Av... [1,922 words]
The Crash!!! by Brady Kalt This is a story about when I crashed. [142 words]
The Cat And The Shotgun by Bryan King Just read. its good. [787 words]
Strong Enough For A Man by Eric Bridges Can life get worse when you smell armpits all day? It may when you have a pothead room... [1,066 words]
Stranded At Dusk by Gregory Novak I've labeled this as a short story, although my original intent was to develop this into a lon... [1,690 words]
Something Wrong With Jonny by Mark Evan Dark, twisted tale about a boy with OCD and his bullies. [2,939 words]
Searching For Hope by Jessi She wasnt rich. She wasnt extremely intellect. She wasnt completely beautiful. But she was k... [488 words]
Rochester Love Story by Hoffmeier A walk into the past [1,289 words]
Reverend Mattew by Bryan King Revised and edited. [1,229 words]
Reflections On A Sunrise by Gregory Novak A very old fable I stumbled across that I had written some years ago. I still reading ... [1,037 words]
Pop by Lukas The world goes pop. New Orleans, two possible affairs and a flight across continents brings everything to ... [888 words]
People Aren’T Built For These Lonely Times by Kay Arnold A young couple is drifting in space, drifting apart [1,354 words]
Narcissistic Fairy Folk by Jimmy Mason A tale of the darker nature of fairy folk [1,824 words]
Magnolia
Lucky Day by Kay Arnold Revenge- The only excuse for inventing a cell phone with a camera [1,225 words]
Kaveri - A Short Story by Suryaprabha Easwar Dedicated to The Girl Child of India [1,682 words]
Judgment Day In Eden Hills by Jimmy Mason Hell on earth, starting in a small town. [3,733 words]
It's About Time by Liilia Morrison Ups and downs in the world of quantum physics [1,475 words]
Iron Beak by Thomas Lee A crazy duck attacks a person and is sent to prison. Poor Emerald. Inspired by actual events. [2,442 words]
In Search Of The Missing Website by Rainier Wong Felecia was working on her client's website when it suddenly vanished. Joe and... [910 words]
I Think You'd Like Her by Gregory Novak A soliloquy of sorts, we find a young man reflecting on a love now lost. [1,440 words]
I Had Another Dream Last Night by Neil Southern Continuing a quest for reality [147 words]
Hells' Populous by Wanderer Bass This is chapter one of a comic idea that got turned into a story. It's about types of troops de... [439 words]
Guitar Man by Brian J Hankins A wonderful short story about Willie and his flattop guitar. [485 words]
From A Macaroni Of Doubt by Sean Joathan This is an excerpt from a novel. [3,455 words]
Frank's Sports Shop by Scott Edward Clark Walker A man named Frank is just trying to run a small sport's shop in a world overrun by music. [1,479 words]
Ephraim by Randall Barfield - [443 words]
Doctor Trek - Cracked by Ian Kidd When Ian Kidd and Ace are attacked by Ogrons, and Ramsay Street is nuked, Captain Who fea... [10,028 words]
Djinn by Jay Phillips This story is, at least in my opinion, one of the best stories I have ever written. It is a new take on a... [1,427 words]
Curiosty by Kristopher K Starliper Alex regrets his curiosity. [209 words]
Chain Reaction by Aamanrah - [1,473 words]
Bloody Bones by Jay Phillips This story is a new take on many of the old legends which have been passed down to me through the ... [2,257 words]
And The Winner Is by Liilia Morrison A summer camp sports competition has a surprise ending [1,132 words]
A Trip To Grandmothers House by Brian J Hankins A cute story for the whole family. [1,017 words]
A Soldiers Recount by Corey Moon This is a made up story that is based off a battle in WWII. [1,829 words]
A Resubmission Of 'an Audience With The King' by Ann Gordon This is a piece of last years work which seems to been deleted of... [662 words]
20 Dollars To Fear by Jimmy Mason This story hold a special place in my heart. A story of a strange night in a bar [1,437 words]
Go to page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 [13] 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
| |
TITLE (EDIT)
Magnolia |
DESCRIPTION
A young woman finds out what a magnolia smells like
[1,208 words] |
AUTHOR
Liilia Morrison |
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
Writer and artist living in South Florida
[August 2016] |
AUTHOR'S OTHER TITLES (22)
A Thousand Camels (Poetry) A caravan of long ago [173 words] [History]
A Treat For Heinke (Short Stories) A girl finds hope during wartime [1,028 words] [Spiritual]
A Werewolf? (Short Stories) A man entrances a woman in Miami, or is he a werewolf? [1,492 words] [Mystical]
And The Winner Is (Short Stories) A summer camp sports competition has a surprise ending [1,132 words]
As It Comes (Short Stories) A discarded, ragged notebook found on the sidewalk brings impressions and thoughts to the person who found it. [756 words] [Drama]
Down In The Country (Short Stories) The end of the line ain't what it's cracked up to be. [840 words] [Drama]
Endangered (Poetry) A love goes bad [45 words] [Romance]
Garlic, Ginger And Golden Seal (Short Stories) An old woman's recipe for a long life [1,868 words] [Mystery]
Grandma, I Love You (Non-Fiction) Memories of my maternal grandmother [1,027 words] [Biography]
How Lizard Lenny Svaed My Life (Short Stories) A woman escapes life under the El thanks to a man called Lizard Lenny [1,255 words] [Relationships]
It's About Time (Short Stories) Ups and downs in the world of quantum physics [1,475 words] [Humor]
Just Another Joe (Short Stories) A gumshoe takes it as it comes [1,096 words] [Health]
Kylie (Short Stories) Success is not always what we think it is. A girl chooses between fame or love. [1,700 words]
Ode To Wayne Dyer (Poetry) A light roast of self-help books [262 words] [Humor]
On Turning Seventy (Essays) A woman ponders the march of time [717 words] [Motivational]
Ovidio Gets A Smoke (Short Stories) A party turns sour but Ovidio ends up sittin' pretty. [1,160 words] [Suspense]
She Saw It All (Poetry) Statue of Liberty Saw 9-11 [190 words]
Teacups And Time (Poetry) A troubled, cold soul finally finds warmth [151 words] [Spiritual]
Thank You For Not Sleeping (Short Stories) Thoughts go all over the page during the night [1,257 words] [Mind]
The Mysterious Gypsy (Short Stories) Among old photos of Northern people, an exotic gypsy's photo appears. Who is she? [1,457 words] [History]
Tom's Moon (Short Stories) A little doll makes a difference [857 words]
Too Late For Coffee (Short Stories) An old man's last days with an angel [1,489 words] [Spiritual]
|
Magnolia
Liilia Morrison
It was nine thirty. The waiting room filled quickly, even though the window didn't open until ten. Children cried while young mothers yelled. Old people sat rigid on hard, metal chairs. One man, who was too late to get a seat, stood in a corner. His face and body dripped with large nodules. The security guard opened both sides of the entrance doors to allow a corpulent woman, wearing tight, spandex pants, to enter. He also gave worn pieces of paper with a number on it to each person as they entered the waiting room.
"What you in here for?" Sharon, the mother of an active two year old, asked a young, well dressed man. "You don't look like you need no help like the rest of us po' folks."
"Oh, mind your own business," another woman said. "You ain't as hard up as you's tellin' them, neither."
"Oh yeah?" Sharon said, "and what about Cleatus? Don't think I don't know about dat."
A hush came over the room as a clerk appeared behind the counter. All eyes turned to the thin, stern looking woman with wire rim glasses. She shuffled papers on a counter, hidden by a paneled wall that separated the very poor of St. Augustine from the somewhat orderly government program that put food on the tables of those in great need.
A girl of about seventeen entered from a door behind the clerk and sat down on a stool behind the counter.
"What you doin' 'dere?" Sharon said. It was Charmaine, her neighbor.
"I work here, in case you need to know," Charmaine said. Her voice was frosty.
Sharon did not say anything more, turning her attention instead to Alvin, her little son.
"Number one," the clerk called out. Soon the room relaxed as people were called, disappearing into back rooms, where counselors checked how badly they needed the food.
"White lung," the well dressed young man said.
"Say what?" Sharon said.
"I've got white lung. You asked me why I was here, didn't you?"
"Oh, I'm sorry about dat."
"What is dat?" another woman said.
"I'm a hairdresser," the young man said. "The hairspray got to me, though. My lungs are shot. I can't work any more."
The room absorbed this bit of information. It was gently folded into the communal suffering, the sum total of all the tragedies of the people in this room, past, present and future.
"Please get the file for Andrews," the clerk told Charmaine, who was assigned to help with paperwork. Since the teen was from the neighborhood, the supervisor figured there would be less problems with clients. They might not make up so many stories to get more food.
Soon it was lunchtime. No numbers would be called for an hour. Most people remained in the waiting room. A few went outside to smoke or get some fresh air. Any urgent conversations were taken outdoors. One never knew who might be listening.in that room and spread rumors.
Sharon took Alvin in the back where the boy could run around, when she saw Charmaine come out the back door.
"Hey Miss Fancy Pants," Sharon said.
"Don't give me no trouble," Charmaine said. "If you wasn't so lazy, you'd go out and get a job, too."
Sharon decided to let that drop. Charmaine might say something to the office. That would be the end of Sharon's food allotment.
Charmaine was finished for the day. She walked down the dirt road leading to her grandma's house. She had grown up here and knew every stick, stone and bush on the familiar path. She walked past the tree where men sat on crates and boxes all day, talking, gambling, playing cards. They would whistle at her, now that she had new clothes, high heels and wore her nails long and red.
Soon she reached the tall magnolia tree next to her grandma's house. In summer, there would be big, white blossoms way up in the dark green, shiny branches. When Charmaine was small, she often dreamed of touching one of these big, white flowers. She wondered if they had a smell to them, like the tiny, scraggly, pink roses did in the backyard.
The home was a one room shack, with no electricity or a real floor. Charmaine's father and mother had disappeared long ago. The grandmother, who raised the girl, never mentioned why, nor did the neighbors say anything.
Charmaine lifted and pulled open the old wooden door. It was dark inside. She could hardly see the old woman lying on the cot.
"Child," the grandmother said in a feeble voice, "I'm sick. I don't know's I gonna make it, honey." Then she stretched a bony arm into the humid, hazy air.
"Can you reach me my cup?"
Charmaine picked up an old tin cup from the floor. It was half full of well water.
"Here grandma." The old woman took a sip and spilled the rest of the water on the front of her cotton dress.
"You're gonna be okay. Don't you worry."
"No child, I knows when I'm ready for the Lord. I got the fever. I got the fever."
Charmaine kicked off her shoes and clothes, leaving them on the earthen floor. In her bra and panties, she lay on her own cot, looking out a little window. She took two pieces of bread from a shelf and, placing a slice of bologna in the middle, began to eat.
"What a bunch of stories these people tell," she said.
"Honey, don't you worry about other folks."
"They make me sick."
"Honey, you're smart, just like your ma. You got a job, ain't you?"
"My ma! My ma," Charmaine screamed. "You never told me nothin' about my ma. Don't you think I wanna know?"
There was no answer.
An uncle and aunt from Zolfo Springs came and helped bury the old woman behind the shack, next to the pink rosebush. Those were the only flowers by the grave. A few neighbors brought food and drinks.
"The Lord called her," they said. "It was her time."
That night, Charmaine looked out the window. The trunk of the magnolia tree blocked any view of the sky. She reached over to her grandma's empty cot where she had put her new clothes. She dressed quickly, slipping on her high-heeled shoes.
"Girl, what you doin' out here this time o' night?" one of the men under the gambling tree said.
"I need a favor," she said. "A big favor."
"Sure, honey, one of the men said. "Just name it."
The neighbors were asleep when the man climbed down from the magnolia tree. He handed Charmaine the large, white blossom.
Charmaine cupped her hands gently around the thick, curved petals. Then she raised her hands to her face. The fragrance was delicate. It was like nothing she had ever smelled before. It was like pale doves sitting on lemon trees in rainbow-covered clouds; like the soft touch of a little child who will never grow up. Grandma would like it.
"Hey, let's go," the man said.
"Just a minute." Charmaine walked behind the house and placed the magnolia blossom on her grandmother's grave. Then she reappeared from behind the shack.
"I'm ready."
|
|
Submit Your Review for Magnolia
Required fields are marked with (*).
Your e-mail address will not be displayed.
|
|
Submit Your Rating for Magnolia
|
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
© 2007 Liilia Morrison |
STORYMANIA PUBLICATION DATE
June 2007 |
NUMBER OF TIMES TITLE VIEWED
1827
|
|
