"Old man, you must curse me even in death, I don't care what you think, it's my life," Razane Al-Bilali said angrily, and the young woman clicked off the telephone, and closed her eyes, hard. Sitting on a quiet corner of the third-floor stairwell inside the Carleton University library, Razane bravely fought the tears that were coming, and found that she simp...
"You'll never guess where I come from," Rachel Van Boeijen said, smiling faintly. Sitting opposite her inside The Page Break, the Starbucks located inside the Carleton University library, Kinuthia "Ken" Makenga stroked his goateed chin thoughtfully. The international student from Kenya was one of the special mentors and tutors assigned to the International S...
I waited in the thicket until twilight, then waited some more. At last, Imran Hafiz left the masjid, and I smiled triumphantly. For once he was alone, I could see none of his usual assortment of armed guards anywhere. Moving silently I dashed across the yard, my feet barely touching the ground. Drawing my dagger from my pocket, I struck. Three times I plunge...
Salome Rosenthal, that's my name. With such a moniker, I might as well have 'Jewish Broad' tattooed on my forehead. I was born in the City of Tel Aviv, Israel, to an American Christian mother and Israeli Jewish father. I was raised Jewish, though. My parents, Benjamin Rosenthal and Maeve O'Connell are divorced, have been for a decade. A lot of interfaith mar...
May 23rd - Saturday / Midnight Thanks to Aiden and Luna, Lane hobbled back to the staff cabins through the dark woods. Only the gentle downward slope of the path and dim light from the gas lanterns hung from the archways of the five cabins gave them a vague sense of where to go. Luna groaned, "Physical activity may not have been a wise idea." Lane whisper...
My name is Annabelle Peggy Simpson, but you may call me Sister Peg. Everybody still does. Even though I'm not a Nun anymore. I was born and raised in the City of Trenton, State of New Jersey. With my Teutonic good looks ( I stand six feet two inches tall, with blonde hair and pale blue eyes ) I could have been a model or an actress but I went in another dire...
"What the hell, Adam? You're looking at weird stuff like this now after you swore to me you don't get down like that?" I all but snapped, glaring at my Haitian boyfriend Adam "Abdullah" Ducat as I pointed at a bookmarked video featuring a light-skinned black woman banging the hell out of a darker-skinned dude with a strap-on dildo in a swimming pool. The cou...
Always thank the Creator for His blessings instead of complaining. I think if more people remembered to do that daily, their lives would be better. My name is Elijah Montoya-Stephens, and I’m a proud member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am happily married to a wonderful woman, Isabelle Marwah-Stephens and we have a son together, our l...
"Ah, the glamorous life of an exile," Najma Al-Duwaish Obaid thought to herself as she surveyed her neighborhood. Located in the heart of Vanier, Ontario, the two-story red brick building overlooked the nearby park that occupied much of Donald Street and bordered McArthur Avenue as well. Although the place was alright, all things considered, it was a far cry...
"Hell is empty, and all the devils are here." -William Shakespeare, "The Tempest" *** It started the night that members of the church board argued over whether or not to stage a Hell House for Halloween. It was unseasonably hot for mid-September, and the meeting room was small, and having so many bodies in the space made it hotter still. Nobody dared op...