dear stray eyelashes, ladybugs, dark tunnels, wishbones, dandelions, pennies, shooting stars, 11:11, and birthday candles, when will you do your job?

Sometimes all you really need is a place to call home. *** Claire is lost and scared and utterly alone. Her family is in shambles after the death of her older sister Ina, and she's left to pick up the broken pieces of herself as her life heads into a downwards spiral of loneliness. Her heart leads her to 5:48, a little cafe by 33rd street, where she finds her new home. With a broken heart and a speech disability, Jasper has his heart and mouth sewn shut by the winding threads of hurt and fear. Painting and serving coffee in cafe 5:48 are one of his last few saving graces, but the smile he's been painting on himself will soon fade away as everything he's ever held dear slips away from his grasp. Ezra is out-of-sync and oddly cold by the way life has treated his young self. Abandoned by his single mother at an early age, he has grown up thinking that he is a mistake. His constant shaking hands are a reflection of what he often thinks of himself, but the delightful pastries he bakes for 5:48's customers are a reflection of what others see of him. Drew is a quirky rarity. He is a dash of loud, a pinch of exuberant, and a cup of eccentric - just like the meals he serves in the cafe as the only chef there. Behind his playful grins and outlandish clothes, however, are his jutting ribs, hollowed cheeks, and too-thin arms. Sometimes he cannot stomach being in his own skin as much as he cannot stomach food. This family has gone a long way from finding each other, and they'll be going a long way together too as reality comes catching up to them, threatening the newfound happiness they've found with each other. Secrets are revealed, pasts become presents, and lives are changed. Slowly but surely, they find their way back home. *** NOTE AS OF 08/2026: This is the old version of the story from 2012, posted in FULL. Another story that will be considered a reprise of this old version is in the works, and will be posted under the name "Hiraya House."

I like people, they're strange. We'll all meet thousands, and thousands of people in our lifetime. Some, we'll know just their name, and others we'll know that they are afraid of ketchup, regularly work at the soup kitchen, and aspire to be a wedding photographer. Through this anthology, you'll meet countless people, and be given a glance (from a safe, comfortable distance) into a single (possibly awkward, uncomfortable, sad, optimistic, etc.) scene in their life; you can decide for yourself if you'd like to know more than their name, or not. © Jake Sullivan, 2014

i replicate you with words, so that you live forever.

love [n.] an intense feeling of deep affection. a collection of love stories for a rainy day. none have any relevance to the others, and yet they all belong as they are all about that feeling of deep affection.

❝There comes a time where one must move on, no matter how difficult it may seem. Maybe one day I might move on. Maybe.❞ Jen struggles to adjust to modern day London life after her best friend, Louis, dies and her parents divorce, forcing her to move. To cope, she writes letters to Louis. She never sends them anywhere, though. She keeps them all wrapped up in a box on top of her cupboard. But eventually, Jen will have to move on. If only it was as easy as closing your eyes and counting to ten.