Five Minutes explores five minutes of a life in one hundred words. Five minutes is edited by Susanna Baird, with editorial support from managing editor Maria s. picone, newsletter editor kate meen, and founding reader bobbi lerman, plus our rotating team of guest readers, who you can meet in the latest newsletteR. Five Minutes was founded in October 2020, with the Salem (Mass.)-based writing group Carrot Cake Writers supplying the journal’s first pieces. We’d love to read your five. Submit here

5:25 A.M.

I was on my knees in the wheelchair, facing the hospital security guard. “Let go of the brakes!” he yelled, prying my fingers off the hand brakes and sprinting through the empty halls. A moment later my husband caught up, car keys jangling and backpack swinging, as the elevator doors closed behind us and my water broke. Ding! Fourth floor. I'd already stripped off my clothes by the time we reached triage. I couldn't not push. “She's having the baby!” The unit came to life at the same time as my daughter. Somebody caught her before she hit the floor.

M.E. Line uses her writing to express the truth behind the most impactful experiences of her life. Her work has appeared in Off Topic Publishing Facebook: m.e.line.writes Instagram: @m.e.line.writes


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