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

Dementia Socks

“Excuse me, what’s your name?” Aza. “Where can I find some socks, Aza?” Aza leaves the knife and sweet onion on the cutting board and walks to the laundry room. “Wait, is there a bathroom in here?” Aza leaves the socks and leads him down the hallway to the left. He opens the door, and the man shuffles in. Minutes pass. You okay in there? “Yea! But how do I get out of here?” Aza opens the door. Follow me. “Thanks…, but who are you?" Aza, your son. “Nice to meet you, Azayrison. Know where I can find some socks?”

Patrick Nnoromele is a medical student in Baltimore, Maryland, whose work centers around humanism, medicine, and science fiction.

Mercies

The Magic Trick