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

Different Mothers

His mother never had a headache; my mother always suffered from them. His mother made him breakfast every day; my mother slept until noon and I cooked for my siblings. His mother never smacked him for failing a test; my mother said I studied hard to make up for lack of intelligence, even though I aced all subjects. His mother hugged him every day; my mother never held my hand. His mother loved him; my mother just wished she never had me. So often I wished I could be a son like him. My mother sighed and wished the same.

Huina Zheng writes as an admission coach at work and writes for fun after work.

Beyond Repair

Used Balloons