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

Fractured

I love music but I don’t dance. The rare times I’m asked I politely decline, but this guy was especially insistent. After a brief respite, he grabbed my arm. He pulled it, hard. I was surrounded by people - how did no one notice him dragging me across the floor, or see my resistance? It was only seconds but felt longer. I finally got away, stunned and sore. Looking around the club, every thing, every person seemed colored by a different light. I walked home alone. My arm hurt for a month, but that change of hue only ever faded.

Rachel Lynn is a tech worker and singer/songwriter living in Austin, Texas. rachellynn1.bandcamp.com www.reverbnation.com/rachellynnmusic Facebook: rachellynnmusicpage 

Rookie

Unforgettable