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

Grief

It was day three after. After Appa had lain in a glass case in our front hall for the whole town to pay their last respects. After the last rites. After the wailing. After Amma`s sedation. I creeped into the bedroom and saw his bed, with the extra pillows for his feet. “Appa,” I said, and slowly lied on his bed, closing my grieved eyes, hoping for an answer. Just as I drifted off, I felt something under the pillow. Sitting up, I lifted the pillow. There lay his watch, his inhaler, and a perfectly folded cotton handkerchief, waiting.

Maheswari Raja is a person interested in stories and storytelling. She craves creating and is a physician in her day job. Instagram: mahesh.raja.md

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