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

Mistaken

He called me Susan. It startled me. It only happened once and even in his locked-up world he appeared to immediately realize his mistake. I could see it deep in his eyes, a tacit understanding, a heartfelt apology that softened my shocked expression into a forgiving smile. How I wish I’d known him when he was well and vibrant, before the strokes and heart attacks had crushed this large man. He now spent his days slumped in a chair, seemingly vacant, but he knew deep down his future daughter-in-law was not called Susan. She was the ex-fiancé from years ago.

Unexpectedly widowed over ten years ago, Sarah Nicholson would love to write a memoir about her experiences but is easily distracted writing shorter pieces. Find Sarah at insearchoflostglitter.blogspot.com/ and on Twitter @reravelling.

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