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

Moment of Truth

We were a dozen teenagers determined to fulfill an ancient tradition. We pulled a cart carrying a heavy load of pine branches, to be burnt at midnight to honor the patron saint of our village. However, the steep slope leading to the Roman bridge seemed an impregnable obstacle. This could be our moment of glory or a lifelong shame. With clenched teeth and closed eyes, we made a desperate effort to keep hold of the cart as it pulled downhill. The crowd exploded into a cheering frenzy. We crossed the bridge which separated our vanishing adolescence from our incipient adulthood.

Miguel Ángel Calvo worked for an insurance company for nearly three decades. He is a retiree who dedicates part of his time to enjoying writing.

French Fries

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