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

Pistol

I was loitering in the parking lot when the armed robber ran out of the store. He saw me, turned, and raised his pistol. My friends scattered. I couldn’t move. Twelve years old and staring down the barrel of a gun. I remembered all the times I’d seen shootouts on TV. I wondered if it would hurt to die. Four police cars arrived at the same time, lights flashing, sirens blaring. The robber spun around to face them, and I dove under a pickup. He was in the back seat of the cruiser by the time I opened my eyes. 

Jeff Kennedy is a lifelong author and playwright. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America. Bluesky: @jkennedy60.bsky.social Facebook and X: @JKennedy60

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