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

Weeks to Live

Dad has twelve bleeding lesions in his brain and only a few weeks to live. He tells Mom. Mom pushes in between her two Ragdoll cats, Sophie and Angel, feeling their warmth. She squints at the light coming in through the beige blinds and abruptly shifts, causing Sophie to jump up. On her way down, Sophie bumps into an Oriental wooden tray, a treasure from one of many overseas journeys. Waterford crystal wine glasses tumble. One collides with Angel, who lunges forward, knocking over one of the two large lit candlesticks. Dad grabs a wet towel to douse the flames.

Kristen Henderson writes flash fiction and memoir. She splits her time between her homes in Los Angeles and glorious Lamy, New Mexico. Kristen is the creator and editor-in-chief of Bright Flash Literary Review. Find Kristen on Twitter @kchenderson8.

Trigger Release Party

The Couple