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

Will-o'-Wisp

The smoke grew like a tree, unfurling its thin curls in the unquiet night. It smelled like blueberry syrup, thick and cloying. “I hate this,” you said, sparking up a cigarette. “When you vape there’s no peak, just a buzz,” taking a long draw from your cigarette like you could finally breathe again. You blew out an oppressive cloud, the smell of a freshly paved road, asphalt roasting in summer. “I just wanna feel something, ya know,” you murmured as you showed me a video of a man skateboarding down New Zealand hills. “That’s called living life,” a whispered sigh.

Sean Wang is a writer and editor based in Singapore struggling to fix his sleep schedule and keep his plants alive. Find Sean on Twitter and Instagram @wean_sang. 

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