Jallen sat silently on the leather chair, his little fingers trembling as he clutched the edge of the desk. Tears streamed down his cheeks, leaving glistening trails on his dark skin. He looked too small for the chair—too broken for his age. Victoria Langford, a 36-year-old self-made millionaire, leaned forward in disbelief. Her sapphire blue dress rippled as she knelt beside him, tissue in hand, her voice barely above a whisper. “What did you say, sweetheart?” The boy sniffled. His lip quivered. “He tried to hurt me,” he repeated, looking toward the frosted glass door, eyes wide with fear. Victoria…
Author: town gist
The sun had barely risen when a dusty, barefoot boy ran down the dirt path clutching a crumpled photo in his tiny hands. His shirt, once navy blue, was now faded with grime, and his pants sagged under the weight of dust and desperation. His knees were scraped, his face streaked with tears, but his grip on the photograph never loosened. It was a picture of a boy, slightly older, smiling in a school uniform his brother. And he was gone. The boy had stopped the first officer he could find a tall white man in a dark blue uniform.…
The sun was sinking behind Detroit’s broken-down buildings, painting the sky a dull, rusty orange. Marcus sat on his front steps, a wrench in his hand, his work clothes still damp from the afternoon rain. At 23, he already felt twice as old. Life had chewed him up and spit him out. His mom died when he was a kid. His little sister got swallowed by foster care. His dad? Gone vanished into the streets like smoke. All Marcus had left was the grind: work, hunger, and the kind of tired that sleep couldn’t fix. He spent his days at…
Dr. Beatric had worked at the women’s prison for years and thought she’d seen it all until that afternoon. When she looked at the ultrasound monitor, her stomach dropped. Her patient, Lillian, was pregnant. And no one knew how. That alone would’ve been shocking. But Lillian wasn’t the first. She was the third inmate that week with the same impossible condition. Trying to keep her cool, Beatric called for the prison supervisor, Camille. The moment Camille saw the ultrasound, her face went pale. “This can’t be happening,” she muttered, eyes locked on the screen. “There are no men here. No…
The sun was blazing hot as President Ibrahim Traoré and his security team drove down a dusty road. They had been on the move since morning—going to events, meeting people, shaking hands, and giving speeches. Everyone was tired, but what Ibrahim felt most was hunger. He was starving. Sitting in the back seat of his black SUV, he said, “I need to eat. I can’t go on like this.” One of his guards, a tall man with sharp eyes, quickly responded, “Sir, there’s a fancy restaurant not far from here. Very clean and very secure.” Another guard added, “Yes, sir.…
It was a busy afternoon at the airport. People rushed around with luggage some laughing, some arguing, some tired from long journeys. Flight 227 to West Africa was ready to board. A few passengers waited in the first-class lounge, sipping drinks and scrolling on their phones. Among them sat a quiet man dressed in a plain black kaftan. His shoes were clean but not flashy. His bag was small, his face calm, unreadable. He said nothing. He watched everything. He held a first-class ticket. A few people looked at him once, then twice. A Black man alone in the first-class…
What if the school bully picked on the wrong girl? One with a connection so powerful, it could change everything. This inspirational story follows Maya Williams, a quiet new student who becomes the target of Bryce Carter, the most feared guy in school. He thinks she’s weak—an easy victim—but what he doesn’t know is that Maya has a secret. One that will turn the tables in the most unexpected way. Stay until the end, because what begins with a bully’s arrogance will end with his downfall. Maya Williams stepped off the bus, gripping the straps of her backpack as she…
It was a bright Monday morning at Wagadoo International Airport. Soldiers were positioned, vehicles polished, and the runway cleared. President Ibrahim Trrower was scheduled to board a private military jet for a crucial summit abroad. His convoy rolled in slowly, heavily guarded, surrounded by armed officers and protocol staff. The red carpet had been rolled out. The jet stood waiting, engines quietly humming, ready for takeoff. Everyone was in place. The national anthem began to play softly through the speakers. Then suddenly, everything changed. From nowhere, a woman in rags burst onto the runway, screaming at the top of her…
“You’re my mom,” said the little girl to the doctor when she saw her hands. The front entrance of St. Jude City Hospital was bustling with noise. Nurses moved in and out, a patient yelled from a wheelchair, and a paramedic slammed the back doors of an ambulance. No one paid much attention to the barefoot little girl wandering the sidewalk. Her clothes were torn, knees scraped, and eyes swollen from crying. She was no older than five. Her skin was dusty, and her thin braids bounced as she walked unevenly, trembling with every step—until she collapsed right there on…
A poor Black boy saved a millionaire beaten in the street — but what she whispered made him cry. Jennifer Langston had everything, or so it appeared. Tech CEO. Self-made millionaire. Featured on Forbes Women Under 40 to Watch. But no one watched when she collapsed emotionally. For years, Jennifer had poured everything into building her empire. She’d burned through friends, assistants, even two marriages. Her only son, Austin, had grown up in luxury — but not in love. She thought throwing money at his future would make up for her absence: private schools, tutors, a Porsche for his 18th…