Welcome to Richard R. Green is Lit

The field at Flowers Park was not very fancy, but it felt like home to us. The grass was patchy and rough, the lines were painted for a soccer field, and the goalposts were messed up completely, but every Friday night it turned into a football field and playing there felt like playing in the NFL. The lights shined bright, and the sky slowly changed from day to night. Parents, and fans filled the bleachers, talking loudly and were all bundled up to stay warm. I stood on the si

It’s been 11 months. Exactly 11 months since the last time I saw my mother, before the cancer took her away from me and my dad. It came as a surprise when my mother died because when we left the hospital that day the doctors said she was doing well for a patient with stage three breast cancer. I can still remember my father violently shaking me awake, speeding to the hospital, and running through the maze of hallways clutching my hand at New York Presbyterian only to be too l

The paintbrush slips from Will’s fingers as he hears the door of the Wheeler home clank open and slam shut. “Mike, seriously, why are you home so late? You've been gone all day! Where have you been!?” Mrs. Wheeler shouts with aggravation. Mike mumbles something rude under his breath and stomps upstairs to his room. Will, eavesdropping from the basement, continues to finish his painting and pretends his heart didn't drop as he hears the boy he is in love with arrive home and i

I was about four years old when my mother and father died in a tragic car accident. I had no other family besides my grandma, so she took me in. My grandma would always say to me, “Your parents left something very powerful for you, but you're the only one who can figure out what it is, Elodie.” At that time I couldn’t understand what she meant. I wondered when I would finally understand what she meant. But now I do. ***  I woke up on my tenth birthday and I felt something of

It was just a normal Tuesday when I went up to my attic to grab a blanket. As I stepped inside something immediately caught my eye. It was a book, but instead of being old and dusty like everything else in there it looked new and clean. “That’s weird,” I thought to myself, so I stepped closer and realized I recognized it. I just didn’t remember why. My curiosity got the best of me so I opened it and started reading.  “June 25th” it read. “Today was our last day of school an

Everest Rossi promised herself that she wouldn’t fall in love this year. Everest made this vow while staring at her reflection in the bathroom mirror in her New Jersey apartment, espresso in her hand and messy bun perched atop her head. At 24, half Italian, half American, Everest survived awkward teenage years, heartbreaks, and horrible first dates. Her romantic life was never how she planned it out to be. Love, she decided, was way too much work. Instead Everest had deadlin

The savannah had cycled quietly in a way that felt intentional. Not quiet in the gentlenesses of the dusk, when insects paused and wind delayed, but a hollow silence, as if sound itself had escaped. The hunter knelt in tall grass near the dried riverbed, his left knee pressed against his chest, stabilizing his shot. This was a position that became familiar over the years. There were badges and patches filling the sleeves of his camouflage patterned jacket, and there was a nam

One hundred and fifty years into the future the government perfected what it called The Engine. Every choice, every kindness, every lie, every moment was recorded. On a person’s fifteenth birthday, at the minute of their birth The Engine would project a single word above their head. Their name. Not a name chosen by parents. Not a nickname earned from friends. A true name, one that defined who you were. Hi. I’m 2–7641. That’s what I’m called for now, my almost-name. On Octob

My sister and I have treated everything in life like a competition. No matter what we were doing chores, playing sports, who got the bigger portion of food, there always had to be a winner, and there was usually a rematch to go with it.  Poker nights were always the same. From basically birth me and my sister were taught to be serious card sharks. All we needed was a deck of cards, barely any poker chips, just enough to create pressure, and the kitchen table between us. Noth

“Tomas.” Ella grinned as she looked at me, a sense of admiration in her eyes. “How is it so hot here?  I thought Indiana was supposed to be cold?” Ella seemed to not understand that in America, hot and cold were a much bigger spectrum than back home. She’d never been here before, hadn’t even gone as far as leaving the European Union. It seemed ironic that the first time she left Europe would be to go with her future husband to an entirely different country for what may be the

I come from my mother’s or my fathers anger. I don’t know and it doesn’t matter because everyone thinks badly of me. But not my flaca who was always in my life who made us feel like children again when girls would try to talk to me they tried their hardest to win over me but not my flaca who already had my heart. We would always dance to Mexican rock on my mother’s old stereo and we would dance till out feet gave out. Each Sunday after mass we would go to this taco place that

I opened my eyes from the sliver of sun peeking through the blinds. The clock read 7:48am. I was late for work! “Shoot. Shoot. Shoot” I screamed. It’s a 20 minute walk from my apartment to work and I had to be there at 8:00. I rushed out of my bed, took a fast freezing cold shower, and put on the same bland khakis and sweater I wear everyday to work. I was still shivering from my shower, but I’m honestly used to it by now because my landlord shut down everything, my lights, m

9:47 pm. Tuesday night. I check in at Rosewood Inn, alone. As I walk in, I feel watched, yet no one's around. The receptionist creeps up from behind me and goes behind the desk. She smiles warmly but something feels off. She asks what she can do for me and I respond “May I get a room please.” She hands me a key card “Room 19”, she says calmly. I hand her 80 dollars and walk away with my suitcase following after me. I look behind me while walking away and she's vanished.  I h

Obelon, 26th of January, Year 340, 0:00 She looks over the branch, down into the lake’s abyss. Her heart is fraught with emotion, weighing the branch down. Then the ghostly song moves into the girl’s ears, “Dreams never lie, We fix the world and make it right. Not a care for a heart not even our own, Every sin will die, never to be seen again. But our lives will continue on For we are hunters voices strong, We fix the world and make it right,  Killing the sinners with our so

Part 1 The clock struck 8 o’clock, Thomas’s shift at the grocery store was over. Thomas was an average man in every way. He wasn’t short, and he wasn’t tall at 5 foot 11, he had brown hair and brown eyes, and was neither slim nor fat. He was a below average student, he didn't do well in school because he didn't like it. He wasn't a trouble maker, but he also wasn't a good student. When he was applying to colleges his guidance counselor told him he had no chance of getting ac

I take my front row seat in Mr. Frey’s class just as the late bell rings. Everyone settles into their seats and pulls out their English binders.  “The assignment I will give today is worth 30 percent of your final grade. ”The room falls silent and everyone shifts their attention to Mr. Frey. “You will have to create a three to five minute presentation on something in your life that shaped who you are today .”I slowly raise my hand. “Yes Margo,” Mr. Frey calls on me “Is thi

I am setting the table for breakfast when he knocks on the door. I am not expecting anyone today, I wonder who it is. I do not know yet that I am about to receive the worst news of my life. I walk towards and open my front door. Standing there is Alix, my best friend, his beautiful green eyes filled with tears. “I’ve been drafted,” he cries, “for the war.” My heart shatters; I'm speechless. How could this have happened? I knew they were going to start selecting men, but I did

Nicole woke up to the sound of a heart monitor beeping steadily beside her bed. The ceiling above her was a dull white, cracked slightly near a flickering light, and for a long moment she only stared at it, unsure why it felt so unfamiliar. When she tried to move, her body responded slowly, as if it did not quite belong to her. Panic fluttered in her chest as she searched her mind for answers followed by her name, age and anything, but each time she was only able to find sile