WORRY

May, the mermaid of Lily Lake, usually loved the quiet, murky water. Today, the silence felt different. It was heavy, thick with a stillness that made her small green heart pound against her ribs. The white water lilies, typically a comforting sight, seemed to watch her with their pale, unblinking petals. Just moments ago, a…

I’m Ryan, 19, and my hands are still shaking as I write this. For a long time, life was simple—my mom, Melissa, loved me fiercely. Before breast cancer took her when I was nine, she set up a $25,000 trust for me to receive at eighteen. “College, a first place—something that makes you proud,” she…