• Featured,  Fiction

    Phantom Bonfires

    the sun setting in the ocean with a small ship in the water

    Approaching the coast of the North Carolina Outer Banks, Ray slowed the sailboat to a stop, reeled in the sails with the main halyard, and tossed the anchor overboard. The wind rushed around the hull of the Corsair, causing the sails to waver madly. It raced past him as well, picking at his clothes and hair, blowing in his ears, and making goosebumps rise on his skin. His hair was already a windswept nest from the trip over and liable to tempt the coastline birds or evil seagulls.

  • Featured,  Lifestyle & Relationships

    Growing up Wasian in Australia

    an asian woman holding her forearm over her eyes

    After my first Chinese lesson as an adult, I called my Grandma to tell her what I had learned. I speak my mother’s language — the language of the country I was born in and the language of the country I live in now — but I have never been able to properly learn Chinese, despite being half Chinese myself. My inability to speak Chinese has made me feel like I’m bad at being Asian.

  • Featured,  Mental Health

    Falling into Your Orbit

    Woman Falling into Water

    I’ve thought about The way the wind would whip my hair Away from my face just seconds before I find my end there On the rocks below Before your very presence brought A kind of happiness I wasn’t aware existed The kind I thought was mythical, you know?

  • Brighter Tomorrow,  Featured

    One Woman’s Mission to Let Migrant Women Shine Front and Center

    black and white image of a woman writing on a piece of paper

    An experienced immigrant, da Penha personally understands the challenges faced by migrant women. Native to Brazil, she has also lived in Portugal, Italy, and Cape Verde before settling in her current home in Scotland. But it was not just the challenges of migration that confronted her. The stories told by the press about migrants, especially women, were also alarming. As da Penha built a life away from her homeland, she began to realize the media did not always portray migrants in an accurate light, often describing them according to untrue stereotypes.

  • Featured,  Humanity

    Sifting Through the Ashes

    I thought it was strange that my mom called me so early in the morning. It was 7:30am for me, so it must have been 4:30am for her.  It was Wednesday, August 9th. “I wanted to call you before you saw the news. There's a fire in Lāhainā, Kīhei, and Kula. Everyone in our family is safe and accounted for. I might go pick up grandpa from Kīhei today. Your cousin was in Lāhainā, but escaped to Nāpili. Aunty has not heard from him since last night. I will keep in touch.”  My cousin called my aunty the next day to check in. He was safe and helping with the…