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

He'e

The pinkish-purple tentacle reached across my palm, oozing and unfurling onto my wrist, caressing my hand upturned towards the starlit heavens. In reality, low gray clouds hovered over the dark waters, immeasurable depths. But not in the cove where we paddled our feet. Stretched down, my toes grazed rocky sand. Careful not to crumble coral or snag a stinging sea urchin! My anxiety quieted, communing with this wondrous, translucent creature with three hearts and eight mini-brains for eight arms. Perhaps sensing my nervousness she/he/it sought to calm me. The lilting voice of our diver-guide floated on the edges.

Fenny H. Lin is an emerging writer who is exploring her voice in fiction and nonfiction. She is seeking ways to write for impact. 

Time with Teeth