Chosen for Further Reading (January 2021)
Some outstanding stories from The Masterpiece
The first month of 2021 was eventful. We have received so many stories from our writers and published the best ones from them. Many of the stories got curated by Medium right after the publishing.
As you all know, we are very selective and publish mostly one/two articles a day. We don’t want to overwhelm our readers with tons of nonsense listicles or the same stories in different orders. On the contrary, we love to offer them the best stories that may enhance their life and experiences.
In January, we published 44 well-crafted stories from a bunch of brilliant writers across the world. They are on different topics, including environment, culture, self-improvement, life, mental health, memoirs, and more.
Today, in this article, we will share with you some of those incredible stories we have chosen for further reading. We hope these stories will make you think deeper about yourself and the world around you.
So, let’s have an amazing experience.
I Saved Three Turtles and a Dolphin Yesterday
Where things start to become a little uncomfortable is when I encounter some of the locals on my world-changing walks. I am the only permanent foreigner living in a tiny French village where goat and sheep farming make up the predominant means of earning a living. My accent, poor language skills, and the fact that I get paid to write stories for a living, already make me something of an anomaly.
Toss in the fact that I wander through the woods with a garbage bag and a pick-up stick, and it becomes easy to see how I have acquired a reputation for being a little odd…(read the full story)
#written by Mike Alexander
How All My Attempts to Impress A Girl Went In Vain
Since Juliet was a cheerleader, she probably liked the athletic type. So I started jogging, at least past her house, and then I’d walk around the block. Two houses away, I would race past her house and then slow down to catch my breath. I’d then stroll around the block, recovering. I did this ten times. It took me an hour and a half, impressive use of time, and a splendid way to avoid study.
I promised myself that if she was outside, I would stop, take a deep breath, and ask her for some water. One day she did see me, but I ran even faster. Would she ever consider that for such a fitness freak I was rather chubby?…(read the full story)
#written by Walter Bowne
Home and Homeland: Once, I Have Been Stateless
I was born in a country that no longer exists: the FRG. Then I lived in a country that no longer exists: Yugoslavia. After that, I moved to a country that was never recognized as a sovereign state: Taiwan.
Now, I live in a country that 30-something years ago had a different name, different borders, and a different political ideology: the GDR.
My Croatian papers still show my married name, which was Greek. After my divorce, I gave up the Greek name… (read the full story)
#written by Karmen Jurela
What I Learned Seeing My Friend’s Paragliding Fail
I saw Jhon stopped running abruptly, thinking that it’s enough. And, at that very moment, all of them stumbled and rolled down like football from the hill, and god bless, after a few rolling, they stopped on a valley-like tiny place.
I thought I was watching a movie or something. I was terrified and shocked to the core. I felt helpless too because I couldn’t go down there to see what happened to them. Oh, it was terrifying. All of them could have died if the rolling didn’t stop there…(read the full story)
#written by S M Mamunur Rahman
Lovely Legs and All
As a nature lover, I must confess that spiders and I have a rather uneasy relationship. Rain spiders are harmless, at least to humans, but that does not stop them awakening in me some deep-rooted primitive fear that probably stems all the way back to my prehistoric ancestors.
Despite my inherent cowardice, the trio with whom I was sharing the caravan and I had established an uneasy détente. They stuck to the roof at the end of the van, and I kept to my half. Other than that, we ignored one another.
This cozy little arrangement between environmentalist and arachnid worked quite well until a girlfriend announced she would be flying in for a long weekend… (read the full story)
#written by Mike Alexander
Diamonds of Anxiety Are a Girl’s Best Friend
What will happen with my family? What if I lose work? I’m getting older. I have problems with my back and legs. My head hurts all the time. Are these people gossiping about me? Will I be able to parallel park in the center? I didn’t do any workouts because I don’t love myself right. Your writing is shit, your life is shit, and I’m afraid I’m a bad person.
Did I take enough time for my family? I didn’t call my grandma, what if something bad happens to her? Did my baby get enough walk today? I think I’m lazy. Why I’m so slow with this project?
My skin is shit and I didn’t cook today. I need to clean my bathroom now, at midnight because I can take another morning look in this dusty mirror without losing my shit. Do my friends still love me? Today I spoke with… (read the full story)
#written by Luna Laz
Writing Every Day for 07 Days Made Me Cry
I was motivated and determined to write smoothly for the first 30 days. If I see any changes in my earnings or engagement, I will continue the process of writing, I thought.
How much I invested myself in writing every day? Let me tell you. I am not a morning person. Getting up early and thinking, what to write is not my cup of tea. However, I got up at 5 am and started crafting my stories. I used to spend two hours on writing and the same for editing.
I wrote for 07 days straight. That was it. But I have never been so frustrated in my life… (read the full story)
#written by Manas Bhardwaj
What I Learned From the Mental Health Issues of My Loved Ones
My father battled depression since I was a teen. I have vivid memories of him when one day, all of a sudden, he refused to step out of the house. Luckily, he was an entrepreneur who was chasing multiple pursuits; hence we were financially doing alright.
But it took us months of medication and treatment to get him back on his feet and go back to work again. And the cycle did not stop there. It lasted till his last breath, varying in intensity, but it was with him nevertheless.
I had a friend who battled mental health issues too. This person was not…(read the full story)
#written by Subha Shrinivasan
Switzerland and the Toblerone City of Zermatt
My wife discovered this city by chance while looking for places for our honeymoon, and what a beautiful surprise it was. We took a train from Visp to Zermatt, and the view was just breathtaking.
When we arrived and got off the train, we were stunned by the station. It has flowers on every window, and the architecture is a mix of old buildings and new ones.
I usually tell my friends whenever they ask me about Switzerland, that it looks like a movie set. I keep waiting for someone to come and dismantle everything to give place to a Vikings… (read the full story)
#written by Felipe Xavier
‘YouTube Village’ Goes Viral — How a Simple Idea Changed an Entire Village
Initially, he and his uncle Delwar Hossain used their savings to run the project. They trained the village people on how to work systematically and document it on camera. Liton established a system there so that they can do the whole process by themselves.
So the game started. Liton made a page on Facebook as well to share the photos and videos. As cooking and distributing foods by a village mob is a rare scene, people started sharing the videos on numerous cooking and food-related pages.
The videos eventually reached millions of people and were appreciated by viewers all across the globe… (read the full story)
#written by S M Mamunur Rahman
To Conclude
We are determined to publish stories that can stay alive in your mind. We believe good stories live forever. And our writers take their time to craft their best stories for you.
So, read the stories published in The Masterpiece to enrich yourself and widen your worldview.
Happy reading.
Meet The Masterpiece Writers
Masum Billah, Daisygwoods (Cocoa Griot), Orianna Nienan, Rhys McIntyre, Arun Suresh, R. Scott, Ryan Gradoville, Macey Malone, Claire Splan, Jay Krasnow, Mahmudul Islam, Rita Rodrigues, Heemeng Foo, Daniele Ihns, Obsidian Eagle, Rosalind Pagan, Karmen J., Luna Laz, Shayla D. Potter, CR Mandler MAT, Nizam Uddin, Rachid Bekhechi, Alexis Busso, Venessa Amber, Felipe Xavier, Manas Bhardwaj, Purushottam Banerjee, Niyatijain, Mike Alexander, Jennifer MacDonald, MsBirgith, Donnie French, Phil Rossi, Glyn Bawden, Walter Rhein, Emmanuel Addo Anderson, Venessa Tj, Varun Mallpragada, Quy Ma, Prajakta unKNown, Nanda Jurela, Angela K. Irvin, M.A., Jennifer Marie, Deepak Jayal, David Cenicola, M.Ed., Zane Dickens, Simona Cazanescu, Lori Miranda, Diana Smyth, Margarette Mathias, Sydney J. Shipp, Mary DeVries, Mahmudul Hasan Khan, Shyamdeo Ranjan, Harry Male, Muda El Masry, Geetika Sethi, keypressingmonkey, JM Miana, Azim Rushdi, Evan Wildstein, M. H. Rubin, Zac Malik, Nabil Alouani, Vanilla Being, Mike Maher, Fatimah Alayafi, Devin Arrigo, Drew Wardle, Andrew Jazprose Hill, Shawkat Islam, Dominic McIntyre, Cristina Stivala, Rene Cizio, Kerstin Krause, Ryan Frawley, Nazmus Sakib, Louise Peacock, Bryson Owens, Rabia Akram, Sean Smith, Josh “υя_ωιѕємαη* “ Lessie, Lynda Wallis, Jake Mura, Andrew Constable MBA, Indubala Kachhawa, Sophia Lill, Chetna Jai, Ashley Riley, Samantha McDowall, Isaiah McCall, Ashley Hague, Sandija Sproģe, Abishaik Mohan, Cristian Nunez, Marija Martincevic, Aigner Loren Wilson, Karen L. Jones, Shabaira Junaid, J.A. Longs, Todi Afo, Ibrahim K, Matthew Prince, Paul Marsh, Zach Klebaner, Michael Shook, Suntonu Bhadra, Maria (she/her), Jessica Donahue, PHR, Kayla Vokolek, Murad Zamanov, Subha Shrinivasan, Tatiana Santana, Darren Richardson, Edith Sam, Nicole Cooper, Kristina Jancar, Aaron Crow, Amen Naqvi, Muhammad Sakhawat, Melissa Kerman, Yve Laran, Sarah B. Simpson, Michaela K, Fareeha Arshad, Orestis Spanos, Tedd Liners, Walter Bowne, Jessica Rohloff, Elle How, Evelyn Marentette, Justin Jones Li, Nancy Jorgensen, Shenbaga Lakshmi Srinivasan, Katie O'Grady, Kaylan Mah, Akarsh Nalawade, Zara Everly, Junaid S. Hayat, Mary Jones, Beat Schindler, Courtney Burry,
If you are looking for more amazing stories, you may read the following post.