Chosen for Further Reading (March 2021)

Outstanding stories from The Masterpiece

Are you ready to have an excellent reading experience? In March, we have edited and published 39 stories in The Masterpiece. The good thing is we are focusing more on quality and publishing less.

Our acceptance rate is now approximately 50%. But have no worry! When we send any story back to its writer, we give constructive feedback. It takes much of our time, but it certainly helps the writer get better and better.

Anyway, out of those thirty-nine stories, we have chosen the following 11 stories for further reading.

The stories are on different topics, including environmental pollution, self-development, self-awareness, life, life lessons, writing, racism, habit building, travel, and adventure.

We hope you will enjoy each of them.

So, let’s dive in.

The High Cost of Fashion on Our Planet

written by Courtney Burry

Today, the fashion industry is reportedly responsible for 10% of all the carbon emissions in the world. And according to a report by the Ellen McArthur Foundation, if current trends continue, this number is expected to jump to 50% of the total carbon footprint by 2030.

In the US alone, we consume more than one billion articles of clothing from China each year. But sadly, 85% of these clothes end up in the dumpster.

Let’s think about the sheer waste associated with that. Because to make a single pair of jeans takes over 2,000 gallons of water. That is enough to keep you hydrated with 8 glasses of water a day for approximately 7 years.

Not Who I Was — Not Yet Who I Will Be

written by Keri Mangis

This most recent life cycle, which I called my “become an author” cycle, lasted six years. Six or seven years is about the usual length of time for a life cycle for me. Then, it’s time to shapeshift into something new.

While I know that this isn’t how everyone moves through life, I’ve come to accept this truth about myself.

Like a snake, I’ve never been able to stay in one skin — job, role, or identity — for too long. Transformation and evolution define my life more than any skin. I enjoy exploring the new frontier.

Take a Local Bus Ride to See the Exhibition of Life

written by Ching Ching

Every time I take a bus journey, my mind switches off to soak in life as the bus passes along the narrow streets or villages. It moves on its own rhythm, like a lullaby in motion, putting you to sleep. Every so often, you might even catch yourself humming along the journey.

The bus journey is slow. It rarely rushes, but instead, it leisurely cruises along to take in the landscape. It allows you to sneak a peep into houses/shops along its routes.

To Pursue a Dream or To Choose Love?

written by Ranah Moreno

Howard Hughes went on a dream-fulfilling spree during his lifetime; a successful entrepreneur, investor, pilot, engineer, film director, and philanthropist.

He achieved many accomplishments in his life, including setting world records in aviation, founding several companies, and winning Academy Awards for his film. But despite all these accomplishments, he died alone.

He spent most of his later days with his aides as a recluse. Dying with no will and direct descendant, his distant cousins and others began snatching all the material wealth he had left behind.

The Wild Designer and Her Romantic Poet

written by Walter Bowne

A year before cancer, before melanoma had metastasized to her lymph nodes, Mary Jane had been pursuing this delayed girlhood desire, a dream far beyond sterile hospital rooms where she had labored in obscurity for twenty years as a dietitian.

She had graduated from Penn State with a BS degree in Applied Nutrition, worked at two internships, Bloomsburg and Johnston, PA, and worked for several major city hospitals in the Philadelphia area.

When I met Mary Jane in 1994, she was working at Temple. We were married in 1995.

What 99% of Writers Are Doing Wrong With Their Images

written by S M Mamunur Rahman

Many a time, they do not care if the image is overused or not. Often, the writers use images that are not closely relevant to the text.

Another noticeable thing is almost nobody cares about Alt text. They left it blank. And a few of the writers, who use it, just copy and paste their title in that alt text section. Many even fail to realize what alt text stands for.

Some writers use heavy image files that interrupt their page loading, therefore, give readers discomfort and painful experience. Especially, who have comparatively slower internet connection suffer the most. Thus, writers lose the attention of their readers.

He Called Me Nigger. I Didn’t Do a Damn Thing About It.

written by Isaiah McCall

For some reason, whenever I came back to the suburbs the following day, I thought all my White friends were experiencing what I was at church every Sunday. I thought they were comfortable around groups of Black people; not just the ones they were accustomed to in our neighborhood. I thought they knew that gang members, “hoodlums” and “hoodrats” were all scared kids at one time. They were just like us.

My life with my church friends was exactly the same as my suburban ones. The outcomes, however, were not the same. A few of the kids I met in Newark were killed. Some joined the Crips. Others were single mothers in their teens.

The world is a fucked up place. Especially when you live in the ghetto.

A Foul-Smelling Witness

written by Kerstin Krause

Today, the Bagmati is one of humanity’s greatest disgraces. Myriads of colored polythene bags are jumbled on its ravished banks, sadly swaying in the wind. Outlawed years ago in Kathmandu with a big roar, the plastic sin is back again in full swing.

The Bagmati hardly carries any water. Gone are the times when on hot summer days, locals would enjoy a refreshing dive into the cooling stream. Years ago, cattle and water buffaloes could still be spotted grazing and feeding in their meanders. Even these creatures no longer dare to come close.

The city is bursting at the seams and paying a horrific price.

It Has Been 448 Days Since I Last Shopped

written by Chetna Jai

I get Amazon’s quest to use less cardboard, but they refuse to disclose the amount of cardboard they use and ship every year. What they did say is over the last five years, they managed to reduce the amount of packaging by roughly a third, eliminating 915,000 tons of packaging material, or the equivalent of 1.6 billion boxes.

That is a move in the right direction, but last October, my son received gifts from family members from Amazon. They occupied only 60% of the boxes they came in. Just saying.

Do your research — know what you can and can’t recycle, reduce the amount you buy, repurpose and reuse.

Messages From the Past Are Beautiful Mysteries of Today

written by Elle How

Whoever painted them had a purpose, it wasn’t a random act. How do I know? Because you don’t carry red ochre around everywhere. Red ochre comes from an iron-rich rock. A piece of rock must be broken off and crushed into powder form to be used. One then has to mix it with a binding agent. Think oil or fat from an animal or fish.

You need a container to mix the red ochre and oil/fat in. The mixture has to be the right consistency, so it flows well. Then you apply the mixture to the rock face in a design with either a tool or your fingers. I find it interesting that I know this much from being an artist.

For me, this is where the magic begins. I feel their spirit connect with mine across the dimensions of time. To know that an artist stood, or sat in the exact spot I am in now, blows me away. Sometimes it’s as if I step into their body.

My Journey — From a Drug Addict to a Writer

written by Emmanuel A. Anderson

Coming from a neighborhood that detested education had an impact on me. Gangsterism, drugs, alcohol was the life, and that’s what I had seen growing up. The next thing was to engage with the guys, leading those lives.

I didn’t focus on my studies. And eventually, I became a drug addict, smoking weed and drinking alcohol, and chasing girls. I never focused on why they took me to the school, which led me to fail my last year’s examination and couldn’t continue my university education.

My mum made me resit for the test, but smoking and alcohol became my thing, and I wasn’t interested in anything other than that. So, I didn’t study and failed again.

Read the above stories and be inspired to write better than ever. Thank you.

**We are taking the privilege to mention our writers here. We think they should read (or at least see) the above stories because a good story inspires a writer to write better than before. We hope you will not feel offended being mentioned here. Thank you.

Orianna Nienan, Rhys McIntyre, Arun Suresh, R. Scott, Ryan Gradoville, Macey Malone, Claire Splan, Jay Krasnow, 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, 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, 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, Paul Mulliner, Anna, Joanne Reed, Anthony R.C. Brown II, Gaby Spadaro, Carla D. Wilson Laskey, Damon Ferrara, Esther George, Justin Taylor, Tjmakesk, Katrina Bos, Brian Tubbs, I. Trudie Palmer, Dennis De Silva, Akos Peterbencze, Pakang Senosha, Deborah Weir, Michael Robert, Jesse Pedersen, Tiago Miranda, Ilinca Doinea, Paulo Costeri, Rick Martinez, Kendra Fogarty, Aldric Chen, Erin Savage Pollaro, Emmarie Hodge, S. Viktorie Chladova, Len Morse, Esther George, John Walter 📣,

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