Short Stories | Inspire Magazine

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On May 30th, KBI hosted our first ever live event, “Mapping Futures”, a night packed full of events, workshops, and a live recording of Life Outside The Box. Riding off the momentum of such a fantastic event, it seems only fitting that our two live painters from “Mapping Futures” should grace the Artist Spotlight section to keep the good vibes going.

Mikaela Brewer

Writer, Advocate

Mikaela Brewer is a multidisciplinary writer, poet, speaker, researcher, and mental health advocate & activist.

"The Writer's Room" is s space dedicated to showcasing short stories and fiction, and the work of emerging young writers. Interested in sending us your work? Submit your work for consideration to: editors@the44north.ca

ABOUT THE NEWS CYCLE SERIES

Preface: this short story series explores key issues in our national and global news cycles. There are footnotes and hyperlinks for anyone who would like to delve more deeply into the topics discussed. Mass media frequently offers dehumanizing language and headlines that sell, numbing us into apathy rather than compelling us to take a deeper look into stories. Though all models of the world—including these short stories—are inherently reductionistic, storytelling via fiction can carry us somewhere, change our minds, remind us of who we are, humble us, and carve a space to see our collective, intertwined connection in a way that moves us toward liberation-focused action.

Please note: The following stories discuss difficult and complex topics such as abuse, famine, displacement, genocide, and other forms of violence. We wish to disclose this in case these topics activate you in a harmful way. However, please consider that there is a crucial difference between being activated outside of our window of tolerance and feeling uncomfortable. Discomfort is a gateway to feeling, compassion, understanding, and connecting. If it is safe for you to do so, we encourage you to lean into discomfort as you read the stories.

While reading, here is a link to supportive Body Sensations, Feelings, and Needs Lists (compiled by Meenadchi in October 2020 @ www.traumainformednvc.com).

Ghosts on the Ocean: A Story of Foster Care & Adoption

Every Halloween, bobbing on the ocean in Big Barnie, my parents read aloud our favourite ghost story at midnight: The Little Mermaid. “Even the ghosts of the sea were cold,” my dad, Jack, whispered, making use of the gap in his teeth. He frizzed up his blue-black hair so it looked spiked with hair gel.

Mikaela Brewer

11 min read

A police officer in tactical gear walking through the front door of a building

Echinacea: Understanding the Consequences of Police in Schools

The echinacea were still alive when the first bell of the school year rang. They’re also called coneflowers, and this is how my mother ensured we shared a name—that I carried her with me safely. Her name is Echina, mine is Connie. I didn’t understand, at first, why we didn’t have the same name. I both knew and didn’t in 2018, when the Toronto District School Board trustees voted to remove police officers stationed in their schools.

Mikaela Brewer

8 min read

A red “I Voted” sticker, stuck to a fingertip

Finding Love: When Your Loved Ones Vote Differently Than You

At the peak of a cool, June golden hour, Henrie searched for her house keys in the pocket of her jeans. They jingled around her fingers on their sparkly purple coil, singing with the wind chimes hanging from the porch. The old wood steps creaked, as if the groan of its paint-skin peeling, and the stone cardinal riding the chimes jolted as Henrie bumped their head on them. She’d always thought this a strange design—cardinals always appeared in pairs.

Mikaela Brewer

7 min read

Learning to Fly Again: Navigating Political & Social Justice Anxiety

Lu Duncan’s younger sister, Juni, picked him up from the train station on an unusually warm April afternoon. On his way home from college, Lu entertained Juni’s new bragging rights—her G2. He sat on his plastic suitcase, sweating as his parents’ old car pulled up, the colour of juniper berries. The air smelled stale and damp, congested with December’s road salt and sand.

Mikaela Brewer

6 min read

What Do We Do With Outgrown Friendships?

When Cera and I were girls, not too long ago, there was a small clearing in the forest that secluded our middle school. Our friendship began with the first ribbed stump in that little forest. Here, in Monarchia (as we called it), we were fairies with the wings of monarch butterflies, dining at a polished table of the sturdiest wood. It soon became the last one standing.

Mikaela Brewer

8 min read

Three tents along the curb of a road, beneath hand-painted wall murals

A Winter's Tale: Housing is a Human Right

In my pocket dictionary, I looked up the word cozy. I was curious because common words often have secondary or tertiary meanings that deepen the colloquial use of them. Cozy does mean comfort and warmth; intimate and relaxed in the context of a conversation; and soft and insulating as a cover for something warm, such as a teapot. But it also means complacency or an offering of it.

Mikaela Brewer

8 min read

A person with a long, dark braid, wearing a red long-sleeved t-shirt that reads, “NO MORE STOLEN RELATIVES” on the back

Do Not Forget: A Short Story About Indigenous Mental Health Care

Meg wasn’t sure what words to use when Dr. Waubun asked her if she wanted to share what happened three years ago. She was quiet, gazing out of the therapy office window cracked open a couple inches under red blinds. It looked out into a sample of forest, or, rather, the last piece of one if the land were a pie tray (as the developers believed). Late afternoon was blending with evening, the trees were bare under a fog duvet, and even though this bit of forest was so close by,

Mikaela Brewer

10 min read

Hope Tracks: A Short Story About Transgender Athletes

“We’re not a threat to female athletes, Sam. I know there’s ample dialogue about protecting women, but it’s a guise—excluding trans women doesn’t protect women. We are women, not biological men or biologically male. Sex isn’t binary, it’s bimodal.”

Mikaela Brewer

8 min read

A red, blue, and yellow geometric cube coming apart

Ask Yourself: Are You Being Tested? Or Are You Just…There…?: A Short Story About Sudan

“Talk to me,” I offered. I had an inkling. That morning we’d been audio messaging about the global student protests for Gaza, and how we were so incredibly proud. But the fight for liberation has to include Sudan, which we felt was being left behind. “I just feel this urge to do something. Right now. And like we have a unique, creative skill set to do it with, you know? Halla, we build things from both sides of the coin, and Rockie, you’re this brilliant blogger…” Val’s sente

Mikaela Brewer

7 min read

Lines to Cracks: A Short Story About Palestine

There hadn’t been sun since December, including this late afternoon. The air was soupy with exhaust, cold fog, and the sharpness of something burning that shouldn’t have been, likely due to the city’s house fire the night before. Mike’s mouth was tasteless and dry, mimicking the moment right before you throw up. The car keys were now warm in his hand, coated with a thin film of sweat from being trapped in his palm. He’d looked hard enough since October 7th, and he could no lo

Mikaela Brewer

14 min read

A mirror lying in a wheat field, reflecting a mildly cloudy blue sky

The Glass Portal: A Short Story About the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The glass glitched, as if an old television were shutting off, and then, in the mirror, there was a city block layered and merged with Nevaeh’s bedroom. Nevaeh was stunned speechless until she saw a young girl, perhaps the same age, hiding behind a battle-tested brick building.

Mikaela Brewer

9 min read