Sometimes, the haircut you want is not the haircut you need.

Every now and then, if the moon is just right, the old ones will assemble and take someone back with them.

From the time they were kids, they just couldn’t wait for something bigger than their small Alabama town.

Every year, they gathered at the campground to feel the magic of the mountain fireflies that glowed in time with each other. Then, a harsh discovery broke the spell.

There was a time in Hudson, North Carolina, when a man would never walk into a beauty shop. But one day, in 1973, one did.

A short story about an old man, a young man, the checkout line, and small things that feel like justice.

Forty-five years in, Sherry’s life doesn’t amount to much. But then, she meets a pair of sisters almost twice her age who could redeem her. Except…

Sugar worships Loretta Lynn, even named her dog after Loretta’s husband. She dreams of being the next big Nashville singing star. There’s just one problem: Sugar is almost completely deaf.

“I didn’t know whether to congratulate her or say I’m sorry. I didn’t recognize her at first.” A short story about separation, reunion, and the long, twisting path of a marriage.

Her granddaughter doesn’t understand her grandmother’s faith, but can’t question how it has sustained her and her family for many years. A short story by Lillian Howell.

A short story about a North Carolina country woman who takes a bus into a better, brighter life — but one that lasts only for a day.

Fiction writer DC Diamondopolous with a short story about a Montgomery pastor who helps one his of flock back away from the edge of suicide.