Sara Pauff

Sara Pauff is a professional communicator, part-time storyteller who primarily writes young adult fiction and is at work on her first novel. Her short fiction has been published in Half and One, CommuterLit.com and On the Run. She is also a regular participant in the VSS challenge, in which writers craft a 500-character micro-story based on a one-word prompt. You can find her on Instagram and Threads at @spauffwrites.

Penned

Chapter Four
I shuffle to my room, shut the door, and curl into the reading chair under my loft bed, surrounded by my books. When I moved in with my aunt and uncle, I didn’t expect to get my own room. This used to be Uncle Nate’s home office. When Mom and I came to visit, my uncle would blow up the air mattress for Mom, while I always shared a room with Cara. I love my cousin, but there have been many times over the last year when I was glad for a private refuge.