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- General
- Buzz Feed
15 Secrets People Will Take To Their Grave
While it's totally normal to keep certain secrets close to the chest, sometimes, sometimes we just have to share them with the world in an anonymous way. So when Reddit user Several-Director5804 asked: "What's a secret you'll take to the grave, but would tell anonymously on Reddit?" I thought I would share their answers. Here's what they said below: "My mom confided that she had an affair with her mom's second husband. They planned to start a life together, but he died first. Jeez, Mom, you couldn't find ANYBODY else?!?" —Wise_Yam_1414 "One of the times I told my parents I was going to spend the weekend in a sleepover at a friend's house, I instead had that friend drive me to the airport, where I'd booked a cheap flight to the UK so I could go watch a musical I'd also bought a ticket for. While I waited for the show, I ate lunch and also bought an illustrated edition of The Silmarillion. Once the show was over (worth every penny), I went back to the airport and waited there for my flight back. It was a very early morning flight back, but I was young then and figured I could pull off the all-nighter. Took the plane back home, my friend picked me up from the airport, spent the rest of the day at her house sleeping... and at night, my parents showed up and drove me home none the wiser." "I never actually graduated from culinary school. I was short a math class, and they let me walk at graduation anyway. 20 years later, and no one in my life has a clue except me." —Purple-Adeptness-940 "My biological grandpa was a war criminal. A school teacher in Japanese-occupied Korea during WW2, he forced his students to become Kamikaze pilots. Some survived the war and formed a lynch mob to hang him. Grandpa hid in the mountains and came back a year later as a dedicated communist guerrilla executing those former students, claiming they were colonial many more. He didn't survive the Korean War." "I knew my husband was going to propose the day he did. He was acting 'off' as we were about to leave the house, and while he was in the bathroom, I felt his coat, and felt the ring box. He later refused to go without his coat even on a warm day as we were walking around, and I had to hide that I knew why. I still acted surprised and legit cried (no acting there!) when he did it and was beaming the rest of the day (week, month, today). But I will never tell him I knew beforehand that he was going to do it." —Azhchay "It just feels wrong to say out loud, but losing a close friendship has impacted me more deeply and for far longer than my dad's death." "When I was 18, I helped my grandmother move into a nursing home. In her old house, tucked away in the back of a cedar chest, I found a small, locked metal box. The key was taped to the bottom. Inside were letters and a few faded photos of her with a man who wasn't my grandfather, along with a birth certificate for a baby boy I had never heard of. The dates showed he was born just a year before my own father. My grandmother passed away a few months later. On her deathbed, she was in and out of lucidity, but at one point she grabbed my hand, looked me dead in the eye, and said, 'Don't let him ruin them.' I knew exactly what she meant." "I did some digging online. I found him, her other son. He had a family, a good career, and seemed happy. He had his own life, completely separate and unaware of ours. My father has always idolized my grandmother, viewing her as a saint. My grandfather, who passed years earlier, was a good but difficult man, and my dad's relationship with him was strained. The image of his mother was the one constant, perfect thing in his life. I took the metal box out to a bonfire one night and burned everything. Every letter, every photo, and the birth certificate. I watched until it was all ash. I didn't do it for her; I did it for my dad. He deserves to keep the one perfect memory he has — And I condemned a man to never knowing his mother or his brother. I chose one family's happiness over another's truth. I don't know if it was the right decision, but I would make the same one again."—Big-Reporter7078 "That I found out purely by accident that my ex's dad killed himself. Ex was a baby when his dad 'died of cancer.' That's what everyone was told. Through work, I met someone who grew up on the same street as the ex's family. I said, 'Oh, you must know the Smiths,' and the customer replied, 'Yes, very sad when he jumped off the railway bridge.' The customer, on seeing my shocked reaction, tried to backpedal, but it was too late. I will never tell my ex (we are good friends and share a son), it would destroy him." "I destroyed the engine of a brand-new truck by pouring a bag of sugar into it. They lived a couple of miles from us in the country, but their son and I rode the same bus. My dog liked to stand by the road when I got home to wait for my brother and me. He was a pit bull/border collie and exceptionally sweet. Even though they were miles away, they didn't like that he was part pit bull. He was in our fenced yard when my family went to the store and gone when we came home." "He limped home three days later, and it was clear he had been run over by an ATV because the tracks were clear on his little flank. His leg was broken and twisted, and he was in so much pain. We didn't have the money to get him fixed up, so he had to be put to sleep. Local cops said there was nothing we could do and that the family (who were the only ones in the area who had an ATV) claimed they were terrified of our 'vicious' dog. The son also smirked at us on the bus and pantomimed riding over something and made a dog yelping noise. We buried him in our yard, and my mom let me plant a lilac over his grave. A few months later, those assholes got a brand new truck, and I decided to get some justice for Rex. They didn't have any cameras, so one night I walked through the fields to their shitty little hobby farm with a 5-pound bag of sugar and poured it into the tank of their new truck and into the ATV. We did get a visit from the cops two days later, asking if we knew anything about some property destruction that had happened the other night. My mom told them no, that we had all been home. Pretty sure she knew what I did because the next time we went to the store, she asked me to go get another bag of sugar to replace the one I used, and she grinned at me. Haven't told anyone except my spouse what I did back then."—Rainbow-Mama"There is a special place in hell for people who abuse animals."—ariesleorising "My anonymous secret that I'll take to the grave is this: I had a chance to save a very important friendship, but my pride got in the way. We drifted apart over a petty misunderstanding, and I was waiting for the other person to make the first move. I was so convinced I was right that I couldn't bring myself to text 'I'm sorry.' We never spoke again. Now, I realize that the minor argument wasn't worth losing a person who was so important to me. It's one of the biggest regrets of my life, and I think about it every single day." "I stole that bag of Jolly Ranchers from the teacher's closet when we had a substitute in 6th grade, 35 years ago. Not a big crime, but when the teacher said our class would no longer get candy for doing extra credit, I joined in with the choir of kids arguing that it was unfair to punish the entire class. I was told that the principal himself stopped by to lecture the class about the situation the next day, but I was sick at home from eating too many Jolly Ranchers." —Stabastian "I know a woman through friends of friends of friends (we are barely acquaintances). She is not very nice, and her husband is not very nice. Last year, I saw her husband at a nice restaurant, making out with a woman who was clearly in her early 20s. I initially noticed them because they were being so inappropriate with each other that they stood out. Everyone in the restaurant was a little creeped out. Then I realized who the guy was. Normally, I would say something to the wife — I'm that type of person — but not this couple. They are mean and weird. I just have a gut feeling that somehow they would come after me. So, I see them once in a blue moon, with their three kids, and I say nothing. But I'll never forget the husband publicly playing 'Where's the beaver' with a much younger lady." "One time in high school, I told my parents I was staying after class to study with friends, but I actually hopped on a Greyhound bus to Vegas with less than $50 in my pocket. My only plan was to sneak into a Cirque du Soleil show because I was obsessed with acrobatics back then. I made it in by following a group of VIPs through the wrong door — no one checked me. I watched the entire show from the sound booth like I belonged there. Afterward, one of the tech guys asked me to help carry some cables (I guess he thought I was an intern), so I ended up backstage." "Long story short: I accidentally ate dinner with the cast, got photos in costume storage, and even rode in their shuttle back to the hotel. I panicked at 2 a.m. when I realized I had no way home, but some of the performers thought I actually was a new hire and offered me a ride halfway back toward my city. I finally caught another bus home, stumbled into first-period math the next morning, and no one ever found out. To this day, my parents think I was studying algebra."—Few_Channel_2294 "While my ex-husband was dying, we fell back in love with each other. My kids don't know, and my current husband doesn't know that we carried on an emotional affair for the last several years of his life. Luckily, he had his cell phone locked up, so nobody found out. I quietly grieve him." And finally, "I have risen through the ranks of engineering, IT, and now marketing with zero ability to code, program a router, etc, no background in finance, nothing. I was an English major. I'm just well-read, intelligent, and an excellent communicator. I am great at understanding concepts and can learn pretty much anything." —MonicaRising Is there a secret you'll take to the grave, but are willing to share with us? Tell us what it is in the comments anonymously in the Google Form below:
Winnipeg Free Press
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Clever tavern poet shines in Kay's latest medieval romp
Former Winnipeg novelist and poet Guy Gavriel Kay has written another fantastical history novel that romps its way through medieval France. Never averse to blending actual people and places, here Kay conjures a figure based on the thief and snarky poet, François Villon, in the form of Thierry Villar, a tavern poet who draws delight from his drinking companions and antagonism and attacks from the powerful, who he ridicules in a continuing series of character- revealing ditties. This would have continued with all its bawdy consequences, but Villar is confronted with a death in the street that brings him into contact and conflict with affairs of state in Ferrieres (a recognizable France). Ted Davis photo Guy Gavriel Kay His mixture of rat survival skills, wit and honesty serve him well as he observes and then is drawn into a potential civil war. There are hints of J.R.R. Tolkien here as readers will remember Bilbo in The Hobbit, who was uprooted from his life to another world of strife and singular adventures. Not surprising, as Kay worked with Christopher Tolkien in the publication of The Silmarillion after the elder Tolkien's death. There is an obvious affection and a debt at work here. Readers might be perturbed by the three-page list of characters (a partial list) at the start of the book, but all are clearly drawn and engaging, and only require an occasional flip back to keep who's who straight. And what a varied cast they are. Kay has avoided any mustache-twirling baddies, although pride, ambition and spite lead to violent deaths and an upset of any chance of peace, order and good government. A great deal of research has gone into the writing. This shows in the description of the stand in for Joan of Arc. Kay has said that in the writing he wanted to save her. Purists will note that along with his careful descriptions of arms and armour, he has also reversed the outcome of the battle of Agincourt. Elsewhere Kay has written he hopes his 'historical fantasies' work for those who know the period as he looks for 'new ways to approach the 'central' material of the human condition.' Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. The sexuality explored in Written on the Dark is on a sliding scale, which allows for a range of couplings as our hero moves beyond 'love the one you're with' to a deeper fidelity. Written on the Dark This makes for some very modern views on the human condition, although the novel was researched to feature a medieval setting along with the divine right of kings. Accompanying that, Kay often adds a summation of the action in italics that has a whiff of self-help books. This, as his characters reach for growth and understanding. As the title describes, 'Sometimes we retain the quiet moments that come in the midst of chaos, or after it. The city, my city, in the night. Our lives, written on the dark.' Kay is a published poet himself with one of his books titled Beyond This Dark House. As with Thierry Villar, Kay has written of his connection to time and place which helps lift the novel above a simple swords-and-sandals outing. Ron Robinson's favourite poets are Rudyard Kipling and Robert Service.
Winnipeg Free Press
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Fantasy-adjacent historical fiction finds fans worldwide
It's difficult to neatly categorize Guy Gavriel Kay's published work of the last 35 years — and that's just the way he likes it. The Saskatchewan-born, Winnipeg-raised Kay, now 70, was studying at the University of Manitoba when he was enlisted by J.R.R. Tolkien's son Christopher to help edit his late father's unpublished work, The Silmarillion, in Oxford, England. After returning to Canada and completing his law degree in Toronto, Kay set about writing fantasy of his own, beginning with the three books in The Fionavar Tapestry. But since his breakout 1990 novel Tigana, set in a world similar to Renaissance Italy, Kay's writing has moved away from deep fantasy, treading a fine line between fantasy and historical fiction, inspired by real-life events in history but with a certain mystical element underlying his novels. 'I write about the past — I do that quarter-turn to the fantastic, but essentially, I'm writing about moments in history that seem to me powerful and resonant for today,' says Kay, who will launch his latest novel, Written on the Dark, at McNally Robinson Booksellers' Grant Park, where he will be joined in conversation by Bruce Symaka. Written on the Dark follows the exploits of Thierry Villar, a tavern poet in the town of Orane (a stand-in for Paris) in medieval France, who becomes embroiled in the machinations of local politics, war and an investigation into the murder of one of the local dukes, the king's brother. Kay took inspiration from real-life poet François Villon and the assassination of the Duc d'Orleans in Paris during the Hundred Years' War. Avoiding straight historical fiction has allowed Kay to explore themes that continue to resonate today without being hemmed in by the hard facts of what happened at the time. 'History rhymes for me, and it underlies my entire literary method, which is that I'm not trying to pretend I know the thoughts and feelings of real people — I'm fine with other people doing that,' he says. 'I'm happier with that quarter-turn so that my protagonists and the secondary characters are clearly identified as inspired by real people, but not equivalent to them.' Kay's body of work continues to be widely read; his books have translated into dozens of languages, with the bulk of his novels still in print. Tigana and his 1995 novel The Lions of Al-Rassan, set in a world similar to medieval Spain, have both enjoyed a particular uptick in popularity in recent years thanks to BookTok, the TikTok sub-community that posts reviews and thoughts about books, and where fantasy novels remain incredibly popular. 'I've been given a gift by readers around the world. I don't sell on the order of people who've had movies and television series made of their books, because I don't write those kinds of books, but by great good fortune, I sell well, and I sell around the world, and the books stay in print around the world,' Kay says. Among Kay's recent global accomplishments are the recent release of Tigana in Taiwan, for which he wrote a new introduction, and some of his books having been published in Ukrainian in the last 18 months, with two more in the works. He admits to being moved by the fact that not only is the war-torn country still publishing and reading books, but that his are among them. 'In a war zone, in a country afflicted the way it is, especially as I get older, that sort of thing really gets to me,' he says. Every Second Friday The latest on food and drink in Winnipeg and beyond from arts writers Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney. Kay recognizes one of the keys to success is recognizing who can help you get your art into the world, acknowledging that doing book tours and interviews in advance of a new work's release is all part of the business of writing. 'All artists need a patron — whether it was the Borgias or Medicis or the pope in the Renaissance, or the Chinese emperor in the Tang Dynasty, or McNally Robinson stocking you at the front of the store, or the Canada Council supporting you if you're a poet, he says. 'Artists have always needed to find a way to appeal to those who can let them make a living, let them make their art.' @bensigurdson Ben SigurdsonLiterary editor, drinks writer Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press's literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben. In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press's editing team before being posted online or published in print. It's part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
