The section without a hook, because it doesn’t need one — this is just the writing. Personal essays, short fiction, the pieces that don’t fit a beat or a format and exist purely because something needed to be said in sentence form. Narratives is less a category than a home base: the place other sections borrow their tone from when they’re at their best. It asks the most of both writer and reader, and it’s usually where the writer would point first if asked what they’re actually proud of.