Latest Stories

Kavyansh

Some Thoughts On Love

There is something peculiarly British about the fact that we have many different words for precipitation arising from our legendary obsession with the weather, itself not surprising for a people living on an island at the junction of four weather systems but with a prevailing westerly airstream. In contrast, the most dramatic and powerful of human emotions is summed up in a single rather...Read On

Added: 21 Jul 2019 | Category: Musings | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 1,603 | Tags: love  friendship  happiness  fulfilment   | 1 Comment

AnnaMayZing

Moon Challenge: Ticket to the Moon

“I always wanted to go there,” he continued. “Sadly, now it is possible, I am too old.”

It had been hot, stifling hot and, having been stuck in her sweltering, non-air-conditioned office all day Carrie-Ann was glad to be out in the fresh evening air. It was the middle of June and England was baking in a record-breaking heatwave. Even with all the windows opened wide and a fan on every desk, the air that was circulating was still too warm. For once, the management had seen...Read On

Added: 16 Jul 2019 | Category: General | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 1,986 | Tags: full moon  yearning  life   | 8 Comments

BBaker

Questions

Once there was a little girl. This particular little girl was always curious. She was brimming with questions that spilled over in a constant babble of queries.  But with each answer she was provided, her curiosity grew. When she was small, her mother seemed to have all the answers. And as endless as the little girl's curiosity was so too was her mother's patience. Whenever she asked her...Read On

Added: 15 Jul 2019 | Category: Childrens | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 1,070 | Tags: child  childrensstory  story  questions  life  curiosity  love   | 4 Comments

Ping

Low And Outside

All things mentioned are time-honoured traditions...

Here’s the pitch... “Dad, what’s  vintage  mean?” Day off. Trying to watch some ball. Alone. But my daughter invited herself to unintentionally annoy me. She asked the question while examining the label on my freshly-emptied bottle of port. “It’s a nice way of saying old.” St e er-rike! She then asked, “What’s  classic  mean?” while inspecting her can of Coke. “It’s another nice...Read On

Added: 12 Jul 2019 | Category: Musings | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 139 | Tags: ping humour  family  baseball  inappropriately inappropriate   | 6 Comments

Welshdreamer42

Fifty Years On

Gaze fixed on her phone, Jaz read the email again without taking in a word. She squeezed Tish’s hand, her grip tightening when raucous laughter exploded from the four men sprawled on the seats diagonally opposite. “I mean, look at ’im. Fuckin’ poof.” Tensing, Jaz looked up to see the man in the outside seat facing her, lean across the table and send a beer can clattering to the floor....Read On

Added: 12 Jul 2019 | Category: Drama | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 1,878 | Tags: pride  homophobia  fear  love   | 8 Comments

Rebellious_Soul

Divine Descent: Prologue + Ch. 1

Is this the beginning of the story or had I merely started in the middle?

  Prologue A harrowing scream of the wind gusted through the narrow twists and turns of the long winding alleyways of Ashdrift city. Where its tall dark towers loomed over the small haze of light from the streets below, encased by a hazy film of unwanted smog. Behind that still was a void, endless; empty save for the billowing black clouds that rumbled gravely across the land....Read On

Added: 12 Jul 2019 | Category: Fantasy | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 2,450 | Tags: renewed  beginning  eternal   | 3 Comments

Hjalmar111

My near-death experience at the cottage

This is a story of my near-death experience at the cottage

My parents were on a business vacation and we children were not eager to accompany them. My father convinced me to stay in our cottage where we have been spending our summer since the beginning of first grade. The cottage was located in northern Sweden, in the middle of nowhere. Our nearest neighbour lived 40 minutes away and there was not much to do either. The wildlife was the...Read On

Added: 09 Jul 2019 | Category: Horror | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 1,326 | Tags: cabin  horror  cottage  killer  forest  woods  creepy   | 2 Comments

AnnaMayZing

The Long Road Home. Chapter 8.

“Don't be afraid, Ilsa. They won't bomb us this time.”

Rome. September 19 th 1943   The repairs to the compound and the security arrangements were completed in a few days and the soldiers left with only a handful of men remaining to guard the entrance. The orderlies were replaced with German medics which left just Maria, Katarina and Ilsa as the only Red Cross nurses. Along with the medics, more equipment arrived and one of the...Read On

Added: 05 Jul 2019 | Category: Drama | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 3,466 | Tags: ww2  air raid     | 4 Comments

AnnaMayZing

The Warrior Princess. Chapter 7.

“I am sorry to say, My Lady,” she paused, “Your brother has gone..."

“Anna.” I heard the distant voice say my name but I was too grief-stricken to answer. I felt someone stroke my hair and the voice repeated my name. “Anna.” I lifted my head and my heart leapt with joy! “Astrid! My darling! I thought...” She smiled weakly and squeezed my hand, closing her eyes once again. “So cold,” she whispered. “You have lost much blood, my love,” I spoke...Read On

Added: 02 Jul 2019 | Category: Fantasy | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 3,634 | Tags: fantasy  dragons  evil   | 3 Comments

maryruth

Know and believe

Some will make changes Pretend and control Harden their hearts Lose their souls Choices are there Trust and believe See the signs Listen to the silence You will hear Destiny was written Soul mates were made Walk the path your given Travel safely with my heart You must see dark For brightness to shine Sadness shows How happiness great is Change will alter Only so far You got...Read On

Added: 27 Jun 2019 | Category: Musings | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 82 | Tags: know   | 7 Comments

Rebellious_Soul

Hey Friend

I'm missing the good parts of a bad friend, and I fear they're gone for good ~cheese on bread

Hey, listen friend, I get it. I do understand where you are coming from, how you feel, and what you are trying to accomplish. I'm in the same place as you, it's dark and intimidating; lonely. You miss a friend you once had, maybe they weren't the best of friends, maybe they drive you up the wall but still you did care about them. You still care about them and even still you want to undo...Read On

Added: 25 Jun 2019 | Category: Musings | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 361 | Tags: reminding  reminiscing  regret   | 8 Comments

maryruth

Grief

Loss never heals Pain does not go away To become whole again Rebuild around Remember each day Love is never lost It is constant and true The raindrops tap a song The sun does shine Temperatures climb One will smile Things are never the same Nor should it be The heart cries tears That cannot be controlled  ...Read On

Added: 25 Jun 2019 | Category: Musings | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 57 | Tags: pain tears loss   | 5 Comments

Ping

Day Of Dads

On this fine Father's Day...

In art class, my daughter's assignment was to make a Father's Day card. After presenting it to me during today's Father's Day breakfast, she proceeded to explain why there was whiteout under the letters 't' and 'h'. Her art teacher disagreed with my daughter's use of artistic license, and strongly suggested that 'Happy Farter's Day' did not fall within the essence or spirit of the...Read On

Added: 16 Jun 2019 | Category: Musings | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 99 | Tags: humor  gift  father's day  laughter   | 11 Comments

AnnaMayZing

The Warrior Princess. Chapter 6.

“Princess Anna!” she cried, “it is you!”

Rather than gallop out of the end of the tunnel and risk death after startling my people I halted and dismounted, leading Fleet-Foot slowly through the archway and out into the main cavern, As I looked around a lump formed in my throat and tears welled in my eyes, I had only been away for a few days and now the scene before me broke my heart. The store cavern was full of sick and dying...Read On

Added: 15 Jun 2019 | Category: Fantasy | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 4,006 | Tags: fantasy  seige  dismay   | 2 Comments

An3a

What People Don't Realise

A short story by Andrea Snyman. Some stories begin where you think they end.

What people don’t realise is that death isn’t what they think it is. ~ You find yourself in a waiting room…Sitting comfortably on the couch. It’s not too cold, it’s not too warm…It even comes complete with old school elevator type music. They probably figured a setting as familiar as a doctor’s office would be calming, but then they never met my orthodontist. He is still very much alive...Read On

Added: 12 Jun 2019 | Category: General | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 2,414 | Tags: musing  introspection  life  death  friendship  universe  regret   | 4 Comments

Kavyansh

Springtime is for Lovers

A chance meeting on a Paris street in Spring leads to lifelong love and commitment

When we first met it was entirely by accident. Even now I remember it clearly, although almost four decades have passed by since then. It was one of those lovely bright sunny days that are so typical of Paris in the springtime. I was strolling along the Boulevard Haussmann, just outside the Magasin au Printemps where the pretty girls were selling their bunches of lily of the valley as...Read On

Added: 11 Jun 2019 | Category: Romance | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 1,209 | Tags: accidental meeting  instant attraction  adulterous loveaffair  blissful happiness   | 3 Comments

fuzzy1954

Lest We Forget

Those who about to die I salute you

We all have sat in our history classes as children. and studied and read about D-Day. June 6th  1944.To honour the ones that climbed into their landing crafts, rode across the channel to drop behind enemy lines, and ferried troops and equipment ashore.  Images that have been burned into my soul.  Here is a short  story to read    As the weather broke on June 5th, we mustered with our...Read On

Added: 05 Jun 2019 | Category: Flash Fiction | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 195 | Tags: honour   | 4 Comments

Survivor

Distress Flag

May I comfort

Added: 03 Jun 2019 | Category: Micro Fiction | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 100 | Tags: micro fiction  distress flag  pride flag  pride month   | 10 Comments

Brian2101

2101 - Nothing New Under the Sun Chapter Five Health Care

Health Care

Health Care TODAY While a number of changes have occurred, many of the issues of the early 21st century plague health care in 2101. Five things continue to drive health care in 2101. They are the attempts at governing particularly the Medical Insurance Act of 2046 and the Social Reorganization of 2082, robotics/transhumanism, genetic editing/designer DNA, AI and instanet’s impact on...Read On

Added: 03 Jun 2019 | Category: Science Fiction | Avg Score: 0 | Words: 1,622 | Tags: future  fiction  historical  prediction  

MzHartz

Terrainer – Diaries

A woman looks for her place at the end of the world.

  Dear Bryce, I've come to realize, three things that should never be withheld from being said are, "Please," "Thank you," and, "I'm sorry." Please, don't take this letter the wrong way.  This isn't an attempt to reestablish contact with you or rekindle our friendship.  Although, I would like to talk to you again, see how you've been, and possibly even become friends again, I don't...Read On

Added: 31 May 2019 | Category: Drama | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 3,353 | Tags: love  apocalypse  death  loss  sad  

AnnaMayZing

The Long Road Home. Chapter 7.

“Look at you,” she said. “I am not used to seeing you so grubby."

Rome. September 4 th 1943   Maria stared in horror at the scene of devastation ahead but wasted no time in getting the ambulance to a safe place. Quickly, she jumped from the cab and ran around to the rear to check on her charges. To her distress, Anneliese was still not conscious. “Keep an eye on her,” she told the two airmen brusquely. “Make sure she keeps breathing and...Read On

Added: 31 May 2019 | Category: Drama | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 3,537 | Tags: ww2  history  terror   | 4 Comments

Lev821

Prototype

In trying to build a clone robot, what does Charlie have to do to get it to work?

Archie stared at the equipment and apparatus before him. Something simply wasn’t connecting, literally, as what lay on the table was his prototype, his robot. With synthetic skin peeled back around the humanoid form before him, he was attempting to create a human-like automaton, but it was failing. He knew he had all the parts; there was nothing to salvage, buy, or bribe from anybody. ...Read On

Added: 28 May 2019 | Category: Science Fiction | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 900 | Tags: fiction  short-story  science fiction  general   | 2 Comments

LauraDanielle

Don't Care, Grumpy Bear

I was watching, amused, as two girls had a tiff over one of the activity boards. One of the girls stood up and made to walk away. The other girl said something I couldn't make out. The girl who was standing turned around, put her hands on her hips and declared loud and proud, "Don't care, grumpy bear!" then she stormed off in dramatic four-year-old fashion. That's a great line. I'm using that...Read On

Added: 21 May 2019 | Category: Musings | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 159 | Tags: kids  work  early childhood  funny  humour  children  tiff   | 8 Comments

MikeStone

How Will I Know When I'm an Adult?

Daniel said, "Sure, everyone my age wants to be an adult already."

"How will I know when I'm an adult Saba?" the boy asked his grandfather. The grandfather looked into his inviting blue eyes, pools of clear water, careful not to fall into them. "Do you want the answer all adults give to their children or do you want my answer?" the saba asked his eleven-year-old grandson, whose name happened to be Daniel, but this saba did not believe in chance. Daniel...Read On

Added: 21 May 2019 | Category: Flash Fiction | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 468 | Tags: daniel  saba  grandfather  adult  children  whiskey   | 2 Comments

chippihc

Dirk's Destiny

A dream with awakening realization.

Dirk was born ambitious, although to common folk. He grew up in the '50s but the calendar shows different. In adulthood he found himself a professional. One day he dreamed he gave up all to be a lone wolf; the educated said he did not exist. He needed no moon in which to howl, no pack in which to alpha-batize. He wandered where he wished; he poked where his curiosity took him. Dirk found...Read On

Added: 19 May 2019 | Category: Flash Fiction | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 196 | Tags: flash   | 3 Comments

Survivor

An Echo in the Shell

How does a loner fit into a team

Added: 18 May 2019 | Category: Micro Fiction | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 100 | Tags: micro fiction  wondering  wandering  alone   | 9 Comments

AnnaMayZing

The Warrior Princess. Chapter 5.

"The two unsuspecting hunters appeared just in front of me, so close I could hear them breathing."

The company rode steadily through the dark hours, pausing only briefly for sustenance and comfort. We were not troubled that night and we made good progress and as the darkness gave way to light on the third daybreak since setting out, the mood was good and camp was made before the sun appeared over the horizon. As I prepared for rest I noticed that the Eagles were high in the sky,...Read On

Added: 17 May 2019 | Category: Fantasy | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 3,796 | Tags: fantasy  battle  dragons   | 3 Comments

Brian2101

2101 - Nothing New Under the Sun Chapter Four Robotics

Robotics

Robotics TODAY Robotics performs much of the daily maintenance of most things.  They are programmed into most life functions such as home repair and cleaning, transportation, personal items, food acquisition and preparation, etc.  One can choose to do those things or allow the programming to complete them.  Some have chosen industrial looking robotics to complete specialized tasks...Read On

Added: 16 May 2019 | Category: Science Fiction | Avg Score: 0 | Words: 2,025 | Tags: future  fiction  historical  prediction  

Brian2101

2101 - Nothing New Under the Sun Chapter Three Education

Education

Education TODAY Most individuals and families enjoy a self directed education.  As far as academic requirements, the purpose of our 18th and 19th century education is nearly defunct.  Education programs are more designed to learn how to survive in the 22nd century with significant emphasis on socialization and appropriate means of personal interactions.  The need to prepare youth for...Read On

Added: 14 May 2019 | Category: Science Fiction | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 1,285 | Tags: future  fiction  historical  prediction  

Rumple_deWriter

Schemers Scheme

A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

Newly polished toenails safely propped on the crowded coffee table, Darlene Barnes let out a long plume of cigarette smoke and waited for her friend to come back from the kitchen. Waiting in silence, however, had never been her 'thing'. The thirty-something bottled-blonde looked around at the empty doorway to the kitchen. "You know it's hard for me to believe you're this messed-up....Read On

Added: 13 May 2019 | Category: Young Adult | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 990 | Tags: girl talk  love talk  historical1970  cigarettes  red toenails   | 3 Comments