Tag: short story

  • Sanctuary

    I always felt like the park next to my house was my sanctuary.  When my parents started fighting or I was feeling claustrophobic in our tiny house, I went to the park.  There were plenty of benches to do my homework and for the most part, the families who frequented the park were dog friendly. …

  • Never Alone

    My mother always remarked that she was never alone.  As a kid, I never understood what she was talking about since I had six siblings and none of us ever expected to be alone.  So of course, being our mother, we were constantly badgering her.  We were always loud and we were always up in each other’s business.  I knew everything about…

  • Tropical Island

    “I am going on vacation,” he said.  “I don’t care what I have to do to get there, but I am definitely going.”  James turned back to his computer and started looking again through pictures of Bali.  He had been talking of Bali for years and was now so fed up with our boss that he…

  • The Crowded Train

    I never understood why Martin loved taking the train.  I preferred to ride in cars so I could stop whenever I wanted and could stretch my legs with a walk when I started to get restless.  I managed to get very restless these days and I have yet to figure out why.  Martin had insisted on this particular train ride and…

  • Mother Nature

    I thought everything was going fine until I was told that I couldn’t eat for the entire weekend.  All I could have was water or tea for the next forty-eight hours.  As soon as the morning meeting was over, I headed out for my daily walk and listened to my stomach rumble for the entire ninety minutes.  I had…

  • Mr. Cunningham

    I always knew my neighbor wasn’t fond of me, but I could never figure out exactly why.  He never smiled, never waved, never called hello when we were in the front yard at the same time.  I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong due to the fact we had never had the opportunity to engage with each…

  • Coming Home

    “He should be coming down the stairs right now.  His plane landed thirty minutes ago so he should have had plenty of time to get here.  The airport only has ten terminals.”  I listened to my mother chatter endlessly while we waited for my brother.  Her need to be close to us was endearing, but also…

  • Sharp Tongues

    My neighbor was one of the kindest people I knew.  I didn’t know how she did it, but I had never heard a negative word come out of her mouth.  She was the one I always went to for advice and I often turned to her instead of my own mother.  My mother talked trash about Janet’s yard,…

  • Always Alive

    “It’s always alive.  It’s always watching you,” Amber whispered dramatically.  Her Jeep headlights were already off and the surrounding candles were burning steadily.  I pulled the blanket over my head and couldn’t believe I had let myself get roped into hearing Amber’s ghost stories again.  I despised scary stories and wouldn’t sleep for days after hearing them.  No way could I…

  • Housewife

    I knew my mother wanted to stay at home and be a housewife.  As I headed off to work every morning, I felt a twinge of jealousy as I watched her leisurely drinking her second cup of coffee.  I often wondered if she ever got bored staying home all did.  Then I caught myself – did she actually stay home…