Tag: short story

  • 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…

  • The Newcomer

    I moved around so many times growing up, I got into the habit of never owning more than I could carry.  My main problem was the number of notebooks I had acquired over the years.  I couldn’t keep myself from writing stories and it got to a point that I had one large suitcase full of clothes and one stuffed with a few clothes and…

  • The Storyteller

    My father has always been my favorite storyteller.  He always tells me it’s because his family didn’t own a television when he grew up, but I don’t think that’s necessarily true.  He has to have a very active imagination to be able to make up all the intricate details that are included in his stories.  He also…

  • Fairy Tales

    I’ve always been a sucker for happy endings.  I started reading fairy tales in elementary school and started rewriting them shortly after.  I grew tired of the prince always saving the princess.  I wanted the princess to be ready and able to save herself instead of waiting on someone else to come all the while hoping…

  • Lifetime

    I have spent years trying to forget high school.  The petty fights, the drama, the gossip, the rumors.  I wanted to forget everyone and move on and move away.  Why anyone stayed in their hometown for anything was beyond me.  The worst time I had was when all my friends got a ride for lunch, but told me there wasn’t…

  • The Wall

    I always wished I had my brother’s room.  As the only outgoing member of the family, I wanted the room with the French doors that opened into the backyard.  My parents had a strict curfew of ten o’clock, but who could get anything done before then?  I wanted to stay out all night and not…