500 < Short Story < 7500 words

Ghost Stories And Urban Legends of Benton (9)

Submitted by on

This next story is a bit personal for me. It's one I'm still having trouble coming to terms with. One one hand, it could have been a trick of the mind. I was on some pretty powerful painkillers at the time. My life too it seemed had fallen apart, like a piece of priceless china that had been dropped on the floor. The tiny porcelain shards scattered to the four winds. I guess I should start at the beginning of the story.

Hidden Intent Part 6 of 6

Submitted by on

Hidden Intent Part 6

She walked straight up to Gerry and flung her arms around his neck and gave him a long kiss which he quickly responded to by the way his stance changed. She almost dragged him off to the caravan. I would have said that she led him by his nose but I don’t think that it was his nose that she was thinking of. I just stood next to Lockie and we watched it all happen.

Hidden Intent Part 5 of 6

Submitted by on

Hidden Intent Part 5

That summer will stay with me for ever. We had the two lions to look after and show to the public and the horses seemed to know exactly what they should be doing. The act was a real hit and Jenny and I were interviewed and photographed at almost every place we stopped.

Hidden Intent Part 4 of 6

Submitted by on

Hidden Intent Part 4

As we moved from town to town I settled into my life as a girl. My injuries had healed and Jenny had been teaching me the finer points of girl-dom. The tigers had become very friendly with everyone and their previous minder was happy to leave me to look after them.

Fan

Submitted by on

0fan.jpg
Fan
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

You have probably never heard of the rock band Wagon Bandwagon. They were big in my home state, and my girlfriend was crazy about them, and I mean CRAZY. She was the one who put the fan in fanatic.

I suppose I felt insecure. I mean, she desired him, the lead singer Rafe Kinnock, so what does that say about me? Am I insecure? Probably.

Hidden Intent Part 3 of 6

Submitted by on

Hidden Intent Part 3

I kept to the shadows as I walked to the station, feeling the strangeness of the breasts with the tightness of the bra. I had the back-pack on and the shoulder bag on my shoulder and did start to feel as if I was walking into a new future.

'poH

Submitted by on

Photo by Jean van der Meulen from Pexels

 

'poH
by Erin Halfelven

 

I had a weird dream about working on a series of kid's books. They were illustrated and I wish I could draw like that. Some of it looked a lot like Brad Guigar's art on Evil, Inc.

One of the books was about a young owl discovering things. It was called, "Nobody Really Likes Liver."

Bordello Boys

Submitted by on

7841050bc901598f1606d356566de652.jpg
Bordello Boys
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

My mother said that she prayed that her children would not be male. A brothel is no place for boys.

But I was a boy, and so was my real cousin Dee, and my pretend cousin Jay.

Dee was older than me by three years, but Jay was only a few months younger than me, so we played together. Dee looked after us a bit, I guess. Both of us looked up to Dee.

Ghost Stories And Urban Legends of Benton (8)

Submitted by on

For generations the legend of 'Jenny Greenteeth' has haunted the imagination of the children of Benton. The tall tales of the malevolent water hang with green, mottled skin, long hair and sharp, pointed teeth. That is supposed to lurk out of sight beneath beds of duckweed in ponds, canals or gravel pits. Biding her time, waiting for her chance to rise up and snatch from the banks careless children or the elderly that had strayed too close to her hiding place.

Hidden Intent Part 2 of 6

Submitted by on

Hidden Intent Part 2

Next morning I was up and dressed in the nightie and robe while I got breakfast for us. My father came down with a hold-all that he used when he was sent further away on a road job. He told me that he did not expect to be back until Friday and I pretended to be upset at being left alone.

The Patsy Project. Book 3. Positively Patsy Parts 45 & 46

Submitted by on

Positively Patsy Part 45

I settled into a life of being a song writer and business woman. The partnership in K Beat meant that Joanne and I were in there on a regular basis, taking care of administration and even backing new singers with Jake and the boys. Alice looked after every day things very well.

Becoming Holly

Submitted by on

000.jpg
Becoming Holly
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

My neighbor Quinn Halberg was the nicest man. Why do nice guys always end up with bitches?

I always thought that Holly was a good name for her – pretty but prickly. Quinn adored her. He was too good for her.

Hidden Intent Part 1 of 6

Submitted by on

Hidden Intent Part 1

I did not have what they call a happy childhood. My father was a drunkard and a bully and I grew up spending a lot of time hiding in, or sometimes under, my bed. He was a road-worker and played as hard as he worked, leaving my mother and me to scrape along as best we could.

The Patsy Project. Book 3. Positively Patsy Parts 43 & 44

Submitted by on

Positively Patsy Part 43

Papers, what papers? I went to the reception and asked about papers and the lass behind the counter smiled and gave me four different ones and told me that I would be very interested in what was in them. I took them back to Joanne and we started with the first paper.

Mother Love

Submitted by on

Pinks.png
Mother Love
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

I could never hate my son. How could a mother hate her own child? I remember the first moment that he was laid upon my chest – purple pink and wet from my womb – so small and fragile. How could he grow up to be just like his father?

Not a River in Egypt

Submitted by on

My patient was determined to “transition” into something he wasn't.
It was my job to get him to face the truth about who + what he was...

Not A River In Egypt
Laika Pupkino – 2020

It was getting near the end of our fifth counseling session and I still hadn't made any headway against his delusions. This was definitely one of my more difficult cases. Every time I thought we were finally getting somewhere he would dig in his heels and I'd run smack into the brick wall of his denial. I sighed, and started again, “Look, we all have feelings, a sense of who we are in the world. But simply feeling like you are something doesn't make you that...”

Sought After

Submitted by on

00_0.jpg
Sought After
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peter

“Seeking an older sissy” was the posting on that sissy site. “I'm done with flighty, younger, gold-digging fembois, I want an intelligent but servile older sissy to serve me.”

The Patsy Project. Book 3. Positively Patsy Parts 41 & 42

Submitted by on

Positively Patsy Part 41

My first priority was to get the whole cast up to speed with a three week stint in New York. I was surprised that all of my stars were happy with it as they had all had dreams of appearing on stage as genuine actresses when they were young, rather than being pop stars. Greg was more than happy and said that it was the idea of change that kept him alive.

Ghost Stories And Urban Legends of Benton (7)

Submitted by on

I was something of a tomboy growing up. And I often spent my summers here in Benton, helping my grandfather the late Albert John Brewer around the family farm when I could escape the attention of my grandmother Sabbath Mari Brewer who was a Croft before she married my grandfather in a simple “Low Church” service down at St. Mary's Episcopal Church, the towns only Episcopal Church and the cradle of bourgeoisie of the Benton.

The Pageant Trap

Submitted by on

The Pageant Trap
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

You can probably guess how it began. It’s in the title. It was a beauty pageant, more than one in fact, but the first one had to be a “Womanless” Beauty Pageant.

My mother had been a beauty queen. She married my father who was an athlete and a pro ballplayer when they met. To his great satisfaction he had three sons. I was the youngest. We were all brought up to play sport as our father had. None of us had the slightest interest in domestic things. We wanted nothing more than to be like our dad.

The Patsy Project. Book 3. Positively Patsy Parts 39 & 40

Submitted by on

Positively Patsy Part 39

In the morning our driver took us into the old town and when we stopped the car was surrounded by children. “Do not get out of the car; they will have your wallets and hand bags in a second. Just wait for my cousins. Just then the second car pulled up behind us and two big guys stepped out and approached our car.

The Autumn Fundraiser

Submitted by on

There is a common misconception among the general public that cheerleaders have it easy. I've been a cheerleader now for close to eighteen months and I can safely say without a shadow of a doubt that these eighteen months have been among the hardest months in my life. One would assume being the little sister of the cheerleading captain, I would have it made. If one would have assumed that then one would have assumed wrong.

Miracles

Submitted by on

Miracles
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

My uncle was a religious man. When I say religious, I mean that he claimed to be a Christian. He claimed to live his life by the principles preached by Christ and his church. He claimed to be good.

When I say my uncle, I mean that he was the husband of my aunt – my mother’s much younger sister. That meant that he was not my uncle by blood nor was he more than about 10 years older than me.

The Patsy Project. Book 3. Positively Patsy Parts 37 & 38

Submitted by on

Positively Patsy Part 37

Kevins’ list of ports had been very sparse. It seems that Drake never bothered to describe the odd places he stopped at to replenish. All of his exploits seemed to happen ‘off the coast of’ and the only certain landings were in the San Francisco Bay, which he claimed for the Queen and called ‘New Albion’, and the Molucca Islands (otherwise known as the Spice Islands).

The Mystical Bunny

Submitted by on

Los Angeles International Airport:
Emily covers up a yawn as she stood on the arrival side, looking for her boyfriend. He was supposed to pick her up at the airport. She had caught an early flight from Houston, Texas back to California.

She had finished a three-day show in Houston. Her equipment was already at the airport and the moving team her mentor Sasha uses was picking it up and taking it back to the warehouse. Just as she was about to call her boyfriend, she spots his car coming towards her. She watches as he pulls up in front of her.

The Patsy Project. Book 3. Positively Patsy Parts 35 & 36

Submitted by on

Positively Patsy Part 35

The band members looked at me in amazement and one reporter said “Drake I have heard of, he beat the Spanish Armada, but who is this Reece.” I told them that Richard Reece was a mate aboard one of Drakes ships when Drake was a privateer.

A Very Human Condition

Submitted by on

Desirée Anatole Debois was seeking a husband, and as a result of that a really quite remarkable chain of events occurred. Desirée was the sole owner of Human Resources PLC, a massive corporation that designed and manufactured androids initially with a wide range of levels of sophistication. She was also the intellect that had created the company, known as HRPLC, and its products from nothing. A genius who was also pretty, though socially inept, she had never engaged in relationships other than professional ones with human beings. Her only meaningful social interactions were with the ever increasingly sophisticated androids she created.

You Are a Meany Chapter 22

Submitted by on

The accuracy of a forecast was only good if the right factors were taken into consideration. A good forecast could be wrong when an unlikely factor was not taken into account when making the prediction. This was how the reliable forecast of good time with many laughs was wrong for Renee and Matt’s visit to the Lincoln Way Bike Park. The reason for the change to miserable filled with regret was the sight of Lori walking towards them.

Cuckoo

Submitted by on

cuckoo.jpg
Cuckoo
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

I should explain right at the beginning why Daddy did the things that he did to me. You see, Daddy is not my real father. That is the whole problem, and the reason why things fell apart. He told me that he did not want to believe that I was not his, so he ignored the fact that I did not look anything like my two older brothers. He loved me, and now he loves me more.

Mother Daughter Bonding

Submitted by on

Mother Daughter Bonding
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

"I don't know about this," I said. “It’s like Stan and Kevin might have the wrong idea about us. Just because we like dressing up as women now and again does not mean we are gay, or anything like that. I'm straight, just like you Dad.”

"Sure," my dad replied, but did I sense a little uncertainty? "It’s just a fantasy thing. We have to explain that to them. It’s a release mechanism. I used to do it before I was married, and well, since your mother died, I just slipped back into old habits.”

Melodies of Heart: The Halloween Dance

Submitted by on

The gymnasium was filled to the brim with costumed revelers. Kendalgroves Jr. High School annual Halloween celebration was in full swing with all the students dancing their cares away as the DJ was playing the latest pop hits. The room gym had been decorated in full Halloween style, with spooky glow in the dark skeletons hanging from invisible strings and plastic bats too. And in the center there could be a strange attraction.

The Patsy Project. Book 3. Positively Patsy Parts 33 & 34

Submitted by on

Positively Patsy Part 33

When everyone gathered for lunch I found Simon and just said “Damn you and your crazy ideas, you have just made me lose another year of my life!” He laughed and asked me what I had thought of and I just said “The life and times of Richard Reece with Drake.”

A Letter Never Sent

Submitted by on

When I was in college in the early 90s, I had a pen pal named Tami who I would write to about once a week—actual, physical letters. We’d been corresponding for a few years, and as we were a couple of awkward people who lived several states away from each other, we’d often flirt with each other. It started off in high school where we exchanged photos and I said she was beautiful. It later evolved into sharing innocent and not so innocent little fantasies and stories about each other: What would happen if we got stuck together in a cabin for a week? What if I dared you to go skinny dipping?

A Mother's Love (fan fiction) - Parts 4.07 to 4.09

Submitted by on

pexels-photo-4518013.jpeg
A Mother's Love (fan-fiction)
Volume 3.07 through 3.09

by **Sigh**, with assistance from Angharad
Copyright© 2020 plaintivesigh
All Rights Reserved.

NOTICE: FINAL POSTING TODAY

Hi there, reader - Sigh here.
I've been posting the continuation of this story in short bits (between 1K and 2K words per part, as was the original author's habit). However, these last 3 parts are SUPER short, so I've combined them into one post that will wrap up this tale in a neat little bow. One more time, huge kudos to Angharad for her invaluable British phrasing and charm! Kudos to Alys for the original story! And much thanks to anyone who took the time to read this flight of fancy. I owe you all big-time hugz!

Flipside - Side 2

Submitted by on


Flipside – Side 2


“When I first moved here, I hoped I would make a friend, and when I met you, it was like a dream come true. You’re strong, self-confident, and not confrontational like so many guys. At first, it seemed like you really didn’t want to be friends, but things seemed to work out. I have never had such a good friend, and I never knew such a … such a wonderful guy!

My Daddy Was the Family Bassman (Minnesota Miracle)

Submitted by on

It's a miracle -- a true, blue spectacle -- a miracle come true.

This was written after a very surprising Viking’s victory which caused overwhelming euphoria back in the day when over sixty thousand people could attend a game and not worry about much more than too much beer and rancid nachos.

The Gamesmistress. Part 6 of 6

Submitted by on

Chapter Six

After a few minutes he nodded and then asked if this was a joke. One alien said “If this is a joke, then what is this” and a window appeared in the wall of the spaceship and a picture of the earth hanging in space appeared. Jaden said “That’s just a photograph!” so the alien made the spaceship move and, in a blink of an eye, we were looking down on Mars where a red dust-storm was raging.

Pages

Subscribe to 500 &lt; Short Story &lt; 7500 words