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Short Stories




Cold-Eyed Triage Nurses In High-Heeled Boots by Angel Obregon Forced into a Lesbian encounter in the fitting room. [Rated R] [2,527 words]
The Way To Bet by Angel Obregon The horrible result of reading a book called The Pleasures of Probability by Richard Isaac. [1,035 words]
...And Everything Goes Black by Darcy K Metz A nightmarish story about a young man, two taxi drivers, and one unforgettable wom... [2,517 words]
The Winds Of Change by Darcy K Metz This is the first short story I wrote based on characters in a novel I tried writing when I... [7,246 words]
The Trouble With Carla by Darcy K Metz This story follows a previous one, "The Winds of Change." This story is more of a horror... [4,905 words]
A Jennifer Love-Affair by Darcy K Metz A completely false story of a treeplanter from Vancouver who meets and falls in love wit... [3,869 words]
The Wicked Witch Of Creative Writing by Gary Donnelly Non-fiction/fiction. [1,418 words]
Dark Rebirth by Kerry L. Schofield Dark Rebirth is the story of a man named Senwick, who inherits on the death of his mysterious aged... [7,117 words]
Satan Smiled by Albert Davis - [3,737 words]
The Fourth Floor Landing by J. Michael Kearney A young firefighter recounts how a pompous Captain finally got his wish. [6,364 words]
Forever And Always by Virginia A. Sheppard A young woman is tormented by a decision she must make. Her four year old daughter lies help... [1,567 words]
Spring Break by Arlene Mason Another adventure for Keith Richardson, Private Investigator. This time his vacation is interupte... [4,784 words]
Hidden Reality by Lisamarie Jones Christina's lunch-break is not quite as it seems. [736 words]
Autumn Wind by Dorothy Getchell About an old man who must learn to deal with his wife's death. A very sad but moving story, if I m... [1,461 words]
Art Lovers by M J Martino A Guardian Angel's simple manipulation of fate allows two soulmates to meet for the very first, and ... [2,481 words]
There Be Dragons by Scott Jones A young couple on an afternoon jaunt get more than they bargained for. [1,809 words]
The Empty Bay by Alex Empire [461 words]
On The Other Side
The Witness by Thomas J Misuraca A Kafka-esque story in which a man finds himself and his loved ones in danger if he reveals informa... [2,244 words]
The Perfect Kiss by A Shockley A teenager wonders about the word "Love." She begins to believe that what she has heard about... [1,959 words]
The Running Man by Eric Allen Written for freshman English class, to explore the concept, meaning, and definition of heroism.... [1,091 words]
Come Back, Mr. Mojo Risin' by Noel Dolan Kennedy James lost her beloved brother in the Vietnam War. A year later she sees leg... [4,245 words]
God's Messenger by Tom Di Roma About the influence an elderly gentleman has on the patrons of the diner where he has been froz... [5,970 words]
The Good Gun by Russ Bauer A lone women prepares to leave a city falling into chaos. She also has to protect herself from som... [1,564 words]
A Day In Dell by Barbara Villarreal Old west setting... good vs evil. [1,969 words]
My Boy's Best Friend by Melissa Allen About a girl who can't stand her boyfriend's bestfriend and then one day she finds out she... [4,020 words]
Music To My Ear by Melissa Allen About a girl who cannot stand a guy and then she has to sing with him in her band and realizes ...
It's A Wonderful Life by Jennifer M Haynes The story of a man surviving (and wishing he hadn't) a nuclear war. What happened before ... [1,950 words]
The Jigsaw Puzzle by Jennifer M Haynes A teenager tries to free himself from the sickenly perfect town he lives in, to make it into ... [1,084 words]
A Teen's Diary Entry by Rachel Elaine Reeves A teenager writes a diary entry after driving drunk and killing four people. Her chilling... [295 words]
Sticks by Charmaine L. Glass With the help of an overweight classmate, an underweight girl finds her hidden courage to overcome teasi... [877 words]
Always With You, A Collection by Toni Jaquay Lynch Always With You - It's a story of undying love. [514 words] I Will Feel It - It's... [149 words]
The Big Bang by Darcy K Metz A short short about a man who meets himself. [196 words]
Escape To Samsun by J A Melody A tale of three comrades, chartering their epic path to freedom, and to escape the horror that... [2,450 words]
Haul Out The Holly by Jennifer L O'callaghan This is a holiday story I wrote for a writing class, inspired by what my sisters and I call... [2,087 words]
Warriors' Mired Blades by Daniel A. Souers A true medieval and inspiring masterpiece that brings the reader within the mind of a gr... [1,799 words]
Fake Reality by Erin D. Traynum Covers the thoughts and influences of a gold digger at the moment when she commits suicide. [1,034 words]
Through The Window by Erin D. Traynum This story is about a nine year old girl who is being sexually abused. [1,211 words]
Florence by G�rard Ducasse A rather banal love story. [762 words]
Deposit Three Billion Dollars For The Next Two Minutes by Angel Obregon This is the horrible result of watching 3 X-FILES re-run... [2,931 words]
Quarter Of A Century by Drexler McStyles This short story is an obscene tale of insanity and excessive drug use set in Las Vegas. [4,084 words, Rated R]
Destroy The Link by Jennifer M Haynes Story of a girl who comes home from school to find things are wrong, and then realizes that sh... [3,333 words]
Packed With Peanuts by Jennifer L O'callaghan This is a flash fiction piece I wrote for a writing class about an attempted late night sna... [731 words]
Bovinza by Duane A Wood/Caveman A 12 year old boy has a peculiar, reoccuring dream about, of all things, a cow. To discover its meaning... [898 words]
Shear Trouble by Addison Gast A short story. [514 words]
Blues In The Closet by Victoria King Angel Obregon submitted this for Victoria King who is operating without the Net in mor... [3,998 words]
Checkout Time by Louise Friedman It's a tale of too young, self destructive, certifiable girl who married a slug and allowed him t... [1,664 words]
A Quarrel In The Forest by Darcy K Metz An argument between a cedar tree and a stone resolves itself after much time. [161 words]
Remember The Bubbles by Dana Drew The story of an elderly man rekindling his youth with the help of a playful child. [623 words]
The Mistake by Kavan Tate drama of a boy's decision gone wrong [504 words]
Mike and Sadie Mae by Judith Z Marrs Short story. [4,038 words]
A Work of Art by Roy L Pickering Jr The tale of man who feels trapped in the merely serviceable existence he believes he has settled ... [3,944 words]
Elizabeth by Christine Dorothea-Maris A short mystery story about a widow, taken in by her late family's husband in the late 1890's, who ha... [255 words]
Home by Matt Matics This short story (or possible beginning to a longer piece) is ostensibly "about" a boy returning home from... [3,299 words]
Cold Wind by David H. Paniagua The short story of three soldiers who've deserted the battlefield of WWI, only to discover they've be... [1,345 words]
The Fortune Teller by Michael J McGrath A group of friends encounter a mysterious fortune teller who changes lives. [975 words]
Transition by Oliver Thomas Coles Brackenbury A man trapped between two great fears of the unknown, one which he has left behind and one which mus... [916 words]
Yasha Tafipolsky by S Lichtenstein A story of the Russian Revolution, its effect on the people, and the struggles of the Tafipols... [8,644 words]
Twenties by Larry D. Griffin Flash Fiction [668 words]
Tiki's Revenge by Edward L Wier A short-story of a lesser god's dwindling popularity in the spirit world. The Christians and t... [8,078 words]
Outlaws by M H Doty It is a irreverent piece about falling in lust in a beautiful tropical town with an outlaw-type guy! [2,500 words]
The Cake in His Pocket by M Betette A dark comedy about a very disfunctional and very happy family. [850 words]
Blue Dog Days by W Delaney This short story is about an ex-politician turned political writer named John Gerrick. The story ... [2,000 words]
The Doona Drag, A Collection by S Lichtenstein The Doona Drag - A humorous look at the plight of modern middle-aged man, coping w... [650 words]
The Girl in the Ocean by Edward D Adams Two women are dead and only one man cares about finding out who did it. In catching the ... [4,300 words, Mystery]
(Un)Faithful by P D Woo How do you forgive someone you love? What if you'd betrayed them before and they'd forgiven you? W... [1,050 words]
Leaving by Murray Evans Leaving home for not just a new country, but a new world. [4,050 words]
The Perfect Joke by J A Young A dark and funny slice of life detailing a boy's search for perfection. [1,800 word]
Bazaar by W I B R Smith This story was inspired (very) loosely by an incident which happened to me in college, back in 1991, whe... [5,500 words]
Age Before Beauty by Mary Ann Savage Women get bored and restless in some of these apartment complexes. Even old ladies. Let the g... [1,900 words]
Weeds by Mary Ann Savage This is not really about flowers, not really about love. [1,350 words]
Adult Bookstore by Sal Morano Experiencing frustration and stress, a reformed porno junkie comes face to face with the urge t... [4,500 words]
The Magic Ball
The Beast
Pfarfenagle
The Sheriff
The Alien
Vampires
Jealousy
Corrine and Victoria
Destiny
The Death Reader
Early One Morning
Lost Four Words
Lavender Moon
Sweet Angela
Iridescent Imagery
Christmas Shopping
It's Been There...
Burnt Out
Stolen
Tinfoil Memories
A Pang of Pity
The Way It Ends
Miss America
Don't Ask
Obsession
Tales from the Altar
Waves
In the Cards
Billy
Looking At Me
The Gift
Suspension of Disbelief
Bingo Blood
The Belief
Aunt Rose's Revenge
Lytle Creek Trek
Utter Untruths
Protect and Serve
The Figure
The Last Tenant
Into the Knight
Salugi at Starbucks
The Parent Hunt
The Last Laugh
Mother's Day
The Cop
The Red Eagle
The Grand Old Party
Lacy and the Bear
Locusts
Unconfessed Sins
Rules of Civil Procedure
Do Unto Others
A Stranger Dressed Black
Strike Force - The Reckoning
The Doorway
Coping
Sniper Hunt, A Collection
The Slayer
Some days you're the pigeon...

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TITLE (EDIT)
On The Other Side
DESCRIPTION
This is a story about a young girl who is tired of being pushed around. She takes matters into her own hands...
[1,134 words]
AUTHOR
Lisamarie Jones
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I am 18 years old, and in October will be studying radio, film and telelvision with English. I love writing, and my ambition is to become a writer for telelvision, or a novelist.
[January 2000]
AUTHOR'S E-MAIL ADDRESS
[email protected]
AUTHOR'S OTHER TITLES (4)
Going, Going... (Short Stories) A man commits suicide, and then realises what he's missing. [1,330 words]
Hidden Reality (Short Stories) Christina's lunch-break is not quite as it seems. [736 words]
I Closed My Eyes (2) (Short Stories) After committing suicide, a young man realises what a mistake it was. [1,356 words]
Window-Shopping (Screenplays) A window cleaner falls in love with someone she notices as she is working. How will things work out? [16,218 words]
On The Other Side
Lisamarie Jones

On The Other Side


The world was bright that morning; she could feel it. She could feel it even before she knew she was awake, and in that limbo state, she could sense that the day was important. Once her eyes had torn themselves open, she cautiously placed one foot on the floor and pulled it back sharply, shocked at how cold the stone under her feet really was.

There was a gentle knock at the door, and it slowly opened to reveal a gaunt, lined face. "Meredith?" asked the woman behind the door. "It is time to wake up, there is much work to do."

Meredith huddled down under the blankets and mumbled, "Yes, Mrs. Campbell, I will."

Mrs. Campbell, who, along with her husband, employed Meredith to work in their tavern, sighed. For the past three years, ever Meredith�s parents had gone missing, they had trudged through the same ritual every morning. "Just see that you do," Mrs. Campbell told the girl, and left the room. As she left, Meredith could hear her coughing. The poor woman seemed to be ill.

After a moment or two of preparing herself to brace the crisp morning chill, Meredith grudgingly left her warm bed, and trotted over to the basin in the corner of the room. There was a thin layer of ice on the water, and she broke it sharply. As she washed, she began to think of the day ahead. She was excited about what was going to happen; she had been waiting for so long. Outside it was still dark, but the birds were beginning to sing, and the sun would soon rise, and once it did, her work would be constant until it was time for the tavern below to be emptied of patrons.

Mr. Campbell was waiting for her when she reached the bottom of the creaking staircase that led from her room in the attic to the lower floor. "Hurry up, girl," he growled. "I need you to get out into the woods, and pick some mushrooms, we�ve got none left." His usually red face was pale, and his eyes were bloodshot. Meredith hoped that whatever illness was about she didn�t get it.

Meredith knew by now that pleading with the man to let her wait until it was at least light outside was no use, and would only serve to increase his hostility. "Yes, Sir," she muttered, not hiding a quick glare in his direction. She dragged the door open angrily, picked up her basket from the floor, and stepped outside into the frosty countryside. Her breath hung in the air around her and she watched it before setting off on her short journey to the woods.

Meredith, at nineteen years old, was already an expert in the forest, and knew it better than she did the nearby town. She made her way to the river that tumbled its way down the hillside, surrounded by trees, and climbed carefully onto the ancient bridge that spanned the water. There were mushrooms all around the river, but the biggest, tastiest ones were on the other side.

The sun began to rise, casting its golden beams onto the river that raged across the rocks. Millions of tiny sparkles shot across the surface, illuminating the banks on either side. The bridge, old as it was, reached proudly out across the water and grasped onto the opposite side, the curve in its back pronouncing its age. This had been a favourite spot of Meredith�s father, and she often came down here to think about him, and her mother.

Shaking her head, berating herself for being far too sentimental, Meredith carried on over the bridge. One of the wooden planks that she stepped on was rotten, and it broke in two beneath her foot with a faint, dull sound. Meredith held fast to the handrail of the bridge, and regained her balance. She could see the river beneath her, its sinuous bends disappearing into the distance, and as she stood there, she wondered what it would be like to have fallen in. Would she feel anything at all, or would the cold water numb her brain before it could register what had happened? The sound of some small creature behind her shook her out of her daydream, and she quickly crossed the rest of the bridge.

The mushrooms were easy to find; within just a few minutes she had collected a whole basket, and decided to rest before heading back to the tavern, and Mr. Campbell�s criticisms. Through the leaves of the tree where Meredith had hidden from the brightness of the day, little patches of sunlight could be seen dappling the ground. She leant back against it, and revelled in being on her own. Glancing down at the heavy basket by her side, she picked up one of the largest mushrooms and inhaled its dusky scent.

The sound she had heard earlier came again, and she looked around to find out where it was coming from. From the corner of her eye, Meredith noticed a young fox slinking around in the shade. That was what was making the noise, and Meredith was glad it was nothing more sinister. The fox was a poor looking creature, who looked as though he hadn�t eaten for quite some time. Suddenly, he began to dig in and around the mushroom patch. Meredith leapt to her feet, knocking over her basket, and shooed the creature away. It was too late, however.

Meredith looked down, and saw a skeletal hand reaching up through the earth. She knelt and whispered, "Mother, I thought I�d seen the last of you!" She covered as much of the hand as possible, and then stamped down on the earth. She hoped that no one else would come through before she had the chance to bring a shovel to deepen the shallow graves she had placed her parents in three years earlier.

Meredith sighed. She often thought about her parents, and would almost feel guilty about what she had done until she remembered what they had been like; they had been constantly ordering her about and telling her what to do, until she had become tired of it. She had slowly begun to poison them, adding a little poisonous toadstool to the meals she prepared, until they were so weak that they didn�t even have the strength to breathe anymore. It had taken some time, but it was better than using any sort of weapon, which could have left evidence that she had caused their death.

She turned back to her basket and threw the spilled toadstools back into it. As she began to walk back, over the rickety bridge, she wondered how long it would be until Mr and Mrs Campbell died. Perhaps it would be soon. She certainly hoped so.

 

READER'S REVIEWS (5)
DISCLAIMER: STORYMANIA DOES NOT PROVIDE AND IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR REVIEWS. ALL REVIEWS ARE PROVIDED BY NON-ASSOCIATED VISITORS, REGARDLESS OF THE WAY THEY CALL THEMSELVES.

"Spooky - cool." -- Jeremy.
"Weirdly well written! " -- Cathy, NJ.
"*I* was creepier. Good story, though. Good descriptions, nice flow, et cetera. Huzzah and Kudos." -- Lizzy Borden.
"WOW!!! This one definetly chilled my spine... and right when I was starting to feel sorry for the girl. Very well written!!!" -- Luis Felipe, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
"I enjoyed this story. The descriptive writing is evocative but works well by keeping the story moving, eg. `she broke it sharply`. Meredith has our sympathy and the ending is a shocker. " -- Wendy, Sevenoaks, Kent, UK.

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COPYRIGHT NOTICE
© 2000 Lisamarie Jones
STORYMANIA PUBLICATION DATE
January 2000
NUMBER OF TIMES TITLE VIEWED
2267
 

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