Short Days

Topaz now realizes why the saying "distance makes the heart grow fonder" rings true. Weeks have passed since the couple's Valentine's Day rendezvous, and Topaz has still been floating on cloud nine. That is, until the cloud evaporates, and a vicious fit of home sickness awaits in its place. Is Meeko's presence just the remedy the doctor prescribed? And when life throws them an unexpected curveball, how will the long distance couple be able to adapt and adjust?

Much like Lee Chang-dong’s internationally renowned films (Burning, Secret Sunshine, and Poetry), these brilliant, unsettling tales, originally published in Korea in the 1980s and now translated into English for the first time, investigate themes of injustice, betrayal, and terror—on both an intimate and national scale. Lee writes deeply and hauntingly about conflicts between family, the powerful and the vulnerable, conformists and rebels.

Another 28 Days is the story of one desperate, damaged man’s constant struggle to manage and control two sides of his nature, both of which are destructive, but which also seem to be in direct conflict, making keeping them in check a challenge.

An artist takes us through his day, from his own particular perspective. A short story from Guys Read: Other Worlds, edited by Jon Scieszka.

Rambles and Daydreams is a short book of short fiction, a collection of short stories and flash fiction by author Billy DeCarlo, with two bonus poems. The works range from under 1,000 to over 5,000 words, and center around the quirky thoughts and behavior of everyday people, similar to the stories of Raymond Carver.

Time is a luxury in today's busy lifestyle. These short stories will give you the thrill and chill in short order. Just a few chapters and you are on to the next story. These stories will give you the excitement of a full-size novel that fits into any busy schedule.

Mikey Lynch describes how we should live as we await Christ’s return and how we work out what a grace-filled, sacrificial life looks like amid the details of daily life decisions.

Detective Dwayne Fisher never got over his divorce two years ago. Despite throwing himself into work and a steady supply of booze, he just can't seem to let go. But a little girl is missing in Philadelphia. Amanda Hawkins. A 12-year-old video blogger. Police fear the worst. As the detective's search leads him to an old house in PA farmland to interview a suspect, he discovers that he has more in common with the kidnapper than he thought....

Seven tales of conflict set among the stars, driven by the very roots of humankind’s Earth-bound strife. Yet even in the face of the vast void of space, these brave souls fight to hold on to their humanity.

Francis Beckett, an author, journalist, and playwright, edits Third Age Matters, the UK national magazine published by the University of the Third Age. His latest book is What Did the Baby Boomers Ever Do For Us ("Grey-haired hippies will read this book and shudder; the rest of us, though, will read it for the splendid stories and shafts of insight" - Dominic Sandbrook, BBC History) and his latest play is The London Spring ("The virtue of Beckett's nightmare vision lies in its Orwellian detail" - Michael Billington, The Guardian).

When Pfc. Chester Michael had gone over all the ways he that he might die in the war, when he thought about them back at the barracks weeks before Utah Beach ever happened, the top things on the list were: gettin shot, gettin blown up, and gettin fuckin shot. Weren’t those the normal ways that soldiers were dying in this war? Yeah. So that’s probably how he would die too. By getting shot at, and those shots not missing.

A kindergarten teacher has show and tell day earlier on in the school year. It goes down the alphabet, so the first day (today) is "A". A boy brings in an empty box, saying that he brought an "alien" to school.

I’ve been having the same dream now for a long time. It’s a recurring dream…or nightmare. I can never tell for sure because the emotion is different. The details are the always the same—the smells, the sounds of my shoes, etc.—but I never know what’s on the other side of those doors. I do now.

Contrary to popular belief, to be ignorant is to be left in the light. For in the darkness truth and madness reign, and once you glimpse the horrible, abominable truth you may never again bask in the blissful illumination which is unknowing.

A volunteer candy-striper stays over night at St. Mary's hospital to watch over a boy from her class. The same boy that had asked her to the school dance five times already. The same boy that she'd rejected five times already....

A criminal wakes up locked in a walk-in freezer.

After an argument over who does more work on a daily basis, Father Time and Mother Nature exchange responsibilities for a 24-hour period. Chaos ensues...

There is wreckage in the rearview. Jody Grafton's world is crumbling around him. To get away from it all, Jody moves from his native Ohio to Brooklyn to sort through the rubble of his self-indulgent 20s. His marriage is over. His new girlfriend is pregnant. And his career as a pseudo-famous singer-songwriter has fallen apart: gone is his record deal, his money, his fame - even his desire to create new music. While he stares at the ruins of his musical career, his mother becomes ill, and Jody starts drinking heavily.

This is my latest collection of short stories. As with the previous books, most of these 11 tales are set in Thailand. You can hear about a domestic cleaner who despairs of her feckless husband, a junior bank teller who tries to convince her boss there's been a murder, a lady in a hurry who won't stop to help an old man who's lost his shorts, a butcher and a restaurateur discussing farming techniques, and a lady-boy searching for love.