-The best stories on the web-
Read or link to over 1000 stories listed under Stories to the left.
Submit your short stories for review as a Word document attached to an email to: Read@Short-Story.Me

Latest Stories

July 08, 2025
General Stories Michael Barlett

Dance Of Death

CHAPTER ONE 1940 Chief Inspector Kenneth Langford offered the Commissioner a crisp salute, and then walked back through the labyrinth of passageways to his own small office. Langford was a member of the London Metropolitan Police, commonly referred to as…
July 08, 2025
Poetry Markus J

The Winter Blues

the winter blues has a grip on me, all so tight Its icy tentacles wrap around me and squeezes freezing my fingers and toes with its nasty frostbite staving off the cold is a battle, an endless fight it brings forth an assortment of nasty diseases The winter…
July 08, 2025
Horror Stories Sushma R Doshi

Deliverer Of Messages

A loner in my childhood, my scrawny and weak figure prone to being bullied by sturdy and robust boys, I tended to wander around places frequented by few. Those curvy roads which fell into darkness after evening without street lights, the area near the pond…
July 08, 2025
General Stories L Christopher Hennessy

With A Side-Eye I Cherish

for Brittany ma amour Up to my neck in sadness for something just out of reach and she came along and fired up my life with kisses and the physical. The moment I looked into her eyes I didn't want to share her with anyone else and keep her all to myself. In…
July 03, 2025
Poetry Markus J

The Days Of Future Dreams

the days of future dreams the flames once rose high thinking our lives would end up supreme thinking our future seemed a far of dream but in the end nothing is what it seems many times the winds of changed has blown this way one minute we`re lapping the cream…
July 03, 2025
General Stories L Christopher Hennessy

Bad Girl

Part 1I lost the entire manuscript when I assassinated my laptop with sauvignon blanc as I rubbed the lower back of a woman who dozed drunk on my bed, sweating. She was crazed, somewhere between screaming and lying about the orgasm. Bree was a miracle to me,…
July 03, 2025
Horror Stories Nelly Shulman

Black Is Our Colour

“I swear she could have been you. Look! This girl is your long-lost twin.” Fi nudged me, and I smiled. “Never had or wanted one.” I stood up. “Let’s go, or the bargain hunters will clear the shelves before us.” We dived into the vintage emporium across the…
July 03, 2025
Poetry Markus J

The Transformation

"I need a brake" words that twisted my heart- shattering the dream that we would never part. I asked myself 'what ever did I do wrong? sad, gloominess could`ve easily been my song. I wouldn't let the anger and misery grow or cultivate- uprising feelings I…
July 03, 2025
Flash Fiction Benoit

Jae

It was Jae’s birthday today. She turned eight. What a beautiful sunny girl! Hyo planned a surprise or two; Li, his wife, did too. Birthday cake, a puppy and … Don’t forget, they grinned just before he drove off. Traffic was intense. A long call came from…
July 03, 2025
General Stories Matias Travieso-Diaz

Fear

Leandro stood outside the Kroger, leaning forward as he shivered in the early March dawn. He hated this moment: the cold, the fatigue, the feeling of helplessness, the anticipation of another day ahead at his degrading job picking collard leaves under the…
July 03, 2025
Horror Stories Mihko Askiweno

Found You

Panic gripped her as she staggered up the steep, rocky incline, breath coming in jagged, shallow gasps. Sweat streamed down her face in torrents, her hair clinging to her forehead and cheeks in disheveled clumps. Her legs trembled with exhaustion, molten fire…
July 03, 2025
Poetry Markus J

Lost On The Path

But alas; sometimes I think we've lost our way- too many strayed opinions...one too many a survey. Walking on the road ahead, just following the herd of sheep- with a hypnotised mind, wide awake yet very fast asleep. While yelling...join the team of the…

My cousin Bettina turned to Baxter and said, “Why don’t you get us a couple of beers. And some cheese and crackers would be nice too.” As Baxter moved toward the kitchen, she added, “And don’t forget to get me a glass for my beer.”

Once Baxter was out of sight, she turned to me. “You shouldn’t have done the dishes after lunch.”

“It just seemed right,” I said. “After all, Baxter made the lunch.”

She sighed. “For God’s sake, Jimmy,” she said. “Baxter is a robot. He’s supposed to be doing things like that.”

“It doesn’t seem fair for him to have to do all the work.”

“Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy, you’re letting that robot take advantage of you. I noticed you ate all your brussels sprouts without complaining. I know you always hated brussels sprouts.”

“Baxter says they’re good for me.”

Bettina put her hand on my cheek. “Jimmy, you’re a sweet guy, but you’ve got to grow some balls and stop letting that robot tell you what to do.”

“He’s almost like family. He’s been with me for almost twenty years.”

Bettina snorted and looked out the window at the light rain falling on the lawn.

“I noticed about six boxes of Pop-Tarts in the cabinet. When did you start eating them?”

“I don’t eat them.”

“But Baxter bought them, and you can’t say ‘no’ to him.”

“I don’t want to hurt Baxter’s feelings.”

“He’s a robot, Jimmy.”

At that point Baxter came back into the living room with the beer and cheese.

Bettina picked up one of the beers and twirled it in her hand. “My glass, Baxter,” she said.

When he went back to the kitchen, Bettina said, “And the time he bought you all those pastel shirts.”

“I admit they weren’t the kind of shirts I usually wear.”

“I guess to hell they weren’t. You looked liked a nance. I bet you still have them someplace.”

“Yes, I’d throw them out, but I don’t want…”

“I know. You don’t want to hurt Baxter’s feelings.”

It probably sounds silly to worry about a robot’s feelings, but I had had Baxter for a long time and had done a lot of maintenance over time. I had had his SSD replaced at one time and even his CPU. Every few years a new operating system came out, and I had always updated to the newest system. About five years ago the new system had a big increase in artificial intelligence. After that Baxter was smarter than I was. I didn’t mind listening to his advice and letting him make decisions for me once in a while.

The latest operating system had come with a factor that made the robots more empathetic to human beings. That factor was still experimental and needed some work, but I figured, no one is perfect. In truth, I didn’t think of Baxter as a machine or even as a servant, but as a friend or companion, and that’s the way I treated him.

I remember one time, however, when he went too far.  I had been unhappy with my job and complaining about my boss for several weeks. Baxter took it on himself to email my boss to say that the company should be treating me better. When I went to work the next day, my boss confronted me with the email. “Well, you won’t have to worry about being mistreated here anymore. You’re fired.”

I was furious with Baxter, but he reassured me that with my ability, I would be able to get a much better job in no time. In fact he helped me find a new job which is much better than the old one.  So it turned out all right in the end.

After Bettina left, I went to the kitchen to see what was for dinner. Baxter was sitting at the kitchen table working a crossword puzzle. He looked me and said, “You  better change your clothes. You’re taking Marybeth Whitney out to dinner at the Tip Top.”

Marybeth was a neighbor about my age. She was single and a nice enough person, but I had no interest in dating her.

“What do you mean?” I demanded. “How come I’m taking her out to dinner?”

“I arranged it for you. You’re 37 years old. It’s about time you got married. Married men live longer than single men. Besides, I’ve noticed that she has eyes for you.”

“You can call her and tell her anything you want, but I am not going to go on a date with her.”

I wondered if I would be able to get one of the old operating systems for Baxter, one of the ones made before the robots got so smart.

 

End

 

My stories have appeared in Mountain Laurel, Northern New England Review, Short-Story.Me, Commuter lit, and Kennebec among others.

0
0
0
s2sdefault

Donate a little?

Use PayPal to support our efforts:

Amount

Genre Poll

Your Favorite Genre?

Sign Up for info from Short-Story.Me!

Stories Tips And Advice