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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…

In geometry class you were taught the importance of shapes. The different dynamics they can display when in a relationship with their colleague, math. I remember listening to the lesson and then dismissing it quickly, unfortunately. I think I might have been asleep when taught the intricate part where, by not treating the shapes with the care and respect they deserved, it would result in an imbalance in the equation. No less, a loss of equilibrium in one’s own existence.

The Hexagon just prostrates its monogamous ugly head and jumps on the upper part of my back. Between the weight of the Hexagon and its complexity, its action causes me to be thrown to the ground. I struggle to even breathe.

On many occasions I had taken a stumble. This was more than a stumble. This was a clear break down in my normal existence. Who am I trying to impress? The show is over. I will not be able to get up on my own given the dynamics of this shape. I look closely at it and the relationships that have robbed me from my former self I once knew, from long ago. Hold a full length mirror to me and there may just not be anything in the mirror!

A Hexagon has six points. There are six key players including myself. I give myself the letter “C” so I can identify myself. At least this is a start. The other five points are “N”, “E”, “X”, “M” and “A”. The weight of the Hexagon is too much. I cannot get up from the cold concrete. Perhaps I should analyze my points more clearly. I start with the point to the left of me, “N”. N was once my knight in shining armour, best friend and lover. I would no longer label him as a knight. Over the years he has lost or by his own accord, discarded every shred of his armour. The only part of him that is still shinning is his earth tone eyes. He let it slip from his precious fingers.

I continue on with the next point, “E”. He is one of my best friends. He has never been my lover. Although from time to time he does take the opportunity to throw himself at me. I guess he just wants me to remember he is still here and available. He makes a good best friend because he is away from the rest of the hexagon points. E can be more objective and is not so much caught up in the drama. He is my good luck charm.

I move to the “X” point. She has known me for over a decade. She is, used to be my other half. A few months ago she met another woman. The tangible element that cements our relationship is now being held for ransom in a solid black box. There is not light, no holes, or windows in this box. The only way to see the element is to wait for X to open the lid with her key. I do not have a key. She does not allow me to have a key, or maybe I just don’t want one?

I move to “M”. M is a great person when you need a team or need an entourage to help tackle a task with a challenge. If I feel down I need to say a hundred feet away from M. If she gives me one iota of “encouragement” I will walk away wishing for someone to strangle me into unconsciousness. She means well, she just has that effect on people.

I am at the last point before my own. I am at the Hexagon point that has a label “A”. Although A is a newer addition to my shape, she has been making her point for awhile. When I need to let my tears dance around, she is here. When I need someone to pick me up and dust me off, she is here. Just not right now. The only thing I do not like about A is she is a secret. Due to life circumstances no one really knows about her. If a tragedy such as this should strike, I cannot look to her. A secret cannot cross a line. A line that etches deep and conveniently can only be seen by her.

I look at my point: C. I see there have been a lot of change, tears and a deadly weight I can no longer continue to carry. I have hit rock bottom. The only way I will be able to get up off this sidewalk is if I trade in my Hexagon for a smaller and more manageable shape. What points can I erase? I love and care for all these points”

N: A lover who cannot see me.

E: A lucky charm.

X: Is holding me for ransom.

M: A good friend minus pep talks.

A: A secret I cannot see.

I am crestfallen. This Hexagon has broken me and therefore I cannot continue. How do I decide who is to stay or go? Who should I erase from this shape and by default, my life? Maybe I should open up my soul, toss their names in and only pull one or two names out. What shape do I need in order to get up?

I try on different shapes briefly. I try a square, pentagon, a triangle and a circle. A pentagon is almost the shape as a hexagon. One point does not make enough of a difference as I am still down on the sidewalk. A square is a bit lighter but still too awkward. The triangle is more manageable with me plus two.

Someday I will use the triangle. Someday it will be just me as a circle, with no one else. These shapes make it more manageable and work for me. Some days the points of the triangle are labelled the same and some days they are labelled differently.

What matters is that I get to keep all my points. I can now get up. I walk to the nearest Starbucks.

 

THE END

Bio: My name is Catina Noble. I am a freelance writer and photographer in Ottawa, Ontario. I have been published in Short-Story Me, The Prairie Journal, The Riverview Park Review, The Mindful Word, Babypost, Canadian Newcomer, Mainstreeter, PENand CultivateTo. I suffer from stationary sickness and can never have too many pens or notebooks! I am a single mom of four and I love the words “carpe diem”, today, tomorrow and always

 

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