Category: Short Stories

In the Woods – Part Five

Published on by Ann Marie BryantLeave a comment

The summer Ella turned sixteen she fell in love with Rueben Alan Stiles. He had a smile that warmed her heart, a sense of humor that made her laugh, often, and a kindness that touched her very soul. She had known Rueben since she was a child. They attended the same one-room school house although he was four years older. Ella completed her education when she was in eighth grade. That same year, Rueben left for college, for he wanted to be a journalist and travel the world. She really never gave him a second thought until he came home for a visit. Continue reading “In the Woods – Part Five” →

In the Woods – Part Four

Published on by Ann Marie BryantLeave a comment

Mariah quickly marched through the woods, racing to find solitude in her own home.  The girls had a hard time keeping up with their mother.  Although the two girls had many questions about their great-grandmother, they also knew that now wasn’t the proper time to question their mother, for they could observe their mother’s inner turmoil.  Once their home came into view, Mariah raced to her home to find the necessary seclusion of her bedroom.  Esther and Sally watched their mother as she sprinted across the field.  They never witnessed their mother in such a state, and it frightened them. Continue reading “In the Woods – Part Four” →

In the Woods Part Two

Published on by Ann Marie Bryant2 Comments

The two sisters had walked quite a distance, and they had lost all track of time.   The girls were tired, and still, Miss Ella’s cabin was nowhere in sight.  Often, the woods could be eerie in the daytime, but late at night, it was almost unbearable.  Every little sound was magnified, and Sally was frightened. Continue reading “In the Woods Part Two” →

Motherhood — All for Family

Published on by Ann Marie Bryant13 Comments

“How dare he! Marvayle at my weaknesse, does he?” She fumed once she fled to the safety of her room. “Men call it a weaknesse when a woman uses common sense to measure what is best for a family.”

Amidst rolling hills, Dorset, England appeared to be a tranquil village in the middle years of the seventeenth century. Sheep grazed on green landscapes, and fields of flax and hemp blew softly along the countryside. Fisherman journeyed to open waters along the Dorset Coast, looking for a day’s catch of cod. Shipbuilders created vessels to use on the open seas. Around the village, production took place as crafters made rope and cloth. Still, uncertainty bubbled about this small community. As religious arguments emerged between churchgoers, villagers longed to escape religious doctrine. Others desired new lands as the hamlet’s population increased, and as crops failed, for now, work was hard to find. Continue reading “Motherhood — All for Family” →

Anything but Lukewarm

Published on by Ann Marie BryantLeave a comment

She knew exactly the day, the very hour when she became lukewarm. It was the day Trevor told her that he was leaving. Sighing quietly, Jenn sat on the sofa; Ranger jumped on the couch next to her and whined.  “You need to be walked, and I need to get out of this place for awhile,” she told her dog.

After grabbing a sweater and the leash, she slipped on her old beat up tennis shoes, for they were heading to the beach today.  Outside, it was cloudy.  “Should we walk, or take the car, Ranger?”  Upon hearing his name, the dog looked up at the woman who had rescued him from the shelter just a few months ago. When she looked at her pet, the dog began barking and wiggling with pent-up energy after being cooped in the house all night.  “Walk, it is,” she told him. Continue reading “Anything but Lukewarm” →

A Single Encounter

Published on by Ann Marie Bryant4 Comments

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For years, she had dodged the well-meaning friends that wanted her to meet some sweet gentleman because they could not bear the thought of her spending the rest of her life alone. After three failed relationships that broke her heart and hurt her pride, she was content to call it quits. Thankfully, she often reminded herself, she only married one of these men. Over the years, she came to understand that she must have some secret penchant for bad boys since each “good” boy she met had a fondness for blondes and alcohol, and not necessarily in that order. Continue reading “A Single Encounter” →

A Father’s Love

Published on by Ann Marie Bryant2 Comments
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Elijah Hall

From her open window, Jill took in the scene before her as she viewed the barn and surrounding land. In the corral, her Appaloosa mare, Shawnee, gently nickered at her foal, and in the pasture, her father’s prized quarter horse, Winchester, raced across the green meadow, kicking up his heels. In the distance, soft clouds billowed along the peaks, and overhead, a red-tail hawk soared, drifting gracefully on gentle breezes. The young woman closed her eyes for a moment as the familiar heartache ripped through body and tugged at her very soul. Three months hadpassed and still no word. Her father’s plane had simply disappeared without a trace in the San Juan Mountain Range. And this day had arrived all too quickly. Now, she had her doubts about the upcoming ceremony. What was she thinking? Continue reading “A Father’s Love” →