Short stories: Struggles in life 349 Articles

by Nicole Tallman

A Lucky Meeting Pain and deep aches radiated throughout her body as she dragged her eyes open and squeezed them shut as bright light glared. She tilted her head to the side and let her eyes slit open. She reached her ...read more

by Chris Goetz

She hadn't slept most of the night. It had been a hot and muggy evening. Summers in the city always sweltered. Her thoughts weighed on her heavier than the humidity. Her mind just wouldn't shut off. There wasn't a sing...read more

by McKenzie Sanders

Beneath the Sycamores It hadn't taken him long to realize how simple her request had been: one meeting just once a week to see how the stars had moved. He crumpled the folded paper between his roughened hands, hangin...read more

by William Sokolowski

Hello, my name is Johnathon Prospes, and today is the best day of my life. I can't focus. I can't collect my thoughts even for a second. I tried getting up today to go for a run, but one thing led to another and before ...read more

by davi shea

There's No Place Like Home Dear Friends and Family, Greetings! It's been a long time, huh? Sure hope this finds everyone well. With the holidays nearing,memories by the droves tend to surface. Some are good and so...read more

by Mirsada Alemic

The undefined pain "What is the point of living?" He mumbled to himself, as he slowly positioned his head down. Tears rolled down his bony cheeks and landed on his knees ...read more

by Sean Coughlan

Once again I found myself fighting the one man battle of insomnia. Normally, sleep came easily to me, but the previous several weeks had consistently found my mind struggling to grasp the ever distant realms of restfulness...read more

by Lorraine Smith

She felt like a rat caught in a trap. There had to be some way out of this situation. She had only been married to him for three weeks, but already it felt like she was in hell. One minute he was kind and gentle and the ne...read more

by Valerie J Routhieaux

HOPE IN A BOX Leigh Henderson looked at the card she found in the bottom of the shoebox. 'Can I pray for you' was written in block letters across the center. What a question. Her thoughts roamed. The house fire,...read more

by J P Whickson

Change Be Careful of What You Ask for In Life. He went to the cupboard and took out the last can of tomato soup, nothing was left but a sprinkle of label the mice had not consumed. He didn't bother to heat the soup but...read more

by Anthony Laura

Some people would have known me from the newspapers. Other would know from the news and the stories that were done on me. The only aspect these people had in common would be their question. It seemed to be the same inqu...read more

by James Heaton

"See what there is out there" The sunlight warmed through the window but outside it was cold. She lit a cigarette and asked, "Do you want one?" "No. I've stopped," he replied. Three teenaged boys walked past. She...read more

by Lorna Caines

There she lay in her adopted bed, covered by thin, foreign sheets and surrounded by machines that's cold humming and buzzing just bounced off the even colder gray walls. Her fingers were laced together, resting upon her s...read more

by Billy Barnes

ALMOST DEAD I wiped the sweat from my face with the ripped up T-shirt that I was wearing. The sleeves of the shirt were torn of just at the shoulders and the elastic around the neck had been removed in similar fashion ...read more

by Kathryn Hammer

The new beginning As we go through life we all go through millions of life changing experiences. Everyone has their own mountains to climb and rivers to cross during this journey to love, live, and learn. Though not ev...read more

by W. Jay Talley

Sudie sat motionless on her front porch swing and tried to think of the most painless way to kill her son. She looked out over her garden that had once occupied most of her time. She had not weeded or turned a single spa...read more

by Lawson Tree

the potato virgin She was a virgin, which was a good thing in that town, but not for her family. After the O'Sullivan family potato crops went bare during the Great Famine, they opened a brothel outside of Boston. ...read more

by T. H. Disandro

Phil Wenger was a regular guy. His character flaws were few, his idiosyncrasies not worth mentioning. His reports were on time, his desk in order. Each file was labeled properly, each drawer kept tidy. He was neither...read more

by Bill Horner

Goodbye, Northwest Allen sat stretching on the edge of his bed. Through half-opened eyes, he peered at the bedroom window. "Dad," he said, "are we going fishing in the dark?" I had to laugh at the express...read more

by Pullak Rozario

"Matt," my mother said, "did you finish cleaning the guest room?" "Yea," I answered. "It's all clean and vacuumed. Ready to go. When's Grandpa supposed to get here?" "I don't know. He should be here soon." Just as s...read more