Short Stories
By marandina
A collection of fantasy shorts.
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- 920 reads
Haunted
It had been 18 months. The world had moved on. Life was engulfed by a pandemic; individual tragedies subsumed by a crisis. The searchlight of...
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- 295 reads
The Hotel at the Edge of the World
John and Ali were star-crossed. They had met as teenagers at a night club. John had spotted Ali and Tina looking over a balcony at the dance floor...
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- 319 reads
Lockdown Walkees
Today was a great day to be alive, it was Tuesday, after all. Not just any Tuesday…well…yes just another Tuesday. Skye woofer was lying in the hall...
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- 480 reads
Mr Clean
Eddie Sinclair had loved lockdown. He revelled in the lack of contact, the isolation, the chance to be free from other people’s germs. Microbes were...
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- 479 reads
Empire State (Part One)
Halloween, Hallowe’en or All Hallows’ Eve is an important date in the Christian calendar. Probably based on Pagan tradition, it a time of remembrance...
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- 464 reads
Empire State (Part Two)
Samhain is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. Traditionally held on 1st November, celebrations...
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Invisible
At between 50 and 200 nanometres it was easy to miss. In fact, everyone failed to notice as it stalked the pavement at the corner of Isambard and New...
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- 1173 reads
Empire State (Part Three) - The Devil in Tintagel
Beltane is a Greater Sabbat celebrated on May Eve. It is one of the four Sabbats that are cross-quarter days. These form the Wheel of the Year. Only...
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- 573 reads
Empire State (Part Four): The Initiate
Modern day Wiccans eschew the notion of left and right hand paths – left associated with malevolence, right linked with good intentions. Not everyone...
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- 321 reads
Empire State (Part Five) - The House in the Woods
Wicca celebrations can be based on the cycles of both the moon and the Sun. The former are known as Esbats and associated with the Goddess. Black...
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- 226 reads
It's (Still) a Wonderful Life
It had been difficult times for Jerry O’Halloran of late. Friends knew him as Down on his luck Jerry . It hadn’t always been this way. Jerry’s mother...
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The Horses of Wooldale Road
In Norse mythology, it is said that the Norns spin the threads of fate at the foot of the tree of the world – Yggddrasil. The concept of free will...
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- 644 reads
A Bridge of Lies
It was the year of our Lord 1850 when my first sentence was given. My poor Mina had been transported this twelve months past. It was at the quarter...
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- 384 reads
The Dead Cat
Steve “Stevo” Mason never did like school. At 14 years of age, the rest of his life looked a very long way away. Particularly bright at junior level...
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- 725 reads
The Haunted Fort of Bhangarh
I stare out of the tinted window for most of the trip; it’s like being in another world. You have to go to India to know what I mean but the villages...
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The Existential Fate of Original Thought
Every day had been the same for so long now. Epicurus sat in his leather backed chair, cradling a glass of scotch, ruminating about life and the arts...
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- 524 reads
Happy Valentines
I always did love Sadie. We were your typical childhood sweethearts who grew up and eventually got married. It was aged 12 when we shared a naive...
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- 520 reads
The Banquet (Competition entry max 1,000 words)
I live in a mansion in the country. This is no ordinary mansion; it’s an M&S mansion. Well, it’s not actually but it does house a library of...
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- 515 reads
Most Vial
This is a sequel to “Invisible” at https://www.abctales.com/story/marandina/invisible The walls looked as dull today as they had yesterday. Paint...
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- 1769 reads
The Star-Crossed Swans of Newport Pagnell
An urban adaptation of the fairy-tale that the ballet “Swan Lake” is based on. The Star-Crossed Swans of Newport Pagnell It is a grey, overcast day...
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- 239 reads