www.storymania.com
Storymania Logo

 

 

Short Stories




Legend Of The Golden Ship by Michael Vincent A free gift is given to a town to save them but some of them refuse to accept it. [567 words]
Believe In Better by Colin Baker A philosophical alternative to the current mindset. [804 words]
The Kill by Britney Sheppard A guy and his wife find dead bodies all covered with invisible glue. [901 words]
Fairy Tales Can Come True by Britney Sheppard A girl and her friend Abbey believe in fairy tales, but what if they weren't fairy ta... [998 words]
Acacia by Britney Sheppard A girl lives in egypt and has to defeat the Egyptian warriors. [1,134 words]
The Storymania Twilight Zone by Ted Ross A comedic take on the coveted TV series [426 words]
Seeing Ghosts. by Scott Murphy A very short anecdote about love and loss. [201 words]
Orlando Flores Is Dead by Kevin Hadley The enigmatic Orlando Flores links two moments in a couple's life. [3,321 words]
Drinking Alone With Company by Jacob Freer A lonely man downs a bottle of whiskey while walking around his neighborhood at nig... [718 words]
Air To Breathe. by Terry Collett - [921 words]
The Golden River by Vincent Michael an allegory i hope you'll find interesting. [2,667 words]
Black Flying Fist by Delmar Burkett It's fiction deals with two karate students trying to open a chest that suppose to contain a... [2,868 words]
Fight Fire With Fire by Joseph Albrecht A short story I wrote about an oil company at odds with everyday people and Mother Nature. [2,367 words]
Cursed Island by Vincent Michael Some folks are trapped on an island from which they try to escape but fail repeatedly. They need ... [977 words]
Around The Block And Back Home by Charles Turner A slice of trailer home life. [622 words]
Anxoius Lindsey by Demarquis Johnson Anxious Lindsey is a humorous story about a little girl whose always in a hurry to do things. M... [636 words]
A Thought by Sjl A single thought, and how it changes the way a young girl sees the world. [524 words]
The Abominable Snowman by Elvira Frankenheim - [338 words]
Rose's 'thorne' by Anuradha Krishna A young woman finds herself meeting a lost loved one who is in a challenging situation and real... [3,941 words]
Love Edit by Siddharth Shah Renu Sharma is a film editor in Bombay, living an ordinary life with a struggling filmmaker for a hus... [206 words]
Good News Is No News by Colin Baker Good news isn't always what it seems. [470 words]
The Spaceman Rituals by Eleanor Leech Delve in the wonders of the Spaceman Rituals. The Spaceman Rituals loose their suits, what... [414 words]
Marine Love by Ngoe Amate It's talking about a young girl who was possesed with an evil marine spirit that almot took her lif... [1,945 words]
Something For Nothing by Colin Baker The irony of political correctness [90 words]
Max Leroy In Space by Matthew Lenox Max Leroy is abducted by aliens and must now make his way back home by any means necessary. [5,546 words]
Max Leroy Against The Floss Flaws by Matthew Lenox Max Leroy takes on big floss and just escapes by the skin of his teeth. [3,917 words]
Lucifer Falls by C Bacchus Ever wonder why Lucifer would betray God? Why he would betray everything he knew? We all know the... [1,320 words]
You Again by Mahmoud Akoush - [364 words]
Why Is Everybody Speaking About Captions Now? by John Peterson Captions can make or break a video. That is why Captioningstar is... [328 words]
Little Red Riding Hood by E Ashe Gray confronts his own humanity when he fails to shoot a young female terrorist; the gir... [1 words]
Just Want To Go Home by Autumn Eve story about when i was 16 and ran away to chicago [404 words]
Blood's Secret by Autumn Eve A story about an abused girl who escapes the torment of her awful life [1,288 words]
My Addiction To Eve Garner by Jonathan Soriano - [2,960 words]
Train Watchers: A Brett Mccarley Locomotive Engineer Story by Shelley J Alongi You hope this never happens out on the line, but if ... [3,405 words]
Time On His Hands by John Frazee Perpetual down on his luck NYC charater sees things finally turning around. [1,540 words]
Sandpit by Annacat - [1,498 words]
Prime Of Life by Teresa Ann Frazee Franco, a New York City retired cat ( mouse catcher) enters a May/Dec. whirlwind romance,revitali... [4,267 words]
Lift by Lauren Van Der Vyver - [2,868 words]
I Don't Believe In Luck by Lauren Van Der Vyver - [4,364 words]
A True Love Story by The Hidden Bunny A true love story [543 words]
A New Years Tale by Iain Young This is the tale of one New Years Eve, two musicians and three venues. [6,888 words]
The Evil Within by Elvira Frankenheim A man lies in the creek, death by drowning. Only a silly accident? [2,499 words]
Summer In The City. by Terry Collett - [733 words]
St. Jerome by Lander Aberdimme - [173 words]
Extravagant Measures Condemend In Sin. by Regardless Devon Victory THIS BOOK IS COPYRIGHTED IT IS ILLEGAL TO USE ANY OF THIS BOOK WITHOUT ... [13,160 words]
The Secret Of The Secret by Martha Spring When fate wears an apron... [8,215 words]
The Fall (By Elvira Frankenheim) by Elvira Frankenheim - [1,591 words]
The Dead Girls by Darren Oberhaus Dead Girls / synopsis: A lonely call girl who is always searching for her own Prince Charming... [3,260 words]
Size A by Martha Spring To some people size matters. [678 words]
Rose Bush
Question Answered by Martha Spring To marry or not to marry? That is the question! [1,101 words]
His Own Truth by Kriti Ruia relationship in todays modern-day [647 words]
Page 12 by D J Based on a very awkward English lesson... [448 words]
Fair Warning by Sf A young boy appears on Scott's porch with the ominous message, "If you choose to speak with me, on... [5,139 words]
From My Mouth, To Your Heart by Jade T Force A short story describing love and comparing it to the addiction of a cigarette [199 words]
Prologue: This Is My Secret by Frederick Espina Without giving too much of it away, the story is the prologue to a character I have... [84 words]
Tough Skin by Ashley N Hudson Hudson tough Skin talks about, how in the Gay World u have. To be strong mineded not just with woman but me... [34 words]
The Story Of Starry Knight by Ai Miina A story about a girl called Starry Knight, who once died in a high school, but nobod... [366 words]
The Skeleton That You Keep by Edward Bush Jr A short love story from a twisted mind. [202 words]
The Monster Who Stalked And Snatched by Ted Cowell How does it feel to be reading sentences written by pure evil? I can feel ... [634 words]
The Day I Met God by Matthew Mark Gill Hope [270 words]
Sweethearts by Ashley N Hudson Hudson SweetHearts, talks about how one person is so much in love. with this person at one time they felt ... [27 words]
Our Story by Ashley N Hudson Hudson Our story, talks bout country where we from which is Louisiana. From our food to clothers, How we as ... [33 words]
Church By Kevin Kling by Kevin Kling Kevin Kling shows us how eventful a Sunday morning can be for a Catholic family getting r... [1,660 words]
Brendon by Katherine Mongone About a mother.. when love is not enough after she loses it all [1,816 words]
Woman Attempts Suicide by James J Alonzo Woman attempts suicide and runs into a cop who try but looses his patience [1,043 words]
When One Becomes Aware Of Their Mortality by James J Alonzo When ne becomes aware of their mortality [606 words]
The Viet Nam Experience by James J Alonzo Trying to understand PTSD from War [800 words]
The Menace Of That Most Demented Order by Michael Harris Eli Wellingsworth finally comes face to face with the horror perpetrated... [12,529 words]
She Likes Trains: Sleepy Freights by Shelley J Alongi Back to the Union Pacific, the last meal, engineer in training, and just hang... [3,746 words]
Seeing Eye What??? by James J Alonzo Blind Nan stop by the cops for driving blind [1,096 words]
Saving Sarah by James J Alonzo Cop save Sarah's life at risk of his own [923 words]
Ohm Is Where The Art Is -- By Dovin Melhee by Dovin Melhee "Your thoughts are not entirely your own..." [1,551 words]
Nurses In Viet Nam, They Served Too by James J Alonzo Nurses served in viet nam and deserve respect [800 words]
Mr. Whiskey Viet Nam by James J Alonzo Soldier has a imaginary friend [1,223 words]
I Was Told I Was Wrong To Go To Viet Nam by James J Alonzo Soldier arrives home and is told his war service was wrong [853 words]
Heaven Sent Me by Matthew Mark Gill Inspiring [168 words]
Ghosts Of Viet Nam by James J Alonzo Ghosts in viet nam [925 words]
Edna Benz Store Detective by James J Alonzo Elderly woman tough as nails [871 words]
An Attempted Mugging Of An Old Man by James J Alonzo Old war vet faces a young mugger [845 words]
A Son Is Born (Agent Orange) by James J Alonzo Son is born with physical problems from father's exposure to agent orange [2,475 words]
A Small Child And A Dream by Matthew Mark Gill Small World [196 words]
A Missed Love by James J Alonzo A missed love that occurred during the Viet Nam War [2,782 words]
What Kind Of Love Is This by Ashley N Hudson Hudson it is about how love trne upside down, and go wrong. How to fix we don't know. It be ... [27 words]
Unfavoured Child by Terry Collett - [814 words]
The Smiley Sticker by Matthew Mark Gill Make ya offers now this is probably the best story ya ever seen. Pulitzer 4 Shore.. Highest ... [299 words]
The Golden Cross by Matthew Mark Gill If Ya have a dream ya'll enjoy this. www.sixflags.com [324 words]
The Broken Window by Matthew Mark Gill The story of Hope and Inspiration [266 words]
South Sudan: Independence And Nation Building From A False Start? by Nicholas Okumu This article looks at the ongoing internal co... [693 words]
Old School Love by Ashley N Hudson Hudson Old School Love is bout bringing the love back makeing it feel gineuing and real. [21 words]
Maddy And Mother. by Terry Collett - [580 words]
Flynn's Mindgame. by Terry Collett - [1,006 words]
Death Has Come Knocking At My Door. by Bethany J Hargrove A story that will make Dr. Sueze proud. Unless I misspelled his name. The i... [173 words]
Beneath The Valley Of The Ultra-Catholics by Elvira Frankenheim The actor Peter and his girlfriend (the narrator) go to a catholic vi... [418 words]
A Minsiter Child by Ashley N Hudson Hudson A Minsiter Child, is about how somebody grow up in a house with a pastor and how it affect the... [34 words]

Go to page: 1 2 3 [4] 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
TITLE (EDIT)
Rose Bush
DESCRIPTION
Perfection is never free...
[1,295 words]
TITLE KEYWORD
Drama
AUTHOR
Martha Spring
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
-
[May 2012]
AUTHOR'S OTHER TITLES (4)
Question Answered (Short Stories) To marry or not to marry? That is the question! [1,101 words] [Relationships]
Size A (Short Stories) To some people size matters. [678 words] [Relationships]
The Best Santa (Children) Santa does exist after all. [981 words]
The Secret Of The Secret (Short Stories) When fate wears an apron... [8,215 words] [Relationships]
Rose Bush
Martha Spring


They have been married for almost two years now, a really great two years of a perfect life with the best husband in the world, as she thought. She knew he had been married once before for a couple of years. His previous wife left him. For no apparent reason, one day she just asked him to drive her to the train station. Then, she asked him to buy her a one-way ticket to her mother's, and then she asked him to leave her alone at the station, go back home, and never wait for her to come back. The whole village knew the story. Even children could tell you the story word for word as it was told by the man who was left by his wife. Nobody ever heard anything from his first wife again, as if she disappeared from the surface of the Earth.

He was a great gardener. His garden looked like a perfect picture that came alive. All these cherry trees, apple trees... Peach trees. Mandarin trees. Mango trees? Banana palms? It really depends on the local environmental conditions. For macadamia nut lovers we can set this story in Hawaii. So, all these macadamia tees... And what a beautiful burgundy rose bush was blooming under her bedroom window. The bush was a fairly new addition to the garden. He planted it in the memory of his first wife. She didn't like his first wife for being here first. The thought of him making love to another woman in her bed made her angry, so she tried to ignore the fact that it happened by pretending that it didn't. She was fairly successful in doing that and could be hardly ever caught thinking about his first wife. Instead, she was very busy thinking about how beautiful she was to deserve a husband like that, how smart she was to choose him, and how stupid a woman should be to let a man like him go. But she liked the rose bush and its sweet smell, especially in the morning after a rainy night.

Yesterday, he asked her if she would like him to plant another rose bush under the bedroom window, and she happily agreed. She thought that would be nice to have two rose bushes, maybe she would get twice the smell. So, early this morning, her husband went to the market and got a very pretty rose bush. He said he would plant it the next morning. And tonight he was cooking a dinner for her. She didn't even know why. What was the occasion? It didn't matter. She was so happy, so pleased to be such a lucky woman who had the best husband in the world. She would never leave him. He was perfect, he was what any woman dreams about. And he was all hers!

She woke up feeling there was not enough air for her to breath. His hands were around her throat. Her last thought was something about his love for jokes. This was one of his jokes. Wasn't it?

* * *


They have been married for a couple of years now, the best couple of years of her life. Does this sound familiar? If it does, it's just a mere coincidence since this is another woman we are talking about. It was the best years of her life because she got to spend them with the husband that was so good there was nobody equal in the world, as she thought. She knew he had been married twice before and both of his previous wives left him. Also, she knew that to leave a man like him they both had to be pretty dumb. The whole village knew the stories, even children could tell you the stories word for word as they were told by the man who was left by two wives. They both told him to never wait for them to come back. Nobody ever heard anything from his wives again, as if they disappeared from the surface of the Earth.

There was no greater garden than his in the whole world. It looked so perfect as if a picture that came alive. Who would paint a picture like this? Tomas Kinkade would. And such beautiful two burgundy rose bushes were growing under her bedroom window. The bushes were a fairly new addition to the garden, he planted them in the memory of his wives. She liked the rose bushes and their sweet smell in the morning after a rainy night.

What his thoughts were she didn't really know, and she didn't exactly care as long as he was such a good husband for her and for her alone. Who cares why those women were so unhappy with him, if she was happy? Who cares how he treated them, if he was treating her well? She didn't spend even one minute thinking about why she got to be so lucky where other women failed. She thought how pretty she was! She thought how special she was! She thought how lucky she was! She thought too much of so little.

Yesterday, he asked her wouldn't she like him to plant another rose bush under the bedroom window, and she gladly agreed. She thought how nice it would be to have three rose bushes, so she could get more of that nice smell. So, early this morning, her husband went to the market and got a lovely rose bush. He said he would plant it the next morning. And tonight he was cooking a dinner for her, she didn't even know why. What was the occasion? It didn't matter as long as she was so happy having the best husband in the world. She would never leave him. He was perfect, he was what any woman dreams about. And he was all hers...

* * *


He opened his eyes, it was dark in the room. He turned on the light, looked at the clock, it was five in the morning. He couldn't sleep anymore, he just had that dream again. He dreamed he had been married three times, but he knew he had not been married even once. He dreamed that for no apparent reason he was very unhappy about all his wives, so he killed them one after another burying them under the rose bushes. He had that same dream over and over for at least a year now. He wished this would stop.

He got up from his bed feeling exhausted, slowly walked to the window and opened it. There they were right under his bedroom window - three stunning burgundy rose bushes. He remembered how he himself planted all of them, one after another. The last one he planted just over a year ago and this Summer it was blooming for the first time. All three of them were emitting such a sweet smell, especially in the early morning after a rainy night.

He put his clothes on and went outside. Standing in front of the rose bushes looking at them, he was unable to hold on to a single thought long enough even to recognize the images flashing in his mind until one image came to stay. It was the image of him sleeping through the night without waking up from bad dreams, something he wanted so much, and there were no rose bushes under his bedroom window. Not a single one.

He went into his garage, picked up a shovel, and returned to the bushes. After considering for a second which one of them would be the first, he decided to start with the oldest bush since it was the biggest and therefore the hardest to remove. He started digging. After a couple of strokes his shovel hit something... Was that a root of the bush?

The End

 

Submit Your Review for Rose Bush
Required fields are marked with (*).
Your e-mail address will not be displayed.

Your Name*     E-mail*

City     State/Province     Country

Your Review (please be constructive!)*


Please Enter Code*:

Submit Your Rating for Rose Bush

Worst     1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10     Best

COPYRIGHT NOTICE
© 2012 Martha Spring
STORYMANIA PUBLICATION DATE
May 2012
NUMBER OF TIMES TITLE VIEWED
1645
 

Copyright © 1998-2001 Storymania Technologies Limited. All Rights Reserved.