www.storymania.com
Storymania Logo

 

 

Short Stories




A Streetlight Story by A Panos A very depressing story. Don't judge it by that though. The ending is up for interpretation... [2,216 words]
The Small Black Object
Wine And Owls by Zdravka Evtimova A woman is left by the person she loves. her reaction to that. [2,804 words]
We Attack At Dawn! by Gregory J Christiano Toward the end of WWII, an army platoon encouters German resistance. [1,391 words]
The Wars Of Belfast Part 1. by Sasu A story about a city searching for hope through war, based in the late eighties. Co... [1,221 words]
The Final Statement. by Bradley Grimes A man about to be executed makes his final statement. [1,221 words]
The Braided Belt by Michael Lowell A man learns about love and its loss one summer. [501 words]
Stranger Underneath by Keivn Luk Have you ever heard the sound of heavy breathing? Imagine it, the noise of someone or somet... [1,123 words]
Shadow Walker by Albert Davis This is a short story for the warrior in you or anyone, the mentality needed to be a destroyer an... [837 words]
Scenes From A Memory by Michael Armstrong Stefan Kaufmann reflects on his past. [1,064 words]
Nunnada'utsun't'yi - The Trail Place Where They Cried by Desi Williams It is about a white girl and her father during the 1800s ... [1,675 words]
Nothing But Touch by Rae Haven't had inspiration lately, so I picked ten random words and wrote around them. [239 words]
Melanchony by Vodka Ryuki Mint The title says it all. [620 words]
Lottery Ticket by Kid Mercury A man goes on a quest in search of the unthinkable: a hot date. [2,658 words]
Life Is Full Of Virtues by Brodie J Hughes Read the title again. [226 words]
His Wings by Vodka Ryuki Mint I've always dreamed of this scene, don't know why, somehow it gives me an indescribable feeling. not ... [553 words]
Here Today, Gone Fishing Pt.1 by Sullivan Of The Sea A little after-drug-deal excitement. [1,105 words]
Fixing A Broken Heart. by Keivn Luk What you seek is hidden in the shadows. [234 words]
First Meeting by Charity B Baez Erotic tale of a man and woman who met online, and are meeting face to face for the first time. [2,501 words]
Fading Away With The Rain by Desi Williams I wrote it based on the cover of "Fallen" by Evanescence. [137 words]
Fade Away by Vodka Ryuki Mint About a father and a son. [650 words]
Drop Dead Gorgeous by James C Bernthal A very light-hearted horror short. [875 words]
Discovering Truth by Kelley Rose This is a story about a girl who tries to find the truth about her sister's death. [5,089 words]
Anthropomorphia by Jeff Hunt A short story about people and animals. [1,754 words]
And You Thought Today Was Going To Be A Good Day by Michael Spiegel A day in the life of a very strange indvidual, written in 1st ... [4,840 words]
... And She Would Tell Her Story by Animesh Kar A fairy tale with a twist! [1,915 words]
Alexander Khri'pher by Draco Streaver As a young child, a Bengal tegal looses his father/mentor in a battle to save their village... [26,332 words]
A Soul Sold For Ten Seconds Of Heaven by Lithium - [479 words]
A One Night Stand by Animesh Kar A young single working lady and a piece of her mind. [4,101 words]
10:34 by Danielle You describe it. [276 words]
The Teen Girl Suicide Story by Riot This is satire. Keep that in mind. [575 words]
The Sob Story by Riot Alchohol does not equate responsibility. [1,116 words]
Walking The Road by Keivn Luk Two strangers, with no recollection on how they got there meet each other in a strange place w... [2,166 words]
Unexplained by Trax A man and his dog go on a walk they will never forget.... [430 words]
Undefined by Josh Anderson What do you tell yourself when you don't know the answer? [408 words]
The Way Life Is... by Vanessa Moya - [285 words]
The Radical. by Amit Shankar Saha - [589 words]
The Lady And The Train by Michelle Lynn Clements A tragic short story about a woman running away from her husband and troublesome daughte... [1,980 words]
The Closing Of The Eyes by Steve Deutsch A man has to overcome his fear and destroy a part of his life. My first real descriptiv... [1,175 words]
The Assassin by Susan Brassfield Cogan What lurks in the chill of the night? [440 words]
Sue Aside by Andy Kim May not be suitable for children. [255 words]
Step Three by Steve Deutsch A boy sets up his camera and wants to tell his story. This is the beggining. [657 words]
Slipping Away From Me by Josh Anderson The 7th part of Serra's swamp, suspense filled, and back on track� I hope. Theres another... [1,145 words]
Self Defense by Naya Renee A'Janae is a young mother caught in a relationship she can't seem to get herself out of. Determine... [5,202 words]
Q by Don F Vaccarino A story about the man who created James Bonds "toys" when he was in high school. [18,783 words]
Project Chyooryooku Akiraka by Josh Anderson Sci-Fi, about how the world has a Chi and how the people who inhabbit it are linked... [1,157 words]
On Her Way Home by Bancy Mwihaki A partly romance and partly drama short story about a young lady and her oddyssey in conjugal l... [2,785 words]
Of Bikes And Boys by Ali Rizvi A tragic memoire of a young character that reveals a story of loss of innocence. [1,965 words]
Nothing Here by Ally K - [2 words]
Not Without My Future by Steve Deutsch A group of boys pertake on their weekly tradition of figuring out what to do next in thei... [926 words]
Much To Do About Nothing by Armand Waksberg A short story. [1,496 words]
Mexican Soul by Steve Deutsch Elementary students enjoy their favorite part of the day--lunchtime. However, today is extra speci... [1,074 words]
John Nikolaus by Tim Gorichanaz The story of John Nikolaus's journey from Croatia to America in the early 1900's. [1,589 words]
Jessie's Friend by Mike McWade A strange visitor warns Jessie of impending danger. [2,370 words]
Hunter by Hayden Woods Story about a female werewolf... [1,833 words]
Homeland Ssecurity by Firsttime Story When the moment comes that people realize that government can only give its citizens what it... [19,563 words]
Hi by Gary R Hoffman This is a true story of a dog my family once owned. [1,444 words]
Fine Weather For Ducks by Josh Anderson Love Short Story in poetry form. Inspired by the meeting of a friend of mine, I had a re... [1,683 words]
Empire Park by Aaron Er Lozier Carl finds himself lost in "Empire Park" late one night, chased by a glinty-eyed monster, and assau... [588 words]
Effects by Kevin Costello EFFECTS is an existential story which delves into the psyche of a college professor who just lost his w... [4,079 words]
Behind These Eyes by Vanessa Moya - [884 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)
The Small Black Object
DESCRIPTION
A soldier in a battle fatally wounds an enemy, only to realize the family his opponent left behind. From there the story briefly touches upon a couple of personal human issues such as identity and shame.
[1,256 words]
TITLE KEYWORD
Drama
AUTHOR
Michael G Barbieri
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Barbieri is a recent Computer Engineering graduate of the University of Central Florida.
[April 2005]
The Small Black Object
Michael G Barbieri

����He stared out the two-story window at the approaching man. �I�m dry!� he had heard not too long ago, in turn from the windows to his left and his right. His comrades were out, and he was down to his last. This is it, he thought to himself, If I fail, we all die.

����He took careful aim and fired his last shot. He watched as the figure stumbled a few steps and fell to the ground, quivering. The figure then moved his arm, searching for something in his uniform, until finally he pulled out a small black object and started fumbling with it.

����He heard the commander shout �It should be clear; let�s go down there and see what he�s doing!�

����He grabbed his empty rifle and his canteen of water, and ran out of the room and down the stairs of the building to the entrance, which was on the other side as the body. He turned left and ran around the building to the front, stopping several yards away from the figure he had shot. The commander and his other comrade were close behind, and arrived next to him.

����The commander said �Go check him out.�

����He ran up to the wounded man, who had his head up and his arms out, and was staring at a small black object. As he approached the man, the man turned his head slowly and looked at him briefly, then put his head down in the sand and lay motionless.

����He picked up the black object. It was a wallet, and on top of the wallet was a photograph. He looked at the photograph, and could tell it was taken recently. The man he had killed was in it, looking about the same as he did now. He was standing proud and tall with a toothless smile, in a military dress uniform. To the right of the man, in his arm, was a very pretty girl, dark brown hair and eyes, and a big warm smile on her face, wearing a black velvet dress. In her arms was an infant, staring out of the picture with a huge, adorable grin. They had performed the miracle of getting a baby to smile on demand.

����He looked at the picture for a while. The other two men approached him; the commander asked �what did you find?�

����He held up the wallet with the picture, paused and said casually, with a small smile, �Just a... just a wallet... and a picture.�

����The commander looked briefly, and, seeing that they were in no danger, promptly ordered �All right then, let�s get back to the others and let them know the building is secure. Leave the wallet on the body; both will be picked up by others.�

����He didn�t move. He looked at the commander, grinned and let out a breath and shook his head as if something was funny. Then he stopped and stared at the commander.

����The commander was about to open his mouth, when he acted first. His facial expression changed to rage as he quickly gripped his gun in both hands, held it above his head, and slammed it on the ground screaming �Fuck this shit! Fuck it all! I quit! I�m done!�

����The commander said �What do you mean, you quit?�

�����I mean I quit! That was a family, sir! That kid used to have a dad! War is fucking retarded! I fucking hate it!�

�����So you�re just gonna walk away.�

����He paused a moment. �Yeah, that�s it. Right now, I�m walking.� He turned his back to the commander, heard a click, and turned back around.

����The commander was aiming a pistol at him. �This is a war! You are here to serve your country! The punishment for desertion is death!�

����But he was too enraged to care. �So fucking shoot me!� he cried, �I�m done killing people. This whole thing is sick!�

�����Get a grip on yourself! What about your family? Why aren�t you thinking about them?�

�����What does it matter? I�d die out there anyway. I�d rather die with something to believe in.�

����The commander shook his head. �Something to believe in... What does it matter what you believed in, if you�re dying anyway?�

����He hesitated, then, calming down a little, said, �I don�t know why. I just want to, you know? Everyone I�ve known always had something they believed in. Something that motivated them that was higher than a human desire. I�ve never had anything like that. But now I think I do, and I think I�ll die for it.�

�����That is the most ridiculous thing I�ve ever heard. So because you want to be like everyone else and their stupid ideals, you�re doing to sacrifice the only life you have. Don�t you know that stuff�s all for show anyway?�

����He became indignant. �It�s not for show!�

����The commander was looking at him with disgust on his face, like a man who is feeling personally ashamed of his own child. �It�s not just for show? You're telling me you�re not about to let yourself die just to make a scene?�

�����No. It�s a principle! I hate all this god-damned killing!�

�����You do realize the world will not see it your way? The world will see you as a deserter, as a coward who abandoned his own country. Your own family will be ashamed of you.�

����He paused, then said �But,� he hesitated, then continued, �but I don�t care what anyone thinks.� This came out more softly than before, as if he wasn�t sure if he even believed himself saying that old and tired line of teenage rebellion.

�����But you do. I hear it in your voice. You�re bothered by what I said.�

����He was silent. The commander continued, �the whole world will know what a coward you are.�

����He felt some strength return. �They will not! The world will know me only as a statistic! An unnamed casualty of war!�

�����The world, perhaps. But your own family... your mother, your father, your girl... they will hear the story. And it will not be your side of the story. And they will be ashamed of their relation to you. They will throw away your pictures, so their friends don�t ask for a story of your valiant last stand.�

����He looked at the commander for a second, eyes wide open and mouth gaping. �Let me write them a letter! Just one letter. Telling them why I�m doing this. Then you can kill me!�

����The commander shook his head. �I will not allow unpatriotic propaganda to be sent home by our own troops. The last thing we need is low morale on the home front. You�ll never get your letter past the censors.�

����His eyes were tearing up. He felt trapped in a corner, with nothing he could do.

����The commander added, �What was that again, about not caring what anyone thought?�

����He was crying. �Fine! You win! Let�s go!�

�����I knew you�d come to your senses,� said the commander, smiling and lowering his gun, �and you�re right, let�s go�.

����They began walking. He trailed the commander and the other man a few steps, then when he saw an opportunity and the commander wasn�t looking, he turned and began running.

����He ran and ran, desperately trying to get out of sight before the commander noticed. Just a few more steps back to the building, then he could turn the corner.

����And then all was dark for the unnamed soldier.
������
������
������
������
������
������
������
      

 

Submit Your Review for The Small Black Object
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 The Small Black Object

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

COPYRIGHT NOTICE
© 2005 Michael G Barbieri
STORYMANIA PUBLICATION DATE
April 2005
NUMBER OF TIMES TITLE VIEWED
1894
 

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