Bruce Costello real life stories short stories Friday, March 10, 2023 Dictated by a Tyrant by Bruce Costello <i>Bruce Costello imagines an encounter between a Ukrainian local and a Russian soldier in Mariupol.</i><br><br>The woman is sheltering from the bombing. The soldier is searching for deserters. Then a rocket strikes. The building collapses. The cellar is buried under rubble. The woman and the soldier are entombed together <br><br>"My name is Stepan," the soldier says, his voice disembodied in the darkness. He… Read more Labels: Bruce Costello real life stories short stories 5 comments:
Bruce Costello creepy stories very short stories Friday, October 29, 2021 The Wailing by Bruce Costello <i>A real estate bargain turns out to include some unwelcome extras in Bruce Costello's creepy tale.</i><br><br> First impressions are far from good. A macrocarpa hedge, grown into trees, shadows the whole property. The house has rotting timbers, sagging spouting, dog's leg downpipes and lichen-covered cream paintwork, stained ginger from a rusty roof. <br><br>The only tidy thing about the place is the diminutiv… Read more Labels: Bruce Costello creepy stories very short stories 8 comments:
Bruce Costello real life stories short stories Monday, November 16, 2020 Broken Shells by Bruce Costello <i>A woman attends her cousin's funeral and sees the kind of person he really was; by Bruce Costello.</i><br><br> Surrounded by daffodils and stillness, my cousin Billy lies in an eco-friendly willow coffin, serene as a wax doll. I run a hand across his once flaxen hair. <br><br>How strange. It's not him. Just a shell. Where's <i>he</i> gone? I bend down and kiss the shell's forehead. <br><br>We were playmates as kids… Read more Labels: Bruce Costello real life stories short stories 10 comments:
Bruce Costello pick of the month real life stories short stories Monday, September 7, 2020 Elevated by Bruce Costello <i>A retired doctor confesses a long-held guilty secret to an old vicar; by Bruce Costello.</i><br><br> "It started as a joke," I say, feeling my heart rate quicken. "Just can't stop wondering how it ended, though I'll never know now, after thirty years." <br><br>The woman nods, one eyebrow raised. She doesn't look like a vicar except for the clerical collar. Probably near retirement age … Read more Labels: Bruce Costello pick of the month real life stories short stories 11 comments:
Bruce Costello real life stories short stories Monday, August 10, 2020 Around Her by Bruce Costello <i>A Russian peasant regrets her literacy; by Bruce Costello.</i><br><br> Agafya hears a knocking and through drowsy eyes watches her shrivelled granny leave the table and shuffle to the door of the hut. A familiar figure stands there, silhouetted against the sunlight that floods into the gloom. <br><br>Doctor Chekhov enters, greets Granny, goes to the bench where Agafya is lying, and bends to ask how she is feeling. <br><br>&… Read more Labels: Bruce Costello real life stories short stories 5 comments:
Bruce Costello real life stories short stories Friday, June 22, 2018 The Miles Between by Bruce Costello <i>A failed student is ready to give up hope - will a down-to-earth Maori trucker be able to talk sense into him? By Bruce Costello.</i><br><br> "Where're you heading, mate?" The driver of the Kenworth yelled down to the hitchhiker. <br><br> "Dumtin Bay." <br><br> "Hop in!" <br><br> The young man climbed aboard. The driver, a broad-shouldered woman with a tattooed face, shook his hand. <br><br> "Kia ora… Read more Labels: Bruce Costello real life stories short stories 3 comments:
Bruce Costello pick of the month real life stories very short stories Friday, April 13, 2018 An Irony by Bruce Costello <i>An author is confused about where he is as his memory degrades; by Bruce Costello.</i><br><br> My chin rests on my shirt and I stare down at the writing pad on the meal tray, trying to fathom this strange feeling I keep getting, like I've dug a deep pit for myself, and when I try to climb out, I fall further in. <br><br> I have times of lucidity when I can still write, but my memory is failing, my ideas are al… Read more Labels: Bruce Costello pick of the month real life stories very short stories 11 comments:
Bruce Costello real life stories short stories Friday, March 30, 2018 With Boots On by Bruce Costello <i>In Bruce Costello's Western flash, grief-stricken Dwight is having a quiet night in his horse-drawn cab.</i><br><br> Twilight. Snowflakes swirl around the street lamps. Dwight sits hunched on the driver's seat of his hansom cab. He's covered in snow and motionless, like a limestone gargoyle. His old nag, too, is unmoving, her head down, and ears held back, as if lost in peevish thought. Dwight an… Read more Labels: Bruce Costello real life stories short stories 7 comments:
Bruce Costello real life stories short stories Friday, November 17, 2017 Moth Therapy by Bruce Costello <i>Bruce Costello's flash about the son of a World War II fighter pilot struggling to find himself after his mother's death.</i><br><br> I was a mess after my mother died. For months, I sat about lost and bewildered, or wandered around the house, not knowing where to put myself. At night, I hardly slept, but I'd drop off during the day and have vivid dreams that went on for ages, which my elderly do… Read more Labels: Bruce Costello real life stories short stories 5 comments:
Bruce Costello futuristic stories medium length stories Monday, June 12, 2017 2084 by Bruce Costello <i>Marilyn, Graham and their son Tom live in the New Zealand of the future: safe, friendly, and deeply oppressive; by Bruce Costello.</i><br><br> "Tom fell over at school running in the playground with other boys!" shrieked Marilyn, when Graham arrived home from work. <br><br> The tearful principal who'd rung Marilyn to report the incident had apologised profusely, saying it was an eleven millimetre scra… Read more Labels: Bruce Costello futuristic stories medium length stories 12 comments:
Bruce Costello real life stories short stories Monday, March 13, 2017 The Home Front by Bruce Costello <i>Bruce Costello tells the nostalgic story of Patty's homecoming to rural New Zealand after World War II.</i><br><br> The bus was rickety and should have died long ago. It spluttered to a halt outside a country store and a young woman wearing a floral dress struggled down the steps with a large leather case. She put it down and looked around. <br><br> Everything was how she remembered it. The store still had rotte… Read more Labels: Bruce Costello real life stories short stories 6 comments:
Bruce Costello futuristic stories short stories Friday, October 14, 2016 New Atlantis in the Pacific Ring of Fire by Bruce Costello <i>Bruce Costello's bleak vision of the aftermath of an Apocalyptic earthquake in Dunedin, New Zealand.</i><br><br> When the 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck Dunedin, New Zealand’s southernmost city, in October 2021, Clive Pengelly was asleep with his wife Julia in their hillside home, high above the central business area and the lower suburbs.<br><br> There was a noise like a crashing aircraft and the house bucked … Read more Labels: Bruce Costello futuristic stories short stories 5 comments:
Bruce Costello real life stories short stories Friday, July 22, 2016 A Family Weekend by Bruce Costello <i>Owen and Noelene, browbeaten by their spouses, struggle to find solace during a family holiday; by Bruce Costello.</i><br><br> A white moon hovered over the Cleverly family's holiday cottage, casting dark shadows that moved with trees in the breeze. <br><br> From the lawn, where she'd gone to escape the heat and noise indoors, Noelene saw her sister, Sandra, still in her bikini, laying supper on the table. N… Read more Labels: Bruce Costello real life stories short stories 4 comments:
Bruce Costello real life stories short stories Friday, April 22, 2016 Turn, Turn, Turn by Bruce Costello <i>An ageing grandmother meets an old physics teacher who helps her to reframe her problems; by Bruce Costello.</i><br><br> "To everything, turn, turn, turn, there is a season..." my mother hums in her hospice bed, mind and memory very much alive. <br><br> "Remember us singing that in the old Wolseley, Paula?" she says. "It's okay to be old and dying. Old people know they've had long li… Read more Labels: Bruce Costello real life stories short stories 5 comments:
Bruce Costello real life stories short stories Sunday, February 14, 2016 The Real Oil by Bruce Costello <i>Bruce Costello's story about three wealthy car dealers and their wives on a caravan holiday.</i><br><br> <i>I stretch out my legs, let them float on the frothing surface and stare at my toes. I count them, one to ten. Then backwards: ten, nine, eight, seven, six. Six, plus five on the other foot, equals eleven. I laugh. My little toes curve over the toes beside them. They desperately need painting. I should … Read more Labels: Bruce Costello real life stories short stories 4 comments:
Bruce Costello real life stories short stories Tuesday, January 5, 2016 For The Record by Bruce Costello <i>After being kicked out by her husband, Colleen moves in with her newlywed best friend Rhonda and has a ringside view of her relationship with Brent; by Bruce Costello.</i><br><br> Rhonda and I used to kick around together at Girls High, and though we went our different ways after that, with me studying pharmacy and Rhonda going to Teacher's College, we'd always kept in touch, meeting for coffee once … Read more Labels: Bruce Costello real life stories short stories 8 comments:
Bruce Costello funny stories short stories Friday, October 2, 2015 Wrong Writing by Bruce Costello <i>The creative writing group from hell, as imagined by Bruce Costello.</i><br><br> Even on sunny days, the former Sunday School Hall behind St Jebusiah's Church seems to languish in shade. The community groups who rent it at fifty cents an hour complain about its airlessness and musty smell. A tradesman is said to be coming to open the windows, stuck shut when the building was painted years ago. <br><br> Inside, t… Read more Labels: Bruce Costello funny stories short stories 2 comments:
Bruce Costello real life stories short stories Friday, May 8, 2015 Lavender Therapy by Bruce Costello <i>While searching the mangroves for crocodiles, an unexpected reunion; by Bruce Costello.</i><br><br> “<i>Look to the left, folks</i>,” called the skipper’s voice over the speaker. “<i>There’s a croc on the bank, at the top of the mud slide</i>.” <br><br> “I see it! Ugly brute!” exclaimed the woman next to me, gripping the railing. <br><br> “Mean-looking beast,” I answered. <br><br> “<i>Just a baby, about one and a half metres</i>,” continued the voice o… Read more Labels: Bruce Costello real life stories short stories 5 comments:
Bruce Costello real life stories short stories Sunday, March 8, 2015 Finding Father by Bruce Costello <i>Anne dreams of her father and becomes determined to find him; by Bruce Costello.</i><br><br> Anne opened her eyes and groaned. Saturday. The spring sun was streaming through the curtains. <br><br> What on earth have I been dreaming about? she thought, as a scene from childhood sprang into her mind. <br><br><i>'Wakey wakey, Darling. Out of beddy-byes. Breakfast! Remember, you're helping me plant the garden today!'</i><br><br><i>&… Read more Labels: Bruce Costello real life stories short stories 14 comments:
Bruce Costello real life stories short stories Sunday, February 22, 2015 Counsellor in the Mirror by Bruce Costello <i>A counsellor is feeling the stress of dealing with difficult clients and his own personal problems; by Bruce Costello.</i><br><br> The man across the room had dark, unblinking eyes. <br><br> Brian shuddered. <br><br> "Can you fix us?" the man asked, his body turned away from his wife. Petite and pretty, she sat two chairs along, head down, her face red from crying. <br><br> "Welcome to you both," Brian said. &q… Read more Labels: Bruce Costello real life stories short stories 5 comments:
