shortsonline

Everything is Nice

shortsonline — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 09:15:15 +0000

Short Story by Jane Bowles. An American woman living alone in Morocco is befriended by a Moslem woman who leads her to a room where other Moslem women ask questions about her life. Uncomfortable about the personal nature of the questions, she refuses their offer of refreshments and abruptly leaves.

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Busy Lines

shortsonline — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 12:07:38 +0000

Short Story by Patricia Grace. A woman who has lived alone for fifteen years after her husband’s death copes by imagining him as a star watching over her at night. She lives a spartan, contented life, watchful for visitors who never come and listening for a telephone that never rings.

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Waywaya

shortsonline — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 02:54:35 +0000

Novelette by Francisco Sionil José. A tragic love story between members of two rival, pre-colonial Filipino tribes highlights major themes of identity and personal freedom, the opportunity cost of cultural hostilities, and how corrupt rulers can entrench their position by encouraging fear of an enemy.

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The Tale

shortsonline — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 05:13:12 +0000

Short Story by Joseph Conrad. An English naval captain encounters a trading ship which he suspects is a privateer supplying fuel to enemy U-boats. With no legal basis for seizing the ship, he finds a way to send it and all on board to their doom without firing a shot.

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The World Goes On

shortsonline — Thu, 04 Dec 2025 21:03:43 +0000

Quick Read by László Krasznahorkai. Unable to come to terms with the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center collapse, a narrator argues that the root cause was a vast destructive power that arrived on earth simultaneously with mankind and releases itself in cycles of destruction and renewal.

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The Parsley Garden

shortsonline — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 01:55:50 +0000

Short Story by William Saroyan. An eleven-year-old boy redeems himself after being caught stealing a hammer from a department store. The store manager lets him off with a warning, and the boy spends the rest of the day plotting how to get the hammer and respond to his “humiliating” treatment .

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Il Colore Ritrovato

shortsonline — Fri, 10 Oct 2025 07:46:34 +0000

Novelette by Mark Helprin. An impresario who discovered the greatest opera singer in the world has just come across a young street performer who could be just as good. After seeing how fame and fortune gas affected his first discovery, he has doubts about signing her up immediately.

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The Delicate Prey

shortsonline — Sun, 05 Oct 2025 00:44:30 +0000

Short Story by Paul Bowles. Two leather merchants and their nephew set off across the Algerian desert to sell their wares. On the way, they allow a stranger to accompany them to help deter bandits. From here on this becomes a tale of deceit, extreme violence, murder and tribal justice.

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The Spirit of Emulation

shortsonline — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 01:22:59 +0000

Quick Read by Fernando Sorrentino. A man living in a multi-story apartment building has an unusual pet… a Wolf spider. A neighbour sees it and the next day buys a pet scorpion. The ensuing rivalry among residents to see who has the most exotic pet gets seriously out of hand.

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Mahesh / The Drought

shortsonline — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 04:52:15 +0000

Short Story by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. After years of drought, a landless Indian farmer lives on handouts, sharing what little he and his daughter have with Mahesh, his beloved bull. Severely beaten and fined after the starving animal escapes and raids his cruel zamindar’s garden, he does the unthinkable.

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