Foster is the story, told in the first person, of a young Irish girl who is taken to stay indefinitely with her mother’s sister and husband. There is no packing of clothes. She is driven to their home in the country and given over into their care.

Both the aunt and uncle are caring, loving people. They do not speak negatively to the girl but from their actions the reader knows that the child arrived dirty, in rags, and with head lice.

There are no other children in the home but she is taken to sleep in a child’s bedroom that is filled with trains on the wallpaper. She’s dressed in pants and shirts her size from a dresser in the room.

The girl helps her aunt with chores around the house and occasionally outside in the barn. For her uncle she fetches the mail in the box at the end of the long drive. But her uncle makes it fun by asking her to run. He times her and encourages her when she runs faster than the day before.

By observing life at her aunt’s and uncle’s she becomes aware of all that is wrong with her own family. She dreads the day when she will have to go back home.

Teddy Rose predicted I’d like this story. She was right; I did. For anyone who loves children, this story will cause your heart to twist for this little girl. If you’d like to also read Foster, you can find the story here.

Short Story Monday is sponsored by John at Book Mind Set.

An Afternoon Miracle

by O. Henry

A few months ago I read a short story by O. Henry that I really enjoyed (here). It had an unusual twist at the end. So, I thought I’d try another of his stories.

This one is set in a small border town on the Texas/Mexico border. Four rangers are guarding the bridge on the Texas side. They are expecting the Mexican outlaw, Garcia, to cross the bridge and wreck havoc at a cattlemen’s convention. Their goal is to stop him.

The “hero” of the story is one of the rangers, Bob Buckley. Everyone admires Bob for his extreme bravery. Bob sees himself differently.

Neither his friends nor his enemies had suspected him of aught else than the finest courage. It was purely a physical cowardice, and only by an extreme, grim effort of will had he forced his craven body to do the bravest deeds.

When the rangers hear gunfire in the village, Bob is the one who runs to the rescue. They figure it must be Garcia, but how did he get past them?

The story switches to introduce Senorita Alvarita, the beautiful Queen of the Serpent Tribe. Her eleven-foot asian python, Kuku, has escaped and she sets off to find it. Soon it all comes together when Bob meets both Garcia and Alvarita. He again puts himself in danger by trying to save Alvarita. There’s a nice little surprise involving the python.

This story was a little tricky to read. The language is stilted and a little complicated. Here’s an example:

The four rangers quickened from sprawling, symbolic figures of indolence to alert life, but only one rose to his feet. Three turned their eyes beseechingly but hopelessly upon the fourth, who had gotten nimbly up and was buckling his cartridge-belt around him. The three knew that Lieutenant Bob Buckley, in command, would allow no man of them the privilege of investigating a row when he himself might go.

In spite of the tricky language it was a good story. I liked the character of Bob Buckley. I could see him standing there in his starched shirt looking like Randolph Scott. (Actor from old classic Western movies.) People who love O. Henry’s stories, and/or people who like tales from Texas, will enjoy this one.

An Afternoon Miracle is one of the stories in Heart Of The West. It can also be found online here.

Short Story Monday is sponsored by John at Book Mind Set.

IT’S JUST THE SUN RISING

by James Ross

I usually like the short stories on the East of the Web website. They’re modern, quick, and international. I get a look at life from a different perspective. I don’t know why but this story grabbed me from the opening paragraph.

My room faces the sun in the morning and on clear summer mornings it wakes me bright and fresh, no matter what time I stayed up till; I’ll get up and make breakfast, watch TV, have a shower. If it’s before six in the morning I usually have a cup of tea and go back to bed where I’ll doze until seven and wake with a thick head.

Those are the words of a fifteen-year-old girl. I remember the summer of my fifteenth year very clearly. Maybe that’s why I kept on reading. But, she’s different from me. She’s an artist. I don’t know where she lives, but it’s not the US. She has an older sister with children, an older brother, and a mam.

The story is told in the first person. It covers only about an hour or so of her life. Her main focus of this time I spend with her is her father. It’s his birthday and she is drawing a picture of him.

The story is only three pages long but at the end I know quite a bit about her. Unfortunately for me, it just ends. I found myself shouting, “Wait! You didn’t finish the story!”

I don’t like any story that leave me dangling. It’s these stories that make me think I’m missing something with this whole short story business. I did, however, like the narrator and I’m glad I read it.

After this inconclusive review, you may not want to read the story. But, if you do, you can find it HERE.

Short Story Monday is sponsored by John at Book Mind Set.

Charles

by Shirley Jackson

A few months ago I read The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. I didn’t care much for it so I was leery when the Library Of America featured another Shirley Jackson short story. To my surprise I liked this one. It’s written in the first person so I’m going to assume this is the story of Shirley Jackson’s son, Laurie.

Laurie is a young kindergarten boy. Beginning on the first day of school Laurie came home and told his parents all about the terrible behavior of a boy named Charles. Each day Charles behaved so badly, the teacher had to spank him.

. . . The third day—it was Wednesday of the first week—Charles bounced a see-saw on to the head of a little girl and made her bleed, and the teacher made him stay inside all during recess. Thursday Charles had to stand in a corner during story-time because he kept pounding his feet on the floor. Friday Charles was deprived of blackboard privileges because he threw chalk.

On Saturday I remarked to my husband, “Do you think kindergarten is too unsettling for Laurie? All this toughness, and bad grammar, and this Charles boy sounds like such a bad influence.”

“It’ll be all right,” my husband said reassuringly. “Bound to be people like Charles in the world. Might as well meet them now as later.” . . .

Every day it seemed that Charles did something horrible. Laurie’s parents became very curious about Charles. Mrs. Jackson wanted to go to the Parent-Teacher meeting just so she could see who Charles’ mother was.

As the weeks progressed Laurie began to report that Charles’ behavior was much better. He was actually helping the teacher. Finally, there was a P.T.A. meeting and Mrs. Jackson was able to attend. Mr. Jackson told her to be sure to find Charles’ mother. Ask her what happened.

There’s a nice ending to this story. I think you’ll like it. Perhaps you’ve already predicted it. You can find the story HERE.

Short Story Monday is sponsored by John at Book Mind Set.

THE USHUAIA RABBIT

by Fernando Sorrentino

Translated by Michele Aynesworth

This is silly and non-sensensical story of Dr. Andres Bertoldi, a scientist in Argentina. His claim to fame is that he is the one who found a rare and extinct rabbit. This rabbit, the Ushuaia Rabbit, has not been seen for over a hundred years until Dr. Bertoldi discovered it. It was behind a fence as he was walking to the bank.

Dr. Bertoldi climbed over the fence, took off his shirt and used that as a net to capture the rabbit. After stopping to buy a large bird cage, Dr. Bertoldi took the rabbit home to his apartment. From here the story becomes fun as we learn the unique characteristics of this unusual rabbit and how the scientist changed his life to accommodate the rabbit.

This is definitely fiction. It reminded me of story game I play with my granddaughters. One of us starts a story, stops after a few sentences, and then it’s the next person’s turn to add to the story. Our stories always manage to develop into something you’d never see in real life. I have a hunch The Ushuaia Rabbit has been told to many fascinated children. It’s perfect okay if adults read it, however.

This story is available online at East Of the Web. It’s another one of their clever short, short ones. You can read the story HERE,.

Short Story Monday is sponsored by John at Book Mind Set.

Swimming Away

by Clare Reddaway

On a beautiful summer day I thought it would be fun to read a story about the beach. I’ve really been enjoying the stories on the East of the Web short story website, so I decide to look over there. Swimming Away is what I found.

I like the way Swimming Away was written but it was a bit confusing. Here’s what I think the story was about: A little girl and her mother are at the beach. They are having a good time playing around. They seem to be building a pretend mermaid. The father doesn’t like the beach so he’s off having an ice cream and a stroll.

The story switches back and forth between the mother and daughter and a woman who is using pebbles to outline the shape of a person in the sand. It’s similar to the outline seen at crime scenes. After creating the outline she fills it in with some sort of ashy compound. There is also a man waving his arms. He’s at a distance, up on the cliff overlooking the beach.

The ending comes quickly and left this reader confused. To tell you the truth, I’m not sure what happened. This is a short, short story found here. Perhaps you’d like to read it and tell me your interpretation?

Short Story Monday is sponsored by John at Book Mind Set.

Conviviality

by Carol Zepata-Whelan

A college student is riding the train after her college orientation program. In this short story she observes the variety of people riding with her. She’s a good people-watcher. She observes their appearance, their conversation, their gestures, what they are doing, and their interactions with each other.

By the time she gets off at her station, she knows some key things about each person. She makes the connection between the trip and something that was scheduled during her orientation sessions.

I liked this story because I felt like I could have written it. I love to people-watch and especially in confined spaces like a train. During my 12-hour train rides between northern and southern California I’ve witnessed the lives of some interesting people. By the time I arrive I feel as if I’ve known some of those people my whole life.

This story is available on line HERE. It’s very short. I’ll bet by the time you finish you can “see” the people on the train just as the writer did.

Short Story Monday is sponsored by John of Book Mind Set. Check out his blog for short stories and great book reviews. John has a wonderful way of chatting about the books he’s read.

Two-Bagger

Stilwell and his new partner, Harwick, are detectives for the LA sheriff’’s gang and drug squad. Stilwell has been relentlessly pursuing a particular gang, the Road Saints, for over five years. One of the gang members, Milky, is being released from prison and the two partners are determined to follow him.

Stilwell knows that when a gang member is released from prison his first assignment is to kill someone. Stilwell and Harwick want to know who he’s assigned to kill and, hopefully, stop him. They follow him from McDonalds to a porno palace and then lose him. However, they know exactly what seat he’ll be in that night to watch the big game between the Cardinals and the Dodgers. Mark McGwire is playing.

The reader encounters several mysteries in this short story. The first one is trying to figure what exactly the story is about. Here’s a sample paragraph within the first two pages:

“So what’s Milky’s deal? If you’re on him, he must be Road Saints, right?”

“He’s on the bubble. He was cooking for them but never got his colors. Then he got popped and went to The Cork for a nickel. He’s got to crack an egg now if he wants in. And from what I hear, he wants in”

Meaning . . . ?

Did I mention that reading Michael Connelly is fun? I didn’t stop reading for a minute. The short story is as fast paced as his novels. Michael Connelly delivers a super story about a life I will never know. The story is worth a trip to the library. It’s just right for a Michael Connelly fan.

By the way, Michael Connelly fans will be pleased to know they are making a movie of Lincoln Lawyer. It’s going to star Matt McConaughey. We will have to wait a while however, since they haven’t started shooting yet. I just read about it (here), thanks to Cathy of Kittling: Books.

Short Story Monday is sponsored by John at Book Mind Set.

DEATH BY SCRABBLE

OR TILE M FOR MURDER

by Charlie Fish

This short story is for people who have suffered at the hands of SCRABBLE. That would be me. I have never been good at the game but I do love to play it. I don’t like to play it with people who see it as mortal combat. That would be my husband and his mother. It was always more than just a game with them.

In Death By Scrabble, it’s also a very intense game. The husband, who is the narrator, describes a game he is playing with his wife – the wife he really hates. His wife plays her tiles, tallies her points. He plays his tiles and tallies his points. They are within points of each other. All along he tells us how much he hates his wife. He wishes she were dead.

And then, he notices that strange things are happening as they play their words. She plays ZAP and gets an electrical shock. He plays EXPLODE and the air conditioning explodes. He begins to think something could come of this game. He tests his theory by playing FLY. Sure enough, a fly starts buzzing around the game. Now he knows, if he can make the right word, he can get rid of his wife.

He contemplates his letters: AQWEUK. He plays the word QUAKE and hopes the magnitude of the earthquake will finish her off.

The rest of the story is here. It’s a short short story, only four pages. I thought it was funny and fun to read. I hope you’ll enjoy it too.

Short Story Monday is sponsored by John at Book Mind Set.

Aunt Kipp

by Louisa May Alcott

I’m still in a Louisa May Alcott mood after finishing The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O’Connor McNees. (See my review yesterday.) So I thought I would read one of her short stories. I had 74 to choose from on this website. Here is the story of Aunt Kipp.

Aunt Kipp is the rich aunt to the impoverished Mrs. Snow and her children. Her children include Polly, older daughter, and ten-year-old Toady.

One day the family was discussing Aunt Kipp in terms that were not complimentary. All of this was absorbed by Toady who is missing a mental and verbal filter. In other words, Toady doesn’t know when to be quiet about things he has heard.

As expected, on Aunt Kipp’s next visit, Toady told her what the family had said about her. On a subsequent visit Aunt Kipp also overhears a conversation about herself. She hears the family, plus Polly’s fiance, decide they are better off without the expectation of an inheritance from Aunt Kipp. They decide poverty is not so bad if one is happy. They agree that it would have been better if Aunt Kipp had been pleasant and helpful to them instead of being hateful. But, they know Aunt Kipp’s ways have caused her to be without loving people around her. She is the one who has lost something valuable, not them.

When Aunt Kipp overhears all they are saying about her, she takes it and ponders on it.

Will the overheard conversation cause Aunt Kipp to turn against the family for good? Or, will Aunt Kipp undergo a change of heart?

Read the story here. It’s written in that unique way of writers in the mid-seventeenth century. I hope you like it.

Short Story Monday is sponsored by John at Book Mind Set.