Book of Short Stories , livre ebook

Austin Macauley Publishers - Richard Fillingham

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38 pages

English

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Description

I have always had a good imagination and my stories are fiction made up in my mind, a small idea that grows step by step into a finished article re-written several times. As I have become older, I feel that I have become more intelligent, a craving for knowledge has taken place with the help of a computer course and a good dictionary. Some of my stories reflect how the mind can play tricks upon us by playing with our emotions. Now open the page of your book to find a poem called To Be. Please add your own 'To Be' if you would like. My stories are unusual, I hope you will enjoy them in your own way. They are superfood for the mind, so use your mind or lose it.

Sujets

Short story

Informations

Publié par	Austin Macauley Publishers
Date de parution	30 avril 2019
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781528957458
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0210€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

A Book of Short Stories
Richard Fillingham
Austin Macauley Publishers
2019-04-30
A Book of Short Stories About the Book Copyright Information © Dedication A Poem A Few Days Away Daisy – A Girl of the Birds The Forever Friend A Good Deed Space-Travel: A warning A Balloon Ride The Visit The Holiday The Bears of Scotland The Adventure Jewels and Death As It Happened A Walking Holiday A Visit to My Aunty’s House A Horror Story A Great Idea A Beautiful Thief A Bad Taste
About the Book
I have always had a good imagination and my stories are fiction made up in my mind, a small idea that grows step by step into a finished article re-written several times. As I have become older, I feel that I have become more intelligent, a craving for knowledge has taken place with the help of a computer course and a good dictionary. Some of my stories reflect how the mind can play tricks upon us by playing with our emotions. Now open the page of your book to find a poem called To Be . Please add your own ‘To Be’ if you would like. My stories are unusual, I hope you will enjoy them in your own way. They are superfood for the mind, so use your mind or lose it.
Copyright Information ©
Richard Fillingham (2019)
The right of Richard Fillingham to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781528957458 (ePub e-book)
www.austinmacauley.com
First Published (2019)
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd
25 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5LQ
Dedication
I would like to thank Jennie Yates. This would not have been possible without her help.
A Poem
To be a flower and look my best
To be in love, ignore the rest
To be a delicate beauty that smiles at the thorns of jealousy To be free
To be a smile that lights up a face
To be the one that wins the race
To be the one with the beautiful face
To be a member of a human race
To be a coat that has just been worn
To be the hair that has just been shorn
To be the bird that flies away
To be a bee to its dying day
To be a sound that makes men cry
To be the fly that licks the pie
To be the snow that never melted
To be the skin that has just been scented
To be… Please add your own ‘to be’.
A Few Days Away
A billionaire owns a massive computer/phone company. He has a large factory and many employees. He is bored and a very devious man. He decides to listen in on his own people. Every room in the factory is bugged, so that he can listen in to every conversation.
He enjoys this and decides to change some of their lives. Four couples are rewarded for their hard work with a long weekend away staying on his tropical island. They are flown to the island called ‘Room Exotic’.
When they arrive, they are blown away by the fabulous cream-stone villa surrounded by tropical trees that are moving in the wind. They are greeted by beautiful men and women. Their luggage is taken and each couple is separated with each going to a separate room. It’s like walking into a dream! Drinks are poured, their clothes are removed, and there is an indoor pool for them to bathe in.
Each woman is assigned two men, and each male guest is given two women to look after their every whim. Drinks and drugs (if needed) are placed on a table, along with sumptuous food, including their favourite food. The day drifts by.
A letter is brought to them. It reads: “At the side of your bed is a bell. If you ring this bell at 7 o’clock, a night of passion will begin, with men and women of your choice. But BEWARE, a red spot – a dye – will be placed on your body that cannot be removed! It will be small, but will be there somewhere as a permanent reminder of your night.”
The next morning the couples meet for breakfast, but there are only three couples present. They are told by staff that the missing pair has taken a boat trip around the island.
The three remaining couples have breakfast, followed by a wonderful day. There is no mention of the night-time activities, or even, whether or not the bell was rung! In fact, they had all been unfaithful, as the billionaire knew they would.
All four couples return to work. They all work in separate offices. The owner listens in. Has he changed their lives? Yes, he has! The three couples cancel their wedding plans. They are not ready to be married.
Daisy – A Girl of the Birds
A man walks his black dog to a local beach. He stops and stares. A young girl walks to the beach. She has red hair, long and curly, with green eyes that look through it, she wears a pink cotton dress with little birds printed on it, on her feet she has red boots, her favourite. At her side is a large sea bird. She calls it Gully. It has a lead around its neck, just like a dog. Daisy found Gully down on the beach, her lifeless body lying there. With lots of care, she came to life and a great friendship was born. She can’t fly at the moment, but one day, they are sure she will. Now they are walking to the beach, this act turns many heads. It’s an unusual site.
They skip along to the rocks to find crabs, to lift a rock and watch the crabs run away. Today is a big day. Gully has been practising her flying, running and flapping her wings. With the wind in the right direction, she’s going to fly. Now Gully starts running, flapping her wings and up she goes into the sky. She can fly. Daisy claps her hands. This is so exciting, fly, fly Gully. Gully returns and lands nearby. Not a great landing. She hit the ground and falls over! They are so happy and happy tears are shed. Daisy thinks she may be seven years old because her ‘Lillium-Mummy’, that’s what she calls her, says: “If you don’t count your birthdays, you will never grow old.” Daisy has worked out that she may be seven, because she has seen Christmas trees seven times at home and at the shops. Her belly starts to rumble. It’s lunch time, fish and chips time.
Suddenly Gully flies away, off she goes. Where has she gone? Soon she is back with a bag of fish and chips. “Well done, Gully,” cries Daisy. They sit on the rocks and a friend joins them. It is Whitey, a sparrow, nearly all white in colour, only a few brown feathers. Whitey is not liked by the other sparrows because he is different. He brings with him a bag of nuts. So they eat fish, chips and nuts. Yum yum! Whitey is a lively bird and he loves to dance. He does his dance. He is a great dancer.
Daisy has a small boat moored in shallow water. It is a rowing boat, so they decide to go fishing. Daisy does not need a fishing rod to catch fish, just a plastic bucket with a lid. Her friends the birds will fish for her. So off they go in search of fish. Daisy rows the boat out to sea. Some birds join her on the boat, they are watching the water. Then off they go. Daisy calls, “Find fish. Find fish.” Gully joins them, they circle in the sky. Then one after another they crash into the sea. Out they come with a fish. They take the fish to Daisy. She thanks them and puts the fish in the empty bucket. They now have fish for tea.
Lillium-Mummy loves fish. It is time to return to the shore and go home. It has been a lovely afternoon. On their return journey, the sky has changed colour. It is very stormy and the wind is growing fierce.
The waves are dwarfing her little boat. She is rowing but not going anywhere. The wind is screaming a force at nature. Daisy screams and calls to the birds in the sky. Soon the boat is covered and their wings are taking it to the shore. They hit the shore-line, they are safe. The birds fly away. Daisy anchors her boat. Gully and Whitey are safe. And they still have the fish in the bucket for tea. So with White on her shoulder and Gully on her lead, with the bucket of fish, they head home.
Home is a wooden house on the edge of a wood, about a mile from the sea. Her Lillium-Mummy and a jackdaw called Daw-Jack live there. Daisy informs Lillium-Mummy about the storm. “Please check the weather forecast before you go fishing,” she says, giving her a cuddle. It goes through her mind that her family used to live near the cliff-edge. One terrible night the cliff collapsed, killing her husband, her mum and dad, and her brother also died. She and Daisy were the only survivors, because they had gone to visit friends. Lillium-Mummy is a very busy person, she owns an ice-cream parlour on the beach, and a shop in the town, where they make ice-cream. Her family came from Italy, where they used to make ice-cream, and brought their skills with them, when they settled in England, after the war. They have a good life.
Daisy goes to a local school. She is not allowed to take her birds with her. The school calls her ‘The Girl of the Birds’ for they are waiting for her at the end of a school day. Lillium-Mummy is very strict and makes sure she attends school every day, saying: “Knowledge is power! One day I hope we can visit our relations in Italy and Ireland where your daddy came from and you get your red-hair.”
It is now time for bed. Daisy has her own bedroom, which she shares with Gully, who also has her own bed. Lillium-Mummy has a big bedroom with a big bed. Lots of pictures and teddy bears. Daw-Jack sleeps in the eves with Whitey in their nests.