I’ve included some short stories for you to read for free online. They were all written for competitions a few years ago. The first one, Family Business, was recently published by an online magazine.
I hope you enjoy them! Feel free to leave comments if you want to share feedback.
Family Business
Published by Twist & Twain magazine, June 2020
Published in Personal Bests Journal Issue 1, edited by David Gardiner, August 2020
My instincts tell me to run.
***
Gregor was ten when he saw a dead body for the first time.
His mother had protested. “He’s far too young for you to take out on a job.”
“Nonsense,” Gregor’s father had replied. “We don’t want him going soft. And Docherty thinks you coddle him too much. The best soldiers are trained young, he says.”
And that had been that.
© 2017 Lesley Price
The Visit
‘Frank?’
Her voice. Like a blast of cold water that stopped me in my tracks. I had been shuffling towards the front door, vaguely wondering who was knocking.
‘Can I come in? I need to see you.’
I inched forward.
© 2014 Lesley Price
Bad Luck and Trouble
‘Would anyone find out?’ I asked myself. ‘What would people think of me if they did?’ I could feel the growing dampness under my armpits as the panic took hold.
‘Liz? So, what do you think?’ Jim asked.
I looked up with a start.
© 2013 Lesley Price