They say the 1980s never really left Africa - it just learned to hide in our memories. In Echoes of the Cassette Era, short stories slip you into an age of Fanta dates, folded love letters, and secrets whispered over landlines. From Lagos to Nairobi, hearts break, fortunes change, and life lessons come wrapped in laughter, betrayal, and the smell of street-fried plantain. Press play. The hiss of the cassette is just the beginning. #nostalgia #Africanstories #contemporary

|6X FEATURED| #SupportPacificIslanderVoices Erin, a conflicted Elemental Spirit, embarks on a life-changing journey across the ocean as the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season. *** Erin hasn't been an Elemental Spirit for long, but she has watched the Earth change right before her, becoming more unrecognizable each day because of humans. As her first journey across the Atlantic Ocean approaches, she has one goal and one goal only: to eliminate the humans. Take them out one by one, starting with the Caribbean. As Erin moves her thunderstorms away from Cape Verde and begins organizing into a massive hurricane, she starts seeing the world from different perspectives: between ships, islands, animals, and even the Hurricane Hunters investigating her. When she nears peak intensity in the Caribbean, Erin faces the toughest question of all: "Is this right, or am I just another monster?" That's something the young hurricane must figure out on her own. *** *A short story inspired by Henry Loomis's quote in Jurassic World Rebirth: "When the Earth gets tired of us, believe me, it will shake us off like a summer cold."* *FYI: This is a story, not a science lesson, so don't expect everything to be completely accurate.* *Moral: There is just as much good in the world as there is evil.* Main Achievements: 🏅 Shortys 2025 Shortlist! 🏅Auld Lang Syne Honorable Mention! ⭐ @ShortStory Ambassador's Pick! ⭐ Featured on @Ambassadors | Shorts and Poems Reading List!

This is a story from a picture prompt on @HistoricalFiction. In five hundred words tell a story about it. Two salty mariners get into a tale-spinning match in a tavern.

Most families have a history, but none have one like the Thatcher's. Cora Langley has made it her job to uncover some of the most stomach-twisting mysteries known to man. So when she lands an interview with the Thatchers' only son, she thinks it's her lucky break. When Levi Thatcher is more charming than she'd ever expected, she ends up part of his future instead of solving his past. Assured that his family has left the events of 2013-2014 behind, she agrees to meet them. That was her mistake. Inside their home lies demons more horrifying than those described in her stories. As the walls seem to shift and windows disappear, there is no leaving. Their shadowy fingers reach out for her. When she thinks she's been left alone in the Thatcher residence, a man appears, claiming to be her ally. One piece of advice changes how she sees the world, but for a truth seeker, it's hard to look past reality. Even with the man's help, she doesn't know if she'll ever make it out.

A short story about a lonely man at the end of a long, hard day of work finds solace in a silent woman's company.

Two siblings. A brother and his little sister. One game of chess. One room. One prize. The winner takes it all, leaving the other with nothing. | Status: Completed | Language: English | Genre: Mystery/Suspense | Each Chapter length : ~ 1000 - ~ 1800 words | Total Word Count: ~ 4300 | Trigger Warning: Violence, Suicide, Gun, Eating Disorder, Death, Blood, Famine Cover made and edited with Canva. The picture is from Pixabay, made by EdenMoon. 11/2024: Added to "Ambassadors' Picks" by Short Story Ambassadors.

We all have heard of getting butterflies in your stomach when you fall in love. But what if that is exactly what happens? Wait, I did not mean when real butterflies fly inside your stomach; we don't want that now, do we? How about when every time you fall in love, butterflies from every direction flutter around you and your crush? Wouldn't that be a sight, especially when someone hates the very sight of butterflies and love! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An arranged marriage between two well-known families wasn't uncommon. But for Oliver Laurialos, about to be married to Idrian Damarius of all people was a nightmare he wished he could escape. But what happens when the history between each other rises from the ashes under the cover of night? And what Oliver thought he knew is tested as Idrian's real reason for seeking him out after all these years comes to light. Where there were once flames alight, the chance of rekindling those hidden desires is all but impossible.