Category Archives: Fiction Short Stories

The Bin-son Boy, Part 3 (of 4)*

Posted on October 15, 2023 by Ryn PB

Part 1 Part 2 I thought I’d read Noriyuki’s calligraphy instructions wrong. There were no transports to anywhere near the destination, but the directions stayed the same no matter how many times I read them. There was only one way … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories, stories | Tagged anxiety, fighting, karate, karate kid, martial arts, queerlit, retelling, sci fi, science, science fiction, space, story, teens, writing | 1 Comment

The Bin-son Boy, Part 2 (of 4)*

Posted on August 31, 2023 by Ryn PB

Part 1 With one final smash against the dirt, my body jerked to a stop. I curled onto my side to throw up, nearly blind with pain. Through blurry vision, I saw that my bike had landed nearby—or at least … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories | Tagged boxing, bullying, creative writing, karate, LGBT+, martial arts, original, outer space, retelling, sci fi, sci-fi, science, science fiction, self defense, space, story, teen, the karate kid, violence, writing, young adult | 2 Comments

The Bin-son Boy*, Part 1 (of 4)

Posted on August 19, 2023 by Ryn PB

I didn’t want to move to the Golden Planet in the first place. Sure, the Jersey Space Station was cramped and had lots of mechanical issues, but it was home. We had a view of the Ocean Galaxies through our … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories | Tagged karate, LGBT+, martial arts, outer space, sci fi, sci-fi, science, science fiction, self defense, space, the karate kid, volleyball, writing | 4 Comments

Pierre-Auguste Salvatici

Posted on July 16, 2023 by Ryn PB

His parents set him up for failure when they named him Pierre-Auguste Salvatici. Even if he hadn’t grown up with a persistent speech impediment and severe respiratory problems, Pierre-Auguste Salvatici could never live up to the grandiosity of the name. … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories | Tagged adopted, adoption, anxiety, asthma, club, copd, death, driving, drowning, friends, great lakes, high school, lake, lakes, languages, life lessons, lung disease, lungs, names, neglect, neighbors, orphan, parental death, reading, ship, shipwreck, talent, talent show, tea, water, writing | 1 Comment

Addy Kraz and the Case of the Stolen Cookies

Posted on June 16, 2023 by Ryn PB

“Meet me at the Orange Julius” was the mantra of our junior high years. Before Dijon O’Reilly got a job at Juice Stop and Kiera Moore became a vegan, the three of us would come from our different middle schools—Dijon … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories | Tagged auntie anne, bakery, bffs, bojack horseman, books, candy, cookies, crush, diane nguyen, fake books, fake fiction, food court, friends, hardy boys, hot dogs, indian food, ivy tran food court detective, junior high, kiosk, life lessons, mall, middle grade, middle school, mystery, nancy drew, nonbinary, nostalgia, orange julius, series, shopping mall, short story, stealing, suspects, thief, toy, toys, tweens, writing | 1 Comment

Swimmers

Posted on May 15, 2023 by Ryn PB

In the beginning, the universe was a pristine lake. The spirits of gods and creatures and angels swam in the void together, content to ride the waves and ripples created by their fellow Swimmers. The Swimmers didn’t need to see … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories, stories | Tagged angels, anxiety, books, creation, creation myth, creative, genesis, gods, humanity, lakes, life lessons, mental health, myth, origins, spirits, spirituality, stories, swimming, universe, water, writing | 1 Comment

Hidden Potatoes

Posted on April 15, 2023 by Ryn PB

Lady Southcott’s portrait stares down at anyone who enters the old kitchen. She is healthy, rich and supremely unhappy. On her cheek is a shiny purplish brown spider, translucent legs spread out to cover the side of her face. This … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories | Tagged arachnids, black widow spiders, bugs, creepy, death, eerie, false widow spiders, family tradition, famine, historical fiction, horror, hunger, insects, ireland, irish history, irish potato famine, murder, poison, potato, potato famine, potatoes, revenge, spiders, tenant farming, the great hunger, writing | 1 Comment

Less Than Before

Posted on March 15, 2023 by Ryn PB

The boy appeared on the day Pluto vanished from the sky. He stood in the middle of the town square, transfixed by the fountain. A hand shielded his eyes from the sun’s midday light. His bare feet rested flat on … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories | Tagged astrology, bermuda, bermuda triangle, creative writing, dante, death, fiction, fountain, france, gondoliers, italy, LGBT, mythology, outer space, planets, pluto, queer, science, science fiction, solar system, speculative fiction, statue, town, travel, water, writing | Leave a comment

The Magician and the Sun

Posted on February 15, 2023 by Ryn PB

The 1877 Society (Omaha Public Library Fund) 2018 Prose Contest Winner Charlotte’s tethers to reality burned away as flames ravaged the two story building. Her full notebooks, her well-loved backpack, her dad’s deck of cards—disintegrating before her eyes. The familiar … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction Short Stories | Tagged arson, fiction, fire, fire breathing, LGBT+, magic, medieval, performer, queer lit, renaissance, renaissance fair, tarot, tarot cards, writing | Leave a comment