
Hello and welcome! There’s a lot more fiction below, but here’s …
The Latest (Huzzah!)
(It’s in one or more of the categories below too.)

Christmasing with Preet (a Christmas short story)
There were 104 rooms in Verdant Meadows, the largest assisted living facility in town. So Alli made 104 identical holiday decorations to pin on the residents’ doors.
Some Chatter
This page exists to offer you new things to read — short stories, even shorter stories (flash fiction), and maybe some excerpts of longer works eventually. Discussion which doesn’t directly advance that goal is collapsed under these buttons, so it’s not in your way unless you want it to be:
Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment, share, come back for more, etc. There are more stories to come.
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Stories about Youth
In the industry’s terms, YA (young adult) and MG (middle grade) fiction — two categories which many adults enjoy.

Christmasing with Preet (a Christmas short story)
There were 104 rooms in Verdant Meadows, the largest assisted living facility in town. So Alli made 104 identical holiday decorations to pin on the residents’ doors.

Falling Off My Shoes (a very short story)
A ninth-grade girl gets in trouble in history class, gets angry at the teacher’s pet, and misses the school bus home. A very short story (flash fiction).

If Only I (a short story)
A junior high boy writes poems no one ever sees about a girl he admires, but struggles even to talk to her. His older brother doesn’t help. Fortunately, she’s in the school band. A short story. Includes vomiting.

Invisible (a short story)
A seventh grade boy, a precocious artist, draws portraits of his family. Then he draws his sister’s best friend, when she doesn’t know he’s doing it, and that’s trouble. A short story.

Marie (a very short story)
For a seventh grade boy, the last few days of the school year don’t turn out as he had hoped. A very short story (flash fiction).

Rhonda VII (a short story)
The high school’s star quarterback refuses to wear a pink tux to the Homecoming Dance, and there are consequences. A short story.

Wildfire (a short story)
Returning to the path was a relief. I belonged there, with my runner’s build and shoes to match. She belonged off the path, not so much with the grass and trees as with the soil underneath and the blazing sunlight. Her full figure belonged to nature, and her hair and skirt were fire. I shook off the impression and jogged away.
Stories about Adults
See also “Stories about Seniors” below.

Beyond Ugly (a short story)
I told my heart to stop pounding and my head to stop remembering, and congratulated myself on my exemplary adult behavior. Because I wanted to run, and I didn’t. I wanted to shriek, and I didn’t. I wanted to weep, and I didn’t. I wanted to go vomit somewhere, and I didn’t.

Clipped (a very short dystopian story)
In the dystopian but still familiar near future, a divorced man’s hopes die in a barber shop. A very short story (flash fiction).

Her Voice (a short story)
A man gets up and goes to work in a burned-out forest which resembles what has become of his life.

I Already Did (a short story)
An old stone ruin is the setting for a simple picnic, dramatic news, and a fateful choice.

I Am Chuck Steak (a short story)
“It’s a meat market, Amber.” My roommate’s face in the mirror looks a little hurt, because I’m complaining about church….

I Dreamed You Died Thursday Night (a very short story)
A man’s dream causes him to wonder if certain things are as they appear. Gently dystopian. A very short story (flash fiction).

I Made Muffins (a short story)
An awkward early-morning scene on a man’s front porch causes a woman to reflect on what she really wants for her life. A short story.

Keep My Secrets? (a short story at Christmas)
Two old friends get together when they’re home from college for the holidays. She loves to sing Christmas music. He loves to listen. Each has a secret. A short story.

Not Here (a short story)
I had never been here before this hour, but I could feel that here was my home. This place had made war on itself for decades, then simply stopped and made peace. … My next song began where the first left off. A short story.

Open Windows (a very short story)
A writer takes her short story about a marriage breaking up to her critique group. They debate what it’s about, and she tries to explain. A very short story (flash fiction).

Orange Juice (a short story)
A woman who waits tables in a diner disapproves of one of her regulars, who resembles her grandpa. Her mom disapproves of waiting tables. A short story.

There Might Be Another Way (a short story)
After a sleepless night and a distracted morning at church, an impromptu lunch date may be Pia’s last chance to tell Doug how she feels.
Stories about Seniors

Christmasing with Preet (a Christmas short story)
There were 104 rooms in Verdant Meadows, the largest assisted living facility in town. So Alli made 104 identical holiday decorations to pin on the residents’ doors.

Nine Roses and Three (a short story)
A widower writes his deceased wife a letter for Valentine’s Day. A short story.

Orange Juice (a short story)
A woman who waits tables in a diner disapproves of one of her regulars, who resembles her grandpa. Her mom disapproves of waiting tables. A short story.

The Old Man and the Chicken (a short story)
An old, lonely man shares Christmas Eve and Christmas with the only chicken left in his coop. A short story.
To receive an e-mail every month or so with new writing from Bendable Light, use the sign-up form at the end of this piece or click here.
Stories with Romance in Them
Not all are romance stories, strictly speaking, but there’s at least a romantic plot line. Junior high (middle school), high school, adults, senior citizens … As to heat, someone may or may not get kissed (not so much in junior high), but nothing beyond that is portrayed. Other activities are sometimes mentioned, but not in vulgar language. If a breakup or other loss is all there is, the story is not included here, but a few of these feature people staying together.

Falling Off My Shoes (a very short story)
A ninth-grade girl gets in trouble in history class, gets angry at the teacher’s pet, and misses the school bus home. A very short story (flash fiction).

I Already Did (a short story)
An old stone ruin is the setting for a simple picnic, dramatic news, and a fateful choice.

I Am Chuck Steak (a short story)
“It’s a meat market, Amber.” My roommate’s face in the mirror looks a little hurt, because I’m complaining about church….

I Made Muffins (a short story)
An awkward early-morning scene on a man’s front porch causes a woman to reflect on what she really wants for her life. A short story.

If Only I (a short story)
A junior high boy writes poems no one ever sees about a girl he admires, but struggles even to talk to her. His older brother doesn’t help. Fortunately, she’s in the school band. A short story. Includes vomiting.

Invisible (a short story)
A seventh grade boy, a precocious artist, draws portraits of his family. Then he draws his sister’s best friend, when she doesn’t know he’s doing it, and that’s trouble. A short story.

Nine Roses and Three (a short story)
A widower writes his deceased wife a letter for Valentine’s Day. A short story.

Not Here (a short story)
I had never been here before this hour, but I could feel that here was my home. This place had made war on itself for decades, then simply stopped and made peace. … My next song began where the first left off. A short story.

Rhonda VII (a short story)
The high school’s star quarterback refuses to wear a pink tux to the Homecoming Dance, and there are consequences. A short story.

There Might Be Another Way (a short story)
After a sleepless night and a distracted morning at church, an impromptu lunch date may be Pia’s last chance to tell Doug how she feels.
Stories about Christmas
Or at least these have Christmas in them …

Christmasing with Preet (a Christmas short story)
There were 104 rooms in Verdant Meadows, the largest assisted living facility in town. So Alli made 104 identical holiday decorations to pin on the residents’ doors.

I Made Muffins (a short story)
An awkward early-morning scene on a man’s front porch causes a woman to reflect on what she really wants for her life. A short story.

Invisible (a short story)
A seventh grade boy, a precocious artist, draws portraits of his family. Then he draws his sister’s best friend, when she doesn’t know he’s doing it, and that’s trouble. A short story.

Keep My Secrets? (a short story at Christmas)
Two old friends get together when they’re home from college for the holidays. She loves to sing Christmas music. He loves to listen. Each has a secret. A short story.

Orange Juice (a short story)
A woman who waits tables in a diner disapproves of one of her regulars, who resembles her grandpa. Her mom disapproves of waiting tables. A short story.

The Old Man and the Chicken (a short story)
An old, lonely man shares Christmas Eve and Christmas with the only chicken left in his coop. A short story.
From the Author

Thanks for reading!
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