English
0 min 70 min
How to Talk to Your Mother (notes)
USA
1982. Without her, for years now, murmur at the defrosting refrigerator, “What?” “Huh?” “Shush now,” as it creaks, aches, groans until the final ice block drops from the ceiling of the freezer like something vanquished. Dream, and...
How to Talk to Your Mother (notes)
Lorrie Moore
11 min
A Little Honey
Czech Republic
Winter breathes its last gasp, leaving mounds of black ice and frozen chunks on the sidewalks. The sun occasionally climbs above the city now, edging across the glassy sky. The curtains here are always shut, except...
A Little Honey
Jáchym Topol
7 min
Walking Out
USA
As the train rocked dead at Livingston he saw the man, in a worn khaki shirt with button flaps buttoned, arms crossed. The boy’s hand sprang up by reflex, and his face broke into a smile....
Walking Out
David Quammen
44 min
Odour of Chrysanthemums
UK
The small locomotive engine, Number 4, came clanking, stumbling down from Selston—with seven full waggons. It appeared round the corner with loud threats of speed, but the colt that it startled from among the gorse, which...
Odour of Chrysanthemums
D.H. Lawrence
22 min
Mitigation
Chile
Don’t be afraid to cry from behind the camera, but don’t allow your tears to dampen the context, the photographer Nan Baldwin said to her in a room in a poor neighbourhood of Manhattan in 1979....
Mitigation
Kato Ramone
7 min
An Imperfect Day
Bolivia
Seated on a tree trunk, Marcelino draws circles in the sand with his index finger because it would be difficult to draw with his thumb.  In fact, his index finger and thumb are the only fingers...
An Imperfect Day
Giovanna Rivero
3 min
The Way of Nature
Sweden
He had had the pet shop at the same address for thirty years. He had seen budgerigars and lovebirds come and go. Waltzing mice, guinea pigs, hamsters, lizards, stick insects and tarantulas. They had all passed...
The Way of Nature
Sara Paborn
27 min
An Account of the Decline of the Great Auk, According to One Who Saw It
UK
This rock was perhaps an island once, but now all that is left is a dowager’s hump breaching the ocean sheer on all but one side and on that side it slopes so that you can...
An Account of the Decline of the Great Auk, According to One Who Saw It
Jessie Greengrass
5 min
Tamagotchi
UK
My son’s Tamagotchi had AIDS. The virtual pet was rendered on the little LCD screen with no more than 30 pixels, but the sickness was obvious. It had that AIDS look, you know? It was thinner...
Tamagotchi
Adam Marek
11 min
An Archangel Named Gabriel
Peru
Sr. F.R. Montes came home at nine o’clock every night. He lived in a building on Armendáriz Street, in a spacious apartment with large windows and an infinite view of the ocean. Usually, after passing through...
An Archangel Named Gabriel
Alonso Cueto
7 min
Maestoso
Mexico
Voulez-vous le récit de ces folles amours? (Offenbach, Les Contes de Hoffmann)   The frenetic applause barely moves her. The endless “Bravos!” from an audience universally on its feet in front of the stage — faces...
Maestoso
Jorge Volpi
9 min
Clara
Chile
She had big breasts, slim legs and blue eyes. That’s how I like to remember her. I don’t know why I fell madly in love with her, but I did, and for a start, I mean...
Clara
Roberto Bolaño
11 min
The Dog Lover’s Handbook
Hungary
He tore open the door, swearing, the dog pressed to his lap. He walked up and down and eventually calmed himself. He propped the dog in its place beside the desk. He poured out some water...
The Dog Lover’s Handbook
László Darvasi
12 min
Six Ways to Jump off a Bridge
USA
Understand Blue Falls, how it got its name, how in dry years, in autumn, water slips over a flat edge, sheer and perfect, a wide liquid sheet reflecting a clear day—blue as an unraveling bolt of...
Six Ways to Jump off a Bridge
Brian Leung
15 min
The Last Words of Benito Picone
USA
It began in a hailstorm in 1975 when Benito Picone trotted across Market Street with his briefcase gripped overhead, shielding him both from the falling sky and, inadvertently, the oncoming Buick. His legs buckled on the...
The Last Words of Benito Picone
Anthony Marra
16 min
The Pajamas
Serbia
The years have taken their toll: I wake up at night more often, and then, bereft of sleep, I go to the bathroom, perch on the bathtub, and stare at my reflection in the mirror. I...
The Pajamas
David Albahari
6 min
Two Men
USA
I met the first man as I was going home from a dance at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall. I was being taken out of the dance by my two good friends. I had forgotten...
Two Men
Denis Johnson
10 min
Gottfried Heinrich’s Dream
Catalonia
It is music: it has come from a heart. J.S.B. At four in the afternoon the old man sat up in bed and said Kaspar, son, where are you? B flat, A, D flat, B, C....
Gottfried Heinrich’s Dream
Jaume Cabré
12 min
Outside the Door
Germany
I go out in the yard with the dog. Just after two in the morning and the night’s very warm; the summer’s come back again this August after a long cool and rainy stretch. The hottest...
Outside the Door
Clemens Meyer
16 min
The Last Time
Israel
The Scouts Camp When I was in 6th grade I went on a Scouts camp. Near Kibbutz Ginegar. In the Jezreel Valley. Three day camp. With a smoky smell in my hair and potatoes and canned...
The Last Time
Tamar Gelbetz
19 min
1 2 3
Small Footer Logo

© The Short Story Project 2026

Build With Love - OCW

Skip to content