Bob Faszczewski

“Man in the Mirror” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #197

       A December-like chill overtook me soon after I began to feel my way along the darkened and, I thought, deserted, area of the Pokomoke State Forest. The sudden burst of arctic cold almost knocked me off my feet into the darkened abyss.  I regained my balance just in time to avoid falling head first into the abandoned well.  The frigid air blew up from the hole, not in the middle of winter, but in mid-June.        Until I came in contact with the well sweat ...

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“Balancing the Ledger” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #196

    As John Jordan turned over the first shovelful of soil at the groundbreaking ceremony for his new insurance office in the Rehobeth Beach Coastal Mall he struck an unusually hard object. Although it seemed like a rock, when John reached down to retrieve it, it felt like hardened  cardboard.        He had found some type of book, like a journal or diary. Badly-smeared  ink scrawls revealed the entries on pages stuck together by what looked like dried blood.   &...

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“Recycling Young Lives” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #195

           As trash collection truck driver Tommy Robinson sat down for his second cup of coffee in the break room of Atlas Disposal Services he tried to again rid himself of the stench of packing other people’s discards into his truck.                “Thought I had gotten used to this rotten job,” he said, “but this week tops them all. Today, while tooling my way through the overprivileged Watchung Mountain subur...

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“Tempest at the Seawall” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #194

                                            Tempest at the Seawall                “Ms. Josephson your husband died after drinking a cocktail laced with curare, one of the deadliest poisons known to man. The fact that you kept your honeymoon cruise a se...

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“Chicken Little's Revenge” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #193

                          Chicken Little’s Revenge         As dusk quickly enveloped the abandoned farm, Sam Jones struggled to get his heavy package into the grain elevator. Making sure that the rotting grain covered the package completely, he securely locked the elevator’s lid in place.  Then he climbed down from his perch and sped back to his farm. Apparently, no one...

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“One Man's Booty” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #192

                                              One Man’s Booty         On a sunny spring day on Maryland’s Eastern Shore cousins Jon and Megan hiked from their parents’ West Ocean City condo to a deserted section of the Assateague Island National Park.     &...

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“Goalline Turnover” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #191

      Wanted high school football coach to lead championship-caliber team.        The ad immediately caught the eye of the former high school football star as he paged through the local Bonn Bugel newspaper in the rundown kitchen of the fleabag motel five miles outside of the Maryland suburb he had called home since completing rehab in the Shoreline Health Recovery Unit six months ago.       Contrary to the beliefs of many of the tongue-wagging upp...

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“Turnover at the Buzzer” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #190

          After spending my high school gridiron career on the sidelines watching spoiled rich kids hog the spotlight I made up my mind to run across the goal line for the score that would earn me the recognition I so richly deserved.                   I didn’t realize that running in for that touchdown would put me in the last quarter of my game of life.         &...

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“House Flipping Into Eternity” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #188

Sure, the glorified shanty had all the rustic charm of a Little House on the Prairie episode. But its price tag of $120,000 probably made it the bargain basement buy of the decade. Curb appeal didn’t exist for the rundown cabin, but a few steps from the entrance you stepped into one of the most beautiful lakefront stretches of forest he had ever laid eyes on. Then, after gingerly ascending the crooked front steps, Tom Cupiskin peeled back several layers of cobwebs on the porch and turned the ancient doorknob with his gloved hands. The kn...

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“Defeat of the Mountain Curse” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #186

      Alpine darkness descended on the medieval Durkulin Castle like a death shroud wrapping a corpse.    Attorney John Stimpson tried his best to close his eyes in sleep, but his subconscious thoughts and his recurring nightmares kept him from getting the rest he so desperately needed.       John’s life recently had gone off the rails with no apparent explanation until he began digging deeper into his troubled ancestry. That investigation had led him to the eerie room whe...

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“Fatal Habits” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #185

      From the outside the 15-room mansion looked like a Victorian edifice that should have graced the cover of House and Garden. It stood completely out of character with most of the surrounding homes, which also were upscale but much more modest. Inside the 10-foot fence that encircled the home, stood a remote-controlled gate and a kennel housing vicious guard dogs. A long, circular driveway led to the mansion’s majestic front entrance.       The area leading up to the mansion tol...

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“Discovering the Real Chemistry” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #183

         Cecelia Ainsworth pulled the ribbon from her luxurious blond hair just at the right moment for it to cascade into the sightlines of every male in the vicinity of the Riverwood High School senior class entrance.             Her hair crowned an outfit worthy of the top runway models at the 2023 New York Fashion Week and a body that would outclass the stars of the runway at any of the highest grossing movies in the year’s cinema lin...

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“Cabin in the Wilderness of My Mind” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #181

                             Cabin in the Wilderness of My Mind      My asinine, dead end job really has left me on the edge of depression lately. Add to this catching my scumbag boss in the sack with my brainless Barbie of a wife and the fact that my creditors seem ready to foreclose on the precious few possessions I haven’t hocked to satisfy my 15-year addiction to the...

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“Murder at Midfield” by Bob Faszczewski

After spending a lifetime sitting on the sidelines and watching spoiled rich kids hog the spotlight I made up my mind to run across the goalline for the score that would earn me the recognition I so richly deserved. I didn’t realize that running in for that touchdown would put me in the last quarter of my game of life. My teen years revolved around Bonn, MD High School and playing on its state championship football team. Almost everyone of my teammates, coaches and even my opponents recognized me--Jim Pierce--as the real quarterback pow...

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“Auld Lang Syne” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #178

     As New Year’s Eve approached Wilson felt he had little to look forward to–another boring party with inane gossip, too-loud music and guests robotically rattling off resolutions they knew they had no intention of keeping.       For the past three years the software salesman’s annual turning-of-the-calendar-page ritual had been brightened by the appearance of the stunningly beautiful and intelligent blonde lady. Aside from her tantalizing appearance and aura, she actually engaged seve...

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