Bob Faszczewski

Author on Reedsy Prompts since May, 2021

Stories (126)

126 Stories

2522 karma pts

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“The Day Everything Stopped” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #155

Struter Jones rushed to the corner to catch the 7:58 Fifth Avenue bus. As usual, she had timed every action in getting ready for her daily work grind down to the last second. No fan of her current dull-as-hell-go-nowhere clerical position, she did only what she had to do when she had to do it, as every day she searched for the miracle job that would take her out of the morass that had defined every day of her life for the last five years. However, little did Struter know that her life and her world–indeed, the world of every other person on...

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“Finding a New Relevance” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #154

Finding a New Relevance William Skupski opens the microwave door and, once again, spills the hot drink, barely avoiding scalding myself. Such “accidents” interfere in his life far too often and leave him “stuck in first gear” in a world dominated by w...

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“So, We Meet Again” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #153

So, We Meet Again Jarod hurried to answer the door, although he in no way looked forward to what stood behind it-–the cleaning service delivery person bringing back the blue blazer he hadn’t worn for decades. No reason for a blue blazer, or any formal attire for that matter, when you spent your ent...

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“Defeat of the Mountain Curse” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #152

Defeat of the Mountain Curse Alpine darkness descended on Durkulin Castle like a death shroud wrapping a corpse. The subconscious thoughts of “temporary” castle resident John Stimpson 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...

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“Rewind” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #151

Former ace reporter Joe Stillman walked slowly along the Assateague Island beachfront deep in thought about the eventful life he had lived prior to his retirement to Maryland’s beautiful Eastern Shore. Suddenly, however, as he approached a little too close to a herd of the island’s wild ponies, one of them kicked him in the head and knocked him out. After what seemed like an eternity Joe woke up in a daze. He found himself transported ...

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“Dead Bodies May Not Tell All the Tales” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #149

A December-like chill overtook me soon after I entered an uncharted area of the Pokomoke State Forest on Maryland’s Delmarva Peninsula. I didn’t know exactly what sinister force had captured me and driven me here, but it had me in its power and it was impossible to resist. The sudden burst of arctic cold knocked me off my feet, almost into an abandoned well. I almost fell into the middle of its darkened abyss. The cold in particular startled me because it this took place in the middle of June, not th...

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“Long-Term Lease” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #148

“Rebel and defend your rights,” “Don’t let the government bullies push you around,” “Do we live in a democracy or not?”--the loud slogans blasted across every window on Karen Singleford’s new car and shouted from the door of her two-bedroom walkup in the Seacrest Arms Luxury Apartment complex. Karen, the single mother of two pre-teen sons, Harry and Jarod, made no secret of her disdain for “health regulations” imposed during the influenza endemic and what she considered the clear danger they presented to her fre...

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“Curtain Call” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #147

Harold and Alice sat alone in the darkened West Ocean City theater waiting for the featured film to start. For about five minutes the silence enveloped them in a calmness that provided a pleasant relief from the cinematic bombardment they had endured during the barrage of trailers when they had first entered the cinema. Then a deafening din assaulted their ears as a blinding light took over their visual senses. Of course, since the theater’s chief offering for this afternoon feature...

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“Ascending the Staircase of Life” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #146

William Skupski stands in the darkness at the bottom of the Stairs of Life seeking more perfect direction in his climb to the light that will guide his journey and help others in completing their journeys. Often stuck in the back of his mind clawing to get out–the principle he thought should guide all actions in life–but for which William never had found the answer most satisfactory to him,“What Would Jesus Do?” On the deepest em...

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“The World's New Wardrobe” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #145

Ralph threw the last carton on the shelf–glad to finish the final incoming load in the stifling home furnishings warehouse. He couldn’t wait to shower, change into “street clothes” that would let him feel human again and head for his favorite watering hole down Main Street. He believed that, after a few “cool ones” even the flea-bitten, fly-by-night boring rural outpost of a town where he had wasted much of his life might start to look good. &nbsp...

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“What the Lens Sees” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #144

What the Lens Sees As the sun begins its descent by just kissing the horizon the atmosphere explodes in a palette of brilliant colors of every hue and shade. Jonesford quickly focuses his lens so that he won’t miss a second of Nature putting on her most stylish ball gown to welcom...

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“Too Many Wrong Turns” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #143

Like a long, black curtain the pandemic of 2020-2021 had shrouded the area around Ocean City, Md.--and the celebration of the beauty of Maryland’s Eastern Shore--in a cloak of too-greatly-reduced activity for a time period way beyond what it should have. The announcement that the area finally would return to some semblance of pre-pandemic normalcy, therefore, blew like a breath of fresh ocean air across all of Delmarva. Those looking for opening up of yearly ...

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“Unseen Epilogue” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #142

Unseen Epilogue The final pages of the story of the librarian known as Mary McFee closed far more strangely than any of her colleages in the Rehobeth Beach Public Library ever would have imagined. &nbs...

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“Death Among the Waves” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #140

Natasha Yugoselski ran to hang up her Walker Company work apron and rushed to the exit for the long trek home. She couldn’t wait to throw herself into the arms of Janusz, her husband, lifemate and love. He had spent the glorious summer day swimming on the Jersey Shore with Stash and Walter, his two teenage sons, and Natasha couldn’t wait to hear about their adventures. Sure she regretted having to work on the production line while her family played, but one of the Walker...

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“A Matter of Degrees” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #138

A Matter of Degrees Residents of the Northern Hemisphere normally welcomed the chance to throw off their layers of winter clothing and romp with as little attire as possible in the world’s lakes and oceans. They didn’t realize, however, that the sun they so fervently wished for, now could become the instrument of their destruction. As Mother Nature began to close the curtain on 2300 she decided to play a cruel joke on humanity by having the sun shine continuously–24 hours a day. Medical personnel working in emergency rooms across mos...

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Author bio

Bob Faszczewski is a curious writer who loves exploring different themes and motifs. He has produced two recently-published collections of fiction-science fiction stories about travel across the timeline, "Taming the Timeline" (available for sale on saltwatermedia.com) and "Locking Arms with Giants (available for sale through Amazon Kindle and Amazon.com.). Both also are available for sale at Greyhound Bookstore in Berlin, Md. Bob has published the following short stories in magazines in a number of genres: ."Bloodstains on the Ledger"--Ink and the Sword.com . "Tragedy Near the Corpse Light--or Because of It"--Mystery Tribune.com . "Cadaver in the Forest"--Adelaide Literary Magazine . "Heard It Through the Grapevine"--Flash Fiction.com . "Resetting the Clock"--Academy of the Heart and Mind . "The Turkonians Are Coming"--CleverMag.com.