Do we really need to buy twenty-four pencils? a student asked. -No, not just twenty-four pencils, but rather twenty-four sharpened pencils, the lecturer replied.Point of a pencil, is a short story about a creative writing class, in which the lecturer tells the students that she requires each of them to arrive at the class with twenty-four sharpened pencils. The students question this number, but soon the point she made is brought home to the class, when those students that did not follow her instruction begin to run out of ink, break the point of the only pencil they've brought with them, or lose the lead out of their clutch pencils.Its just a short story about how a lecturer can inspire a class to write more interestingly and use their imaginations.

Nina begged Phillippe not to reveal her identity before she danced on stage for the people at the village. He agreed, providing they ended both of their dancing careers by performing one final pas de deux together.In the end this performance proved to be a fitting ending to both of their dancing careers, as they felt they could now move on with their lives, hopefully still as a couple.This is a love story about how two people who were once ballet dancing partners, meet again under unusual circumstances, while working at a retirement village.To begin with they feel awkward and don't communicate, since they had parted after a silly quarrel. But once they realize that they have moved on and that they still love each other, they decide to put aside their former grievances and to dance one final pas de duex together.The performance takes place on New year's Eve at the retirement village and this proves to be fitting finale to both of their dancing careers.Note: A Pas de deux is a partnership between two dancers.

What would you do if you payed mother a surprise visit at Christmas and discovered all the gifts the family had sent her over the last five years displayed on her dining room table, - all unused and with the wrapping paper close by.Hopefully you'd handle the situation with care the way Leanne did and not turn the situation into a screaming match that would get your mother's back up.Sandra has a secret that her daughter Leanne finds out about when she pays her a surprise visit just before Christmas. To Leanne's surprise, she finds out that her mother has never used any of her gifts over the last five years, but rather re-wrapped them and kept them in her memory box. A box that she opens again each year at Christmas and the re-wraps the gifts again until the following Christmas.Later, Sandra tells her daughter that she has been doing this ever since the rest of the family moved to Australia and left her to fend for herself. Leanne gets cross because it was Sandra's choice to remain behind and they had often begged her to come. But she also knows that as she needs to take her mother back home with her now, she will have to handle the situation with care, -and not mention the gift episode or any of Sandra;s neighbours complaints to them about her mothers behaviour. This is why Leanne makes up her mind to tell Sandra that she won't mention the gift episode to the others, -as long as she returns to Oz with her. But in the end she doesn't even need to do this, as Sandra makes up her own mind to go back to Australia with her.A happy Christmas story that is based on a true story.

Susan's mother tells her that she was once a spy for MI6 during the cold war and that she believes her life is now in danger, as she has recognized a man lurking around in the village. Susan finds this hard to believe, but after she realizes just how scared her mother really is, she decides to do whatever it takes to keep her mother safe.When Susan's mother's secret life as a spy for MI6 during the cold war, spills over into Susan's life, she is unprepared for the devastating effect this has on their lives for many years to come. To begin with, her mother tells her that she suspects that her life is in danger. then she says she has seen an old enemy from the cold war lurking around in the village. she also says she thinks other men might be involved as well, due to the number of enemies she made during that time. Susan questions why they'd come after her mother so many years later, but her mother assures her that they are men who have huge grudges against her, for what she did during the cold war.her mother then places five encrypted emails on her laptop, and tells Susan that if she receives a certain sms from her, she must send off the emails immediately. But as Susan doubts if anything will come of this,she is surprised one morning to receive an sms giving her the 'send' instruction.after she has sent off the emails, she gets into her car and drives to her mothers house, but on the way there, she finds her mother sitting at a bus stop down the road from her house. when she asks her what she is doing there, she realizes her mother is in a terrible state and unable to talk about what has happened to her.Susan then drives up to the house and finds that the police are already there, while at the house, there are signs that a terrible battle took place.The police tell Susan they have discovered three bodies and that there is plenty of blood all over the place. they also say that MI6 will be taking over the case and that they will possibly have some answers for her. the police then try to persuade Susan to get her mother to talk to them, as they are convinced that she must have seen what happened, but they soon realize that her mother is not in a fit state of mind to give them a statement.When MI6 arrives, they tell Susan her mother was definitely involved, due to the manner in which she cleaned up after herself and by the measures she took to ensure that the local police did not suspect her involvement. They then go on to explain what her mother once did for her country and Susan is amazed that her kind, gentle mother, could ever have been such an incredibly brave spy.MI6 later takes them to a safe house, but after a time, Susan and her mother decide that they will be better off if they leave England and hide out elsewhere. they decide to make their way to a small Greek island, where they become absorbed into the local community.Susan later marries a local man called Jorge and they have two children that her mother dotes on. for the most part they are happy and they live pleasant carefree lives, but once in a while,Susan begins to feel edgy and starts to imagine seeing suspicious looking men lurking around in the village. At these times, she remains at home in hiding, until the feeling has passed. then one day when she has a conversation with her mother about her suspicions, she realizes that her mother still feels afraid that someone will come after her, even now..So on days when things do not seem quite right with their world, Susan stations herself on a rock far out in the ocean, where she fervently prays, as she watches the waves while they wash onto the pristine white shore. then only when all her fears for their safety have been washed away, does she return home to her family.

Joe didn't actually realize that he was searching for his birthday gifts, as his grandfather asked him to help him find a key as well as a ball of string that he had misplaced, but in unraveling these clues and searching for these objects, he discovered a bicycle and some computer games as well.Joe's birthday was coming up, but instead of just giving him his presents, his grandfather who was a detective, gave him some clues to search for instead. His grandfather also spun him a story about a lost key and an illusive ball of string and along the way Joe managed to unravel the clues and also find a bicycle and some cool computer games.

Scared of spiders? This short story will help you to overcome this fear and maybe you'll even begin to take an interest in the spiders in your garden and document your findings. Its all about how a little bit of knowledge can change our perceptions of the things we fear most.Lola, the spider lady, came to the club to introduce the women to the world of spiders. She knew she would have to win them over by telling them about some of the interesting techniques that spiders used to catch their prey but it threw her a bit when one woman screamed at the sight of a big hairy spider and another person got up and ran from the room. Trying harder now, she showed them some slides and soon a few of the women came over to view Goldie, the big hairy spider that had initially scared them.The woman who had run from the room returned and soon asked a few questions and in no time at all she became Lola's biggest fan and even started a spider diary of her own. Here she recorded the activities of the spiders in her own garden and also introduced her family to the world of spiders.So if you have a fear of spiders, this short story might help you to overcome it.

Whodunit is an amusing detective story about how a parrot helps to solve the Barlow murder, as well as the stolen diamond necklace case. Cookie does this by learning to say, -Barlow did it, Barlow did it, Cookie wants a biscuit. And as you'll discover she is right up to a point, but not entirely right, as someone else also had a hand in the murder.When Ruth, the office cleaner, discovers that the detective she is now working for is trying to solve the Barlow murder, as well as the stolen diamond necklace case, she feels obliged to tell them what she knows. But as she is afraid of being implicated, instead of telling them what she knows, she enlists the help of Cookie, the African Grey parrot, by teaching her to say -Barlow did it.An amusing detective story about how the parrot helps to solve the case.

At Blue Moon, the voices of the whispering angels from a distant star can be heard more clearly, so go outside and listen to their voices that will come to you on the breath of the wind.The Whispering angels from a distant star at Blue Moon is an esoteric/spiritual story about how if you listen very carefully, you can hear the angels whispering to you and telling you what to do. Their messages of love and hope come through all the time, but at Blue Moon, they can be heard even more clearly, and more distinctly.So at the next Blue Moon, go outside and sit under your favourite tree and observe the moon and listen for the whispering voices that are coming to you from a distant star.

Jonathan's book sold out in minutes, which was the last thing he'd wished for. He'd so wanted a photograph of himself surrounded by piles of his book and now all the evidence was gone. Then Janet came along and took over and convinced him that e-books were real books too and that all he had to do was to open the site were his book was listed and click on the cover to open it.Jonathan's book sold out in minutes, which was the last thing he'd wished for. The reason for his distress was that he'd wanted a photo of himself surrounded by piles of his book and now all the evidence was gone. The e-book copies he'd sold didn't seem real to him, until Janet took over as his agent, secretary and wife and convinced him that virtual books were real books. His agent had always managed everything for him previously and he hadn't shown him where to find his books on the internet, but now that Janet had shown him how to open up the site and click on the cover to admire it, he felt happy with an e-book.Janet had given him both the confidence to speak in public and to visualize what was happening in the virtual world with his books, so he owed most of his success to her. Then one day she told him he was on his own, as she wanted to write her own book. He panicked immediately and convinced himself he had writers block, -until he received her email that said, -Come on Johnny, you can do it.