Red Roses

A Collection of Short Stories

By: J.L. Shojosh

Narrated by: Katrina Michaels

Table of contents

I - "Like a Dream"

A traumatic childhood had turned Michelle into a vessel for nightmares. Now, an odd encounter with a strange man has spurned her world out of whack, leading the young ambitious woman down a rabbit hole like no other. In this hole, Michelle realizes that she has the ability to access another dimension through her dreams. Will she bite?

II - "A Loose Bolt"

In this reincarnation story, Goovu and Katala’s destined life together is cut short by Transatlantic slave traders, traitors from a couple of villages away. The couple’s home village was ravaged. Five hundred years later, in present-day United States, could there be a chance for the two souls to reunite? After a fateful car accident sends a youth into a coma, the young man begins to remember a past life, which now haunts him to seek out the woman of his actual dreams.

III - "Two Peas, One Pod"

In this psychological short-thriller, an elderly loner, who spends most of his days at home, becomes the victim of a home invasion. A young and unmasked man with a gun soon ties the elder to a chair, beginning a daylong ordeal that both men will never forget.

IV - "Spindled Revenge"

Two immortal, magical beings, Peace (Rayzan) and Chaos (Broza), are in constant battle. This time around, though, the embodiment of peace is defeated, and thus has to undergo rebirth, losing his memory in the process. Tucker assumes himself an average if abnormal teenager, who knows little else than the countryside, where he grew up. Tucker’s journey toward rediscovery begins when he loses control of what he believes are minor psychic abilities, as now, some strange dark and magical figure hunts him.

V - "Magic, Guns, and Mayhem"

Danny is trapped in Leria, an alternate realm, made by sorcerers and for sorcerers. There’s only one problem with this magical world: Four of the five kingdoms have been invaded by an authoritarian regime. Having narrowly escaped Leria and found his way back to his realm, will Daniel risk it all and go back to save an ally that he’d made and left in turmoil? If he was a sorcerer by blood and his mother had never mentioned it to him, could it be that his magical heritage comes from his long-deceased father? What more could he glean about his dad and his family’s history?

VI - "Light-Bulb Moments"

Based on real-life events, and embellished in the quirkiest manner, this short story explores the moment that a janitor’s rags turn to riches. The inner workings of Alfredo’s mind are brought to bear in the outer world. - as within so without, as above so below.

VII - "As Chaos Begins"

As an autistic child, Joe had always heard about how special he was. Yet, the world was oblivious to the lad’s ability as a seer, a modern-day prophet. In this short tale, you’re invited to peer into Joseph’s life, as he wades and adjusts himself in a mal-adjusted and ill-fated world. Will the daily vagaries of adolescent life distract the youth from escaping his nightmare, should it prove to be real?

©2020 Joshua Nsangi (P)2020 Joshua Nsangi