Mỗi ngày một mẩu truyện ngắn hay bằng Tiếng Anh....

Continue....86th Street and the Summer of Love
Miles glared back up at the kid. "You know I hate Coke, right?"
Jay laughed before saying, "****, everyone knows you hate Coke."
Mile nodded at Jay and held the bottle up to the kid''s face. "Then why isn''t this Pepsi?"
The fat kid stuttered, "B-b-b-because I l-l-like C-C-Coke."
Miles threw the bottle against the nearby brick building. It shattered, exploding shards of glass everywhere.
Terrance smacked the fudgesicle from the kid''s hand, sending it to the sidewalk. The kid squealed in fear. Terry had a chip on his shoulder because he grew up black in this neighborhood. I could care less what color Terry was. His blood was red just like mine and we had spilled plenty of ours together in battles over turf and respect. Until he got in with us, things were tough for Terry. There were plenty of ignorant bastards around who would attack any person because of their color. Maybe that''s why Terry liked these moments so much.
An evil smile found its home on Ronnie''s face. He stepped in front of the kid and laid down the rules. "Fight back or it''ll get worse."
Confusion spread on the kid''s face. "Huh?"
Ronnie whipped out a punch to the kid''s nose and sent him reeling backwards. Terrance caught him and shoved him back into the circle.
Fight back, I chanted to myself in hopes it would somehow magically inspire the little bastard to come up swinging.
Ronnie slammed two punches into the kid''s head before stepping back to let the others in.
The kid held up his hands and cried out, "I don''t wanna fight." His voice was suddenly high and screechy.
Miles slipped in and hook-punched the kid in the kidney. As the kid screamed in pain, Miles laughed and danced around like Cassius Clay.
I stepped in front of the kid and slapped him hard across the face. His eyes focused hard and drool ran from his lips. I leaned into him and ordered, "Fight back."
The kid bawled and shook his head wildly.
"Fight me," I growled and drove a punch deep into his soft stomach. Tears and dirt covered his face as he begged for us to stop.
Ronnie kicked him in the back of the thigh, ending the whimpering by dropping the kid to the ground.

Continue....86th Street and the Summer of Love
Miles booted the kid''s big belly, doubling him up and forcing him *****ck for more air.
Ronnie yelled "Grab him" and we scrambled for a hold as the kid thrashed around. I ended up grabbing his legs with Miles.
All of us dragged the kid into the street and Ronnie pressed the kid''s face on to the edge of the curb. He kept pushing until the kid opened his mouth in pain and ended up with a mouthful of concrete. The rest of us pinned the kid down on the ground. We all glanced around constantly, checking for witnesses and cops.
Ronnie asked, "Who''s up?"
Jay said, "It''s Mike''s turn," as he struggled to keep the kid''s chest pinned to the street.
Ronnie looked at me and nodded. I knew it wasn''t a request.
My stomach grew queasy as I let go of my hold on the kid and stepped up next to his head. Everyone yelled at me to hurry up since the kid was panicking and trying to take his mouth off the curb edge.
I lifted up my foot up over the kid''s head, closed my eyes and stomped down. I felt the crunching of teeth rattle its way through my leg, work its way up my body and slam into my brain. I hated doing that. I didn''t mind beating the kid. I just hated destroying his teeth.
I could hear the guys cheering as the kid let go of an inhuman shriek. I opened my eyes when Ronnie shook me.
"C''mon, man, cops''ll be here soon."
I looked down at the kid who had rolled over onto his back. Blood covered his face and his eyes looked like they had seen the devil up close and personal.
Ronnie yanked on my arm one more time before I turned and ran.

The summer heat was stifling. So was the world for that fact. The country was at war in Vietnam and some of our family was there.
Miles'' cousin died one month after he got in to country. Ronnie''s brother came home missing a leg. Jay''s twin older brothers came home in boxes. Terrance''s dad, his real dad, went to war and ended up missing. The Marines couldn''t find him and apologized to his mom in a telegram.
My brother, Tom, was in country almost a year and fighting with the 101st. He actually volunteered to go Vietnam. He''d write me letters occasionally. When he first got over there, he used to say how important the war was for our country and the fight against communism. In his last letter, though, he said he couldn''t wait to get away from that land and the war. He told me the only thing he''d miss would be the LBFs. Little Brown ****ers. The Vietnamese prostitutes. He said they could do things with a ***** no American girl would ever figure out. I wasn''t sure what he meant by that, but he promised to tell me when he got home.

Nhầm...sorry
Được businessman1 sửa chữa / chuyển vào 22:23 ngày 28/03/2006

Continue Part 3.....86th Street and the Summer of Love
We were all waiting for and dreading our notifications. That little white card that read US Selective Services Draft Card. Jay wasn''t worried about the draft now that both of his brothers were dead and neither was Terrance who''d lost a kidney in a car accident and his dad to the war. But the rest of us knew those cards were coming soon and we hated the world because of it.

We had a rule in the gang; if they fought back hard then we let them go. That didn''t mean they could fight half-assed to get away. No, they had to lay every thing they had on the table before we would let them walk. If they quit or if they didn''t fight at all, then we busted them up hard. We busted them up permanent.
I don''t remember how the fights started or why but I used to love them. It was about the combat, the challenge of pitting ourselves against others. Things went bad when people refused to fight us. I think it was one of those hippie ****s who first said he wouldn''t fight. We had to show him the error of his ways and used the curb. It seemed like a good idea the first time until I saw the damage. Each time got worse for me especially after I had to do it a couple of times. If I was strong like my brother Tom, I would have stood up and said no more. But I wasn''t so the fights continued.
People say life on the street is hard. They don''t know anything. Life is easy. It''s always there. Breathe in and breathe out and you got life figured out. It''s the people who are hard. All you had to do was look at the war. All you had to do was look at us.

A few weeks later, we found another kid walking alone and singing to himself. He was tall and skinny with a sad kind of gait. When I saw Ronnie hunch his shoulders I knew we''d found the next victim.
As he got close, we got up from the steps we were sitting on and surrounded him. He didn''t say a word and took his hands out of his pockets.
"Sing me a song, queer bait," Terry teased.

Continue..... 86th Street and the Summer of Love
The kid eyed him but didn''t say a word.
"****, I don''t want that faggot singing again. He sounded worse than ****in'' Ringo." Jay slapped Terry on the back and laughed at his own joke.
The kid didn''t move anything but his eyes. Something didn''t feel right about this one which caused my stomach to knot up.
Ronnie shook his head and chested up to the kid. "Fight back or it''ll get worse," he ordered.
The tall, skinny kid just stared into Ronnie''s eyes.
Ronnie waved his hand in front of the kid''s face. "Can you hear me, retard? Or should I just beat the **** out of you until you do hear me."
The bean pole slammed his fist into Ronnie''s face before Ronnie even lifted a hand. Ronnie stumbled backward as confusion mixed with pain.
Jay jumped and swung wildly at the kid, missing him entirely. The kid moved to the side and used Jay as a shield for Terrance''s haymaker. Terry tried to pull the violent punch but cold-****ed Jay in the ear. Jay wobbled for a second and then dropped like an anchor.
Miles surprised the kid with a bear hug from the rear that lifted him off the ground. As he struggled to get free, I ran up and sucker punched him in the gut. Miles threw him to the ground with a sickening thud.
The guys jumped on the beanpole and dragged him into the street. Ronnie grabbed his head and slammed into onto the curb, forcing him to open wide and breaking teeth in the process.
"Ronnie," I yelled. "Let him go."
"**** you, man," he screamed at me, his eyes wild with rage. He turned his lunatic gaze to Terrance. "Bust this bastard''s teeth."
Terry jumped off of the kid and stepped up next to his head. When he lifted his foot, I shoved him over and sent him sprawling into the guys.
There were arms and legs flying everywhere as he fell. The guys let go of the kid to help catch Terry before he hit the pavement. In the confusion, the kid got up and sprinted away.
Miles chased him for a bit but eventually gave up.
When Terry found his footing, he ran towards me with murder in his eyes. Jay stepped in between him and me and held up Terrance. "Relax," he screamed at Terry.

Continue....86th Street and the Summer of Love
Ronnie stood up and dusted himself off. He walked up to me and put his face inches from mine.
"What the **** is your problem, man?"
"The kid fought back. We let him go."
Ronnie thumped me in the chest with his finger. "He started the fight. All bets are off at that point."
I shook my head and pointed back at Ronnie. "We started the fight. You were gonna break the rule."
"You betrayed us, you ****. You crossed the line."
Miles ran back up to us and saw Jay calming down Terry while Ronnie and I yelled at each other. He jumped in between us and put a hand on each of our chests, forcing us apart.
"What the hell is going on here?"
Ronnie never took his eyes from me. "Mike is out."
"What?" I growled. "You can''t make that decision."
Terry hollered at me, "You''re gone, mother****er."
Ronnie slid his eyes over to Miles and back to me. "What side of the line are you on, Miles?"
Miles met my eyes, his hands still holding Ronnie and me apart. "He''s family, Ronnie. I say he stays."
Ronnie shouted over his shoulder. "It''s up to you, Jay. Stay or go?"
Jay turned around, but held Terry back with one arm. His face was hard as stone. "You didn''t stand with us."
"Jay, he fought back," I pleaded.
Jay shook his head. "Doesn''t matter. We''re family. You chose him over us. I vote you''re gone."
Ronnie wiggled his fingers in front of my face. "Take off, pretty boy."
"**** you," I yelled and flipped him the bird.
Miles grabbed my arm and spun me around. He leaned in my ear and whispered hard. "Leave. Now. Don''t turn around."
I walked away without looking back.

The next morning I laid in bed listening to Ain''t No Mountain High Enough on the radio. As Marvin Gaye''s voice floated through my room, I tossed into the air a baseball I once caught at a Yankees game. I went to that game with my mom and Tom on my twelfth birthday. That''s all I wanted for a present and my mom made it come true. My dad lived in Portland, Oregon, and sent me a Yankees hat and a new mitt for that birthday. Six birthdays later and that one still rated the highest of my life.

Continue.....
A knock on the front door shook me from my childhood memories. I hoped it would be one of the guys, telling me that they would take me back. When my mom shrieked, I knew it wasn''t them.
I sprinted into the living room and stopped when I saw the guy wearing Army dress greens. He had his hat tucked under one arm and wore a grim scowl on his face. He swallowed hard as he watched my mother weeping in front of him.
When I touched her shoulder, she turned to me and fell into my arms. I could barely support her weight and ended up helping her to the sofa where we sat.
The Army officer stood by and nervously looked around, not knowing how to comfort my mother but unable to leave the sad moment.
She cried into my chest.
"He''s dead," she managed to say between sobs.
I patted her back. "I know, mom."

I didn''t leave the house for two days. A parade of aunts and uncles came by the house to bring food and sympathy. I stayed in my room and looked through Tom''s old stuff.
The first night after I found out about Tom''s death I watched a news report about the fighting in Vietnam and the rising death toll. When the report ended, I realized I wouldn''t have to go over there now that I was the only son left. Guilt washed over me when I felt that sweet relief. Ashamed, I turned off the television and cried myself to sleep.
The next morning, I morbidly read the letters he had sent me while he was over there. I cried again for a while after that and then put the letters into his high school year book. I slid the book under my mattress, hiding the memories but keeping them close.

"Fight or it''ll get worse."
I could smell Ronnie''s breath because he stood so close to me. It smelled like a rancid mixture of strong onions and stronger alcohol.
They cornered me in the alley just south of Rockaway. I was on my way to Mickey''s Billiards to blow off some steam playing pool and pinball. I couldn''t take the depression at home anymore and needed to get out.
When they first surrounded me, I learned the fear all the others had known. Except I was sure there would be no getting away for me.

Briar Rose ( New story....Có cả người đọc nữa....nghe hay cực)



A king and queen once upon a time reigned in a country a great way off, where there were in those days fairies. Now this king and queen had plenty of money, and plenty of fine clothes to wear, and plenty of good things to eat and drink, and a coach to ride out in every day: but though they had been married many years they had no children, and this grieved them very much indeed. But one day as the queen was walking by the side of the river, at the bottom of the garden, she saw a poor little fish, that had thrown itself out of the water, and lay gasping and nearly dead on the bank.
 Then the queen took pity on the little fish, and threw it back again into the river; and before it swam away it lifted its head out of the water and said, ?I know what your wish is, and it shall be fulfilled, in return for your kindness to me?you will soon have a daughter.? What the little fish had foretold soon came to pass; and the queen had a little girl, so very beautiful that the king could not cease looking on it for joy, and said he would hold a great feast and make merry, and show the child to all the land. So he asked his kinsmen, and nobles, and friends, and neighbours.
But the queen said, ?I will have the fairies also, that they might be kind and good to our little daughter.? Now there were thirteen fairies in the kingdom; but as the king and queen had only twelve golden dishes for them to eat out of, they were forced to leave one of the fairies without asking her. So twelve fairies came, each with a high red cap on her head, and red shoes with high heels on her feet, and a long white wand in her hand: and after the feast was over they gathered round in a ring and gave all their best gifts to the little princess. One gave her goodness, another beauty, another riches, and so on till she had all that was good in the world.

 

Continue...Briar Rose...
Just as eleven of them had done blessing her, a great noise was heard in the courtyard, and word was brought that the thirteenth fairy was come, with a black cap on her head, and black shoes on her feet, and a broomstick in her hand: and presently up she came into the dining- hall. Now, as she had not been asked to the feast she was very angry, and scolded the king and queen very much, and set to work to take her revenge. So she cried out, ?The king?s daughter shall, in her fifteenth year, be wounded by a spindle, and fall down dead.? Then the twelfth of the friendly fairies, who had not yet given her gift, came forward, and said that the evil wish must be fulfilled, but that she could soften its mischief; so her gift was, that the king?s daughter, when the spindle wounded her, should not really die, but should only fall asleep for a hundred years.
However, the king hoped still to save his dear child altogether from the threatened evil; so he ordered that all the spindles in the kingdom should be bought up and burnt. But all the gifts of the first eleven fairies were in the meantime fulfilled; for the princess was so beautiful, and well behaved, and good, and wise, that everyone who knew her loved her.
It happened that, on the very day she was fifteen years old, the king and queen were not at home, and she was left alone in the palace. So she roved about by herself, and looked at all the rooms and chambers, till at last she came to an old tower, to which there was a narrow staircase ending with a little door. In the door there was a golden key, and when she turned it the door sprang open, and there sat an old lady spinning away very busily. ?Why, how now, good mother,? said the princess; ?what are you doing there?? ?Spinning,? said the old lady, and nodded her head, humming a tune, while buzz! went the wheel. ?How prettily that little thing turns round!? said the princess, and took the spindle and began to try and spin. But scarcely had she touched it, before the fairy?s prophecy was fulfilled; the spindle wounded her, and she fell down lifeless on the ground.



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Continue....Biar Rose...
However, she was not dead, but had only fallen into a deep sleep; and the king and the queen, who had just come home, and all their court, fell asleep too; and the horses slept in the stables, and the dogs in the court, the pigeons on the house-top, and the very flies slept upon the walls. Even the fire on the hearth left off blazing, and went to sleep; the jack stopped, and the spit that was turning about with a goose upon it for the king?s dinner stood still; and the cook, who was at that moment pulling the kitchen-boy by the hair to give him a box on the ear for something he had done amiss, let him go, and both fell asleep; the butler, who was slyly tasting the ale, fell asleep with the jug at his lips: and thus everything stood still, and slept soundly.
A large hedge of thorns soon grew round the palace, and every year it became higher and thicker; till at last the old palace was surrounded and hidden, so that not even the roof or the chimneys could be seen. But there went a report through all the land of the beautiful sleeping Briar Rose (for so the king?s daughter was called): so that, from time to time, several kings? sons came, and tried to break through the thicket into the palace. This, however, none of them could ever do; for the thorns and bushes laid hold of them, as it were with hands; and there they stuck fast, and died wretchedly.
After many, many years there came a king?s son into that land: and an old man told him the story of the thicket of thorns; and how a beautiful palace stood behind it, and how a wonderful princess, called Briar Rose, lay in it asleep, with all her court. He told, too, how he had heard from his grandfather that many, many princes had come, and had tried to break through the thicket, but that they had all stuck fast in it, and died. Then the young prince said, ?All this shall not frighten me; I will go and see this Briar Rose.? The old man tried to hinder him, but he was bent upon going