Publishing documents on edocr is a proven way to start demand generation for your products and services. Thousands of professionals and businesses publish marketing (brochures, data sheets, press releases, white papers and case studies), sales (slides, price lists and pro-forma agreements), operations (specifications, operating manuals, installation guides), customer service (user manuals) and financial (annual reports and financial statements) documents making it easier for prospects and customers to find content, helping them to make informed decisions. #SEO #leadgen #content #analyticswww.edocr.com
<p>
All Stories
Copyright 2003 & 2010
Karlene Kubat
UNCAGED SONGBIRDS
By
Karlene Kubat
A diverse selection of the author’s short stories.
Page
CONTENTS: THE HEIRLOOM.......................... 1
THE UNTAMING OF THE SWAN.............. 22
GRANDMA IN THE WOODS.................. 40
A FAVOR...............................
55
THE UNFINISHED BOAT...................
68
WHO GOES HOME.........................
84
THE HEIRLOOM
The children were at play under the swollen spring
branches in the filbert orchard. A March wind rushed down
the long rows, rattling the limbs and muffling the excited
cries of the little ones. Something in the distance sent
them running toward the big white frame house below the
orchard. Their unclasped boots and scarves flapped with
each short bounce of their rushing feet as they came
Uncaged Songbirds 2
Karlene Kubat
beneath a spreading yellow forsythia bush in the yard.
Under its luminous arching branches they huddled together
with hushed, wondering voices, their faces turned toward
the road running below the western edge of the orchard.
A man’s gray head rose and fell above the bank of
wind-torn grass, coming on until his figure was telescoped
in the long gravel driveway. There he paused, a bony hand
sliding into the open front of his faded jacket and
fluttering over an inside shirt pocket to withdraw a
stained pipe and a thin pouch. A little tobacco was deftly
pressed into the bowl. Hunching over, he turned away to
save the flame flickering below pale, half-closed lids. A
few white puffs of ignited leaf whirled away as he started
up the path.
From their hideaway the children watched his tall
figure lean into the wind as he moved nearer, watched and
gasped and murmured as he turned toward the stairs leading
up to the front veranda.