Step into a world of imagination with our collection of fictional short stories. The Daily Bizz offers a variety of tales that will captivate and inspire. Experience the magic of storytelling through fictional short stories crafted to entertain and engage readers of all interests.

Short Stories

Explore your imagination with the help of our short stories written by the Daily Bizz and submitted by our readers.

Silhouette of a person on a rooftop launching a glowing paper plane at dusk. Building windows are illuminated. Text: Still Ben. Dreamy mood.

The Springbok: Part 7

It took months before Ben felt like the silence in Canada was something he could live inside, rather than just survive. At first, it had felt like the absence of home. But slowly, carefully, it began to feel like its own kind of presence, different, but not empty.

Roy Dransfield

Jul 183 min read

A person holding lanterns stands on a book with a dragon image and "STILL HERE" text. A cityscape is visible in the moody, dark background.

The Springbok: Part 6

Canada was quiet in a way Johannesburg had never been. Not just because of the snow, though it muffled everything like cotton, but because the air itself seemed gentler. No gates clicking shut behind them. No dogs barking in the night. No distant pops that could be fireworks or gunshots.

Roy Dransfield

Jul 183 min read

Sketch of a bird with a heart flying, labeled "Leaving," next to a pencil. Background shows airport gate sign, plane, and silhouettes. Mood is contemplative.

The Springbok: Part 5

They didn’t make an announcement. There were no dramatic speeches, no suitcases dragged through the driveway. Instead, the idea of leaving crept in like a draught through an open window, slow, barely noticeable, until suddenly it was everywhere.

Roy Dransfield

Jun 194 min read

A child reads by lamp light, holding a book with a dragon and the text "DON'T GO OUT WHEN IT'S DARK". The setting is dimly lit and mysterious.

The Springbok: Part 4

It started like any other evening. The lights flickered once, twice, and then went out. The television died mid-sentence, plunging the lounge into silence. Ben sat cross-legged on the floor, halfway through a drawing of a dragon curled around a crumbling city. His mom cursed under her breath, fumbling for the matches.

Roy Dransfield

Jun 183 min read

Five boys stand in a grassy field, facing each other with serious expressions. Warm, earthy tones create an intense and contemplative mood.

The Springbok: Part 3

Ben still played with Tshepo after school, but things had begun to shift. The warmth that once existed between their families cooled, not because of anything the boys had done, but because of the unspoken fears creeping in from outside. The street they lived on had become a boundary, one that marked not just geography but the slow unravelling of trust.

Roy Dransfield

Jun 173 min read

A boy holds a lit candle against a map background featuring Johannesburg. The mood is somber, with dark clouds and muted tones.

The Springbok: Part 2

The signs were subtle at first. The corner café where Ben used to get peppermint crisps closed one Monday without warning. A hand-scrawled note on the door read, “Closed until further notice,” but everyone knew what it meant. They’d been robbed, again. Probably at gunpoint. Again.

Roy Dransfield

Jun 172 min read

An antelope grazes on a lawn in front of a beige house with terracotta roof tiles, surrounded by greenery under a blue sky with clouds.

The Springbok: Part 1

Ben du Toit was ten years old when the weight of the world began to press on his narrow shoulders. He lived in a fading white suburb of Johannesburg called Kensington, where cracked sidewalks ran beside high fences and broken gates. His father, Willem, a former electrician, now sold used appliances out of their garage. His mother, Elsa, used to teach Afrikaans at the local school before she was retrenched.

Roy Dransfield

Jun 112 min read