Kristi Gott

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jan, 2022

Stories (33)

33 Stories

1231 karma pts

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“The Lost Journal of Love on the Mystical Coast ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #251

In the second half of the 1800s, Penelope’s family in Illinois sold their property, loaded up several covered farm wagons with supplies, rounded up their eight children, dairy cattle and chickens, and set off for Independence, Missouri, to join wagon caravans on the Oregon Trail. Harley Wilson, Penelope's Papa, spoke to his family at supper. “The trail is over 2,000 miles. Prairies, mountains, rivers. When we get to Oregon we will set up a homestead and start a big dairy farm."“But we’re leaving Grandpa and Grandma, the rest of the fami...

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“Secrets of the Great Gold Rush of the Mystical Coast ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #250

“Gold! …Pure gold!...river...”Twelve-year-old Elsie’s eyes widened when she heard the words and she strained to hear around the corner. Gold! At the river! Was it at their river?It was 1898 at the lighthouse on the Mystical Coast remote wilderness. A group of visitors came to shore in the surfboat from the ship acting as supplies tender.“set up a cook fire…baking…sourdough.”“selling sourdough pancakes to the gold miners…”“cold water in the river…waded…gold nuggets…”Elsie could only hear a few words here and there.“bears…salmon…fishing…p...

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“The Rivers Sing Stories of the Mystical Coast ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #249

Mountain waters,Cascade downhill,Rivers rising,As waters refill. Where river and sea,Are woven together,Nature surprises,With changes of weather. In watery depths,The salmon glide,In emerald forests, Through rivers wide. Labyrinths of the wild,Nature entwined, River’s stories,Beyond time and mind. By the River Otter Poet In the year 1898 the Mystical Coast sang with stories of the intertwined lives of the people, wildlife, and nature.They lived in a world of the flowing labyrinths of the waterways created by rivers and...

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“The Wind Harp in the Willows on the Mystical Coast ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #248

Everything was connected, especially here in the wilderness life.Emma rode her red mare, Ginger, along the trail next to the creek. The wind under the forest canopy seemed to whisper of secrets and ancient times. She heard the air hum through the willow reeds like music from a harp. The rhythm of light rain pattering on the fir boughs, and the perfume of the fir needles, carried the essence of life growing and blooming.The windowless shack in the wilderness of 1898 where four skinny children lived with Emma’s Mama was already half ...

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“Wonders Calling from the Mystical Coast ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #247

Something large was moving through the emerald fir trees that touched the golden hour colors of the sky.Mama Black Bear crashed through a tall shrub with plate-sized red flowers. She was growling and huffing.Eileen screeched.Rupert dropped the four-month-old, ten-pound Black Bear cub that he was cradling like a pet dog next to his chest.It was a Spring afternoon in 1898 in the green wilderness of the Mystical Coast.Baby Black Bear had looked cute and lonely hanging onto the Douglas Fir tree. Rupert did not see Mama Bear, but she was not far ...

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“Dancers of the Sea on the Mystical Coast ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #246

The flow of the watery world on the Mystical Coast brought a sense of wonder to those who lived there. It was a sunny day in June of 1898 along the rainforest wilderness coast.Near the river bar at the ocean the black and white whales leaped and splashed, joyfully singing and dancing in the waves with squeals, whistles and hums in their fun ocean playground. The games stopped when short, sharp, quick distress calls came from the six month old whale calf. In the dialect of whale language the calf cried for her mama.Nuzzling the calf...

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“ Through Foggy Veils of the Mystical Coast” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #245

The Mystical Coast showed her mystery and drama while the ship called Nightflight cruised under the shimmering stars.Winds of the Mystical Coast blew a dense veil of fog across the clear waters. Then the Nightflight was wrapped in a cotton cloud mist, hiding the stars and shores needed for navigation.A towering ocean swell over the bar from the sea to the Emerald River lifted Nightflight into the salty air.Blankets of fog hid the other ship that was coming from the starboard side. Through the haze a ghostly shape appeared.Wham! The two hulls...

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“Eagles Flying Above the Storm ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #244

Eagles ride updrafts,On airy sky trails,Over the clouds,Beyond rain and gales." Elijah saw the storm squall whipping the waves. The wind howled. The ocean darkened. The clouds burst open.A pair of eagles spread their wings and rode updrafts into the sky.Gliding through low clouds, the eagles soared. Elijah knew they were flying to heights beyond his sight, above the rain and wind.A sense of wonder and beauty filled Elijah. He felt as if he soared along with the eagles.Sitting in the ground floor of the lighthouse, Elijah leaned toward the op...

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“The Rogue Wave of the Mystical Coast” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #243

The surge of icy water swept over her feet. Then rising above her knees, it pulled Elsie into the tumbling ocean surf, along with her puppy and her friend.They surfaced in a cave of sloshing water.Earlier, Elsie was walking on the beach she loved near the lighthouse. It was a mystical and magical place. The next moment the ocean flooded the sand and surrounded her with a rogue wave surge.Elsie and her friend Bret saw the dark, furry head of her puppy, Teddybear, emerge.A swell of water lifted them, then dropped, and they stood on a...

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“In 1898 - Trapped in the Ship's "Museum" ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #242

Waves splashing against the ship “Pacific Odyssey” echoed in the dark hold beneath the decks. It was anchored off the shore near the Mystic Lighthouse and the year was 1898.A musty smell wafted in the still air. Dark shapes of the captain’s collections from faraway places created a twisted labyrinth. A rustle sounded from deep in a corner. What was that? A rat?From the shadows one of the shapes began rising. It became taller, wider.Slowly it moved closer.What was that? Where was the way out?Elsie stopped breathi...

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“The Brazilian Carnival Celebrities ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #241

My Mystical Creature, Coos Bay Bear, the hybrid dog-bear-mystery, looked sideways at me, dark eyes twinkling.He loved time traveling to the past. "Good boy," I said, petting his dark fur."Could we use our creativity and time travel to knit together the wounded threads of the past and find our way to a sense of wonder, peace and joy?" "Could visiting the past help transform the painful things into something else?""Could the outer journeys of time travel heal inner wounds that still stung? Betrayals, rejections, a loss of wonder and joy?"The w...

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“Secret Time Traveler” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #240

An eleven foot tall prehistoric mama bear stood on her hind legs on a beach, staring at us. Her six foot tall cub peeked around her side.A shiver passed through me. None of my friends at home knew about my secret time traveling. I was here alone with my Mystical Dog.Before we landed here, the winds of time travel swept us off course, and we missed the right landing era.The gusts of time still whirled. I grabbed my poet's fedora hat with the colorful Peruvian hatband before it blew off.Then I reached to pull my supernatural four legged compan...

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“Traveling Through Winds of Time ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #240

The morning breeze brushed against my skin. It carried the scents of salt air and fir trees."ooooo...oooooo...oooo" call the Mourning Doves through the forest. A vision of shapes, lights and shadows drifts across the waters of the lake.It is forming a picture that is wavering on the ripples of the lake. To a time traveler, it evokes waves on the ripples of time.Lately, the feeling of the troubled world's weight getting heavier was growing. I needed a happy uplift."It was time for a time-out," I thought. "I need something new, or something fo...

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“ Mystical Animals with Supernatural Gifts ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #239

Tension turned to chuckles when I saw my Mystical Dog's eyes wink at me.The winter moon was rising over the river. I tried not to feel nervous about tonight's performance.Scents of the ocean and wet fir trees after the rain evoked dreams of the Mystic Beach. My ethereal creature wagged his tail and smiled at me.The notes for tonight's presentation sitting in my pocket begged me to take another look. "Was this going to be good enough? Or was it a mistake?"...

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“Eagles Sky Dance ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #238

Eagles dancing in the sky help inspire threads of connections, weaving together the lives of an Oregon Coast lighthouse keeper and a woman on the East Coast.A copy of the 1898 Matrimonial Bazar publication for personal ads sat on Elias's desk.Below the heading, it said,”Our aim is high: To increase the number of home firesides, increase the happiness of other people, in short, to do what we can in mitigating woe and loneliness in any sph...

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Author bio

Many of my stories are inspired by where I live, surrounded by the Oregon coast rainforest wilderness in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. There are black bears, cougars, elk and many other wild animals in this area. It is near a small remote village with many buildings from the 1800s, and a lighthouse from the 1800s and these things inspire my stories. I am working on a book called "Mystical Coast Stories" - "Light, Whimsical, Cozy Stories Spiced with Creativity" - for young readers thru adults - To see my ongoing writing project please copy and paste this link for my website: https://kristigott.com I am writing many of my stories inspired by historical research, cultural lore, folk tales and legends about the Oregon coast, where I live. Animals and nature have always been a big part of my life and I grew up in the countryside riding horses across the fields and forests. I have written stories, poems and journalism or nonfiction articles off and on for magazines and newspapers. Being creative is fun. Happy writing!