Robert Egan

Author on Reedsy Prompts since May, 2023

Stories (24)

24 Stories

810 karma pts

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“The Blossoming of Gerald Bloom” by Robert Egan

Submitted to Contest #251

There is a book whose title is untitled, whose author is unknown, and whose language is not language. J.D. Salinger is said to have caught a glimpse of this book's untitled title page before fading from public view; Hemingway kept a few pages tucked away in memory before it all overflowed; and Homer made it through an entire chapter before going blind. And as for Gerald Bloom, well, he intended to read the whole damn book. A daunting task to be sure, but Bloom had one thing going for him: He wasn't a writer. Like the ageless book itself, Blo...

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“Dear Lord” by Robert Egan

Submitted to Contest #250

Lloyd was not one to pray. That's what made the child's sudden prayer all the more terrifying. It came while Lloyd was working the heavy bag. Fists up, he whirled to face the sound's source, but there was only the voice, a little white girl's by the sound of it: "Dear Lord, please tell Rufus to stay out of my room. He can't be in my room because he's dirty. And please make me pretty like Mom, and if you could, have Beth Marie invite me to her birthday. World peace is good, too. Thank you, I love you." Now, one gloved hand paused in front of ...

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“The Medusa Coin” by Robert Egan

Submitted to Contest #244

"The coin never fails, but I'll give you a fair chance." "Coin? You want money?" "No, I want you to flip it." "What?" "The coin. You can't look at it yet. Not until after you flip it." "Hey, watch where you're pointing that thing. I know you. You're that guy who put the Kalinksi brothers in a coma with some kind of coin trick. They call you Percy, right? What do you want?" "You know better than I do." "Did Falcone send you? Listen, if this is about his wife, nothing happened. She simply came to a show." "Like I said, you know better." "You k...

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“Life in the Woods with my Microwave” by Robert Egan

Submitted to Contest #243

In 1845, a journeyman by the name of Henry David Thoreau set out to tame nature. In his head were plans for a steam-powered chainsaw. His goal? To prove that one man alone could level an entire forest and remake it in his own image. Within two year's time, Thoreau had toppled every tree for miles around and built a boardwalk empire that spanned Walden Pond, a place of power where cheerful clouds of smoke replaced woodland canopy and sounds of industry blighted out birdsong. So began the Age of Mechanicism as America freed itself from romanti...

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“The Boy with Frozen Wings” by Robert Egan

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #238

"You have my attention," says the Grand Assassin. "Who?" "He…" The boy drops his gaze to the Varos gold coin on the tavern's backroom table, his guarantee of safe audience, then looks back up at the man. The Grand Assassin's wrinkles and white hair may or may not be real, but the eyes are. Pinprick pupils caught in stillwater stare back at the boy. "I can't say it." ...

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“My Father's Last Floppy Disk & Testament” by Robert Egan

Submitted to Contest #236

Merv does the finger thing and mouths "right friggin' now" again. He's wearing a camouflaged suit to my father's funeral, and it's not helping him blend in.I'm at the head of a line of well-wishers and condolence-givers, mostly little old ladies dressed in black, so I ignore him."Psst!"The line of old ladies turns to stare at Merv."Ahpsst!" He tries to pass his earlier psst off as a sneeze then strolls too casually out of the reception room."Merv has...

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“Put Me with the Cicadas” by Robert Egan

Submitted to Contest #235

I thought, for some time, that dying while holding hands with my soulmate would be romantic. It wasn't. First off, it took an awful lot of convincing, and when we finally did jump off that bridge together, I was preoccupied with ensuring our heads hit the pavement simultaneously. As for what came afterward, well, that's now, and it's just awkward. The other soul rub...

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“The Divorcee's Hat Emporium” by Robert Egan

Submitted to Contest #234

Dust gathered on dust like fossil layers in the roadside hat store as a red pickup truck sent up more of the same outside. Melinda's heart rose then fell as she watched the Ford F-150 pass the skeletal remains of the old steel mill that loomed like arthritic dinosaurs over the land of the forgotten. The store's hats were in their display cases, relics in glass tombs waiting to be exhumed. All the hats' pe...

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“The Six Must Decide: Quetzalcoital or Drext?” by Robert Egan

Submitted to Contest #230

"Leave me quetzalcoital with your Hemingway-six!" the bearded lady roared. These were the perfect words with which to begin the meeting, which was why she was the boss. Her "Hemingway-six" echoed across the labyrinthine cave, fluttered feathered serpent–like across six pairs of ears, and crafted wind jewels across entangled neurons. The effect was neither sensuous nor sensual. It was quetzalcoital, and al...

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“How I Met Your Grandma” by Robert Egan

Submitted to Contest #229

Vivi had arrived at her grandparent's doorstep with her heart frozen over in disbelief, her eyes twin pools of desolation. Some spiteful child at school had told her that Santa Claus wasn't real, so Grandpa was doing his best to warm that frozen heart. Grandma, too, in her own quiet way.They were making Grandma's special cookies, usually reserved for Christmas and not the night before. Now, everyone knows it's a sad fact that most cookies don't taste as good as raw cookie dough. Not so with Grandma's cookies. No one, not...

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“Person Lion Seeks Free Will” by Robert Egan

Submitted to Contest #228

The person lion hadn't missed much these past three years. There had been a pandemic and a terrible fourth Matrix movie, but that was about it. There had also been a massive seizure at the very end, but that was normal, part of his arrival. The person lion found himself lying on the kitchen floor with a person standing over him. "John? Oh my God, John! Are you okay?" asked ...

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“VISE News Real Talk: The Art of Soul Swapping” by Robert Egan

Submitted to Contest #226

New research proposes a radical solution for the estimated 13 million people who unwittingly lost their souls in last year's Black Friday mishap. While Hell isn't offering refunds anytime soon, a soul swap isn't out of the question, says Sam Ackerman, sole author on the study and CEO of ExoSouls.His paper, titled "Devilish details: A sparse Bayesian learning framework for enhancing the ExoSouls algorithm," is published this week in Chaos: A Nonlinear Journal of Translational Science.In it, Acke...

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“Alien Love in the Age of Platypus” by Robert Egan

Submitted to Contest #224

Men, women, cyborgs, androids, and one hyper-intelligent beluga. Yanni G has loved and been loved by them all. Yet neither Yanni G, nor any man before him, has ever known the love of a Platypus."Third person. Narcissist." So says Bartholomew, the raven perched upon Yanni G's… my left shoulder.Yes, it is Yanni G, Saturn's only three-time Grammy winner, who writes this. Music is my voice and love my sustenance, yet now I find myself mute, starved, humbled before the Platypus. Rest assured, I don't mean th...

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“Afterparty” by Robert Egan

Submitted to Contest #220

FADE IN:EXT. L.A. RIVER – NIGHTA battered Mini Cooper, headlights off but interior cabin lights on, is parked under the Fourth Street Viaduct. Water curtains both sides of the bridge as the car putters in place.A once-in-a-decade rainstorm is hitting the city, and the L.A. River—nearly concreted out of existence during the last drought—is remembering what it once was. As the water rises under the bridge, the car continues to idle.INT. CAR – NIGHTViol...

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“No chicken tenders, no multi versus” by Robert Egan

Submitted to Contest #218

🐈‍⬛ Karen B. ★☆☆☆☆ Sep 11, 2023My advise... stay away!!! Place does NOT have multi versus, not even one. And rude. They laughed when I said I was waiting for date and had reservation. Made me sit alone at bar. Super expensive plate tasted like sand vomit. Don't know why its still in business. U act like ur all special but don't have diet coke and not even have chicken tenders. Seriously? And manager tried to kiss me. Gross. Not hygenic.🌌 Response from...

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Author bio

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Shortlisted 4 stories ⭐️

Contest #238
The Boy with Frozen Wings – read story
Contest #215
A Taste for Dragon's Blood – read story
Contest #208
Leaving the Almost Palindrome City: Notes from a Second-Rate Villain – read story
Contest #202
A Rock to Guide Me – read story