Katharine Tierney

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jun, 2020

Stories (11)

11 Stories

360 karma pts

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“Once Upon A Fish” by Katharine Tierney

Submitted to Contest #68

The lake was still in the late spring pre-dawn. I thought it was going to be far too hot as the morning wore on to catch anything, but Justin swore that the weather would be perfect. It certainly was pretty, what with the sun just beginning to peek over the horizon and turning the sky a thousand shades of gold, pink, peach and just a touch of elusive green, so subtle maybe one in a hundred people could actually see it. Being an artist, I just naturally had a gift for seeing the nuances and often incorporated them in my work.But rig...

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“Do You Believe In Magic?” by Katharine Tierney

Submitted to Contest #55

Gerald wiped his sweaty forehead and took a long pull at his water bottle. Glancing at his watch he groaned. Ten minutes to six, and they still had half of the big truck full of furniture to unload. Pulling out his cellphone, he shot out a quick text to his wife to go ahead to his brother's house...he would meet her there when he finished the job. And to please wish Dad a happy birthday for him...Gerald hoped he would still be awake when he arrived at Blake's, but at seventy five he would likely have dozed off. Gerald didn't think that th...

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“Amendment” by Katharine Tierney

Submitted to Contest #54

It was the fifth day of the heatwave with no end in sight. 1955 was the hottest year since River City had been incorporated in 1891. Old timers shook their heads, religious types said it was a sign of the Apocalypse, the beatniks snapped their fingers and nodded out, ignoring the whole thing. The entire Black River valley lay under a steamy blanket of humidity and foul temper, and the sound of sirens pierced the sultry haze of the city non-stop as police and fire struggled to keep up with demand. Even in my fifth floor office the banshee ...

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“Green Cheese” by Katharine Tierney

Submitted to Contest #52

When I was little, my mum read me a nursery rhyme about the moon. The only thing about it that I remember is that it referred to the moon as being made of "green cheese", and I was so confused. The bright light in the sky was neither green nor was it made from cheese, near as I could tell with my toy telescope and five year old intellect. When I asked her about it, she laughed. "Oh, Bobby," she said, ruffling my black hair affectionately."In olden days, people made up stories to explain the inexplicable...they thought the moon look...

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“Just A Slice” by Katharine Tierney

Submitted to Contest #49

Louise pulled into an empty parking spot on the far side of the lot and killed the engine. Taking a last drag from the first cigarette she had smoked in a month she pitched the butt into the gutter with a whispered curse. She was disgusted with herself for picking up the habit again, but the last week had been the most stressful yet, and all signs pointed to things getting worse. Her marriage was over except for the papers she was having trouble getting up the nerve to sign, her job was in jeopardy, and the thick fog rolling through River...

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“Waiting For Her Chance” by Katharine Tierney

Submitted to Contest #49

Margaret sat in the cafeteria, sipping a cup of mediocre coffee and people watching. Ever since she was a child, she loved just sitting quietly and observing the interplay between strangers, guessing at the relationships between them and making up little stories about their lives. Today, though, she was just too nervous to get into it like she normally did. Adjusting the scarf wrapped turban style around her head she looked at her watch for the umpteenth time. 10:05... exactly two minutes since she had last checked. She had always loved t...

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“To Live Upon a Wish” by Katharine Tierney

Submitted to Contest #48

Well, here's another crazy, Jarrod thought, as the pretty, drunk blonde leaned into his face. He turned his head to escape the fumes, but she stubbornly followed him, clinging to the subway strap and swaying opposite the rocking of the train. She overcompensated and almost fell over, glaring at Jarrod like it was his fault."I ast you a quession." she slurred. Her green eyes glittered and Jarrod felt the knife point of panic in his belly. He decided to placate her, to stall her from getting violent until he could get off at the next...

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“Dead Authors” by Katharine Tierney

Submitted to Contest #47

You shift the battered and overpacked suitcase to your other hand, grateful that the train station is only three more blocks away. A steady drizzle makes the pavement glisten and a steady trickle of cold water has found its way past the collar of your coat and down the back of your neck, but you can't take the time to fix it now. The train to St. Louis is leaving in twenty minutes - you should just make it.Green neon flashes above the door of a bar and lights up the puddles just enough for you to side step the worst of them. Glowin...

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“Didn't It Rain?” by Katharine Tierney

Submitted to Contest #47

"Just say it", you silently reminded yourself. You knew you'd regret it if you didn't. But you didn't, and you do. Your husband is stubborn in his insistence that you make the market trip to the village of Taz this morning; despite your lame objections you have no choice but to obey his commands. If you told him of the scoffing, the cruel jokes, as you so desperately want to do? The constant barrage of snide remarks? It would make no difference. He would just say he is doing the will of his God, and he doesn't care what the villagers say....

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“A Life's Work” by Katharine Tierney

Submitted to Contest #46

The Oak Tree Pub is the type of bar that you picture when you hear a joke beginning "A horse walks into a bar..." A dusty little dive, where the neighborhood guys congregate after work for a quick beer on a hot afternoon before they go home to the wife and kids, and any time the Red Sox are playing. The decor is mid-century scavenged, the ambience just this side of grim. On this particular afternoon, Bill, the owner and principle bartender, has strung up the same battered Christmas lights and bent tinsel honeycomb bells that he has been h...

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“Desperation” by Katharine Tierney

Submitted to Contest #46

I wanted to slap his smug face, watch his squinty eyes open wide in shock. Instead, I hid my balled fists in my lap and tried to smile. Tony gave me the side eye and shook his head slightly when our eyes met.It all started when our writer's circle decided to begin submitting our stories to a writer's competition. Some of us weren't quite ready, but Gerald, Tony, Melissa and I all felt we were. Ann agreed to type up our submissions for us as some of us had "technical difficulties". I could type, but I had to give up my internet serv...

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Author bio

I'm a writer. It's nice to be able to say that. Posing as a retail clerk for many years, I've been writing since high school, but finally decided to start submitting my work. I live on Cape Cod - trust me, it's not all rich and famous folk down here. After all, somebody needs to clean the bathrooms and prepare the meals, (Hopefully washing their hands in between the two.) I hope you enjoy my maiden effort, "Desperation". Please give me a thumbs up if you do, or constructive criticism if not. Thanks for reading my work.