Martha Kowalski

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Feb, 2024

Stories (9)

9 Stories

266 karma pts

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“Desperate Remedies” by Martha Kowalski

Submitted to Contest #248

Community Hospital – Cardiology Department Diagnostic & Treatment Confidential Conference Room RE: Case #00411325, Name redacted, Age 20 (DOB redacted) Diagnosis: CardiomyopathyMedications: ACE inhibitors (prescription details redacted) Proposed Treatment: Heart transplant from out-of-bounds donorNotes: Patient currently is on list of above medications and extra dosage of Community-issued suppressants. Patient responds well to medication but shows no improvement in heart function. Still a...

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“Chances Are...” by Martha Kowalski

Submitted to Contest #246

It’s all fun and games until the odds aren’t in your favor. Until you lose track of the count. Until you lose track of your mind.They should ban mathematicians from casinos. Well, they do sometimes – you’ve been kicked out of three casinos in Vegas for counting cards. You didn’t mean it. But how can someone tell a mathematician to stop counting something? It’s like telling a fish not to swim. Especially with an eidetic memory – you, not the fish. Fish have like a three second attention span. And even if they had an eidetic memory, what would...

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“Criminal Mindreader” by Martha Kowalski

Submitted to Contest #246

“Yes, yes, your next job promotion is coming up, but you have to show your boss you’re up to the challenge,” I say, trying not to let the impatience creep into my voice. “Show that you can take charge on a team project to make big decisions and present yourself with style and confidence.” And it wouldn’t hurt to show up on time too, I think to myself, holding back an eyeroll. Mousy, so-insecure-she-has-to-ask-a-carnival-fortuneteller about her career opportunities and she even shows up late to this appointment – not to be rude...

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“Council of the Zodiac Ambassadors ” by Martha Kowalski

Submitted to Contest #245

Council of the Zodiac Ambassadors Week of 4/8/2024 Agenda: Horoscope Town Hall with Ambassadors Aria (Ram District), Tori (Bull District), Gev (Twin District), Candace (Crab District), Leon (Lion District), Virginia (Maiden District), Libby (Scales District), Scott (Scorpion District), Satoshi (Archer District), Catherine (Sea-Goat District), Atticus (Water Bearer District), Pierce (Fish District...

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“Storm Chaser” by Martha Kowalski

Submitted to Contest #244

It was forecasted to be a simple thunderstorm. And even a simple thunderstorm would do after the uneventful season we’ve had. As a meteorology student in Indiana, it has been perfectly - boring. We get the regular blizzard left over from Chicago and standard rain showers, but it’s not like we get slammed with a nasty Nor’easter or live right in the smack dab middle of Tornado Alley. That’s not to say that there’s no severe weather, no tornado or flash flood that occasionally rips through here, because of course there is. But in the three yea...

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“Nighthawks” by Martha Kowalski

Submitted to Contest #242

With a weary sigh, Edward locked up the gift shop and finally got out of the museum. After eight hours of “the restrooms are around the corner from the large Seurat painting,” “no, you don’t need to know who Seurat is, it’s so big you can’t miss it,” and “I’m sorry, the Starry Night mugs are all sold out. Yes, I know, it’s disappointing,” he was mentally exhausted. This job was supposed to be just a stepping stone until something better came along he could put that art history degree to; he’d spent 27 years in this place. The night shif...

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“To Hell & Back” by Martha Kowalski

Submitted to Contest #241

The angels are at war. Some angels protect; others demolish. Wings of doves and wings of crows flutter and fight across the heavens as the fallen angels once cast out of the heavens have returned. Against the eerie red glow of the sun, a flock of black wings cuts through the sky, descending onto the Higher Realms. Dark magic – forbidden in the pearly and golden Higher Realms – crackles through the air like a live wire, snapping and singeing all that touches it. Each angel is particularly careful to avoid the licking flames that gre...

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“Dandelion Seeds” by Martha Kowalski

Submitted to Contest #240

As I crunch through the frosty grass and icy patches of snow in the cemetery, the bitter northern wind stings at my cheeks and whips my hair and scarf into my face. I can’t tell if the wind wants to pick a fight or wants me to let go and open up. I can’t tell if I keep my arms crossed against my chest from the cold or from the rush of painful memories I’m stubbornly trying to keep back. Maybe both. Maybe I’m cold because those memories have left me numb and frostbitten. ...

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“The Engineer (of the eccentric)” by Martha Kowalski

Submitted to Contest #239

I scribble out the last few lines I just spent an hour calculating, cursing under my breath. My graphing calculator has a migraine and refuses to run the “solve” function no matter how many times I press it and plead with it, so I’m left to my own devices when it comes to these derivatives. Not easy on a good day, not to mention in this scorching California heat wave. My stuffy studio apartment feels like a toaste...

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Author bio

Ph.D. student by day that should be writing chapters of her dissertation, moonlighting as a writer drafting chapters for a novel or these short stories instead - oh well. I'm the newly-published author of the "Books of Destinies" duology! It all started because I couldn't decide on a character's eye color. https://booktrib.com/2024/04/17/profound-insights-underpin-a-tale-of-forbidden-love/ My favorite genre - to read and write - is clean romance, with the occasional bit of magic, dystopia, and/or STEM/academics. https://sites.google.com/view/themarswriter/homeabout-me