Michael Robinson

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2023

Stories (9)

9 Stories

157 karma pts

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“The Dark Sister” by Michael Robinson

Submitted to Contest #245

     Sarex stepped out into the balcony of the Governor's Palace and looked out over the city of Queenstown.  It was quite early, and usually, the streets were quiet, but the locals were making preparations for the upcoming eclipse.  To him, it was orbital mechanics: the Dark Sister passed in front of the Light Sister, blocking some or all of its light.  To the locals, it held a religious significance that he couldn't quite fathom.  Not that he went out of his way to get an explanation.  He d...

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“Phil the Toaster” by Michael Robinson

Submitted to Contest #239

     Of all the things he owned, why was it the toaster that came to life?  It happened on one of the worst days in all 42 years of the life of Thomas Aquinas Jones.  He had just been laid off by the IT firm he had devoted the last fifteen years of his life to in the name of downsizing, and his girlfriend had walked out on him that morning.  All he needed was a dead dog and he’d be the subject of a Country and Western hi...

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“The Race” by Michael Robinson

Submitted to Contest #235

    As I walked onto the hippodrome in Antioch and its cheering crowds, I wondered how I let Acco talk me into this insane race. It was a week ago, I had just finished a race in Magna Leptis and was celebrating my victory in the local brothel. I sat in the waiting lounge, sipping the local vintage and waiting for Johanna, my evening choice, when Acco sat at the table. Acco was from Gaul, with black hair cropped close to ...

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“Waiting” by Michael Robinson

Submitted to Contest #234

    My time is coming.  I don't know when the killing blow will come, or how it will be delivered.  Will I be lowered into the Tullianum to be strangled, starved, or beheaded?  Will a legionary be sent to run me through or force me to commit suicide? Maybe my end will be at the Flavian amphitheater, killed by gladiators or exotic beasts?  Or maybe the Emperor has something else in mind: put adrift on a collapsing boat, b...

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“Cash, Knights, and Dragons” by Michael Robinson

Submitted to Contest #217

     “So, you want to know how I got so filthy rich?” the old man asked.  He sat by the fire in his great room, sipping brandy.  Seated in the chair beside him was a newly minted squire, pledged to serve Sir David of the house Trelayne.  The young man brushed his red hair out of his eyes and leaned forward.      “It’s not a tale I tell to just anyone,” said the old man, whose name was Joffrey.  He took another dri...

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“Family Vacations” by Michael Robinson

Submitted to Contest #214

     “Pack up your things,” my father said as he stuck his head in my room.  “We’ve got tickets for the air galley tomorrow.  We need to be at the aerodrome in Londinium by the third hour.”      I groaned.  We had just got back from Dalmatia just a week ago and the month before that, we were in Caledonia.  We spend more time abroad than we do at home.        “Can’t I stay at home this time,” I pleaded.  “Br...

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“Correspondence” by Michael Robinson

Submitted to Contest #212

From Lucius Iulius Nerva to Gaius Sempronius Flavianus  Greetings,      I write to you from Alexandria, using the new telegraph.  These Greeks are clever lads.  I sometimes wonder why they are not our masters.  They say that all of Romania will soon be strewn with telegraph wires, making communication almost instantaneous.      I have taken up my posting as an aedile to Marcus Aelius Sejanus...

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“An Evening at the Fire with Josephs ” by Michael Robinson

Submitted to Contest #211

     I looked into the fireplace, mesmerized by the flickering flames. Sting beside me, Professor Adamson swirled his cognac in its snifter, watching the firelight through the cinnamon-colored liquid.      “I suppose we should do something about it,” I ventured, broaching the subject for the umpteenth time this evening.      Adamson started from his reverie. He took a sip from his snifter before replying. “...

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“Keys” by Michael Robinson

Submitted to Contest #205

Eli sat in the middle of the room, at the center of the pentagram he had drawn in charcoal on the wooden floor and proceeded to cast the spell. Outside, the wind blew through the leafless trees, signaling the beginnings of the blizzard. He took the key to Agnes' diary and spoke a few incantations. He put that key aside and took out the key to Beth's Pontiac GTO, speaking more incantations. He placed that key next ...

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