Aeris Walker

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Mar, 2022

Stories (25)

25 Stories

3849 karma pts

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“Swept Away by the Fine Arts” by Aeris Walker

Submitted to Contest #242

“Dad, this is the girl of my dreams. I’m sorry, but I’m not taking her to Crusty’s. No matter how good the chilly dogs are.”I may not be the most experienced guy when it comes to romance, but I know that there are certain places you should never bring a girl on a first date: McDonalds (obviously), monster truck rallies, your parent’s house (or any relative’s), and any establishment that sells food and gasoline under one roof. Crusty’s may be a local legacy—rumor has it President Roosevelt once stopped in and bought a corn dog—but it’s the po...

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“A Letter to Darlene: c/o Franklin County Jail” by Aeris Walker

Submitted to Contest #229

Darlene,It’s a crying shame you’re still incarcerated, Sis, otherwise, I would have dragged you with me to the Wheatville Baptist Church Christmas party last night, because it was surely a night I won’t forget.You remember Miss Beverly, right? The one who always wore her hair in that big swoopy up-do? She’d been directing the children’s play every year for the last thirty years, but she passed away in June, God rest her soul, and so they needed somebody to take her place. Well, Elvira Mumford got wind of it and said she might be interested i...

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“No Up, No Down, No Light, No Sound” by Aeris Walker

Submitted to Contest #227

There is no up, no down, no light, no sound. Your legs are bent above you—or maybe below—and you are as immobile as a fish in ice. You thrash and jerk your head from side to side and achieve nothing but filling your ears and nose and mouth with snow. You inhale the icy crystals and choke. The biting cold penetrates every surface of your existence. Your world is dark, your head raging with the rush of panic-laced blood coursing through you.A kaleidoscope of thoughts explodes in your mind—the foremost being that you are too young to die. The s...

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“That Last Little Piece of Straw” by Aeris Walker

Submitted to Contest #224

I open my eyes to sunlight trickling through the curtains and my little sisters standing in my bedroom doorway. “Mama says you got to wake up. The fire’s going out.”I groan and stumble into a pair of long johns, then head into the living room. Ma is crouched by the woodstove, poking at the dying fire and muttering something under her breath about me getting enough beauty sleep. Both girls are running in circles chanting a nursery rhyme until Kate stops and presses her doll’s face to Ma’s ear, making it pretend to talk in a singsong voice. “M...

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“Under a Dying Sun” by Aeris Walker

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #215

Smoke rose from the crackling fire and dissipated into the night sky. Stars dotted the black expanse, innumerable as the grains of sand in the Mojave desert where Connor McClain lay on his back, head cradled in his arms, thinking of Saralee. I’m finally coming home, he willed his words across the dusty earth, through the mountain pass, and down the stretch of trail that would carry him back to the little wooden cabin by the creek—back to his brown-eyed, long-legged girl. Beside him, Thunder stamped his hooves and huffed softly,...

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“Some Kind of Goldilocks” by Aeris Walker

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #209

“Twenty on pump two and a pack of Newports.”Simpson Leary pulled a tangled wad of bills and receipts from his wallet, accidentally dropping an Olive Garden gift card on the counter. He glanced at the cashier, a bleary-eyed 30-something-year-old in a faded band t-shirt. “You got a girlfriend?” Simpson asked. The man squinted, “What?”“A girlfriend?” Simpson repeated, sliding the gift card over to him. “If not, go get you one, and take her out sometime.” He tapped the corner of the card where the number ‘$50’ was printed. “It’s still ...

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“As Big as the Sky” by Aeris Walker

Submitted to Contest #206

The mirror is no longer my friend. I can’t hide the grays, the lines, the weariness anymore–the signs that I am becoming what I always feared: old. I am not so shallow, so vain as to believe that without youth and beauty I am any less–if anything, I am more: stronger, wiser, braver. But you do not see me that way, and I can only hope someday you will. When you were young, my greatest fear was losing you–that I’d put you to sleep and you’d never wake up. That you’d choke on your food. That you’d be swept away in a riptide and I wasn’t fast en...

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“Do Not Lick the Glass” by Aeris Walker

Submitted to Contest #198

“Who are we missing?” Mrs. Clogs looked over her bifocals and scanned the school bus full of third graders, wordlessly moving her thin, wrinkled lips. “We should have five chaperones and I’m only seeing four.”Then thirty children jumped, startled by a loud bang outside. Mrs. Clogs squinted through the fingerprint-smeared window; someone was running along the side of the bus, beating its metal belly—behaving in that uninhibited way one does when tardiness has subdued all sense of propriety.“Wait up! I’m coming!”“Oh, Jesus Christ.” Mrs. Clogs ...

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“Strawberry Jam Under the Sea” by Aeris Walker

🏆 Winner of Contest #192

I am swimming, thrusting my arms through golden water—golden like oil. The water grows thick and syrupy, then it pulls me under. I’m in a bottle, glass sloping above me. Someone tilts and pours, and I slide onto a pan, palms burning from the heat. I slip and roll in the slick spill. Steam rises off my wet hair. Then I am smothered under the sticky weight of raw meat. “Mommy, can I sleep with you?”The voice startles me, a breathy whisper in the dark. Then it comes again.“Please? I had a bad dream.” Jack’s lisped dweem melts my heart, and I ca...

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“Keep Your Eyes Open” by Aeris Walker

Submitted to Contest #188

Walk along the walls where the floors don’t creak. Get your bag and take just what you need. Don’t turn the lights on. Don’t use the toilet. Pad the stairs, silent as shadow. Look in the mirror; get a good look. Memorize your face: the cut above your brow, your swollen eyes, the gash on your lip.Now slip into Julia’s room. Fill a bag with diapers, pajamas, her favorite bunny—whatever fits. Scoop her from the crib. Take the blanket too. Rock and sway as you leave. Don’t trip over the blocks on the living room floor—the ones you didn’t get the...

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“Out of Place on the Appalachian Trail” by Aeris Walker

🏆 Winner of Contest #181

My backpack weighs 31 pounds, and it barely fit into the trunk of Jen and Steve’s Honda. I don’t think they believed I was actually going through with this until I called and asked for a ride up the mountain. Jen gave me that look, that pitying, tight-lipped smile, but she helped Steve and I load up my things, and then they bought me lunch before dropping me off at the trailhead. Jen cried, and Steve gave me a can of pepper spray and an awkward side hug. So here goes nothing. I’m at Springer Mountain, Georgia, with zero miles down and only ...

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“The Bare Necessities of Humanity” by Aeris Walker

Submitted to Contest #177

AugustThe foyer of St. Mary’s orphanage smells likes lye soap and freshly baked bread.“Professor Gray, bless you for coming.”The click of heels echoes through the hallway before I see her face—stoic and smooth, much like her black, unwrinkled dress.“Are you Sister Marie?”“Yes, that’s me.” She smiles and extends her hand.“I came as soon as I received your letter.”“And I cannot tell you how grateful I am that you’ve agreed to take this on, Professor.” She exhales in a huff.“Your letter—I read it three times as I could hardly believe the detail...

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“Good and Wild and Wonderful” by Aeris Walker

Submitted to Contest #174

This endless void has remained long enough. It is time to begin—time for the light. Let there be light.A watery orb is suspended in the dimness—shapeless, lifeless, so still, and dark—a murky drop in the void of the universe. Oh, the things I can do with this, what a wonder it will be, this liquid sphere of potentiality. It hovers, quiet, waiting, yearning for its beginning. Now, I will begin. I shall push the waters down, pour them away from the great beyond, and fill the gap with atmosphere—air—nitrogen, oxygen, the perfect compo...

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“At the Mercy of Your Choices” by Aeris Walker

Submitted to Contest #170

For the longest time, when I thought about who I was, I could only see you. When asked what I wanted, I would turn to ask you. Sometimes, I still do. I wouldn’t be where I am without you, and for that I am grateful, but those ties that once bound us have frayed and snapped and will never be what they were. I was your obsession, even before I had a heartbeat. My existence was pre-plotted by you—you who consulted the calendar and mapped your cycles like stars in the sky, then aligned those nights for bodies to collide, and the seed of me took ...

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“How I Came to Leave Hartfield Manor” by Aeris Walker

Submitted to Contest #168

CW: Sensitive themes relating to pregnancy/childrenI never thought I’d leave Hartfield Manor, but the train is moving now, and there is no going back. Everything I hold dear is stowed beneath my seat or in a bundle on my lap; I took only what I needed to start over. I shall miss the staff and little Peter and the twins, but they’ll all forget me soon enough. Once they’ve hired a new nursery maid, I’ll become a distant memory. Lord Thorne will probably fabricate a tale to besmirch my good name—something about how I was a fraud or a danger to ...

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Author bio

Reader. Writer. American. Wife. Mother. Student. Always. Caffeinated. Thanks for stopping by and reading my stories; I genuinely appreciate it! I've taken down many of my old stories to revise, recycle, or remove entirely from the digital world, but if you are interested in reading more, my favorites have all been published in a collection of short stories! https://www.amazon.com/Song-Forest-Collection-Short-Stories/dp/B0C4NHR2W1/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1684860102&sr=1-1 Copyright © 2023 Aeris Walker All Rights Reserved. Using content without permission is prohibited.

Winning 3 stories 🏆

Contest #192

Strawberry Jam Under the Sea – read story

Contest #181

Out of Place on the Appalachian Trail – read story

Contest #152

Foretold in Smoke – read story

Shortlisted 8 stories ⭐️

Contest #215

Under a Dying Sun – read story

Contest #209

Some Kind of Goldilocks – read story

Contest #166

Pants are Optional – read story

Contest #164

"William Raymond Lawson, Is That You?" – read story

Contest #159

If I Let You – read story