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Amanda Lieser

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Apr, 2021

Stories (72)
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311 Followers
75 Following

72 Stories

3647 karma pts

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Piano Sonata Number 14

Submitted to Contest #101

This story alludes to the loss of a child.     My father sits at the piano playing “Piano Sonata Number 14” by Beethoven. It’s a slow song, a heartbroken song for a heartbroken man. God seems to know what’s happening this morning as a light rain falls dutifully on the windows. It keeps a steady rhythm like a metronome. But the time my father played to a metronome is long gone. His long, angry fingers crash into the keys as thunder roars in the background. I stand, lingering in the doorway. His body sways and rocks, a man lo...

14 likes 8 comments 8
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Brunch with Grandma

Submitted to Contest #100

  This piece dives into a conversation surrounding Asian American racism   I am driving to brunch with Grandma and Grandpa today. I am determined to fulfill my role as the household scheduler and get to know them better. The wedding band on my left finger still feels foreign. It’s November which means that it’s cold and grey out, but the hope of the holidays fills the air. As the old time carol says, “even stop lights blink a bright red and green.” My husband is in the passenger seat changing the radio stations absentmindedly searc...

17 likes 5 comments 5
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Spider’s Venom

Submitted to Contest #99

    Colorado seemed to cling to the last hint of summer on a Friday evening. It was a layer up kind of day where you wear a sweater in the morning, bare a little shoulder in a white tank top during lunch, and pop that sucker back on in the evening. I locked my apartment door behind me and drove my little Honda Civic through the curves of my neighborhood.I rolled down the windows and held hands with the breeze. I blasted the radio with pop hits; the kind of music he doesn’t like. But I did. And I still do. The wind is cold and ...

17 likes 6 comments 6
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They Say

Submitted to Contest #98

“They say that the mermaids live in the river, luring fishermen the way they lure fish to their own violent deaths. They say that the mermaids left the men alone before. Before the machines colored the river a deep, inky new reality. Before the fish began to disappear, leaving the merfolk stranded with their thoughts. All. Alone,” Maddie blew out the candle which buried the girls encircled in inky darkness.  Catherine skipped along the river bank. Her sandals crunched along the rough pebbles and slid along the smooth sand. Catherine ...

18 likes 2 comments 2
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Waiting

Submitted to Contest #97

I want you to know how long I waited at my window. I ran to it moments after I broke up with you, a thirty second phone call where I demanded: “Do you want to break up with me and you just don’t know how?” My heart pounded in my chest. I felt my heart breaking as I waited for the response. My blood rushed in my ears. I could barely hear you when you said, “Yes.” I ended the call and stared out into the black, empty sky. I could see the sidewalk leading to my parents’ front door. Outside, the crickets chirped, autumn leaves fell silently, and...

14 likes 1 comment 1
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Ellen Melon

Submitted to Contest #96

    Mom calls me Ellen Melon, but Paige calls me E. Just E. Dad usually calls me Furry Beast and Drew calls me Annoying Dog. Today is a sunny day. I love sunny days. Paige and Drew are home for the Long Time. The Long Time always comes when it’s hot outside. Paige and Drew like to eat the Long Icy Sugar Sticks during the Long Time. More often than not, Paige sneaks me a piece of the Long Icy Sugar Stick that she’s eating. It crunches cold in my mouth. I don’t like the cold, but I like the sweetness. She hasn’t given me a piece...

12 likes 3 comments 3
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Unicorn

Submitted to Contest #95

Alex stood in front of the bathroom mirror. Her blue eyes shot lasers into the small, red dot in the middle of her forehead, willing the pimple to explode and disappear. She reached a long fingernail out and began scratching at the spot. It hurt. She bit her bottom lip and scratched harder, drawing blood to the surface. “What are you doing?” came a small voice. Alex jumped.  “Don’t do that!” she shouted at Annie. Her little sister’s big eyes filled with tears. “No! No! No! Don’t do that!” shushed Alex. She wrapped her arms around Annie’...

15 likes 0 comments 0
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Splash

Submitted to Contest #94

    It started with “Hey.” Not “Hello.” Not “Hi.” Thankfully, not “Howdy.” The text message lit up Whitney’s cell phone in the dark of her bedroom: What’s up? Harper sat Indian style on her dark blue comforter covered in stars and outlines of the moon, munching popcorn as a young couple ran through the streets of New York in the pouring rain. Whitney squealed and showed her best friend the text message. Harper squealed back and leaned over as Whitney texted back, Nothing. What are you up to? The girls sat in tense silence as t...

10 likes 2 comments 2
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Apartment 3

Submitted to Contest #93

    Veronica was exhausted and relieved to be returning home. She precariously balanced her white plastic bag full of Chinese take out in her left hand while she unlocked the apartment door with her right. She kicked aside an empty beer can and rolled her eyes as she made the mental note to send Tammy, the landlord, a text to complain about apartment 3 for the third time in a month. Tammy carefully opened the door and stepped into her pristine home. Ginger, her orange tabby, affectionately rubbed up on her leg as she kicked of...

16 likes 2 comments 2
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Halloween

Submitted to Contest #92

I’m eighteen years old, sitting in the chair behind the hotel desk. It’s Halloween night. Tara told me that the night went surprisingly smoothly for a holiday. All of the guests have been checked in and the Mini Market has been fully stocked. I clocked in at 10:50pm on October 31st. I waved Tara out the door to her Halloween party while trying not to beg her to stay with me. The lobby is well lit and the TV plays a worn out sitcom, but I take comfort in the laugh track. Out of cowardice, I decide to head into the laundry room directly behind...

18 likes 2 comments 2
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Paradise

Submitted to Contest #91

    Anna was bored as she twirled a lock of red hair around her right pointer finger. She strolled past her mother, tugging on the small hand of her little sister, into the local library. She was greeted with a gust of warm air, combatting the soft snowflakes falling outside. She skipped up the stairs into the main area. Behind her, Talia loudly clamored up the stairs in snow boots, her mother urging her to quiet down. Anna pretended she didn’t know them and headed into the young adult section. She glanced at the cute boy with...

15 likes 0 comments 0
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A Day in the Life of a Big Oak Tree

Submitted to Contest #90

    When I was seventeen I climbed a big oak tree. I looked out on the park beneath my feet and I watched the sunset. I liked sunsets in Colorado because they were always colorful. They filled the air with yellows, oranges, pinks, purples, and ended with a deep blue. I enjoyed watching the sun rays reach through the leaves of the big oak tree. First, I would drive to the park from work after a long shift. I would open up the sun roof of my Volvo and listen to loud love songs, sometimes loud songs of heartbreak. Once I parked, ...

10 likes 0 comments 0
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