Amanda Wisdom

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jan, 2021

Stories (24)

24 Stories

540 karma pts

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“Mad Woman” by Amanda Wisdom

Submitted to Contest #275

Onward. Onward and out, breaking surface, breaking even, and—Mad woman. No one likes a mad woman. Moonlit silk strung together by the thine of song, and whispering, whispering, SCREAMING! Limericks, long forgotten. The hem of my soaked dress drags against wilting lavender stock. Mad woman. No one likes a mad woman. I let my imagination run wild, fully knowing what I am seeing and what I am not seeing. Behind me, the lake, where sorrows and secrets can rest. In front of me, the meadow, its flowers painted in mute...

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“Besides Babbit” by Amanda Wisdom

Submitted to Contest #274

Stark against the bark, like drips from a faucet they fall, down, down, down, bleeding in brilliant shades of red. He watches each droplet pool in a grassy ruin, as the late afternoon sun burns his back. She’s motionless, still as death. Until she’s not. Until her head cocks to the side and she lifts it towards him, flashing him a grin. He takes a step back, palms raised. You are of sound mind, you act with great virtue. You are here. You are here. You are—She stands now on shaking legs, the blue bow in her hair slipping ...

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“When No One's Watching” by Amanda Wisdom

Submitted to Contest #272

It was just a game Krissy had made.Looking back, I wish I never went into her basement, wish I never saw that painting on the wall.Looking back, I wish I never played her game at all.But Mom and Dad had a work party to go to, so last Friday night they walked me next door to Krissy’s house.I remember it being cold outside, so cold, I ran back into my house to grab a warmer coat. It was dark too, and only the streetlamps dotting the sidewalk offered any kind of light. The space between my house and Krissy’s was long enough to make me think twi...

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“HERE” by Amanda Wisdom

Submitted to Contest #271

When I first saw it, I waited for it to make sense, but it never did. Emma was so happy, thrilled even. She had just woken up, I remember that, and her little fist was tightly wrapped around something. She squealed, eyes wild, as if it was Christmas morning. “Mama, look what I found. It’s me, it’s me!” Emma opened her hand and a small, crumpled sticky note lay in it. I smiled at her, my little curiosity, then took the piece of paper. I smoothed out its pinched corners, staring down at it. It read, EMMA This was strange. T...

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“Meat Shower” by Amanda Wisdom

Submitted to Contest #270

I wasn’t suppose to eat it, but what’s a girl to do?  I, like the rest of the folks in this small town, don’t have much a anything, especially not money. We’re hungry. We’re hungry all the time.  Sometimes it’s hard to focus cuz I’m so hungry. I can’t sit still in school and I can’t finish my chores because no matter what I do, the hungers always there, like an aching, like a monster. It’s been this way ever since I can remember.  Mama does her best feedin’ us, but it can get hard, even a 12-year-old like me knows that. My you...

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“Exhibit 1” by Amanda Wisdom

Submitted to Contest #268

“Help us! Please, God, someone help us! Please God, make it—” “Turn it off, turn that off right now! My apologies, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, my apologies.” The prosecutor adjusts his glasses, his voice tight. “What you just heard was a clip from the found footage discussed in this case. Upon review, the Honorable Mary Dolas determined it was insufficient for viewership, due to its grotesque and gruesome nature. For this purpose, you will be reading only the transcript of the found footage. You may proceed in reading Exhibit 1.” ...

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“A Different Place, A Different Time” by Amanda Wisdom

Submitted to Contest #267

TW - sexual violence and substance abuseI let the liquor sing— slow and steady it burns as it blooms. I look across the kitchen table at my father, sitting there in his faded flannel, then take another swig. It goes down all too easy.“I think you need to cool it there a little, Jessica,” he says. Like he’s one to talk. This place, this cramped, craphole of a place, reeks of cigarettes and spilt beer. I guess the apple didn’t fall far from the tree with this one. But I can’t help what I am, right? I can’t help what I do, or what I say, not wh...

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“The Creator's Cure” by Amanda Wisdom

Submitted to Contest #266

Dear Cynthia,I want to write something with you again. I still love to write and I know you do too. We had so much fun. We still can. What do you say? I want to call it, The Cousin’s Cure, because I think we can help each other. Creating can be a very personal thing, and I want to share it with someone who will understand. I know you will. I’m curious to see where this road will take us. Maybe back to one another. Maybe we can be best friends again. God knows I miss you. I miss you more than words can say. Write me soon.&...

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“Purple” by Amanda Wisdom

Submitted to Contest #261

Now what. I can’t move. I can’t think. I’m just sitting here, frozen, mouth slightly agape, staring at a sea of people. Well, a room with about 50 wedding guests, give or take— but you get the point. This isn’t a great start for a Maid of Honor.What am I supposed to do again? A small voice breaks through the fog. “Come on, Liss. You can do it. You’re almost there.” I look over at the boy sitting next to me. Not a boy anymore, not really. A man. Seth is more of a man now than our father ever was. I look into Seth...

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“My Jeremy ” by Amanda Wisdom

Submitted to Contest #249

We’re just kids, Ma. Please let us stay. Please. Please let me keep my—I wake with a start, drenched in sweat. It takes me a few moments to realize where I am, but then I see the wooden walls made of timber, the pointed slope of the ceiling, and remember. The cabin. We’re still in the cabin. After lying on the stiff, unforgiving floorboards, it takes a great deal of effort to stand. But somehow I do. I walk over to the boarded-up window and peek through one of the slates. It looks like the first snowfall of the season has begu...

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“The Space Between Us” by Amanda Wisdom

Submitted to Contest #235

“Please, let me help you,” the land whispers. “Hush and let me lay you to sleep.” “Never yield,” my bones answer back. “Never again shall I yield.” And so I stand. And then I climb. ***Why can’t I forgive myself? It’s a question I ask far too often. Me, myself, and I, cursed with an incessant conscience. You know how people get sick, like, with the flu? And they have a fever or sore throat? Well sometimes I get like that, but only in my mind. I’ll catch this mental cold, this downright depressing spiral of thoug...

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“Five Tarantulas in a Teapot” by Amanda Wisdom

Submitted to Contest #230

Funny, how places aren’t places, as much as they are times. I let the thought ripple across my stream of consciousness, as careless and as casual as a sea breeze. I look at the blooming hydrangeas before me, then reach out to pluck one of the pastel petals between my fingers. Yes, places aren't places, as much as they are times. Lost in thought, I study the flowers that grow here — lemon daisies, sunflowers, toad lilies — and admire how each flower adds a touch of wild beauty to my grandmother’s garden. Every step I take shifts their sh...

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“Adeline Lane” by Amanda Wisdom

Submitted to Contest #221

Dear reader, The last house on Adeline Lane was supposed to be a new beginning for us. What happened within those walls is something I have never spoken about. Until now. Clay, my younger brother, was at the center of it all. I wasn’t able to save him. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but for me, it’s the stuff monsters are made of. It’s ok if none of this makes sense right now. Soon it will. In time, you’ll know everything about the last house on Adeline Lane, and how my little brother, in a way, is still there.Y...

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“Her Last Letter ” by Amanda Wisdom

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #218

If we’re pulled apart, it’s because one of us let go. The will of waves reaching shoreline eclipses the cry of a seagull, and saltwater, carried by seabreeze, invites invigorating inhales. I breathe in. I release. I breathe in. I release. The whispers of passersby blend into muted murmurs and all I can hear are the crashing of waves and the crying of gulls. And so I breathe in. And then I release. I fiddle with a fistful of sand, it’s heat warming my skin, lulling me to sleep. I stretch out my legs, the tips of my to...

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“Wellbeing ” by Amanda Wisdom

Submitted to Contest #215

Dear reader,  When you find this, call 911. It’ll be too late, I’m sure of it, but at least you’ll be able to give their families closure, or something like that.  I know none of this makes sense to you, but that’s ok. We have time right now, you and me, to get to know each other just a little. I believe that by the time you finish reading this, you’ll know me quite well. Maybe, you’ll even see me.  Because when someone sees you, it can make all the difference. It can, mean everything. When someone — when everyone — do...

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Author bio

“You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will.” - Stephen King

Shortlisted 1 story ⭐️

Contest #218
Her Last Letter – read story