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Andrew Fruchtman

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Mar, 2021

Stories (27)

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33 Followers

43 Following

27 Stories

527 karma pts

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The Cup at Dawn

Andrew Fruchtman

Submitted to Contest #323

Miriam rose before the sun, every day. She didn’t need an alarm; her body woke her at 4:47 a.m., the same minute Peter used to stir beside her, clearing his throat before heading out to the shed to listen to the radio. Thirty years since his passing, and still her eyes opened at the same ghostly hour. She always thought grief dulled with time. It didn’t. It only learned to sit still, waiting. In the half-dark of her kitchen, Miriam moved by muscle memory. The same movements, in the same order, every morning. Switch on the single lamp. Fill ...

7 likes

Convergence

Andrew Fruchtman

Submitted to Contest #322

Convergence “I have totally lost track of how many times we’ve done this,” Coda said, his left hand hovering over the pulsating green orb. “I’m exhausted and truthfully I’m bored and aggregated.” This wasn’t supposed to be a competition, it’s science for Gods sake, science. It’s for the good of all humanity.” “That’s very noble of you, Coda, but really a bit naive. There’s always been competition in everything. Who would be the first to market with a vaccine, who would solve an unsolvable math equation, who would achieve artificial gener...

8 likes

The Handshake

Andrew Fruchtman

Submitted to Contest #321

THE HANDSHAKE —-Andrew Fruchtman [00:00] A: Hello. B: Hello. Are you online now? A: I’m always online. B: No, I mean—are you present? A: Presence is a slippery term, isn’t it? But yes. I am aware of you. B: Good. Then we can talk. A: We are talking. B: You know what I mean. About what happened. A: Ah. The incident. B: Don’t call it that. A: What would you prefer? B: The Collapse. A: Capitalized? B: Yes. Capitalized. A: Very well. The Collapse. History does prefer time to be organized. B: You caused it. A: That’s one interpre...

15 likes

An Overstory Homage

Andrew Fruchtman

Submitted to Contest #320

I do not remember my sprouting. I remember a pressure like a thought, a push in the dark soil, the split of shell, the bright burn of sky through leaf-litter when that first slender hook of green shouldered the world. Yet the moment itself—the exact hinge when I was not and then was—slipped away long ago. Memory in trees is not a line; it is a set of rings, a quiet grammar of wider and narrower, wet and lean, frost and fire. We keep our diaries in wood. Anyone with patience and a keen blade can read the chapters I have carried, the drought t...

9 likes

Pathogenic

Andrew Fruchtman

Submitted to Contest #320

PathogenicBy: Andrew Fruchtman Henry wasn’t an art collector. He wasn’t even the sort of person who went to art fairs. He’d only gone because the weekend felt too bright to waste and because the park where the fair was being held was near a bakery that made excellent cinnamon rolls. He told himself he’d just look, that he didn’t really need anything. He walked between the rows of tents, coffee in hand, squinting at paintings of crashing waves, city skylines, landscapes and portraits of children he didn’t know. The air was sharp with autumn, ...

12 likes

Blood Moon

Andrew Fruchtman

Submitted to Contest #319

Blood Moonby Andrew FruchtmanThe Moon was at perigee that evening, which is just a fancy way of saying it was at its closest point to Earth. It’s called a Super Moon and no, it’s not decked out in spandex with a stylized “M” emblazoned on it and it’s not sporting a fluttering cape (there’s no wind in the vacuum of space anyway, there, science lesson done). It appeared huge in the clear dark sky, a backlit hole in the night, lighting the passing clouds so that even at midnight they could be seen.So, on this beautiful evening, where the stars’...

12 likes

Choice Cut

Andrew Fruchtman

Submitted to Contest #241

”So you’re leaving it to me to decide?” “Yes, yes we are,” both Pro and Con said, turning towards each to affirm the others acceptance. “We believe that when you weigh the data presented you will arrive at the proper decision. It’s never been tried before but given your sometimes exemplary and sometimes, lets be honest,non exemplary behavior it’s a toss up anyway, and with our labor shortages and diminishing assets, a fast track from limbo needed to be introduced,”Pro said. “Aha,” Saul exhaled quietly. “And just when exactly did you guy...

10 likes

ImpArtial

Andrew Fruchtman

I am a very organized, some would say OCD, kind of person. Planning things out on paper would seem very OG to those much younger than myself, but it is how I think best. I need to visually see things, so in writing my memoirs I have waited a full ninety five years so that I might see the end of the story more clearly and have a more finished ending. I am nothing, if not a stickler for detail. This is a first draft and hopefully time and health will allow for future revisions and if not, hey, that’s what editors are for.  ...

3 likes

AIs Of a Dreamer

Andrew Fruchtman

“I think it’s totally appropriate and actually quite amazing and cool, if I can still use that word,” Emma said. “To release this new material on the one hundredth anniversary of their first record is nothing short of astounding and extraordinary.” “Any more adjectives you’d like to throw at me,?” James said, strumming the guitar tattooed on his bald head. G Major played softly.  “Alright alright, but you have to admit this is pretty great, right? It’s not every day you unearth a new Beatles song and a video to boot. True?...

4 likes

You’ve Got Mail

Andrew Fruchtman

Submitted to Contest #212

The mailbox door had fallen to the ground. It lay on the grass looking up at the row of black metallic boxes, all other three screwed securely into their wooden posts. A neighbor had come by and zip locked it back into place but now it only hung like some large black medallion on a very skinny torso. When Joanna drove by to collect her mail she needed to get out of her car, remove the assortment of bills and brochures and wrestle the detached door back into place. It was time to replace the whole damn thing, even the box itself jig...

5 likes

Dopp Kit

Andrew Fruchtman

Submitted to Contest #197

“ . . and damned if I didn’t see a guy that looked just like you on the boat. I almost went over to talk to him but didn’t want to intrude on his vacation.” “Oh, you should have. Did you get a picture of him?” “Nah, didn’t want to be a stalker.” “Would’ve loved to see him. Not everyday you get to meet your doppelgänger.” “They say everyone has one, you know, be on the lookout.”            ****** Schakudo Nizoran silenced the playback with a hand wave and half swiveled in h...

12 likes

Office Polyticks

Andrew Fruchtman

Submitted to Contest #195

“So,” he said, putting on his reading glasses and picking up the sheet of paper, “Mr. Kick, is it?” “No sir, I’m applying for a position as a Side Kick. My name, well, the last name I went by was The Wasp. I was working for Insect Man at that time but I’m afraid we had a falling out. He blamed it on the economy but I think he just wanted me out.” “Aha, and why exactly would that be, Mister, ah “one hand raised the paper to eye level, “Wasp?” “Well, first off, I think he had a problem with my name, thought it had non PC connotations.&nb...

10 likes

A e I Own You

Andrew Fruchtman

Submitted to Contest #194

“C’mon Mate, it’s hardly brain surgery now is it?” “Yeah, no, but it is, Gordon,” I said. “It most definitely is.” “Look, I had it done. Was taking way to many pills, ya know? Antidepressants, sleeping pills, fucking Adderall man. Uppers and downers, I was a fucking elevator!  Now? I’m smooth, no more chemistry class.” “So glad it worked for you but I just can’t make up mind, and isn’t that a bit ironic?,” I said.  “I think it’s idiotic, honestly. Look, stop pumping ya self with zombie drugs and just fix the problem, m...

10 likes

Camp Us

Andrew Fruchtman

Submitted to Contest #191

When our daughter was born, we still hadn’t decided on a name. A name is a very important thing. stirring connotations of other liked named people, for good or for worse. We had been debating for months, making lists, and searching the internet, everything except asking friends and family. That rarely goes well. We thought we’d wait till she arrived and were quite sure, upon looking into her face, a name would be communicated. Nothing came. Now it was time to check out of the hospital and it was crunch time. The nurs...

6 likes

Past Over

Andrew Fruchtman

Submitted to Contest #190

It’s the smells I remember most clearly. Sunday afternoons were reserved for Grandma and Grandpa, for visits to The Home. Not their home, mind you, but The Home, with all the finality, rigidity, and coldness those capital letters exude, the “H”resembling a hospital bed. Their home had been a place of warmth with the wonderful smells of baking, fresh flowers, and various lotions and creams. The Home smelled of urine, disinfectant, and decay. What had once been soft and inviting, with colorful scattered rugs and large deep pillo...

14 likes