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Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2020
Marcia the cat and I once flatted together in the capital . When her person Chrissie moved out she swore itâd take her ages to recover. At the time Iâd found that a bit harsh. After all no one told her to bring her over sensitive cat into the household.Watching now as she padded gracefully through the open French doors that seemed a lifetime away. From the way she was eyeing me it was as if weâd never met.âItâs me Marcia.â, I whispered. âSurely you remember me?âThe expression she fixed on me said otherwise. âTraitor.â...
Facing Gwen my therapist I heave a sigh.âFussy ould mother hen wanting to gather this chick under her wing.âOr if she was being honest that of my familyâs nemesis Detective Inspector Somers of Auckland Police. Like Victor Hugoâs arch villain Inspector Javert heâs dogged our footsteps since foreva.âThe offer of Witness Protectionâs still open.â, says Gwen in her no nonsense manner.âWit-less Protection. Thanks but no thanks.âShe means well, but that comes with strings. L...
Iâm Alex (short for Alexis) Roberts, my younger (and very annoying) sister is Geneva (Neva for short) and we live with our mum. Weâre also God Botherers or Christians, Mum converted after her and dad split up. As a newly minted solo mother she needed someone in her corner. With a handful like Neva I guess she figured only God was up for the job. Honestly my sister would try the entire heavenly hostâs patience. D...
There are times when being a community worker sucks. Jackoâs situation being one of these, and worst of all it was preventable,I knew it wouldnât work. That far from regretting giving him up all those years ago his birth mother Wendy remained bitter at his continued existence. I met her just the once and should've refused to even discuss it further. Except for years Jacko had lived for a reunion with Real Mummy as he referred to Wendy and I didnât have the heart to add more disappointment to his life....
As she walked to school Belle Fraser heard rumbling sounds. âItâs all over bar the shoutingâ, commented a passerby. Catching his eye Belle shook her head exclaiming âNot if I can help it.â âYeah right kid.â, the man chuckled. the rumbling was being caused by heavy earthmoving equipment. Contractors were starting demolition work at the top end of Grace Street. City Hall call...
Shivering inside the flimsy bivouac Ally sighed. in the time sheâd spent eating a breakfast she considered hearty, freshening up, putting together a Go Bag and faithfully consulting Google Maps sheâd failed to check the weather forecast. A pretty basic slip up considering her morningâd felt a lot like a disaster evac scenario.âJust as well my windjackerâs also waterproof and I chose Doc Martens over sandshoes.â At least the rain had given her time to set up camp. But for its unwelcome arrival sheâd brought ...
Facing down her fellers in a way sheâd never imagined having to Beth Mallory steeled herself. 4 pairs of eyes met her pained ones, none of them sympathetic.The first to speak was the youngest, Shaun.âYou what?â Two little words that bristled with meaning,Had mum really just announced that she was giving up the family business?Mike nicknamed Mikey in the middle (he loved exasperating the cops by insisting on answering only to that) did a double take,âIs t...
It had been twenty-four years since sheâd last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. Which didnât surprise Lorraine aka Raine.Named in colonial times for the Founderâs son Trent was that same 1950s throwback sheâd left behind. The alternative had been marriage to self proclaimed high school sweetheart Tommy. Having dogged her teenage footsteps, and ruined School Ball night because sheâd let another boy take her Tommy had staked his claim on graduation day.To both familiesâ delight heâd even bo...
In our house TV classic Outrageous Fortune was staple viewing. The people it depicted were like us. Living on the edge outside of the law. I even entered a Cheryl West Look Alike Contest, but didnât make the finals. Mum went ballistic screeching to neighbourhood wellwishers âBloody thing was rigged. Picking a bunch of wannabe tarts when my kidâs right there beside them.â To her way of thinking ...
After a quick glance at the wall clock Abby re-read the flyer. A bolt from the blue itâd been the last thing sheâd expected in the mail.âBy nowâ she mused âtheyâll be packing out the hall of Barrett High the old alma mater and I wonder having hand addressed the envelope will Margaret aka Maggie be expecting it to have borne fruit? In the form of me âanswering the royal summons.?â Barrett High School Reunion Class of 86 We want you.....to join us for a weekend o...
âIf you believe in Adam & Eve stuffing up and causing the original âFallâ, then I guess youâd have to call this episode in time âThe Second Fall.â The result of climate change it happened after The Great Pandemic. Here it coincided with the official change of our countryâs name to Aotearoa. Both events are required learning for our kids, with the job of teaching now âvested in parentsâ rather than an institution, In other words home schoolingâs become the norm, the government insisting that âFamilies who learn together stay togeth...
With a sigh Emma heaved yet another box across the room. âThis isnât realâ, she told herself. âItâs just a dream, and soon my alarm will go off releasing me....Except this was real life, no such reprieve in the offering. If anything her clock had become the doomsday variety.Lulled into a false sense of security, after eight yearsâ undisturbed tenure Emma had forgotten the precarious position of a renter. You could love a place, take the best of care and settle but it was never yours. It was a situation...
Robbie and I were best friends, at least that is until I achieved dubious fame.Missing Girl Found By Walkerscreamed the headlines, above a photo of me holding a bewildered,dishevelled child. Two days prior 5 year old Jennifer Dreaver had wandered off during a family bush walk. Searchers were combing another section of bush. We saw them on the way in , and of course Robbie wanted to join them. I managed to talk him out of it. Which is ironic considering that I emerged an accidental hero.
â I Kayleigh take you Robert.....âItâs your wedding day, and watching you embark upon the next stage in lifeâs journey I think back. To our very first day, when a tiny bundle was handed to a nervous 19 year old.Where did the years go my Kayleigh? One minute youâre greedilyguzzling your breast milk, next itâs your first day of school, then graduation, first job and next thing weâre meeting Robert your future husband. When the minister mentioned impediments I wanted...
âEllen?â just that, her name (the one from her old life) spoken in a familiar lackadaisical tone made her heart miss a beat. Two even if she were brutally honest as she glanced in the direction it came from. âIt canât beâ she told herself. Heâs supposed to have died and Iâve been so careful;â Except who was she kidding? Nowadays everyone knew her as Abby, except for him. Because it was him, even ...
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