Anne O

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Sep, 2022

Stories (7)

7 Stories

217 karma pts

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“the Grind” by Anne O

Submitted to Contest #196

The curtains are drawn this morning, allowing the sun to wake me. Jordan must have known I wanted to sleep in, but also that I would be angry with myself if I did. He usually parts the curtains first thing in the morning for me, before he gets ready for his morning jog. I needed the extra sleep, thankful not to have been brutally awakened by a striking alarm clock. I can still hear the cries from the evening before. Despair has a taste if you didn’t already know, and it never seems to truly dissolve. I carry weight I don’t need, the emotions...

2 comments 2
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“Hidden Portraits” by Anne O

Submitted to Contest #169

The canvas remains nestled on the easel. No image bestowed. No story to tell. Dust gathers around the square edges. The paints are all dry, nothing left of them to use. What used to be vibrant greens, yellows, oranges, and reds have turned to a dull cracked paste. Leroy hates this room; he hates it with every atom of his being. Why he hates it? He does not know. There are pieces of him he cannot access. Memories, stories, and his past have all fleeted him now. He is left to be consumed only by his raw emotions, never knowing their explanatio...

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“Rise Above the Ashes ” by Anne O

Submitted to Contest #168

Bee looks down to see a new scuff mark on the toe of her right L.L. Bean duck boot. She smiles to herself; the first imprint of wear being made today. These boots aren’t right, they are the right size and the right style; but they’re not her boots—not yet. Her boots are gone. Gone with the rest of her things and cherished belongings. Gone with her home and her garden. Swelled up in wildfire and turned into ash.Bee and Luke spent the following weeks digging through the ash and wet dirt of the aftermath. What was left of their home and tangibl...

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“Burnt Out” by Anne O

Submitted to Contest #166

Trigger warning: Covid / PandemicI sit in the dark with my laptop, surrounded by the glow of lavender candles. My apartment is complete chaos. There are empty boxes piling up by the front door that need to be broken down and recycled, my table contains remnants of a lost chess match, and in my bedroom are small mountains of clothes camouflaging the carpeting — and here I sit, in the dark basking in candlelight because I’m too physically and emotionally exhausted to tackle the dysfunction surrounding me. If you work in healthcare, or mor...

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“For the Love of Murder” by Anne O

Submitted to Contest #165

      The wine glass shattered, and instantly conversations at the table came to a halt. There wasn’t even a dull whisper to be heard, the silence utterly shocking. Nervous eye contact was made between the group until their attention was drawn elsewhere. His body was convulsing as foam began to form at the edge of his lips. The shock in his eyes left unchanged while the pigment of his face turned from white, to red and then horrifically blue.           “SOME...

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“You're Never as Far as You Think” by Anne O

Submitted to Contest #164

The cabin looks smaller than she remembered. Buried away in the sand dune, off the gravel road sits a small rustic brown cabin with a surprisingly ample porch. Charlie drives up the remainder of the gravel road, her Subaru slanting upward facing an enormous oak tree. She puts her car in park and for safety, engages the emergency brake as her parents taught her to do when parking off the cabin’s hilly road. It’s been over ten years since she has been back here, and she can feel her breath caught inside her as she cuts the engine. This is home...

6 comments 6
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“Fundamental Truth” by Anne O

Submitted to Contest #163

We don’t get to carry the memory of being born; others do that for us. Our mothers, fathers, midwives, doctors, nurses. They bear witness to the miracle of life, the beautiful entrance that is leaving the womb to become a single entity—human. We aren’t allowed to carry this moment with us, those feelings we experienced as neonates, so primal and instinctual that by the time it’s over, we have no way to implant the experience into our existence. This experience is a fundamental truth for all beings existing on this planet. No matter their bac...

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Author bio

Hi! I'm Anne, I'm from the Chicago suburbs and have found Reedsy to be a great way to challenge and engage my writing skills. I love all genres of writing, and am an avid reader. I live with my fiance, and our two wonderful rescue pups. Keep writing everyone!