Artemis Q.

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Apr, 2020

Stories (6)

6 Stories

77 karma pts

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“Homeplant” by Artemis Q.

It started with one. Doesn’t it always? “It’s so pretty,” she insisted to her husband. “And it won’t take much work at all.” He cast a suspicious glance upon the flowers. “They’ll wilt and die. They’re a waste of money.” The woman shook her head. “Hardly.” He rolled his eyes and walked away. “Whatever. As long as you take care of it.” Then there were the birthday gifts. She may have mentioned to some friends that she wouldn’t mind a few succulents to spice up the house--give the couple their millennial quirkiness. The boyfriend looked on...

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“Baked Goods” by Artemis Q.

Submitted to Contest #69

It had always been Jean and Billie, Billie and Jean. Every weekday during the three to four-hour window after school’s end they were up in that treehouse of theirs sailing the high seas as bounty hunters, fighting space monsters in another galaxy, or time traveling to see the dinosaurs. And when the sun’s light began to dissipate into the heavens, splitting open like an egg yolk, and it was time for Billie to go home, the two of them would resume their boring lives until they could find each other once again in their nightly dreams. Billie’...

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“Cloud Club” by Artemis Q.

Submitted to Contest #55

The message--which was hatefully typed by Mr. Fox, carried by Dr. Silver down three flights of stairs, approved by Orchid as she scrambled to hide the top secret folder with the symbol of a key against the sun, carried by Dr. Silver down another two flights of stairs, sent down a clear plastic tube in a parachute, flown by a carrier pigeon one mile, dropped in a mail truck, and finally hand-delivered to Clay--was a simple two-word note: “Election day.” After all this time spreading his campaign slogan, “Clay is the way,” and parading through...

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“Sonder” by Artemis Q.

Submitted to Contest #41

Wings of velvet. Soft as a feather.Born to the ground, alive to the sky.Light body, heavy heart.Dead to its place of birth, and again the cycle will start. Hal’s wife had written the song when she saw a butterfly hatch from a cocoon, and now his wife and two kids wouldn’t stop singing it in the car. “Maybe we could pick a different song,” Hal suggested, yawning. “No!” his seven year old daughter protested. “We wanna keep singin’.” “What about the turtle song? You love the turtle song. ‘I had a little Turtle, His name was Tiny Tim. ...

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“Escapees” by Artemis Q.

Submitted to Contest #39

There was the screech of tires on pavement, a heavy thud, and the hasty opening of a car door. Out of the car lumbered a man wearing black shoes, white pants, and a white shirt--which make his pale skin look rather gastly, and left his black eyes (when they weren’t hidden behind an bird’s nest of greasy brown hair) to stick out like coals in a snowman. And it was those coal black eyes that the second man--the one that had been the source of the heavy thud--first saw upon awakening. Either the second man didn’t like being hit with a car, had ...

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“Overflow” by Artemis Q.

Submitted to Contest #38

Cleo’s first approach to handling the puddle of water on the kitchen floor involved a great deal of swearing at the broken pipe of the kitchen sink. The second tactic started with apologizing for the first tactic and then begging the sink for mercy. When Cleo was still unsuccessful after that, they chose a more logical route and began to mop up the ever-expanding pool, wrapping a towel around the pipe to stifle the water flow. Water still shot through the towel like darts--cool on their skin but sure to inflame their mom’s temper. Cleo’s you...

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Author bio

Hello! My pen name is Artemis (she/they/he) and I am a high school student pursuing writing. My favorite types of writing are short stories and poetry, and my favorite elements of writing are clever word plays and irony. When I’m not writing, I spend my days creating resin dolls and sewing clothes. If you want to read more of my writing (usually for free), learn more about me, or contact me, you can visit my website at https://sites.google.com/view/artemis-writing-portfolio/home.