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Author on Reedsy Prompts since Oct, 2024
Submitted to Contest #286
I jumped up, awakened by a loud scream. This scream was so piercing that it echoed throughout the house. I ran down the stairs, not looking where I was going. My wife was slowly walking up to me. Her deathly pale face and empty gaze could have frightened anyone.“What happened, Grace?” I asked.She walked past without paying any attention to me.I climbed to my room and thought about what to do next. This had been going on for a week.I glanced into my wife’s room. Grace was dancing to the music that was playing in her head. We used to sleep her...
Submitted to Contest #285
"I think I’m lost." What does it feel like to be a person who doesn’t bother anyone, quietly and peacefully walks to his favorite world-famous coffee shop, and suddenly instead sees in front of him some small, unfamiliar W.T. Grant store from which The Eagles’ songs are heard?Confused, I looked around at the thin crowd of purposefully hurrying people. To say that I was surprised would be putting it mildly. The people dressed strangely in low-rise and flared jeans; women wore dresses over jeans and Juicy Couture tracksuits with colorful...
Submitted to Contest #284
“Robert and Elizabeth, I now pronounce you husband and wife!” said the priest. “You may share your first married kiss!”Robert’s mother wiped away tears of happiness. *** “Mom!” Robert Ramsay jumped out of the vast, high-tech, stylized house, barely seeing his mother’s flyer descending to the parking lot. Mrs. Ramsay left the landing green flyer but did not approach yet; he raised his head, looking at the bright blue sky with thin white clouds as if smeared across the sky’s surface. Another flyer appeared from afar, this time gray. Robert gla...
Submitted to Contest #283
“How was your day today, Mr. Jenkins?” Evelyn asked and looked expectantly at Hugh. “Today, I was remembering how I met my beloved Clara,” he answered and continued his story. *** It was a hot summer day. I was wandering around the city. I was alone. I have a lot of friends and acquaintances, but sometimes you want to be alone and think about why we exist... The sun began to bake, so it was about noon. I walked with my head down. I wanted to scream, but I didn’t know why. I turned around the corner of a house with a high fence surroundi...
Submitted to Contest #282
“We apologize for eating your wife,” the three strange creatures announced in unison when Thomas Aldridge opened the house door.The man turned pale, swayed, and fainted. *** Four human volunteers were on board the spaceship, as the aliens demanded in Morse code. Of course, none of them were there entirely voluntarily. The delegation included Archie Adamson, a representative of the US military Space Forces; Ethan Walker, a representative of the US Department of Defense; Heidi Aldridge, a representative of NASA; and pilot Austin Wilson.A littl...
Submitted to Contest #281
Since early morning, the Santa Claus & Co. office elves had been rustling letters, tapping their fingers on the keyboard, whispering, and discussing the funniest requests from children. The air was filled with the smell of coffee, cinnamon, and pine needles. On the top floor, through the glass walls, they could only see the top of a giant fir tree standing in the hall, to which all the office exits and the workshops where gifts for kids were made and wrapped led. Elf Matthew sipped his long-cold coffee and rubbed his tired eyes. The pile...
Submitted to Contest #280
“Disgusting!” A stack of paper, which until recently had been the most precious thing to me, flew into my face.“No, don’t! Don’t insult my manuscript!” I started to get angry, but I didn’t move; I just closed my eyes when the sheets crashed into me and scattered all over the office.“How could you?! I’m a serious literary agent, and your filth is impossible to read! I don’t even know what you were thinking when you came here. No one will take this, do you understand me?! If you can’t write, then give it up! Without talent, you’ll be no one an...
Submitted to Contest #279
I am leaning my back against the trunk of a huge spreading tree on a small hillock covered with lush green grass. In my hands, I am holding a book with stories by my favorite writer. Below are slow-moving crowds of zombies. They do not need to hurry anywhere, nor do I. It's an idyll of a summer day. I would give anything right now for the opportunity to read a book. But, unfortunately, letters are like hieroglyphs for me. I know who this writer is; I have read this book before. I saw it in a bookstore and took it with me. I enjoy turning the...
Submitted to Contest #278
Today is another anniversary of my father's death, and at the moment, I have learned about our family secret.Then, on his deathbed, my father told me something I didn't want to know. But thus, he cleared his conscience.He apologized for the fact that nothing could be changed. The burden of the secret had already fallen on my shoulders. *** When I was ten, my family moved to a small town. My father once again sold all our real estate and bought a house in a town on the other side of the country. He was a computer programmer who worked f...
Submitted to Contest #277
“I walked through the gusty wind and the bitter cold, and now I have climbed to the very top of your highest Dark Tower, so that…” A well-groomed handsome man in shining armor selflessly described his path, gesticulated, and sprayed saliva in all directions. He sometimes shook his head to remove his golden bangs from his eyes with an elegant wave. The youth squinted his huge blue eyes, pursed his swollen pink lips into a bow, and walked back and forth on the stone floor, describing all his exploits in his short life. It was funny to look at ...
Submitted to Contest #276
It was a usual morning; people around me were rushing about their business, and the city just started waking up. The sun was mercilessly beating down, penetrating through the pristine glass of the coffee shop, tripping over the curves of sofas and tables, and getting lost under the bar counter. The aroma of freshly made cappuccino filled the room and pleasantly tickled the sense of smell. I was sitting on a high stool and tamping marshmallows into the hot drink. Spring has come. Somewhere in other latitudes, this time of year is accompanied ...
Submitted to Contest #275
“Anita, today I have made a difficult decision. We must break up. I can’t marry you! I will pack my things now and leave this house. Leave now and forever, Anita. And don't ask me to stay!” With these words, my beloved Victor returned from work to our cute and cozy house on the wood edge. “Victor, what happened to you? Please calm down and let's talk. Explain your decision to me, please” I didn’t understand anything because yesterday everything was fine and nothing foretold such a storm in our relationship. We also never talked about marriag...
Submitted to Contest #274
CW: This story contains themes or mentions of childhood abuse, sexual abuse, physical violence, and trauma.“Dear Olivia, happy birthday! This is for you! Open the box!” Carl said with a big, bright smile.He came closer, winking, and handed his present to Olivia. Carl’s lips trembled in a smile, and Olivia knew that something was wrong. The man had always behaved strangely. But he never gave gifts to anyone, it was something like his principle.“What’s the catch, Carl?” Olivia asked.But he didn’t seem to be at all embarrassed. Man smiled as ea...
Submitted to Contest #273
Twilight spilled across the sky with dark ink, gradually plunging the city into darkness. The work day was over and the residents of the metropolis rushed to take seats in their cars and mass transit to quickly get to their homes, where a well-deserved dinner and rest in front of the TV awaited them. Many people were stealthily glancing at this guy. Some with condemnation, some with casual interest. But without any wonderment - no one can be shocked by pink hair sticking out in all directions and black glasses worn over his eyes, despite the...
Submitted to Contest #272
The amber liquid splashed invitingly in my glass and caused me bouts of nausea and nostalgia at the same time. I winced. Bourbon. I remembered what bourbon used to be like! In my castle, it was stored in oak barrels. That a taste, and that an aroma! And now? Why do people call this horrible-tasting liquid - bourbon? And how do people drink it? It's utterly disgusting. But it's still better than the blood of that anorexic girl I tasted last night. I squeezed my glass in rage and it burst, covering the bar counter with shards and spilling all ...
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