Barbara Mealer

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Sep, 2019

Stories (6)

6 Stories

155 karma pts

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“Because I Said So” by Barbara Mealer

Submitted to Contest #116

Eliza entered the living room. A place she normally avoided. But this was important. “Mom, may I go to the dance Friday evening. I did everything you wanted done. The oven is clean. So is the refrigerator. And the bathrooms. I scrubbed all the floors, vacuumed, dusted and all the other things on the list.” Eliza waited for her mother to answer. She needed to keep her end of the bargain. “No.” The one word, without her ever looking up at Eliza, felt like a asteroid had blasted into her. “You promised if I did everything I co...

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“The Meeting” by Barbara Mealer

Submitted to Contest #110

She arrived at the diner thirty minutes early. It was like he had said—long, narrow and like an old railroad car with all the windows. The faded sign proclaimed it to be Bubba’s Diner. Stacie sat in her car and attempted to come up with a reason to leave. There was none. At none that would hold water anyway. She had parked near the road to make it easy to leave. The diner was half way between where they lived. Trey Blackman. His picture showed a handsome man who seemed sad. They had been talking to each other on the phone through...

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“The Lover's Flower” by Barbara Mealer

Submitted to Contest #106

The Lover’s Flower Rosalind plodded along the path, picking flowers to add to the two plain yellow roses she held. The hem of her best black gown was dirty now, but she didn’t care. In three days she would stop wearing black. Her life wouldn’t change, but she would no longer be in mourning. Everyone but her had forgotten what today was. If they hadn’t forgotten, they didn’t seem to care. She didn’t forget. She would never forget. She left her mother and sisters to cook and feed the gathering of family and friends, and one ...

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“The MIddle Child ” by Barbara Mealer

Submitted to Contest #102

The Middle Child Being the middle child isn’t easy. That is something I learned at an early age. First is the oldest child. They are the darling one the parents dote on when born and then make all the mistake while learning to be parents (or not). Then comes the second child. Now that they know the binkie on the floor isn’t going to make the kid deathly ill, they pick up it, rub it against their clothes and give it back. The parents are now comfortable but their focus is still on the oldest who is learning all the wonderful things...

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“The Hundred Year Train Ride” by Barbara Mealer

Submitted to Contest #27

So far, this trip was a total bust. Not only had the excursions been boring, they didn’t even come close to the promises of the brochure my parents had given me. Then again, my expectations were always above what I got. “Hey, Virginia, aren’t you going with us on the train?” The tour guide stood beside me, a slight frown creasing his forehead.“Tell me what I’ll see beyond rocks, a big hole and sky.”Sid let out one of his I-don’t-know-what-to-do-with-you sighs. “You might want to try…oh, never mind.” He must have seen I wasn’t receptive to an...

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“Exorcism by Fire” by Barbara Mealer

Submitted to Contest #5

Shelby stood at the edge of the precipice, staring at the rocks below. It would be so easy to step off, enjoying the few seconds of total freedom on the trip down before the hard stop at the bottom. Too easy. Maybe that was the reason she kept walking away and going back to the hell she inhabited. Today she should get rid of a demon or two…or so she hoped. The narrow winding path from the overlook dropped steeply to the valley floor. She veered into the woods where she hid to keep from being hurt. An hour later, she strode across the open fi...

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Author bio

I'm one of those who lie to write. It isn't always the best, but for me, it's fun. Short stories are a challenge that I willingly take on to learn how to condense to the fewest words with the most bang. (Still working on it...lol) I'll admit to being overly busy but enjoying every minute of it simply because I'm retired and this is all the fun things I wanted to do while 'growing up'. I still have a few more kids years to get through though.