Courtney Stuart

Author on Reedsy Prompts since May, 2020

Stories (7)

7 Stories

1276 karma pts

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“In The Weeds” by Courtney Stuart

Submitted to Contest #52

'One of the hardest things you will ever have to do, my dear, is to grieve the loss of a person who is still alive.’- Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle ☉I thought you were dead. This the first thought that crosses my mind when I catch sight of you crossing the street with your head bowed from an invisible weight of a gilded crown and a rubbery smile that stretches all the way from here to India. You’re supposed to be dead, aren’t you?

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“Atlas Takes a Breath” by Courtney Stuart

Submitted to Contest #51

i. There are stars in the sky. ii. You don’t always have to see something to know that it exists. Atlas of old knows this, for he carries the weight of the entire world and sky on his back. It’s a groaning weight; the human heart is a heavy burden to bear alone, and he has to carry billions upon billions of them. Alone. Sometimes, he catch...

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“Ocean in the Sky” by Courtney Stuart

Submitted to Contest #50

When I think of him, I think of the ocean. Today, there is a woman. Yesterday, it had been Wyoming and wooden floors and rosary beads. Specks of dust caught in the weak slivers of sunlight pouring through a basement window. An old man who could not speak, and a girl who’d offered you a cup of coffee and a smile. A boy, who’d stood next to you and swore he knew the exact date for the end of the world. You had told him through the clouds of cigarette smoke that hu...

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“When The Northern Lights Finally Reach You” by Courtney Stuart

🏆 Winner of Contest #49

I’m sorry, Noah, it reads on the back of the faded postcard he holds. It’s not safe here. Go home. I’ll catch you later. There’s no signature, not that Noah needs one. Not when he can find that familiar lopsided scrawl etched onto the left side of his soul. Not when he already knows he’s late. I’m sorry, Noah. It isn’t the first time he...

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“You're the Breeze in My Austin Nights” by Courtney Stuart

Submitted to Contest #48

The first time that Phoebe goes to see Jude play live in concert - four years since she’s last felt the warmth of the sun - she has to leave halfway through the second song while choking back on an echoing sob. I wish you would follow me here, Jude sings from onstage as Phoebe makes her exit, except she’s not really singing. It’s more of a confession she’s making, cut raw from the strings of the guitar she plays. A confession that’s easier for her to make to hundreds of strangers each night instead of the p...

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“The Road to Kyoto is Paved With Hope” by Courtney Stuart

Submitted to Contest #47

You are sixteen years-old when the weather forecast for the day is wrong. Before, you’ve never cared about if the local meteorologists get it wrong - they can’t always be right all the time, can they? - but you’ve never noticed how much you have to lose, either. In the end, it’s not that much, but it’s everything to you and your older brother. You still have a few days before the weather forecast is wrong though, a few more days to hold onto everything. Today, the weather forecast hadn’t been ...

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“Space Cadet” by Courtney Stuart

Submitted to Contest #44

The Earth is the only known planet that can support life, or at least, as far as humans know, and it is for that reason that the moon loves it so much. Things don't grow on the moon, after all. If only the humans were capable of loving the Earth just as much as the moon did. And yet, humans were still beautiful to the moon, despite all of their flaws and secrets, because of their capacity to grow. And when humans come to visit, well, the moon can’t help ...

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Author bio

---UPDATE--- I AM STARTING COLLEGE AUGUST 13. I WILL BE VERY BUSY WITH SCHOOL AND WORK, SO I PROBABLY WILL NOT BE POSTING AS MUCH HERE AS I USUALLY DO. I WILL STILL BE REPLYING TO COMMENTS, AND IF THERE ARE ANY STORIES YOU WANT ME TO READ, JUST LET ME KNOW. TO THOSE OF YOU WHO'VE ASKED ME ALREADY: I WILL TRY GETTING TO THOSE AS SOON AS I CAN. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE. 18 ☆ Capricorn ☆ Mitski & Lorde enthusiast ☆ is currently very proud of Oikawa Tooru 🇦🇷 ☆ i am open to feedback on my stories, and i am more than happy to do the same for all of you! just ask! music has played such a big role in my life as a writer! here is a link to a playlist full of songs i listen to while writing (mixture of instrumental & non-instrumental): shorturl.at/rwyC1 "one day i will find the right words and they will be simple." - jack kerouac

Winning 1 story 🏆

Contest #49

When The Northern Lights Finally Reach You – read story