Cyndy Reads

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jun, 2020

Stories (20)

20 Stories

1204 karma pts

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“ALN23061912RK” by Cyndy Reads

🏆 Winner of Contest #82

Something wasn’t right. The farmer’s market buzzed around him, his arms heavy with his cloth totes filled to the brim. There’d been a lovely selection of candles this morning. Now he waited among the sea of humanity in the square for the curly-haired vendor to wrap his fresh-cut flowers. An acoustic band played in the middle of the market, twangy notes bouncing off tents and muddled with the voices of the crowd. He reached out for his wrapped bouquet with a smile while alarm bells rang in his head. It seemed like a pleasant day- from all the...

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“Dandy Lions” by Cyndy Reads

Submitted to Contest #80

“I’ll see you soon, Arnie, okay?”Arnie looked up at her, her face shadowed by the halo of the sun around her hair. She leaned forward and he felt her hair wisp over his cheeks as she kissed his forehead. He heard a series of clicks and the air flashed around them. Mom had said there’d be men with cameras. He was happy he didn’t have to look at them through her hair.Her hands came to his cheeks and he reached up with his own hand to hold hers. Arnie didn’t like it when Mom left. But this time she’d promised him it’d be just a minute. A real-l...

8 comments 8
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“Samhain Soulcakes” by Cyndy Reads

Submitted to Contest #65

Kay: Ayyyyyy happy Samhain witchessssss June: Happy Samhain!! Ali: yoooo lets get itttttt Kay: What time yall comin over? Kay: Ive got like… so many soul cakes in the oven right now Kay: Just waiting to be eaten Ali: omg  Ali: currants or raisins  Kay: Raisins Ali: yaaaassssssssssss  June: I still have to cleanse my tools and finish my alter. I don’t think I’ll be too much longer! Kay: Sick! You still bringing the moon water?  Kay: Also Ali, your bringing your tarot cards, right? Ali: im in the m...

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“Home” by Cyndy Reads

Submitted to Contest #64

    A home's memory doesn't begin when the foundation is laid. It doesn't begin when the scaffolding is built, or the walls erected. The garden being grown and a lake being dug do not stir its consciousness, no matter how beautiful. No- the home's memory begins the moment someone names it “Home”.    “Welcome home, my dear.”    The Master of the House opened the door and the Mistress walked through, awe and elation etched upon her face. Her skirt swirled as she looked about her, the soft fabric whi...

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“Witch's Brew” by Cyndy Reads

Submitted to Contest #63

               Autumn precipitates change. Kaylie knew that. But the amount of change thrown at her in the few days leading up to the equinox left her head spinning. The change of seasons always meant a new menu, new stock, new ads; that was enough of a hassle already, but an expected one. What she hadn’t expected was Dina walking out on her.                Here she was, first day of autumn, lu...

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“Suicide Mission” by Cyndy Reads

Submitted to Contest #62

               When they talk about saving the world, people generally leave out how much paperwork is involved. None of the wily YA heroines she’d read about had ever joined the rebels and then immediately signed NDAs or wrote their living will. Maybe the authors skipped that part on purpose. She smiled at the thought of the heroine having to tell her two equally handsome and equally broody love interests that she was too busy to make out and cry; she, instead, had t...

4 comments 4
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“Traveling Souls” by Cyndy Reads

Submitted to Contest #61

               The moment her father died, a dense fog settled into the hospice room. Distantly she heard the heart monitor flatline, a high-pitched drone that made its home in the back of her head. She held his hand. It was still warm. A nurse came in, moving in exaggerated slow-motion, checking her father’s pulse, calling a code in room 182A. Nova could barely see the other nurses or the doctor through the fog, even as they tried in vain to restart her father’s hear...

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“Scavenger Salute” by Cyndy Reads

Submitted to Contest #60

           The hare stopped. It looked up from its grazing, ears tall and twitching. A soft shift in the forest floor alerted it and it turned, ready to flee, when the arrow pierced its heart.            Halley emerged from the brush. She slung her bow over her shoulder and pulled out her skinning knife, placing the handle between her teeth as she crouched to remove her arrow. Still sharp. She wiped the edges against the loose part o...

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“Reap the Harvest” by Cyndy Reads

Submitted to Contest #57

               The harvest moon hung low in the sky as the witch waited for the firstborn to arrive.                Long ago, the witch found shelter in the abandoned cottage. The cottage was nestled in the forest on the tall mountain. A hunter chose the same, hiding from a fierce thunderstorm and holding a wounded arm. The witch cured the man, asking only for the buck he’d bagged. The hunt...

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“Hunting From the Treestand” by Cyndy Reads

Submitted to Contest #56

               No one was supposed to be on the roof.                The time was ten-thirty-two in the evening and Raymond yawned as he headed up the roof access stairs. He’d just woken up from a well-deserved nap. The sun was long set and the stars would push themselves through the light pollution, shining their frail light through the incandescent smog. The moon waxed in the sky, still too t...

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“Sally's Star Signs” by Cyndy Reads

Submitted to Contest #55

               Ronald Hasenfratz woke up every weekday at 5:21 A.M. After three beeps of the alarm, he would hit snooze and sleep until 5:30. Then, with only one beep, he would shut the alarm off, switch the nightstand lamp on, and swing his feet over the edge of the bed.                His closet consisted of ten neutral work shirts. There were also five of the same black pants, one pair of je...

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“Three Lifetimes” by Cyndy Reads

Submitted to Contest #54

               The streetlights were little suns, rising and setting through her windshield every hundred feet or so. Esther flipped on her signal and took a right down a residential road. The phone on the dashboard blipped and blinked. With a practiced swipe of her finger, she accepted the notification and let the GPS begin to guide her.                It wasn’t her normal neighborhood, but sh...

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“Forever Yours” by Cyndy Reads

Submitted to Contest #53

               Dearest Joanna,                I resolved not to write to you too hastily- I would like that you are settled within the house and getting into a sort of routine first, but alas! I could not stay my pen a moment longer. It has only been five days since we parted, and I miss you all so terribly. Were it not for the shop, I would join you posthaste, but until Mr. Adams and I can get...

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“Glasses and Handwarmers” by Cyndy Reads

Submitted to Contest #52

               Jackie struggled against the ice underfoot, holding onto her car door as she fought to keep steady. She hadn’t bought new boots yet- they’d just finished moving to the Chicago suburb in early March and, thinking the winter season was over, hadn’t bothered to buy any since. What self-respecting place snowed the first week of April, anyway?                Her feet stilled. Jackie looked...

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“A Hand to Hold” by Cyndy Reads

Submitted to Contest #51

               You’re five. You rub your eyes and head into the lit hallway, away from the dark corners and dancing shadows on your walls. Jacob told you a scary story about ghosts right before Grandma said it was bedtime. Now your eyes are watery, the house is quiet, and you’re afraid. A shadow on the outside balcony makes you jump, eyes wide in fear. But the shadow notices you and opens the glass door and steps into the light. It’s Grandpa. Can’t sleep? You shake yo...

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Author bio

Working to remind myself to have fun with writing again- If I get better while doing so, bonus! :)

Winning 1 story 🏆

Contest #82
ALN23061912RK – read story