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Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2020
BONG. The clock awoke a small child curled up in the corner of a dark, damp, musty room. The girl stretched and yawned, then began to look about her. Finding the cause of her search, she retrieved a piece of chalk from the rotting floorboard next to her and turned to the wall. The wall was covered up and down with tally marks as far as the eye could see. On the far-left side, the girl had writ...
1. “Illeia? Oh, darling little one, you’ve grown! Come in, come in, we’re so happy to have you here.” Marcia Woodhouse stepped aside to allow inside a petite teenager with shoulder-length, blonde hair, pretty green eyes and arms full of luggage. The girl looked timidly around at the foyer, taking in everything with her deep eyes. Mrs. Woodhouse shut the door and turned...
You can’t watch the sunrise from my window, but you can just see the sun peeking over the skyscrapers of 52nd Street in New York City. Below, the pavement was crowded— as it always was. People walked down the dirty, dusty sidewalks, dodging taxis and eating breakfast on their way to work. A young woman was fighting with an old man in the middle of a street over who had flagged the taxi first. Other ...
When I was a little girl, my favorite story was Cinderella. My daddy used to tell it to me when I went to bed, always doing the voices of the wicked stepmother and ugly stepsisters. But my mother used to come in and turn out the light, yelling, “There is no such thing as ‘happily ever after’! And, certainly no Prince Charming!” Then would begin one of their many fights. And I would hide ...
Nell Armstrong. That’s what he was called. The kids at school always asked him, “Is your real name Neil? Are you named after Neil Armstrong?” And his answer stayed the same. “No, I’m not.” Then, of course, there had to be a follow-up: “Are you related to him?” He could lie. But someone else would come along and contradict him. So, he was force...
I awoke, panting, cold sweat trickling down my face. It was the dream again. The old dream. The one that never left. The empty parking lot, the dark road, Gracie’s face. And Jonathan. I looked at the clock. 4:30, I thought, Two hours and two years ago today, Gracie was- no, I can’t dwell on it. I couldn’t be helped- not then, not now. Knowing that sleep was no lon...
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