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Author on Reedsy Prompts since Feb, 2021
Submitted to Contest #315
How one man changed my lifeI looked into the bathroom mirror. Not a pretty sight. I appeared bored, disgruntled, and unhappy. All true. But why? I lived in a flat in what was called a high rise building with my parents and elder sister. The town was situated in a valley surrounded by forests leading to high mountains. My parents were the most boring couple, always arguing and talking about money. Occasionally I saw films and television series showing the definition of respect and love for your partner. This certainly was not the case in our ...
Submitted to Contest #314
Crisis at an old people home I remember it well. It was a miserable day, a strong wind from the north scattering the autumn leaves across the highway. As we drove my parents to an old people's home I noticed a few drops of rain on the wind screen. I could hear my parents talking in whispered voices at the back of the car. Although I could not hear the conversation I did hear the occasional phases like don’t worry we will be all right. The weather reflected my mood. It was a day when my brain was copying the wind with memories and decisions s...
Submitted to Contest #313
Wanting a life change When I look back on my early years I lived in the lap of luxury. My parents possessed a well appointed house in Greenwich. My bedroom was a large, airy room filled with toys, books and objects carefully selected and approved by my mother. I was an only child. I often thought I would have loved a brother or sister to play with. I occasionally asked my mother if she was going to give me a playmate. Her reply was always the same. The responsibility of one child is enough. I was the center of their attention and in those ...
Submitted to Contest #312
Talking to the future At the university I studied mechanical and electric engineering. Most of my professional life was spent on the railroads. It must have been about six months ago when I was invited to an electronics show. This was an area I know little about but realised it was clearly a dominant sector of our future. I was amazed at the size of the exhibition and the number of exponents. While walking down one of the many avenues separating the various exponents, I was accosted by a well dressed young man asking if I would like to pass ...
Submitted to Contest #311
CW: Contains themes of violence and accidental harm. The big fieldI sat there looking out of the kitchen window at the large empty farm yard. Gone were the tractors, the noise of hens and ducks strolling across the yard's surface looking for scraps of food. It was the height of summer and the great chestnut tree that dominated the right hand corner of the yard was bending its giant branches in a request for water. As I looked at the yard today it brought back so many memories of years ago as a child. On summer days I played with my brother u...
Submitted to Contest #310
Solving a mystery Patrick liked to arrive early on a warm summer’s morning and take a coffee before he turned the key to the front door, switched on the lights and took down the shutters. He sat on the cafe’s terrace in front of his bookshop for a few minutes thinking about his uncertain future. His was the only independent bookshop in the town. There were two other large bookstores owned by national names known in the book distribution activity. In the last few years the sector was being dominated by Amazon. He felt like a tadpole caught in...
Submitted to Contest #309
He lost his soul“Hello George, what are you doing here? Coming to see what the competition is doing?”“Yes, I am coming to see what all the fuss is about. The young artist, John Atkinson, you are exhibiting is creating quite a stir.”“We had the opening two nights ago. I had to call the police because there were far too many people. I was fearful they would damage my gallery and some pictures. “Yes, I heard about it. Look, if you are free, let's have lunch together and I will tell you all about John Atkinson. “Delighted.”“ Give me twenty minut...
Submitted to Contest #307
A strange story covered in the mists of time.It was one of those glorious, peaceful and tendered summer evenings when all is still and nature is preparing for nightfall. The leaves on the trees showed fatigue after a long day in the hot sun. Even the birds were silent, enjoying the last rays of sunlight. Georges was on his evening walk enjoying this rare moment when one feels in harmony with your surroundings. He felt a great sense of peace after semi-retiring from several years on the London foreign exchange market. He was just passing the...
Submitted to Contest #306
Communication without a series of emails, calls and text messages.My early life was a nightmare. I had a drunk father. Within three years of my parents' marriage my mother had thrown him out of our two bedroom apartment in the Pigalle area of Paris. Mother then without the support and warmth of a man started to slide in a deep depression. It was not long before she lost her job. In order to maintain the minimum income to live in the city she turned to prostitution. Consequently there always seemed to be numerous male friends invited to our s...
Homework, winds, kites and a disaster.I stood in front of my class. Before me were sixteen young children between the ages of 8 -12. Their faces showed attention and a desire to listen and learn. I believe they enjoyed my geography lessons, I always tried to make them interesting.“Good morning everyone. First I will read the roll call.”There were slightly more young girls than boys. The school was a private international institution that lived by high student fees and the occasional donations. “ Excellent everybody present. Now I want to wr...
My heart and time stood still.I was born in India and remained there until I was ten. At that age me and my brother, two years younger, were bundled up and found ourselves on a boat for England. If I remember correctly only our mother and her personal maid traveled with us. We were told father would join us in a month's time after concluding some business deals. My father had created a large import/ export company in Delhi. He was Indian by birth. A member of a large wealthy family with a collection of brothers and sisters , aunties and uncl...
The lonely clownOn an early spring evening it was a good crowd for Thursday. I had positioned myself outside the station. It was late afternoon. I was entertaining the people coming from work. They needed a few minutes of amusement to decompress themselves before opening their front doors and being faced with all the emotional baggage of family life. Through my face mask I could see the people were enjoying the show. I saw numerous people throwing notes and coins into my bowler hat. My act today was the result of three years of working the s...
Submitted to Contest #296
I found out who I am.I was born into a working class family. My father worked as a machine tool operator in an industrial town in the North of England. My mother had married below her station in the town’s social world as she was a teacher. In marrying my father she stepped down to his level of a working class member. All this at birth and for several years after meant nothing to me. It was in my early teams that I started to understand the complex undercurrents of living in a structured and closed community. Father was a good looking man. H...
Submitted to Contest #295
From churches, graveyards to funerals I was fourteen when I had the pleasure to start accompanying my father on his various road trips. In my mothers mind school was always a priority whereas father thought missing the occasional term time day to travel with him on his sales rounds was an educational lesson in the real world. Also it had a geographical aspect to commend it. My father was the senior salesman in a company making hoovers that sold their product range through home demonstrations. It was a young company with limited production fa...
Submitted to Contest #294
Dying with peace of mind Daniel Summerfield to Harold Ffinch……14 june 2024 My dear Harold, I am writing this letter from a small isolated village a few miles from the Salange National park in the Republic of Congo. You find me on my deathbed with a severe attack of yellow fever. Although before leaving Engl...
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