Dawn Walter

“Rescue Rainbows” by Dawn Walter

Submitted to Contest #276

Totality lasted four minutes and fifteen seconds. International peace warriors, hippies, crust-punks, road dogs, hobos, Natives, locals and hillbillies would converge in the Ouachita National Forest in southeastern Oklahoma to pray for peace during this well-advertised total solar eclipse event. The collaborators from several counter-culture communities built the Heartfire on top of a clear-cut hill for a maximum viewing experience situated far from the primitive camps along dirt logging roads. Super-Happy Funtime Camp was nearly a mile bey...

0 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Lessons From Joe the Schizo” by Dawn Walter

Submitted to Contest #165

Sensitive content warning: Mental Health, Suicide and Self-harm “They say I have the Schizophrenia again.” He said when she asked what he was in for as though they were in a prison rather than a medical facility. Joe is a handsome young man. He’s roughly 6-feet tall with blonde hair, brown eyes and a soft, pleasant face. He spends day after day, his waking hours and others’ sleeping time, walking the community space of the short-term crisis center in circles talking to himself. The conversations with himself often seem to be complet...

5 likes 2 comments 2

Read story

“The Favorite Left Leg” by Dawn Walter

You’d think simply being among the Donner Party’s survivors would be enough to inspire a person to find a quiet little farmhouse in a small community with fertile soil where nothing much happens and a person could put down roots. Not so for Martha who was 8-years-old when her family and others experienced now infamous hardships, tragedy and cannibalism in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The echoes from passed-down visions of untapped opportunity and unlimited adventure that inspired their family to set forth on that fateful journey have neve...

0 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Launch Interrupted” by Dawn Walter

Submitted to Contest #89

Three commercial astronauts sit ready in the simulator standing by for the final launch sequence one last time before tomorrow’s big show. They’re among the first who are supposed to be making regular trips to and from nearby asteroid mining space-rigs. They set the bar for all future efforts. The simulator is an exact replica of the real thing. Command can see the astronauts in their seats on a monitor, face shields down and ready to rumble. The rest of the essential crew of engineers, coders, traffic control and operators can hear the in...

6 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“If Only to Dance with the FaeFolk” by Dawn Walter

Submitted to Contest #88

It must be another full moon, new moon, equinox, birth, death, successful bowel movement, or any given Tuesday’s witching hour. They’re in the Faerie Ring. Again. They’ll go to the Faerie Ring for anything. It’s like catnip to cats for them. They can’t get enough!All they talk about is Faerie Ring this and Faerie Ring that. How cool it is inside the Faerie Ring.“It’s just a stupid circle of fungus. Can’t be THAT great,” I think to myself as I sulk by hoping to go unnoticed. Not my lucky night.A handful of Fairies were beatboxing when Nixy no...

5 likes 1 comment 1

Read story

“Devil's in the Apathy” by Dawn Walter

Submitted to Contest #85

Jerry, the owner of the last “restaurant,” is in a current state of embracing his alcoholism. He maintains the open/closed hours of the old fountain building. The few dollars he makes from his regulars each morning keep the beast fed. Most everyone else steers clear of the joint. This is the sort of place where “used to” is a word in the local dialect. Pronounced ustah, like “yous-ta.” Ustah is a mantra. Out of habit, or loneliness, or both; the same half dozen aging fellas show up to this sad hovel every morning, except Tuesdays when Jerr...

9 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Zero to Paradise” by Dawn Walter

Submitted to Contest #83

No matter what anybody said at the time, we were all ready to party hard. Many of us had spent lockdown preaching and raving about the impending climate doom and a heck of a lot about how materialism and selfishness are the root of all our American woes. We spent nearly two years fully intending to emerge as better, more environmentally responsible and economically equitable inhabitants of Earth. To be fair. The collective “we,” almost did okay until we remembered how much fun it is to experience music and art with lots of other people! ...

7 likes 1 comment 1

Read story

“T.E.R.A” by Dawn Walter

Submitted to Contest #82

TERA (Technically Emotionally Ready Android) was an early attempt at creating an adaptable AI concerned with fitting into human social situations. The idea being that the more human-like interactions are with any robot the more at ease people become and are willing to authentically engage with it. The tragic mistake that took place during TERA’s trial interaction study, and her daily journal observations, set the entire Artificial Intelligence industry back by decades as opponents referenced this instance in every article, hearing and mee...

9 likes 0 comments 0

Read story