Debbie Curtin

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jan, 2021

Stories (73)

73 Stories

1316 karma pts

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“SIGN OF A CROOKED HAND” by Debbie Curtin

Submitted to Contest #130

What happens when you are put in a position where money comes first. Always.  I was on a trip to the other side of the country. My friend, Joey, was in the southwest part of Nevada and it had been quite a while since we got together to jam. And jamming had been our thing for quite some time, as in, since the third grade. The first time this came to light, was in a music class where we all had to pick a random object that was in a huge box in the room. How fun! When my name was called to go to the box, I looked over the ridge and with a ...

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“TEA TIME” by Debbie Curtin

Submitted to Contest #128

The things I get myself into, I mused, quietly looking back over the past few years and where life has taken me. With different undercover assignments, I encountered an overload of high gear situations, some taking place in pretty dark places. This morning, the cup I was holding, held a complex brew of tea leaves from a jar labeled, EXPECTATIONS. This was such an inviting aroma and one of an assortment, that I recently purchased at a local tea house upon just arriving to this new assignment location. Another interesting day was brewing, as I...

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“TO DO OR NOT DO” by Debbie Curtin

Submitted to Contest #126

Once again, it'll be here before we know it. That day that will once again live in infamy, only in a different century. We all made a pact to do what we were going to do a long time ago. But here we are, still dragging our feet with another deadline fast approaching. It was to be a pivotal time for all of us. The excitement was so real back then. Back then? I believe it was only last year we said we'd go for it. What were we thinking of? I don't know if each of us understood the sincere trust people were giving us to head out on this unique ...

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“DESTINATION QUESTION MARK” by Debbie Curtin

Submitted to Contest #125

I arrived for my flight well ahead of schedule. I knew the time frame and where I needed to be at this moment. Always being an early bird has proven itself to guide me more times than not. When you're on the go, 24-7, you just follow the rule book. By that I mean, get your act together and don't blame anyone but yourself for your lack of time management. Too many people are not on the ball and definitely playing on the wrong court. I had my eye on the clock, per usual, walking casually on my way, across and into the airport entranceway. I ha...

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“HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY” by Debbie Curtin

Submitted to Contest #123

HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY ___________________________________________ This quote is beholding to a few gentlemen, many, many years ago, who are remembered for stating these mindful words. Benjamin Franklin comes to mind first and foremost, as he used them in moments of sound reflection of the meaning. I admired his spirit to honor to our homeland, the United States of America, as he did more than many to pave the way in seeing this great nation come to its fruition of becoming the land of the free and the home of the brave. I needed to refl...

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“GIVING THANKS” by Debbie Curtin

Submitted to Contest #121

The past is but a memory The future is yet to be Today is the present, a gift for you and me Another long day finally ended and by this time I was not in a good mood. The design company I worked for had put in a last-minute request to have their #1 product heavily available over the holidays. And of course, I was the lucky one that was chosen to make a presentation in a part of the country that needed our vision and products in their storefronts. Downtown Croydon was making a comeback and we were on board to help push the product's image o...

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“ALOHA TREASURE” by Debbie Curtin

Submitted to Contest #118

Leaning against the car, I was still quite taken with surprise on finding such a treasure. The golden bracelet I held reflected the sunlight, glimmering with a rainbow of colors, as I kept turning it. There was a name interestingly imbedded across one area around the bracelet with what seemed to be jet black enamel. The lettering was an Old English style design quite common centuries ago. This mystery piece of jewelry was something I had never seen before because of its intricacy but I could tell it was an heirloom due to the aged patina qua...

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“BONES ARE US” by Debbie Curtin

Submitted to Contest #117

I rolled my eyes, shook my head repeatedly, while mouthing a most definite NO, as I held the phone away from my ear. This latest request was over the top and more sinister than anything I've ever encountered to date. Our business was seeing an increase in many things that seem to be popular at this time of year. We had to be mindful and cautious of who was asking for our select items, what certain products they felt were necessary, and the large amount they wanted to purchase. There were only so many morgues across the country where unclaime...

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“YOU CAN'T” by Debbie Curtin

Submitted to Contest #116

"You can't!" This was not a maybe or a soft request. This was a demand. "Don't make me repeat myself!" And of course he did. "YOU CAN NOT!" I said again but louder, stronger and with clenched teeth because I knew who needed a swift kick up the wazoo in a way. Kyle rolled his eyes and tried to play nice. "I get it." he said to his buddy. He knew what Chris was telling him with a nice, yet with a heavy hammer way of making him stay safe. It was a reminder of a time not long go that Kyle tried and failed nearly cutting his leg off. It was a mom...

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“NOW YOU SEE ME” by Debbie Curtin

Submitted to Contest #103

I know that face. Between the three of us we will find out who our cousin is. Stories have a way of becoming a thing of the past, something forgotten by chance or by choice. Photographs, however, don’t lie. I was tasked to go through a huge bundle of random papers and photos and notes from eons ago. It was our grandfather’s box of family treasures, which morphed into my uncle’s hand-me-down collection of stuff. When my sister’s and I were young we didn’t know anything about our grandfather; his school life, work life and life in general. He...

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“DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN” by Debbie Curtin

Submitted to Contest #98

I should have taken the hesitation Denise felt all along about this place before we went in and were hoodwinked. But it was so right up my alley in artsy, creative, shenanigans that I was not thinking bad thoughts. What could go wrong? My good friend Denise and I finally got it together, and without further interruption from everyone and their brother, set up a day and time to meet for coffee. This was a thing we would do need to do from time to time as it gave us a moment to catch up on what was going on with family and whatever else we ne...

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“STOP. DROP. AND GO.” by Debbie Curtin

Submitted to Contest #95

     A crowd began to grow. Angry voices were yelling as they passed by their place heading towards the hub of the fracas. People were now demanding answers, in response to a bullhorn shouting orders to cease and desist. A group of police were attempting to maintain order, as other policemen started to filter through the area and into nearby buildings. Pretty soon they’d be at their door. Dylan started swearing, and told Terf that a television crew, with lights, and cameras were at the bridge.     ...

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“BRIGHT LIFE” by Debbie Curtin

Submitted to Contest #92

What a waste of my life. At one time I had it all; the right girl, a dream to go places, and friends, lots of friends. Or so I thought. And then the lightbulb clicked on but then suddenly it went completely dark and turned off. For it had dawned on me that a friend is someone that sticks up for each other and doesn’t bail on you when things go south. And by that I mean being in the wrong place, with the wrong people, doing a whole lot of wrong stuff. Prison was the end result or in my case, Juvy. I can only kick myself once because then it’...

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“PAYBACK WITH INTEREST” by Debbie Curtin

Submitted to Contest #91

Things had been off the radar for a while after the horrible situation that happened to Monica. Sonya and Trae were the only two trusted with what seemed like such a bizarre story, however it was totally true. No one else would know anything since Monica’s family would be put in harm’s way. There was never any mention in any local police report, newspaper or radio of this man and business owner, who mysteriously disappeared. IRON Press On was suddenly reopened and the business was now, ‘under new ownership’. Monica, Sonya and Trae were the o...

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“GREEN GOLD” by Debbie Curtin

Submitted to Contest #90

I was hoping to leave the office before the weather took a turn for the worst, but the rain drops started to fall as soon as I stepped out the door. Luckily, we had just finished up and left the travel trunks neatly stacked and carefully packed with our work tools. The portfolios within were carefully layered as they contained plenty of necessary papers; linen, tracing, sketching and transfer types. Everything needed for our temporary office down south, including folded drawing tables, were left in place for transport from our Brookline offi...

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Author bio

It's taken years of polish to be a writer and have several published books under my belt. The time spent writing news stories for print and online sites really upped my game advancing that learning curve!