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Delbert Griffith

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Apr, 2021

Stories (79)
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302 Followers
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79 Stories

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The Animal Kingdom

Submitted to Contest #168

Beth stared out of the train window, watching the afternoon shadows grow longer with each passing mile. It would be dark soon, but she liked the dark. Beth did her best work when the sun had gone to sleep. Tonight, Beth cut loose. The Sunset Limited served alcohol, and Beth did her best to seriously deplete their supply of tequila and hot tea. A weird combination, granted, but Beth was a big believer in satisfying one’s palate. The bitter tea coupled with the tang of silver tequila comforted her as very little else could, the lone exception ...

9 likes 8 comments 8
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The Chicken, the Egg, and the Two-Dollar Haircut

Submitted to Contest #167

Ky crouched down behind a rocky outcrop while a hail of bullets peppered the nearby vicinity. The three men above him were intent on doing him in by overdosing him on some hot lead, but Ky was a rare breed. He was strong, courageous, and a dead-eye shot. With amazing swiftness, Ky let loose a barrage of shots that immediately felled two of the bad men. The other one took off, jumping on his horse and riding away. He was never seen in these parts again. “Oh, Ky! You saved me. And the ranch! How can I ever thank you?” Dorothy hugged him and k...

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The Girl with the Rainbow Tears

Submitted to Contest #167

Everyone is happy when I take my meds. Except me. The meds are for “my condition,” as my parents and siblings describe my particular brand of schizophrenia. They’re all afraid to say the word. It’s a bitch to spell too. ************** “So, you are color blind,” the old man said. He nodded but he wouldn’t look Fargo in the eye. The boy seemed a little strange. “Not just color blind, my friend. Real color blindness. I can only see black, white, and shades of gray. It’s extremely rare,” Fargo said. He sounded both proud and despondent at this, ...

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The Einstein Proof

Submitted to Contest #167

My wife made it so easy to plan her murder. She drank heavily, she occasionally used a cane to walk, and our live-in housekeeper had a boyfriend. That was all I needed to commit the perfect capital crime. Other factors played into it, factors that would deflect suspicion from me. Whoever investigated the “accident” would see it as a true accident. I had science on my side. I am very good with science. Very, very good. Seven years of marriage served to shatter our relationship rather than strengthen it. We slipped slowly, irrevocably, into co...

25 likes 21 comments 21
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A Monstrous Regiment of Dunces

Submitted to Contest #166

“I quit!” Peter (Pedro) O’Tule announced. He tossed down his company apron and his company hat, but was taking his sweet time leaving. The manager looked at him resignedly. “I actually fired you, but yes, you may say you quit. It is all the same to me, Pedro.” The manager went back to filling orders and doing whatever managers of fast-food restaurants do. “My decision cannot be brooked, my good man. The repercussions will be enormous. Enormous!” Pedro waved his arms in the air as he departed the Taco Bell at which he had resigned/been fired ...

18 likes 30 comments 30
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Gods, Whores, and Cannibals

Submitted to Contest #166

The gods of Hollywood are often cunning and occasionally clever, but they are rarely wise. And the gods will love as long as you make them money. Geneva Sancere and Cable Stetson had been in the gods’ favor for almost a decade. Cable could play a hardened cowboy, a suave spy, or a powerful businessman with equal ease. Geneva Sancere was equally adept, and God had favored her with some sort of geometric magic that gave her the shape of the most alluring woman in the world without being overtly sexy. Both screen stars commanded $50 million pa...

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It's Murder, Sir

Shortlisted for Contest #165 ⭐️

A scream. The sharp clatter of a dropped tea service. The sound of soft sobs. A rush of footsteps up the stairs. The sight of a dead body. And then, silence. ______________ “It’s murder, sir,” PC Connors spoke. DCI Whitcomb eyed the constable wearily, sighing inwardly. He was tired already, and they had just arrived at the scene of a particularly bloody crime. “For future reference, if we ever come across the body of an old lady sitting at her writing desk with a knife through her neck, let’s take it as read that it’s murder, Connors.” DCI W...

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Deep Ellum Blues

Submitted to Contest #165

It was the most innocent of incidences, one that could happen to anyone who had eaten a bad oyster or two a few hours earlier. Lando felt sick. Suddenly, he felt terribly sick and ran into the bar’s restroom to relieve himself of whatever was roiling inside his stomach. He made it inside the restroom, but he didn’t make it to a sink. He didn’t make it to a toilet. He had no control over the raw, gushing vomit that chose when it would come out of his mouth. What was unfortunate was that it came out on the boots of another man in the restroom,...

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The Instant American

Submitted to Contest #163

THE INSTANT AMERICANPablo Rendez woke up early on an August morning in 1947, and at that moment he decided firmly that he would become an American. The fact that he had lived his entire life in Texas, as had his parents, didn’t seem to detract from his belief that he wasn’t an American. He wanted to be an American like the white kids.Pablo reached under his bed and pulled out an old cigar box that his tía Tina had thrown away, and he had retrieved from the trash pit at the edge of the village. It contained a broken watch, two ancient half-pi...

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The Peppermint Kaleidoscope

Submitted to Contest #94

Arthur - December 11, 2018 I’m back at the hotel. Yes, I’m bone tired and exhausted beyond all measure, but it’s a fulfilling fatigue. I don’t feel like writing in my journal tonight, but it’s so ingrained in me to do so (on a nightly basis, no less) that I don’t believe I could function otherwise. When I tell audiences or interviewers about my journals, they laugh and nod, like sure, that’s a good idea for old people but I have an iPhone. No matter. They do miss out on the feel of writing, though. The pen or pencil in hand, the sound of t...

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Duel ex Machina

Submitted to Contest #94

Harrison saw the crash before it happened, but he knew it was going to happen. The small commuter plane descended lower than the trees, and at an angle that spoke of trouble. Then he heard the sound of rending metal and soul-wincing impacts; no one could survive that, he thought. He didn’t want to go to the crash site, but he felt that it was his duty, despite not being a big fan of humanity. He had walked, climbed, jumped, sidestepped, crept, and slid for a good three miles before he came upon the small commuter plane. Gashes gaped in the s...

11 likes 1 comment 1
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The Half-Life of the Party

Submitted to Contest #93

Devon left for the party with a twelve-pack of beer and a mind full of reservations and misgivings about the whole thing. He returned home with ten beers, two awards, and a Dalmatian of indeterminant behavior. The only thing missing was the girl who wanted to sleep with him tonight. Thankfully. ___________________________ The guests were an odd assortment of university professors, graphic novelists, sycophantic undergrad assistants (is there any other kind?), science equipment suppliers, and Devon. It was bad enough, he thought, that this w...

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Model Americans Spotted in the Wild

Submitted to Contest #93

Americans, unhappily, have the most remarkable ability to alchemize all bitter truths into an innocuous but piquant confection and to transform their moral contradictions, or public discussion of such contradictions, into a proud decoration, such as are given for heroism on the field of battle. James Baldwin            D’Mitri stumble-limped to his door, taking mental stock of his condition and his assets in the cool and quiet aftermath of Nick’s party. He didn’t have his keys, but h...

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A Fire of Unknown Origin

Submitted to Contest #92

There may be a great fire in our soul, yet no one ever comes to warm himself at it, and the passers-by see only a wisp of smoke. Vincent van Gogh            Melissa wondered about herself; any other woman seeing what she was seeing would suspect that her husband was not only crazy, but crazy enough to be instantly committed to the nearest asylum. The husband in question, Hamish White, was sitting in front of a darkened corner in the living room, speaking to a shadow.   &n...

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The Snows of Eden

Submitted to Contest #92

Devon tossed down the carton of cigarettes on the table in front of him, plopped a bag full of unhealthy fast food beside it, and lowered himself onto a chair against the near wall. He sighed as he wiped his glasses. These visits were getting more and more difficult. “The cigarettes and burger you wanted. You know, for your healthy lifestyle,” he quipped. A small figure looked up from her bed. She gave Devon a nod as she reached for the burger (complete with unhealthy fries) and unwrapped it. She took three bites before she started chewing,...

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