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Elizabeth Hoban

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2024

Stories (8)

Comments

Library

126 Followers

110 Following

8 Stories

1145 karma pts

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A New Normal

Elizabeth Hoban

A New Normal They giggle and apply make-up in a smudged mirror in the filthy restroom. At 13, they are a tad too young for their low-cut shirts and glossy lipstick but just old enough to attend the concert unchaperoned. It’s one of the many manipulative ways the girls convince their overindulging parents into buying them the latest cellphones. The parents believe that providing these devises will keep their kids safe. During the concert, their devoted parents congregate in the parking lot with boxed wine and beers. Their daughters have atten...

12 likes

Butterfly Wings

Elizabeth Hoban

Submitted to Contest #319

Butterfly Wings It was the sort of seaside town that stood still over time. Weathered cottages lined cobbled streets, and the scent of brine clung to every corner. Townsfolk lived by the reliable rhythms of the sea as tides ebbed and flowed from the pull of the moon. Nothing ever really happened here and that’s how they preferred it. This is until one night when the sea itself seemed to cry out to them for help. It was half past midnight when the sound came- bellowing, rolling across their low rooftops like thunder trapped in barrels. One...

24 likes

Downloading Hemingway

Elizabeth Hoban

Submitted to Contest #317

Downloading Hemingway When someone dies, people bring things. Mostly, they bring food and alcohol, but even edibles and Xanax get passed around like breath-mints these days. Food you will never eat is on every surface above the waist. Personally, you’d prefer cash. These people who hold repast in their McMansions do so for fear of being robbed should they be away for any length of time. They hire a house-sitter for the service. They do not even submit an obituary until after the fact; just a very sentimental post on Facebook the next day, of...

34 likes

Aliens, Insects and other Inexplicable Critters

Elizabeth Hoban

Submitted to Contest #314

Aliens, Insects and other Inexplicable Critters It was the hottest day of the year, only to be exceeded by the following day's temperature predictions. New York was suffering from the most unrelenting heatwave on record. Water restrictions only added fuel to the figurative fire. The simple task of walking barefoot to the mailbox was sufficient preparation for ritualistic firewalking. Jack’s wife was packing for a well-deserved girls’ weekend away, while Jack would care for their 5-year-old, twin sons in Jess's absence. His beautiful wife was...

14 likes

Muscle Memory

Elizabeth Hoban

Shortlisted for Contest #313 ⭐️

Muscle Memory It was the kind of quiet you only notice in high-end department stores on weekday afternoons, with its low lighting, plush carpeted floors, and overhead speakers playing a song you used to love. Most of the items were well out of Madelyn’s price range, but this was the store the engaged couple had chosen for their gift registry. The wedding invite was from an old college friend who was seven months pregnant and marrying her longtime boyfriend. Madelyn was excited for her friend but only agreed to attend if she didn’t have to b...

39 likes

Seven Crayons Are Enough

Elizabeth Hoban

Shortlisted for Contest #311 ⭐️

Seven Crayons Are Enough They always arrived in the late afternoon. Slow beams of yellow light moved across the wall behind the hospital bed and highlighted the hand-drawn pictures he'd drawn on their visits. His very own art show, Mom had referred to that wall after she taped-up his third drawing for Grandma. He was so relieved when his mom immediately took his hand in hers. Grandma looked very old, and it scared him. So small and bony, her wrinkled face reminded him of the worn-out, crocheted blanket she'd made him when he was born. Under ...

39 likes

REINCARNATION

Elizabeth Hoban

Submitted to Contest #270

Aisle four of my local grocery store was the least likely place for a flashback but it happened just the same. While I browsed the colorful shelved foods and sundries, my motorized cart, with all its bells and whistles, died. Confident my doting daughter, Elizabeth, shopping somewhere in the store, would eventually come looking for me, I’d no choice but to wait.A kind, young man stopped and asked if I needed assistance, but I reassured him I was fine. Apparently, noticing my POW hat, he respectfully saluted me. “Thank you for your service, s...

30 likes

You

Elizabeth Hoban

Winner of Contest #260 🏆

We were death partners before we were friends. The day we met some 30 years ago, I was so pregnant with my first child, I resembled an over-stuffed sausage about to burst its casing. I’d forsaken style weeks earlier when my shoes no longer fit. I couldn’t even reach around my massive torso to shave my legs; limbs sporting enough hair to scrape clean a barbecue grill.  You, on the other hand, had just wrapped-up an open-house and strode across my threshold for the first time, like a seasoned runway model. I’ll never forget your chic...

169 likes

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