Elle S

“Reality Shift” by Elle S

It happened on the day that I was going to break up with Talia, my girlfriend. I, Alexander Cupido, was the only one on my team to work late in the customer service sector at the Alberton SARS office. Filing season was ending in just two days and I was handling customers who decided to submit their tax returns at the last minute. My headphones nestled comfortably upon my ears as I quickly typed in the description of the last call with a customer named Whitney. Whitney's compliance was horrible, which was why I’d not been impressed ...

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“A Mutual Attraction” by Elle S

The tenants on the topmost floor enjoyed a wider range of the cityscape in this pristine, middle class complex. Not to mention a lot more privacy. The sequence of dust-matted vehicles, allotted in orderly succession with accordance to their matching apartment numbers, appeared to glare at Mel. She envisioned the backlights of each vehicle as luminous, livid eyes. Always watching her when she emerged on the balcony to smoke, stealing her privacy with their judging eyes. Mel glared back at the inanimate objects for a single, withering min...

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“My Incredible Experiences at Reedsy Prompts.” by Elle S

I remember how cluttered I was before the inspiration hit me to submit my first story at Reedsy Prompts. "Time Apart," I dubbed it.Valentine's Day was approaching, and I remember how impassive my bearing was regarding the topic when questioned about it by the outside world.What the world did not know, however, was that I hated Valentine's day.What was there to love about it? I thought irritably as I sat on the grey couch of the sparsely furnished living room, in an apartment leased by my brother, within the beautiful city of Pretoria. What w...

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“The Wearer of Mayhem 2: Into The Void” by Elle S

Zerville Estate, 2079“Are you coming tonight?”The question popped out of my mouth more out of habit than anything else. It is directed at the forlorn, hunched figure before me in a room full of computers and flashing lights and posters. Equations upon equations line the countless sheets of paper strewn across his long desk. The brooding display of worlds unknown characterizes the covered walls with an enigmatic countenance.Alister looks up at me, and I fight the urge to look away from those eyes: within them lies an emerald current, frothing...

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“The Wearer Of Mayhem” by Elle S

Submitted to Contest #102

Eramustown, 1999Papa breathed with frantic anxiety, staring at the still form laying in his arms.“Taryn, wake up,” he cried. “Wake up!”Woken from her slumber by papa’s panicked exclamations, six-year old Dahna stood at the passage just past the threshold of her bedroom. Her toes dug into the warm, fluffy carpet beneath her small, bare feet.Papa yelped into the telephone. “S-she… she’s not breathing! I think she’s dead. I needhelp right now!”Dahna stared at the woman she called mama.Mama was the only person that Dahna had ever wanted. Papa sc...

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“Marked” by Elle S

Submitted to Contest #102

Norwool Town, 2004 Tony's sister, Berka, regarded him as though he had just grown a second head. Her quick, small eyes surveyed his face attentively for a long time. He felt foolish, but he was not delusional. He wished that Berka would stop looking at him like that. Finally, Berka stood up, not removing her gaze from his face. "Well, you appear to be genuinely distressed," she noted. Berka would know. The two of them had a long history of playing practical jokes on each other. Tony had his fair share of success in throwing her into wild s...

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“The principle of the tithe” by Elle S

Submitted to Contest #101

Xania's heart staggered in anxious discomfort as she sealed a tenth of her diminutive earnings into a white envelope. She didn't fancy doing this - not even a little bit - but something within her told her to. You know, that little voice that hardly shuts up unless it gets what it wants. Everyone has that voice. Hers was adamantly urging her to chuck away a considerable chunk of money, ten percent of it to be specific, away into some storage place, to be eventually given away as a tithe offering.Acquisition of this money was not an easy proc...

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“The Testimony” by Elle S

Submitted to Contest #100

There are four of us in total. Our host is preparing a meal as we wait in emotion-charged silence around a well-decorated, rectangular dining room table. Three candles burn in the middle of a golden tablecloth laid over it, placed in careful alignment with the gaudy chandelier suspended high above. There are three doorways within the dining hall. One leads to the kitchen, the other to the lounge. The third door is closed shut and I find myself puzzling over where it leads. The walls are thickly armored with avid displays of artful paintings....

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“An Underlying Current” by Elle S

Submitted to Contest #99

It's like staring at a masterpiece, an artistic impression upon a canvass of infinite blue.Far into the distance, the sun dips lightly into a horizon of ocean, casting a magnificent glow of coral across the cloudy sky above and the foamy waters beneath. Wisps of tiny clouds float wistfully across the warm glare of the solar, gargantuan orb.The creator of worlds is not only an excellent alchemist, but an endearing artist as well.The remarkable display of color throws dancing shadows upon the creases of her majestic face."What if she find...

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“The Cold Case Of Caera Petals” by Elle S

Submitted to Contest #98

There was a string of physical dwellings, quite a number of them, which made up Caera's life. A dozen moves, a dozen circumstances, and a dozen decisions which landed her here, in bed with him, sleeping carelessly, as though reality disappeared during slumber. As though he would wake up suddenly and all the trouble he caused would be gone. Sleep was such a waste. Caera had been awake thinking all night. She had to get out of here and if she knew what was good for her, she had to make sure not to get caught while at it. She had a way out, and...

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“R.I.P, Claudia” by Elle S

Submitted to Contest #97

A quote comes to mind during yet another night of unwelcome wakefulness. It is triggered by the view that has graced my sight from the moment I opened my unwilling eyes."These trees are dark and old. In solitude, unified. Licking the ground, tasting the rough, cold wind, so man can breathe."It's a quote from my favorite band. My love for poetry and raw, creative expression has molded me inextricably to their art. I'm in awe of the manner with which the consistent and unchanging efforts of Gaia to sustain life are continuously being met with ...

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“Saved from a certain fate” by Elle S

Submitted to Contest #96

Here's the thing about people: they're extremely nice. They offer to help. They give. They sacrifice. They share. This is a good thing. Of COURSE it's a good thing. The problem here is not the people. The problem is me. I have no wish to be the receiver. I don't want the niceness and the sacrifices because it reminds me of what I can't do for myself. I don't want it because it makes me feel like a parasite. I don't want ANY of it because I don't truly believe that I am worthy."You are worthy," a woman said to me once. The offence I felt in r...

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“Glimpses of the other side - My spiritual awakening” by Elle S

Submitted to Contest #86

I long to discover what being on the other side is like.I've had elusive whiffs of it. I've taken fleeting glimpses of it - miniscule parts of an overwhelmingly wide vista. I've tasted the robust flavor of it. I've felt the consummate warmth of it. I've heard of its amazing splendor. How do I get there? Well, that is my secret.You see, I have visited the other side, but I have not trulybeen a part of it. Each time I rouse from my physical sleep, I have a missionin mind, and that is to access the other side. Although my senses haveperceived a...

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“A rhythmic tap at the door” by Elle S

A rhythmic tap at the door.She immediately stirred from her light, disturbed sleep atop a bed she was forced to be familiar with. A comfortable bed, double and vintage. She could sprawl herself across it if she wanted, as she generally loved to do, when asleep.On this bed, she did not. It was unlikely that she ever would.She nervously looked at the ceramic door whose colour matched the soft brown, carpeted floor, feeling the everlasting pressure of a frown between her brows; her forehead would be permanently creased by the time she got out o...

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“Time apart” by Elle S

Submitted to Contest #81

Kal's hand is enwrapped around my upper arm, squeezing. It is not a gentle squeeze. It is violent and possessive, and the hand is shaking as it grips. I try to pull away, but the grip won't loosen. It tightens instead. I gasp, and I want to cry. I don't cry. I am so angry. I’d rather die than show him my weakness now, so I dare not cry. I laugh instead. I release a cackle from deep within my stomach, and hear it reverberate in my ears, defiant and provocative. "Lara?" A deep voice interrupted my reverie. My head snapped towards the voice a...

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