Ema Fancher

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2020

Stories (22)

22 Stories

439 karma pts

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“The Heart Still Beats” by Ema Fancher

Submitted to Contest #269

  Thunder boomed in the distance like Elyria's pounding heart. She ran through the darkness for her life, each flash of lightning illuminating skeletal trees. Long strips of a ruined dress clung to her body, heavy with rain. Exhaustion laced her breath; a dull ache seized her legs. But each bay of a hound on her heels spurred her forward. Lightning cracked, revealing the black tower, the second option of her grim choices. She'd grown up like every other child in the village of Ravenloch. Stories of the black tower and its lone inhabita...

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“Midnight” by Ema Fancher

Submitted to Contest #168

Eileen shivered from the lack of sunlight and the abundance of adrenaline. Hazel eyes darted left and right, scanning the tangled mass of naked trees and the empty parking lot. She gripped her cardigan tight as she all but ran across the crumbling asphalt. Upon reaching the wooden porch of the station building, she huddled in the shadowed corner while her numb fingers fumbled to find the proper key. She’d done this job for the past month and silently scolded herself for her continued anxiety. Thirty days ago, she told herself the work would ...

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“Forgetting to Forget” by Ema Fancher

Submitted to Contest #143

Kitty cat with a backpack followed by a bubble-blowing dragon, Anabelle loved watching the clouds roll by. Cool grass surrounded the child as she gazed up through the topiary maze. Spring neared its yearly slumber and the day’s heat attested to that fact, but Anabelle never missed an opportunity to seclude herself in the silence of her garden. She slipped there whenever she spied a glimmer of freedom. In her garden, she never wasted a moment’s thought on her problems. And her problems were plenty. “Miss Anabelle!” came the familiar call of ...

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“Something is Coming” by Ema Fancher

Submitted to Contest #140

I remember when silver orbs freckled the night sky. Deep indigo blanketed our world, wrapping us in the salty air. Our lullaby played on the chilled waves bombarding the shore alongside a symphony of frogs and crickets. From balmy nights, soaking us in perpetual dew, to icy nights sucking every drop of moisture from us, the seaside brought us only comfort and safety. Even as storms raged, sudden and unpredictable, we knew we’d come out stronger than before. The town of Gillamoor doused its lights like clockwork every night. Our only beacon...

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“Growing Darlings” by Ema Fancher

Submitted to Contest #139

  Graphite marred the well-worn door frame. Edwin plopped little Micah in front of the lovingly graffitied frame and made the customary mark at the top of his head. With all the little darlings who’d passed through his home, he was running out of doorways. He gave Micah’s tiny head a tiny pat.  Through a heavily mustached mouth, Edwin enthusiastically said, “Three whole inches! Right on track.” Micah wiggled a gleeful dance as Edwin picked him back up and placed him in his cozy spot near the large glass window. His baby brethr...

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“Ruby and the Rat” by Ema Fancher

Submitted to Contest #125

Long ago, on a day like so many before it, a distant clock tower chimed the hour. The sun rose, casting its radiant light over the snow-laden land. In a small shack on the edge of the village, the golden rays warmed Ruby’s face. The young woman gripped her blanket, her one luxury, and snuggled her sleepy face into its warm embrace. The fire had died long ago and she held onto the warmth of her bed as long as possible in the cozy haze of dawn. She dared to open her eyes. The glistening snow shone beautifully outside, and the sun, nestled on t...

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“I Promise” by Ema Fancher

Submitted to Contest #106

“I can’t...I won’t...I-I just can’t do it again!” The unusually dim, yellow lights, the insufferable small talk, the 3 hours of actual work, and 5 spent wasting precious time only to finally be free to go home absolutely exhausted. Jenn sat in her car and stared numbly at the concrete office building, mouth agape. Sure at one point, she had been excited to work here, but that time had long since passed. Now, every day she fought with herself to get out of bed, to put on the make-up, to drive the dark streets to purgatory. She eyed her car c...

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“Peace and Quiet ” by Ema Fancher

Submitted to Contest #104

Marietta Morgenstern begrudgingly left the comfort of her home to attend school, like every child, on September 21st. In her 9th year, Mari learned how children worked, how a routine worked, and how she didn’t like it. A quiet child, Mari never caused problems for her parents or her teachers. Teachers, in fact, were quite fond of her. That didn’t help Mari very much. Mari attended school with the intention to learn and to grow. Other children often got in the way of this.  By the second day of the new school year, she devised a plan. D...

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“Opalescent Dreams” by Ema Fancher

Submitted to Contest #103

Cold, white floors stretch on forever in a room filled with colder steel tables. Everywhere I look, it’s the same monochrome scene filling me with unfounded dread. What is this place? Every so often my eyes land on a pillar of shimmering smoke. The muscles in my eyes strain to focus, but no matter how I try, what tricks I employ, the objects refuse to focus. Just as well, even in their blurry form, they chill me more than the deepest snow. Night after night I want to learn their secrets, but come morning, I push them away screaming. Warm li...

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“The Thing” by Ema Fancher

Submitted to Contest #102

Summer vacation ended and mother nature knew it. Rain dripped like a leaky faucet from the grey sky. The drops soothed my sunburnt skin as I parked my bike outside the red-bricked school. Usually, the yard teemed with students who refused to enter the stygian halls until the absolute last minute. Now, I saw the bright green grass completely devoid of teenage debauchery. I choked it up to the rain and gloom. Sure enough, soon as I entered the foyer, I found every living youth in the county reconnecting with their friends. I scanned the sea o...

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“Fruit Baskets” by Ema Fancher

Submitted to Contest #101

“Hey!” I shouted with a giggle. The strength behind Lin’s bite surprised me. She sometimes got a little too into the moment. We both giggled some more before rolling back under the blankets. Sunlight filtered through the thin curtains as we lay in each other’s arms, the golden rays warming our flushed faces more. We were fortunate to be here. Not everyone was as lucky as us. She pulled me closer and I nuzzled into her shoulder. Our luxury didn’t last long. A loud bell chimed through the house, startling us out of bed. We quickly dressed, Lin...

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“Breakdown” by Ema Fancher

Submitted to Contest #100

The lights went out. The artificial climate control shut down. The emergency klaxon blared in short bursts accompanied by red flashing lights, the only thing visible. The whole ordeal ended almost as soon as it started. Alyse panicked. She knew as well as everyone else on the bioship, any mass failure was investigated with the utmost rigidity. The punishment for jeopardizing the lives of everyone was most severe.  Alyse promptly repaired the line she’d accidentally snipped and packed up her tools quickly. Breathing rapidly and in short...

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“The Witch of Brimley Falls” by Ema Fancher

Submitted to Contest #100

Goats bleated recklessly their warning. Oh no! She’s back. I scrambled around the one-room cabin, splashed a bit of lukewarm water on my face, and dove under the blankets she secured me with before leaving. The cabin sat far away from the village. No one ever came here, not with all the rumors and whatnot, so I knew the approaching footfalls belonged to her. If she caught me out of bed, there would surely be hell to pay.  I don’t know where she’d been, but she believed me to be sick enough that I could be trusted to be on my own. Ha! A ...

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“From Ashes ” by Ema Fancher

Submitted to Contest #99

Call it a premonition, a sixth sense, a gut feeling, but as the fiery orange and fading blue of the setting sun caught my gaze, I felt like I should stop to enjoy it. Something indescribable deep inside urged me to. Later I’d realize it was the last peaceful moment I’d get to enjoy for a while. I stepped onto the balcony as the heat of the day finally abated. Twelve floors up amongst the birds was often a lovely place to be. No jungle of buildings, congestion of cars, or bustling people to inhibit my view. The sun simply sank slowly below th...

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“Into The Frostlands” by Ema Fancher

Submitted to Contest #98

“For you sins, you shall be exiled to the Frostlands,” the white-cloaked figure looming over Chrysalis said. His voice was not angry, it was not enthusiastic. He was calm, disappointed. The white man had convened with the crimson-cloaked figures at this side. They had returned to their semi-circle pedestal above the trial floor after a mere five minutes. Five minutes decided her fate, and it was the worst possible punishment. As the Crimson Court declared their verdict, sharp gasps and murmurs flooded the dark room behind her.  Her empt...

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Author bio

Ema Fancher is terrible at selling herself on paper. However, if you're looking for tales of rainy days, melancholy, and gothic terror, she puts a lot more effort into it. A published poet, Ema studied computer graphics technology at Purdue University and German at IU Southeast. She has the misfortune of currently living in Philadelphia. www.facebook.com/Emilee-Fancher-Writing-101587604974909 or emfwriting.wordpress.com/