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Eric E

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jan, 2021

Stories (28)

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10 Followers

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28 Stories

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The Sky Inside

Eric E

Submitted to Contest #232

Ella’s hand held the water pump’s handle; its metal was cool against her calloused palms. She started to work the metal up and down with a practised efficiency until water slowly dribbled into the bucket. It was the last one of the night - just enough to wash and make her mother some tea that she wouldn’t drink. As she continued pumping, her eyes looked upwards to the fading sky. There, in the back of her mind, was the thought that what existed in her dreams might become a reality. That recurring dream with a world of darkness and echoing he...

6 likes

Bella Ciao

Eric E

Shortlisted for Contest #221 ⭐️

Until I met the man with the accordion, I wasn’t the kind of person who believed in ghosts. * Who am I, you might be wondering?  Well, the name isn’t important. But some details are. Yes, it is a ‘cardinal sin’ of storytelling to dump information in the exposition, but some sins are needed to live life effectively. I’m a 29 year-old English teacher who lives in London. Where I’m from is not important - what’s really salient here is that I’m not a nut-job. I don’t buy into conspiracies, I don’t do drugs and I enjoy the odd drink, bu...

16 likes

Glory and Sacrifice

Eric E

Submitted to Contest #208

The clouds hung low in the sky like pillowy mountains that were mysteries to those who gazed up at them. Above them the sun burned evenly, spreading an indolent haze. Below them, it was the first day of Wimbledon and the green was strikingly verdant against the array of colours the spectators wore. Nikola Marusic was preparing to serve, and he approached the ball boy behind him who brought out three balls. The ball boy’s name was Max Hunter and he tried his best to stop his hands from shaking as his idol approached him. Marusic towered above...

2 likes

The Exchange

Eric E

Submitted to Contest #204

For C.M.His fingers loosened around the pistol as he slipped it into the holster on his hip and his eyes scanned the tableau of destruction around him. To his left, an empty space where the one called Jenkins had been before, his cards on the table still face down; beside him, an empty space where the one called Fitz had been blown backwards, the toes of his boots grazing the edge of the table; beside him, his brother, whose head was down with his arms in L-shapes on either side of his ears. The cards and bottles and chips around the table h...

10 likes

A Song for Bill

Eric E

Submitted to Contest #192

In goes another spoonful of coffee and Corey Milworth closes the compartment and presses the button. He walks through the kitchen and sees the dishes in the sink and grabs them, running the water and washing them under cold. He puts them in the drying rack and the thunk is a little louder than usual and it might be because he means it.  Walking past the couch that has held his brother in sleep for the last three months, he wonders if by some magnificent wonder of will he has decided to go off in the night to find something that used to ...

7 likes

One More Sunrise

Eric E

Submitted to Contest #99

Yoshiro Yamawaki opened his eyes and stared into the darkness that was enveloping him. He thought he heard the siren again, but after a few seconds, he realized that it was a remnant of a memory from earlier in his sleep. He recalled a dimly lit and fleeting moment that occurred earlier that night, a siren calling out in the night, his wife, Emiko, sitting up, turning on the lights, looking around as she wiped the sleep out of her eyes, panic gripping her, stirring him, Emiko’s reluctant rise to the radio until the all-clear was sounded near...

6 likes

Imagine (the window)

Eric E

Submitted to Contest #97

There once was a boy who didn’t have an imagination.  The boy’s name was Alex.  * Now, for you to truly believe this story, you’ll need to use your imagination. Isn’t that a paradox? To believe something about a kid with a missing imagination by using your own? Anyways, back to Alex. When Alex was 2 years old, his parents- who were loving and devoted- started to notice things. They would read to him, and he would just stare straight at them, eyes unflinching, vacant. Even when they would get to the exciting part of the sto...

5 likes

A Sound of Thunder and the Smell of Sulphur

Eric E

Submitted to Contest #89

*Please note: There are graphic depictions of violence and suicide in this story. It is inspired by, but radically deviates from a play called Free by David Grant and Lord of the Flies by the inimitable William Goulding. Thanks for reading.*  Nothing can ever prepare you for your first time firing a gun. I’ve seen enough action movies to think that I’d be ready, but I wasn’t. Before it had even fully clicked that I’d sent a real bullet through Liam’s chest, there was a sound of thunder and the smell of sulphur. The sound gave new mea...

6 likes

The Lake

Eric E

Submitted to Contest #84

* Trigger warning: Graphic depictions of suicide*The night it happened, I knew something was wrong the second I opened my eyes. It wasn’t just that you weren’t in the bed beside me; that would have been normal enough. We’d both been fighting the battle against insomnia, and hadn’t won yet. It was a feeling. It was in my gut, buzzing electricity that said something isn’t right. Our cottage was silent. Too silent. I moved to the living room and began to look for you. The door to the back patio, and eventually, to the lake, had been left open. ...

5 likes

Charles, Charlie or Chuck

Eric E

Submitted to Contest #82

Charles Simpson was a nice guy. He was the kind of guy you wouldn't mind being stuck in an elevator with because he wouldn't make that awkward small talk. He would just ask you which floor you were going to, press the button, and smile. He was the kind of guy who didn't mind if you called him Charles, Charlie, or Chuck. The kind of guy that took life's hills and valleys in stride, and didn't seem to mind that by his 30th year of existence, he was still a single man. If you'd have asked him how he felt about that, he would have given you the ...

8 likes

The Elevator

Eric E

Submitted to Contest #79

Nick Maxwell walked into the lobby of his apartment building holding his basketball in one hand and his gym bag in the other. He had his headphones over his ears, and they were so loud that the faint pounding of some kind of hip-hop beat could be heard if you walked past him. He pressed the button for the elevator and felt a little bubble of relief inside of him, in that part of him that was still a scared little kid who had heard all of the stories at night about the guys getting jumped or the fights in the park. The light hadn't turned on ...

3 likes

The Zoo

Eric E

Submitted to Contest #78

"Dude, I'm telling you...You gotta try it. Just come with me once and I promise you'll like it," said Danny.He was walking behind his cousin Mark, single-file, down the middle of the sidewalk, and was in the process of trying to convince him to come hunting."I dunno," Mark stammered. "Hunting? I didn't really think people still did that.""Course they do! It's the world's oldest hobby. Well, I guess it more started out of necessity, but eventually, it ended up a hobby," said Danny.Mark walked in front of him, thinking about how Danny was the ...

3 likes

The Toboggan

Eric E

Submitted to Contest #77

Kevin did not want his father to see him cry. This wasn’t because Kevin’s father was a mean man. It was because Kevin knew that his father cared too much. If he saw him crying, then he would cry. And it would ruin the whole day. After what had happened, there had been more ruined days than he could remember. So he hid in the bathroom.…It was all because of the snow boots. Her snow boots. The morning had started normally enough. His dad woke him up for breakfast and they started talking about what they wanted to do during the day. Those days,...

6 likes