Fern Everton

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Dec, 2022

Stories (7)

7 Stories

157 karma pts

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“Paradise Lost” by Fern Everton

Submitted to Contest #248

CW: Light profanity, descriptions of a car crash, and themes of death (very literally) Contrary to popular belief, being Death isn’t rocket science; a mortal reaches their time, you collect their soul, figure out where they’re supposed to go, and move on. They cry, scream, curse you out, but it dissolves into white noise over the millennia. You’re not all too special when you’re dead; you’re just another corpse in an overpriced box. “Cristelle Tren, 26, dead via a car wreck on the Garden State Parkway.” I mutter the name off my endles...

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“One Night on the Jungle Gym” by Fern Everton

Submitted to Contest #246

CW: This piece contains themes of mental health and some profanity. Viewer discretion is advised. “How’d you get to the top?” “Climbed.” A boy about my age dangles his legs through one of the holes at the top of the old jungle gym. It’s thrice as high as the ones in the little kids’ playground, so much so that the leaves of the trees just about kiss it. Its shiny steel bars are blanketed in a thick layer of rust and grime that flakes when you touch it. Nevertheless, this boy sits at the top without a care in the world, seemingly obliv...

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“Silence” by Fern Everton

Submitted to Contest #245

CONTENT WARNING: This piece contains some profanity, tormenting internal monologue, and a little bit of blood. Viewer discretion advised.“A dangerous eclipse. Have you ever heard of something so absurd?” Shelley is laughing beside me as we stroll into the park. “Can’t say that I have,” I reply. “The most you have to worry about is the sun, and that’s only before it’s total.”I flip open my messenger bag and pull out two pairs of eclipse glasses, handing one to Shelley.“Before one of us goes blind,” I smile.Any number of things take up ev...

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“To Be Heard” by Fern Everton

Submitted to Contest #244

Content Warning: This story is set during the Holocaust through the eyes of a fictional character. This story will contain themes of violence and death, and depictions of Nazi occupation in Poland, as well as anti-Semitic themes (which I do not support). Extensive research has been done to ensure this text is as historically accurate as possible. Any relation to real people is purely coincidental. Viewer discretion is advised. There are two days in my childhood that time will never take: the day I got my camera and the day it almost c...

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“Doomed” by Fern Everton

Submitted to Contest #243

CONTENT WARNING: This piece contains descriptions of violence, gore, and some profanity. Viewer discretion is advised. A shrill wail jolts me from the quiet darkness of sleep to the glare of LED lights flooding an unfamiliar room. The ground I lay on is hard and cold— have I rolled off my bed again? Another wail prompts me to push my upper body off the ground; the setting before me tilts and spins like I’ve just staggered out of an old rollercoaster. I squeeze my eyes shut against the bright, dizzying room and clench my teeth to fight back ...

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“Caged Birds” by Fern Everton

Submitted to Contest #237

CONTENT WARNING: This piece includes mentions and descriptions of physical and sexual violence towards children. It deals with trauma. If you are uncomfortable with the aforementioned topics, please do not proceed. Reader direction is advised. This will be your only warning. One night, I wanted a bird. I wanted to buy a shiny silver cage so it couldn’t escape. I wanted it all to myself. Several nights later, I gazed blankly at the shafts of moonlight that filtered through a grimy, broken window, its glass scattered on the rotting wooden flo...

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“Blood Roses” by Fern Everton

Submitted to Contest #206

CONTENT WARNING: Blood, physical violence, mentions of gore, some light profanityIt’s like watching the opening scene of a horror movie. Dark crimson blood pours down the side of a tree trunk and falls onto white roses at its base like raindrops. They’re already completely doused in the distinctive liquid, and as more accumulates on them, the petals bend, and the blood falls into the once-green grass. The rest is a watercolor blur; the backdrop may be a forest. A strange darkness hangs over everything, and as...

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Author bio

Hello, Reedsy! I’m Fern, and I use they/them pronouns. I’ve been reading Reedsy prompts for a couple of years and am just beginning to join contests. I am an aspiring author and would love any criticism I can get on my work. Saving for a laptop!!