Francois K

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2022

Stories (14)

14 Stories

460 karma pts

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“These Old Bones” by Francois K

Submitted to Contest #217

Flowery carvings adorned the strangely shaped old furniture and caught Jacob’s eye. Happy cherubs were encrusted with dust, and on the walls, the springtime imagery of oil paintings was draped in cobwebs hanging like veils. The floorboards creaked, and the weight of dust and neglect hung everywhere, but still, Jacob couldn't help but explore and get lost in the place, looking for creepy old things and ghosts.At last, he made his way up to the attic, which was pierced here and there by shafts of dust-specked morning ...

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“My Long-Delayed Wedding” by Francois K

Submitted to Contest #185

I feel lucky to be still standing by the lake across from where my beloved lives. People are enjoying the outdoor reception area with its floors of smooth mirror-like stone, and the eye is drawn to a wide panorama dotted with sailboats. As it starts to get dark, the lights discreetly turn on. All around, fancily dressed people are enjoying cocktails, laughing at each other’s jokes, and closing business deals. They try to tell me about their positions in commodities or the tech companies they've started, but I feel so happy I can only list...

4 comments 4
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“Our Secret Path” by Francois K

Submitted to Contest #181

They said that one day, something snapped inside of you, and without telling anyone, you went off to die quietly in a cave somewhere. They said you had given up. I heard many different versions of it, mostly from well-meaning people who wanted me to move on, but I refused to believe them. I knew you had your flaws, but I never accepted the idea that you had it in you to abandon us like that. And I know it sounds delusional, but I kept your things ready for when you eventually came back.The craziest thing is that I always...

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“Cassie” by Francois K

Submitted to Contest #173

It’s the recommended thing to get life extension treatments, even though these days they make you sterile for some reason. Still, it’s good to always do the recommended thing because other people are doing it and living their best never-ending lives. I wonder about this as I watch my blood flow through transparent tubes, and the machinery around me carefully holds my flesh in its polished limbs of metal and plastic like a loving vampire holds a victim. I watch as the red is slowly sucked in, goes through a wondrous transformation, and is ...

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“Going Forth” by Francois K

Submitted to Contest #171

I was trying to push back my seat, but it wasn’t moving. Either it was stuck, or the person behind me was blocking it. I gave up and decided to speak to Andy right away. It couldn't wait any longer."Andy, I’m sorry, but I’m having doubts."Andy paused his in-flight movie, took out his earbuds, and slowly turned his unshaven face toward me in disbelief. "Didn't we go over this so many times before?" he said, a bit too loudly, an edge of annoyance entering his voice.I kept my voice to a w...

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“Plans and Dreams” by Francois K

Submitted to Contest #170

Daniel watched as the train left without him, leaving him stranded until the next day in the town that used to be his hometown. The warmth of summer still bravely flickered far into the fall, the reds and yellows of the leaves bringing their own kind of warmth, but he could feel the cold seeping in. There wasn’t much left for him here except for a few friends, acquaintances, and old memories. His brothers and sisters had long since scattered to other parts of the country, and his parents had moved someplace sunnier. But maybe she...

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“Cat Eyes in the Night” by Francois K

Submitted to Contest #169

It's true I felt strange when I first ran across their black cat — very, very strange. It was like a shadow from the wrong side of the world had crossed my path. And when you’ve seen this kind of evil once, you become more sensitive — what’s the word I’m looking for… attuned to it. You’re dialed into the radio station of darkness, so to speak. Let me tell you about this one night. I heard him outside my window, and his voice was almost a human voice, repeatedly saying a word I couldn’t quite make out. I thought maybe there was a person th...

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“The Big Shutdown” by Francois K

Submitted to Contest #166

My eyes meet the gaze of the first stars of the evening, and I wonder if they’ll bring us luck as they watch over us tonight. From the hill our neighborhood stands on, I can see the city lights below us, and I feel safe inside my family's house as I watch the last stragglers hurriedly heading home through the twilit streets. They know as well as I do that soon, almost everything will shut down. I can already imagine the darkness.If all goes well, by morning, it should all be back up, and the world will be managed by the ...

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“I Never Knew Your Name” by Francois K

Submitted to Contest #164

I never knew your name, but I always knew that it was you.When I told you where I was going, you always replied, "I'll see you there."In the beginning, we played in a kingdom by the sea, among the toy horses and dinosaurs, collecting golden coins as we frolicked in the softness of calm meadows and coves.Stacking blocks, we built ourselves an elaborate house and everything else we could conceive, all the while avoiding the lingering creepers.Then one day, there was a c...

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“Making Real Memories” by Francois K

Submitted to Contest #164

The Blue Eel restaurant’s majestic view of Ceres station's gently rotating wheel-like megastructures and, beyond them, the stars, had nothing on Sophie’s eyes, glowing warmly as she listened to him recount his memory."Where I come from, we lived in a quaint old house from the 1800s, down by a lake in Maine," Emmet said."Tell me again how dinnertime went," Sophie asked keenly, ignoring the increasingly urgent calls for her from further back in the kitchen area."Dinnertime was a special ...

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“A Meal of Memories” by Francois K

Submitted to Contest #162

{Content warning: it’s about death, and also memories.}The ghostly flesh of my spirit feels fragile and insubstantial, but still, I'm struck by the mustiness of the old restaurant, and I realize that the senses of taste and smell stubbornly remain and will be the last to go."Your table is ready, sir. Please follow me," a dreadful attendant says in a deep rumbling voice that sends a shudder through my ghostly being. I dare not look at him directly as I follow him.Inside the restaurant, ...

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“Even One Connection” by Francois K

Submitted to Contest #161

I feel lucky to be at an enormous mansion standing proudly on the edge of a small seaside cliff. The floors are made of smooth mirror-like stone and there’s a wide ocean view dotted with sailboats. It’s starting to get dark, and the lights just discreetly turned on. All around me, fancily dressed people are enjoying cocktails, laughing at each other’s jokes, and closing business deals. White sand beaches stretch out lazily below us, and some of the wedding invitees are playing in the waves, under the gentle orange rays of the evening sun....

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“315” by Francois K

Submitted to Contest #161

Content warning: Swearing, violence.It feels great putting those big plates on the bar and catching the glances of people working out around me. I get someone to spot me, and they comment on the weight I’m lifting. Then my earbuds are belting out motivational speeches and music while I push through one more rep. When I’m done, the barbell clangs loudly onto its stand. After my set I take a moment to think about how today’s going great. Work went well, my workout is going well, and it’s Friday night. Tonight’s my date wit...

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“The Siren of Cassiopeia” by Francois K

Submitted to Contest #160

It was high tide when he opened the hatch for the first time, and the waves crashing against the side of the ship were sending a foamy spray up into the air. The first thing he noticed was the familiar briny scent of the ocean. Then the wind was whipping rain into his face, but he was too excited to care, and he even forgot about his sadness and grief for a while. He was the first human to lay eyes upon this world in person! Looking around, he lost himself in the energetic swirling of the thunderous storm clouds, the pale violet color of ...

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Author bio

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