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Fred Bickham

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2024

Stories (4)

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4 Stories

64 karma pts

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Driver Unrestrained

Fred Bickham

Submitted to Contest #265

Driver had come to the conclusion that there were no less than three things one needed to prepare for the end of the world — or perhaps even four, or maybe hold off on that third one since she couldn't think of what it had been at the moment. Yet she held firm to those first two which she knew without a doubt would get anyone through any general upheaval of society.Number one was toilet paper. If a major breakdown of civilization were to find people resorting to digging holes in their backyards, what better resource was there to upholding on...

8 likes

One Fine Place

Fred Bickham

Submitted to Contest #261

The assistant director greeted her in the lobby and instructed one of the male ushers to show the young woman to the reception suite. It included a spacious sitting area furnished with several ornate chairs and love-seats, all pleasantly arranged but none as yet occupied. A black baby grand piano awaited her in the far corner between two sets of french doors. She peeked into the dining area. There stretched a long counter-top laden with food platters and bowls wrapped in cellophane. No concern on her part. Gillian had made sure to eat someth...

6 likes

Possessed by the Skies

Fred Bickham

Submitted to Contest #260

The sky framed by the window of my dormitory room is as blank as a sheet of paper. It is my third year at Durham as a math major. It is also a bitterly cold Saturday morning, and I’ve been plotting derivatives since about eight on what started out as another blank sheet. To cool my brain down, I bundle up and head over to the university library in search of nothing having to do with math or science or philosophy. Nothing cerebral. Searching the humanities stacks, I find a collection of poems by Dylan Thomas and bring these back to my room, m...

5 likes

Make It So

Fred Bickham

Submitted to Contest #259

It was a simple enough proposition. Draw a curve whose end-points of birth and death stood for the only certainties in this crazy life, with whatever got thrown in between just random variables in probability space. Real world, it resembled a quivering tightrope strung between two platforms, those offering the only true vantage points from which to view the insanity of what lay ahead or behind.Foley now turned and looked behind him and wondered if there had even been a tightrope, if he’d actually been walking on air the whole time. It appear...

5 likes