Gunnar Ladd

“The Man by the Tree” by Gunnar Ladd

Submitted to Contest #143

The Man by the Tree Four months ago, a leisurely walk through the local woods set my life on a new course.  As an avid walker, I thought that I had seen everything there was to see in this greenery.  I had been coming to this place since I was born; my father frequented the woods, explaining that it was his way of calming his mind.   Twenty-two years later, I continue this habit of my father’s.  He has since been put into a retirement home, his mind fractured into its own world.  I still try to remain close ...

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“Waiting for Tomorrow” by Gunnar Ladd

**TW: vulgar language and verbal abuse** “Grow up.” That was the last straw for me.  I couldn’t take any more of this.  I whipped around, facing away from her now, and put my hands on the back of my head.  I interlocked my fingers, pushing hard against the back of my head while my head pushed back.  I blew out an extended breath as my eyes struggled to hold back the oncoming tears.   I walked over to my bag, meaning to grab it and take my keys out, but I stopped a few paces before reaching it.  My body f...

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“This House Known Not to Me” by Gunnar Ladd

“How do you like your tea?” I shifted, not knowing what he was expecting for an answer.  I’m not a tea drinker and even if I was, I couldn’t give him an answer.  The fabric gagging my mouth made sure of that. “Oh that’s right,” the torturer threw back his head and gave a half-hearted laugh, “you can’t really talk right now.  Well, you look like a black tea kind of guy, let’s go with that.” I sagged my shoulders.  I hated black tea, I’ve always been more of an herbal tea guy.  I couldn’t really complain, at least i...

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“A Dead Man Walking” by Gunnar Ladd

Submitted to Contest #103

Despite many things changing in the past two years, one thing always remained the same; Liam’s breakfast. Tina’s Toast & Treats was his wife’s favorite place to eat.  Tina’s was a quaint little diner that Tina also ran a bakery out of.  This made it perfect for any time of day.  When Liam finally got the balls to ask Gina out on a date, he picked a random place in town to get some breakfast.  It just so happened that he picked right.  Gina would tease him that he must’ve been a stalker to know that was her favor...

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“Good Night, Princess” by Gunnar Ladd

Submitted to Contest #101

The phone rang only once before the guard’s call was picked up. “Daddy!” shouted his daughter, who had just turned seven the week prior.   “Hi, princess,” the guard responded.  He checked his watch; 8:30 P.M.  He was just on time despite his current predicament.   The guard (known to his workmates and the inmates as Officer Burke) had been working at Neibolt State Penitentiary for as long as he could remember.  Three years of studying criminology in college and then he was 42.  It’s crazy how fast t...

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“Dinner with the Madigans” by Gunnar Ladd

Submitted to Contest #100

“Could you see who’s calling me, hon?  The shade’s going to fall if I let go of it right now,” Ryan called from the living room. “That’s not how I want our first day in this house to go,” I called back.  I set down the plates that I was putting away in the cupboards and made my way over to the island.  It was a selling point for me, I’d always wanted a big island like this in my kitchen and I found it hard to contain my excitement when the realtor showed it to us on our first open-house visit. I grabbed Ryan’s phone, “I don’...

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“Where We Landed” by Gunnar Ladd

Submitted to Contest #99

Ian Wilkerson was transfixed.  The vibrant purple blended together gorgeously with the orange that reminded him of the creamsicles that he used to have as a child, in the sky.  The gentle ebb and flow of the crystal-clear tide lapped at his lower half as he sat in the damp sand.  It was like a scene out of a movie, even worthy of being a prospective traveler’s wallpaper, he thought.  It should’ve been perfect. The prospective traveler would sleep easy at night, thinking that this scene before Ian’s eyes was a paradise; n...

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“Tyler's New Journaling Spot” by Gunnar Ladd

Submitted to Contest #98

Author’s Note:  This story is written from the perspective of a 4th grader.  The language and sentence structure reflects this. June 12, 2021 Dear Diary, I want to go home. There is nothing I want more than to see my family again.  I don’t like it here.  It’s cold and dark all the time.  The people here are all weird and make me feel very uncomfortable.  They kinda just walk around and don’t really say much.  I haven’t heard anyone laugh or try to be funny.  I tried telling this one guy a joke but I ...

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“Dreams of Fate” by Gunnar Ladd

Submitted to Contest #97

Noah Griffin bolted awake.  His eyes flew open and his limbs flailed, messing up the sheets. The glass-like knocking continued to come every few seconds as he whimpered.  He looked down at his hands, made a fist, opened, and wiggled his fingers.  Yep, he was awake.  This wasn’t a dream after all. Gathering the courage to look for the source of the noise, Noah rolled over in his bed so that he was no longer facing the wall.  He kept his eyes shut as he did this so that he wouldn’t feel like an idiot if it was just a...

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“One Night Stand” by Gunnar Ladd

Submitted to Contest #96

“Well that was fun,” she said, drawing short gasps for air.   Ben pulled his half exposed body up beneath the sheets, propping himself up on the pillows laying against the headboard.  “Yeah.  Yeah it was pretty fun.” She hopped out of bed, her athletic body still bare.  The floor creaked under the newly replaced carpet as she almost skipped to the window.  Her features became illuminated as she stepped into the cone of light protruding from the window.  Her hands found her hips as she gazed at the differe...

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“The Dare” by Gunnar Ladd

Submitted to Contest #94

“Fine.  I’ll do it”. The Freshman had no choice.  He was not about to be called a baby for being the only one to decline a dare.  It was a rule; you had to do any dare given to you.  There was no punishment for not doing the dare because that wasn’t even an option. He was not going to be the person to cause one of these punishments to be put in place. The others playing the game cheered and applauded as he raised himself from his seated position on the hardwood floor of the very dimly lit gymnasium.  The shouting ...

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