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Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2023
Submitted to Contest #237
“Boss, we got a shipment of gowns!” The orderly approached me holding a box. “Gowns? That can’t be right. Let me see.” The young man handed me the box clearly labeled, but I knew the contents were not the rare surgical gowns as we hadn’t even attempted to order them in a while. Our small supply was washed and rewashed to the point of becoming tattered. The usable ones the patients wore, the others ripped into strips for bandages.Must be the personal order from my transport guy, I realized. What a dumba...
Submitted to Contest #236
I’ve never been a fan of time travel movies. They confuse me as I try to connect the dots of the back and forth events for them to make sense. I’m better off just relaxing and enjoying the ride rather than factchecking along the way to see if it all adds up.“I just don’t get it,” I groaned to my husband, a big sci-fi fan. I was attempting once again to watch a remake of a remake of an old classic movie. “How did he get back to his father’s childhood?” He looked at me almost disdainfully. “I explained it already....
“I remember your mom always had milk and cookies ready after school. I was so jealous of that.”“Oh yeah?” I mumbled on automatic as Carolann’s voice drifted away settling somewhere in the background. My thoughts were far from milk and cookies, but rather on the floor underneath the table. “My glasses, my glasses.” Clear as day I heard my brother’s cry after a fight with our father. I never left my room that day, so I didn’t know what had happened exactly, but I remember those words. “You broke my glasses.” ...
Submitted to Contest #235
“I’ve reached out to Marie several times with no response.”“I have as well. She’s gotten older, it isn’t easy for her anymore,” Liz explained to the women waiting patiently with her.“You think tonight will be different?”“I do. There’s strength in numbers, we’ll make ourselves heard. If anyone can take down that bastard it’s Marie.”***“You know this is a crock, right?”“Come on, don’t be like that. It will be fun.”“Fun? I doubt it. I won’t even know anyone there.” He gripped the steering wheel tighter, thinki...
Submitted to Contest #234
It was a bloodbath. All hands on deck trying to save my life as blood spilled out splashing in puddles on the floor. The pregnancy had been high risk; that was discovered during the first trip to the ER with bleeding even before my little baby bump was obvious. The months of bedrest at home almost got us to the finish line until the dreaded bleeding began again. “Three strikes you’re in,” I was told by the admitting nurse after showing up at the ER for the third time. The doctors explained the risks and comp...
She had barely made it through the day. The experience of training another new employee was still bitter in her throat, making it difficult to swallow. She procrastinated the start of dinner despite the growling hunger pains beginning to announce themselves. The girl was sweet, she couldn’t take out the mounting frustrations on her. Trying to keep herself detached from the situation, she had repeated the same instructions that she had over the years as the sea of new employees flowed past her. Would this one follo...
Submitted to Contest #233
“You are a miserable wretch. I am done.”He put on his sweats and went out for a run to clear his head. Dammit. Just halfway down the block and he already felt winded. How long had it been since he went running? He looked down at the gray sweatpants he was wearing, unwashed and picked out of the hamper outside the laundry room. What kind of person takes laundry out of the basket to wear? He had it ass backwards.It was her fault. Nicole. How did this happen to him again? She got under his skin,...
Submitted to Contest #232
“Who’s up next?”“We have someone new at station three.”“Stats?”“Fifty-nine year old female. Stress level 8, depression rising quickly threatening 10, suicide risk 2.”“You want to give this one a shot?”“Me?”“Why not you?”“I’m still in training.”“You’re ready. Start with observation.”***“I just can’t do this anymore, I really cannot do this anymore,” Ruth thought for the millionth time. She still heard her boss’s commands in her head. “Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.” Like a woodpecker tapping at her brain. It had taken ...
“Come on, let’s get these lines pulled.”Brady checked his watch. “You still want to get this delivery done today?”“I do. They’re waiting for us, and I don’t want to disappoint them. I feel sorry for them in a way.”“Who? The sunpeople? Or the staff having to deal with them?”She sighed. It was a conversation that would no doubt turn into a debate, and she was in no mood. It was almost 10:30 and they only had ninety minutes before the sun came up and her to do list was longer than she would have liked. Sh...
Submitted to Contest #231
“Write a story about hope.” That’s my creative writing assignment. I have one week to put together a short story about something that’s been eluding me, slipping away little by little like the warm air from a fireplace escaping through an open window until the room is cold. I wish I had hope. I would love to have hope. To wake up each morning with a smile on my face and a pep in my step instead of heavy eyes and a sense of despair. How can I explain my lack of hope without coming off as melodramatic? I h...
They were short little tales of approximately 700 words, each having a twist ending similar to the old black and white Twilight Zone series. She remembered watching the marathon every New Year’s Day saying “Just one more” as each episode came to an end and the next about to start. She hoped her stories would have that same effect. “Just one more,” she imagined her readers saying as they flipped to the next story in her collection. That is, if she ever completed her short story collection. She thought of the five c...
Ten seconds. That’s all she had. The million people packed into the small space created the perfect storm. She didn’t like crowds, the sea of people pressing up against her from all sides made her uncomfortable. Jeff had been obsessed the past few months, bragging to his business partners and clients that they were flying out to New York to see the ball drop. She was embarrassed every time he announced the staggering rate for their Times Square hotel stay as if somehow it was a good thing, an achievement of some sor...
Submitted to Contest #230
(TW – depression, suicidal thoughts)---Reasons to not kill myself – Dec 22, 19811. It would ruin Christmas for my family.---Reasons to not kill myself – Dec 23, 19811. It would destroy my mother.Even though I once told my mother I was considering killing myself and she didn’t take me seriously, it is still the only reason I can think of to not actually do it. It would destroy her. And she doesn’t deserve that. It does seem a bit pointless to stay alive for the sole purpose of another person who doesn’t ev...
Submitted to Contest #229
He sat back in his Lazy Boy chair listening to the crackle of the fire. He closed his eyes thinking, “Damn, life is good.” In a few hours the kids would be arriving for Christmas dinner, the first time the gang was all together in what felt like forever. Click, click, click in walked Marilyn all dressed and ready for the festivities. She looked … well, she looked spectacular. “Honey, is that a new dress? I don’t remember seeing that one before?” He asked, looking at her appreciatively. She sta...
I don’t remember why we stopped seeing each other but I do remember that we always went back to each other. And then we got married. But not to each other. And then we had kids. But not with each other. On and off for over thirty years I thought about him. Not in the heat of a fight, not in desperation or regret or longing, just in passing. And I would think he’s thinking of me too. He wouldn’t forget me. It’s not possible. And one day I would see him again and I would tell him I love him. I would s...
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