Heidi Fedore

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2024

Stories (5)

5 Stories

89 karma pts

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“My Father; Then My Sister” by Heidi Fedore

Submitted to Contest #276

This memoir is about the Vietnam and Iraq wars.It was 1969, and I sang and twirled and imagined my dad sitting in the green, oversized wicker chair in my grandparents’ kitchen listening to a tape recording of Judy Collins. “My father always promised us that we would live in France.” The song, “My Father,” kept my dad, who was serving in Vietnam, nearby. “I’d sail my memories of home, like boats across the Seine.” I was in the second and third grades and couldn’t find Cu Chi, Vietnam, on a map and wasn’t aware that Dad was in danger. I was aw...

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“A Reckoning at Hills Peek” by Heidi Fedore

Submitted to Contest #273

It’s like someone flipped a light switch out here. Everything is black. The almost full moon must’ve crept behind a cloud or tree . . . or something.I stop. My eyes dart struggling to find a point of reference. I fumble my phone from my pocket, tap my screen to turn on my flashlight, and gulp in steady breaths again. Thank God I charged my phone earlier.Now there’s extra light behind me. My bestie, Celeste, must’ve turned on her flashlight as well. The path is visible once more with its roots and ruts. I’ve already stumbled twice trying to k...

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“You, But Not You” by Heidi Fedore

Submitted to Contest #268

I’m lying on my usual bench in front of Alimaster High School waiting for my boyfriend, Andrew, to pick me up. Late as usual. My foot jiggles off the end of the seat and my other leg is draped over the back of the bench. My mother would have a lot to say about my slouchy, improper position. At least, I’ll give her credit for keeping her peace about Andrew, who she says isn’t good enough for me. Like we all are given a value or something and should be with people who are on par with us. It’s hotter than usual for early June and I regret weari...

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“Cards by Proxy” by Heidi Fedore

Submitted to Contest #261

I can see Mom’s eyelids twitching, so she can hear me. She’s in my office, which serves as a guest room, lying on a hospital bed, bent at the knees and hips. I suspect she’s ignoring me for her reason du jour. I know she’s not dead. At least not yet. “Would you rather use the cards with flowers or the geometric shapes with Thank You imprinted on them?” I hold up each option as if she’s looking at them and say this as if she’s already agreed to write thank-you cards. With eyes still closed, she replies, “Neither.” “Okay, flowers it is since y...

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“Post Trauma, 2007: Love and War” by Heidi Fedore

Submitted to Contest #260

Candice blinked several times, trying to see the illuminated clock, which read 2:35 AM. A nightmare portraying her ex-boyfriend, Ken, plunging into the Puget Sound and feeling like she was plunging too had jolted her awake, gasping for air. She slid back under the covers and concentrated on square breathing, like a Navy Seal staying calm. Inhale for four, hold for four, exhale for four, hold for four. I’m okay. Ken is okay. I hope. She needed sleep; her alarm was due to chime at 5 AM and then she’d be on the road to Vancouver, Washington, tw...

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Author bio

Heidi writes a monthly blog on fedorewriter.com. She was a high school English teacher for eleven years, assistant principal for six years and principal for twelve. In 2017, she was selected as a reader columnist for the News Tribune, and she has been a Pacific NW Writers’ Association contest reader since 2022. As of July 2022, she is retired and writes daily.