Helen A Howard

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Oct, 2022

Stories (37)

37 Stories

3845 karma pts

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“Dig Deep” by Helen A Howard

Submitted to Contest #267

Other than a faint glow coming from one of the back rooms, the town’s charity shop was in darkness, its front door firmly closed. Although it had opened in 1985, the building had been used commercially since the 1800’s when it had variously been a pharmacy, a bank, and a tavern.The shop was close to the river in Marpleton, a pleasant English market town which had once been home to a nearby priory. In ancient times, monks had wandered back and forth to sell their wares at a market which still existed in diminished form across the road. Regula...

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“Bubbles” by Helen A Howard

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #265

Bubbles.Sometimes try. To. Catch bubbles … tiny ones, they float above me. A soft pink ceiling seals me in. A kind of membrane. But where does it go? Where do I go?Very tired. I open my mouth. Yawn it all out. Bend my neck. It needs rest. Eyes heavy under lids. Closing them… so soothing. With them tight shut dark, I go to vanish. Back again on dream journey. Traveling, to where? Memories unfurl. I’m in the unknown. What? Is it?Fragments of life. Memories forming. Past is present. Present is past. I don’t know. Uncoiling. 🫧 🫧Sudden...

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“Spoken From The Heart ” by Helen A Howard

Submitted to Contest #264

TW: some swearingThe plates are beginning to pile up like Portuguese men o’ war on a deserted shoreline. Cursing loudly, Barry promises himself a dish washer as soon as he can get round to buying it. A half-eaten fish and chip supper lies stranded next to the sink, its wrapping poking out of the bin like an accusation. While he’s about it, he might as well get a new bin too. Preferably one where the lid doesn’t have to be wrenched open.Friday evening is rock night, the only time Barry feels truly alive. He’s getting ready to join his b...

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“Paper Cup” by Helen A Howard

Submitted to Contest #261

If only good things lasted. Maybe not forever, but for as long as we need them.This section of the riverbank has been my favourite haunt for the past year. There’s a chill in the air and my feet scrunch along a well-worn path. Ancient half-bare trees sway a little, their curling leaves settling after a languid descent. Soon they will be little more than trunks with skeletal branches; passers-by will observe them while clumping along carpets of rusty red and gold. Then they will turn to mulch, and traipsing visitors will long for the promise ...

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“Tail In A Twist” by Helen A Howard

Submitted to Contest #260

TW: Mentions a knife.Wouldn’t it be lovely to have a dog that didn’t poop, dig up your garden, bark for no reason, or embarrass you by searching through the entire contents of your friends’ shopping bags whenever they visited?**When Fred entered Margi’s life, he was like a rainbow emerging from a cloud, bringing joy and colour and dispersing all the grey.Margi was determined to get it right when it came to looking after him. Mindful of the fact that he wasn’t an ordinary dog, she knew she’d be fine unless she got dementia or some other debil...

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“Confronting The Elephant ” by Helen A Howard

Submitted to Contest #259

For too many years, Johnny had been the elephant in Scott and Ellie’s marriage. The lurking shadow preventing honest conversation, always the one who came before. Yet somehow, they papered him over, the man between the cracks.“Johnny.” One day, out of the blue, Ellie tentatively raised his name as if testing where it might land. For Scott, hearing it was like being thrown in the wake of a tsunami. By then, Ellie was in the last months of her life and reshaping boundaries.“What are you going to do about Johnny.”Scott didn’t know what to say t...

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“Rollercoaster ” by Helen A Howard

Submitted to Contest #258

Rollercoaster The bus was crammed with young women pressed against the windows waiting for their first glimpse of the base. As the driver drew close to the drop-off point, nineteen-year-old Lottie opened her compact, and made last-minute adjustments, not forgetting to apply another layer of the aptly named Strawberry Potion to her already glossy lips. Earlier, she’d sneaked out of her home in a village less than five miles away. She had told her strict church-going parents she was staying over to watch tv with an old school friend...

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“After Amy” by Helen A Howard

Submitted to Contest #255

TW. Mentions of abuse.There are as many forms of grief as there are love.My first real hug came when I was forty-nine. Before then, I had closed myself off to human affection and hugs were things to be endured. I’d never hugged anyone or allowed anyone to hug me in a meaningful way; when my children were babies I held rather than hugged them. But before you condemn me, I need you to know I’m not some kind of cold-hearted monster. I brought my children up well. They were clean and well fed; I provided for their physical needs, mostly without ...

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“Rumours” by Helen A Howard

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #254

OAKWOOD FOREST, 1350.Like any right-minded boy of nine and a half, hadn’t Tom always dismissed the rumours as unbelievable? Too good to be true.“Stuff and nonsense,” his mother said firmly. “You are to ignore them.”“But what if they are true?” He’d asked her this more than once.“They are not true.” She shook her fist to emphasise the point. “You must stop your foolish chatter, Tom. There have been no sightings and even if there were, the king has forbidden such talk. Haven’t we enough troubles, without adding to them?”“But…”“No ifs and no bu...

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“Never Let It Be Said” by Helen A Howard

Submitted to Contest #252

TW: contains descriptions of gore appropriate to the sixteenth century and there are references to miscarriages. A king does as he pleases and anyone who disagrees is a fool.Wolsey, my lord chancellor, who the pope made cardinal, erred in being too slow to deal with “the king’s great matter” which was how the need to legitimately free myself from my first marriage became known. Thomas More who I promoted to the same position, forfeited his life when he put conscience before obedience to the crown. When Thomas refused to take the oath of succ...

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“The Road Ahead” by Helen A Howard

Submitted to Contest #249

TW: mentions a child’s death.This isn’t happening to me! When I’m not pacing the waiting room, I’m riveted to the flashing text highlighted in yellow against the black background. If I carry on like this, I’ll get a crick in my neck. The station notice board, technically known as the split-flap display, alerts me the 7:54 train, final destination Kings Cross, has been cancelled due to shortage of train crew. Can you please explain why there’s not enough train crew? Did somebody decide to pull a sickie at the last minute? Just my luck that th...

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“The Mound Of Nu” by Helen A Howard

Submitted to Contest #245

Until air, moisture, earth and sky emerged out of the deep, a formless mass existed that looked a bit like a pyramidal mound. It was called Nu. At some point in the mists of time, the sun rose like a goose breaking through the still waters to spread its life-giving light to the earth. In ancient myths, Ra was the Egyptian sun god, the creator of all that followed.Without creation, we do not exist. If we do not exist, what is there?^^^As priests, everything we do, every act and speech we make, every ritual and spell we perform is designe...

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“In the picture ” by Helen A Howard

Submitted to Contest #244

Even without a date, you can usually tell the age of a photo from its condition, the print, and style of paper used. This one has a blurred at the edges sun-faded look about it.“That’s strange. I really don’t remember taking that photo. And would you believe it, I’ve gone and left my specs at home?”“You should have got that cataract fixed when you got the chance, Yvonne.”“I dare say.”The out of focus picture in question is of three women: one young, the other two middle-aged. It’s taken from a distance; you’d have to squint to see the three ...

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“Not Valentine’s Day” by Helen A Howard

Submitted to Contest #237

Dave’s ears were still ringing from the night before. He’d had less than four hours sleep after playing in his band and felt like death warmed up, but he knew once he’d showered, downed a strong coffee and eaten two slices of thickly buttered toast, he’d be alright.“Not too bad for forty-one!” Dave often conversed like this while studying his reflection in the hallway mirror. He tucked in his uniform. Other than a touch of bagginess under the eyes, his skin had remained smooth, and his thick brown hair was only just starting to recede. Any p...

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“The Artist” by Helen A Howard

Submitted to Contest #225

TW: mention of gore.His motley crew – that was how Mike thought of his students, would be joining him shortly. He turned the radiator up two notches in the attic room studio and covered over his most recent work, the one with the pet alligator swimming in the blue tiled pool. Nor exactly his best piece perhaps, but more than adequate for clients with a reptilian menagerie on the Costa de Sol, who in his opinion had more money than sense.The white sheets Mike had spread over the canvasses he’d been working on most recently, gave a faintly sur...

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Author bio

I’ve always enjoyed writing but in recent years it’s become a real release. Writing gives life meaning in a topsy-turvy world. I hope my stories can inspire others. Even when you feel discouraged, don’t give up. Keep writing and supporting other writers by commenting on their work. I’m learning so much from others reading and critiquing my work. It’s good to reciprocate. Copyright of my stories belongs to me.

Shortlisted 3 stories ⭐️

Contest #265

Bubbles – read story

Contest #254

Rumours – read story

Contest #177

There’s Always Monopoly – read story