Helen Jett

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2020

Stories (13)

13 Stories

1846 karma pts

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“All the Dark Places” by Helen Jett

**Content Warning: Themes of mental illness** The thing about this city is that wealth pours from every crevice. It’s the kind of place with boxy steel buildings that my Mom says look like salt shakers, and roads that are paved and repaved just to be sure people can roll on down 4th avenue in their white Cadillacs without hitting a single bump. There aren’t any cracked sidewalks or people sitting on street corners holding up greasy signs that read “God Bless.”   It’s not the kind of place with crummy Chi...

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“Salt and Stars” by Helen Jett

The first time I saw her, a sweet tangle of honey and almonds carried on the summer breeze as she smiled at me. Perhaps I had seen her before, perhaps I hadn't. It didn’t matter, she was yet another silly nymph. I had seen plenty in my life. When I was young and still new to such things as romance, the boys my age took great pleasure in crouching in the coarse grasses that line the shore, hoping to catch a glimpse of the alabaster bodies of the women of the ocean as they bathed. When the young men returned, their voices were h...

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“Warmth Amid the Storm” by Helen Jett

The trees swirled unhappily outside, throwing bursts of white powder into the relentless wind. Laurie hated the snow. He hated the thick drifts, the ice that froze his back door shut, and the gray sludge that was left behind as it melted. He disliked winter in general. Not that he was any great Spring enthusiast either. Often, he wished there was one perfect season. One without mud or pollen or freezing rain or unbearable heat or snow.    Laurie glared out at the wintery mess in what he hoped was a very haughty ...

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“Into the Light” by Helen Jett

Hello?Hello.Where am I?Hard to say. Where would you like to be?I'm not sure.I see. Then we are at a standstill.Who are you?Who would you like me to be?I don't understand you. Why must you be so cryptic?Why must you ask so many questions?Forgive me. I'm lost.Yes. I suspect many who come here are.But where is here?That is entirely up to you.Truly?Yes. Just take a...

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“Better, Not Perfect ” by Helen Jett

I am a writer. And I'm not going to write for others anymore. I’ve always loved stories. From the time that I was small, I drank up words, pictures, ideas, grateful for every book I could get my hands on.   And I think I’ve dreamed of being a writer since the moment I realized that I could bring my imagination to life with my words. In third grade, I was put in a special writing group for the few kids who desperately needed to put pen to paper; for whom writing was more than a chore. We wou...

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“Chamomile Tea and Novelty Ties” by Helen Jett

Thank you so much for being with us today to celebrate the life of an extraordinary man. Before we end today’s service, I wanted to tell a story of remembrance. In his younger days, Dr. Henry Dunwoodie firmly believed that a strong cup of chamomile would fix just about everything. It was his answer to all life’s curveballs. Flopped a test? Have some tea. Relationship problems? Brew a pot. Lost your job? Pour a mug and mull it over. It seemed to him that the world was always moving, like the cogs of the golden clock on his mant...

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“The Things I Cannot Say” by Helen Jett

Your hair. When I see you, that's the first thing my eyes lock on. They've allowed you to dye it a rich hue of pink. I was expecting it to look like mine, to see some piece of myself in you. But I see nothing, and it breaks my heart. A heavy-set girl stands in front of me, in black stretch pants, a light blue top, and a dark beanie, a metal crescent moon jutting out from her lip. If I saw you in a crowd, my eye...

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“Dollface” by Helen Jett

Her name is Cindy. Sitting here, under the Christmas table and looking up at her thin, boney little face, I see how her lipstick is applied so thickly that it cracks when she parts her lips. Her eyes are stuck in a permanently worried expression, her thinly plucked eyebrows turned up and her brown eyes wide and scared in the dim glow of the candles. She jumps when anyone touches her lightly, as though she might break. She is a china doll, I think. Like in grandmamma’s cabinet, the ones who should not be touched. She belongs with ...

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“Broken” by Helen Jett

( Warning: Mild depictions of sexual abuse) Everybody has their demons. Mine is a man who is gentle and kind by day. He brushes his daughter’s tangled hair with painstaking care, dances in the rain with his smiling face lifted to the sky, and sings “Here Comes the Sun” in a voice like honey. My uncle was a good man. When you passed away, Mama, he and his wife took me in, and he held me in his ...

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“A Yellow Rose” by Helen Jett

It is almost satisfying to watch as a person’s lifeblood is drained from them.I have never cared for young people. I suppose I was once one myself, but I’m glad to have outgrown that tiresome stage in life. They are so full of the energy that comes from youthful dreams, that the effect is rather exhausting. Imagine all that energy just… draining away. ***I can never forget the first day that I joined the Guild of Gentleman, not so very long ago. I...

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“The Shadow Benders” by Helen Jett

I am restless, and my legs burn with tension. Adrenaline pulses through my veins. Though I have been crouched here for hours now, all of my senses are alert, watching for danger. I cannot afford a moment of laziness. I draw my cloak tighter, and my fingers fidget nervously with the silky lining. I must not be seen. I know I have bent the shadows well, yet I shiver at being so close to the humans.One of their young toddles around near the pot I am hidden in. It takes skill to bend shadows in full sunlight, but I have trai...

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“Until” by Helen Jett

Have you ever wished you could find the right words? That you could verbalize pain, or describe loss? That you could string together sentences that describe love in its essence? The truth is, no one can. You can enunciate and articulate, verbalize and vocalize, throw words around, but in the end, that's all that they are--words. And a million words could never sum up what it feels like to lose your only escape from the harsh reality that is life. ***I’ve never claimed to have a horribl...

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“The Brightest Star” by Helen Jett

The stars above me twinkle like thousands of diamonds suspended on an ebony backdrop. Gazing up at them, I wish I could freeze this moment and live in it forever. I can hear your laughter in the soft night wind and feel your presence in the whispering leaves. I don't ever want to leave here, to go back to the trials of my life. I don't want to face them without you.     Mama cries every time your name leaves some...

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Author bio

http://chng.it/b9LHhJGXTk Helen loves the woods, blue sweaters, and the smell of rain. She firmly believes that a cup of green tea can solve almost anything. Her flash fiction story was published by 101 Words and can be found here: https://101words.org/stained/