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Howard Halsall

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2020

Stories (134)
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1114 Followers
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134 Stories

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The Waiting Game

Submitted to Contest #212

Tom Archer exited Rathbone’s Jewellers with a gift-wrapped engagement ring and a splitting headache following his hourlong ordeal with Isabel, the loquacious proprietor. She’d bombarded Tom with countless gemstones and relentless sales patter until he capitulated and picked a brilliant-cut solitaire in a white gold band. Even as Tom fumbled for his wallet, Isabel was assuring him the ring was a timeless classic that conveyed the traditional meaning of hope and agreement. It’s perfect for your prospective fiancée, she said.I’m sure you’r...

29 likes 12 comments 12
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Life by Numbers

Submitted to Contest #211

Arthur narrowed his eyes and studied his moustache in the bathroom mirror; a cut-throat razor in one hand and trimming scissors in the other, poised and ready for battle. He’d maintained a pencil-thin moustache throughout his career in the Welsh Guards; from humble squaddie to regimental sergeant major; it was his trademark. Today it looked immaculate, as always, perched three-eighths of an inch below his nose and stretched across his upper lip like a fox moth caterpillar with rigor mortis.#There was no doubt Arthur was a strict di...

28 likes 23 comments 23
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The Visitation

Submitted to Contest #210

Hello, officer, I’m concerned about my neighbour’s safety.I’m Chris McNeill from fifty-two Galley Lane…His name’s James Ratcliffe with an “e”…Jim lives opposite me at fifty-three…I believe strangers have abducted him…They’ve got gold skin and black eyes…No, officer, this isn’t a prank call…Yes, I appreciate you’re busy but…Please, just allow me to explain…#Sherry and I aren’t nosey neighbours, however we couldn’t help noticing Jim’s house guests. They first appeared late one night about a fortnight ago. A series of thunderous blasts rattled ...

40 likes 22 comments 22
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Spaghetti Junction Blues

The late-night drive north, from London to Glasgow, was a journey Paulie knew by heart. It was four hundred miles of motorway with a coffee break at Spaghetti Junction, and a chance to stretch his legs. Paulie joked he could do it blindfolded, and Jenny swore he was daft enough to try. Before the couple got married, they’d travelled together every fortnight to visit his Pa, but after the little ones arrived, Jenny made her excuses and stayed at home. Not that Jenny had fallen out with Paulie’s father, but she said he was a bad influence and ...

31 likes 19 comments 19
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The Croak Lizard Affair

Submitted to Contest #206

Aaaakk! Aaaakk!Wake up, Ricky! Huh! Angie, what’s—-?Shush, said Angie, fumbling for her bedside lamp. Didn’t you hear that? Hear what—-?Listen, Angie hissed, as her striped lampshade cast streaks of bright orange around their bedroom. Up there!Aaaakk! Aaaakk! croaked the lizard from its vantage point above the window.Don’t just lie there, she said, shoving her husband. Kill it!The startled creature cast a brief but dramatic shadow in the low angled light like a pantomime villain making an untimely appearance, hoping in vain that&nb...

39 likes 17 comments 17
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Steamboat Creek

Pastor Colquhoun and his bevy of assistants had been playing daily to large crowds in Steamboat Creek since the rain arrived three weeks ago. The day I sought refuge from the downpour at his bedraggled venue, I was greeted at the entrance by a stewardess rattling an offertory box. I made an appropriate contribution and entered the packed marquee to encounter the acrid fug of an abattoir’s lairage. The stench of unwashed bodies was so vile that members of the congregation ducked outside now and again, risking a soaking for a lungful of fresh ...

19 likes 15 comments 15
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Killing Time

Throughout the afternoon, the old man had been there in the background in his sun-bleached work overalls and faded denim shirt. Watching me with a perpetual squint, he followed my meandering course up and down his high street. It was as if he recognised me from a previous lifetime and couldn’t remember my name. He was distant enough to be minding his own business, but present nonetheless and attached to me like a dark midday shadow.  #I’d first encountered him, resting in a tilted back chair, when I stepped down onto the empty plat...

16 likes 18 comments 18
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Let's Get Lost

Submitted to Contest #201

It’s funny how your priorities change as you move through life. In many respects, you learn to become self-reliant and choose your companions with greater care. I never regarded myself as a doggy person, but if not for my new best friend, I’d be lost in a field near Shepton Mallet. #My weekend at the festival started off in high spirits when a group of us from H.R. arrived at the main gates early on Saturday morning. We found our allocated parking space with ease and negotiated our way on foot to the Sticklinch campsite. We’d all read f...

24 likes 24 comments 24
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The One That Got Away

Submitted to Contest #197

During their three-year engagement, Gillian lost count of how many times Archie Abelard had kept her waiting. He’d caused them to miss endless restaurant bookings, the start of every film and party they’d ever attended, plus two holiday flights. By the end of their relationship, Gillian tired of Archie’s lousy excuses despite humouring his hilarious attempts to rescue their social life from certain calamity. #   On Gillian’s wedding day, it was the roadworks on Camden Road that contributed to Archie’s late arrival. The jo...

44 likes 46 comments 46
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And the snow fell forever.

Submitted to Contest #194

What are you fussing about, kiddo? Pops sighed as I rubbed my ski gloves together. He proffered me a shovel and his icy breath hovered between us like a question mark. I thought you loved the snow, he said and chuckled when I forced a weary smile. We’d been shifting snow for over two weeks and the white flakes had descended on our town like the dry skin from a giant’s eczematic scalp.   It was fun on the first day when the snow gathered around the windows and settled in the front garden. It wasn’t deep enough to stop the schoo...

29 likes 18 comments 18
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Moving Mum

Shortlisted for Contest #192 ⭐️

It had taken them six months of gentle persuasion to convince mum to leave the house she’d lived in for sixty years and relocate to a nursing home on the other side of town. Mum’s Victorian villa with its three floors of generously proportioned rooms had become too large for her to manage. It was a cluttered arcade, displaying keepsakes collected over a lifetime and way beyond her powers to keep clean. It would be unkind if I described mum as a hoarder, but there were knickknacks and oddments littering every horizontal surface and she’d ador...

49 likes 51 comments 51
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The Beautiful Game

Submitted to Contest #190

It was heart-warming to greet everyone outside the crematorium before the service, but to say we were a close family was a stretch. My father’s remaining relatives only communicated by annual greeting card or whenever there was a wedding or funeral. It was so long since I’d seen most of them; I struggled to recognise their faces, let alone remember their names. I’m embarrassed to confess, but I resorted to strategically mumbling my appreciation when they offered their condolences. As they clutched my hand and promised me their undying suppor...

30 likes 21 comments 21
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On Stranger Shores

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. The night before Christmas was quiet on the beach but at least there were no more explosions. I never got used to sleeping in our cellar with the noise of collapsing masonry above our heads. My mother feared for our lives every day for two years. She never slept a wink. It was hard on my father, too. He was always on his guard and watchful throughout the night. My sister and I were too young to know what was happening and father never showed his fear, but I could tell. His co...

41 likes 39 comments 39
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A Perfect Match

Submitted to Contest #186

‘Good morning, please take a seat and we can discuss your enquiry--- ’‘I know you’re busy, so thank you for seeing me at such short notice.’‘You’ve come to the right place and having read your CV, I’m sure I can help you.’‘The thing is, I’ve outgrown my position and I need a new challenge.’‘So you’ve got bored at work and you’re considering a new career?’‘Yes, and given my wealth of experience, I’m certain I can succeed in any new role.’‘You’re in a competitive market at the moment, however I can assure you there are plenty of candidates who...

52 likes 48 comments 48
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The Lost Continent

Submitted to Contest #182

Danny Beresford woke up in a good mood, as he did every morning after Penny’s abrupt departure. It was a relief to start the day without her cold shoulder and frosty words. Even before their divorce was completed, she’d earmarked her possessions; family heirlooms, souvenirs from foreign holidays, and all those silly knick-knacks with limited sentimental value. Danny hadn’t contested her choices; he’d always thought the place was far too cluttered. ‘I suppose it’s less to dust,’ his mother had said. ‘But it’s a damn nerve, dear.’ ‘N...

35 likes 33 comments 33
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