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Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jan, 2024
Submitted to Contest #320
How could I be lost so close to civilization? Two or three miles to the west or east would take me to a road or to the coast. But heading due east or west is for skilled trackers, and people with compasses. I do not belong to either of those groups. I was raised as a city kid and came to the great outdoors later in life. This part of the world, and of the country, is fairly new to me. I’m fairly sure I’m not about to die out here, but I do feel disoriented and slightly panicked. The Oregon coast is beautiful. Rugged, and backed by forest-cov...
Submitted to Contest #319
The police showed up on the doorstep in the middle of a Monday morning. Julie had seen the kids off to school, cleaned up from the breakfast mess and started the laundry, and she was just settling down with a cup of coffee and the New York Times crossword (too easy on a Monday, but it helped to shape her week). She tsked irritably at the interruption to her routine. Weekends were stressful, and she enjoyed the comparative calm when she was alone in the house at last. Two police officers stood in the doorway: a man in plain clothes and a unif...
Submitted to Contest #318
I was hanging out in the prop room when Mary Linkletter came to find me. She was the primary understudy for Cissy Lucas, who was playing Evita. A great starring role, so I understood why Mary came to see me. Mary was a striking-looking woman with an impressive vocal range, but she’d never had a starring role in the West End. She had expected this to be her big chance for exposure, but Cissy had proved to be as healthy as a horse. The show had been running for nearly two years, and Cissy hadn’t missed a single performance. “Hey, Cass,” she sa...
Submitted to Contest #317
I was given past life regression hypnosis when I was still in college. I don’t usually tell people about it, because at the time I thought it was just a con trick, and now I’m scared. My buddies and I had been out drinking on a Friday night, and we met a guy who said he’d done it and found out about his past life as a Roman centurion. We all had a good laugh at that, but he gave me a card and told me I really ought to try it. The next day as we all recovered from our hangovers, I found the card in my pocket. The guys wanted me to try it out ...
Submitted to Contest #316
The gentleman comes to sit next to me at the bar. I’m just sitting there, scrolling through messages on my phone, looking like a million dollars. My chestnut hair falls in soft waves over my ears, framing a face that has been artfully made up to look natural. I’m wearing a simple peacock blue jersey dress that is cut demurely but hugs my body in all the right places, paired with a necklace in blue and gold with rhinestone accents and matching earrings. The overall effect is tasteful and definitely eye-catching but does not appear flashy or v...
Submitted to Contest #315
At midnight, the new puzzles show up online. I do the Microsoft games, the New York Times puzzles and the new jigsaws. I know, I have 24 hours to do them all, so there is no reason to stay up and do them as soon as they show up. I don’t have OCD, but sometimes I behave as if I do. I justify the puzzles as keeping my mind alert and well-exercised and also giving me a checkpoint to see how rapidly my brain is deteriorating. Anyway, that means it’s about 2:00 a.m. when I finally go to bed, and of course by then I’m wired so I read to calm down ...
Submitted to Contest #314
It was dark and gloomy. The river flowed almost silently, silver showing up the ripples on its inky surface. There was no sign of the ferryman. Alpha scratched behind his ear. Was that a flea or just one of the serpents moving around? “It’s getting dull here. No one is escaping, no one is trying to get in. How about we play a game?” Gamma yawned loudly. “We already played ‘Fetch sticks from the Styx’ this morning. I could use a nap.” Gamma sounded like a gangster character from London. The middle head, Beta, growled quietly. “I want to eat s...
Submitted to Contest #313
I can hear the AC/DC song “Highway to Hell.” I open my eyes, but I’m still in the dark. I can’t see anything. I try to rub my eyes and realize I can’t move my arms – or (as I immediately test them) my legs. The happiness I had felt when I heard the familiar music quickly evaporates as I start to panic. Where am I? I focus on the beat to calm myself and try to figure out more about my environment.I am sitting in a chair, with my wrists attached to the arms and my feet attached to the legs. The chair is not particularly soft, and the arms and ...
Submitted to Contest #312
*** Contains mild adult themes *** Snake: Welcome to The Garden of Eden Dating app. Your date is online now. Eve: Hi, Adam. Adam: Hey, Eve. Good to meet you! How are you doing today? Eve: It’s Friday night, and I finally have time to talk. Have you had a good week? Adam: Every week is the same for me. Let’s talk about something more interesting than my dull life. What have you read or seen lately that interested you? Eve: As my bio says, I love science fiction. I’ve been rereading some of the...
Submitted to Contest #311
*** Warning: This story contains mention (just mention, no actual incidents) of drugs and terrorism. *** I pulled myself out of the pool, wrapped a cover over my bikini, and walked to the poolside bar. My friends were drinking hotel margaritas in the sun, and getting noisily wasted. Free flights and cheap hotel deals – the perks of working for an airline. I ordered a cerveza and a bottle of water. It was the last night of our long weekend, we still had to hit the town one more time this evening, and I had no desire to travel home with a hang...
Submitted to Contest #310
“Excuse me, Sir. Do you have a book on Fourmile Farm?”The visitor seemed to be diffident about interrupting me but honestly, I want to sell books, not organize the shelves. She was an older woman, not the typical ghoul who wanted to relive the spicy aspects of the murder. I wondered if she was a local, or perhaps a relative from out of town.“You mean about the murder? There’s a book by a local author that gives all the details, along with a couple of likely explanations. Is that the kind of thing you want?”She winced at my description. Possi...
Submitted to Contest #309
8:15 on a Sunday night in Dallas Fort Worth airport. All of the flights to Austin were canceled due to thunderstorms, and the forecast assured me the bad weather would continue for the rest of the night. I immediately called the rental car service line and gave them my premium card number. If I stood in line at the rental desk, all the cars would be gone. I could already see arguments breaking out in the car rental desk area. The benefits of being a frequent traveler. I had a wallet full of cards that more or less ensured I would get a car, ...
Submitted to Contest #308
“I don’t want to go on another family summer vacation! I want to stay with my friends and party. I’m too old for this.” My great niece glared at her mother and me, convinced the world was conspiring to make her life miserable.“You’re still in school,” her mother replied crisply. “I’m not leaving you here to throw parties without adult supervision. I know what you’re like.”I grinned. Winking at Britt, I said slyly “Your mom and I both did stupid stuff when we were your age. We know how much trouble you can get into on your own.”Her mother, Ja...
Submitted to Contest #307
Vienna was among the first group to disembark from the landing module on to the planet. The sun was just rising over the horizon, and she stared around in awe, taking in the mountains and the ruined city. Turning to her buddy for the trip, she said “It’s funny, I knew we’d land here but somehow I still expected to see the ocean. I just think of Terra as being mostly water.”Paddy smiled and nodded. His hair was still dark, but his beard was gray with a few white patches. He was just happy that he had been paired with Vienna for the excursion....
Submitted to Contest #306
Message from Monica (Tuesday):Hey! Remember me? We used to be married. Saw you on this Old Friends site. Message from Bill (Sunday):Long time since I heard from you. Where are you now? Message from Monica (Monday):In the US. Texas. Message from Bill (Wednesday):Still there, 25 years later? I thought you wanted to move around more. Message from Monica (Wednesday):That’s a long story. Want to swap email addresses so we can catch each other up? Message from Bill (Monday):Why not? I’m BillsDogs@dogbreeders.co.uk. Email from Monica (Saturday): ...
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