Jaya Avendel

Author on Reedsy Prompts since May, 2020

Stories (6)

6 Stories

111 karma pts

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“King of Hearts” by Jaya Avendel

The feasting was over and King Leo’s stomach full. He leaned back in his armchair near the hearth where the fire blazed to drive the fall chill out of the vast room. At his side a round table was filled with books and atop the pile sat his golden crown, carelessly discarded. At his other side, at the end of the round carpet between his chair and hers, Queen Helena dimpled at him over her embroidery hoop.Behind the couple, three boys tumbled on the floor, not quite hurting each other but grunting all the same as the rolle...

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“Mr. Greere's Refried Dreams” by Jaya Avendel

“Can you keep a secret?” asked Mr. Macado Greere of his bulldog, Fairy. The dog stretched her back out and groaned. Her nails scratched on the kitchen floor. Mr. Greere pulled a crystal glass out of a kitchen cabinet above the counter and set it down. Fairy settled and put her nose on her paws. “The annual Bibury Garden Fair is coming up,” Mr. Greere continued. He put a slotted absinthe...

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“Demons Dwell Here” by Jaya Avendel

To the outside eye, Grandma Belle’s popsicle is melting across the book in her lap again, though she sits in her wicker chair under the shade of the peach tree behind her cottage. To the inner eye, Grandma Belle is dying, and she dies a little more each day. Grandma Belle’s eyes are closed, and her hands are limp in her lap, but one finger strokes the cotton of her red dress and remembe...

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“The Desert Knows” by Jaya Avendel

It was a hot day in the desert when the moisture rose from the ground and made the world shimmer like a sequin held in front of a candle. Across the hot sands a girl ran toward a dead tree, its limbs white and stripped of bark. Elena’s black hair and purple skirt streamed behind her until she stopped and kicked off her shoes at the base of the tree. She grabbed onto the ladder tacked to the trunk and cl...

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“When the Doorbell Rings” by Jaya Avendel

You walk out to check the mail one morning when the sky is still purple and streaked with pink. Your pencil heels click on the pavement as you head down your short drive to your gay red mailbox. You open it up and hear the hinges creak. Up and down the block, your neighbors are opening their own red mailboxes and taking out handfuls of letters. One letter stops you in your tracks and the untied ends of...

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“Living Decadently” by Jaya Avendel

Jaden looked up as momma charged into the small living room, her beige skirts flying. She almost tripped over a discarded plastic doll but hopped and regained her balance even in her glittering silver pumps. “Jack!” she yelled. “Hon!” The room smelled of coffee; even the blue carpet Jaden crawled on smelled of roasted beans. She collected her doll’s purple hat and stockings and apron before momma could step on the doll and crack her hat, like she had last time. With the toys ...

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Author bio

Cancer. August girl. Poet and writer from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. I dip my pen into the inkwell of all things creative and share my writing at ninchronicles.com