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Author on Reedsy Prompts since May, 2020
Submitted to Contest #215
”That's why I stop myself from doing the things I want to do. Because it’s not right. What’s wrong is that I don’t want to.”The floorboards croaked beneath him as Richard Farraday walked from one side of the vestry to the other. There was a small sink in the corner and he needed to wash his face again. Not only because his skin felt clammy and beads of sweat were starting to form on his forehead, but because he felt dirty. Something not even holy water could fix.Cupping his hands under the cold tap, he gazed at his reflection in the mir...
”Christ, it’s hot out!”, Gavin expelled the remainder of air from his lungs and slumped down next to Deirdre. ”It must be upwards of 90 degrees!””I know. Last I checked it was 86 and that was a while ago. I’m cooked already.”It was the middle of summer and the community pool was filled to the brim with people. A cacophony of sounds was bubbling below them; laughter, kids playing, music streaming from a radio somewhere, splashes of water and wet feet running.”That life guard isn’t burning any calories. He hasn’t touched that bullhorn since I g...
Submitted to Contest #145
Andy Weier was sick of it all. Sitting by his piano in his small apartment, he loathed everything about himself. Through the window the sun was sliced thinly through the blinds, illuminating the dust in the air; like smoke pillars from a village where they burned their dead all at once. Andy Weier had been trying to write a song about it. Andy Weier sucked at writing songs.With all ten fingers splayed out on the keys of his Roland FP-30X, he invisioned someone with the gravitas and weight of Leonard Cohen singing this upcoming epic; nothing s...
Submitted to Contest #144
It was Tuesday morning and time moved slower than usual. Leah consulted her watch. In the time it had taken for the clock to go from 10.30 to 10.50, she had; brushed her teeth, dried her hair, applied her makeup, downed another Celsius energy drink( Sparkling Grape Rush ) and, also according to her watch, walked approximately 632 steps, mostly around her own room. She was excited. There was still ten minutes left until she could post her recent picture. In reality the picture was almost a full week old, take at last weeks boat trip with the ...
Submitted to Contest #143
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been alone.Actually, that’s not entirely true; There’s always been others near me, several in fact. But I had always felt - alone.Don’t know if it’s just baseless paranoia or if there was something to all those whispers and rustlings around me. Maybe not. Maybe it’s just me.I never really gave much thought about what kind of person would bring home a houseplant. An ambitious botanist looking for a cure to some awful disease? A supervillan looking to procure some poison? Perhaps some stoner wanting to add s...
He never grows tired of looking at things. Sure, there are things he wishes he’d sen less of, some a lot less - like bills or certain relatives. But nothing he regrets looking at. Sometimes he wonders if there’s someone who exists, today or ever, who’s actually seen it all. Not like when you go ”Now I’ve seen everything!” meaning something so outrageous and shocking nothing can top it. But literally everything.Samuel is lying in bed. By his bedside there’s a table with a water glass, a picture frame and that wrist watch he never wears anymor...
Submitted to Contest #136
“You’ll never know unless you try.”Her eyes were as blue as the ocean behind her. As I stared into them I half wondered if someone was playing a trick on me. Like if someone had put a cardboard image of Sarah in front of me, with the eyeholes cut out. The waves rolled in over my toes, it felt nice but did little to wash my doubts away. As the water retracted all that left was the ground beneath my feet. ”What do you say?”, she continued, excited and sparkly. ”You should just go for it! It will be fun!”Her smile hovered above me like pia...
Submitted to Contest #60
He is walking next to the river. The same direction as the water runs. Although it may be longer than a shortcut through the center of town would be, he feels lighter, like the current is carrying him with it.The weather is nice and birds are tearing rainbows from the surface as they dive for food. It is a perfect day. He pulls out his phone and puts it to his ear. He smiles.”You should be here right now” he says, beaming. ”Everything is so beautiful and clean, the air is almost intoxicating. If I pass out will you come find me?”He laug...
Submitted to Contest #57
As the rain entered into its second hour and the sound of a million drops hitting a hundred panes of glass echoed through the halls of Chrestfall Manor, Henry Lovvold put his pen aside and rested his palms on both sides of the letter he’d just finished. Having written by hand most of his life, all new and arguably easier ways aside, if felt appropriate and almost poetic that his final thoughts would be passed on this way —a relic laid to rest. He looked upon the pristine lettering, the wording of which had been fixed in his mind for a long t...
Submitted to Contest #56
”I’m leaving the subway now, just a block away!” Josephine hurried through the crowd, pushing past people on the stairs, her heart pounding in her chest as she ascended towards the clean air above. A light drizzle met her outside, but other than that the open sky felt welcoming as she drew a deep breath and felt the tension leave her body with the exhale.Normally, on a day like this, she would have kept her umbrella with her; her hair was too important not to mention expensive; but this evening she had pulled her hair back and tied it u...
Submitted to Contest #55
”Hi buddy. And happy birthday! Don't worry about the fact that I'm sitting in the grass, this is your day and we can do what we want. It's just the two of us and that is all that matters. I know that it's been a long time since I came to visit you. I know that. And I'm sorry. You see…your mother and I have…we've had some problems and…it was better for her if I stayed away for a while. It shouldn't have affected you and our time together. I feel bad about that. Truth be told; I was scared - even dads get scared sometimes.” ”It is a ...
Submitted to Contest #48
She is sitting in her regular spot in the corner of the coffee-house. She has been coming here regularly now for almost a month and has almost started to relax even though she still flinches every time someone walks past to fast or sits down too close. Dressed in a knitted sweater much to big and a scarf wrapped in layers around her shoulders, it looks as if she is drowning in multicoloured tar, her hair framing her face like a curtain closing on a show no-one wants to see. She is shy and she hates herself for it. Caroline looks down at...
Submitted to Contest #44
”The hardest part about becoming a frog was that his clothes no longer fit”Konstantine pondered this for a minute as he lay there, feeling his back grow hotter by the second. It was mid-day and the sun stood high in the July sky. Why on earth would that be the hardest part?, he asked himself examining the statement made by Roald just a minute ago. Surely, there were far more difficulties associated with becoming a frog all of a sudden. Forget about clothes; you wouldn’t be able to drive your car, go to work, book a table, make money, se...
Submitted to Contest #43
This story starts the way it always ends; our hero, in his bed, watching a movie.A gameshow is showing on the wall mounted big screen TV, but the sound of revving engines and punches being thrown is coming from the iPad resting on his chest.Come to think of it - hero might be a stretch. The pale blue light washing over his face gives it a sickly feel, with red and puffy eyes, like a twelve round fight between sleep depravation and too much TV. There are no winners here.Whatever action movie he is watching he doesn’t seem interested one ...
Submitted to Contest #41
“No mother, I haven’t heard from dad! Why would he call me? And why do you care?”Louise could feel her voice growing louder but was yet unaware of the stares she got as she hurried across the street from East 72st street and into Central Park.She usually hated the people on their phones in the middle of the day, especially in the park. On most occasions before getting ready to shoot she wouldn’t even pick up the phone. Especially when her mother was the caller. But she had moved too quickly. An regretted it too late.“Listen, you are bot...
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