Jethro Pili

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2021

Stories (105)

105 Stories

281 karma pts

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“Mimosas And Confessions” by Jethro Pili

Trigger/Content Warning:Character deathAbuse and control in a relationshipDeath threats The streets of Seabrook were blissfully quiet that Saturday morning, the kind of calm that descended when the world finally decided to stop spinning quite so fast. Sam Ihle savored the rarity as he and Jodie shared a corner table on the patio of a cozy brunch café. It was a rare luxury for two reporters who seemed to thrive on chaos, their fingers always on the pulse of world events. A pot of strong coffee, plates of scrambled eggs and pancakes, and tall ...

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“A Very Die Hard Christmas” by Jethro Pili

The snow crunched underfoot as Owen shivered on the porch of his family home in rural New Hampshire. The warm, yellow glow from the windows spilled onto the freshly shoveled driveway. Owen smiled as he glanced over his shoulder at his roommate, Andrew, whose face betrayed both awe and nervousness.  "This is it," Owen said with a grin, clutching the doorknob. "Welcome to the chaos."  Andrew shifted his bag to his other shoulder and adjusted his scarf. "This feels like a Norman Rockwell painting. Are you sure they’re okay with me cra...

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“Pastor Hale’s Quiet Christmas” by Jethro Pili

The parsonage was eerily still this Christmas Eve. Pastor David Hale sat at the small kitchen table, staring at the blank page of his open Bible. Outside, a gentle snow fell, frosting the already white landscape, and inside, the only sound was the faint hum of the refrigerator. A half-eaten baked potato sat on the plate before him, lukewarm now, alongside a lone mug of hot tea he hadn’t touched since he poured it. David sighed, resting his elbows on the table and rubbing his temples. Forty years of ministry had prepared him to offer comfort ...

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“Dear Ms. Martin” by Jethro Pili

Emma Martin clutched her teacup tightly, its warmth bleeding into her fingertips. Outside, a January wind howled, rattling the glass in her small studio apartment's window. She exhaled slowly, scanning the neatly arranged stack of rejection letters on her makeshift desk—a secondhand table barely holding the weight of her laptop and textbooks. The pile represented the silent but stinging failure of dreams she'd held onto for years.  Each "Thank you for your application, but..." felt heavier than the last. Scholarship funds had dried up. ...

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“Missing the Bus” by Jethro Pili

Jules Tan tightened his grip on his notebook, the faint lines on the page trembling as the chaos around him unfolded. The streets of Chicago, his once-busy stomping grounds, were unrecognizable. Cars stood abandoned, their doors ajar and engines silent. Stores had been looted or hastily boarded up. Screams echoed in the distance, mingling with frantic prayers and bursts of sobbing. Jules knew better than to stand out in the open too long. The world had changed overnight—no, in the blink of an eye. He darted into an alley, ducking into t...

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“Familiar Yet Unfamiliar” by Jethro Pili

The first thing Sam Ihle noticed was the smell. It was faint, lingering in the air like smoke after a distant fire. There was nothing distinct about it, yet it pulled at the edges of his memory, unsettling him.  The small, idyllic town of Seabrook sprawled out before him, framed by rolling hills and dotted with picket fences. He stood at the top of a familiar hill, the same one he’d stood on countless times before as a kid, staring down at a place that was both home and… not.  The houses were mostly the same—mostly. But the O’Rourk...

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“Winds of Change” by Jethro Pili

Alex Barrett stared at the plate of cookies on the table in front of him like they were land mines. He’d grown up knowing that his family’s Christmas gatherings were practically synonymous with sugar overload—gingerbread men, snickerdoodles, sugar-dusted shortbread, chocolate crinkles, and those famous chocolate-covered marshmallow Santas, not to mention all the grease and red meat—Christmas feasts at the Barrett household could put Henry VIII and his court with their lavish banquets to shame. It was always mouth-watering and tantalizing—a f...

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“Tarnished Silver” by Jethro Pili

The air was crisp, a late autumn chill lingering as the group of friends gathered outside Catherine’s apartment. There had been a sense of anticipation building up for weeks—a night out to see Tarnished Silver, a modern retelling of the Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere legend. It wasn’t just any play. It had been the subject of many conversations, debates, and even playful arguments. They’d all agreed to go, though not without some amount of skepticism.Catherine was already in a good mood, grinning as she slid into Randy’s car, her arm drape...

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“A Candle on the Window Sill (A Soldier’s Peace)” by Jethro Pili

The snow fell in quiet waves outside the modest farmhouse near Winchester, Virginia. Its blanket muffled the sharpness of December, shrouding the land as if to obscure the memory of the war that had so recently swept across it. Inside, the warm glow of the fireplace softened the worn edges of the home, though the corners still bore the ghostly chill of loss.  John Abernathy sat alone at the kitchen table, running his thumb along the rim of an empty coffee cup. He stared at the window, where a single candle burned on the sill, its wax po...

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“It’s The Most Horrible Time Of The Year” by Jethro Pili

Snow fell like whispers from a sky burning red, each flake darker than coal and softer than ash. Ethan pulled his jacket tighter, though he knew the cold was only in his head. It wasn’t the freezing air that made his breath hitch but the uneasy sense that none of this was right. It was Christmas Eve, after all—his favorite time of the year. His mother’s living room was aglow with fairy lights, and the faint scent of pine mixed with baked goods should have been comforting.  But the snow was black—as black as the vilest sin. The sky was s...

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“A Diversion” by Jethro Pili

The small, dimly lit living room at 431 Maple Street was thick with tension. The brown and orange wallpaper—once cheery in its retro charm—seemed oppressive in the muted evening light. Six people sat uneasily on the worn couches and chairs, their expressions wary. On the coffee table lay a small stack of uneaten cookies and a pitcher of untouched lemonade. No one was in the mood.Bruce would be here any minute.“He’s going to explode,” whispered Emily, the youngest of the group, her knuckles white as she gripped the edge of her chair. Her brig...

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“Ten Thousand Words To Redemption” by Jethro Pili

Chapter 1: The End of a Byline The newsroom was unnaturally quiet. Too quiet. Brian Combs adjusted his tie and glanced down at his resignation letter, the words blurring together and dancing despite his best effort to focus. His editor, Diane Monroe, loomed behind her desk, reading the letter silently. Her face remained neutral, but her eyes burned with disappointment like the disappointment of a parent over their rebellious child when they know their child should know better and could do so much better. Like a parent who is faced with their...

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“January 1, 2019” by Jethro Pili

The icy air of New York gripped Officer Shaan Patel as he clicked his seatbelt into place in the patrol car. His partner, Victor Velasquez, sat beside him, fiddling with the radio. It was New Year’s morning, early enough that the drunks from Times Square had all staggered home, and only the sirens remained to herald the city’s daybreak.“We’re in for an easy shift,” Velasquez muttered. He glanced at Patel with a lopsided grin. “You still hanging onto that ‘New Year, new me’ stuff?”Patel snorted. “Someone’s gotta make resolutions around here, ...

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“First Do No Harm” by Jethro Pili

Trigger/Content Warning: Illness and wrongful patient death On a cold and rainy Washington fall evening, Dr. Summer Smith adjusted the microphone stand with trembling fingers as a sea of reporters filled the Seattle Hope Memorial Hospital pressroom. Cameras clicked relentlessly, capturing every micro-expression, every subtle sign of emotion, and every crack in her voice. She took a deep breath, clutching a small stack of index cards with her neatly written notes, but it was no use. No script could frame this moment. She looked up and caught ...

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“A World Rekindled” by Jethro Pili

The land of Everdark knew no hope. Beneath the perpetual gloom that blanketed the skies and veiled the ground, life persisted in a desperate monotony. The stars were blind eyes. The sun and moon were legends whispered among the weary, passed down from eras forgotten. No one alive had seen the light; no one even believed it to exist. And yet, they feared what they did not understand—the promise of a brighter world, whispered in shadows by prophets too bold for their time.  For 4,000 years, darkness reigned unchallenged, its grip enforced...

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