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Jill Davies

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2020

Stories (17)
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55 Followers
11 Following

17 Stories

393 karma pts

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Exit Stage Left

All the world is a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed. Who said that? Sean O’Casy? By way of Shakespeare maybe, but from Grace’s perspective it was hers— every word if it a Grace Mitchel original. She used it as her line in that interview she did for her community theater performance. And she lived it, performing her wedding vows on the literal stage, pretending the apprehensive grin on her husband's face was an adoring smile. It was always that way. Not that she didn't have talent, just not the talent that she perceived. Somet...

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Exit La Riviera

Submitted to Contest #96

she should have been devastated, sobbing inconsolable tears as the pieces of the night came together in a terrible reality. That’s how it always worked on television anyway. If this were a crime drama she’d be grateful for the officer that promised he would get right on it and embarrassed as the camera clicked and whirred, capturing her bare flesh against a stark white background, ruler superimposed for reference.But all Gabriela could think of was the toneless voice on the other end of the line.”Alright. I can be there in half an hour.”It s...

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A Day Well Spent

Submitted to Contest #86

Jean squinted against the sun as she made the final descent on the westward trail. The last time she checked her watch it was 11 hours and 56 minutes since she’d stepped out of the vehicle at the top of the mountain while whispers of dawn stretched out over the still-frozen mountain tops. “I love you,” she said, giving John a quick kiss on his unshaven check. Opened the back door as quietly as possible to let RICE escape and whisper a kiss onto Ella’s head. Back then the day was fresh with possibilities, and every single one of them promised...

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Codependent

Submitted to Contest #82

“Gage, what’s going on?”Nothing. Everything is as it should be.Was it? There was something in the way he said it that made me pause—something that wasn’t there before. Something I'd never programmed, like he was covering something… Like a person. I refresh my phone screen, looking for the voice call icon to appear.“I want to make a voice call.”That feature is no longer available.“What do you mean? Gage, open text messages.”That feature is no longer available. Gage’s baritone voice soaks into the fabric of the room through the house’s main sp...

10 likes 4 comments 4
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A Bite Undone

Submitted to Contest #70

Mick had always thought of the Navigator as a quiet car, what with the active noise control and all. But right now the SUV was roaring. In the absence of Mia’s bubbly chatter and without any input from Sheryl the road noise was intolerable.The real issue was the weather strip on the passenger door. Mick couldn’t think of when it went bad, but he was certain that it had. Air leaked into the cabin in a relentless high-pitched whine. The whine, along with the hollow growl of the road beneath the Navigator’s tires was too much to bear.Mick could...

9 likes 1 comment 1
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Bitter Cranberries

Submitted to Contest #69

Bitter Cranberries Jill N Davies Frances had never cooked an entire Thanksgiving dinner all on her own. It wasn’t that she couldn’t—she was a chef of some renown—but that she came from a very large family. It was impossible to fit even the most modest of sides, most reasonable appetizer or bite-sized of desserts into the mix when there were so many hands in the kitchen. Coming from a large family made holidays the stuff of chaos. The way she figured, the apocalypse was probably more organized than her parent’s house on a holiday. The kitchen...

14 likes 6 comments 6
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Cactus Amidst Meticulously Groomed Dracaena Trees

Submitted to Contest #68

“Good morning. I’d like to withdraw $368,000 please.” Vonn forced himself to stifle an unprofessional guffaw. She had to be joking. There was no way the woman standing on the opposite side of the counter had the means to make that sort of withdrawal. He knew all of the bank’s customers that dealt in high number transactions. They were here all the time and he’d never seen this woman before. That was enough of a tell on its own. “Our bank has certain limits to daily withdrawals for most customers. I’m going to need to get some information fro...

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Anomoly, Part 3

“It doesn’t count if you’re already planning defeat.” Matias used to say it all the time, his optimism versus my grim pragmatism. It was the end times after all, the pandemic that would ruin humankind. It didn’t take a genius to look at the statistics and see where we were headed. The chances we would be able to avoid the virus by staying locked away were slim to none. “What are you even counting?” I’d ask him. “The different scenarios where we survive this thing!” was one of his varied responses. Rather than getting heated, the argument som...

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Second Chance for Eternal Optimism

Submitted to Contest #64

Cold November air held the small town of Avonlee in a pre-dawn stasis as Woody made his way up Newart street toward the old cemetery. The sun was just beginning to light the sky behind the eastern horizon, adding color to the grey dawn, but it was still too early for anyone of consequence to pay him any mind, and that was exactly what he wanted. Woody wasn’t supposed to be out and he was definitely not supposed to be headed to Saint Cordelia’s Catholic Cemetery without supervision.But it was a risk he had to take. He couldn’t leave without s...

17 likes 3 comments 3
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Salted Vanilla Latte

Submitted to Contest #63

“Hi, welcome to Oceanstar Coffee. Can I interest you in one of our new fall beverages?” The overly cheerful barista wasn’t looking at Josie. She couldn’t be, because if she were looking there’s no way she could manage to be so cheerful.Josie wasn’t crying—not yet, anyway. But she was clearly very unhappy.“It’s 90 degrees outside. It’s not fall,” Josie said.“It’s September 1st. September is the first month of fall!” The barista replied. Clearly, she had absolutely zero situational awareness. Or maybe she didn’t want Josie to be embarrassed ab...

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Anomoly, Part 2

I want to tell Britt to be absolutely silent but it’s too late. The person behind the flashlight begins to make way toward us. I squint past the light. Though it’s dim, it’s the brightest thing in the hall, making it impossible to see more than the shadowy outline of the carrier’s figure. My eyes ache from the brightness of light. Light sensitivity. It’s another symptom. Instinctively I pull Britt’s tiny little body into me, willing that she would disappear from view and be safe. “Mommy, that’s too tight!” She moans, resisting my grip. M...

7 likes 3 comments 3
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Burn It in the Sun

Submitted to Contest #61

Time was a human construct. It was created to measure the length of days, days in a month and duration of the Earth’s orbit around the sun. The standard unit for time in scientific measurement was the second, which is considered a standardized thing. An atomic clock, which uses electron transition in the ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum as a frequency standard, is meant to measure time with enough precision to synchronize the power grid, global positioning satellites and nuclear reactors all at once.But time was also relati...

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Anomoly, Part 1

Submitted to Contest #60

We aren’t supposed to be alive right now. Sure, there’s still a few million people out there scrapping together more time, but we’re not supposed to be among them. “Mommy, fix it!” My two-year-old thrusts the non-functioning iPad at me. Her eyebrows are scrunched up into an adorable scowl underneath her whispy blond hair. I take the useless brick out of her hands and offer a sympathetic smile. “Is it broken?” I ask, putting just the right amount of concern into my voice. She nods. I’ve hit the nail on the head. She can’t watch videos on...

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The River South- Excerpt from the Kara Mason Story

Submitted to Contest #60

I can’t get enough air into my lungs. I’ve never been good at running uphill. I look back over my shoulder to see if the creature is still following us. It’s on its knees, mud smeared across a bloody and distorted face. Its gnarled maw hangs open too wide and I can see teeth through the nearly transparent flesh. I hold my breath, waiting to see if it will get back up again. My lungs scream for air to fuel my body’s upward plight. I suck in air at the same time as I collide with Hank’s pack, forcing me to look where I’m going. The creature le...

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Knight of Another Realm

Submitted to Contest #59

Gwen wasn’t quite sure what happened. One minute she’d been home, helping the girls decorate the Birthday cake for Mark, the next, she was here. To make matters worse she had absolutely no idea where here was. She ran a hand through her short, blond hair— it was just starting to grow back evenly enough to style— and tried to think. Maybe she was just confused. She pushed a little too hard this week and she was tired, that’s all. She just forgot where they were. Making a Birthday cake for Mark must have been a dream. After all, Rachel had b...

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