Jo Boyle

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2022

Stories (9)

9 Stories

221 karma pts

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“Solstice” by Jo Boyle

Submitted to Contest #224

22nd June, 1995 Part 1 It was the morning of the winter solstice; the shortest day and the longest night, so that when the clock-radio flashed 4 a.m., it was still a long way from dawn. Holly slapped her hand down over the bleating box, but it was too late. Lacey groaned to the tune of You Oughta Know, the bedside lamp came on, and Holly was greeted with Lacey’s messy bro...

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“Taming the Flame” by Jo Boyle

Submitted to Contest #215

Farrah fixed her sleeveless summer dress, then headed from the bathroom through the hallway towards the chattering of guests. As she approached the large living room where the celebratory congregation was gathered, she noticed her study door was open when it shouldn’t have been, and hadn’t been only minutes before. She took the handle in her grip, and as she glanced into the room, noticed her laptop was open and the screen lit.Farrah wandered to the desk. The Word document ...

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“Runaway and Skye (The Dimming... Part 2)” by Jo Boyle

Submitted to Contest #209

Sunday, 10 July, 203316:59When Skye pulled her Tesla into Springvale’s Botanical Cemetery, she expected she’d have to make a trek on foot through the gardens to Tyler Devereaux’s gravesite. But as she drew nearer to Tyler’s final resting place, she spotted Millie’s chestnut pigtails waiting for her on the curb of the narrow road. She pulled over, leaned across and flung the passenger door open. Millie dropped her pink backpack into the footwell and climbed in. Then she fidgeted in her lap.“Millie, honey, wh...

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“The Dimming of the Light.” by Jo Boyle

Submitted to Contest #208

It was the strangest thing. All the lights in the house had blown, all at the same time.Lexi Banks stood before the bathroom mirror. Her reflection reminded her of a zombie spawned from one of those gruesome video games. Her ghastly appearance may have been due to the low wattage of one of the only spare globes she could find, but it seemed more likely she’d aged a lifetime overnight. The shadows under her eyes, the onyx of her dim bulbs, the black trenches that ran across her brow and under her bottom lip. It might not ...

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“The Unbraced Hull” by Jo Boyle

Submitted to Contest #202

Saturday, February 18, 2023With the flick of a switch a silence descended, almost as decisively as the thick blackness that prompted it. Thirty-two-year-old Harper Jenkins crouched low behind the couch, no less ready than a prowling panther. A ticking clock counted the seconds, until over her own muted breath, the sound of a key sliding into a deadbolt, and its double cylinders clunking. Harper’s nose tickled. Damn it! A sneeze was brewing. She muzzled her mouth and held her breath. Another click, and white light spilled...

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“My Little Cage” by Jo Boyle

Submitted to Contest #196

ONEApril 20, 2023Thursday.I don’t want you to think I’m crazy. But the truth is, I see dead people. Not in a Haley Joel Osment/Bruce Willis kind of way, exactly
Thirty-year-old Sydney Shepheard walked out of her psychologist’s office into a sunny afternoon, having not said those words. Maybe her sessions with Doctor Sinclair were privileged, but that didn’t mean she wanted to give him a reason to recommend a stay at Crystal Waters, the mental institution two sleepy towns ...

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“The Horses” by Jo Boyle

Submitted to Contest #195

(Content Warning: Hospitalisation and terminal illness.)In her crisp white coat and with her dark hair pulled into a bun, Doctor Bailey peered over her black-rimmed specs. Brenda sat across from her, in a room at the hospital set up much like any other office Brenda had visited.Doctor Bailey tilted the screen in Brenda’s direction. “You see this?” She tapped the LCD with a pen. “This is your left kidney.”Brenda scanned the monochrome image. “Why doesn’t it look like the right one?”“Because it’s shriv...

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“The Yips and a Bodgy Swimsuit.” by Jo Boyle

Submitted to Contest #195

I was a bit of a tomboy growing up. For those who don’t know, a tomboy is a girl who displays ‘boyish’ traits, or engages in activities traditionally designated for boys (a barrier that is slowly but thankfully eroding). I remember being described as a tomboy, but I couldn’t tell you who labelled me so. I can’t recall, and it’s not important. Suffice to say, I loved sports. All kinds of sports. I was very active as a youngster. And it didn’t really matter what, I’d have a go. Football, cricket, skipping, running, pushbike riding, swimming...

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“Everlee and Walnut” by Jo Boyle

Submitted to Contest #194

ONEMelbourne, Friday, March 10.Sitting outside the Moh-Kah Face CafĂ© on an overcast, mild autumn day, Taylor Greene scolded Nat Parker from across the table with an ostentatious eye roll. “It’s hardly brain surgery,” the plucky redhead asserted.“No. I’m guessing brain surgery would be easier.”“Just ask her, for goodness’ sake. Assuming she ever comes back.”Nat gave her head a shake. “A brain doesn’t look much more than a wet cauliflower to me. How hard is it to dissect a cauliflower?”...

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Author bio

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