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John K Adams

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2019

Stories (299)
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955 Followers
1164 Following

299 Stories

8976 karma pts

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Tea for Three

Submitted to Contest #287

Checking the day’s schedule, Maude looked forward to meeting her first-time client, Silesia. Her daily prep included the wide variety of tea blends sufficient to the day’s demands. Maude called her social events ‘Pours.’ Modeled after the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, she aimed deeper than mere tranquility. Her delicious, blended teas reoriented her client’s views of themselves and the world. She tailored each concoction individually by adding herbs and essential oils. Every ingredient was organic and non-toxic.Of course, it was all leg...

11 likes 4 comments 4
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Fire Escape

Submitted to Contest #286

Geoff’s phone kept ringing. He knew it was Madelaine, his hysterical friend… girlfriend? ‘Mad,’ for short. Who else? He didn’t pick up. He knew what it was about. He didn’t need to hear, again, how foolhardy he was to move into the hills.He was busy. Half an hour ago the evacuation order gave him an hour. Wind buffeted his house. Hundred mile per hour gusts were predicted. A siren wailed by. No rain for months. Fire was racing down the canyon toward him, driven by Santa Ana winds.Everything in his life had gone insane. He had minutes to choo...

16 likes 6 comments 6
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Dog and Pony

Submitted to Contest #283

Young Ryder entered the living room early Christmas morning to see a large box lying beside the tree. It was too large to fit among the other presents. There were holes around the top. Ryder stared in awe as he thought he saw the box move. He whispered, “A pony? Santa brought me a pony?”He ran to the box and peered into one of the air holes. A Beagle puppy stared back. Its wagging tail thumped. It whimpered, begging for release.“Mom! Dad! Santa brought me a pony!”Ryder’s parents, Paige and Levi, entered. Still in pajamas, they were bleary fr...

17 likes 17 comments 17
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Mine

Submitted to Contest #282

Cole didn’t know if he was asleep or awake until he heard someone cough. Then began the incessant striking of hammer on stone. Earl, the foreman, had set up shifts for everyone. He’d said, “Keep pounding. Let them know we’re still here. Alive.”There was no light. None. Not a glimmer. Everything felt dreamlike. Only Cole’s dreams felt real. They played out in daylight.How long since the cave in? Time had lost meaning. It felt like forever. Or an hour ago. He’d startle awake and wonder where he was. Then remember. How long had he slept? A few ...

15 likes 10 comments 10
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Surprise Party

Submitted to Contest #281

Sam opened the front door to see his younger brother, Clark, holding a decorative bottle bag. He blocked his entry.“What are you doing here?”He offered him the gift bag. “Merry Christmas to you too, Sam.”Sam took the bag and set it on the gift table. “Cute, Clark. But no cigar. You need to leave.” Clark was used to Sam’s challenges, but this was extreme.“You’re serious? I came to make peace.”Sam set his jaw, out of patience for his brother’s games.“What if that’s not an option? Your being here offers anything but peace.”“Listen to yourself. ...

9 likes 8 comments 8
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Playtime

Submitted to Contest #280

“No, don’t!” Shocked, Jeremy looked at Pricilla.  He said, “Why?”He’d just told her he planned to propose marriage to Adele, his girlfriend.Pricilla hadn’t thought before speaking. Now she didn’t have time to think.’You’re too young… Her first name would sound funny with your last… I don’t have a present… What about college? She has plans for the summer… She’s already married. Oh… I love you… No…’There had been joggers on the path. Ducks paddled about the lake. It felt eerily quiet now. ‘Where is everyone when I need them?’Pricilla trie...

20 likes 25 comments 25
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The Last

Submitted to Contest #279

Lou awoke completely alone.Ordinarily, that would not be unusual. But this evening, he found himself seated in the middle of the city’s largest auditorium.“How…? Where…?” Squinting into the bright lights, he looked around, trying to understand. He sat, the sole person in a sea of empty seats. Moments before, it had been standing room only. Nothing made sense. Was it a dream? ‘Am I dreaming now?’Invited by Mona, he got stuck watching a speech by the most boring man in the world. Lou knew this was true. He'd heard them all. Only Mona could con...

26 likes 16 comments 16
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Cheater

Submitted to Contest #278

Connie prepared for work and ignored the envelope which had lain on her table unread for two days. Its mere existence was an affront. ‘Just throw it away…’She recognized Rusty’s initials on the return address but couldn’t care less what he might wish to say. It had been too long. ‘Why now?’ Over him long ago, and with no thought of him for years, had she seen him in a decade?She’d been crazy for him then. He ended it suddenly with a rushed, mumbled explanation. He was gone from her life. But not her head.‘What happened… what went wrong, I’ll...

14 likes 7 comments 7
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Dragons Fly

Submitted to Contest #277

Ursula stood on the precipice, looking toward the distant castle. She pulled her hood close. Tethered nearby, her horse grumbled as it ate from a hay bale.“Why am I here? I should be attending Queen Hannah… not tending livestock.” She looked into the cave at the she dragon. Brooding, Safire rested in her nest. Sunlight from the cave entrance shone off its scales, warming the cave with a rosy glow. Ursula had never seen anything alive so huge. Stepping up to Safire’s eye, she smoothed her hair in the reflection. Safire watched impassively. Ha...

16 likes 10 comments 10
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Twisted

Submitted to Contest #276

My father and I had a complicated relationship. He had a family with four children to raise. I was the third son. From my narrow perspective, I felt like an also ran.A good provider, we were always housed, fed and clothed. We lacked for nothing material. But Dad always did things his way, in his time. He was an entrepreneur. When opportunities arose, he took them. The family followed. He saw many opportunities. We moved often. Dad planned to move the summer before I entered seventh grade. He listed the house for sale without telling our moth...

30 likes 35 comments 35
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Witchy

Submitted to Contest #275

Witchy “Here they come…” To Freya, they were the proverbial mob carrying torches and pitchforks. Objectively, they were trick-or-treaters doing what little kids do on this iconic day. They toured the neighborhood in fanciful costumes toting pillowcases and plastic buckets laden with sweets. Not wanting to harsh their sugar buzz, a few vigilant parents followed at a distance.Freya hated that Samhain, her holiday, had become the cartoonish Hallmark holiday, Halloween. Samhain’s magic had gotten trampled by a vast commercial enterprise dedicat...

26 likes 11 comments 11
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Ghosted

Submitted to Contest #275

Terrance watched the two women enter and tour his house. They didn’t notice him. He’d called it home his whole life. He built it. He only occupied it now. Terrance was a ghost.He’d seen the rental agent, Peyton, over the years. She came on the scene after he vacated the premises. Being an absentee landlord, his son deferred to Peyton.The prospective tenant was a young woman, smartly dressed.Terrance chided himself. “Everyone looks young to you, old fool…”He sensed she was high strung despite her professional, relaxed demeanor with Peyton.The...

22 likes 12 comments 12
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Scoped

Submitted to Contest #274

Harry sat unmoving at his bench, staring at the petri dish containing his latest biology lab assignment. Everyone else busied themselves peering into microscopes, passing notes or asking questions.Harry only appeared to be staring. Lost in a reverie, he could have been anywhere. His parents’ argument that morning replayed over and again.Nothing new, their arguing was consistent and boring. A bad soundtrack to his life.‘But the things they said… How can people talk like that? They even hear each other?’Harry doubted it. He didn’t understand m...

18 likes 14 comments 14
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Three Wishes

Submitted to Contest #272

Furman Bentley awoke in a foul mood, an emotional state more common than not. “Deadlines… deadlines, deadlines…!”A popular author, Furman resented his editor’s incessant prodding him to excellence. Harley Houston, of Houston, Farley and Plum was his editor and publisher.Their phone conversations usually ended abruptly. Furman would tell Harley, “I’m always excellent. I don’t submit until it’s perfect. You only make changes to justify your pay.” For emphasis, almost his signature, he’d slam his phone down. Preserving the freedom to slam phone...

32 likes 16 comments 16
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Boogieman

Submitted to Contest #272

Jonathan’s kids, Arlo and Devon, crawled into their beds. Cal, their cat, curled up at the foot of Arlo’s bed. Its tail swept up and landed with a contented thud every few seconds.Arlo asked, “Will you read us a story?”Devon giggled. “A scary one.”“I don’t know… would your mom like that? The idea’s to sleep, not get nightmares…”Grinning, she held out an old, hard covered book. “This one…”The book looked familiar to Jonathan, as if from a dream. Taking it from her he looked at the faded print on the spine, ‘Stories for the Sleepless, by Edwin...

18 likes 8 comments 8
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