John k Adams

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2019

Stories (69)

69 Stories

1645 karma pts

?

“Blue Moon” by John k Adams

Dril entered from the air-lock. Myr looked up from the vid-screen.“Brrr, it’s cold out there.”“Don’t you wear your suit?”“Of course I do. You think I’m crazy?”Myr raised an eyebrow but didn’t answer that. “I remember reading it is always cold out there. It’s the moon, silly.”“I know it’s the moon. I got us this gig, remember?”“That I do.”“I mean, who better than us to prospect the best sites for mining delicious moon cheese?”“No one I can think of.” Myr sighed. “You...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Memory Falls Silent as Snow” by John k Adams

Adam stepped into the cold morning air dressed for frigid temperatures. The secrets of survival in the cold were now old lessons, learned the hard way. He never lost a toe to frostbite, but the nerve damage lingered. Being impervious to the elements is a fantasy born of childish bravado. ‘Get tough or die’ was his youthful motto. The days of venturing out in winter weather, with no hat or gloves were long gone. It began to snow in big, heavy clumps. There is something so wondrous and fantastic seeing those swirling flakes de...

2 comments 2
Read story

“2020 Foresight” by John k Adams

Hal saw Alice enter the hotel bar. She was alone and didn’t pause on her way to the bar.The place had been filling up for a while. And with only two hours left in the decade, it would soon be SRO. She approached the well-stocked bar with a predatory expression on her face. When she reached the bar Hal caught her eye and indicated the empty stool next to him. “You’re in time for the show. May I buy you a drink? I’m Hal.” He offered his hand.Alice scanned the room. “I’m Alice. Why don’t I buy you one? Since you h...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Reunion Anxiety” by John k Adams

“What are you doing here?”“Hi, Mom! It’s been a while…”“Well, you’re here now. Come in. You’re letting out all the dust.”Maybelle stepped aside and opened the door for Tom to enter. She offered her cheek for him to kiss. The house had the smell of home. ‘Only here,’ Tom thought. ‘It never changes....

0 comments 0
Read story

“The Ring” by John k Adams

“You must be kidding!” Chloe said. She looked around for support.Chloe stood behind the jewelry counter at Bloomies. Being a potential customer, she didn’t mind spending time with me. She still had hopes of selling me some extravagant gift for my wife, Heather.Chloe and Heather were best friends. She focused on me and gave me a very serious look. “Dan, I would not steer you wrong on this.”I interrupted, “Maybe on some things…”“…But not on this.” She smiled without humor. “If you value your marriage…”“Chl...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Ghost Strum” by John k Adams

Jane pointed. “Where did that come from?”Molly followed her mother’s gaze to the milk glass picture frame standing atop a shelf beneath the window. It captured the sunlight and seemed to glow. But Jane didn’t see the frame. She only saw the black and white photo of her teenaged self, arm in arm with a handsome kid in uniform. Molly answered carefully. “I found it in a box of old frames at the thrift store. Who’s the guy?”Her mother moved toward the picture. “It needs to go into the trash. Now.”Molly grab...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Last Call” by John k Adams

Charlie kissed his little boy, Charles Jr. and girl, Jenny, good-night and went downstairs to the living room. He clicked the remote, surfing through channels on cable. Nothing grabbed his interest. Charlie looked at the clock. After ten. He was restless.The phone rang. It was the landline they kept for emergencies.“Is Miriam there?”“Who is calling?”“Sergio. Let me talk to Miriam.”Charlie paused. Miriam was his wife. Wherever she was, she wasn’t with this idiot.“She isn’t here. I’ll give he...

0 comments 0
Read story

“The Flight Risk” by John k Adams

Marcus smiled down at Destiny. “May I buy you a drink?”“I have one, thank you. But we can talk.” She held a glass filled with icy clear liquid and a wedge of lime.“Great.” Marcus sat next to her.  Each table stood in its own intimate alcove, perfect for conversation. Most of the tables were filled with travelers reunited or saying their good-byes.Destiny smiled. “My name is Destiny.”She was the most beautiful woman Marcus had ever seen. “I’m Marcus.” Destiny offered her hand and he too...

0 comments 0
Read story

“The Secret” by John k Adams

Charlie had some choice words for her. But he didn’t like saying them, even to himself. She deserved them. ‘She’ was his fourth-grade teacher, Miss Margaret Pringle.‘Miss Pee’, her name being the source of endless humor among his classmates, yelled at Charlie today. In front of his friends, no less. He hadn’t done his homework. He hated homework. He hated her.Miss Pee made him stay after school to finish it. But Charlie outsmarted her. When she left the classroom, Charlie picked up his backpack and made an ‘exit left’.

0 comments 0
Read story

“Timing” by John k Adams

Rich listened to the man on the phone and then said, “Graven images? No sir. We are a photographic service, not a funeral home.” Rich wrote something on his pad. “Oh, I see. You are getting married but want no graven images? Got it. Well, here at Silva, we do photography.” Rich gestured to Pete in the vein of ‘Where do these weirdos come from?’Pete was waiting to discuss his first wedding shoot. It had been a huge break for him. He looked around the office. A large light table, for examining negatives, stood against one wall...

1 comment 1
Read story

“The Old Nome Hotel” by John k Adams

At first glance, the old hotel looked different than Jeremy remembered. It resembled a mountain when seen through the trees in the dwindling light. Jeremy realized the mist drifting through the towers gave the impression of movement. On first sight, Jeremy’s horse, King, pulled back. The massive structure loomed. But appearances were not the only cause of Jeremy’s hesitation.  He stroked King’s mane gently. “You’ve been here before, King. Is that why you balk?”This was his tenth and final year paying tribute at the mans...

3 comments 3
Read story

“Martha Didn’t Show” by John k Adams

“Where’s Martha, Ben? You lose her?” That was Tim talking.“Naw. She didn’t show.” Ben tapped his steering wheel. He won the game tonight, but looked anxious.“I thought I saw her.”“You’re joking.”“I saw her get into someone’s car. Maybe with Simmy…?”“Oh, man… What’s she doing with that ass?”“Guess you’d have to ask him or her about that…”It was the traditional Friday night gridlock, down Bentfork’s three block Main Street. After the game, anyone with a car would meet here. Three blocks up, a...

0 comments 0
Read story

“No Wounds like Old Wounds” by John k Adams

I watched him lying on his bed. This once super-human force, my father, now lay still, an empty shell, small and vulnerable. Almost unrecognizable. Formerly bigger than life itself, how could this be the man who dominated my puny life? The bed appeared to swallow him. I spent my life waiting to see him exposed and weak. I felt empty.I could touch his hand. But an impossible, impassable distance separated us. How does one bridge a chasm created through the span of life?We hadn’t spoken in years. Answering the phone, he...

2 comments 2
Read story

“The Split” by John k Adams

`David knew big kids eat lunch with big kids. David was a little kid. That’s why his sisters didn’t lunch with him.When he became a big kid, little kids would eat with little kids.And anyway, girls don’t eat with boys, no matter what size they are. It’s the way things work. Those are the rules. David’s mother, Debra, didn’t get it. She worried about David being stuck in a wheelchair. He rarely thought about that. When making their lunches for the day, Debra always said, “Hey kids, I know you trade and share. Bu...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Bros” by John k Adams

Mike awoke to the sound of the doorbell. He looked at the clock and tried to make sense of things. “What the… My God! It’s two-thirty.”Then the knocking began. He went to investigate, hoping Sarah, his wife, wasn’t disturbed.The banging was insistent. Mike peered out and saw his brother Griff standing under the porch light. “Hey Bro! Let me in! I’m cold.”Mike opened the door. “What do you want, Griff? Come back tomorrow. Everyone’s asleep.”“C’mon Mike. I’m freezing. I need a place to crash.”

0 comments 0
Read story

Author bio

Am told I drive like Mr. Toad and park like Robert Blake. I enjoy seeing how words and memory wrestle with reality. I have two grown children and a beautiful, loving wife. Yay!