Joy Barton

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Mar, 2020

Stories (5)

5 Stories

129 karma pts

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“Blackout” by Joy Barton

Submitted to Contest #42

July 9. It has only been ten hours and I miss my sweet Clara already. Jordy and little Timmy ask me where their mama went. How but how can a father explain to his two little boys that mama left. And without saying goodbye?Max traced his finger nails along the faint creases in his forehead, as his other hand cradled the black ink pen that spilled his words across the yellow lined paper. How intimate the pen reached the paper, caressing something so bare and blank from its overflow.Max squinted, his eyes tired from th...

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“Free To Fly” by Joy Barton

Submitted to Contest #41

Reg blotted his sun ravaged forehead with a crusty, crinkled napkin he retrieved from his pants pocket. He let out a throaty sigh, his breath meeting the heavy, hot July air, tasting of engine fuel and sausages sizzling from the nearby hot dog vendor.Plunging the dampened napkin back into his pocket with a clammy, shaky hand, he zig-zagged his way through a plight of other humans like him, couples chattering with shopping bags swaying in their hands, their mouths open in laughter, as if to swallow him. An old man trudging toward hi...

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“The Mourning Cloak” by Joy Barton

Submitted to Contest #40

"Hannah? Hannah, it is 8:30, hurry up, now!"The rap tap tap on the bathroom door along with her mother's fervent voice, muffled on the other side, urged Hannah's hand to swat down on the toilet lever with irritation.The toilet gurgled and swirled, swallowing up the water enough to spew it back up again. Her stomach rumbled again as if to tease her, and she wretched. It was the dry heaves she hated the most. Two weeks of this, she thought through burrowed eyebrows as she searched her face in the mirror. Despite how pale she w...

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“Too Far So Close” by Joy Barton

Submitted to Contest #39

The small boy sat on the front step that August summer night in 1969. The air was heavy, and only a slight breeze breathed across his face as he gazed up at the dark sky, searching for Deneb, his favorite star. Vega and Altair were just as beautiful, and they fought for the same attention. They were bright, and only because they were closer to the eye. Deneb never sought the attention, she was present, but so far away and yet the most luminous of her sisters. Deneb caught his eye, blue and white she was. 'I'm here,' she seemed t...

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“Door At The End of The Hall” by Joy Barton

Submitted to Contest #38

"Go home, we don't want you here!"Caroline pressed her back against the brick wall, and traced her fingers through the scraggly yarn hair of her smiling cloth doll she named Dorthy. At seven, she could never spell her name correctly, but her doll's name was fitting since she named her after her mother. "I..I just came over to play," her voice was trapped from what felt like a fist in her throat. Gerry moved closer to her now, his broad chest thrust against her."Oh, let her play with us," his much smaller and y...

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Author bio

I currently live in Toronto, Canada with my two cats Scotty and Luna. I have always been inspired to write and my grade 6 teacher enjoyed my short story and it was awarded. English teachers through high school remarked that I should consider writing and in my spare time I do some writing for my own hobby. I am grateful I came across Reedsy and love the prompts for the short stories. I enjoy reading others stories. My favorite author is Stephen King and my prefered genre is non fiction, suspense and general.