Karen Johnson

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2020

Stories (5)

5 Stories

123 karma pts

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“The Been Heres ” by Karen Johnson

Submitted to Contest #59

The Been Heres “Have you met them yet?” Sarah peeks through the lace curtains of my parlor window at the moving van parked in front of the house across the street. At another window I discretely watch men remove furniture from the truck and take it into the house that has stood vacant for as long as I can remember. “Oooh. Look at that sideboard. Surely it’s Elizabethan?” Sarah turns to me for confirmation. “I...

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“A Place in the Sun” by Karen Johnson

Submitted to Contest #58

A Place in the Sun It started gradually. A tiny spot, then another. Perfectly normal, according to the experts in the field. But when the spots multiplied instead of disappearing as they were supposed to do, the experts grew quiet. I was only an infant when the phenomenon began. As I grew, so did the sunspots until by the time I reached the age of twenty, the environment of the entire planet had changed, and no one worried about global warming anymore. Instead, we worried abou...

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“Spittin' Image” by Karen Johnson

Submitted to Contest #57

SPITTIN’ IMAGE Really? All it takes is a little spit and some money, and you can tell where I'm from? Other than Akron, Ohio, of course. I’m not sure if that makes you a freaking genius or me a moron. Guess I’ll have to wait for the results to find out. This experiment should prove interesting. I was born into a clan short on family history. I barely knew my grandparents, and my parents didn’t know their grandparents at all. With a name like Kennedy, I’m sure I’m Irish. Maybe I’m a long, lost membe...

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“A Jewel for All Hallows' Eve” by Karen Johnson

Submitted to Contest #55

A Jewel for All Hallows’ Eve The air was ripe with smells of autumn as Ruby walked with her new friend Wilhelmina, Mina for short, to their next class, Mythical Literature. Smoke from a fireplace in one of the houses near campus wafted in the air and mingled with the crisp fragrance of the cedar tree they passed and the cinnamon aroma from the cup of spiced tea she carried. Not knowing a soul on campus, Ruby’s launch into college had been a bit bumpy, but things were better now that she had met Mina. She didn’t need many friends as long as ...

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“The Dead Of Winter” by Karen Johnson

Submitted to Contest #55

The Dead of Winter Gram had called Marcie early that morning and told her to come over, explaining she wanted someone to plant daffodils in the flower beds outlining the front of her house. At first, Marcie tried to beg off, but Gram had insisted the bulbs had to be planted today. To Marcie, November didn’t seem the time to plant anything, especially this November. Normally, the month of November was an enigmatic time with oscillating sun warmed days and cold nights, but this year, winter had come on early and hard. The thermometer on the b...

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Author bio

A retiree who enjoys writing in Oxford, MS. The spirit of William Faulkner is pervasive here, inspiring many to write. As he put it “Everyone in the South has no time for reading because they are all too busy writing.” ― William Faulkner