Kathleen Fine

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jun, 2021

Stories (37)

37 Stories

2589 karma pts

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“Hunting with Hyenas” by Kathleen Fine

Uncapping the large plastic bottle labelled Liquid Sugar, Jezebel deliberately twisted her wrist just inches above her chest, gripping the container tightly in her hand. As the sticky, clear fluid dripped down her torso, she made eye contact with the suited man in the front row before examining the rest of the room. The dim lights highlighted the thick cigar smoke wafting through the air, making Jezebel resist the instinctual urge to rub her eyes. She hated smoking almost as much as she hated drinking. ...

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“The Belly of the Fish” by Kathleen Fine

Biting down forcefully on her lower lip, Dinah stepped the ball of her foot onto the cold, wet sand. The touch of the small grains under her feet for the first time in forty years made her catch her breath. She could feel the deep-seated memories trying to push their way out. Push their way, not out of her mind, but out of her heart.A seagull made a long call above her and she peeked up for the first time, trying to avoid the vast body of water in front of her. Focus on the bird. Focus on the bird. Squinting, sh...

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“The Siblings’ God Forgot to Give Us” by Kathleen Fine

“The key is under the flowerpot, next to the frog statue.” Casey recalled the instructions Muriel had given her a few days ago. Bending down, she lifted the heavy terracotta pot with both hands. She watched as a large earth worm raised its faceless head towards her, assumingly agitated by her interrupting its dark slumber.“Sorry, lil’ fella,” she whispered as she grabbed the brass key, placing the pot back down carefully as to not squish the tenant underneath. “We haven’t been there in a couple years…since mo...

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“The Coin Flip” by Kathleen Fine

“Okay, heads I eat the worm, tails, you eat it,” Riff muttered to Clay as he gripped at the cold copper-plated zinc in his sweaty palm. He wiped a bead of moisture from his forehead, wondering how he could flip the penny strategically to get it to land on tails. He debated about using the trick coin that he’d traded with Billy on the bus last week for his pocketknife. Double tails = Win every time! was the writi...

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“Bernard (The Saint’s) 2023 New Year's Resolutions” by Kathleen Fine

1. Worry about feeling good, not about being thinner.You are not the number on Dr. Collie, the vet’s, scale. You are done with obsessing over what the “normal” weight is for your breed and are going to focus on what the “normal” weight is for your soul.2. Stop gossiping about other dogs.Just because Lucky, the Doberman next door, may or may not have ruined Mrs. Robbin’s flower bushes, it’s not your business. Don't be that dog. Spread positivity only....

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“The Hummingbird” by Kathleen Fine

Roxanne hated black. She hated black licorice. She hated black pepper. She hated her coffee black. Black didn’t suit her. Roxanne was a colorful woman and therefore she always dressed vibrantly. So instead of wearing black to Henry’s viewing, she wore green. A green Badgley Mischka Mikado satin bow midi-dress that she was supposed to wear to a gala she was attending in Montreal with Henry in two weeks. But now, she’d be going to the gala solo. Now, Henry was dead.Henry had always told her green brought out her green eyes...

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“Admit One for Love” by Kathleen Fine

“One cotton candy, two popcorns, and a lemonade,” the mother perching behind the stand hollered towards Christie. Two toddlers were tugging on her pant legs, causing the mother to lose her balance, as she knocked the metal container of straws over. “You said one or two popcorns?” Christie shouted back as she reached over and lifted the container upright, shoving the paper straws back in. <...

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“The Influencer” by Kathleen Fine

Monday EveningMorning Weight: 112 lbs.Evening Weight: 114.8 lbs.Calories Ingested: 1,010Instagram Followers: 86,943“Just one more,” Virginia ordered.She’d spent the day at her aunt’s pool across town posing in a string bikini while her ten-year-old sister, Andy, petulantly took photos of her. “One more of me on the flamingo float,” she’d instructed Andy as she directed for her minion to grab the raft in the middle of the pool and...

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“The Great Equality Act” by Kathleen Fine

Astrid buckled her seatbelt and turned on her seat warmers. “Ahhh,” she sighed as she waited for her toosh to unthaw from the frigid air outside. She clicked on the AM radio station, her morning ritual, and backed out of the driveway towards her, now regular, route to work. “We want our lives back,” a lady on the radio announced, “Ever since The Great Equality Act was put into effect last year, those o...

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“Love Letters from Lexington Prison” by Kathleen Fine

April 2, 2022Dearest Lou,I miss you so very much. Seeing you on Saturday only made me love you more. Did you get the $300 I put into your account before I left? To think that you are locked in that teeny tiny cell all alone keeps me up all night. My only solace is knowing I can visit you every weekend, even if it takes me 8 hours to drive to see you. I have enclosed the photo you requested of me and my daughter, Betsy. Have they accepted your request for a retrial? I know you are innocent of killing those girls. M...

60 comments 60 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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“A Good Night's Sleep” by Kathleen Fine

Harvey was snoring louder than normal, so Gloria kicked his hairy leg aggressively under the covers. Without waking, he rolled from his back to his side, his big belly flopping on the mattress as if he were a seal basking in the sun. She noticed that his belly looked bigger than her sister’s had been when she was nine months pregnant. Feeling impish, Gloria poked her newly manicured finger into the flesh next to Harvey’...

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“The Liar” by Kathleen Fine

(Trigger: Death)“How you feelin’?” you ask as you adjust the pillows behind Astrid’s tiny five-year-old head. You try to reposition her frail body upright to help drain the excess secretions from her nose and throat. She grimaces. You force a smile.“I heard Santa is visiting today,” you say as you turn the almost-empty IV pump to hold, hang the new bag on the pole taking the stopper off, remove the tubing from the old bag and insert the tubing into the new bag.You see Astrid’s eyes lig...

81 comments 81 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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“Percy Alexander’s Eighty-Third Birthday” by Kathleen Fine

Percy Alexander awoke on his eighty-third birthday and looked at the time on his bedside clock: 5:55 am. A good sign. A particularly good sign. He reached behind him and felt the sheets. Dry. Another good sign. Lately, he’d had more night accidents than he cared to admit. But today was his birthday. And although he didn’t have the best history of luck on his past eighty-two birthdays, (a heart attack on his sixtieth birthday, his sister’s death on his fifty-second birthday, getting fired from his job on his forty-ninth birthday) he was de...

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“A Mother's Future” by Kathleen Fine

Nicola scurries down Cedar Street, glancing behind her to ensure she’s alone. If word gets back to anyone where she’s headed, especially to her Catholic mother, she’ll never hear the end of it.“Six months along after years of trying. Can you believe it?” the pregnant woman at the coffee shop had exclaimed to her friend earlier that morning. Nicola’s ears had perked up as she finished her Monday crossword puzzle and sipped the foam from the bottom of her matcha latte. She’d peered over at the expectant mother, trying not ...

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“The All-Star” by Kathleen Fine

Theodore Hurlbutt III scratched at the poison ivy inching its way up his twig-like, pale arm as he heard a whistle blow from across the field. Good thing I never got chicken pox, he thought as he picked at the bumpy blisters on his skin- clear liquid oozing out. He couldn’t resist a good scratch, even if it might spread the dreadful rash.He’d gotten the outbreak the weekend before on a camping trip with his father in West Virginia. “It’ll be good for your bones!” his dad had announced as he packed up his Chevy Tahoe with a...

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Author bio

I received my Masters in Reading Education and currently live in Baltimore, Maryland with my husband and three children. My debut novel, Girl on Trial, will be released in October of 2023 and I would love reviewers! If you are interested, please click the link below: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/37992/girl-on-trial-reviewers Check out my website: https://www.kathleenfineauthor.com/ And follow me on Instagram! @kathleenfineauthor Email me at: Kathleenfineauthor@gmail.com

Shortlisted 2 stories ⭐️

Contest #158

Love Letters from Lexington Prison – read story

Contest #156

The Liar – read story