Keelan LaForge

Author on Reedsy Prompts since May, 2023

Stories (47)

47 Stories

1177 karma pts

?

“Persuasion” by Keelan LaForge

Submitted to Contest #248

“Could I persuade you to have another glass of gin?” asked Fred. He had just met Stella and he was a bit pushy for her liking, but in the spirit of the party, she agreed. “If I must. I’ve never loved gin.” “Well, why are you drinking it, then?!” he asked, in jest. “Because I don’t drink wine, I don’t like any other spirits and whenever I asked for a coke, the lady serving the drinks grimaced at me like I’d asked to drink out of the toilet bowl.” “Fair enough – gin it is. With tonic?” “Yes, it makes it slightly more drinkable – only slight...

6 comments 6
Read story

“Aquanauts in Action” by Keelan LaForge

Submitted to Contest #247

Paulo was a marine biologist with a thirst for adventure. He’d accrued a team of ten specialist scientists, all willing to remotely accompany him into the abyss. He’d done marine adventuring for thirty years, and he was ready to go to the place that sunlight had never touched. It looked like a huge act of bravery; to be bolder than the sun. But scientific curiosity is hard to squash, whatever risk it entails. Paulo’s best friend was Henry, a subaquatic archaeologist. He wanted to plumb the deepest depths of the sea too, to see what there wa...

14 comments 14
Read story

“Swinging with the Blessing of the Sun” by Keelan LaForge

Submitted to Contest #246

Sensitive topic warning - mentions unwanted pregnancy.It was a summer’s day in 1962. Nora and Heather were sitting in the playground, like they did every day after school. They’d been going to the same one since they were little. It was the only thing to do in their town, to pass the time. The rubber seats were curved and uncomfortable, but they’d spent hundreds of hours on them; probably days - even months in total. The day was more beautiful than Heather’s thoughts. She somehow felt disrespected by the sun; like it should have been more mi...

6 comments 6
Read story

“Sister Song of the Solar Eclipse” by Keelan LaForge

Submitted to Contest #245

Serena was the female god of the sun. “Goddess” somehow sounds diminutive, so for the purpose of the story, we will call her a god. She had powers that reached beyond any that preceded or followed her. She’d carried the responsibility of giving light since before her birth. Her father had been a lowly peasant, but her mother was a fire goddess, and her light and heat were passed onto her daughter and multiplied a thousand-fold. Serena was born with a halo of light surrounding her. She was hot to the touch. Her parents had to move her onto a ...

8 comments 8
Read story

“Remove One Thing and Change a Landscape Forever” by Keelan LaForge

Submitted to Contest #243

Isla awoke in her closeted existence. She’d always lived, safe and sound, with her family. She was thirty-three, but she felt no inclination to leave, or to travel further afield. She didn’t know what was out there, and that scared her. Some people are made to be adventurers, but she was a homebody. She loved it all: the scent of the coal fire that came from the living room downstairs, the sense of community in her closeknit neighbourhood, the fact that the sick cared for the sick; they didn’t just run and dig their heads into the ground lik...

7 comments 7
Read story

“Fireflies at Night, Art Appreciators' Delight” by Keelan LaForge

Submitted to Contest #242

Souvenir was coming to the Grand Met. He was the biggest painter in the biggest gallery and it was just down the road from where I lived. How lucky was I? I couldn’t wait to go. I could feel the anticipation building inside me like bubbles rising and popping in cola. I’d heard excellent things. We all had. It was a paying show and it was notoriously hard to get tickets. I’d secured mine months in advance. People were peddling fake ones on street corners to make a quick buck. That’s how popular they were. I was going with my friend, Se Yung....

8 comments 8
Read story

“Strange Weddings Call for Strange Guest Lists” by Keelan LaForge

Submitted to Contest #241

The couple couldn’t make up the guest list. They didn’t have enough friends. There were very few attending friends and family members: not enough to fill out more than a couple of rows. The venue was hired. It was grotesque in a gothic sort of way. It was an odd place for a wedding, but weddings have been held in odder places than that. “Hey!” shouted Carl, across the aisle, “Why are you all so deathly quiet?” The abruptness of this question made everyone fall into uncomfortable mumbling. Not a word could be made out in the vast theatre. T...

12 comments 12
Read story

“What's in a Name?” by Keelan LaForge

Submitted to Contest #239

“Mum, look at this!” Jeremiah yelled from his seat on the window ledge.“What?” his mum asked, darting in with a frazzled “I’m trying to get ready” look on her face.“Balloons are falling from the sky.”“For goodness’ sake, Jeremiah, I’m in a rush.”“I’m not making it up, Mum. I promise, they are.”His mum crossed the bedroom and perched next to him, looking at the sky. Sure enough, there were little Chinese lanterns falling from the sky.

2 comments 2
Read story

“Silent Island” by Keelan LaForge

Submitted to Contest #238

I never thought I was a big talker. I’m just not one of those garrulous types. So, the silent retreat sounded like the place for me. Having just been through a recent, huge life change, it felt like the perfect timing to retreat from the world and to contemplate things with no background noise interfering with it. What added to the appeal was the fact that it was being held on a private island. I couldn’t wait to get into the wilderness and rediscover the parts of myself that had got lost in my divorce. I brought a notebook with me. It was m...

5 comments 5
Read story

“Three Little Words” by Keelan LaForge

Submitted to Contest #237

All it took. Set the scene. Sky so empty. Not a bird. Not a plane. Riverbank our seat. Padded with grass. I smile upwards. Sky blesses us. No rain today. That is rare. We are Irish. We are neighbours. Always have been. She is favoured. She is exceptional. A beautiful rarity. We are serene. Swans alongside us. Glide on water. Ripples barely noticeable. What a day. Memorable for eternity. Plain to some. Not to me. Significant as birth. Amy my equal. Seated like bookends. Watching shared view. We are lucky. We are free. Unburdened by age. Every...

10 comments 10
Read story

“Hey, Macarena” by Keelan LaForge

Submitted to Contest #236

In my street, there is a portal. People have been talking about it since I was young. Several people have disappeared into it, never to return. We can only speculate about what it does and where it takes them. Sometimes morbid curiosity is stronger than good sense. For decades, I resisted the temptation to go there. I was quite comfortable in my future facing life. I’ve always been keen on my tech, and I can’t seem to b...

9 comments 9
Read story

“Run for Good” by Keelan LaForge

Submitted to Contest #235

Lacy left her lazy husband. She kicked up the dust as she ran. She didn’t think beyond that moment. It was better not to think too far ahead. If she did, she’d panic. She left the house without anything but the sneakers on her feet and a couple of bank notes stashed in a wallet secured to her torso. Her legs felt long and free. They’d felt ensnared for so long. Stretching them was a kind of ecstasy she’d been imagining for a decade.She was an athlete in school before she met Tim. She thought he was a good guy, but she ha...

7 comments 7
Read story

“Time was Precious” by Keelan LaForge

Submitted to Contest #234

Twelve hours to go...I should be thinking about all the meaningful things in my life. I should be revisiting the well-thumbed memories in my mind’s catalogue of experience. I should be itching to see all the people I haven’t had a chance to catch up with. I doubt they’ll come. Would I, in their position? I should be making atonement for my past errors. I should be writing letters of apology. I should be doing all the things that you’re meant to take care of. All I can think of is my own body. All I can feel is the duvet ...

19 comments 19
Read story

“The Swear Jar” by Keelan LaForge

Submitted to Contest #233

1st January The challenge begins. I’ve promised myself and my friends I won’t swear for an entire month. On the 1st of February, I’ll be shouting expletives all over the street, but until then, I have to keep my big mouth shut. ****, this is going to be hard. You don’t realise how much you do something until you make a rule that you can’t. A mate of mine suggested it as a joke. He b...

8 comments 8
Read story

“Polaroid Night” by Keelan LaForge

Submitted to Contest #232

How I ended up on Svalbard simply comes down to work. I was given an assignment to cover the Northern Lights. I had photographed so many things in hot, dry countries the world over, but I’d never been a fan of the cold. It was something that filled me with dread: going to stay on a remote island where Winter reigned, and darkness dictated the unfolding of our days. I knew it would invite depression, just being there for a number of weeks. I knew not a soul there, and that hadn’t mattered on any of my other assignments, but there was somet...

6 comments 6
Read story

Author bio

I am a mum of two and a writer. I have twenty published books. I have a blog called "The Funky Thrifter." I used to write for Vintage Life magazine and other online publications.

Shortlisted 1 story ⭐️

Contest #203
Typical Jimmy – read story