Kristi Gott

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jan, 2022

Stories (42)

42 Stories

1714 karma pts

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“ Stowaway on the Ship "Destiny's Dreams" ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #260

In the summer of 1898 the sleek vessel called Destiny's Dreams glided over the ocean waves off the western coast of South America.Deep in the shadows of the cargo area there was a secret passenger.A figure was curled up in a corner, rocking with the bobbing of the boat.The dark form began crawling across the bottom of the ship, swaying with the hull's movement over the waves.The stowaway began talking to herself to break up the silence and comfort herself.“We have chosen happiness,” Isabella whispered, while she moved across the ship's ribbe...

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“Miracle for a Horse Named Ginger at the Mystical Coast ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #259

The ocean was flat and calm. The sun was down. The afterglow was orange. The air was still.It was a beautiful evening. It was a terrible evening. It was the day of the accident. It was the day of the miracles.The lighthouse beacon rotated across the shores and the sea, flashing on the scene at the lighthouse keeper's barn near the house. Twelve-year-old Elsie kneeled next to the little red filly, Ginger. Still only a five-month-old foal, Ginger was sprawled on the ground with her long legs folded, in the corral near the lighthouse....

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“The Treehouse Family of the Mystical Coast ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #258

Sonya looked out from the porch of her family’s treehouse home. It rested high above the forest floor in a giant Douglas Fir.Then she nodded to her brother, Terence, who walked across the wooden bridge to the porch, from another treehouse in a neighboring tree."That smells delicious," she said to Ezra, her father, who was climbing the wooden steps that wound around the huge tree trunk. He carried hot coffee and cornmeal cakes, baked over the campfire on the ground.Today they would take more photos.It all began several years ago.*****On a sun...

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“Dawn Treader of the Mystical Coast ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #257

Part I. The Dawn Treader Arrives at the Lighthouse in 1898Years later, on the other side of the world, Elsie stood on the deck of the ship, watching dawn rise over the waves. She pictured the woman traveler named Aurora, the dawn treader and time walker, who was surrounded by tiny winking lights. Elsie was twelve years old then, growing up at the remote lighthouse station, with her older brothers. It was 1898 on the Mystical Coast, during midsummer's eve solstice celebrations.The pleasant, mild weather, when spring meets summer, caressed th...

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“Giggles the Heroic Donkey, Underdog of the Mystical Coast ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #256

Years later, Giggles the little donkey still remembered the first big challenge she won, against the coyotes stalking her friend, Huckleberry, the baby elk calf.In that contest between donkey and coyotes, the donkey's unexpected skills and natural gifts surprised the coyotes, who thought they were clever.It was 1898 in the rainforest wilderness of the Mystical Coast, where emerald mountains covered by towering fir trees met the vast ocean reaching to the horizons.Appearing to be an underdog, with her plain, grey hair, stubby legs, and tall, ...

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“Rain Moon Dreamer Writes About Visitors from the Afterlife ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #255

Journal Entry -My growing puppy, Coos Bay Bear, smiles at me. His white teeth are gleaming and light shines from his eyes, framed by his midnight fur. His tail waves and I smile back at him. Coos makes every day playful and joyful.The air of a light breeze feels cool on my skin. We are hiking in the rainforest wilderness, next to a smooth lake, at the foot of the steep mountains.The light wind bears fragrances of salty sea air and fir boughs. A stream bubbles and laughs over smooth river rocks. The afternoon light is turning golden. This wee...

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“ Dancing from Winter into Spring on the Mystical Coast ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #254

Part I. Dance of the Mystical Coast He would always remember the week in 1898, when his whole world changed, and he felt as if the personality of the Mystical Coast, herself, reached out and flowed through him.“SSSShhh…” The late evening breeze rustled through the Douglas Fir boughs.In the river sleek seals glided and spun in the water near the boats at the rustic wharf.The whole world was dancing from Winter into Spring on the Mystical Coast. It was like poetry coming to life.These were the thoughts of the young man sitting high on a mounta...

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“Survival and Grit at Forever Valley on the Mystical Coast ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #253

After rising all day during steady rain the river had jumped the banks, flowed across the valley and was now coming into Adelia's house.Adelia's breath caught and her heart pounded when she felt the surge of cold water run over her feet. Her baby was swaddled in a blanket and rested against her chest. The water came through the cabin walls and then rose to knee deep.Her husband, Sean, was miles away in the village getting supplies. When Sean took the boat with goods to trade into town, or left for part-time fishing and lumbering work, Adelia...

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“Uplifted by Voyages of Wonder on the Mystical Coast ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #252

Part I. Crossing Vast Seas to the Islands A new radiance began to grow in Arni as if he absorbed the sun sparkling on the sea.His love for the vast oceans filled him and spilled over.His inner fog cleared and a sense of wonder grew.Arni's tangled thoughts turned into a sense of inspiration and direction. These began to fill Arni and uplift him beyond his daily tasks.Arni knew what he wanted to do.The many threads of his life were becoming woven into one fabric filled with a sense of wonder. He wanted to share it.Soon he was leaving on the Ca...

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“The Lost Journal of Love on the Mystical Coast ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #251

In the second half of the 1800s, Penelope’s family in Illinois sold their property, loaded up several covered farm wagons with supplies, rounded up their eight children, dairy cattle and chickens, and set off for Independence, Missouri, to join wagon caravans on the Oregon Trail. Harley Wilson, Penelope's Papa, spoke to his family at supper. “The trail is over 2,000 miles. Prairies, mountains, rivers. When we get to Oregon we will set up a homestead and start a big dairy farm."“But we’re leaving Grandpa and Grandma, the rest of the fami...

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“Secrets of the Great Gold Rush of the Mystical Coast ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #250

“Gold! …Pure gold!...river...”Twelve-year-old Elsie’s eyes widened when she heard the words and she strained to hear around the corner. Gold! At the river! Was it at their river?It was 1898 at the lighthouse on the Mystical Coast remote wilderness. A group of visitors came to shore in the surfboat from the ship acting as supplies tender.“set up a cook fire…baking…sourdough.”“selling sourdough pancakes to the gold miners…”“cold water in the river…waded…gold nuggets…”Elsie could only hear a few words here and there.“bears…salmon…fishing…p...

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“The Rivers Sing Stories of the Mystical Coast ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #249

Mountain waters,Cascade downhill,Rivers rising,As waters refill. Where river and sea,Are woven together,Nature surprises,With changes of weather. In watery depths,The salmon glide,In emerald forests, Through rivers wide. Labyrinths of the wild,Nature entwined, River’s stories,Beyond time and mind. By the River Otter Poet In the year 1898 the Mystical Coast sang with stories of the intertwined lives of the people, wildlife, and nature.They lived in a world of the flowing labyrinths of the waterways created by rivers and...

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“The Wind Harp in the Willows on the Mystical Coast ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #248

Everything was connected, especially here in the wilderness life.Emma rode her red mare, Ginger, along the trail next to the creek. The wind under the forest canopy seemed to whisper of secrets and ancient times. She heard the air hum through the willow reeds like music from a harp. The rhythm of light rain pattering on the fir boughs, and the perfume of the fir needles, carried the essence of life growing and blooming.The windowless shack in the wilderness of 1898 where four skinny children lived with Emma’s Mama was already half ...

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“Wonders Calling from the Mystical Coast ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #247

Something large was moving through the emerald fir trees that touched the golden hour colors of the sky.Mama Black Bear crashed through a tall shrub with plate-sized red flowers. She was growling and huffing.Eileen screeched.Rupert dropped the four-month-old, ten-pound Black Bear cub that he was cradling like a pet dog next to his chest.It was a Spring afternoon in 1898 in the green wilderness of the Mystical Coast.Baby Black Bear had looked cute and lonely hanging onto the Douglas Fir tree. Rupert did not see Mama Bear, but she was not far ...

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“Dancers of the Sea on the Mystical Coast ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #246

The flow of the watery world on the Mystical Coast brought a sense of wonder to those who lived there. It was a sunny day in June of 1898 along the rainforest wilderness coast.Near the river bar at the ocean the black and white whales leaped and splashed, joyfully singing and dancing in the waves with squeals, whistles and hums in their fun ocean playground. The games stopped when short, sharp, quick distress calls came from the six month old whale calf. In the dialect of whale language the calf cried for her mama.Nuzzling the calf...

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Author bio

Light, whimsical, uplifting stories with happy endings for those who love animals and nature - for kids through adults. https://kristigott.com - You can copy and paste this into a web browser to visit my website with my stories and illustrations for them. I live in the coastal rainforest wilderness of the Pacific Northwest of the USA, near a lighthouse built in 1896, and a historic village. This inspires many of my stories. There is a wide variety of wildlife and marine life here, and I often feature these in the stories. I am a volunteer historian and docent for the lighthouse that was built in the 1800s. Ever since elementary school I have enjoyed creative writing, and I love to read. It is a pleasure to participate in writing here at Reedsy. I began college as a journalism major but later I changed majors, and I have been involved with healthcare all of my life. You can also visit me on facebook by copying and pasting in this link: https://www.facebook.com/kristi.m.gott/