Lani Lane

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2020

Stories (50)

50 Stories

3673 karma pts

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“Memories” by Lani Lane

Submitted to Contest #61

George sat at the round table, chuckling to himself as he watched his old schoolmates shuffle on the dance floor. He leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and tapped his foot along to the beat of “Here Comes the Sun” playing from the speakers on the stage.“Remember me, old pal?” asked a quiet voice behind him.George craned his neck around to see a short woman with gray hair and a face full of wrinkles. She wore a turquoise and white blouse that reminded him of tropical beaches, and she carried a small pink purse on her shoulder.“My goo...

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“Wanted” by Lani Lane

Submitted to Contest #61

I wanted to live in the 90s.I wanted to go to the movies with Jamie and Liz, and shovel handfuls of popcorn into my mouth, and gush about dating Johnny Depp even if he had scissors for hands. We would’ve had seven posters of him between the three of us.I wanted to stick colorful butterfly clips in my hair and grin as they shimmered in the sun. The red ones would have been all the rage then.I wanted to throw my arms around Mom and Dad on the last day of senior year and thank them for their constant support and their unconditional love, love, ...

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“A New Home” by Lani Lane

Submitted to Contest #61

“How’s it going? Dad and I are so excited to hear everything!”“It’s—it’s great.”“Have you gone to the Empire State Building yet? Or Central Park?”“I’ve just been a little busy…work, you know....”The other end of the line falls quiet for a moment, before Mom launches into the newest adventures from my hometown—the elk bugling, the changing of the aspen leaves from green to vibrant reds, yellows, and oranges.I nod along, staring at a spot on the wall.“—and the Atkinsons next door adopted a new puppy—you’d love him, they can’t wait for you two ...

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“Yellow Thing” by Lani Lane

Submitted to Contest #61

When I was six years old, Mom drove us to the store and told me to pick out a toy.She knelt down in front of me and looked me straight in the eye. “You only get one,” she warned, “so choose carefully.” I already had a small collection of toys at home—a fluffy moose from a giftshop in a faraway national park, a blue-and-green polka-dotted stingray from the aquarium, and a purple bear Grandma gave me long ago. I never liked the plastic ones much, the dolls and the houses and the race cars. They were too awkward to hug.So, holding hands wi...

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“How to Thrive at Your High School Reunion: Top 10 Tips and Tricks” by Lani Lane

Submitted to Contest #61

Author’s NoteYou’ve just received the letter, with that damn mascot in the corner (a hawk? A stallion? Maybe a lightning bolt, if the school has a stick up its ass?), and your heart stutters.The words “You’re invited!” swim in front of you and you laugh at the irony of it, because you can count on one hand the number of times you heard that phrase in high school.You have absolutely, unequivocally no idea what to do. Have no fear! Author X here—expert in the art of petty revenge, the science of the humble brag—armed with the top 10 tips ...

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“So Long” by Lani Lane

Submitted to Contest #60

I sob when I see her.I’m not a crier; I didn’t shed a tear during the Great War, not even when my girlfriend died in my arms. She was neither the first nor the last.But I just spent the last decade peering into every corner of the continent. I stopped thinking the words “what if” around year five, and I started drinking my way through the looted liquor stores around year eight.So, when the girl appears around the corner of the half-bombed grocery store, I fall to my knees and cry until there isn't a drop of liquid left in my body.“Um—hi.”She...

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“The Cockroach and the Crumb” by Lani Lane

Submitted to Contest #60

Roach scuttled along the street, sidestepping the chunks of broken buildings and shattered glass. The pads on the bottom of his six spiny legs could have easily helped him climb the debris, but he barely had the energy to even hold his antennae up after a long day spent hunting.A long, futile day. Just more decaying bodies and dead wood, a few bits of cardboard here and there. They weren’t terrible snacks, but Roach longed for the days he scratched through the kitchen walls, stealing bits of cheese off the table. Once, he even had the pleasu...

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“The Water-Riders” by Lani Lane

Submitted to Contest #60

My arms burn, but I don't stop pushing.Forward, back, forward, back.The rowboat inches toward the beach, barely missing the skyscrapers that peek out of the waves.“We need to go faster,” says Cyrus.“Do you want to do it?” I snap.He holds up a hand in apology and I grit my teeth. I had to cut off his left arm last year, when a rogue fishing hook ripped it to shreds. It was a close one; he’d lost enough blood to alert every shark in a ten-mile radius.“We’ll get there…when…we get there,” I say, panting. Water-Riders are allowed to stick our boa...

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“Recollection” by Lani Lane

Submitted to Contest #60

They say your life flashes before your eyes when you’re bitten.How would they know? How could I believe them? Frivolous, uneducated guesses by people trying to make sense of a world that can no longer be controlled.They were wrong. It’s not a flash after the bite. It’s a slow dream.A recollection.I’m in the hospital where Davy was born. He’s squeezing my pinky in his tiny hand. His grip is surprisingly strong.“He likes you,” whispers Mom, hugging us tight to her chest. I listen to her heartbeat and melt into its slow rhythm.She fades into so...

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“Dating at the End of the World” by Lani Lane

Submitted to Contest #60

I’ll be honest—the dating game’s gone downhill since the end of the world.And it’s not like it wasn’t already tough for someone like me. Average-looking guy with an online gaming addiction and mild paranoia issues? It all worked out great when the world went to hell—I was hunkered down in my apartment, surrounded by canned food, long before the disease spread.Finding a girl, though? Give me another apocalypse.I’d tried the whole online dating thing, too, where ‘someone finds love every 14 minutes.’ Yeah, right. If that were the truth, I woul...

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“The Stranger” by Lani Lane

Submitted to Contest #59

The guards had the stranger cuffed and on the ground before he could even say “hello.”“Check him!” barked Rosewell, the lead guard of Rockford, a town hidden deep in the mountains. Rosewell had dark hair that brushed the top of his shoulders and he always seemed to wear a frown.Matthews, Rosewell’s second-in-command, patted down the stranger as another guard grabbed the stranger’s backpack and peered into it. The guard—Bennett—smiled and showed the contents to Rosewell.“Huh,” said Rosewell, staring into the bag. “Get him up.”Matthews grabbed...

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“Lunar Lovers” by Lani Lane

Submitted to Contest #59

Mrs. Watts settled into her desk chair and breathed in the cold air, smiling. The house was one very large room, really; her desk sat against the wall next to the couches in the living room. The kitchen was in one corner, and the bedroom in another. It all felt so cozy to her, especially with a mug of coffee in one hand, her writing pen in the other and a spectacular view of Earth spinning slowly in the window.“Perfect. Just perfect,” she murmured. She took a sip of her coffee, thankful they'd found a way to make houses with Earth's gravity....

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“The Cottonwood Tree” by Lani Lane

Submitted to Contest #59

He towered over the sidewalk. He had more branches than he could count and a canopy of thick, green leaves. It took six people to wrap their arms around him; at least, that’s what it said on the plaque they'd planted right next to his trunk. He couldn’t remember the last time any humans had hugged him.His friends—Douglas and Pine and Juniper—used to call him Cottonwood. The men had cut down Cottonwood’s friends long ago, when the cars started to grow and the planes started to fly. Cottonwood could barely remember his friends and that thought...

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“Phoenix on Fire” by Lani Lane

Submitted to Contest #59

The Phoenix touched down on the surface of the planet at dawn. Captain Scott Scruff slipped on his protective suit and donned his mask.“Ready, Cap,” said Charlotte, the Caption’s second-in-command.Captain Scruff looked at his crew. Charlotte and Walter saluted. Martha just gave him a shaky smile.“'Ready’ is a strong word there, Charlotte,” said Martha.“Ready or not—I need some fresh air. Get me out of here,” said Walter.The crew had traveled for 50 years.Captain Scruff unlatched the door. An orange light spilled inside, accompanied by some s...

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“Trees in the Night” by Lani Lane

Submitted to Contest #59

Sam felt like she had been hit by a truck. She groaned. Her head ached and every bone in her body screamed. Her memory was fuzzy; what had she been doing?The bakery. She had stopped at the bakery for a banana nut muffin. Then… a car hit her? That couldn’t be right, but it sure felt like that’s what happened.Sam lay on something hard and cold. She squirmed, wincing at the ridges digging into her back and legs. She felt odd, like her body was tilted. It certainly didn’t feel like the street outside the bakery.She slowly opened her eyes, squint...

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Author bio

Was here for a while, then left for a while. Back again...