Laura Camacho Frias

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Feb, 2024

Stories (37)

37 Stories

830 karma pts

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“Becoming” by Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #281

[Continuation of Story Submitted to Contest #279 "The promotion"]"Nothing will taste the same," he said. "I'm really sorry we had to do it like this, but there was no other choice. The budget has been tight this year, and I only knew I could propose this to you this morning.""This? What is this? I don't understand what you said or what you are doing here. What are you doing in my house?" I said, looking at the coffee machine. I had not pressed the "On" button yet because his words had triggered something in me I couldn't understand. I had re...

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“Forgotten” by Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #280

"Rita, is everything okay. Did I forget to kiss you goodnight?""Open the door immediately, Ernesto. We need to talk." "I'm here, it's open, what's happening?""How could you? Why didn't you tell me?""You seem upset. I don't understand.""I'm not upset; I'm furious! You should have told me!""What are you talking about?""We did it! We did it, and you said nothing.""Can you be a little bit more specific?""You need details?""If you don't mind, it would really help me to know what you are speaking about.""You think you are at work? Speaking wi...

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“The promotion” by Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #279

This whole mess started last year, three weeks before Christmas. I was then working in a big company where everyone moved a lot, but no one really knew what they were doing. "Chasing the future," "shaping the world," and "Bending the rules of engineering" were our mottos, which, looking back, sound borderline delusional, but back in those days, it was my way of life. I was doing something awesome, even if it was almost impossible to describe my job or challenges to anyone from the outside world. It was too complicated and abstract, and I had...

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“Happy deathday to me” by Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #272

Life is not easy on the other side. I should not even call it life, but death— because that's what I am, a dead person— but this thing of the non-living entity is relatively recent, and I haven't gone through the whole set of rules. There was a lot of bureaucracy when I walked the Earth, but now that my feet don't touch the ground, I cannot say things are much better. Maybe it's a question of time— apparently, I am expected to spend a minimum of a hundred years in "the parallel"— and perhaps I will make friends soon, but so far, if I had to ...

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“Soft as a winter kiss” by Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #271

It was a sunny day, slightly windy. The weather had changed, as it does by the end of September, and I had picked a light coat from my wardrobe after a few months of short sleeves and flowy dresses. I had bought it the previous year, in a second-hand store, because it had that classic touch that could match most of my clothes, and the touch of it was silky. After wearing it a couple of times, I realized that touching it was comforting, and that's why I had used it a bunch before the good temperatures arrived, and I chose more summery outfits...

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“The perfect woman” by Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #270

Perfect is not easy. Everyone wants perfection, but very few are ready to achieve it. Based on the number of requests received, sent to the universe, and accepted by this greater power, let us show you—in a few steps—how it is done.Note to those who dare to attempt this recipe: do not rush. This is a complicated technique; any attempt to shorten the process might lead to undesired results.Don't do this just because others did. There is no point. This decision is too important to be based on fashion, trends, or anyone else's expectations. You...

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“The shoes ” by Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #269

I grew up having enough. I had one parent who took care of me, a reasonable-sized home, a few books, and some toys. At school, I had a couple of friends, and despite my grades not being phenomenal, they were not bad either. I knew how to live with enough, but a tiny part of me dreamed of something else. My mother worked in the fast fashion industry. I remember looking at the catalogs for hours, touching the fake cashmere, and looking at the shiny silks. I was allowed to sew dresses for my dolls with fabric scraps, and from time to time,...

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“The player” by Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #268

When I opened the wardrobe that morning, the rod collapsed, and a pile of clothes fell at my feet. I was late for work, the kids were fighting about which snack to bring to school, and I had a tremendous headache due to the lack of sleep sponsored by my dear husband's snoring. In other words, it was a regular day in our household. After all, what would it be like to live without a bit of excitement? That's what my mother usually told me. Still, I am sure she's only able to say it out loud because she lived alone, in a calm and silent environ...

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“BAD INK” by Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #267

I had arrived at the hospital that morning, and I was feeling like crap. It's not an elegant way of expressing my physical and mental state, but saying I was low, tired, or exhausted would not be a fair description. The night before, I had barely slept, drove my car for four hours at dawn, and arrived at my destination needing caffeine as if my life depended on it. The only thing that helped me wake up was the cold air that slapped my face as soon as I opened the car door, but as soon as I entered the building, my body seemed to switch off. ...

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“Will they listen?” by Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #266

I was blond, as she is. My mother molded me into her girl's image: hair, eyes, and smile. I was a photograph of her daughter and lived my life in her pages. For months, I grew up in her mind, even if my experiences in her novel were limited to a week, which is not much for such an interesting character as I was. I was no regular thirteen-year-old girl living a happy, boring life, nor a conflicted teenager, and still, kids worldwide would see themselves in me. That was the plan. My life was not happy at first. I had argued with my father and ...

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“Blame it on the French” by Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #265

I am an engineer, but I never dreamt about becoming one when I was a child. I did not have anyone make me fall in love with the profession either. What made me go to university and hate my guts for five years was a phone call, an ex-boyfriend, and a quick and impulsive decision, and all of that was caused by a trip to France. I had French lessons in high school. I did not want to, but my mother thought it would improve my curriculum and help me one day expand my horizons. My negotiation skills were not so sharp then, and I caved. For y...

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“We never said "I do"” by Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #264

I never thought I would be one day here, in this position, in front of all these people, but the truth is that life has surprised me a lot in the last few years, so I guess this is one of those occasions where life was bigger than my own dreams—and that's quite a thing.I grew up with a single mother, wishing for a big family, as if that could be something I could hope for, rubbing a magic lamp or buying a lottery ticket. When I became an adult, though, my focus changed, and I forgot for a while what I wanted, how, when, and most of all, with...

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“The power of time” by Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #263

Penelope had it all: a good family, a cute house, and a satisfying job. But she also had a secret she had never shared with anyone: she was able to bend time and space. She had always seen people around her struggling daily to reach the end of their days and do everything they wanted at work, school, and in their private lives. Time seemed too little for family and friends. People ran continuously, restless, to meet their ends, enjoy their lives, and spend time with people they liked, but not her. She had time. She had love. She had everythi...

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“The holiday” by Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #262

I've never considered myself highly adventurous, but through the years, many have told me that some of my choices might not have been the easiest on the catalog. I've always traveled with my children, and when the first two were small, I always did it in their father's company. Still, when my third son was one year old, and the other two were a constant menace to my mental health, I decided to fly solo and leave my husband at home, who was trying to finish some last-minute deliverables. I had too many holidays after the pregnancy and the mat...

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“She made me do it” by Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #261

The therapist appointed to me by Human Resources told me I should be able to deal more healthily with my feelings, and I told her she might have better conditions than me to think that's remotely possible. She told me as well I should write how I feel in a journal because that's supposed to help me cope with my demons. Apparently, she has not learned yet that my demons have human form and walk the corridors of my office and the rooms in my house. I'm surrounded and damned, but she does not see it that way. According to that intelligent woman...

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Author bio

I am Spanish and live in Eindhoven (The Netherlands) with my partner, three kids, and two dogs. For over twenty years, I have worked in multinational engineering companies in Portugal and the Netherlands. I've been a product developer, traveled worldwide as a Product manager, and managed multi-million projects and teams of brilliant minds. Last year, I decided to quit my Corporate Life and dedicate myself to writing full-time for as much time as possible. I've started to work on Prompts I publish in Reedsy (https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/author/laura-camacho-frias/), and I've created a website (https://www.lcfrias.com) where I write about my journey as a writer and my experiences in the Corporate world. Both parallel projects help me to connect with curious readers and write about things I feel passionate about, very connected to the role of women in the world, but not only. I'm currently looking for an agent to publish my first book, "UNWRITTEN", an auto-fiction story about mothers, daughters and expectations... many expectations.