Louise Coley

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2020

Stories (13)

13 Stories

935 karma pts

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“Beyond the veil” by Louise Coley

Submitted to Contest #152

Incense dripped from a holder hung high in the corner of the tent. The cloying scent filled his lungs, coating him with satin inside as well as out. He sank further down into the mound of pillows that had been arranged on the bench in the waiting area, a fuzzy mist beginning to settle over his mind. The silken material stuck slightly to his sweaty palms and to the undersides of his knees. The ceiling drapes and the curtained walls rippled as a cool night breeze passed the tent’s entrance, the fresh air tugging at the smoke. Another deep brea...

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“Who we are in the dark” by Louise Coley

Submitted to Contest #92

A shadow of my sister sits on the windowsill. I see her by her edges- moon glow skimming down her curved spine, glancing across her arm and long, graceful fingers, then flowing down silken pyjama-clad knees held hugged to her chin. I hold my breath and hear the soft sigh of the wind, the occasional muted snuffle.We haven’t shared this room in years. We have outgrown the pastel pink walls, tired-looking now and pocked with greasy marks from our rebellious teenage years of tacked up band posters. A row of long-forgotten stuffed toys looks down...

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“The Sunken Church” by Louise Coley

Submitted to Contest #77

The girl at table four stared out of the steam licked window as snow began, tentatively, to fall. The first few flakes were cautious, clumping together in feathery masses that drifted sideways on the wind and flocked beneath the sickly yellow light of the street lamps like dust motes in a beam of sunlight. For now they dissolved into the asphalt, still slick with afternoon sleet, but later they would settle. The girl stared absently at the changing weather or perhaps past it into the dark, jagged treeline, her head full of television snow, t...

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“I'll see you when summer ends” by Louise Coley

Submitted to Contest #76

Hey.Hey.How are you?I’m good. You?Good, good. Yeah.That’s… good.Been up to much?Not really. How are things up there?It’s getting warmer. The orchard is coming into bloom. It’s really beautiful. How’s the weather where you are?Same as always. Cold. Miserable. You wouldn’t like it.I guess not.How’s your mother?Same as always. She asks after you, by the way. Hopes you’re well.Liar.Why do you always have to think the worst of her?Did she really say that?Yes!Your fingers are crossed....No-o.You just uncrossed them, didn’t you?You can’t see me.I d...

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“The Real Stuff” by Louise Coley

Submitted to Contest #71

Dawn broke like a slow to warm up energy saving light bulb being hit with a sledgehammer. I watched the grey light seep it's way across the maze of grey streets from the grey-smudged window of my apartment- magnolia, with accents of grey. The steaming coffee in my hand reminded me of the inhabitants below. Dark. Bitter. Strangely pungent.The phone rang. I picked up.“Dick here,” I told the receiver.“We've had a message come in,” said Sally, ”Someone wants you to investigate a break-in up on 5th. Shall I come pick you up?”“See you in ten,” I r...

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“Siren Song” by Louise Coley

Submitted to Contest #67

It was an ill wind that bought that vessel into port. She berthed in the dead of night, spilling her crew out into fog filled streets to worm their way into the various taverns and houses of ill repute. If the Captain of said ship had hoped to arrive in anonymity, he had failed. The crawling sea mist was thick enough to turn the dock into nothing more than a barren forest of creaking masts rising above a swirling, snow covered field, but the streets still had ears. Word travelled fast and whispers preceded that crew. The folk of the ...

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“The Queen’s Orchard” by Louise Coley

Submitted to Contest #63

-AUTUMN- The sun hung low in the sky as they walked the rows of the orchard. The hazy, orange light warmed their backs, their shadows stretching ever further before them. The leaves had just started to turn, but the trees were still heavy with fruit. The branches sagged as though trying to tempt those below with their succulent delights. The hunter reached up and took the perfectly red apple in his hand. He twisted, snapping the stem, then turned the fruit this way and that. Not a single blemish. He rubbed the apple agai...

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“The False Goddess” by Louise Coley

Submitted to Contest #62

Two boys stood on the palace balcony, though they were not yet two souls. They stared at the eastern horizon with identical eyes, holding identical hands. “Look!” one beamed, pointing at the red halo blooming over the mountains.The other frowned.“I don't feel like I'm doing anything,” he said.“Then I must be Luca,” his brother told him, “Making the sun rise. And you will be Durma, seeing it set.”The boy's frown only deepened, the rising sun casting his face in dark shadow.“You can really feel it?” he asked doubtfully.“Of course.”The div...

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“Poppet” by Louise Coley

Submitted to Contest #61

Hello, little one. There's someone I'd like you to meet. Here- this is Flopsy. No, don't suck on his ear. Now, your Mummy says you're still too young for stuffed animals, but she wouldn't understand. What I thought is if I give him to you now, a present like, it would be a very callous Mummy who would take him away again. I suppose she'll hide him away until you're a bit older, but that won't matter. Point is he'll be yours. You'll have bonded. There's nothing she can do about that now. She doesn't like me at the best of times, so I shan...

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“Sanctuary’s end” by Louise Coley

Submitted to Contest #60

Wilbur was having a pleasant apocalypse. The chickens were finally laying again, the roses were coming on nicely and- if anything- the neighbours had become much more reasonable since succumbing to their sudden penchant for brains. They were certainly quieter. He perused his record collection, looking for something suitably bombastic for a Friday evening. Wagner, maybe? Mahler? No, Beethoven. His fifth. A cliché choice, perhaps, but he didn't have to worry about snobs any more. It was famous for a reason and he was going to enjoy it at ful...

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“The Witch’s Daughter” by Louise Coley

🏆 Winner of Contest #59

The King sat on his throne, legs swinging in the afternoon sun. The wilderness spread out before him — a boy’s paradise of twisting dirt tracks webbed with ancient tree roots, full of shady hollows and secret hideaways. Behind him, the copse thinned until it met the road that would take you back to the village, but before him was the arena of countless battles, the base camp of every perilous expedition, a land of untold adventure. And — for today at least — it was all his. “Halt!” he shouted. “Who goes there?” The little...

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“Versions of you” by Louise Coley

Submitted to Contest #56

He hadn't recognised her at first. Pink did nothing for her complexion and a waistline that high was a difficult look for any woman to pull off. Beneath that bell-shaped skirt and modest bustle he couldn't begin to guess at the shape of her figure. All he could go by was her face, now pale and dewy without the dramatic eyeshadow she had worn the last time their paths had crossed. Her hair was still long, but blonde this time and piled up in elegant curls at the back of her head. A brief look was all he had before the swelling of the crowd ha...

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“Learning the hard way” by Louise Coley

Submitted to Contest #54

“Show me again.” Jeb sighed and indulged his drinking partner for the evening once more. The man leant forwards, squinting studiously down his nose, his chin resting on steepled hands. The coin glittered in the lamplight as Jeb displayed it between finger and thumb. He reached his left hand around it, grasping at air as he dropped the coin into his right palm. The right hand fell away, the strange mans eyes following it all the time. Jeb offered him his left fist. Opened it. Empty. “Now show me that hand.” Rolling his eyes, Jeb quickly...

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Author bio

Expert procastinator, writes occasionally. Here to try new things, flirt with bad ideas and attempt to finish things on time. Thanks for visiting my page- constructive feedback is always welcome! I'd also love to read your story, so leave me a comment if there's something you'd like me to critique 😁 "People think that stories are shaped by people. In fact, it's the other way around." -Terry Pratchett

Winning 1 story 🏆

Contest #59

The Witch’s Daughter – read story