Luca King Greek

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Mar, 2023

Stories (44)

44 Stories

1069 karma pts

?

“The Musical Mystery of Wormroth, Maine” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #260

The story might seem small and whimsical in the re-telling, but that does the people of Wormroth, Maine, a disservice, because it has been a harrowing few weeks and there is a palpable sense of relief in town, now that the mystery of Rankin’s midnight music has been solved.  I ask the reader to suspend judgment and show some sympathy for the actors and brace yourself for a sad denouement.True though, Wormroth is a small and isolated town where not very much happens, and the locals do therefore tend to blow small things out of propo...

9 comments 9
Read story

“The Dead Sea Photos” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #258

Trigger Warning: This story may offend the devout.“This makes absolutely no sense,” said Jack Roberts, interim head of the International School of Oriental Research in Jerusalem, bending his long lean body over the small crate containing an earthenware jar packed in straw, “Where did you say you found it?” Jack exchanged an uncharacteristically worried glance with Antonio Fornelli, the Vatican scholar and Jesuit priest. Surely this was some kind of mistake. “Qumran, Cave Six”, said Hasan Al-Kahlil the field archaeologist, who had r...

10 comments 10
Read story

“The Pretty Little Italian Girl” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #255

“Kill him, kill him. He is a worm”, the voice in Josefina’s head was louder.“Josefina, why don’t you sit down? Why don’t you drink this water?”, said Margherita, placing a glass on the kitchen table in front of the girl, “maybe it will help you calm down.” Margherita placed a hand on the Josefina’s shoulder and was shocked at how thin she was, just skin and bone beneath the woolen jacket. It only made the message more difficult to deliver.Josefina gulped at the water, spilling as much as she consumed, then held the glass ...

3 comments 3
Read story

“At the Metapsychical Salon” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #254

Some arrived on foot from East Side apartments, others alighted from 5th Avenue trolley cars, and a swaddled few pulled up in automobiles. Regardless of starting-point, mode of travel, or status in the upper strata of Manhattan, they each faced the same bitter wind on the sidewalk, the same battle for advantage at the cloakroom, and the same squeeze into the ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria.The Women’s Entertainment Club was host of a Metapsychical Evening featuring the most prominent Psychics, Spiritualists, and Clairvoyants of the day.&nbsp...

3 comments 3
Read story

“The Castle of Kern” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #253

The rune stone lay in a nook at the far end of a lightless cave, accessible via a steep and narrow stairwell known only to the masons of Kern.George Sturridge, Master Mason, lifted the tablet of stone from its narrow perch, and held it in the flickering light of Erika Smoody’s candle. A strange resonance emanated from the tablet into the bedrock foundations of the Castle. He ran his calloused fingers across the glyphs and letters.“Of Kern Rock in the beginning. Of Kern Rock in the end,” the mason read the puzzling incantation out loud t...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Suddenly Something” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #252

Carl looked at himself in the bathroom mirror and an old man stared back at him.  The face had changed, the mirror too, but he could trace a straight line from the old man to the boy he had once been.“Bullshit!” said the editor, “every face tells a story, but it never follows a straight line. There’s always ups and downs, arcs, setbacks and deviations. You are lying to me and to yourself.” The editor jabbed a finger at Carl.Carl dodged the finger. “It is just as much effort writing my own story as it is any other,” he sai...

3 comments 3
Read story

“The Queer Black Hand Note” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #250

“Psst”.“Vincento?”He was like a cat, from the back alley to the dimly lit sidewalk beside her, he was suddenly there, holding her hand.“How is my Ethel?” said Vincento.They caressed, her curly blonde locks spilling back from her eager face as she succumbed to his embrace and his exploring hands.“Vincento! Not here. Not now. Someone might see us”.Ethel grabbed his wandering hand and clasped it in hers, and they stood grinning at each other in the dim glow of the gas light at the Italian end of the street where the row houses crammed closely t...

18 comments 18
Read story

“The Drifter” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #249

Hope, Montana, population 488. He pulled up at the diner in the center of the sleepy town, stiff limbed and thirsty, and nearly out of gas. Jethro didn’t rightly recall where he’d come from that day, somewhere out West he supposed, but thinking on it puzzled him and made him uneasy, like he'd forgotten something important, or lost someone close.It was late, the eatery was nearly empty. Jethro sat at a booth, gulped ice water, picked up the menu and watched the waitress argue over the bill with a brown-haired woman sat in a corner b...

8 comments 8
Read story

“The Lost White Tribe” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #247

May 1909, New York CityWe visited Peary’s surviving Eskimo in the basement of the Museum of Natural History, where they are locked up. It is warm, well-lit, and they live in a plaster diorama that mimics the mean hovels from which they were rescued. They are Kanusha’s next of kin, but they cannot be made to understand the laws or the need for a death certificate, so, Superintendent Wallace, acting for them, is desirous that Kanusha’s skeleton be preserved and displayed, but he is opposed by the Commissioner, who wants the corpse removed for ...

13 comments 13
Read story

“The Skirmish Near Marbury” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #246

Content warning: contains themes of racism.“No agenda, just human interest”, said the managing editor before dispatching Andrew to the heart of England.Andrew was Black, so there was always an agenda. “The American Civil war, right?”, said Andrew, who thought he’d mis-heard.“That’s right”, said the editor, a gruff direct man with a deeply suppressed sense of humor, “Not Cromwell, but Robert E. Lee; zealots, both”.“Will you issue me a musket?” said Andrew.“Funny” said the editor.+++The Civil War re-enactment was taking place in Marb...

9 comments 9
Read story

“She Didn't Have The Right Words” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #245

They were in his favorite restaurant, downtown, in Tribeca.“Let’s do the eclipse”, he said.He seemed very busy, so it came as a surprise to her.“Are you sure?” she said, “it’s such a long trip, to Maine”.“I can carve out time, but I might need to make a few phone calls on the road,” he said.She didn’t mind. His work was important. She would find a place for them to stay.“Are you staying at my apartment tonight?” he said to her, as he handed the waiter his credit card.  +++Couples, families, small groups traipsed from cars and picku...

9 comments 9
Read story

“Poor Box Suprise” by Luca King Greek

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #244

New York Patrolman, James O’Donnell, spread the pale-yellow powder along the metal tray and closed the wooden lid of the box. The mechanism clicked.“Most ingenious” said Deacon Cassidy, thrilling at the prospect of pyrotechnics.” It is a mix of potassium chlorate, aluminum, and sulfur,” said officer O’Donnell, “known as flash powder in the trade.”“The modern invades our lives”, said old Father Morris with a sigh, “and the lord moves in mysterious ways.”“As do the Sunday offerings”, said Deacon Cassidy, for whom the pilfered Poor Box was a th...

25 comments 25
Read story

“Thirty-Seven Seconds ” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #243

“Double espresso, soy milk?”, said Spencer, swiveling to receive the coffee.“Affirmative”, said Ken, plumping down at his own desk.“Good man”, said Spencer, turning back to his trading desk, where four screens of market prices were flashing away. His eyes flicked here and there.“Did I miss the action?” asked Ken, attentive to his own terminal, a mix of red and green.“We were waiting for you, and for the PMI data to be released. We figured we’d get through that hurdle, then give the new AI trade a spin,” said Spencer.They sat at the...

14 comments 14
Read story

“Nefertiti's Nose Job” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #242

A major diplomatic breakthrough was brokered by Mohammed Salah the soccer superstar. Known as the Anfield Protocol, the multi-lateral agreement required several European nations to repatriate ancient treasures to their countries of origin. It was also agreed, as a quid pro quo, that the artefacts, which included the Elgin Marbles, the Rosetta Stone, and the Venus de Milo, would tour the world’s major museums before returning to their place of origin. The world seemed to be on the brink of peace and prosperity.  &nbsp...

28 comments 28
Read story

“No Path to Forgiveness” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #241

“Who is that?”, said Lorraine. She was looking over her boyfriend’s shoulder at his iPhone. It was a pretty girl with shoulder-length red hair and bright blue eyes, a sparing touch of lip gloss, standing, devil-may-care, on a rocky waterfront, pine trees in the background, somewhere along the coast, somewhere local. She was pretty and thin, had good skin too. Conrad swiped upwards and the girl disappeared.“Who is that girl”, said Lorraine, “She’s very pretty”. Too pretty, like she existed for the purpose of being loo...

9 comments 9
Read story

Author bio

Many thanks to the reader for their time and thoughtful feedback.

Shortlisted 1 story ⭐️

Contest #244
Poor Box Suprise – read story