Mara Masolini

“THEN THE PHONE LINE WENT OUT” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #115

THEN THE PHONE LINE WENT OUT “Okay , then we can count that you will be here for dinner time” Alexia said. “ Yes, I really think so” Daisy confirmed. “Ah, listen, do you want us to pick you up at the station when you arrive?” Alexia asked, but there was no answer . Alexia now could only hear a light rustling from her phone, whose line had gone out. It was a mobile phone, so she thought it was a lack of coverage ( a lack of range), as it often happened with the mobile phone...

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“THE DISAPPEARED GIRL” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #114

THE DISAPPEARED GIRL Alice B., a twenty years old girl, who studied foreign  languages and literatures at the university, had disappeared from Turin, the city to which she had moved for about a year  to study at the university. It had been a month since she disappeared. Her parents, who lived in Catanzaro, her brothers who had moved to Germany for work, and also her university friends had kept on looking for her. They often appeared in television broadcasts, where they talked a...

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“THE HIGHEST DOOR” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #113

 THE HIGHEST DOOR  Jenny was dreaming. She could see herself while she was walking down a country road. Just when she was about to start running, since it was beginning to rain, she fell, but rather she slid to the ground, lying flat down on the road. Then soon after she started to move very fast , crawling stretched out, with her body in contact with the earth. It was quite pleasant to move in that position at that speed, rubbing on the ground with the whole body. It seemed to be on a merry- go – roun...

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“IN THE STRANGER'S DREAM” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #113

IN THE STRANGER’S DREAM Laura was walking barefoot down a long corridor. The corridor, rather narrow, seemed even without end , that is, she was not able to see the end of the corridor. The walls were bare, yet every now and then, as Laura kept on walking, something fell off the walls, sliding to the ground. Laura could just catch a glimpse, out of  the corner of her eye, of  that something falling off the bare walls. She thought it ( the something falling to the ground) had to be ...

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“THE UMBRELLA MAN” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #112

THE UMBRELLA MAN When he had arrived in their city, almost twenty years ago____and he had been an illegal immigrant for a long time, without a residence permit_____Vassilli had sold umbrellas in the streets, stationing ( stationed) at traffic lights, at bus stops, but also at the exit of cinemas, theaters, schools, since it always happened that more than some people were outside without an umbrella, when it suddenly started to rain. Probably the rumor that Vassilli made it rain had originated fro...

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“LIKE THIS MUSIC/ THE GREEN FACE” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #111

LIKE THIS MUSIC / THE GREEN FACE/ TIME, what does not erases time, what does not end up in oblivion as time going by , it often happened to Alma to think so. She , who was already forty, could not help but feel a shiver through her back , when she thought how quickly the forty years of her life had passed. In a breath, in a flash they were gone.  And she could not help but think, with tremor and dismay, that also the time she had left to live would go by just as quickly. She would  be gone one da...

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“BAREFOOT ON THE ASPHALT” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #110

BAREFOOT ON THE ASPHALT  What struck me, but I can say the first thing I saw of him were his bare feet on the asphalt which, at that time____it was summer, it was about 1PM, had to be hot. Two large, very big bare feet very white too, as I was going to enter the highway, with my heavy load of goods to be transported not exactly near. The boy was disheveled, dressed unkempt, his trousers and his shirt looked dirty, he had long and matted hair, dirty they too. But what was even more incredible was that he was hold...

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“LIFE BEHIND THE CORNER” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #109

LIFE BEHIND THE CORNER Jeremy was the only baker in that small mountain village, little more than a hamlet, which was called The three chimneys. Most f the villagers used to go to his shop, early in the morning, to get their daily bread.  Jeremy, with the only help of Paul, a young man who had grown up in an orphanage, cared to make bread, as well as candied biscuits, apple pie, and flatbread….., and then he sold his products in the shop next to the bakery, which remained open until 1pm. Jeremy, like all bakers, work...

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“YOU WOULD NEVER IMAGINE” by Mara Masolini

YOU WOULD NEVER IMAGINE Yeah, it was November now, he said himself, glancing at the window, At nine in the morning that thick, smoky fog that did not let the sun’s rays pass through. It was Monday again, a Monday like so many others. Bill called Monika, her secretary, and said her  that she had to take care of the mail. He, Bill, had an appointment with a Swiss client, who(m) he would meet in the private room. Ah, he recommended, he shouldn’t have been disturbed for any reason for the next three hours, he said to Monika, gazin...

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“THE FOULARD FLUTTERING IN THE AIR” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #108

THE FOULARD FLUTTERING IN THE AIR Alexia was coming back home. She walked with firm (decisive) step, quickly. Her gymnastic teacher, in middle school, used to urge their girls not to have the pace of those who walk on eggs. She was right, Alexia said to herself still now. It’s nice to feel the ground under your feet, even when under your feet there is the sidewalk, or the asphalt of the street, or the floor of a room. In the sky the glow of the sunset had just turned off. It was almost evening . The air was mild, there was a ...

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“CIRCLES IN THE WATER” by Mara Masolini

CW: infanticide CIRCLES IN THE WATER“Hey, did you are making circles in the water?” Muriel’s voice rang ( sounded) shrill behind her. Miriam just turned her head, squeezing her legs tighter in her arms. She was sitting on the ground in front of the pond in her garden. Muriel’s words, they had evoked ( her) a line of a song , which had been well known when she was young. “ They are all circles in the water…” and “ “They never stop, your circles in the water” the verses of that song s...

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“A STORY OF DOLLS” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #107

A STORY OF DOLLS Alice and Norma had known each other for a lifetime. They had gone to school together, they had done sports together, skiing and cycling. They had been in the same cultural and environmental associations. Now they were both over forty,  both divorced. Alice had three teenage children, who lived with her. Norma instead had no children and, after the divorce from her husband, she had decided to live with a woman, Adele, who was twenty years her senior. Alice had always felt an instinctive dislike against&nb...

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“THE SUN SETS ON THE MEADOW” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #106

     THE SUN SETS ON THE MEADOW I have been working in the Brothers Grimm and Associates architectural firm for almost twenty years. I have always been involved in the renovation , or  refurbishment of bathrooms and kitchens. Never in all these years I have been asked to design a building. And when I say a building I don’t mean a public work (one), not a condominium or even a villa. No, I mean a single house, even a small one. Well, that morning , one of my bosses, A...

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“WINNIE IN THE GARDEN” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #105

WINNIE IN THE GARDEN I care a lot about ( of) my garden. I spend hours there every day, not only to water the flowers and the plants, not only to check the ground where they  are. In short , not only to take care of the flowers and the plants, but also to be in their company, that they are a great comfort to me. There are the most beautiful roses of the whole city, in my garden. Yes, the Almond roses, a species that was obtained in Japan.  They, the Almond roses in my garden, are really a wonder,...

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“A GREAT NIGHT AT BRIGHT PARK” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #104

A GREAT NIGHT AT BRIGHT PARK It was eleven in the evening when Alex called Clara, who was having a snack, before going to bed. “ Then, darling, but , oh, what’s happening? We haven’t seen you yet, but you’re coming, aren’t you? Oh, you can’t miss the wonderful party in our very magnificent park!  Up, we’re all waiting for you! Do you want someone  come and get you?” Alex spoke at breakneck speed. She could hear the crush of impatience in his voice, in his words. Impatience for the admirable, ...

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