Maria Avisal

Author on Reedsy Prompts since May, 2021

Stories (36)

36 Stories

790 karma pts

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“The Premed” by Maria Avisal

Submitted to Contest #276

   I remember her name, first and last, but I can’t write it because that would be a violation of patient privacy. Of course, she wasn’t my patient, because I didn’t have my own patients yet, but a violation nonetheless. There is a chance I only remember her name because I went on two dates with her son – an awkward first date lunch at a diner during which I felt no spark whatsoever and at the end of which we split the bill and inexplicably then a second date comprised of watching Pan’s Labyrinth in his musty apartment which I...

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“Fascination” by Maria Avisal

Submitted to Contest #273

   I place my feet slowly and carefully, balancing on my tiptoes before letting my heel pads drop, but I still can’t avoid the soft crunch of the leaves that have already fallen. It would be so much easier to step quietly if I dropped down to the packed dirt trail, but I can’t risk being seen by the woman who is with you. Fortunately, you two are moving slowly enough for me to follow easily, and my footsteps aren’t any louder than the squirrels, who all of us are accustomed to ignoring. I continue to shadow you two as you ambl...

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“The Homewrecker” by Maria Avisal

Submitted to Contest #254

Sunday, April 29, 2012Trouble in Paradise              Martin Conner, multimillionaire actor turned director, and his wife Melanie, former child star turned wellness influencer, have been known as one of Hollywood’s most stable couples for two decades. This makes it even more surprising that they were spotted having a heated argument at La Bourgogne on Hawaii’s Big Island last night which culminated in Mr. Conner storming out of the dining room. This was a shock to the oth...

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“An Officer and a Benefactor ” by Maria Avisal

Submitted to Contest #159

The first time it happened was during his first shift on the police force, when his uniform was pristine, and he was bursting with pride and naivete. A silver foreign-made SUV flew past them on the rough road, and his partner pulled their patrol car off the shoulder and flicked the sirens on, kicking up dust as he sped to catch up. The SUV pulled over immediately, and his partner winked at him with his hand on the door handle before he stepped out of the driver’s seat. “Now you get to learn everything they didn’t teach you in academy,” his ...

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“Dr. Ahmadi Sees a Melanoma” by Maria Avisal

Submitted to Contest #150

Dr. Layla Ahmadi has spent years imagining that day, although in her motivational visions she had not accounted for the effect of the July humidity in Tampa on her curly dark hair. No matter though, her frizz would be covered up by a light blue bouffant scrub cap in a minute, then further smashed down by the MelVis headlamp. The MelVis looked like the light-weight LED headlamps she had worn for complex abdominal cases as a surgical oncology fellow, but it emitted more than bright light. So much more. And today was its day to shine in the ope...

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“Trail Angel” by Maria Avisal

Submitted to Contest #149

I took the headlamp off and whacked it against my thigh, cursing under my breath as the light flickered again before fading out completely. At least I had already placed the bear cannister at least fifty yards away from the tent and made it back into the tent before the light died. After fumbling around on the floor of the tent for my cell phone, I hit the side button and was surprised to see it was already 9:15pm. Knowing I still had two full days on the trail and couldn’t waste my cell phone, I reluctantly powered it off.  For at lea...

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“The Cats of Mount Washington” by Maria Avisal

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #145

My mother had a valid point that I wasn’t doing anything else, but that still didn’t mean I wanted to start packing or preparing my room to be turned over to one of my younger twin sisters the moment I left for the train station. After working day shifts at a summer camp in a nearby town (residency in the upscale suburb was required for attendance but apparently not cheap teenage labor) and night shifts at a steakhouse, and the usual unpaid labor at my father’s store, I had given myself two weeks off before leaving for college and was l...

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“Alibi” by Maria Avisal

Submitted to Contest #144

"Guys we have to get a photo!” Kiara shrieked, the pitch of her voice betraying the effects of her third vodka-soda.  I rolled my eyes at Alexis but obliged, turning my back to the stage and putting my arms around Alexis to my right and Kiara to my left as Kiara reached her arm out to snap a selfie of the three of us. Having known me as long as she had, she knew better than to let me look at it and beg her to delete it. I hated the way my smile made my eyes scrunch asymmetrically, and it didn’t help that Kiara and Alexis alw...

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“Thirty-Six Seconds” by Maria Avisal

Submitted to Contest #136

     One oppressively humid Saturday in late July while the rest of the city was at the beach, Rachel tried to maintain a 7:50 mile pace for a fifteen-mile run. The first mile was easy because she was essentially still asleep. She spent the second mile congratulating herself for getting out of bed, even though she had only gotten five hours of sleep and was still on Mountain time, instead of hitting snooze and convincing herself she would run after work. Her future self would be grateful, even if her c...

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“The Tiger” by Maria Avisal

Submitted to Contest #135

     Part of Alyssa’s brain knew she was being unreasonable, but wasn’t that her right as a fifteen-year-old girl? Wasn’t that what teenage girls for known for? She was otherwise quite mature; she simply couldn’t get past this one little thing that sometimes ended up being a big thing. Times like this coming weekend.          “For real though, you have to come. You get straight As in all of your smart girl classes and play three varsity sports, your par...

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“The Cannonball Run” by Maria Avisal

Submitted to Contest #134

Wednesday               A few hours after dinner, Ashley barged into my room without knocking, as usual. At this point in our cohabitation in the tiny two bedroom far East Village apartment I couldn’t even be upset, she correctly assumed I wasn’t doing anything private or interesting. She flopped down on my bed with a dramatic sigh, demanding attention. Turning away from the biochemistry I was reviewing for my midterm the following morning was not a great s...

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“The Dying Synesthete” by Maria Avisal

Submitted to Contest #132

       Just as I am dozing off, my previously toned body now emaciated from the calories the cancer consumed as it had evaded five types of chemotherapy and a course of radiation, I hear the faint notes of an Adele song from the nurses’ station outside my room.  My vision fills with a deep velvety purple, which morphs to the color of a glass of merlot, which then becomes the red of a classic rose.  If it was been any other artist, I would ignore the colors I see with the musical notes as I have do...

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“Submerged” by Maria Avisal

Submitted to Contest #129

         The most shameful aspect of my decision to take up cave diving was that I hadn’t even come up with it on my own, despite all the Sundays of my childhood I spent exploring caves with my Uncle Bill, and the year of studying abroad in Australia I spent scuba diving. My only excuse is that my brain was a fetid stew after five months of listlessly sweating on my parents’ couch, half-heartedly applying for other forensic accounting jobs while becoming increasingly sure I never wanted to work in...

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“Sunkaraku” by Maria Avisal

Submitted to Contest #128

         The low-level gnawing guilt Diana felt about taking a few hours off from document review for the Steinberg case had not ruined her enjoyment of the Philadelphia Museum of Art yet; in fact it had the opposite effect of reminding her of who she was before law school and before her current 90 hour work weeks in corporate law. What she remembered most from her undergraduate art history degree related to the classical European artists showcased in other wings of the museum, but she had made a ...

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“Fortunately, Charlotte Hamilton was hit by a car” by Maria Avisal

Submitted to Contest #127

        When I regained consciousness, I was slightly startled to be lying on my back on damp, cool, rough cement, feeling mildly befuddled. Before even attempting to open my eyes to further assess my situation or see whose hands were resting on my shoulders, I paused to appreciate the absence of the mild but gnawing discomfort I had been having in my stomach recently, and the new presence of a feeling of satisfaction, as if something had been sorted out. I would have taken a few more moments...

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Author bio

I welcome comments and constructive criticism and appreciate you taking the time to read my stories! I'm trying to get back into writing fiction with the goal of eventually finishing my first novel despite having another day job (in a field that finds its way into some of my stories).

Shortlisted 1 story ⭐️

Contest #145
The Cats of Mount Washington – read story