Maria Avisal

Author on Reedsy Prompts since May, 2021

Stories (36)

36 Stories

791 karma pts

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“Luck on the boulevard” by Maria Avisal

Submitted to Contest #97

At every red light, Mona reminded herself to stop clenching her jaw and release her white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel. She couldn’t figure out if the almost unbearable anxiety during her morning commute in the last month was the result of the multi-car highway accident she was in shortly after passing her driver’s test, the time she spent as a volunteer EMT in, Roosevelt Boulevard specifically, or stress at work careening out of control to activate her fight-or-flight response. Last week she had finally decided it wasn’t wor...

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“Ginger” by Maria Avisal

Submitted to Contest #96

The initial jolt forward and loud clacking noise that followed integrated into my dream before the wind whipping through the door grew strong enough to wake me up. Opening my eyes, I had to suppress a rising panic at the sight of dark trees zooming past the boxcar as the train gained speed. How could I have been stupid enough to fall asleep here? There wasn’t a valid excuse, and I knew that, but I understood that I had been too tired and scared to think straight when I pulled myself into the car to rest and stay dry in a safe ...

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“Eleven Minutes in Chinatown” by Maria Avisal

Submitted to Contest #95

Coming up the stairs towards the front registers at Kam Man Market, Felicity was surprised to see that the sun had completely set during the thirty minutes she spent in the basement homewares section picking out the small bowls with blue fish at the bottom to bring back to her off campus apartment. She couldn’t believe that it got darker even earlier back at school in Boston, but it was entirely possible she had been too busy studying for finals to notice. to bring back to her off-campus apartment in Boston. As she was staring...

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“Granite” by Maria Avisal

Submitted to Contest #94

Trudging through the verdant scenery up to Lone Pine Lake but seeing only the small oval of her headlamp light was frustrating sine Maia knew they would be too exhausted to appreciate it on the way back down in the afternoon. She couldn’t believe that despite logging on only 45 minutes after the permits became available, despite remembering to do this even tipsy and euphoric from her thesis defense celebration, they had not been rewarded with an overnight camping permit and instead were s...

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“A Gold Hexagon” by Maria Avisal

Submitted to Contest #93

“Rise and shine! I have bagels!” Teddy trilled just as Esme had nearly mustered up the resolve to get off his couch and rummage around in the bathroom for something to quell her blinding headache. As he bounced to the kitchen, she sat up slowly, straightened the borrowed T-shirt, and dragged herself over to join Teddy at the kitchen table. Annoyingly, Teddy was immune to hangovers, even on New Year’s Day. “Who was that handsome stranger you were making out with on the couch all ...

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“The Gift” by Maria Avisal

Submitted to Contest #92

The first time her alarm screeched the sun may have been just dipping over the horizon behind the clouds, but by the time Justine had snoozed nine minutes four times in an effort to sink back into her dream, it was completely dark outside. By almost halfway through her second year of general surgery residency she was used to waking up in early morning dark, but it cruel that even on night shift she had to wake up in the evening dark. Unfortunately for her, nightfall came early in Seattle in November. She realized it was 5:10pm...

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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