Marty B

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jan, 2022

Stories (103)

103 Stories

4155 karma pts

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“The Pigovian Payment” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #191

“Let me tell you how I got this flower." I rubbed my lapel with the white rose boutonniere and stared across the hard wood surface at the man in the bowtie, his gaze stern and expressionless."OK, Let me start at the beginning-"I smelled her outside the door before she ever knocked, aromas of spring flowers, lavender, and crisp $100 dollar bills.It was 11 AM and the sun was streaming through the dust floating in my cramped office. Coffee thick as tar slowly steamed next to me. I was wearing my powder blue suit, dark blue tie over a white...

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“Friendship is Magic” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #190

Sonam knew the rainbow sparkle glitter would be important, he just didn't know how.He put the small jar in his bag to add to his costume later. He looked at himself critically in the mirror. For a man dressed up like a cartoon pegasus, he thought he looked good. To the light-blue pajama onesie he had added a rainbow-colored mohawk, a rainbow tail and gossamer wings, slightly off center. He spun slightly to look at the cutie mark, the rainbow colored lighting bolt. The costume was tight across his wide chest, and bagged around ...

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“La Terrible Madre” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #188

Themes of violence and self-harm At 8:30 AM the alarm clock went off, her cell phone buzzed and she saw the dead man on the floor.   Edipa blinked against the sunlight pouring in from the window of the front room. She was nauseous, and her head rang with a vibrant ache.  She put her head back down on the couch, only a dream-  She abruptly sat up, she was on the couch, in her fiancé's house. She had to pick him up at the airport, and -    Her eyes squeezed shut. She twisted her head and then opened her...

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“1963 Fender Stratocaster” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #188

 Paul had found the fountain of youth, and it was slowing stealing his mind. It didn’t look like much, faded and worn. The retirement present from his old boss. The boss who forced him out of the business he built. Paul remembered the chubby and energetic kid he had hired and mentored for the past 10 years. Derek was twenty years younger, and through political maneuvering with the Board had taken over as CEO. If Paul still had the fire in his belly then maybe he would have fought harder to keep his executive positio...

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“Princess, the Writers Muse” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #187

Every great writer needs a muse Annie believed, hers just had a fuzzy tail and a cute face. Princess was her partner and writing companion. The romance novels she wrote were a fun hobby, but even she knew they were missing something, her plots were lifeless.  She wrote about what she knew, her heroines all had loving, adoring cats, and her heroes were modeled after her perfect husband Walter, the brilliant scientist. Annie wanted to spark up her stories, but did not know how.   She loved what she wrote, but no one else di...

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“Orange and Yellow, by Rothko” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #185

Harry thought it would have been a lot easier to steal from his Stepdad, since he was dead.  But they had to get into the unit at StoragePro first.   “No.” The guard said. “We‘re his stepsons,” Harry pleaded. “Look, we have the key and everything.”  He held up a key with the StoragePro logo. The guard buzzed them into the entrance. “What unit?” He looked them up and down, sensing something was off.  “Number 222.” Harry said. “It is awfully late to be going into your unit-.” The guard looked at the mismatched pair...

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“A Day at the Golf Course” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #184

“My reality is my video feed! Going outside, that is just another display, another screen…” Ahn mulled the thought over in her mind. Her client Julie said those words earlier during their therapy session to deal with her unhealthy video game addiction.Ahn quickly forgot Julie. She was absorbed, her eyes unfocused, staring off into space. She was sitting indoors, in her office, but was watching the small display just to the left of her vision, a video overlaid against what she saw, of a man golfing at a course next to the ocean.&nbs...

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“My Shadow” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #183

My Shadow left me today. I will miss him, but I know I will be better off. He was holding me back, pulling me down. We’re just too different, my Shadow and I. He wants to standstill, stay comfortable. I need to push myself, embrace the unknown and turn toward the future. My Shadow has been with me as long as I can remember, following me everywhere, his dark shape lurking behind me. Most of the time I forget he is even there. The first time I noticed the pull of my Shadow, felt his strength, was in high school. I...

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“Strangers in a Hotel Room” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #179

-discussion of domestic abuse--As it was his first trip to Las Vegas, he wished he wasn't here to kill a man. Guy eased out of the taxi in front of the tall hotel and casino, and looked nervously at the commotion around him. He questioned again if this was a good way to achieve his goal. But what other option did he have? He was alone in his mission, he had been working on it all year, and this was his best chance. His old faded khakis were clean, his dress shirt tucked in around his potbelly. The circular driveway was full of peop...

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“Moccasins with blue and red beads” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #178

Forced by her Mother to wear a dress and rain boots, Nina was miserable.  The line outside the glass doors of the big building was long and full of adults dressed in pants and dresses and nice shoes. Nina, waist high to most of the people standing, focused on their shoes, some red, some blue, mostly white and black. Nina did not understand why anyone would wear the high-heeled, pointy shoes or the sandals with only thin straps holding them on. How could they run in them? And the thick leather shoes some of the men wore looked ...

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“The Bishop’s Gambit” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #177

--discussion of sexual violence--- Liz had several problems, but the biggest one was she was losing her mind. The lack of sleep, the pills Talia gives her to stay awake have confused her waking reality and her dreams. She could still do her job, but she needed to connect with the Bishop, only he could understand what she was going through.    Her dispatches were sent out, signals into the darkness.  Were they received and understood? Were they even noticed? Dr. Liz Friedman imagined they were. She trusted that her e...

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“Santa Drives A Red Cadillac” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #176

---discussion of drugs and sex, cursing--- The short, fat man in the red velvet suit with white fur trim put the marijuana cigarette up to his huge white beard. “How much longer until we are done with this Christmas shit?” The snow falling behind the large neon signs for the shopping mall reflected reds, blues, greens and purples, showering the three people standing in the alley with sparkling confetti of colored lights.  The ripe, sweet smell of restaurant trash from the dumpster next to them in the alley mingled with the smell of th...

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“Call the Doctor” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #175

For her last day on earth, she wished it was warmer.  Martha  hated being cold, and now that it was turning to winter the chill would not leave her bones. She rubbed the small metal pillbox in her hand, a talisman to allow escape from her misery. She twisted the dial on the small electric heater again, but it was turned up all the way. She pulled her thick sweater closer, tucked in the blankets wrapped around her legs even tighter, though it did nothing against the cold deep inside her. Today was her birthday.  “Today is...

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“The past is never dead. It’s not even past” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #174

***Themes of sexual violence*** There is nothing like a dead body to bring two people together.  “I am not the right person for this- shouldn’t we just call the police?”  I leaned into Julie.  She didn’t give me the time of day in high school, but now 20 years later, we were as thick as thieves after discovering the murder victim. “Greg, you can help us here. We had to cancel the reunion party. If you could figure out who did this, maybe we can hold it again.” Julie pleaded. “And no one really liked Tony, I mean except you-”...

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“Language of Love” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #173

I am so bad at buying gifts I almost got arrested. I blame the long distance relationship we were in, I could not think straight. Janey and I had lived up to the stereotype of U-haul lesbians, we moved in together after just three weeks of dating. To be fair, rent in the Bay Area is ridiculous, so we understood just being roommates would be OK even if it did not work out.But it did work out, until she was accepted into her dream graduate school, and we had to stretch our relationship over three states, thinning the connections unti...

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Author bio

It is difficult to get the news from poems yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there. Asphodel, That Greeny Flower [excerpt]   by William Carlos Williams Copyright © 2023 Marty B - All Rights Reserved. Using content without written permission is prohibited.

Winning 1 story 🏆

Contest #161
Long Distance Phone Call – read story

Shortlisted 1 story ⭐️

Contest #213
Anand's Lamp – read story