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Marty Martinez

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2025

Stories (5)

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5 Stories

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What Lies Within

Submitted to Contest #319

I have spent a lifetime observing from afar—like a girl pressed against the window of a candy store, staring at sweetness she will never taste.I am hideous. I am an abomination of creation. I am the experiment that went wrong. I am the mistake that was allowed to live.And I wish it weren’t so, because I am lonely and I ache for love.But whenever they see me, they recoil, scream, and run—never pausing to wonder what might live inside this grotesque vessel of my soul. Their fear and rejection cut deeper than solitude ever could. And so, I hide...

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And I Wait

Submitted to Contest #314

Perched on the edge of Heaven, with the wind rustling my hair, I look down at what Paradise has become.And I wish I could sleep.But I can’t.Angels were not made to rest.I do not tire. My mind does not wander. I do not forget.Sleep is for mortals—fragile beings who need time to retreat, to process, to heal.I was forged for obedience, not reflection.And so, I wait. As I have waited for thousands of years.Not with weariness, but with something worse: purpose withheld.I should have grown tired by now in this endless waiting game. But time is irr...

3 likes

Row well and live

Submitted to Contest #312

“Sally, what do you see?” Eliza asked, sprawled on a blanket, listening to the sounds of the night, her eyes wide as she stared into the sky.“I see stars blinking in the dark tapestry of the universe. I see the full moon, and the craters etched into its face. I see a future full of adventure and a life full of wonder. What do you see?”“I don’t know.” Eliza paused—then almost choking, added, “I want to see beauty and hope, like you do. But all I see is darkness and uncertainty. How is it that you’re always so positive?”“Is ‘positive’ the righ...

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Bystander

Submitted to Contest #312

I’m not sure when I started hating school. Maybe it was in the ninth grade, the year I met Ms. Smith—my English and History teacher. She hated me. I’m almost certain she said it once, right after I drove her to the edge of sanity.I remember the day. She’d assigned Romeo and Juliet, and I couldn’t wrap my head around why those two idiots killed themselves. I mean, seriously—more fish in the sea, right? That’s what my dad always says. What made Juliet so special that Romeo had to off himself?Ms. Smith ignored all my commentary in class. Then s...

4 likes

The Spark, the Flame, and the Silence

Submitted to Contest #311

I remember the first scream. A sharp wail of neither pain nor distress but an intense, high-pitched scream of startled awareness.I remember the suspense of not knowing—the uncertainty of whether everything was alright or terribly wrong. In those seconds, I forgot the pain in my lower abdomen, the stiffness of my back, the tingling in my thighs. I tried to sit up, eager for a glimpse of what I had made.I remember the moment I saw his eyes—bright slits of curious light—the unshaped promise flickering in his gaze.I knew I could never control or...

4 likes