Mary Bendickson

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Feb, 2023

Stories (94)

94 Stories

7925 karma pts

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“Nothing Wicked to See Here” by Mary Bendickson

Nothing Wicked to See HereOnce upon a time a bushy-haired regular customer took his turn in the chair at his favorite barber shop.“You're looking worn out, dear Friend.” Remarked the observant barber.The regular guy lamented, “I can never get my little boy to go to sleep at a decent hour.”“You need to tell him a bedtime story.” Advised the helpful hair expert.“Oh, I've tried reading every fairy tale I know and he still won't get sleepy.”“These kids these days are very discerning. You've got to stay one step ahead of them.”“And how do I do th...

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“Close Encounter of the Man Kind” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #276

Close Encounters of the Man Kind I spent nine years wandering in a desert. Searching. Always searching for a way out. Searching for a bright mountain I remembered from before. If by chance I stumbled on a promising route, something would happen; a subtle shift in the wind of fate or a tsunami of faith and that hopeful path would close itself off once again. I tried to convince myself everything was okay. I could survive and be fine exactly as I was. Go with the flow; drought or flood, hill or valley. Enjoy the variety. All challenges would m...

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“Bewitched” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #275

Bewitched I'm bewitched. Well, that is, I'm becoming a witch. No, not the true, crone looking, broom flying, cauldron cooking kind of witch. But still a witch. A pretend witch, that is. And only for one evening. Not so bad. And I'm actually being encouraged to become a witch or something I'm usually not. Don't intend to cast any spells on unsuspecting souls, good or bad. But you never know. Could happen unintentionally, you understand. Since I'm only eight years old how bad could it be? I have never been schooled in becoming a witch. I'll ha...

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“Lifer” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #274

LiferThe parking lot was empty. Except for dry weeds squeezing up through cracks in the asphalt; except for the deserted rusting basketball hoop on one end; except for rustling leaves skittering across fading parking spaces in the gathering dusk; except for oil spots shimmering with rainbow colors after a recent sprinkling, the parking lot was empty. And, because fate is resourceful, a steady gloomy rain started falling blurring any hope of discovering the mysterious body called in by an anonymous tip.“What's in the corner by that dilapidate...

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“Fair and True Love” by Mary Bendickson

P.S. This is a continuation of the 'My Fair Lady' Series. I must credit and give abundant thanks to Trudy Jas for this romantic interlude. She was able to bring the right Regency flare to this saga. Very few of these words are mine. She is the genius behind it. Thank you ,Trudy. Sincerely, Mary Bendickson. Fair and True LoveSir Riley was both in seventh heaven and at the seventh gate of hell. His mind, one of his finer traits, a feature he had been proud of, was failing him. His wits having borne him through academia, withstanding taunts fro...

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“See Forest Run” by Mary Bendickson

See Forest Run“Run, Forest, RUN!” Mary suddenly shouted as we were introducing ourselves.Totally confused, I stood stock still. She grabbed me by the arm and pulled me aside as the folding chair beside us seemed to crumple in front of us. She jerked me down as she rolled under a three-foot wide air vent and pulled me with her to the other side. Then crouching, she ran along side the vent to the other end of the cavernous utility room encouraging me to follow silently while she shielded the light from her flashlight to emit only enough illumi...

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“The Fox Hunt” by Mary Bendickson

Sir Riley Fenwick hunched over his portfolio trying to make sense of the gibberish written there. Nothing made sense to him no matter how much he tried listening to his inner voice conjuring up the lectures from university days that should shine some light on how to solve the problems of these modern day cause of action or discovery methods.Maybe frustration with his workload was no more than his mind roamed elsewhere – focused on one incomparable beauty he encountered at the colorful crowded market fair a few days prior. The enticing fair m...

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“Too-Cute Kitchen Chatter” by Mary Bendickson

Too-Cute Kitchen Chatter The evening was still warm and muggy on this the last summer holiday of the season as Russell Koolridge helped Anna Merriweather from the car into the front door of their shared Victorian home. They'd spent a worrisome day at the hospital awaiting news on the condition of Chrissy, Russell's wife of five months and Anna's granddaughter. She had doubled over in pain that morning at breakfast and was rushed to the hospital. Emergency appendectomy surgery was necessary but her 20-week pregnancy complicated everything. So...

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“Too-Cute Objection” by Mary Bendickson

Too-Cute Objection “Mo-ommy! I thought we were going to Miss Chrissy's and Mr. Kool's today?”“That was the plan, Sweetie, but everything changed because Miss Chrissy is not feeling well. We will visit them another time. You can spend today getting ready to start first grade tomorrow, right? Are you all set? Excited?” Nora Conover bent down to give her son, Carlson, a hug. “But I wanted to play with Mr. Kool one more time. When school starts we will both be too busy. He's gots lots of big kids to teach about space and I - I have lots of first...

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“Too-Cute Nana” by Mary Bendickson

Too-Cute Nana Poor Russell. He can't stop blaming himself for Chrissy being in the hospital room down the hallway. He was only being his normal playful self this morning tickling her on his lap when she doubled over in pain. We got her here in an ambulance as soon as we discovered she was bleeding. We don't know if she lost their baby.Anna watched the burly black man pace back and forth in the confined space. Five steps to the right, five steps to the left, five steps right, five steps left, right, left, right, left. Anxiety oozed out of ev...

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“Too-Cute Family” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #267

Too-Cute Family Back and forth, back and forth. Russell paced the OBED hospital waiting area awaiting news on his wife, Chrissy. She doubled over in pain at breakfast so was rushed here by ambulance. Doctors were working on her now.“You might as well sit down and try to relax, Son. Wearing out the tiles and your shoe leather won't bring answers any faster.” Chrissy's nana, Anna, sat at a nearby table making phone calls canceling their plans for what started out as a perfect end of summer holiday. Plans were for an annual block party at which...

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“Too-Cute Couple” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #266

Too-Cute Couple Russell laid on his side with his hand propping up his head as he gazed at his beautiful sleeping wife, Chrissy. After nearly five months of waking up next to her, he still couldn't believe how much she blessed his life. As the newly risen sun peeked in through the blinds, he thought back to the sunny April day he bent down on his knee and surprised her with his proposal in the midst of 299 other couples all saying 'I do' in the four minutes of the total eclipse. Always so sensible and stable, she surprised him when she said ...

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“Long Lost” by Mary Bendickson

Black smoke belched from the smokestack of the Chicago Alton St. Louis Rail Road engine steaming southwest. The passenger car lurched and swayed sending one gentleman trying to negotiate the aisle sprawling into the laps of Kendra and her traveling companions.“Oh, Ladies, kindly forgive me. Did I hurt anyone? Terribly clumsy of me.” He apologized as he reclaimed his footing, bowed and tipped his hat toward them.“No harm done and we can not put the blame on you. Who can walk with these rolling pathways.” Kendra accepted his apology.“Say, do I...

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“Waiting Line” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #264

Waiting Line Reverend Collins was surprised when Councilman Fillmore approached him and asked for an unusual favor. Seems there was an impromptu wedding reception happening at the hotel this evening and would he consider pronouncing a few words over the happy couple? The young people had eloped at the courthouse this afternoon because their church, the only other one in town besides the one Rev. Collins shepherded, did not currently have a minister and there was some urgency involved. Their friends and family scrambled to hold a reception fo...

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“Summer Vacation Paradise” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #262

Summer Vacation Paradise“Have you heard from the kids yet? Are they packed and ready to go? Mapped out their plan of action to get there about the same time as we will?” Jed fussed as he double and triple checked his list.“You're the planner and coordinator of this whole trip. Haven't you been exchanging e-mails with them to know those answers?” His harried wife, Trudy, retorted. “Look. We saved for it. We meticulously planned for it. We've anticipated it. We've waited for this moment. We are on our way right on schedule. So relax. The kids ...

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Author bio

I am not like so many of you who have yearned to write their whole lives. I have always loved to read but seldom had time when I was raising kids and running a business. When I retired I started to read. I cleared out my Mom's house and found hundreds of romance novellas. Some great, some leaving much to be desired. I wondered if I could do better so spent 2022 writing a book with my laptop perched on my belly. It came out as a historical fiction with a little romance. I haven't tried getting it out there yet. I didn't study rules let alone follow any so now I am educating myself in how it is supposed to be done. Yoo-Hoo! Late July, 2023. Just found out I am a finalist in a major contest (Killer Nashville The Claymore Award)where I submitted my first 50 pages of my novel. Even if I don't win it is so nice to receive validation that someone liked my work. That would be 'Trampled Dreams' and 'Trampled Dreams Part Two' and 'Justice Scream' listed here. 8/21/23 Back from Nashville with the medal for winning my genre at the Killer Nashville Awards!!!:)Woo-Hoo!

Shortlisted 1 story ⭐️

Contest #211

Donuts Do Not Die – read story