Mary Bendickson

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Feb, 2023

Stories (44)

44 Stories

3412 karma pts

?

“Led Into Temptation” by Mary Bendickson

Led Into Temptation Aaron waited. Waited and waited. Still no sign of his younger brother. How much longer should he wait? Aaron worried. Worried and worried. How much longer would he have to worry? It was driving him to distraction. Maybe that's what he needed... a distraction. That crazy kid brother. Well, not so much a kid anymore. But even when he was younger he always had his h...

Read story

“What Says The Mirror” by Mary Bendickson

What Says The Mirror“Don't judge me. Yeah, I am talking to you, Doppelganger. I only can repeat what I see. You come to me every day. Morning and night. Looking. Searching. Asking questions. Always with the questions. What do you expect from me?“You want me to force you to confront your own truths? Well, the truth is--How should I know? Look at you! That's all I can help you with. I am the same. Yesterday, today and probably will be tomorrow.“I hang around here all the time, whether you are around or not, a...

Read story

“Hang It On The Moon” by Mary Bendickson

Hang It On The Moon There was once a little girl born under a waning crescent moon. Her father, an amateur artist, presented her mother with a custom hand-painted art work of the infant sound asleep cuddled on the arch. The picture hung over her bed all of her childhood years. She carried it to her college dorm room and to her first home when she started adulting on her own with the first job of her career as a sp...

Read story

“The Battle Rages On” by Mary Bendickson

The Battle Rages On Up until Sept of this year in the US there have been 389 school shootings since Columbine in 1999 according to the Washington Post data. I have been on a kick over the last few weeks of writing about my home town. This historical account is in Wikipedia: “On May 16, 2018, a 19-year-old student, entered Dixon High School and fired shots during graduation practice.

Read story

“Hometown Boy” by Mary Bendickson

Hometown Boy The year was 1920. Nine-year-old, Dutch, moaned to his four-year-older brother, Moon, “This is all there is?” “Yeah, ain't it grand? Everything they promised. Well, nothing like the run-down row houses of Chicago. Maybe you don't remember them but they were crammed in pretty tight with no room to play ball at all. Had to walk down two or three streets and cross busy traffic lanes just ...

Read story

“Run, Forest, Run” by Mary Bendickson

Run, Forest, RunI blink. Once, twice, three times. I squeeze my eyes tightly shut, hold for a moment or two before opening and rubbing them with clenched fists. But to no use. It is still before me. Have I been asleep? Am I dreaming? No, I am sure I have not been. Had to fight the urge to sleep but I have stayed awake.I turn on my flashlight to dispel the pitch blackness. Nothing there. I flick the light off again because the last thing I want is to lose all the battery charge. There it, or he or she, i...

Read story

“Cinnamon Cookie Cure All” by Mary Bendickson

Cinnamon Cookie Cure All I remember Granny, my mom's mom, being about as round as she was tall. She was a fireball of energy carrying a big stick. Usually a yard stick she wasn't afraid to use on your backside if you didn't stick to the straight and narrow. She mostly aimed it at my younger brother, 'the Little Scheister'. He especially would get in trouble for hiding her yard stick. Grann...

Read story

“When Falls The Night” by Mary Bendickson

When Falls the the Night It was a dark and foggy night. Well, the night had started normal enough. The early fall day had pleasant temperatures but as the day turned into night the temperatures fell rapidly so as the earth cooled mist started rising and fog rolled in. The thick, soupy kind of fog. When it falls it makes the world silent and so white it is dark. Starting in the low areas and gradually fill...

Read story

“The Gift” by Mary Bendickson

The Gift I wish to impart to you, my friend, a gift. Hopefully, you will be able to put it to use now and throughout your lifetime. It should be renewable and sustainable. You may even pass it on to another if you choose. I only ask you use it wisely and cautiously. It can be very powerful. I do not intend to be so mysterious. I will tell you what the gift is and what it isn't. It isn't a panacea ...

Read story

“Where the Wild Things Aren't” by Mary Bendickson

Where the Wild Things Aren'tI approached the door with trepidation. I had been here numerous times before. I had every right to be here. I held the key in my hand. Thankfully, the lock slid open flawlessly. But when I tried the door it stuck—again. As it had every other time whenever I arrived. Even with a glove on for a more secure grip, the door wouldn't budge to give up the treasures within.From previous visits I knew what awaited inside was like a museum. A tangible testimony to the lifetime talents...

Read story

“Walking to California” by Mary Bendickson

Kendra finished her search in her deceased grandfather's quarters. She went to relieve 'Lena leading the oxen pulling the wagon. “I'll want to look a little deeper through some of Pappy's things but I found enough for tonight with the wagon master. I'm gonna let you start on the bread and anything else you plan for supper. Hope it's okay I leave that up to you.” “Dat be no trouble 't all. Yu uns havin' su...

Read story

“Modern Day Monsters” by Mary Bendickson

Modern Day Monsters How to build a modern day monster inspired by Mary Shelley: Believe misused power could destroy society. Believe in the Gods, here is a chain of them: Zeus: God of Sky, Weather and Fate. Call on him if questioning destiny. Aphrodite: Goddess of Love, Passion and Beauty. She will find love for the loveless. Poseidon: God of River, Seas and Earthquakes....

Read story

“All In A Name” by Mary Bendickson

All in a NameAnakin paced back and forth along the wide veranda with his thumbs hooked in his suspenders. The early evening air smelled sweet from the magnolia blooms dropping from the trees. A peach pie cooling on a nearby window sill promised sweet desserts. The sun hung lazily close to the western horizon painting the humid sky purple and pink. But all this escaped his mind.He swept his straw hat off his head and ruffled his dark hair to disperse the band around his bowl cut. Tucking his hat under his arm, he d...

Read story

“The Kneaded Touch” by Mary Bendickson

The Kneaded TouchI was thirty-nine years old when I found what I want to be when I grow up.Whereas most well-adjusted children seem to have an instinct of what they aspire to, I had no idea. In my youth the only vocations for women seemed to center around teaching, nursing or secretarial careers. None of those appealed to me particularly. Of course, there was motherhood, but that was a foregone conclusion and you had to have something else that called out to you to start out with, go to college for, or end up with after the ...

Read story

“Thank You, Killer Nashville” by Mary Bendickson

Thank you, Killer Nashville 8/23/23 Killer Nashville www killernashville.com Dear Founder Clay Stafford, the Faculty, Judges, Volunteers and all of Killer Nashville, I am writing this letter to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to your entire organization for honoring me wi...

Read story

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