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Mary Bendickson

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Feb, 2023

Stories (147)
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493 Followers
608 Following

147 Stories

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Trampled Dreams Part 2

Submitted to Contest #195

Trampled Dreams Part 2 (Second half of first chapter in my unpublished novel “A Brilliantly Scathing Life”) As he rode away from Kendra Potter's wagon party the trail leader mulled over who masterminded that outfit. Surely, not that greenhorn who got himself thrown from his horse this morning. He wondered why anyone who had obviously put so much forethought into travel accommodations had overlooked common sense things like foot and head wear. And why did her widow garb already look so tattered? He was pretty sure the shawl had been cut from...

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Trampled Dreams

Submitted to Contest #194

(Excerpt from Chapter One of my unpublished novel 'A Brilliantly Scathing Life'. The plot thickens...)Head hung downward, Kendra stared unseeingly as the dry earth passed beneath the massive hooves of the oxen team pulling her heavy Conestoga wagon. Then the freshly turned earth came into view just under her high bench seat. Already it had been flattened by the wagons streaming ahead of her and was fading to blend with the surrounding clay. The wagon master had insisted that was the way it had to be to keep wild animals from ravaging the rem...

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Best Basset

Submitted to Contest #193

Moral: Be careful what you wish for, you may get it. “I wish I didn't have a basset hound.” “Hello, Sis. So nice of you to call. What's that about your basset hound?” “I wish I didn't have one. He is nothing but a barf-bag!” “A barf-bag? Are you talking about that adorable little floppy-eared puppy you paid a king's ransom for at a pet shop a few years back because your lonely youngest daughter looked at you with equally sad puppy-dog eyes begging you to let her take him home?” “The one and only. She was left home alone so much when her brot...

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Monotony

Submitted to Contest #192

Ridin’ around in my automobile. Tryin’ not to fall asleep at the wheel. Round and round and round I go. Where I’ll land nobody knows.Caught in a spin cycle. Spinning my wheels. Never any end in sight. Think I’m getting ahead then some guy on a steel horse passes me by. Heck, the rate I’m going even that construction guy pushing the wheelbarrow is catching up to me.Endless, I’m tellin’ ya. Hopeless. I put in my paces, smile at the faceless faces hiding under haute hats all so I can chase that elusive money bag, pick up my salary and get on th...

31 likes 32 comments 32
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Working On It

Submitted to Contest #190

Working on It(Meant to offend no one, or, at least, all equally:)Narrator: Once upon a time...Director: Hold up there! I believe I have heard that line before. Who first said that? We can't just plagiarize someone's work.Narrator: It is a common start to many stories. So well used the statute of limitations has certainly expired. It enjoys common-use status by now. No danger of being sued.Director: Well, I still don't like it. Above all else we must be original. Who wrote this line of crap, anyway?Narrator: Says here the play came from B.S.W...

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No More Bullies Re-Imagined

True storyNo More Bullies Re-imagined(I must continue to tell this tale or not be liked by you-who-know-what-I-mean)It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling. It was almost dark. It was the fourth of January. It was our little girl's fourth birthday. It was the day of her death.###Long time before: Seemed like a good idea at the time. Certainly no harm in it. We were only dating and looking for something different to do. Carter's friend had told him about a dog show coming into the city. Dog show? Who would be interested in watching prissy d...

17 likes 21 comments 21
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It's a Gamble by 'She-Who-Shamelessly-Shucks-Chips'

Submitted to Contest #189

It's a Gamble by 'She-Who-Shamelessly-Shucks-Chips'It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. Typical January in the American mid-west. But I felt left out in the freezing, biting cold. And my future certainly looked dark, indelibly black, to tell the truth. I had boldly issued an ultimatum. A poorly thought out ultimatum, obviously. The hand had been dealt. I took a gamble and lost. Lost big time. Lost not only for myself but for my young family. Oh, yes, I knew gambler's grief. How had it boiled down to this bluster...

23 likes 16 comments 16
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Holes In My Story

Submitted to Contest #188

Holes in My Story “So what's the catch?” “The catch is I can't get the clasp to catch. This is bad!” “Nah, that's good.” “Why is that good?” “I really didn't want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane anyway. Makes no sense.” “Okay, that's good then.” “Nope, that's bad.” “Why is that bad.” “I'll never get my bucket list completed.” “Oh, that is bad.” “Nah, that's good.” “How is it good?” “There is a hole in my bucket any way. All my dreams and aspirations are slipping away.” “Well, can't you fix it.” “No, I left the flex-seal in my car.” ...

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No More Bullies

No More Bullies Seemed like a good idea at the time. Certainly no harm in it. We were only dating and looking for something different to do. Carter's friend had told him about a dog show coming into the city. Dog show? Who would be interested in watching prissy dogs sashaying around showing off their who-knows-what-there-was-to-show-off? There are only so many restaurants to eat out in and so many movies to go see before every date seems like the one before. We had been dating for a while so we needed something to shake-up our routine. So ...

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Blacktop and the Bucket Babies

Submitted to Contest #187

Blacktop and the Bucket BabiesName's Blacktop. Gender neutral 'cause who could tell when you're five weeks old. Right? Not all that original or cutesy for a kitten but that is what I am. White on the bottom...now you understand. Could have been 'Boots' for my white paws or maybe 'Stache' for my milky mustache but you get the picture. Oh, and that is also where I picked out my people - on a blacktop road. I had spent the hot August day wandering way too far from my birth barn and mom. Had this forlorn, bedraggled look about me. Could have bec...

31 likes 13 comments 13
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Rustlers?

Submitted to Contest #186

Rustlers? “You two gonna pag-nag back there all day? We got beeves to round-up. And I for one want to get back to the ranch house tonight for one decent meal for the week.” “Lighten up there, K-Keyes. Who d-died and left you in ch-charge anyway? We all got equal b-billing with the B-big B-boss.” “Then hustle up there, Stinky.” “W-wish ya didn't call me that no m-more. That encounter with th-that polecat was so long ago his stripes have f-faded away by now and he would just be a c-cuddly p-pussycat.” “Been calling you 'Stinky' for so long d...

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The Faith Of Thelma Faye

Submitted to Contest #185

The Faith of Thelma Faye I remember feeling protected as I snuggled in the warmth of my mother's strong arms. My bed was veiled in a green canopy. She spread her warmth so wide it encompassed our whole world as we could see it. And there were a lot of us. She was like the old women who lived in a shoe. So many children... Except she knew. She sheltered and nurtured us and taught us everything she could before setting us free out into a world unknown. She taught our family history and mysteries of what could be. When gentle breezes rustled ...

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