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Mary Bendickson

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Feb, 2023

Stories (131)
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413 Followers
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131 Stories

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Secrets That We Keep

Submitted to Contest #253

Secrets That We Keep It was a hard life. No one said it was going to be easy. We chose it for ourselves. There was no going back. We made a commitment. Now we had to live up to it.At first it seemed surreal. We had heard about something, someone, that would someday come along and change our world. Could it be possible this was truly it? Is this what our ancestors have been foretelling and preparing us for our whole lives? Could it be happening in our lifetime? Most of our folks weren't sure either. They thought we were foolish youths simply ...

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Follow Me

Submitted to Contest #252

Follow MeCaution: Contains passing of a pet.His eyesight was poor, his gait was labored yet he followed me. Through the flowering meadow, over the babbling stream, along the dusty country road he followed me. There was a time, (was it only last week?) he would have explored along the way. Venturing off on his own quest to examine an interesting flutter near a sweet clover or search out a foreign smell capturing his attention or take a cooling splash in the water. But today if he lingered behind he was slow to catch up, hesitated like he didn...

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Not Another One!

Submitted to Contest #252

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 brother a...

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The Passing

Submitted to Contest #251

The PassingThe Passing has been passed on. The title is an obscure lost manuscript written by an infamous novelist who has promised it will never be published. Being the first ever penned by this well known best seller one can only imagine what genius it may harbor. Every published book has struck immediate notoriety. Eleven of these masterpieces have been adapted to successful draws at the box office. After thirty years of producing flawless works could it be possible the first would not live up to the last twenty five? Should the author be...

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Secret Secret Agent Man

Submitted to Contest #250

Secret Secret Agent Man I am new to this neighborhood. Moved in about a year and a half ago. Still getting to know the neighbors. I've an outgoing sort of personality so am not shy about starting up conversations. An equally outgoing couple live next door.It was the middle of winter the day my wife, Teresa, and I were unloading. Mary stopped to welcome us to this house that had sat empty for a number of years. As the original owner she has lived in her house for over fifty years. Her second husband, Walt, is a transplant from Iowa and only b...

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Battle of the Sexes

Submitted to Contest #249

Battle of the SexesSo does this mean it has finally been settled? Once and for all? Considering the debate has been raging since... well, since the beginning of time really! Who believes Adam fully forgave Eve for offering that piece of fruit? Even if they managed to populate the world nearly single-handed afterwards don't you think he harbored a little resentment for making him work so hard to feed all those hungry mouths? Must have been some bad blood brewing below the surface. Something somehow needling him knowing she had fallen for that...

42 likes 62 comments 62
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Southern Persuasion

Submitted to Contest #248

( An excerpt from 'A Brilliantly Scathing Life' unpublished award winning manuscript by author)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 bowler hat toward them.“No harm done and we can not p...

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How's Your Aspen?

Submitted to Contest #247

How's Your Aspen?Have I ever told you about the time I learned to ski? Snow ski. Down a mountain. A famous mountain. No? Well, let me tell you about the time I learned, or should I say attempted to learn, how to snow ski down a famous mountain. Stop me if you have heard it before...If you know me at all, you know I'm a rather conservative, cautious type content to live life within boundaries. Follow the rules, don't take unnecessary risks, always sensible, seldom try something unexpected. Okay, go ahead and say it...dull, boring, in all ways...

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...Blow Your Head Off

Submitted to Contest #246

...Blow Your Head Off Caution: Based on true story. Contains gore.It's all fun and games...until you blow your head off! Before the nineteen sixties, before I made this my home, our lovely town was known for stately elm trees canopying the main street north of the river. But a deadly elm tree disease raged through infecting them all. The ones not killed quickly succumbed to progress as the street was widened to four lanes instead of two for the thoroughfare through town. The men's garden club decided to beautify the landscape by planting a f...

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Too-Cute Eclipse

Submitted to Contest #245

Too-Cute EclipseRussell paced. Held the phone close to his face. Pinched the bridge of his nose between his eyes as he felt the tension rise.“He's a grown man. He'll be alright. I'll do what I can but it could take all night.”“.............”“I know, I know, I KNOW. I can't be there, you know.”“..............”“I have a job. I have a life. I can't drop everything.”“.............”“I'll talk to him. It's all I can do. I'm too far away.”“.............”“What's that you say?”“.............. ..................... ..................... .................

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Because He Lives

Submitted to Contest #244

Because He LivesMarch 31, 2024I received a picture today. I immediately shared it with all my relatives and contacts on my social media page. It had already been recognized as a viral photograph. If any photo qualified to deserve to be repeated enough times to be considered viral this one most certainly does. It sends a vital and timeless message.Simple and understated the scene speaks volumes. The mostly sepia colored photo depicts a view from inside a cave-like entrance looking back out towards the early morning sunrise. To the lower left ...

45 likes 33 comments 33
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Living On Easy Street

Submitted to Contest #243

Living on Easy Street Living on Easy Street refers to a life free of financial worries, full of comforts and all the luxuries of life. In general a life of ease. Almost anyone would admit they dream of living on Easy Street. Imagine the wealth providing all the luxurious accommodations to make life perfect. Could be someone worked hard all of their career battling up the ladder until reaching the top to feel like they made it to Easy Street. Or perhaps someone was born into a limitless inheritance so that is all they were accustomed to their...

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When Will We Ever Learn

Submitted to Contest #242

When Will We Ever Learn?“Careful. That whitewash may still be wet.”“What are you talkin' 'bout? How would you know?”“Helpin' paint picket fences is one of ma many talents. Used ta spend hours doin' it just fer fun.”“Just fer fun? Sounds like work to me.”“Then ya'll haven't ever met my good ol' pal Tom Sawyer. He'd talk ya inta it alright. But then agin, ya'll pretty little. Maybe ya couldn't handle the big ol' brush, anyways.”“I'm plenty big enough to use a brush. Ya gots one on ya? I'll prove it to ya.”“Na, they's got fancy maintenance peop...

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A Fable: The Gardener and the Potter

Submitted to Contest #241

A Fable: The Gardener and the Potter Samuel, a slightly stooped, aging gentleman of humble means in a humble village, visited with his eldest daughter. “Is all well with you and your new husband?”“All is wonderfully well. He treats me like a precious flower. Seeing to my every want and need. Gordon is such a hard worker. He works from sun-up to sun-down in our fields growing the best crops any gardener would be proud of.” Marigold marveled.“Is there anything you need from me, My Dear?”“Well, the only thing I could request is that you pray f...

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Flooded Out of 17th Floor

Submitted to Contest #240

Flooded Out of 17th Floor September 12, 2008 approximately 4PM:My husband and I walked along the fourth floor upper deck of our apartment parking garage persistently caressed by promising breezes ruffling our hair and cooling our humidity heated cheeks. Above us circled gray outer bands of clouds in perfect spiral formation interspersed with stripes of blue sky sporting sunshine between them. As beautiful as the effect appeared the atmospheric phenomenon was an ominous reminder of the approaching weather forecast. A monstrosity of a hurrican...

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