Maya -

“Staircase of Fleeting Dreams” by Maya -

Submitted to Contest #97

Most people thought to avoid the stairs, they said the steps went on forever. An endless string of creaking boards, spiraling up the tower like a fraying strand of dna. One step forward feels like a thousand steps backward, climbing this eternal tower. It’s quite a view, standing prominent in the center of town; visible even from my cabin perched on the sloping hills in the distance. Back straight and head held high, never flinching as bombs rained down upon us. The stone feels frozen under my touch as I run a single finger along the an...

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“The Shadow Tailor” by Maya -

Submitted to Contest #92

Working with shadow is difficult. It’s slippery and my hands always come away damp. The fluid slips through my fingers in ribbons, a glistening ebony the color of coal and spiders. All light is absent from the room since even a minuscule flicker can damage the material. Burning holes in something flawless yet fragile. Onyx curtains obscure the windows, as to not let even a wisp of twilight inside the secluded workshop. The fire in the corner is cold, the wood damp. I haven’t lit it in weeks, leaving the chalky ash left to settle in drifts on...

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“Starry Night” by Maya -

Submitted to Contest #88

{Inspired by the life and works of Vincent van Gough as well as the song “Vincent” by Don McLean}Moonlight peeking through the dusty window, stars twinkling in the clear night sky, my brush on the canvas. The branches of a towering olive tree cast shadows across the dusty, wooden floors. Painted irises wind up from the ground, blooming into delicate petals of royal purple. My mind lost in the depths of my thoughts as the color spreads, consuming all white.Thoughts of The Wretched as my family calls them, of mesmerizing nights and rolling clo...

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“Ash in the Air ” by Maya -

That’s the thing about this city; once fire catches, it spreads faster than any of us can imagine. It was just another ordinary day when it happened, nothing incriminating about the cream-colored clouds above our heads. The sprinkler ran in the backyard, fighting an ongoing battle to keep the wilting grass alive.  Mother sat out on the porch swing, gently rocking back and forth as the tips of her sandals scuffed the dusty floorboards. A puzzle book opened in her lap and her sunglasses perched precariously on her slender nose. Afte...

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“Silver Lemonade ” by Maya -

Submitted to Contest #84

Author's Note: This may be bad because I wrote almost all of it at midnight. But it's the quickest I ever finished a story. Anyway, thanks for reading! Have a fantastic day!Nothing has been the same since you left. After I went through the five stages of grief, as they call them, each step blurred together by the tears, I was numb. I didn’t heal, I just got better at hiding the pain. The therapist I talk to online every week has tried to help, telling me I must learn to see the brighter aspects of my life. But I’ve found my own ways to ...

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“Secrets and Sand (GoA part 3)” by Maya -

Submitted to Contest #83

Author's Note: This is part three of my Reedsy-cast series, The Guilds of Atmos. There are a few new characters and Guilds introduced in this part, more detail in the comment below. If I haven't gotten to your character in this part, I promise I will in the next. Thanks so much to the person helping me plan this series that prefers not to be named. And it applies to the prompts because there are spirits. Thanks for reading!~☾~The Court of Elders sits around a large oval-shaped wooden table, the scars and knots on the wood under their fingert...

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“A Revolution, I Suppose” by Maya -

Submitted to Contest #82

Author’s Note: So, I wanted to write something this week but to be honest I didn’t really like the prompts. This isn’t my favorite story, and it’s on the short side, but it fits I guess. And the title, it's from the song Radioactive by Imagine Dragons. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy, and look down in the comments below for a small memorial project.Humans. Your species is quite self-centered, absorbed in their own wants and needs. That’s not an insult, it is merely based on fact. Your species is always trying to make everything faster, ...

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“Time and Love (ft. Radhika)” by Maya -

Author's Note: This is a collab I did with Radhika Diksha, I wrote Julie's perspective and she wrote Jay's. She is such a wonderful author so please check out her work. I'll put a link in the comments below. Thank you, happy Friday, and I hope you enjoy! September 2, 1939 I haven’t stopped crying since the letter came. My tears blotted the ink, making it spread across the paper,   smearing the words. Jay’s hands crumple the corners as he holds it with clenched fists, his face has maintained a stoic expression since we read it, barel...

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“Starstuff and Dandelion Fluff (GoA part 2)” by Maya -

Submitted to Contest #81

Author's Note: This is part two of "The Guilds of Atmos", my Reedsy-cast series. The prompts didn't fit well for it to take place where part one left off, so this is one week before part one. Sorry if this isn't a great continuation, the prompts were hard to continue it with. Hope you enjoy it!𝓞𝓷𝓮 𝔀𝓮𝓮𝓴 𝓫𝓮𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓮 𝓹𝓪𝓻𝓽 𝓸𝓷𝓮, 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓢𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓁𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓕𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓿𝓪𝓵:Luminescent fairy lights weave through the slender branches of every tree in Atmos. Multi-colored tents are set up in the park at the center of town, they vary in color. Sherbet pink, canary yellow, sham...

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“Liberty or Death (ft. Emerald)” by Maya -

Submitted to Contest #80

Author's Note: This is a collab I did with Emerald. She wrote Magnus's perspectives and I wrote Alex's. This was not meant to be a Magnus Chase fanfiction, I personally have never read that book. XD She's a really amazing author and you should definitely check out her stories, I'll put her link in a comment below. Have a fantastic rest of your morning/ afternoon/ night!𝔸𝕝𝕖𝕩:The dust from the crumbling walls overhead rested on top of my head, turning my usually dark brown hair powdery white. The cracks in the ceiling used to be alarming, cons...

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“The Guilds of Atmos (part one)” by Maya -

Author's Note: Okay, so this is the first part of my new Reedsy-cast series. It kind of fits the prompt, not perfectly but it was harder to make it since the prompts are mostly historical fiction. There is more detail in my comment below. Enjoy! :)🟉🟉🟉🟉🟉The large gongs on all four corners of the city square chime out a deep, reverberating rhythm. Four figures dressed in ash-colored shirts and long flowing pants of the same color hold gigantic mallets in their hands. The ringing of the gongs. Eight beats means a breach in the walls.Across the ...

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“A Vessel of Death” by Maya -

Submitted to Contest #80

𝓐𝓾𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓻'𝓼 𝓝𝓸𝓽𝓮: 𝓘 𝓭𝓸𝓷'𝓽 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓶𝓾𝓬𝓱 𝓽𝓸 𝓼𝓪𝔂 𝓪𝓫𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼. 𝓘𝓽'𝓼 𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓽𝓽𝔂 𝓼𝓱𝓸𝓻𝓽 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓘 𝓯𝓮𝓮𝓵 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝓲𝓽 𝓶𝓸𝓼𝓽𝓵𝔂 𝓯𝓲𝓽𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓹𝓻𝓸𝓶𝓹𝓽. 𝓘'𝓶 𝓱𝓸𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓵𝔂 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓼𝓾𝓻𝓮 𝓪𝓫𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝓲𝓽, 𝓼𝓸 𝓯𝓮𝓮𝓭𝓫𝓪𝓬𝓴 𝓲𝓼 𝓪𝓹𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓬𝓲𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓭. 𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓼 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓰!Six years.That’s how long I spent on that ship, the ship that never seemed to go anywhere good. The wind took our sails from one bomb to another, one battle to another. Never anywhere good.I didn’t have a purpose there, they could have survived this thing they call a “war” without me. A few extra rats don’t make the difference between life and death. Bu...

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“Imagine Us in Heaven (Maelle's POV)” by Maya -

Author's Note: This is a collab with the amazing author Nainika Gupta, credit to her for the dialogue between siblings as well as the title. I will put a link to her part (Leo's POV) and her page in the comments below. Enjoy! :)I was sitting outside my favorite cafe in Paris when I got the call. The waiter here always seats me outside, knowing while I sip my drink I love to gaze out at the city as it falls asleep. Hues of a myriad of colors, reds, pinks, oranges, and yellows, are painted across their canvas, the sky. I always loved painting ...

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“Letting Go” by Maya -

Submitted to Contest #79

The things are tossed into my bags one at a time; my clothes, the frames I used to keep by our bedside, the books I used to keep on our bookshelves. Bluebell tries to climb inside, but I pick up his furry body and place him on the bed, earning a mew of complaint. As I hang the heavy luggage over my shoulders, I take one last look at the room we used to share.My cold, slender fingers sweep the moisture out of my eyes. I don’t want to cry, not now. Not with you waiting for me at the door. The room looks bare now, only half of what it used...

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“Seperated (Ashlyn's POV)” by Maya -

Submitted to Contest #79

Author’s Note: This is a collab I did with the awesome author Katelyn Howell. I put her link in the comments below, please check out her part (Addie’s POV) and the rest of her amazing stories. She is going to continue this story as a series, so that explains the ending. Thanks for being here, I hope you enjoy it. Have a spectacular day!☆☆☆I’m woken up in the morning by the chime of a text on my phone. I dizzily pull myself out of bed and snatch the device from my bedside table, swiping it open. One message shows up on the top of the home scr...

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