Melony Beard

“When Time Stood Still ” by Melony Beard

Submitted to Contest #234

Not long ago, in the Land of Fairy Tales, Hayward Pig lived in a brick house with his older brothers, Stickerton and Brickerton.One day Hayward walked through the North Woods searching for firewood. Little did he know anyone else was around but Sly Fox hid behind a tree and watched Hayward's every move. Hayword studied the trees and tried to decide which one was the best. Some were too small, and some were too large, but right in the center of North Woods stood one perfect tree. With a smile, Hayward raised his axe to chop it down."Put the a...

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“Long Chapters, Short Story” by Melony Beard

Submitted to Contest #186

The days felt long. The end of the first chapter of her life began at the ripe age of seventeen. She met a boy. She knew this was it because she could see her future in his eighteen year old eyes. However after joining the Army, they sent him far away. She couldn't go. She prayed, she begged and she cried thousands of tears. She pleaded with God to bring him safely back to her. She impatiently waited for each passionate love letter to arrive in the mail. She kept each letter and pored over each word countless times. The days were torturously...

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“What's in a Name?” by Melony Beard

Submitted to Contest #179

New Year's Eve had arrived. The day we scroll social media to find a gazillion posts of soon to be broken promises, outright lies and ploys for attention. Thats right, it's the whole new year, new me thing. I don't hate New Year's Eve, but you have to admit, it's likely the best day of the year to post certain things on Facebook especially in the marketplace, such as all the exercise equipment, self help books and organization supplies you purchased last year. Personally, I don't own any of those things. I do, however, have something I need ...

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“Anything You Can Imagine” by Melony Beard

Submitted to Contest #176

"I know a magical place where you can see anything you imagine," Jenny stated matter of factly swinging her fire red pony tails from side to side.  "Hmph..." Cason the freckled face boy standing beside her in front of Jack D's Bayside Restaurant replied, "You do have a wild imagination just like everyone says." Cason, outdone with the annoying red haired, pig tailed girl, flipped around and began walking down the sidewalk.  "Where ya going?" Jenny ran to catch up and bounced beside him.  "As far away from you as possib...

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“A Gift from Above” by Melony Beard

Submitted to Contest #173

The strangest thing wasn’t the fact that the phone rang at midnight, but the strangest thing was that I had disconnected the home phone service a few weeks ago. The very last thing I expected on this Friday night was my disconnected house phone to ring. I jumped at the unexpected sound of the ringing phone which hung on the wall in the room next door. I know that at least briefly I must have wondered who in the world had gotten through on this line, but once the following events began to take place, I completely forgot anything that happe...

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“King Hunch” by Melony Beard

Submitted to Contest #172

A short, jolly fellow named King Hunch ruled Aurora Island. The citizens of the island trusted King Hunch even though he often had changing perceptions of how to rule the land. He often had dreams which led him to make important decisions or sometimes, he just had a hunch of how things should be done. King Hunch was from a lengthy line of family members gifted with a believed discernment and insight, so no one questioned him. Well, not until the day, a little boy was born, named Philomath, better known as Phil.Phil was born on March 2nd, oth...

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“The Land of Fairytales: The Tooth Fairy Gets Lost” by Melony Beard

Submitted to Contest #171

THE LAND OF FAIRYTALES THE TOOTH FAIRY GETS LOST Easton stood on a rooftop and peered at what looked like a million little lights. He scratched his head. How had he landed at the wrong house again? Father would be so disappointed in him. Easton felt like a failure. He leaned back against the chimney and studied the map Father had given him during training. Jack’s first lost tooth was due at Pearl’s Refinery by sunrise, or the magic power needed to keep the Land of Fairytales alive would disappear. This was Easton’s first assignment as a...

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“The Land Of Fairytales: The Gingerbread Ghost” by Melony Beard

Submitted to Contest #170

The Land of Fairytales The Gingerbread Ghost Not so long ago, the Gingerbread Man lived alone, in a gingerbread house on the edge of Sugar Forest. His tiny home, decorated in white icing, was splattered with gumdrops, chocolate pieces and sprinkles. Green icing lined the windows, candy canes decorated the porch and marshmallows covered the roof like snow. One morning, when Gingerbread Man awoke, he glanced around his tiny home of confections and felt quite useless. Everyone in the Land of Fairytales had a special assignment. At least, ...

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“Sly Fox Likes Duck Stew” by Melony Beard

Submitted to Contest #170

Not long ago, in the Land of Fairytales, lived Mother duck with her seven ducklings. They lived in a pond surrounded by green grass and wildflowers, near Fable Field, where Loki, the unicorn, lived. One morning, when Loki strolled by the pond, one little duckling looked very sad as he waded alone near the bank. "What's wrong, my little duckling friend?" Loki asked. "I want to run away from home," the little duckling answered. “The Land of Fairytales is the best home I’ve ever had. Why do you want to run away?” Loki asked. “My s...

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“No Such Thing As Normal” by Melony Beard

The train was small with an engine, one box car, one passenger car and the all famous little red caboose. The antique train had been placed in the city park as an artifact. A reminder of times gone by. A fence surrounded the train to help protect it from vandalism. Shelly's class was one of the first to visit the train on a field trip. She sat in the very last seat of the passenger car and stared out the window to the playground not far away where at least two dozen children ran and played in the warm May sunshine. She felt special. Her ...

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“The Wink of a Lifetime” by Melony Beard

Submitted to Contest #166

"I quit!" The words lingered on the tip of my tongue. My hands shook with fury as I slammed the register's cash drawer shut. I had been extremely clear with Steve when I accepted this job last week about how late I could work. Between college classes in the mornings and my job at the bank in the afternoons, my plate was overloaded.Steve's scrawny figure stomped across the cold hard tile floor of the auto parts store as he bellowed demands. "Melanie, get out here and straighten this merchandise! Everyone will stay here tonight until this whol...

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“The Land of Fairytales: Where the Rainbow Ends” by Melony Beard

Submitted to Contest #165

Not so long ago, in the Land of Fairytales, Lucky, the leprechaun, lived at the end of the rainbow, in a little green house with a with a backyard full of four leaf clovers.One day, Baby Bear, Goldilocks, and Little Red Riding Hood played next door in the Rainbow Park while Lucky painted his house with green paint like he did every day.Goldilocks called out, "Lucky, why do you paint your house green every day?""Because this is where the rainbow ends," Lucky answered.On this particular day, Lucky ran out of paint, so he headed down the path t...

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“Peace After the Storm” by Melony Beard

Submitted to Contest #163

As I stood outside the front doors of the drone factory where I'd worked for over twenty years, I stared at the furious black sky threatening any moment to release it's pent up frustration. Should I dare make a run for it without my umbrella? I thought for almost a moment too long, but as the first sprinkles fell, I realized it didn't matter if I was drenched. No one at home would care how I looked when I dragged my exhausted body through that door anyway. Certainly not him, the man I had been married to for twenty two years now. I made a ru...

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“Clever Candice” by Melony Beard

Submitted to Contest #150

"Oh crap," I mumbled beneath my breath as I looked down and noticed one navy and one gray sock sticking out beneath my swaying pants legs as I dashed into the office on another dreary Monday morning.It was a typical Monday from rushing to the office nearly late before sunrise to find myself alone in an empty office since I'm on the early shift.The only things different about this Monday were the extra time it took to find my keys which somehow managed to fall behind the dresser over the weekend, the mismatched socks on my feet and the fact t...

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“The Hooded Stranger” by Melony Beard

Submitted to Contest #149

"Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself Mom?" twelve year old Mitchell said as he tossed the oversized black duffel bag into the bed of his Dad's truck. "Mitchell, I'm 42 years old. If I'm not okay by myself for three days at my age, something is really wrong.""Awe, Mom," fourteen year old Matthew said as he leaned down to kiss my cheek, "We know you'll be okay but we can worry about you anyway."My husband Justin walked out the door in his usual hurried manner when he's preparing to leave for a trip. "What are you boys waiting on? Get ...

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