Mila Van Niekerk

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2020

Stories (13)

13 Stories

420 karma pts

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“My New Year Resolutions 2023 : A (mostly coherent) letter to future me from current me” by Mila Van Niekerk

1. Go do volunteering at the library. It’s falling apart, it’s closed half the time, it’s a mess. If just someone gives it a bit of love, it could be rescued. Remember when you were a little kid and Mom would take you and your sisters to it after work? You’d check out thirteen books in total, Mom and your sisters telling you to get a move on because you just couldn’t decide what to take. There was just so much to read, so much to discover, so much to learn.

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“when the Shadows come out (updated version)” by Mila Van Niekerk

Accepting Mica’s dare was a big, big mistake. I realize that now that I’m standing here on top of the flight of crumbling stairs, gawping at the height she wants me to jump. The wind is whipping at my curly red hair, blowing it everywhere and making it hard for me to see. I’m scared the wind will whisk me away along with all the autumn leaves, and I know that instead of floating daintily to the ground, I...

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“the willow tree from the sea” by Mila Van Niekerk

‘’This one. I’m buying you this one.’’ You point, and I shake my head in disbelief.‘’Micah, that’s a tree. A literal twenty-year-old oak tree. We’re not buying-.’’‘’But, Becca- ‘’‘’No, Micah, I don’t have space for a whole flogging tree-‘’‘’You can make space. ‘’‘’-my parents won’t allow it- ‘’‘’I’ll talk to them.’’ ‘’The house is suffocating u...

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“Another and another” by Mila Van Niekerk

NOTE: this story contains somewhat violent and disturbing content. If you are unsettled by weirdcore images (check Pinterest) or simulations etc, please don't read this.***Every step she took echoed sadly through the dark, empty supermarket. Broken light fixtures flickered on and off overhead and occasionally rain would drip from the ceiling. A dull buzz of static seemed to come from nowhere, but those were &...

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“Captain wants to see you” by Mila Van Niekerk

Trigger warning: mentions of severe violence, death and trauma**‘’Listen, Sally, for the last time, I don’t want to talk about it. ‘’‘’Please? Pretty, pretty, please with a cherry on top?’’‘’No, leave me alone!’’‘’Oh, come on! Just one story. One little story about the Keld and I’ll leave you alone, I promise!’’‘’Uggghhhhhhhh.’’It was late afternoon, and both the ship, Never not once, and its pass...

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“When the Shadows come out ” by Mila Van Niekerk

Accepting Mica’s dare was a big, big mistake.I realize that now that I’m standing here on top of the flight of crumbling stairs, gawping at the height she wants me to jump. The wind is whipping at my crazy curly red hair, blowing it everywhere and making it hard for me to see. I’m scared the wind will whisk me away along with all the autumn leaves, and I know that instead of floating daintily to the ground, I’d become an ugly human jam on the cement way down below.The old railing of the abandoned Childr...

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“Wish they were here” by Mila Van Niekerk

White.Walls.White walls.The walls used to be white.They’re not white anymore.No, they’re not. Instead, they’re covered from top to bottom in drawings, doodles and randomly written notes I had scribbled in the middle of the night. Some incredibly detailed, and had taken me days to finish, some were simpler, and others were just aimless little lines I had doodled in my free time, which I happened to have plenty of.Having hours free ti...

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“Reclaimed” by Mila Van Niekerk

Author's note: The xe and xer AREN'T spelling errors; Jupiter uses neopronouns, and that's totally valid. It's an actual thing that doesn't get a lot of representation, and I think it deserves more attention :) (Also, the they/them pronouns aren't errors either, Sorin does go by singular they/them pronouns)TW: @buse, transph0bi@,bl00d***A sword to the neck.A scream through the castle halls.A laugh bubbles in the cloaked figure’s throat.

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“An Indecisive Elf Attempts To Write” by Mila Van Niekerk

I sat in front of the computer, my eyes burning from spending so much time staring at the screen. It’s been two hours now, and I still haven’t chosen a prompt. Or a story that would fit well with said prompt. Or whether I would use existing OCs for this week’s story or create new ones. Or whether I would write a fanfiction instead of using my own characters for a change…In short, I was pooped.Frustrated, I let my head drop onto my desk, and bang it there several times. I stop after a while thou...

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“Monster” by Mila Van Niekerk

I didn’t expect to be invited to Sadie Jones’s party.I’m the type of kid your parents tell you to avoid, and you leave me alone if you know what’s good for you. I sort of melt into the shadows, and a lot of the times people hardly notice I’m there. Sometimes they’d whisper and point.‘’Hey, look it’s that psycho kid. ‘’Sadie was the exact opposite of me. She was the type of girl who had a flock of kids around her at break, and boys falling for her left and right. She was Miss perfect blonde hair, Miss grown up...

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“The Shadow in the Library” by Mila Van Niekerk

‘’Here you go,’’ Adelaide handed me the keys to George Public Library, a massive two storey, castle-like structure in the middle of our town, surrounded by a rickety white metal fence, some shrubs and a couple of loud restaurants. I know, the busiest part of a small city is a really odd location for a library (a spooky, old fashioned one at that) The thick walls drown out most of the traffic surprisingly well. The...

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“Thunderstorming Picnic” by Mila Van Niekerk

Thunderstorms are actually pretty cool, as long as they stay a safe distance of one hundred kilometres away from me, Darren Barlow thought as thunder rumbled in the distance. He was sitting in one of the small, cramped carriages of the five-p.m. train. Squashed to his right was an old lady knitting a sweater and to his left a redhead girl in an incredibly elaborate black prom dress and a sour expression, who looked like the type of person to flip over the coffee table after losing a game of monopoly.If there had...

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“People Talk ” by Mila Van Niekerk

Authors note: This is just the first story , I'm hoping to work in a sequel with next week's prompts :) Here goes:And so, she lay there, with the hot water bottle upon her stomach and an icepack strapped to her forehead, contemplating the meaning of life and asking herself all kinds of philosophic questions she didn’t know the answers too.Do the teachers notice when the chalk squeaks on the blackboard, or don’t they and is that why they just keep on writing like their students aren’t being cringed to death behind ...

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Author bio

🤸‍♀️✨😎 Just your average bilingual teen with a passion for writing and storytelling :) she/her/hers This year, I'm going to try and write one story every week (this is going to age like milk lol) I'm active on Reedsy often, reading and giving feedback, just not posting a lot myself. If you want me to read your story, just ask :) I'm genuinely low on Reedsy buddies atm 😭 It's kind of lonely over here... Here's to writing nonsense, and loving every moment of it! 🐠✌🏃‍♀️