Natalie Schlegel

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Nov, 2019

Stories (48)

48 Stories

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“Lionel Frank and the Belle of Wichita” by Natalie Schlegel

“We all mess up sometimes, Carol.” Lionel Frank said to Carol Cruz, the bartender standing directly in front of him. She sighed, “I know.” He looked around the bar before asking, “So why has no one forgiven me?” “You really don’t realize, do you?” Carol rolled her eyes and turned to dry four clean glasses, while still trying her best to keep an eye on the only person sitting at the bar. He shr...

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“My Father, A Criminal and Me, the Betrayer ” by Natalie Schlegel

What would you define as betrayal? Do you think you betrayed anyone? I paused immediately after reading the last word of that first sentence. Boredom often took me to unexpected places and an interview between a reporter and a disgraced actor was definitely somewhere I never expected to be. Although I am a man in my early thirties with a loving wife and children, my past continues to haunt me. The ...

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“The Fifties Lovin' Lily Turner” by Natalie Schlegel

Lily Turner was that girl. The weird girl. Before the twelfth grade, I never interacted with her and I feel bad that I never made an effort to. I mean, she was always there. But always in the background. That did not mean that she did not manage to stand out. Our town was not very crowded until I turned eleven. A large company set up their headquarters fifteen minutes away and due to the affordable costs of livi...

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“My Persistant Pain and Powerlessness” by Natalie Schlegel

Powerless. That one word has described how I have been feeling for the last four days. It is quite ironic how this just happens to be one of the prompts for this week. Well, it has actually been that way for a long time. But since the end of last week, that has been basically the only word to describe how I have felt. I have suffered so much physically, and honestly mentally, due to the problems I am forc...

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“The Wallis Family's Backyard Adventures ” by Natalie Schlegel

“Mom! Dad!” Theresa and Marcus Wallis’s three children all shouted down the stairs one summer night. Theresa and Marcus yelled, “What?” Lauren, their daughter, loudly replied, “The lights just went out!” Marcus mumbled, “Oh great.” Then suddenly, the power went out in the entire house. One by one, other homes in their neighborhood started to darken. All the lights in the neighborhood slowly we...

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“Mara Mendez and the Stuck Elevator” by Natalie Schlegel

One. Two. Three. Four. Five? Does a sleeping baby count as a full person? Every time Mara Banks went into an elevator, she liked to observe as much of what was around her as she could. Starting on the first floor, there were five other people who walked inside with her, one after another. The one furthest from her was a man with a suit and a leather briefcase. His whole ensemble must have been a couple th...

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“Sixteen for T” by Natalie Schlegel

Sixteen. That number never had any significance in my life, it was only brought up when it was justified. Only when there was a reason for it to be mentioned. My sixteenth birthday party. My parents' sixteenth wedding anniversary. Sixteen months at school. I never thought that it would be the most important number in my life. Sixteen seconds is what would make or break me. After meticulous calculations, the estimate of s...

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“"Badass Grandpa"” by Natalie Schlegel

For years, I did not know much about my great grandfather and to this day he is almost a stranger to me. Pictures of him were scarce and I had never met him, because he died ten years before I was born. So when I saw the image for the first couple dozen times, I did not think about it. All I did was laugh at it, just like how all my friends did. It was not until I showed my older brother, Aaron, the picture that I found ...

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“The Two Young Women in Hospital Room 26” by Natalie Schlegel

“So, what are you in here for?” Gina Schmidt stared at the stranger in the hospital bed opposite hers and questioned. This was not Gina’s first time in a hospital, but it was her first time having a roommate in one. Claudia Towne looked at Gina and asked, “Excuse me?” Gina cleared her throat and clarified, “I meant, why are you here in the hospital? There has to be a reason.” “Uh, don’t you think...

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“Two Years Later” by Natalie Schlegel

It had only been two years since things between Gracie and I were destroyed, although it had felt like much longer. The minute she did not want me in her life any more, I wanted to text her and tell her that I was sorry. That I was stupid and that I did not mean to hurt her. But it was not that easy. Finding the proper words was one of the most difficult tasks I had ever taken on. Gracie and I had just graduated f...

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“Arthur Hank's Second Chance” by Natalie Schlegel

It’s kind of funny to me how my own second chance at my television career was given to me by being selected to host a television show called “Second Chances”.  The creator of the show, Georgina Wright, informed me that I was everyone’s first choice to host. “It’s a show about people getting second chances in life, Arthur. That’s why we want you for this job. You deserve one just as much as they do.” She told me ov...

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“Erla and Nathan's Summer Miracle” by Natalie Schlegel

“Erla, what’s the temperature right now?” Nathan Bowen asked his wife, Erla, one scorching summer afternoon.  The very pregnant Erla waddled like a penguin over to Nathan with her cell phone and checked its weather app. After staring at the screen for a few seconds, she plopped down next to her husband on the couch and replied, “It is triple digits in Fahrenheit and almost halfway to a hundred in Celsius.” ...

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“Saul's Greatest Act of Love” by Natalie Schlegel

Saul? It can’t possibly be. I wrote his obituary over eight months ago. I spoke at his funeral. This cannot be happening. This man in front of me has glasses and shorter hair, but it is him. It has to be, right? Mindy, you must really be losing it. Saul Ians was a man I had the pleasure of knowing for eleven years. The day I turned eighteen, I started to beg my parents to tell me more about my older broth...

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“The Proposal in the Park” by Natalie Schlegel

“Jackie, I would like to propose to your sister.” And that is where it all began. When Shane told me that he wanted to propose to my sister, April, I was confused as to why he was telling me. He and April went out for dinner together to celebrate her new job and he started this conversation as soon as she went out for a phone call. Later on, I found out that I was the first person he told. Although Shane and April...

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“Twenty, Thirty, Forty Minutes...” by Natalie Schlegel

When I first met John, I knew he was something special. After a rough ending to a rocky relationship, looking for love was not a priority. Dating again was far from important, because I wanted to work on myself first. Finding another partner was the last thing I needed. Allen was future husband material in the beginning, but changed about ten months into our time together. I ended the relationship exactly one year after ...

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Author bio

My name is Natalie Mendoza-Schlegel and I am a twenty something year old getting back to writing for fun. I am also terrible at writing bios.