Paulina Smal

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Oct, 2024

Stories (4)

4 Stories

41 karma pts

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“Take Me With You” by Paulina Smal

Submitted to Contest #285

[TW: mentions of abuse]Casey dangled from the bed upside down, hair brushing the carpet. “I just don’t get it.” “You don’t have to get it,” Bee shot back, shoving a hoodie into her bag like it had offended her. “But–” “This isn’t about you.” Casey sucked in a breath, a feeling he couldn’t explain making his chest all tight. His voice was small when he whispered, “But… you’re leaving me behind.” His sister froze with her arm halfway under their dresser. Hope sparked fire-bright in Casey’s heart, thinking, for just a m...

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“If Forgiveness Is All It Takes” by Paulina Smal

Submitted to Contest #282

“I’m sorry, son.” There’s silence for several long beats before I huff, then turn and walk away. “I said I’m sorry. Don’t be like that.” I stop, abruptly. It’s like my feet have sprouted roots and they’ve buried into the cemetery soil and deep down into the center of the Earth. I hope the damned roots are burning to ash in the outer core. That’s the part that’s supposed to be molten, right? “Are you even listening to me?” I sigh. It’s an impressive sigh, going all the way up from my toes. “Yes, dad. I heard you.” The root...

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“Something's Fishy” by Paulina Smal

Submitted to Contest #280

“Don't, Margret!”“It’s too late, John.”“But–!”“I said, it’s too late.”“And I say don’t you dare. It’s too late when I say it’s too late!”“Be reasonable John, please, honey. Just, oh, stop pacing, would you?”“You don’t trust me?! A marriage is built on trust you know.”“I– dammit, John, it’s not about trust.”“Then what’s this about, huh?”“It’s rotten, the whole thing. There’s no saving it.”“That’s not–!”“It is true! You’re just too stubborn and prideful to admit it!”“I’m not prideful!”“Oh but you are stubborn, then?”“Don’t be cheeky! You’re th...

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“Where the Wind Sings ” by Paulina Smal

Submitted to Contest #280

“Where in all the thrice-cursed frozen hells am I?” Kazia DeWin asked the wind, because gods knew there was no one else around for miles to hear him. Kazia stood in the middle of the frozen barrens with nothing but the clothes on his back and a sinking feeling in his chest. As he spun slowly, he couldn’t see anything but flat planes of ice, the horizon blocked by flurries of snow – not even the sun was visible through the ominous clouds that had rolled in sometime while he’d been wrestling free of his ropes. His pale lashes were caked with ...

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Author bio

Fantasy & contemporary 🐉 I've made up stories in my head since I was a little kid and just... never stopped. I recently discovered how fun and rewarding writing short stories can be, especially compared to amassing a collection of WIP novels, and am enjoyed the new challenge.