Phil Manders

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jan, 2020

Stories (44)

44 Stories

1335 karma pts

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“Bartender Banter ” by Phil Manders

Submitted to Contest #98

“Hey Miss! Hey, excuse me. Young Lady!” Jerry’s gruff, whiskey soaked voice echoed through the empty room.The bartender, who was holding her phone out in front of her like it was going to melt her ear off if she used it properly, turned the other way and carried on her conversation. Jerry cleared his throat dramatically.“Excuse me! What do you have to do to get a drink round here?” The bartender stopped talking, and shot Jerry a look that probably could have melted his ears off.Jerry waved a note in the air at her. She slid from her stool an...

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“Un-shattered dreams” by Phil Manders

Submitted to Contest #97

Rosa opened her eyes, her heart fluttering in her throat. Was this a dream? She lay still. Barely daring to draw another breath.She listened.A perfect June dawn bathed Rosa in a calm delicate light. It nudged at the white cotton curtains, teasing the sleeping bedroom with glimpses of a glorious deep blue sky, filling the room with salty honeysuckled air.Just outside the cottage window, a bumble bee drifted between the flowers, before starting his engines and taki...

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“Roots” by Phil Manders

Submitted to Contest #88

Willow marched through the woods clasping his offering tightly. He cradled it confidently, but still, a trickle of water seeped between his thin fingers and onto the floor. His path was well-trodden, although he knew it was only walked by him, his friends from the fringes were too scared to come this far into the woods. Fear, it seems, is the most powerful of deterrents. But unhappiness is an equally powerful antidote. Willow no longer felt fear. And anger was starting to overcome his unhappiness.He felt the temperature drop another degree a...

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“Magic coffee beans” by Phil Manders

Submitted to Contest #79

“Henry! . . . Wake up . . . Henry! . . . Wake up. Its morning, we need to go check.” Fresh dawn light, seized its opportunity and peeked in through a small gap in the zip. The sleep filled air inside the tent was an electric blue, as warm sunshine forced itself through the navy canvas. Outside, birds were in the final throws of another rendition of their classic, Dawn chorus. One by one, taking to the wing in search of breakfast. Bumble bees and butterflies, elegantly shared a morning dip in richly coloured, heavenly scented flower beds. Jun...

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“Do. Not. Steal. The. Apples” by Phil Manders

Submitted to Contest #78

Sandy wound the car window down. Shutting her eyes, she let her head rest back in the seat.“It’s so beautiful here.” She said, inhaling deeply. “I think we’re going to love it. What is that smell though?”Andy pulled the car onto the narrow gravel track and they bumped slowly along, a cloud of dust rose into the hazy summer afternoon, drifting across the fields on the warm breeze.“Apples . . . Its apples. Look around, the fields are full of apple trees.” Andy smiled. “I guess that’s why it’s called Apple Tree Farm? Sandy slapped him hard in t...

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“Weird thoughts are driving me crazy” by Phil Manders

Submitted to Contest #76

“I sometimes get weird thoughts.” Shannon forced the gear box into fourth making it scream in pain. She glanced at her passenger, who fixed his gaze straight ahead without moving a muscle. “I can’t hide it and I’m not going to lie to you. I sometimes get weird thoughts when I’m driving . . . It doesn’t happen all the time, but when I get them they are really strong. I have to fight hard not to give in to them.” Colin stared straight ahead. He opened the glove box and rummaged around for his bag of humbugs. “I get weird thoughts too. It doesn...

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“Robert, Take Off Your Headphones!” by Phil Manders

Submitted to Contest #76

“Knock-knock! Robert, what are you doing? Can I come in? . . . Sorry, my fault. I should have knocked and waited. I need to come in and change your bedsheets, ok?"“Mm, K.”“My god! Child open the curtains. It’s like living with a vampire! It’s three in the afternoon. Have you even been to the bathroom yet today? You’ll get a urinary tract infection, look at what happened to your uncle Tony. Remember Uncle Tony?”"Uh-huh."“The doctors said it made him go blind. I know, can you believe it? He never went to the toilet. Used to store it all up lik...

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“Unicorns, rabbits and dirty secrets” by Phil Manders

Submitted to Contest #75

Max lay still and listened to the sounds of the sleeping house. Through the open window, a chorus of blackbirds welcomed in the new day. He raised his feet and kicked hard into the wooden slats of the top bunk.Nothing.He did it again and got a faint groan from its occupant.“Danny! Are you awake?”Danny, flipped back the unicorn duvet and leaned over the edge of the bunk, his hair sticking up in all directions."Well I am now, what d’ya do that for?”“I can’t sleep. it’s light outside. what time is it?“It’s too early . . . go back to sleep.”“I c...

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“Life on a knife-edge” by Phil Manders

Submitted to Contest #74

His gaunt face illuminated under his hood as he drew in hard on the last of his spliff. He nonchalantly flicked away the butt, narrowly missing a homeless guy bundled up in his sleeping bag home against the railings. He always kept one hand in his pocket these days, turning the knife over and over in his palm. A modern-day comfort blanket. As he stepped from the curb, Jackson, was oblivious.He was oblivious to the twelve tonnes of red double-decker bus that was about to take his life. It would strike him on his right side. Oblivious to the f...

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“Old lady death” by Phil Manders

Submitted to Contest #70

Contains adult themes.I hear them. They think I don’t hear them, but I do. Every day. They think they whisper secretly behind my back, but I hear them. At the supermarket, or in the post office queue. Eyes, staring into the back of my head. I hear them. I feel them. I see them cross the street to avoid me. I may walk with my head down, but I see them, and they are wrong. I know my house is the house that the kids in the street talk about. Don’t go near number ten, the little kids say. That’s Old Lady Death. She killed her kids and then ...

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“Grandpa peanut ” by Phil Manders

Submitted to Contest #69

Grandpa poured a generous glug of whiskey into his stained mug. He had never been allowed to use it when Thelma was around. He’d once threatened to enter the room with it during one of her coffee and cake mornings. Apparently having cartoon buttocks underneath and the words bottoms up on the side were vulgar and totally unacceptable for the church ladies. The joke backfired as soon as the doorbell rang, and he was banished to the shed. Again. He cradled the mug and took a long swallow, followed by a contented sigh. Grandpa, had been for...

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“The class of ‘99’” by Phil Manders

Submitted to Contest #61

Harrold Johnson read through the invitation for the hundredth time then folded it up, slipped it back in its envelope, and let out a big sigh. He sat back in his chair, put his feet up on the foot stool-it’s ok they were his indoor only slippers-and stared from the conservatory window at his beloved garden bathed in the evening sunlight. The standard roses he’d planted when he retired needed deadheading and re-mulching. The grass could do with a trim and a feed, and there’s the cups, yes, the cups in the cup cupboard needed rotating so the o...

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“Something about Mary” by Phil Manders

Submitted to Contest #60

Legend has it when the first generation virus swept across the planet the world’s most powerful leader, as the story goes, was a great American president. The greatest. It’s said that he single handedly built a wall around his country to protect his people, laying every brick himself with his own bare hands, with only the help of a few thousand migrant workers to carry the bricks and mix the mortar. It’s said, he promised all his fellow countries (except China) that his scientists, who were the best in the world, by far, would eradicate this...

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“Blood sweat and tears” by Phil Manders

Submitted to Contest #57

“Hi darling, come, sit next to me.” Babs patted the sofa, her glossy blood red finger nails threatening to go straight through the beige fabric. “Are you excited about your birthday tomorrow? Mummy’s little baby turning eighteen! I can’t believe it.” Tom hung in the lounge doorway in his pyjamas. Babs patted the cushion again and he reluctantly made his way over. Carefully stepping over his Father’s outstretched legs who sat in his favourite chair hiding behind a huge newspaper. Tom chucked himself next to Babs, the sofa nearly swallowing hi...

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“Six million arrows” by Phil Manders

Submitted to Contest #54

I wait on my favourite cloud, all puffy, fluffy and white. Certainly my favourite cloud for this planet, in this universe. I sit and I wait. I’ve not really got time to sit and wait but I’ve been told this is where we’ll meet. Summoned here by a higher ranking Cupid. The Cupid that once passed on all his secrets to me. Me the apprentice him the master. Apparently there’s still plenty for me to learn. Apparently you never ever stop learning. Well, I’ve been a solo Cupid now for over six million arrows, which I guess on this planet equates to ...

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Author bio

Single handedly, redefining the comma. Shortlisted 1 story ⭐️ Contest #127 A Single Rose

Shortlisted 1 story ⭐️

Contest #127
A Single Rose – read story