Philip Clayberg

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2020

Stories (77)

77 Stories

3443 karma pts

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“The Everything Book (the sequel to "Next Stop: Eternity")” by Philip Clayberg

In the light of the flashlight that Shiga held, the sign on the back door of the Library of Congress said that it was closed for the night. We were dressed in coats, shivering.Behind us, 2nd Street S.E. was eerily empty except for the occasional car or truck driving past. The huge bulk of the library above and ahead of us felt like a small granite or marble mountain to me. I could only hope that there weren't any surveillance cameras watching us.I looked around us then down at what Shiga.He was crouched sideways until he was eye-level with t...

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“ Next Stop: Eternity (the sequel to "Proof Positive")” by Philip Clayberg

Submitted to Contest #90

Roughly south-southwest of the town of Uyuni in western Bolivia is a train graveyard. So the story goes, every new moon, a ghost train arrives at the graveyard. It stops for several minutes, as if picking up passengers, and then moves on again, disappearing in the darkness. This was the information Boss gave us in Washington DC. This and up-to-date photos, some from satellites, but mostly from the ground. Not much in the grand scheme of things, but that was why we were being sent there. To flesh it out. To make it more than just a skeleton...

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“A Tree in the Garden” by Philip Clayberg

Submitted to Contest #90

A TREE IN THE GARDENI sit on a bench in the garden behind the home where my great-grandparents once lived, a notebook and pen in my lap. At the center of the garden is a tree that my great-grandfather planted as a gift for my great-grandmother. Several decades later he passed away, but the tree remains: a tall, beautiful tree that symbolized my great-grandparents' eternal love for one another.In more than a hundred years the tree has grown from a sapling that would've been about half my height to a tall, beautiful tree reaching high into the...

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“A New Life” by Philip Clayberg

Submitted to Contest #89

The boat-house lay on the side of the river. Tree branches hung down and across the roof of the boat-house, shading it from the hot tropical sun.Inside the boat-house was a prototype boat. The latter lay on twin launch rails pointed at the river. It was sleek, low, shaped like a blunt-nosed arrow, and about fifteen feet long. More like a race car than a boat. Tucked into the roof was a hang glider. A helmet was sitting on the boat's passenger seat.I stood next to the boat's designer and builder, a young man about half my age. He looked young...

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“The Calm Before the Storm (the sequel to "Save the Best for Last")” by Philip Clayberg

"Speaking truth to power means believing deeply in what you say and fighting every day to have that heard. It may not be popular; it means taking a risk, it means standing for something." (Shari Runner, Interim President & CEO, Chicago Urban League) ---------- DWAYNE: At the police station early the next morning, one of the subordinate officers came back to my desk. They saluted me; I saluted back and noticed that they looked a bit uncertain as they spoke to me: “Sir? There are two men outside the station who'd like to speak with you...

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“The Endless Forest” by Philip Clayberg

Submitted to Contest #86

Once upon a time, there was a young boy named Jimmy. He didn't think he was anything special, but he was more special than he thought he was. He could do something no other person could do: he could really talk with animals. He didn't know how he'd gained the ability. It wasn't something he'd been born with. Maybe the accident he'd been in had made his head work differently than before. Whatever the reason, he looked forward to waking up and telling his parents about his newfound ability. How amazed they would be.----------“How is he, sir?” ...

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“Save the Best for Last (the sequel to "A Warning Shot Across the Bows")” by Philip Clayberg

I closed the bedroom door. Esther and Ruth were asleep inside. I was about to head for my bedroom when I saw Cat climbing the steps.“Is everyone in bed?” Cat whispered.“Except the two of us,” I whispered.“And my father,” she whispered.I tried not to stare. “He's still awake? After a day like today?”Cat nodded. “He's standing at the kitchen door, looking outside and drinking coffee.”“He's going to be late for work again,” I whispered.“Maybe you can persuade him to go to bed,” she whispered and yawned. “I already tried and failed. I'm going to...

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“For the Good of All (the sequel to "Two Sides of the Street")” by Philip Clayberg

The Aldermen's meeting room consisted of a ring of desks about ten feet from a central desk. The ring of desks was for the Aldermen, while the central desk was for the town mayor. Every desk was occupied. On the mayor's desk were a gavel resting sideways on a small wooden plate and a telephone.It had not been a quiet evening of discussion, to say the very least. Argumentative would have been more accurate.“You said that you would enforce this rule!” one of the Aldermen shouted.“A rule is not a law,” the mayor said as calmly as he could. “Dur...

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“Two Sides of the Street” by Philip Clayberg

Submitted to Contest #85

There were some questions that you just didn't ask, even at home. But sometimes Niamh's curiosity got the better of her. “Dad? Why is there still a solid yellow line painted down the middle of the street outside?” she asked her father one Tuesday. Her father laid his newspaper aside. “You should already know the answer to that, Niamh. It marks the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland in our town. It's been that way since before any of us were born.” “But if East and West Germany can be reunited, why can't Ireland and Northern Ir...

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“Escape from Confinement” by Philip Clayberg

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #84

“Just this morning we have received even more reports of looting as well as groups of vigilantes taking over urban streets in every major city in the country. Additional National Guard units have been called up by the President to deal with these problems as well as provide additional security outside the White House and at the US Capitol Building. Casualties just from last night's fighting were well over a thousand and are only expected to get worse in the days ahead.“The head of CDC has reported that we have reached an acceptable plateau a...

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“Evacuation Order (sequel to "Aquatic Ambassador")” by Philip Clayberg

I had heard about urban life back in the States from visiting tourists. Over the years, it sounded worse and worse. More crowded, more traffic, more crime, and more pollution. I don't know how they can stand it. Maybe that's why they try so hard to escape it, if only for a week or two.Then again, I've spent my entire life on a tropical island devoid of crowds, traffic, crime, and pollution. It's about as close to the Biblical Eden as you're likely to find here on Earth. Why would anyone ever want to leave?I was lying in my hammock one aftern...

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“To Be Or Not To Be” by Philip Clayberg

Submitted to Contest #82

The clothing I wore felt uncomfortable. My epidermal sensors kept notifying me that there was something unfamiliar covering the surface of my body. But without the clothing, the differences between myself and the humans around me would be even more obvious. The clothing would be interpreted by others as protection rather than as a disguise. They showed no sign of overt interest in me. To them, I was simply another human.A street vendor offered me a mug of hot, steaming liquid. “Here's some hot tea. This should warm you up.”“I – ah – thank yo...

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“A Business Proposition” by Philip Clayberg

Submitted to Contest #82

From the outside, the building looked identical to the others on both sides of Charing Cross Road. The differences lay hidden inside. The signs above the doorway read, from top to bottom: BABBAGE & LOVELACE – PROGRAMMABLE ANALYTICAL ENGINES – EST. 1851.A horse-drawn omnibus came to a stop in front of the building. A stylish, well-dressed lady stepped off the omnibus and onto the dusty street. Moments later, the omnibus continued on its way, rejoining the traffic flow on the street.Noticing the dust on her skirts and shoes, she looked for...

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“Grace Under Pressure” by Philip Clayberg

Submitted to Contest #79

My best friend Bonnie just looked at me. “You're kidding.”She'd kept her voice down even though we were in the high school cafeteria and there were many conversations going on. Most were louder than ours. The monitors were too busy talking with each other to fuss about the volume of the buzz in the cafeteria.For the umpteenth time, I wished that I had brown skin, dark eyes, and short dark curly hair like she had. I wished that I was as slender and tall as she was. She would've made a beautiful model. Instead, I was just me: pale skin, pale b...

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“Deliberately Anachronistic” by Philip Clayberg

Submitted to Contest #78

The smell of tannin was strong in my nostrils. My great-granddaughter's more refined nostrils probably found it far more unpleasant than mine did. I opened the front door, letting in fresh air. “Great-grandfather, why do you even bother when there are machines that can do what you do?” she asked in frustration. And not for the first time, either. I shrugged. “Maybe I prefer to do it for myself. Even if it means deliberately being an anachronism in this day and age.” I turned over the uneven square of tanned leather, checking it for imper...

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Author bio

Still at the rehab center/hospital. Waiting for a hospital bed (in exchange for the regular bed at home), toilet adapter, and shower bench. With those out of the way, I'll need to get a new pair of glasses (the pair I'm wearing is about four or five years out of date). Hope this "wait mode" doesn't last the end of October. Can't believe I've been away from home for a little over 3 months already. Feels like forever and I badly want too go back home every single day. Since I can't speak ex cathedra, I will instead speak from my hospital bed. Maybe it isn't as grand, ornate, or huge as a basilica, mosque, synagogue, or cathedral, but it will do for now. I hope that you're all doing as well as possible. Been here for almost a week and not sure when I'll be back home. Soon, I hope. Hope that you're all doing well. Happy reading and writing. It is almost the Ides of June. The anonymous down-voter (or some clone of them) has unfortunately returned. I don't understand what they think they get out of it, but for those who do not understand the meaning of the score 666: this is the Number of the Beast (aka the Devil, aka Satan). I think they're saying, "You're evil. Just like the Devil." Which is *NOT* what this website is about. This website is about creativity, friendship, support, and encouragement. Not mistreatment, bullying, and browbeating because some anonymous person thinks they can just come in (with impunity) and treat some of us like dirt. Then leave, laughing their heads off at us. Please. Those of us who still care about what this website stands for: Do Not Let The Anonymous Bully Get What They Want. Show Them That Friendship Is And Will Always Be More Powerful Than Bullying Is. May your imaginations be filled with lots of inspirations and fun and interesting ideas. Happy writing! ----- I'm a 53-year-old man (54 on July 7th). I was born in a U.S. Army hospital in southern Germany. I currently live in Pennsylvania. I first tried writing stories when I was 15, but to say that they weren't that good is probably being entirely too kind. I tried writing stories again when I was in college (in the late 1980s and early 1990s) and they were okay. I still had a ways to go, apparently. I kept writing, trying to improve as much as I could. I've also written poetry over the last 30 or so years, but mostly the prose kind (a story in poem form), not the rhyming kind. I love to read and have happily been a bookworm since I was in elementary school. I prefer to read science fiction, fantasy, literature, and nonfiction. Btw, I submitted a short story this evening (Feb. 27, 2021) and, within minutes, it received its first like. I'm really not used to being this popular. I'm very thankful for the encouragement and support I've received at this website. Without it, I seriously doubt that my writing would've improved as much as it has since late July 2020. I've tried to reciprocate as much as I can and as often as I can. Yes, I can play piano and keyboards. If you want to listen to an improvised composition of mine, feel free to go to YouTube, look up my name (Philip Clayberg, I mean) and "A Bremerton Christmas". The slideshow consists of photos I've taken in the Puget Sound area over the last 10-15 years. If you want to know more about me, just ask.

Shortlisted 1 story ⭐️

Contest #84
Escape from Confinement – read story