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A weekly short story contest
Author on Reedsy Prompts since Dec, 2019
Ten Seconds. The world ages a little more. Life breathes that much longer. What can happen in such a short amount of time? In unison, coming into existence all over the universe, ten seconds make their impact. 1- Eyes adjust in a room lit dimly. A loaded mousetrap springs shut behind the dresser. Grass, straining to gro...
Carved pumpkins crowd the front of the doorways, spider-webs drip from porch railings, skeletons loom out from the shadows. Every neighborhood goes out of their way to contribute to the festive spirit. Stores scramble to stock their shelves with jumbo bags of candy as parents and grandparents come early to prepare for trick-or-treaters. Armed with fun masks, various Halloween costume party’s handout fliers promising spooky decorations, fruit punch, and a great turnout that you wouldn’t want to miss.As i...
The digital clock blinks from my desk: I am not pleased with the time. It's not nearly close enough to the end of the day. I sign and lean back in my chair. The door to my office creaks open as my supervisor steps in. Making eye contact, she hands me a list. “Hannah submitted a request for these names. Please decide if any of them are eligible for swapping.” I accept the list and straighten a stapler.She closes the door behind her as she leaves. I look ...
The book slams shut. Then, as if it's a game of follow the leader, the rest close as well. Soon, every computer, every data log, every file, every piece of information ever recorded, shuts down, turns off, erases. Forget. What did I forget? I never forget. I am the greatest mind, I have the best memory, my IQ is too high for a word like "genius" to define me. Why did I forget? The Sun. I see it; or, I don't. I'm looking west, searching for a sunset that should be there. I c...
Avery watches as her mom packs her bag for yet another business trip. She's gone all the time and Avery is used to it now but she still wishes her mom would stay anyway. Kaylie, Avery's little sister, swings her baby Moana doll around in the living room so wildly it's a surprise she hasn't hit anything yet. She isn't quite seven yet but her birthday is coming up in July, a fact Kaylie tells people before she even says her name. Avery's mom zips up the duffel bag and turns to hug her daughter goodbye. "I'll be back Sunday night, be ...
An automated voice tells me to step into the chamber. I enter, ducking a little to avoid hitting my head on the low frame. "Please stand still during this step, any unexpected movements will complicate the mind mapping process". I position myself so that I can remain motionless for the next five minutes. I am the last one remaining in my group to go through the machine so they will all be waiting for me to finish. I close my eyes as the buzzing noise closes in around me.What I and those ahead of me are doing today is vital...
We are always on the move, we never stay somewhere for very long. My Mother is constantly changing the schools I go to. I doubt I have been to the same place for longer than three months at a time. I think she's embarrassed by us, her children. There are two of us, both boys, I am the oldest. She doesn't like people to get close and realize what a disappointment she is as a mother for not being able to raise us the way she should have.Me and my brother, we are very different. He is three years younger than me and scrawny. He...
They sense me in the back of their mind, they know I am there and don't know how to get rid of me. I knaw at their subconscious, putting doubts and fears in their heads. They say they want me gone, they go to a therapist, the therapist laughs in my face.I can tell they love each other, they have for many years despite my presence. These people I inhabit are strong, they don't give in to my treacherous words. There are so many questions about me, about my existence. I am a million years old and aging. I have been inside thous...
From the window above my bed, I watch the cool light grow brighter as the morning ages.Without getting up, I know that it snowed overnight.My body feels heavy, I am exhausted.I could lay here in bed all day and think. Today feels different. It is quieter outside as if the snow sucked up all the noise in the world. It feels as though all life has been put on pause.I am hesitant to get up and possibly upset this rare moment, making everything go back to normal.I don't like normal.My whole lif...
She was my one-night-soulmate. Have you ever met someone who was the right person for just one eternal night? Well, I met mine on New Year's Eve.I'm sure this happens to a lot of people, New Year's Eve is a couple season.Still, I fell in love faster then I ever had before. It happened at a friends New Year celebration party I attended. I had been considering getting drunk to empty my mind of the burdens of the past year when a girl caught my eye.I saw her across the room. She wasn't especially beautiful or attractive,...
I am a listener. I hear the world.It started with strangers who would come up to me and tell me their story and what was happening in their lives.I never gave advice, never solved their problems for them, and I never told them experiences of my own.I just listened.This is the way I am and the way I have learned to be.I opened my very own Inn. I call it the Half Point which is exactly what it is.In every person's journey, they reach their halfway point where they stop, rest, refresh and reflect.
A writer who wants to share her work. Always happy to read a good story
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