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Author on Reedsy Prompts since Apr, 2021
Submitted to Contest #99
I take in a much needed deep breath, standing up straight and wiping sweat off my brow. I squint towards where the sun is halfway across the sky, hours from setting. This is the last car, I promise myself. “Hey!” The driver of the car dips his sunglasses at me. “Hurry up and dry those tires. I’ve got places to be, you know.” I sigh before getting on my knees and snatching the rag from my bucket. “Of course, mister.” The driver groans, laying back in his seat and crossing his arms. If y...
Submitted to Contest #97
The streets of my slum town are anything but cheery. Oil puddles fill the alleyways, and I do my best not to step in them as I duck in and out of the shadows. Not many people are out, especially not at this time of night. Candles light a few windows, flickering like tiny beacons in the dark. For a small moment, I wish the fire were bigger so that I could have the pleasure of warming my hands. “Please, neighbor, spare a coin for a starving friend,” says a raspy voice from my feet. I look down at the man, huddled in a wool blanket. He shiver...
Submitted to Contest #95
You’re privileged. Not everyone has the honor of making such a decision. That’s what they all say. Ever since I was little, I’ve been told what an honor I have of being the eldest son to the king. Heir to the throne. It’s a privilege. An honor. And yet even the court can’t possibly understand what kind of thinking goes behind it. Not only must I take the throne, but a wife as well. That’s my problem: there are too many to choose from. And out of all of them, all one-hundred and sixteen of them, there isn’t a single girl that I like. Not o...
Submitted to Contest #94
I sigh and shut the door behind her as she leaves. I listen as she storms down the hallway, slamming the front door. I press my forehead against the door and scream, banging my head against the wood. I’m panting from exhaustion from the argument and from my anger by the end of it. I don’t need you. You are someone I chose. You’re lucky you’re even here. What stupid words. I didn’t mean them. But people say rash things when they’re angry. I wish she were here now so that I could tell her that it’s really not her who I’m angry at. It’s stu...
Submitted to Contest #92
I blink the bright light out of my eyes. I sigh; I bring my hand up to shield my face, squinting as I sit up on my elbows. A comforting summer breeze rolls through the meadow, making the long grass around me bend gracefully under the gentle movement.“Roxanne!” a feminine voice calls from a distance behind me. “Roxanne, where are you? You’re supposed to be at work!”I quickly pop up from the grass, turning towards the voice. I’m careful not to be seen by Mom, though, hiding as best as I can.The last thing I want is to go back to that dump that...
Submitted to Contest #91
I push the bridge of my glasses farther up on my nose and turn the page in my book. I adjust the airpod in my ear and try very hard not to hum to my favorite song, weary of the librarian sorting books on a shelf just a few feet away. I sigh and close my book, leaning back on the plush couch. Susanne Collins can’t seem to inspire me anymore. Nor can Victoria Aveyard, or Veronica Roth. I’ve tried everyone from Rick Rioridan to James Patterson, but not an ounce of inspiration has hit me. Maybe I should’ve gone to Starbucks instead . . . Starb...
Submitted to Contest #90
Inland. Those were Mother’s last words to me. Move inland. You’ll be safe once you’re inland. Mother was a smart woman. The very last thing I would call her is stupid. Even if the school she got was limited. But moving inland wasn’t her smartest idea. There’s even less water. More people, less food, too. We’re all looking for the same thing: a place left of this world that’s untouched by this disaster. Inland is not where we find it. I look over what is left of Lake Michigan, pushing through the crowds of people. All around, families ho...
Submitted to Contest #89
Brent: Accident I groan and turn my head. There is so much pain. Pain is everywhere. In my fingertips and all the way to my head. I try to open my eyes but whatever is around me is so bright that it hurts. Finally, I can open my eyes all the way, and I sweep the room. Around me I hear a beeping and breathing. I quickly find that the breathing is me and the beeping is the heart monitor that is taking my heart rate. My vision blurs, but I soon find the eyes of a woman with dark hair and a blue mask. “Can you tell me your name?” the woman a...
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