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Ralph Aldrich

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2021

Stories (111)
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62 Followers
18 Following

111 Stories

2565 karma pts

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Oscar and Dolores

Submitted to Contest #221

The fall air is crisp, and the sky is crystal clear. Dolores ambles up her front walkway, still unable to understand how the world can be so cheerful after what has happened to her.  Having returned from Oscar’s funeral, she stops before her doorway and sighs. The funeral was held with just her son, Bill, and herself because she knew Oscar wouldn’t want it any other way. That’s just the way he was. Turning the key in the lock, Dolores bites her lower lip, takes a deep breath, and steps inside.  She freezes ...

12 likes 2 comments 2
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Everyone Calls Me Granny

Submitted to Contest #220

I A hunter has become lost in the ancient forest on a cold autumn day. After wandering for hours, the sun has set, and the only light is the full moon streaming through leafless branches. He sees a faint glow shining in the distance and approaches it cautiously. Even from a distance of a few feet, he can smell the aroma of cinnamon and cloves. The bright moon emerges from behind a dark cloud to illuminate the ancient cottage before him. With narrowed eyes and short, quick breaths, a shiver runs up his spine, and he s...

22 likes 2 comments 2
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The Cell

Submitted to Contest #219

In a dimly lit room, a man sits with his back pressed against the cold, damp wall. His eyes dart around, tracing the cracks in the peeling paint as though they hold secret information he needs to know.  He is convinced he is in a prison cell, a place of confinement.  Overhead, the flickering fluorescent light feels like a spotlight, intensifying his paranoia. They leave no shadows in which to hide.  He clutches the thin, scratchy blanket tightly around his shoulders, wrapping himself in an imaginary sanctuary of prot...

10 likes 2 comments 2
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Yuck!

Submitted to Contest #218

“You’ve just got to try this place, Walter. I’m tellin ya I’ve never tasted a better burger in all my life! It’s out on Highway fifty-one going west. I think it might be a truck stop but, at any rate, it’s darn good!” So were the praises of my neighbor, Dave. I should have taken them with no more than a grain of salt. Dave is an alcoholic and a survivor of a car accident that destroyed his sense of taste and smell. But it still seems as though he can taste a little something. The food must be very spicy. &...

15 likes 2 comments 2
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A Snap of the Fingers

Submitted to Contest #217

With his hands firmly planted on his hips and wearing a sneer that would make Elvis envious, Jim the Mighty scoffs at Minotaur, the beast who would rule the world. Minotaur thrusts his two coconut-sized fists toward the heavens and bellows, “I will destroy you, puny human!” He lowers his massive head and glares at Jim the Mighty with eyes that burn like two hot coals, steam blowing out his nostrils. While casually examining his fingernails, Jim the Mighty chuckles, “You don’t scare me, you old cow.” A fully enraged&nbsp...

18 likes 4 comments 4
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Woodstock-1830

Vermont’s cold winter wind whistles and howls through the cracks and crevasses of Jubal Craven’s farmhouse windows. His brother, Jethro, places another log on the fire, but Jubal shivers and quakes. He has an extremely high fever and coughs up blood. He has consumption. After a week of diligent care, Jubal passes away at sixty-eight.   In 1830, there is no medical cure for this disease.  The undertaker informs Jethro that he won’t be able to bury Jubal until spring due to frozen ground. Jethro nods hi...

5 likes 4 comments 4
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The Barber

Submitted to Contest #213

Avery is a quiet man with a gentle sense of humor and an honest heart. He owns the dry-cleaning business in town. People like him. The store was originally his father’s, and Avery took it over when his father passed away. And why not? He has worked there since he was old enough to push a broom. Avery’s father took the time and patience to teach Avery everything there was to know about the dry cleaning business. Everything from the chemicals and how to use them to keeping excellent and accurate books from in...

11 likes 3 comments 3
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You Have Won

Submitted to Contest #212

It’s been a month since the cell phone incident, and Oscar and Dolores have returned to their usual selves. That is to say, she nags him, and he ignores her. Oscar is sitting in his favorite overstuffed easy chair when he sits straight up and looks toward the front window. He begins slipping on his slippers and gets out of the chair. Dolores’s head snaps up. “Where are you going?” “The mailman just came. I’m going out to get the mail.” “Dressed like that!” “Slippers? You’re going out just wearing slippers!” ...

10 likes 2 comments 2
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Louie Lesak

Submitted to Contest #211

When I was five, my family moved from Whitinsville, Massachusetts, to the nearby town of Uxbridge. I always thought it funny that we moved from one Oak Street to another. Oak Street in Uxbridge ran from Mendon Street to a fork in the road, where it split to the left and became Granite Street.  The right fork ran up over a small hill where my father bought a small parcel of land. Here he built our home. In the middle of the fork was a World War II memorial with a flag pole that displayed a large American flag. F...

7 likes 1 comment 1
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Lysar's Report

Submitted to Contest #210

It has been thirty-five years since the Pulverteains invaded and attempted to wipe out the whole human race. Their attack was swift and precise. Their reason for doing so was based on observations over the centuries of watching them evolve and concluding that humans were too violent and destructive to indulge in space travel.  So the Pulverteains decided to stop them from ever leaving the planet. The Pulverteains resembled humans in many ways, except for some internal organs and outward appearances. They tend to be v...

12 likes 2 comments 2
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The Valentine

Submitted to Contest #208

I hate people. I’ve been made fun of and picked on my whole life. And why? Because I look different, that’s why.            I was born with some defects. None of them were life-threatening, just imperfections in the way I look. But those imperfections were enough to cause me pain for the rest of my life. My skull narrows at the top, and my forehead slopes back. My right ear sticks straight out, and I’m deaf in it. My mouth was too small for all the te...

5 likes 3 comments 3
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The Great Bardot

Submitted to Contest #207

 The magician, simply known as The Great Bardot, has been in show business for thirty years. He started as a child by learning all the common tricks of magic. Disappearing coins and foam balls squeezed between your fingers suddenly appear as if from nowhere into full-size balls in your hand. And, of course, a plethora of card tricks.           Bardot entered many amateur talent shows and traveled with a troupe across Europe. As his talent improved, people started...

7 likes 3 comments 3
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The Nightmare

Submitted to Contest #206

Where am I?  Everything is out of kilter.  Is there something wrong with my eyes?  I feel as though I’m looking through a pair of tubes, like looking at a TV, except everything around it is dark and out of focus.This room is strange. Maybe it’s my bedroom, but it can’t be because an office desk and chair are in the corner. Am I in a doctor’s office? Why would I be in a doctor’s office? I’m not sick.“Hello?” I scream into the void, but there is no answer. I look around for a way out and s...

13 likes 2 comments 2
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The Rite of Passage

Submitted to Contest #205

A tranquil Navajo village is in a forest clearing near a cold mountain stream. Wayra loves fishing and playing with his friends. He lives with his mother and grandfather. Wayra's father died when Wayra was three. Sadly, he was killed by a grizzly bear while on a hunting trip.            His grandfather is wise and teaches Wayra the ways of the warrior. Wayra's name means "gust of wind." His grandfather's name is Hashke'-Dilwo'ii, meaning "running warrior."On...

11 likes 5 comments 5
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Saddlesore, Arizona

Submitted to Contest #204

Out in the middle of western Arizona sits a lonesome little town called Saddlesore. Founded in 1864 by a couple of prospectors looking for copper and gold, it eventually grew to a population of one hundred and ten. It consists of a general store that sells just about anything a person could need, as well as a small five-pew Baptist church that hardly anyone attends. There is also Chinese laundry and a schoolhouse. At one end of the street is the Sheriff’s office.  At the other is the most prominent building in town- ...

15 likes 2 comments 2
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