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Ralph Aldrich

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2021

Stories (112)
Comments
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62 Followers
18 Following

112 Stories

2556 karma pts

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Cornelius Clemens

Submitted to Contest #158

 Pearce, Arizona, is a small mining town just southeast of Tucson. The year is 1895, and it’s late August. The sun is blazing hot as a small traveling cabana rolls into town. The driver pulls to a stop at the far end of the main street and climbs down to look around. He’s a little disappointed because he had figured a gold mining town would look more prosperous. His name is Cornelius Clemens, and his trade is to sell snake oil to the unsuspecting. He is a flimflam artist, a con-man, and a swindler. Corneli...

11 likes 2 comments 2
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Once I was a Warrior

Submitted to Contest #154

At one hundred and five, the apache native White Buffalo sits in the reclining chair, looking out the nursing home window. He can’t see much, just the asphalt parking lot and a few blurry trees beyond. His failing eyes see a dot moving about in the sky and assumes it’s an eagle. “Tell me, friend eagle, when will the Great Spirit come and take me to the land of peace and plenty? I have lived too long and serve no purpose. These people here treat me like a living artifact, a credit to the nursing home. Even though I ...

8 likes 2 comments 2
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Edit-Clear-Delete

Submitted to Contest #153

Seventy-eight-year-old Oscar has become more convinced than ever that his wife Deloris is just one big nag. It seems that everything he does is met with criticism or correction. What happened to her? When they were first married, she was so polite. “Whatever you think is right, darling.” Or, “Thank you so much for doing that.” Now, it’s “What did you do that for! Are you stupid or something?” Or, “Why do you always have to leave your slippers by the coffee table. I’ve told you a thousand times it looks messy, an...

14 likes 4 comments 4
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The Precipice

Submitted to Contest #152

“My name is Stanley Menard, and I want to tell you that I can see it now. I can really see it and the wonder of it all. But let me go back to how it all happened.”  I grew up in a typical sleepy little New England town in the Blackstone Valley. There were two forms of religious paths to follow, catholic or one of the protestant teachings. In our small town of Uxbridge, Catholicism was the most followed form. Add to that the fact that my mother was the daughter of Irish immigrants. You can understand th...

10 likes 0 comments 0
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"Can You Hear Me Alright?"

The robocall server is an I-15 Max server with an algorithm set to call as many people an hour as possible by dialing multiple phone numbers simultaneously. The I-15 Max uses an artificial voice to ask questions and can transfer contacts to live operators to complete the deal. This month a life insurance company has hired the I-15 server to entice elderly people to invest in their future. The insurance company has installed a demographic that includes dense populations of senior citizens—places like Green Valley or Sun Lakes, ...

2 likes 0 comments 0
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The Camera of Tomorrow

Submitted to Contest #149

Ryan Perkins is a gentle and quiet thirty-one-year-old office worker who likes collecting antiques. He lives in New York City and is well acquainted with the antique shops there. However, this afternoon while walking to the convenience store, he looks down an alley. He notices an old-fashioned symbol of three gold balls hanging over a door signifying a pawnshop. He hadn’t seen that particular sign in years and, with caution and curiosity, enters the alley to have a look.         &nb...

13 likes 9 comments 9
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The Librarian

Submitted to Contest #142

Billy Anderson has always been a fan of books. His favorites are mostly fictional thrillers or horror and some sci-fi if there are space creatures in them. He has read about every book that the Salem Public Library has to offer in these categories. The librarian, Miss Myers, will always inform him if a new book has been added to the library. Billy can't help but wonder about Miss Myers sometimes. He's been coming to the library ever since his mother started taking him when he was five years old. He's twenty-three now, and Miss Myers ha...

14 likes 2 comments 2
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