Rebecca Miles

Author on Reedsy Prompts since May, 2022

Stories (35)

35 Stories

2863 karma pts

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“Cinderella Respun” by Rebecca Miles

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #179

TW: sinister...When he put the slipper on my foot, beaming up at me from the crimson cushion on which his knee was resting, the thought did pass through my mind: where did he get that other matching shoe from? For I’d left him only the one on the palace steps, that momentous midnight; yet, here he was, on the eve of our wedding, slipping a second identical one onto the foot he claimed had won his heart.“Don’t say anything Cindy, my love,” he said, putting a finger to my lips, “this is my little gift; to say thank you for dancing into my life...

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“The Summoning Bell” by Rebecca Miles

Submitted to Contest #178

-The Cutter’s Inn, 1844Winter trees reach with long dark fingers into an unresponsive sky as the figure strikes the match, eagerly bringing the hungry flame to the paper’s edge. Clouds mask the moon as they did a year ago and no reflection from the inky waters mirrors the man’s face, shaggy brows knitted in fervid concentration. He is alone, only thoughts and fears for company.The canal carves its quiet way through the night, secrets flowing through each of the 105 locks, linking this backwater to the smog and skulduggery of London. Th...

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“The Emporium of Dreams” by Rebecca Miles

Submitted to Contest #176

John Flounder woke with a start from the most amazing dream. Time was of the essence, he must record his recollections; there wasn’t a second to lose. Groping blindly in the dark, he reached over to the bedside table, knocking his phone onto the floor. With a groan, he leaned over the mattress and rooted through the pile of clothes which he’d discarded last night. No phone, it must have slid under the bed. A piece of paper then. If he was quick, he could hold onto the dream with the strange man and his bulbous eyes; the atmospheric setting, ...

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“An ABC” by Rebecca Miles

Submitted to Contest #175

Allusions to abuse I hate books. Every story I’ve ever overheard has been a load of rubbish from start to finish, nothing at all like how life actually is. Given this, it is a bit weird that I go every afternoon to my local library as soon as school is out. I stay until the librarian, Miss Robin, rings the bell and I have to leave, heading slowly to number 83 Prickleby Road: the brick box with the broken gate I should call home.Today is no exception. I leave dusk at the door as I slip into the warm bright lights of Woolverton library. I han...

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“The Bell, the Star and the Christmas Angel” by Rebecca Miles

Submitted to Contest #174

There’s no sign of snow, not even the scent that some might be on the way. Sitting in my bedroom’s window seat, I look down at all the last-minute shoppers, hurrying back home with their final gifts and forgotten food items. It’s so mild, an unseasonal 15 degrees, that some haven’t even bothered to sling on a coat, just dashed out to pick up the cranberry sauce in joggers and a t-shirt. This year I wasn’t hoping for snow anyway; I wasn’t expecting Christmas full stop. For all I care, it can stay in the store or up in the loft, spid...

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“All I want for Christmas is Jus” by Rebecca Miles

Submitted to Contest #173

Christmas: peace and good will to all mankind; well, that was certainly not the case in the London supermarket where I worked. My boss, nicknamed Mr Blotchy by all the employees forced to endure his red-faced rants, found running the store during the big Christmas lead-up stressful, to say the least. I’d taken on the holiday job as cashier and stock clerk to earn a bit of cash, help pay off the student bills, perhaps save a bit for Fran’s gift; I wasn’t expecting a bonus packet of high blood pressure and nervous tics. And that was before I b...

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“Driving East in the Evening” by Rebecca Miles

Submitted to Contest #172

James was driving east, sunsetting in the rear-view mirror. The street he had driven along, every day for the last three decades, was rapidly receding, watched over by the blood-shot eye of the weary sun. Accelerating, he had the uncomfortable feeling it was staring right at him. He pulled his gaze back to the darkening road ahead, passing his old college, keeping his eyes dead ahead as he drove past the office, memories of his retirement party bursting into his mind like the streamers they had thrown, thanking him for all those years of loy...

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“Castles in the Clouds” by Rebecca Miles

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #171

13 June 1886Standing at the edge of the lake’s still waters I stare out at the sublime mountains, still visible in the twilight, trying to ignore the commotion behind me. Ahead is peace and tranquillity, the calm of the water only briefly disturbed by the dance of a fly across the surface and sometimes the flip of a fish, pulling it down. If I keep my eyes fixed ahead and up, locked on the summits of those far-off lofty peaks, perhaps I can disappear from the disturbing present, into thin air, just as he has done.It is not to be. Search part...

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“The Keeper of the Flame” by Rebecca Miles

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #169

Lightning cracks the dark in a second’s flash. In a moment of bone-white brilliance, stone angels pulse to life before darkness claims them once more. I start counting slowly under my breath: one and two and, three and…hurriedly passing crosses and tombstones bearing names and dates carved deep into my memory.The thunder rumbles in the distance, but not as far away as I would like. I quicken my step along the graveyard’s overgrown path, reaching the tower as lightning illuminates the old oak door. Thunder for a second time, like the storm is...

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“Rush Hour Crush” by Rebecca Miles

Submitted to Contest #168

To the blonde woman with a mischievous smile, wearing a green quilted coat and travelling on the train from Kings Cross to Leeds after work on October 12th. How about a Sunday evening stroll along the Thames? Duffle coat dreamerTo the hot, dungaree-wearing girl who winked at me this Friday as I got on the train at London Bridge station. I should never have left the platform. Hopefully I haven’t missed my chance. Guy in the red fleece with the black...

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“Letting go” by Rebecca Miles

🏆 Winner of Contest #166

I dedicate this story to my partner and to everyone who has carried or is carrying the burden of grief.Sitting by the bed, holding my hand, you think my mind is fighting against the decision of my body to quit life’s game. My eyes are closed, but I sense your will through the fingers laced tightly around my own. Tenderness is a force and you stake my claim to life through the insistent pressure of your hand. How it has grown over these long years from its immaculate small perfection to this manifestation of adult capability: greeti...

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“The Girl with Gossamer Hair” by Rebecca Miles

Submitted to Contest #165

Warning: bullyingIt’s not easy being different. This is probably true the world over, but in my life, the hardest place not to fit in is my school: Manor Park. Here I often think there’s more than just water on tap in the corridor’s fountain; it’s dispensing your choice of still or sparkling pure liquid hate. Not everyone is filling up their bottle, but more than enough are.Do you wear glasses? Well hello bug eyes. Hand-me-down clothes are still just about good to go? Have you ever heard of…shops? Or perhaps you laugh like a donkey when the...

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“The Poison Tree” by Rebecca Miles

Submitted to Contest #162

Trees are wondrous things, from their strong trunks to their delicate leaves. They feed from the sun and feel its warm rays far longer than we humans do, pausing under their broad branches, perhaps to shelter from the rain; perhaps to listen to the rustling of the leaves, another language, just as expressive as our own. Sometimes we try to capture what the tree means to us in words; such things as from little acorns, great oaks grow, perhaps your dad has told you that; or let your roots grow deep so your leaves can dance in the sun is a favo...

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“When Fear takes Flight” by Rebecca Miles

Submitted to Contest #152

In the early days of our marriage, I used to buy little gifts for Rachel all the time. I wouldn’t necessarily make a big deal of it, sometimes I would just be out getting my lunch and a colourful coffee cup, one of those reusable ones, would catch my eye and I’d pick it up with hardly a second thought. Other times on my way back home, I’d stop to get a bunch of whatever blooms were in season from the stand just outside the train station. But as time went by, the small impulse buys petered out and presents seemed only to be given on the set d...

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“Lost down Memory Lane” by Rebecca Miles

Submitted to Contest #151

“Betty, wake up, it’s starting!”“Come on dearie, you don’t want to miss it!”The words come through slowly, thickly, like they’ve waded in honey. Sticking together, they seem to make little sense. Still, I open one eye and then the other.There she is, radiant even as an image on a glass screen; the satin gown seems to glow with its gold and silver threads as if she’s been dipped in a pot of light. That dress, it looks like it’s been spun from my sweetest dreams, perhaps the dreams of every girl watching. Who wouldn’t want a dress like that? T...

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Author bio

If you're a reader, writer, agent or publisher, please feel free to contact me: girtoncollege78@gmail.com https://wordpress.com/view/rebeccamilesauthor.wordpress.com Among other things, Rebecca teaches courses in creative writing, is working on a second novel and an anthology of stories. You can read her latest published long story here: https://eggplusfrog.com/fiction-one-step-at-a-time/ She is actively on the trail of an agent to help shepherd all her ideas, stories and fledgling novels. Teacher by day, writer by night and lover of stories every minute of every hour. Writing success: One step at a time, Eggplusfrog website First place in The Writer's Forum: Blackout. Winner on Reedsy: Letting Go. Shortlisted on Reedsy: How the Leopard Lost its Spots, The End of the Line, Castles in the Clouds, The Keeper of the Flame, The Poison Tree, Cinderella Respun. Copyright © 2024 Rebecca Miles - All Rights Reserved. Using content for commercial gain without written permission is prohibited.

Winning 1 story 🏆

Contest #166

Letting go – read story

Shortlisted 5 stories ⭐️

Contest #216

How the Leopard Lost its Spots – read story

Contest #183

The End of the Line – read story

Contest #179

Cinderella Respun – read story

Contest #171

Castles in the Clouds – read story

Contest #169

The Keeper of the Flame – read story