Richard Morris

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2022

Stories (9)

9 Stories

143 karma pts

?

“Fluffy’s Remorse” by Richard Morris

Submitted to Contest #260

My name is Dirk. I don’t remember when I fell in love with Maribeth, but it was sometime during my senior year in high school. I was 17. We spent endless days together, driving aimlessly with the windows down in the old Buick, ballroom dancing, laughing at private jokes, going to the drive-in movies they still had back then, and sharing dreams as vast as the horizon.  Maribeth had a way of making the world brighter. Her laughter was infectious. She was a dancer, and her energy was boundless. The girl was beautiful in an effortless way, ...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Discarded Delusion” by Richard Morris

Submitted to Contest #255

Derek Erickson had been a romantic dreamer, believing in the power of love to conquer all. But that was before Celeste Spencer broke his heart. Celeste was everything Derek wanted. For three years of high school and college, they shared dreams, whispered promises of forever, and planned a life together. His heart had belonged to Celeste, a spirited and kind-hearted girl whose laughter and bright eyes could light up a room. They were happy, in love, soulmates, engaged, and placed each other as the most important thing in their young lives. Th...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Endless Dance” by Richard Morris

Submitted to Contest #254

Synopsis The short story “Some Enchanted Evening” opens at a fundraising gala where the protagonist, Gene Ballard, spots his first love, Halle Cunningham Bell. Despite decades of separation and divergent paths, they reconnect on the dance floor and reminisce about their past. As they dance to nostalgic tunes from their youth, they express regrets over lost opportunities and unspoken feelings. The story closes with a bittersweet acknowledgment that while they cannot be together romantically again, their enduring love will always remain. *****...

0 comments 0
Read story

“It Moved” by Richard Morris

Submitted to Contest #252

“It moved,” Anna said. “What moved?” Her boyfriend Henry asked looking behind them into the forest. It was only seven o’clock in the evening, but it was also November, only a month from 23 hours of darkness in their part of Alaska, and already dark. “I’ve only seen a shadow. It’s been following us for an hour.” “I see nothing,” he said, “directing his 2,500 lumen flashlight over the area behind them. The light didn’t penetrate far into the spruce trees, but he didn’t see any glowing eyes reflecting from the spotlight. The pair remained motio...

0 comments 0
Read story

“The Tragic Years” by Richard Morris

Submitted to Contest #236

“The Tragic Years, that’s what I call ‘em,” the elderly man told Ross, his adult grandson. The old man kept slowly shaking his head back and forth. His face became flushed. “Tragic. Terrible. Affected my entire life, right up to this day. Terrible.”  “Sorry, Grandad, I thought seeing this old scrapbook would bring you some fond memories. Is this a picture of you?” “Yes. That’s at my Senior Prom.” “Do you want to tell me about it?” “What’s to tell? That was my high school girlfriend. Tragic. She became my fiancée. Tragic yea...

2 comments 2
Read story

“You Never Answered” by Richard Morris

Submitted to Contest #212

Dear Annabel Lee,  Thank you for responding to my inquiry. As I said, I found you on social media and sent you a note to ask if that Annabel Lee was the same person I knew. I had sent a similar message occasionally when I encountered your name ever since there was social media. It took so many years for you to answer my pleas. Decades. Six of them. So much lost. You never answered. I was 17. You were 16, seven months younger. Sixty years ago, when you turned your face to the sun, the shadows fell behind you. You won my soul. I ...

1 comment 1
Read story

“The Affair” by Richard Morris

Submitted to Contest #165

“I'm not sure how to put it delicately, so I’m just going to be blunt and say I heard your wife, Mandy, is having an affair.”Anton Case and Percy Goodfellow were sitting at a table in the clubhouse of the Wren Feather Tennis Club, drinking a beer after a singles game. Percy continued, “Because we’re friends, I thought I needed to tell you. Actually, it’s worse. She’s a member in some sort of secret sex society, and it’s not just one guy.”Anton rolled his eyes, shrugged, and sipped his beer. Then, after a long pause, he said, “How did you com...

9 comments 9
Read story

“The Secret” by Richard Morris

Submitted to Contest #161

“The baby isn’t yours,” Sarah-Tempest said to her husband two weeks after announcing her pregnancy.  Rekthorne’s face blanched. She stopped taking the pill months ago, and they had diligently worked to get her pregnant. They both stopped all alcohol consumption. She started taking extra calcium and other supplements she believed would help a baby develop without problems.  They tracked her body temperature, waiting for the telltale jump up one degree for her to be fertile, and they made love twice a day.  In the meantime...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Keep Them In Fear” by Richard Morris

Submitted to Contest #154

Keep Them In Fear   By Richard W. Morris 1,100 words “We’re running out of time.” Dark Elf held a steely and forbidding face as the picture morphed to a dark elf image, then faded to the network logo and bumper music. Dark Elf was the nickname of The Daily Disaster news anchor, Poisonella Undercoffin. “Clear,” the director said.  The cameraman walked toward her. “Good show, Poison-Ella.” Her face grimaced with disgust. “My name is pronounced ‘Po-e-sone-eh-ya.’ I’m Hispanic on my mother’s side.” “That’s why I call yo...

0 comments 0
Read story

Author bio

Richard W. Morris is an octogenarian observer of life.