Riel Rosehill

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Feb, 2022

Stories (20)

20 Stories

2019 karma pts

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“Bringer of Light” by Riel Rosehill

When fresh snow covers the town in a cold blanket and dresses it up as a cloud, winter feels more like home. During the ungodly hours before dawn I can pretend it is. Standing in the deserted park as the snow dusts the earth around me and the thickness of the fog blinds the yellow streetlights, I only see a white cloud. For a fleeting moment it takes on an eerie likeness to the heavens, even the celestial scent of stardu...

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“Alice Through the Broken Glass” by Riel Rosehill

The significance of stage fright and anything other than life itself evaporated the moment the window shattered from the impact of my body.Sparkling shards formed an iridescent cloud around me, suspended under the clear blue sky. The glass sang a wind chime tune, a backdrop to my sharp intake of breath and the heavy thump of my heart.As the distance between me and the window grew and my blond wig blew into my face, tears flooded my eyes. I messed up now. Not only was I going to die, I was trying to be A...

108 comments 108 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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“Bliss Point” by Riel Rosehill

‘Can you not set the house on fire, Alfie?’ ‘It’s just smoke!’ I yelled back to Abby upstairs, over the deafening beeps of the fire alarm whilst trying to unscrew it from the ceiling. Balancing on a dining chair, I fought the device. ‘Let me try.’ Though Curtis was taller than me, I couldn’t trust him with another task after he set the timer for thirty hours instead of thirty minutes. ‘You’ve ...

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“Under the Spell of the Morning Star” by Riel Rosehill

It’s been a hundred days; one tenth of my punishment.Shrouded in the black of a storm cloud, in the damp, smothering scent of rain I kneel there with my eyes closed. Thunder rumbles. Electric pulses ruffle my soaking feathers, sting my skin. My hair is dripping, my wet tunic sticks to me as cold drops of rain trickle down my body. Every second of every day. Without light.In this desperate darkness, all that’s lucid are my worst memories.Fear flashing in the g...

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“Only After You Lived” by Riel Rosehill

(Content Warning: This story contains mentions of physical violence, child abuse, self harm and suicide.)The croquet ball in my room didn’t belong to my family. It was an old wooden model with weathered, dirty-looking red paint, chipped and scratched all over its dimpled surface. I only learned about the game when I asked my parents what the ball was for, and dad bought me a mallet to play with it in the back garden. I only hit it a few times before I got bored, it wasn’t all that exciting really. Leaving it on ...

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“Love Bites” by Riel Rosehill

My neighbour's biting problem is getting out of hand: the other day she got her teeth into my man's ass. That was the last straw. That was a stride too far. Sally was what you could call a neighbour from hell: I had already complained about the noise, her constant banging on the wall in the morning before breakfast time, and a few other issues like giving us the death stare, but it was the...

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“The Unfortunate Adventures of Prince Cuthbert Winkwilliam” by Riel Rosehill

Escape, escape, escape, Dylan screamed in his mind, his stomach twisting into a tight knot as the princess wailed before him. The holographic text box floating in front of his eyes informed him that getting out was not an option for him.“You cannot quit the game between save points.” His hands were shaking as he gripped the hilt of his sword with both, trying to anchor himself to the one constant in the game, his trusted weapon, now dripping with dark scarlet.Am I having a panic...

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“Prince of Misfortune” by Riel Rosehill

(Content Warning: strong language, mention of suicidal thought)Through the thundering sounds of the waves beating the rocks, the distant clanks of metal meeting metal, the blood curdling screams of panic and pain still reached me as I lay in the shallow waters, with the taste of cold salt and warm iron mixing in my mouth as the waves washed over my body. Blood and seawater.With the sting of the salty water in my eyes, it took time before I ...

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“Losing Game” by Riel Rosehill

‘Repeat after me.’ The flashlight of your cousin’s cheap camera blinds me for a moment as we stand in front of the registrar. I’ve asked you to tell your guests not to get in our photographer’s way and spare us their underexposed and unflattering excuses of photos, but I guess, they didn’t get the memo. Despite my annoyance, for a split second I relish in the world’s disappearance into the white light...

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“The Picture by Lisa B.” by Riel Rosehill

Brushstrokes brought me to life. Sensual touches of a soft tip on my wet skin, colouring in my mind, filling me up with memories, awakening my senses to the passion forming my shape under delicate caresses on the canvas, creating my small world and me within. I felt the yearning for me in every little touch; a hurricane of feelings stirring, at the flicks of a brush. From the start, I was wanted. From before I was, I was a fantasy.The paint was still glistening half dry on the canvas when I first opened my ...

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“Our Sweet, Happy Beginning” by Riel Rosehill

A book was screaming as I locked up the library.I could hear it as I turned the key in the door and switched off the lights. Dust danced, swirling in the rays of the setting sun shining through the gaps left between the curtains as I closed them, like fairy dust, mixing with the sweet scent of old books lingering in the air. The promise of happy endings, stacked high on dark wooden shelves towering to the ceiling, at heights way out of reach.I adored the blissful tranquillity of the evenings, these quiet moments among the st...

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“At The Last Meal” by Riel Rosehill

It was Ruby’s first day working in her aunt’s crossroads restaurant, but it wasn’t her first time seeing someone drop dead in front of her after she gave them something to eat.There was something strangely nostalgic about it, when the heads banged on the hard wood of table two as the guests collapsed. The kind of nostalgia one might feel remembering their school bullies. Ruby stood, holding the jug of water she was ready to put on their table. Slowly, she turned and walked back behind the bar. When was the first time you...

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“The Damning Wish” by Riel Rosehill

The early summer sunshine fills our studio flat, brightening the white walls and caressing my arm with its gentle warmth through the velux windows as we sit at the table. Crumpet purrs, sunbathing on the wooden floor and pawing the air behind her favourite person. I remember when he picked her up from the street as a skinny black kitten a couple years ago, despite our landlady’s “no pets” policy. She’d let us keep her, he said. Now, I have to share him with the cat, but it is all I’d ever ask for.The air is swee...

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“Dressage Diaries” by Riel Rosehill

Dear Rider,Welcome to Green Hill Stables’ summer camp!We wish you a happy stay and good progress in your riding. Please use this journal to reflect daily on your and your horse’s performance in training as you work towards your riding goals, through the lens of each stepping stone defined by the scales of training: rhythm, relaxation, connection, impulsion, straightness and collection. Note what went well, how it felt and what you need to work on. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ...

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“TMI” by Riel Rosehill

It’s a mild September morning, when you tell your parents you feel too unwell to go to school, and it isn’t a lie. But it isn’t the truth either. The truth hit you the previous night, in the colour of crimson on paper white, the red dripping onto the stone floor tiles. Your face paled to match the paint on the wall behind, as your reflection, wide eyed, stared back at you under the harsh brightness of bat...

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Author bio

It's [rɪˈɛl] - 29 (she/her) website: www.rielrosehill.com email: riel.rosehill@gmail.com ✨Let's turn another page.✨ Interconnected stories (AKA The Selaphiel Collection): - Stars to Dust - The Damning Wish - Under the Spell of the Morning Star - Bringer of Light Copyright © 2023 Riel Rosehill All Rights Reserved. Using content without written permission is prohibited.

Shortlisted 1 story ⭐️

Contest #157

Alice Through the Broken Glass – read story