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Author on Reedsy Prompts since Sep, 2021
Submitted to Contest #258
After selling it Paul knew he had to have it back. He didn’t regret selling it. Even hoping he’d never see it again. It must have been in the shopkeeper’s possession only five minutes when Paul got the call. It didn’t take him more than a minute on the phone to realize what he had to do. The old camera might just save a life. For Paul and his friends, it all started over a month ago. Summer was just beginning and they had been talking about going camping far from the city. The cubicles that the three of them worked in were getting decidedly ...
Submitted to Contest #257
Worrying about being killed during a performance might have been a whole new level of stage fright. I wouldn’t know firsthand about the stage part, but there definitely was a palpable fright leading up to the performance last summer. The troubles began well over a year ago when the drama teacher held a little get together of all prospective drama students. It was my senior year and I needed extra credit somewhere, so decided to sign up. There were a few others like me – no acting experience, and not the slightest inclination to change that i...
Submitted to Contest #235
I had told my dad I loved him at least a dozen times without ever meaning it. It seemed easier to do it this way after meeting him this time last year. The alternative was much messier. I know, the easier path is not often the right one. How else could I get off my chest over two decades of longing without exploding in anger? But now was different, I had no choice. We were stuck together. Meeting up was my idea, going for a run was his. “Ready?” He asked, stretching his leg ...
Submitted to Contest #234
The hotel’s presence swallowed them in its shadow even as the midday sun shone brightly above. They needed a place to stay while they took in the sights and sounds of the wilderness outside the city. Neither of them was the backpacking type but Mark was the more adventurous of the two, so willing to try new things and take some risks. They were both in their twenties. Mark worked in finance, which afforded him a comfortable lifestyle and frequent vacations. He was tall, confident and restless. Jill was very much the same except for the lack ...
Submitted to Contest #143
I always hated outdoorsy stuff; nature hikes, fishing and especially camping. Why bother going out into the middle of nowhere when you can have all you ever wanted in the city? Besides, there’s Wi-Fi. My friends disagree, of course. They tell me I need to be outdoors once in a while. “It’ll do you some good to escape from the screens you keep staring at all day.” I tell th...
Submitted to Contest #139
“Grow up,” she told him with a face of disgust. “How should I have known?” “No,” she snapped back. “No, don’t even try it.” One cup had already been smashed and it appeared that more dishware would be imminently destroyed. “You’ve been usi...
Submitted to Contest #135
The room was empty save for a few lingerers. Each man but the bartender staring at the bottom of a glass or off into the distance. “Another round, Jim?” “Yes, sir. It’ll be the last.” “Coming right up.” The bartender grabbed a fresh mug, tilted it at an angle and began to fill it. He grabbed the empty mug Jim was staring into and swapped ...
Submitted to Contest #129
“Check in the rear storage room, they might be in there,” Ronnie shouted at his wife as he carried bags of supplies across the lobby. “I did, they’re not there,” came the response. “Then I don’t know.” The guests standing by the reception desk followed Ronnie’s spirited movements with their collect gaze as...
Submitted to Contest #128
The humble elegance of the chawans stood out to him as he placed them on the bamboo mat in front of him. They were of various colours and their imperfection stood out to him as beautiful. He greeted each guest with a courteous bow as they entered, and began to gently clean each utensil in full view of all those around him. He was the host; his gaze was steadied on the task before him. Each utensil had been used previously hundreds of times. The nostalgic feeling did not shake his demeanour in front of all the guests at all. Their clothing...
Submitted to Contest #127
Trucking never seemed like a job to Frank, he enjoyed the time alone on the road. It helped him think and plan out his future. He didn’t have big dreams, but they were dreams nonetheless. A house of his own somewhere peaceful, and enough land to grow food on. He kept a photo of a pristine grassy landscape hidden in his truck’s sun visor. He would look at it occasionally and remind himself what this was all for. He would build a house there with his own hands. He would find a w...
Submitted to Contest #126
Waking up to that rank stench never seemed to ever get any easier. All the deafening sounds eventually faded into a muted cacophony. The tremors reverberating through the earth became a gentle stir. The shouting, the screaming, the filth and the dreariness. All of it was easy to become accustomed to with time. Only those green enough not to have experienced it found it unsettling or even shocking. But the smell? It reminded the primordial parts of the brain what the true purpose here was. The creature comforts from the civilized world certai...
Submitted to Contest #120
Sue was content. She looked down at the lemon slice floating at the top of her cup of tea. She took a sip of the tea and looked outside from her living room window at the children playing outside. They were eagerly participating in some group game and busily chatting amongst themselves. Maybe discussing the tactics that they would use to beat the other team. She felt satisfied in the moment. The autumn leaves were already filling up her front yard and people had already begun wearing warmer clothes. It was not long ago that Sue herself wa...
Submitted to Contest #119
To get away from civilization, to be alone, it’s all he ever wanted. After the loss of his job, the death of his parents and a divorce, all within the span of a year, he fled. Fled to some remote part of the world driven by some remote part of his brain. There he wanted nothing more than to get away from the turbulence of the man-made world. The sea provided that in abundance. The city life suffocated him. The sea provided a surcease to his asphyxiation. ...
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