Ruth Zschoche

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Sep, 2021

Stories (18)

18 Stories

371 karma pts

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“Bottles” by Ruth Zschoche

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #111

 TW: violence, animal crueltyThe bottle was a glass Coca Cola bottle salvaged from the barn that her grandfather had kept in a state of quiet disarray.There was a voice in the bottle. It was soft and low.Soft and rough. Sad and mad.Lorna shook the bottle. The voice sped up and there was a short wail. She stuffed the bottle into her faded and slightly frayed backpack and walked to school.Her science teacher at Redhorn High was a tired old man with whiskers and hair where there shouldn't be any. Lorna called him Mr. Miller. Mr. Miller enc...

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“Marvin's daughter had a cat” by Ruth Zschoche

Submitted to Contest #110

TW: suicide, violenceThere wasn't much to do. It was going to be hard no matter what, but she put herself into it as she always did. Someday, maybe, she would have someone to help her and stay with her - and leave with her. But she now knew it wouldn't be this town, this time. She had a few boxes left in the living room, books on bookshelves, several dishes and pans that she had left in the kitchen. And the litter box. The bed was stripped. The bathroom bleached. Everything she had touched for personal use had been donated or thrown away at ...

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“The slide” by Ruth Zschoche

Submitted to Contest #109

Today is the first day of my new job. Today is the last day of my new job. I remember one while the other happens. Or is it the other way around? There are worse things than being stuck in a dream. But that depends on the dream. My dreams are memories. They skip in beats. They slide through action to hit anchors in my knowledge. I am allowed a vignette. A scene clear and on task for real time. Then I get a deep dark liquid slide through a tunnel to the next scene. I am upright and whole and awake. I am in Jo’s office. The clock on the c...

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Author bio

Ruth lives in Washington State near Seattle. She is a criminology and user researcher, and mother to 7 children. She lives in the woods with her family and 4 cats, reading and watching sci-fi, loving on her kids, writing, and painting.

Shortlisted 1 story ⭐️

Contest #111
Bottles – read story