S. P. Franco

“A light at the end of the tunnel” by S. P. Franco

Submitted to Contest #100

TW: suicide, child sexual abuse, depression The darkness took over me when I was eleven. That’s when my mother got depressed and killed herself. After her death, my life became a nightmare.  Her depression started five years after I was born when my dad was diagnosed with bowel cancer. He was the rock of our house and has always been a great father and husband until that time. He always did everything for us, and I haven’t been able to be next to him when he most needed me. I was only five when he started getting more and more tired, wi...

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“I was such a fool...” by S. P. Franco

TW: sexual abuse, rapeI sit near the window watching over the world outside. The night breeze touches my face, brushing it lightly, and it feels so good to feel this freshness on my skin, this feeling of freedom. For the past five years, my life has been a real quest for freedom, but it seems that my nightmare is about to get started. I got pregnant at seventeen, after being repeatedly raped by my ex-boyfriend, whom I was forced to marry. Fortunately, I managed to escape in time to become the wife of a real psychopath. Casper is th...

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“That summer after tragedy” by S. P. Franco

Submitted to Contest #97

I open my bedroom window, the dawn breeze invading me. I look outside, contemplated by the light emanating from the moon, amazed by its beauty and form. Furthermore, I cannot stop thinking of him when I do it. How could I not think of him? That was the best three months of my life. It might have been a summer love, but for me, it was living for real, which I have not done in years. Depression took over me at sixteen, when I lost my parents in a car accident. I was the only survivor. Now I live with my grandma, Madeleine, but every night a ke...

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“Hello and goodbye” by S. P. Franco

Submitted to Contest #96

She was the only person in the train station at 3:30 pm and all of that seemed so weird to me. That was the busiest train station in the country how could it be so empty at this hour?  The train to Aviemore would leave at 3:55 pm on line two, and I was so happy to see my family and friends again that I could not stop smiling and gasping. I was at St. Andrews University, but most of my time was spent in Edinburgh, where I met my boyfriend during a party weekend. Unfortunately, he could not join me on this trip to Aviemore due to the fina...

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“Choose or loose” by S. P. Franco

Submitted to Contest #95

There was I, in front of those two oak wooden doors, about to discover what was hidden inside. I knew I would find her in one of them, I just did not know with whom or... if she was still alive. I had hoped so, but I was never the type to cling to hope. However, it was all I had left at this point.The message had been quite explicit: 'Come alone. If you put the police in this, she dies.' I knew how these guys used to act, I had already been one of them, and I could not put her life at risk. Not hers. She was too important for me, a...

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“Dear Jane...” by S. P. Franco

By the time I stepped outside, the leaves were on fire, losing their green color to some red, brown, and yellow tones. All falling on the ground, covering the streets with their color mixture. Autumn was arriving, and all the city seemed to be ready for it.    Jane was sitting on a bench, in front of the frozen river, with a beige trench coat and brown winter boots. I approached her, slowly and shy, my hands shaking, she was my first love… my first and only love. She didn’t turn around; it seemed I was being quiet too, an...

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“Looking for a new life” by S. P. Franco

Submitted to Contest #60

I had just moved to the peaceful town of FairyLand two days ago and there was still so much to unpack. The boxes remained piled on top of each other, the shelves covered with dust and the furniture covered with white sheets, except for my new bed upstairs on the right. My eight-month-old baby Lisa was sitting on the floor on a huge round rug, white as snow. It was one of the few things I've had unpacked. The baby was entertained with her rag dolls, although she took most of them to her mouth to nibble, experimenting with the teeth that ...

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“A demon from the past” by S. P. Franco

Submitted to Contest #52

I woke up startled by a crash at my bedroom door. I switched on the lamp, put one foot at a time out of bed, still dizzy from that startle, and taking the silk robe I had crumpled at the foot of the bed, dressed it and approached the door, my heart racing, wanting to escape through my mouth. I didn't open the door. I lifted the eyelid from the door and moved closer until I could see something on the other side. A brownish eye was all I could see. I jumped back, startled. I knew that eye. It was him. It couldn't be happening. I trie...

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“Chasing the stars” by S. P. Franco

Submitted to Contest #51

Julia was lying on the lawn in her home's garden with her eyes glued to the sky. It was one in the morning and her parents were already asleep.  The sky was clear, cloudless, and the moon and stars were the only thing that lit up that dark and stuffy Ghosttown street.  The sky has always fascinated Julia, but the stars made her dream. She loved to spend August nights looking at the sky for shooting stars. There was always a shower of stars in the second week of August, and this year, Julia had one more reason to conjure up with...

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“Michael's Treehouse” by S. P. Franco

Submitted to Contest #50

Our summer holidays started today and my friends and I agreed to meet at Michael's Tree house to spend the afternoon telling horror stories and throwing slingshots at crows. The tree house was built by the five of us and Michael's father, who provided the materials and took care of the stairs and the roof. Basically, he took care of everything. But it doesn't really matter.  When I got to Michael's house, the smell of Mrs. Carmichael's cupcakes made my belly growl. "You can take as many cupcakes as you want, Jonathan," said Mrs. Ca...

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