Sally-Ann Hodgekiss

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Sep, 2023

Stories (7)

7 Stories

131 karma pts

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“A life well lived” by Sally-Ann Hodgekiss

Submitted to Contest #219

Deals with loss. Mild sexual content.Eliot passed on Thursday the 26th of January. It was sudden. I don’t think forewarning makes any difference. Maybe that would have been worse. The person who was my entire world left and yet the other world kept turning without him, indifferent. Throughout human existence, every single human being, bar a few deemed divine, have been thrust screaming into this world, with no consent, and then left it. Every single one. Billions. It’s inconceivable, but undeniable. There is no escape. They say it is the gre...

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“Screen time” by Sally-Ann Hodgekiss

Submitted to Contest #219

Language warning.“Hey Marty. Take a look at this. Screen three. He’s at it again. It’s your turn. I took the last two.” Jane both hates and loves female equality. If it was actually functioning properly, no job is beyond her grasp. In truth it’s an excuse for bored insecure men to have some fun. You want equality? Take down the drunk guy in the lobby… By yourself. I could do it. Why not you?Marty? Marty is a lazy fuck. He couldn’t take down his grandma. Wave the taser around like it’s an AK47? That is embarrassing. Swish the baton like it’s ...

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“See me” by Sally-Ann Hodgekiss

Submitted to Contest #218

From fifty meters away it hits him. Distinctive? No. Flowers. Wine. Aromas to be appreciated, savoured, are distinctive. This. This is a scream. This is a desperate plea. This is someone’s last cry for acknowledgement. Find me. See me. Help me. This says loneliness. This says abandonment. No one was looking. No one was listening. Now no one will ever forget.The new guy is retching by the rose trellis. You tell them. They stand there, bravado brimming. No problem. Roadkill. They think roadkill, but this is concentrated. What gets out is a tea...

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“The all-knowing Armon” by Sally-Ann Hodgekiss

Submitted to Contest #217

Dillam has removed the charring with vinegar and polished his armour to a blinding shine. It’s not the easiest thing to do when it’s a hand me down from his Uncle Pillam, to his father, Hillam, to his elder brother Millam, then his second eldest brother Willam and lastly his cousin Nigel. Dillam makes the sign of the cross one, two…. He loses count. Some of the dents could be beaten out. Some of them make it difficult to breathe.Armon is watching. Dillam is fortunate to have a friend like Armon. Armon’s family have been squires to the Dolts ...

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“Funeral toll” by Sally-Ann Hodgekiss

Submitted to Contest #216

The passing bell. Anticipation.Those that always pay attention, vultures, recognise the lonely peal, it’s lagging echo foreboding with dwindling enthusiasm. They wait for the second chime, tasks forgotten. A silent hunger. Self-indulgent, they ready to spin misfortune into spectacle.Too long the pause.Disappointment.Smile.Move on.Soon.Those that feign righteousness anticipated the disruption. They blaze in retrospect, clumping ravens cawing and composing, their lofty perch an illusion embraced with precipitous certainty. Purpose all-consumin...

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“Fire and Ice” by Sally-Ann Hodgekiss

Submitted to Contest #215

This is a game. I am the last piece on the board, and I am wondering why I ever thought of playing.Body heat warms a small space, Eskimos a testament. It was warm for a while. The storm has fled this desolation, but the cold remains, invulnerable.I. Not so.The pain is gone. Like fourth degree burns, the cold is horrific, but welcome because the nerves are destroyed or perhaps indifferent. Emotions are worse than cold, but just like pain, they eventually realise there is no one listening. Fire and ice. Desire and hate. These concepts sit beyo...

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“I'll endure it if I must” by Sally-Ann Hodgekiss

Submitted to Contest #214

“Seriously Rachele? You’ve been like this since you were a child. I want. I must do it now. Goal oriented to the point where your father and I just gave up fighting and waved as you headed out the door. You returned eventually. Monaco. Tomorrow. You win another trip to some, admittedly very suave, location at the ass end of the world… Well Europe but look where that’s heading. Euro? The Brits got it right. Merging all those countries together was a bad idea from the start. One goes down the drain, they all follow after and clog up the pipes ...

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Author bio

I am Australian, so some of my colloquialisms might need to be translated. I write for myself. I couldn’t stop if I tried. Sharing that writing is something new. I do not fear criticism, I hunger for it. I love writing dialogue. My characters write my stories for me. They are so much smarter than I am.