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Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jan, 2025
Submitted to Contest #298
High above the fjord, Don wandered barefoot among the purple lupines, watching the eight free-range milk cows he knew by name. Then as the sun reached its zenith, he hunkered down against the heaving sides of his favorite, Dagros, and unpacked his lunch box. She ground her cud rhythmically while Don devoured the simple brown bread and goat’s cheese. Then cow and boy snuggled for a midday nap. But Don only dozed. His ears must stay alert for the clanging of the lead cow’s bell, his switch always in reach because every cow follows her directio...
Submitted to Contest #297
Mrs. Snippet slid the porch door open and inhaled the cucumber-cool freshness. Birds sang joyously as the eastern sky shone with the white light of dawn. High above her, the last stars faded. She grasped the railing, and admired her daffodils against the house, nodding with the heavy wetness of dew. How long she had waited for spring!She looked over the field beyond her yard to where a male turkey gobbled, fanning its tail, and strutting its stuff. “Sure sign it’s April,” she said to her dachshund, Rosy, as it nosed around her skirt hem.Over...
Submitted to Contest #296
The Girl They Used to Call ‘Bitch’One night after dark, my phone rings from an unknown caller. We are eating dinner around the family table, just me and the kids; my husband is working. New in the area and seeing it’s a local number, I take the call. An angry voice, a woman’s voice, is accusing my kids of meddling with her mailbox. It’s on speaker, and the kids hear the rancor. I look them each in the eye, eyebrows raised with apprehension. It just doesn’t seem like them, and they return my look, bewildered.The one-sided harangue continues f...
Submitted to Contest #295
Tristan, my eight-year-old, squinted up at the sky as his blue balloon sailed far, far, into space. He couldn’t keep his eyes off it. He knew if he looked away even for a second, he might not be able to spot it again; and there was more at stake here than just a balloon.It was the end-of-school celebration. Burgers sizzled and spat on smoky grills, bowls of potato salad weighted the outdoor tables, and kids lapped at their ice cream cones. Grass tickled their bare toes as they ran after their footballs and Frisbees. Soon the awards started, ...
Submitted to Contest #294
Sage was as silent as she was beautiful; it was this mystique that kept the boys guessing. It wasn’t that she couldn’t talk; she just didn’t want to. Ever. “Just a long drink of water,” her grandmother used to say about her, drawing out the o. Sage loved her worn blue jeans and faded T-shirts, her keds with holes in the toes--old things that flexed comfortably. She loved the farm life and bonded with animals better than humans. When lambing time arrived, she practically lived with the sheep. She frolicked with the lambs and nuzzled her ...
Submitted to Contest #293
Ruby eases into the upholstered window seat, and as she leans into her husband, Doug, her heart flutters. The flight attendant approaches on her first round of inspection, and her eyes catch Ruby's for a fleeting second. Ruby’s lips turn up in a tight smile, and she nods. Her hands, clasped together in her lap, twist and turn, sweating slightly. Meanwhile, Doug, calmly reaches for his book and pencil, underlining key points to remember as he reads.The pilot's voice crackles with announcements for takeoff, and the safety demonstration begins....
Submitted to Contest #292
Barring the sky and sea, blue is the color found least in the natural world. Because of its rarity, blue was the last color to get its name; some primitive cultures don’t even have a name for blue. But I always loved blue. As a child, I lay in the grass and looked into the great expanse of sky and wondered, “What would happen if gravity lost its force? Could I fall into that endless blue sky?” That thought came back to me many times in my life. Even today, my love of blue, of water and sky, persists. I ponder, “What power keeps the human rac...
Submitted to Contest #291
There is nothing more beautiful than a child’s dream, a dream of a place where love never dies, a place of sunshine and goodness. And kind Ms. Linville knew for certain, there are never dreams that cannot be. ***Sophie dashes up the street, dodges a flower vendor, jumps an open sewer ditch, and runs through a cluster of empty chairs spilling out over the sidewalk from a street café. She hears the street cries, a symphony of sing-song chants, a music box of sound, calling: cat meat, herring, second-hand clothing, kitchen utensils, pots t...
Submitted to Contest #290
Della wished to die at home surrounded by her husband, family, and friends. In those days, Della and Tom gazed proudly on their five daughters. But every once in a while, they would remind each other of their one son, Elvis. And there would not have been Elvis if it wasn’t for Aspen, the youngest of the five. May was the picture perfect time of year in North Idaho. Purple lupines blanketed the high canyon walls. Grass, lemon green, sprouted lush from last year’s dead growth. The sun rode high in a bright, azure sky, and spring fever lod...
Submitted to Contest #289
The room is unfamiliar. I don’t know how I got here. Then I spot my friend, Dora. “Hey, Dora! What’s going on? Weren’t you just sitting by me in Ms. Linville’s geography class?”“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe this is true. I-I think we are really here!” “It’s like she said, if you really learn about stuff, it can be like you’re actually there!” Nine-o-five and the torrent poured through the door: the gangly, good, the garrulous, the stout, the strong, the shy, the overdressed and underdressed. Backpack bearers all, jostling, pushing, and prod...
Submitted to Contest #288
Raina That afternoon a fog set in. I stepped out warily down the front steps and felt the light drizzle on my face and arms, steady, silent, and soft. The air was heavy with moisture—like me, I thought, heavy with child. I was home these days, feeling the calmness and quiet of waiting. It was only two days after due date when I realized labor had started. With excitement, I added the last things to a suitcase I had prepared weeks before. Girl or boy? We had wanted to be surprised. Not knowing, I had packed two perfect sets of baby cloth...
Submitted to Contest #287
The headlights of John’s Buick swung into the driveway at 6:30 p.m. He checked the number—207. He had heard of people who, confused, had walked straight into someone else’s identical house. He would be sure not to make that mistake. He stamped the light snow off his work boots. It had been a busy day—speed had picked up, but John’s team was efficient. House construction had been broken down into twenty-seven steps; each step required a team of men that was perfectly trained and fast. John was already manager of the stud walls—his team’s spec...
“Moooommmmmm!” “Be right with you, honey. I’m just getting Ruby unbundled.” “Wheeeeee!” Tristan, the three-year-old, wiggles out of his snowsuit and bounces on the couch. “Mom, can Raina quit screaming?” says Vincent, the bookish one in fourth grade. “Tristan, quit jumping like that! You’re going to fall again… Vincent, just go chill in your room, won’t you?” “But mom, it’s too loud in here,” Vincent says, as if quiet came with a magic wand.“Hey, Eddie boy, you have a good day?” Edwin snuggles up against my leg looking for a...
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