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Scott Christenson

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jan, 2022

Stories (143)
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477 Followers
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143 Stories

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The Last Choice

Submitted to Contest #136

Seth looked around the table at the test group gathered at Stanford University, their seven faces deep in thought. The task assigned was pointless but he would play along for two hours. He was good at this. This would be easy.Last month Professor Anderson called him into his office. Seth sat and listened to the ticking of the antique clock on the wall while the old professor composed himself.“Seth, I understand psychology is not the same as other scientific fields. The working of the human mind can be open to interpretation. But as things st...

9 likes 3 comments 3
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Johnnie Walker

Submitted to Contest #135

It’s not often you meet someone in a Haruki Murakami novel. Two chapters of courage and cowardliness would lead me to getting to know the man Murakami would later write about.A mysterious and sinister character, Johnnie Walker is named after and dresses like the mascot for Johnnie Walker brand whiskey. He is extremely cruel and violent, especially towards cats - Kafka on the ShoreMurakami was writing metaphorically, as though physical details match, there has never been any evidence of cat violence.In the summer of 1997, I had just moved to ...

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Priscilla falls for Dr Anderson and Things Get Heavy

Submitted to Contest #134

Priscilla floated out of bed. The idea of gravity never occurred to her before she fell for Dr Anderson.Without gravity she never “picked her head off the pillow” in the morning. She never “stood” for anything, nor felt “heavy hearted” when decisions needed to be made.Those were the types of things he said, but for Priscilla most days she happily drifted through life cleaning and organizing, checking in on neighbors. Occasionally playing a practical joke when someone wasn’t home and moving their things around just to keep life interesting.“L...

11 likes 8 comments 8
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The Cacao in Kilombero

Julieth was destined for a larger place in the world, but her story begins at her family's store in the outskirts of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's capital city.The conversation started with rabbits, as it so often does at Kuka Pesa. Julieth was in the front of the shop, cleaning the cages, sweeping out the droppings and uneaten vegetable peelings. The floor underneath the cages was spotless.Refrigerators murmured softly in the back room and the front was devoid of customers when the young man walked in. Many pairs of large dark eyes shifted insi...

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The Day before Ramadan Bayrami

Submitted to Contest #132

Are you there God? It’s me Emin. I’m worried Dad might find the gift from Aunt Donna. He’s unpacking our things out the boxes from Milwaukee. I know secrets are bad, so I’m not sure what to do. Dad always tells me not to ask you for things, and that I should ask you to show me a sign for what to do. Please show me something this week. Thank you.“We are moving to Chicago!” when my dad said that, I was sure he was joking because he tricked me so many times with stories like that, and he never tells me the truth until the very end when he's try...

13 likes 7 comments 7
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Am I a Shiba?

Submitted to Contest #131

Last year my wife gave me a new nickname, “Shiba”. By now I suppose almost everyone is aware of the grinning Shibas in countless social media memes. The dog that smiles! In fact Shibas have made such a great impression they are now the mascot for two major cryptocurrencies. These are not the reason for my nickname. The more relevant fact is that shibas are a two faced dog. This expression sounds wrong for an animal doesn’t it? Perhaps we don't use face idioms for things that have tails. Can a cow have egg on its face? I think not.&...

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Eye of Broken Things

Submitted to Contest #130

In Hong Kong last Friday night, Li Ying saw flashing police lights below her window. She thought it odd that she didn’t hear any sirens, that felt worse, so she nudged the curtain with her little finger.  In the busy nighttime street below, illuminated by neon signs, a line of white vans with government insignia had parked. In the front and bank were police cruisers. Workers in High Vis vests were already out and stretching yellow police cordon lines. In one van, people were zipping up into the white bunny suits, the ones she saw oft...

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The Fire Below

Submitted to Contest #129

Renji sat on the terrace of the Kazan-Kan lodge, which was in a small clearing on the highest ledge of Mount Asama volcano that was still considered safe. Traces of snow which survived the afternoon clung on in the grass out front. At ease, he breathed deep and smelled the pines of the forest that sloped down to the far away towns visible in the valley below.It’s a four hour walk up from the nearest road and very peaceful this time of year. Few people were around, just the way he liked it.“The Kamoshika are sure to come today to look ar...

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