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Sophie Goldstein

Author on Reedsy Prompts since May, 2024

Stories (42)
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18 Followers
4 Following

42 Stories

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A Few Quiet Moments

Submitted to Contest #281

Since I have been alive, it has snowed twice in Los Angeles. The first time, I was fifteen years old, taking the bus to school and the white flakes began to fall. I remember how the world stood still for a few quiet moments. Everyone stopped. People got out of their cars. We couldn’t believe it. Snow in LA? Impossible. Yet there it was. It was so incredibly magical.The second time it snowed, I was thirty. I remember the flakes grazing the top of my head, falling onto my nose like soft kisses. I remember looking up and being dazzled by all th...

10 likes 6 comments 6
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Speaking to You, While You're Speaking to Me, and Wondering About All the Things That Might Have Been

Submitted to Contest #280

A: Hello.B: Hello.A: You…what are you doing here?B: Visiting.A: Huh.B: My dad…he’s…A: Oh. Oh, right. I heard. I’m sorry.B:…yea.A: How’s he doing?B: Not great. It…it could be any day now.A: I knew he was sick. But I…I didn’t put the pieces together. I mean. I should have, but-B: Do you want to get a coffee?A: Now?B: Yea.A: I should pay for these first.B: Right. Of course. Me too. But after?A: Um. Sure.B: Great. That’s…Good. Ok. I’ll meet you outside.A: Ok.B: You look good.A: So do you.B: This coffee is as horrible as I remember.A: The worst.B...

7 likes 2 comments 2
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Since the End of the World

Submitted to Contest #279

*Trigger Warning: Contains thoughts of suicide*14 Days Since the End of the WorldI found you lying under a pile of rubble. You were there, almost in mint condition, which I found so delightfully surprising. And next to you was this pen. Also, in good condition. As if both of you were saved just for me. To sum up: World War III happened. Every country was against the other. More countries had nuclear bombs than initially thought. We fired on each other. A series of attacks across the world.It was horrific. To say the least.Like everythin...

11 likes 4 comments 4
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The Accused

Submitted to Contest #278

Miguel’s feet dangled from his chair. He swung his little legs, back and forth, watching the man in the blue suit pace around the room.Miguel didn’t like the man in the blue suit. The man was tall, with a loud booming voice, and every few minutes the man would point in Miguel’s direction piercing him with pale blue eyes.There was a woman in black sitting at a large desk in front of the room. She frowned at the man in the blue suit and Miguel wondered if she didn’t like the man either.Miguel looked next to him, to the man in the grey suit.Mig...

13 likes 8 comments 8
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For Him, I would

Submitted to Contest #277

I was born at sea.To a captive mother who screamed me into the world in a dungeon below the deck of a pirate ship.You’ll say it’s impossible, but I remember the smell of the ocean hitting my nostrils as I came into the world. I remember how the waves rocked me to sleep. I remember looking up at my mother and watching her take her last breath.You have heard a great many things about pirates, I’m sure. Thieves. Pillagers. Ruthless. Bloodthirsty. Giant hats, gold earrings, an eye-patch that hides a violent wound.It’s all true, of course. But th...

8 likes 2 comments 2
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I Will Teach You How to Embrace the Moon

Submitted to Contest #275

The darkness is lit up by a billion little stars. The full moon glows, smiling down on me in kindness and comfort. She is an old friend. I dance around the fire, arms raised, hair loose, feet bare. I thank the sky and the moon and the earth for all of their gifts. I sing the names of the ones who have passed on, who have given me the wisdom of their lives and experiences and shown me how to move forward. I am bliss. I am ecstasy. I am. Solitude is mostly a lovely way to live. I have no obligations to anyone. I live by my own schedule, by m...

12 likes 8 comments 8
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There is Magic in This City

Submitted to Contest #274

Everyone thinks that Los Angeles is a city without seasons. Any Angeleno will tell you that this is grossly false. Our city is so widespread that sometimes it’s hard to tell. But if you pay attention, you can see how the leaves change color, how the temperature drops as the sun goes down, causing shivers up and down the spine. If you know anything about Los Angeles, you know that our landscape is full of variety. The mountains, the woods, the concrete sprawl, the ocean. The woods in the middle of a city. The secret stairways leading you to ...

16 likes 2 comments 2
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Truth is a Gray and Muddy Color

Submitted to Contest #273

Dear Maribel, I can still remember every detail of how you looked when we met. Your bangs were slanted, as if you had cut them yourself in a fit of rage. Your clothes hung off of you, making you seem so much smaller than you actually were. And even though you were small and thin and barely came up to my knees, you were so strong. Even then. Your shoulders pulled back, your chest pushed out, your head raised in defiance against anyone who dared challenge you. I knew then that we had been made for each other. That you were my destiny. My fate...

12 likes 9 comments 9
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These Thoughts Are Mine Alone

Submitted to Contest #272

TRIGGER WARNING: This story centers around a character who wants to hurt a child I get up at 4am. I brush my teeth. I get dressed. I go for a run. I run for at least an hour. Hard. I run as fast as I can, until my heart feels like it’s going to explode from my chest. This is important. This keeps me steady. After I run, I shower. I shower for a long time, in hot, scalding water. I make myself burn. This is important. This keeps me steady. On good days, on days when I can feel the calm in my body, I let myself go out into the world for a shor...

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Deviled Eggs

Submitted to Contest #270

1.    Boil water. 2.    Once the water reaches a boil, gently put in your eggs. 3.    Gently.4.    Be gentle. 5.    Even though you want to throw the eggs against the wall, be gentle. 6.    Let the water boil for 10 minutes. 7.    Even though they say not to, watch the water boil. 8.    It will help. 9.    It will help soothe your heart. 10. The bubbles and th...

10 likes 6 comments 6
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The Guitar Pick

Submitted to Contest #269

Juan was a man without friends. Without money. Without love. Juan was a man without. But Juan, didn’t let these facts of life bother him. He had deliberately led his life this way, because Juan had his music and music was everything. And Juan didn’t need anyone else. He didn’t want anyone else. Juan strolled the streets of downtown, wandering aimlessly with no destination. He did this every Friday after work. Allowed himself to get lost in the city, let his mind go, people watch and maybe get inspired by what he saw. What he heard. He constr...

11 likes 6 comments 6
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She Calls You Back

Submitted to Contest #268

CONTENT WARNING: this story includes substance abuse, a character who commits suicide, and characters who have experienced parental neglect.People never truly change. Not really. You are cursed to be the same person throughout your life.At least, this is what my mother told me. That people never change. That who we are is who we have always been.And I refuse to believe this. Because if I believe it, then it means I’m a monster.I never wanted to look back. It’s easier not to and I think most people would agree with me on that.For ten years I ...

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A Million Different Ways

Submitted to Contest #266

My name is Joanna-Joan-Jacob-Rory-I have no name-They call me Bernard-Barbara-Barbara.My name is Barbara.If you were to have told me yesterday that I’d be dead-That I’d be married-That I’d be standing on the edge of a cliff-That I’d be erased from the universe because I can’t complete a sentence-That I’d be dead.Dead.Dead as a doornail.Dead as Jacob Marley-If you were to have told me yesterday that I’d be standing over Marley Jacobson’s dead body, I honestly wouldn’t have been surprised.Marley was a piece of shit.I don’t mean to be crass or ...

6 likes 2 comments 2
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Never Getting Married

Submitted to Contest #264

I hate weddings. There are many people who say that, and don’t really mean it. But I mean it. Let me tell you why:1)   The wedding industry gouges people. They charge astronomical prices for venues, catering, even the chairs people are supposed to sit in, all because they know they can. Capitalism at its finest. 2)   The obligation to invite your creepy uncle even though everyone hates him. No one talks to the creepy uncle or aunt or cousin in decades and yet all of a sudden, you’re expected to invite them to th...

3 likes 4 comments 4
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The Golem and The Creature

Submitted to Contest #263

The GolemWhen I opened my eyes, I didn’t know who I was or where I was. I had no language, no thought, no memory of any kind.It lasted for only a moment, but I remember that moment so vividly.The moment of nothing.And then just as quickly in the next moment, my head was full of knowledge.I became aware of my body and the room and the people in it.I became aware that everyone was standing around me in a circle, with the man at the head.I became aware that this man was who had brought me to life.“You’re alive,” he murmured, as if he couldn’t q...

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