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Sophie Goldstein

Author on Reedsy Prompts since May, 2024

Stories (49)
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26 Followers
4 Following

49 Stories

1044 karma pts

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Like Freshly Cut Grass

Submitted to Contest #290

I am ten years old and am playing hopscotch in my driveway. As an only child, I have grown accustomed to playing games by myself. “Hey little girl!” someone screams behind me. I turn and there is a boy leering at me across the street. My chest tightens and I want to run away. The boy is Arnold Stevens. He is the kind of boy that makes the neighborhood keep their pets indoors. He crosses the street and though I want to yell for my mother who is inside, I don’t. My throat is tight. My feet are frozen in place. “What are you doing??” he asks, n...

8 likes 4 comments 4
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My Father The Great American

Submitted to Contest #289

My father was the proudest American in Texas. Growing up he’d make me work with him on his car every Sunday and tell me American history. He wanted me to know that the United States was the greatest country in the world. Every Fourth of July there’d be the traditional barbecue and fireworks. He’d take his stereo outside and play Frank Sinatra on full blast and let me shoot a couple rounds from one of his handguns in celebration.One of the speeches my father used to give me the most was, “Mijo, you might be Mexican but you’re American, you he...

19 likes 4 comments 4
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Almost

Submitted to Contest #287

“It’s just like the tea set they use in Downton Abbey,” he says.“Is it?” Maria asks, “There are a lot of tea sets they use in Downtown Abbey.”“I know,” he huffs, “But this is the one that Mrs. Hughes uses. She always uses the same one.”“And you want this one?” she asks, staring at the fancier sets nearby. When he doesn’t respond she looks at him and sees that he’s staring lovingly at the Mrs. Hughes set. “Why do you want this one?” she asks.“Because…it’s used to comfort. Whenever Mrs. Hughes uses it, it’s always when someone needs a helping ...

9 likes 4 comments 4
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Put Out the Fire

Submitted to Contest #286

The fire was right outside the door. He could see it. He could smell it. He was choking on its smoke. He watched in horror as it burst through the door, as it destroyed the photos of him and his wife and his children, as it ate his couch and chair and table and books, oh his books, they burst into flame, every, single, one, and the fire was relentless, it was relentless, and it was coming for him and there, was, nothing, he, could, do.Ricardo woke in a sweat, his heart pounding, his mouth open and ready to scream. A loud banging came from th...

8 likes 4 comments 4
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A Small Piece of Altadena

Submitted to Contest #285

Altadena, California. A small city in Los Angeles county. It was 20 minutes from downtown Los Angeles, but felt like a little world moving in its own time. Black people escaping Jim Crow laws had settled there. Japanese Americans escaping internment camps had settled there. People from Mexico escaping economic strife had settled there. Its businesses were family owned. Very few chains existed there. It had its own hardware store and small markets and dairy and restaurants where the chef knew everyone’s name.2536 Silver St sat next to the Gab...

14 likes 4 comments 4
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If Only In My Dreams

Submitted to Contest #284

“Take my hand, Charlie,” he said, as I eagerly made my way to the window display of toys. Small trains on tracks, model airplanes hung in the air, beautiful porcelain dolls with cupid lips, all stared at me from behind the glass. “Charlie,” he said, “do you see anything you want?” I looked at him with big eyes. How did he expect for me to choose just one? He laughed and pulled me up into his arms. “You want it all, don’t you?” he asked, cupping my chin. I shrugged and blushed, knowing that I was being greedy. We continued to walk down the av...

6 likes 2 comments 2
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All the Space She's Left Behind

Submitted to Contest #282

“Don’t go,” I tell her.“This will be the last time,” she says.“You said that last time,” I respond.“I mean it this time,” she says, “I’m just getting some of my things.”She looks so beautiful in the moonlight. Her black hair illuminated. Her eyes pleading with me to believe her.“Want me to go with you?” I ask.“No,” she says, “I need to do this on my own.”I nod as if I understand, but really, this moment right here was the stupidest decision either of us ever made.I should have gone with her.I should have been there.Maybe if I had been, she w...

6 likes 2 comments 2
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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...

12 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...

12 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...

6 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...

13 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 ...

17 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...

13 likes 9 comments 9
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