Stacey Iannazzo

“Meow ” by Stacey Iannazzo

Submitted to Contest #169

There was no moon to guide my steps as I shuffled down the city street well after midnight. The neighborhood was ruined, the street lights broken and busted years before. I shouldn’t have been in this part of town, at this time of night, and certainly not alone. My mother would have a stroke if she knew where I was.  The party I’d been drinking at earlier had started out with music and laughter, but as usual a fight broke out. A few of the older guys had begun hitting each other, spitting and upturning furniture. I tried to avoid the ru...

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“Dyna 4 (Look Up Contest)” by Stacey Iannazzo

Submitted to Contest #134

I rushed into the small cafe and at once spotted Lynn.  She was sitting in our favorite corner, sprawled out in an oversized armchair, her hair pulled up loosely with an elastic, a book resting on her knees while she examined something she had just plucked from between her teeth.  Stopping quickly to place my order, a double mocha latte with whipped cream and chocolate Jimmies.  I threw myself into the chair across from her. Without wasting another moment, I reached for a chocolate chip, chocolate dipped pastry from the overfi...

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“You'd be late to your own funeral....” by Stacey Iannazzo

Submitted to Contest #125

S. Hileman Iannazzo (Better Late than Never Contest Entry) I didn’t know morticians don't bother with shoes until I was hauling ass to the church in my stocking feet. I also didn’t know that even though I was the guest of honor, I’d have to ‘walk’ to my own funeral. They loaded my corpse into a shiny black car driven by a somber looking fellow dressed in a neat charcoal suit.  While they were arranging all of the flowers around my coffin, I tried to slide in, but I was too late and cursed myself for having stopped to smoke a cigare...

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“The Mutha' of All Thankless Jobs” by Stacey Iannazzo

S. Hileman Iannazzo 11/19/2021 “Thankless Job” challenge It's 2021, and while my ‘career’ is often criticized by the younger generations, and at times my own, I find value in what I do ‘for a living’.  Nothing. From an outsider's perspective, what I do day in and day out is dismissed as ‘Nothing’. What does she do? Oh her? Nothing. I’ve heard it said in many ways by many people through the years, that my choice to stay home and raise a family is anything but worthwhile.  My values are antiquated, old fashioned, and, dare I say,...

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“Please Take a Number” by Stacey Iannazzo

Submitted to Contest #117

Stacey Hileman Iannazzo Please Take A Number  364 days out of the year, Dave Murphy's job was mostly shuffling paperwork and light maintenance. His office was a sparse barren room in the basement of Hileman and Sons Funeral Parlor. They were a popular establishment for grieving families and Dave had landed the jobs because he had gone to high school with one of the ‘and sons’. He’d been employed by the Hilemans for 3 years and for a job that only really required him to show up, he was paid a very generous salary. He worked the li...

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“Project J” by Stacey Iannazzo

Stacey Hileman Iannazzo Project J Contest Entry 9/9/2021 Janine was embarrassed to be driving the family minivan. It had those stick people stickers on the back window that her mom thought were adorable. Janine wanted to scrape her figure off the window and replace it with a Grateful Dead Bear.  Janine would have preferred driving her dad's sporty red Dodge, but even as she pursed her lips to ask permission, her dad was already furrowing his brow and shaking his head back and forth. She grabbed her moms keys with the big dumb ‘M...

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“The Bad Thing” by Stacey Iannazzo

Submitted to Contest #108

S. Hileman Iannazzo The Bad Thing Reedsy - Elemental  Contest Entry 8/20/2021 The boy's name was Joseph, that was the only information the detective had managed to get after a half hour or so of sharing the small interrogation room.  No last name, just Joseph.  The kid looked to be about 12, maybe 13, he wore his hair long and in need of a cut.  He was unkempt and filthy down to his blackened fingernails.  The beat cops picked him up walking alone on the train tracks, just after dawn this morning.  He had ...

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“My Mothers Eyes” by Stacey Iannazzo

Submitted to Contest #105

My mothers glasses. I kept them in a drawer. They had been there for almost 10 years. Truth is I kept them there because I didn’t know what else to do with them when she died. She’d been cremated after a long and painful fight with lung cancer. The disease was cruel, slowly chipping away at the person she was before. Her body diminished, refused to gain weight, and oxygen tubing ran around her once rosy cheeks. She had no energy at the end, no energy to do much else but watch the tv and wait for visitors. I would visit, at 40 years...

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