Stevie Burges

Author on Reedsy Prompts since May, 2021

Stories (20)

20 Stories

555 karma pts

?

“The Gap Year” by Stevie Burges

This story contains swearing. One day Wendy, the woman from the Human Resources department (whom I loathed), leaned over me while I worked through the hundreds of emails pinging into my Inbox, all demanding immediate answers. ‘Have you heard the news? she asked. ‘No’, trying to keep the dislike and coldness off my face. ‘I’m going to Nam...

Read story

“Skip the Life Fantastic” by Stevie Burges

Skip the Life FantasticMy friend Sheila asked me if she could write my life story and post it on the Reception’s notice board. She thinks it’s a beautiful story and should be shared with potential adoptees or foster parents to know how life was before I was rescued and brought to the Shelter. Sheila apologises for any inconsistencies that may have occurred in the translation between my feline communication and Sheila’s human language.My life started on the damp stre...

Read story

“A hot afternoon in New York” by Stevie Burges

A hot afternoon in New YorkIn the searing heat of an August afternoon in 2003, I popped into a Barnes and Noble bookstore near Broadway in Manhattan. I was at the end of my initial two-day visit to NY before meeting with Will and his wife to swap locations and go to Avalon, New Jersey.The plan was to meet Will at the World Trade Centre (WTC) on Thursday, 14th August, after he’d finished work, at about 6 o’clock. We both worked for the same global financial company. I was located in London, and Will ...

Read story

“The Old Man” by Stevie Burges

This story contains stalking and potential threats to a juvenile.Even in my teen years, I found Cardiff (the capital of Wales) too small for my ‘adventuress spirit’, except Friday nights as these were booze nights. In my heady youth of the late 1960s, the law stated that only 18-year-olds were allowed to buy alcohol or set foot inside a pub. But when I was about 15 years old, my friends and I saw it as a badge of honour to lie to our parents regarding our whereabouts and get into a ...

Read story

“Ambling” by Stevie Burges

I always thought that I would have naturally achieved an omniscient knowledge of just about everything by the time I retired. Still, surprisingly, I am on a journey of continued discovery. Although none of my new knowledge will radically change life as I know it, my continuing enlightenment never ceases to amaze me. For example, I have recently learned the difference between hiking and walking. A hike to me mean...

Read story

“The Joys of Gardening” by Stevie Burges

Each day was the same, and every year was the same. Claire shared the house with her long-standing miserable ‘husband’ Tony. They decided to sleep in separate beds on New Year's Eve a few years ago. Well, that’s not strictly true; Tony moved into a separate bedroom from Claire. This wasn’t following a lengthy discussion highlighting his poor sleep patterns resulting, regretfully, in a decision to sleep in separa...

Read story

“Lost in Translation” by Stevie Burges

Before arriving in China, the reality of experiencing a significant language difficulty never entered my mind. I truly believed everyone spoke English - if not fluently - enough for the essentials to be understood. Previously I’d worked in a zoo in Malaysia and had experienced no communication difficulties at all. Of course, this was because an English charity had set up my placement in the zoo and an English sp...

Read story

“Connie’s encounter” by Stevie Burges

She left "Primrose", the co-working cafe where she usually spent many hours, feeling strangely depressed. She'd spent at least half a day trying to cobble together a short story, and it seemed today her brain was in a permanent 'snooze' mode. Should she give up writing entirely? Or was this a childish reaction to her writing task not turning out well? She stomped up the main street trying to decide where to go and what to do. She noticed a side street and turned into it, finding that she wasn't familiar w...

Read story

“Evolving” by Stevie Burges

Yes, she could have made some different choices in life, but she did what she did, both good and bad, and she turned out to be who she now is. It's simply just growing up and moving on. But as the years passed, she continued to dream that all was not too late and that something genuinely romantic might eventually happen to her. In her wild, heady past, most female friends had a similar...

Read story

“The Fountain” by Stevie Burges

Sitting in the cafe, sipping hot coffee, she absent-mindedly swung her feet, first quickly and then more slowly, whilst thinking. She had a deadline for a short story for a women’s magazine where she worked as one of their freelancers. She knew what she was supposed to write about but didn’t have a single original idea. Across the road from the cafe was a park. It was a crisp late-November day a...

Read story

“The Plan” by Stevie Burges

It is only when looking back, now that I have reached the mature years, that I realise all the sections of my life have contributed to a far superior life plan than I could have chosen. Apart from the purchase of a house and a pension plan I imagined myself a ‘free spirit’ jumping carelessly from event to event, without thought or care. I little knew all those earlier escapades and adventures were the...

Read story

“Lights, Camera, Action” by Stevie Burges

Lights, Camera, Action She fell into the pub, her pub. She loved this pub, her second home. But tonight, standing behind the bar, was a new staff member. She hated it when it was someone new, and a scowl immediately appeared on her face. At the best of times, new staff never seemed to know where things were and, much more importantly, often failed to recognise the important customers. But tonight...

Read story

“An Excellent Friend” by Stevie Burges

That sinking feeling of being called to a ‘three-line whip’ meeting. The guidelines to all staff, if not based in London, were to use the conference video service and dial in from the various offices based in the UK. It was clear that all must attend. She knew her team of work colleagues were perked up, finding this type of compulsory meeting exciting, as indeed was any interruption to thei...

Read story

“Sleepless in the Square” by Stevie Burges

Bloody Remi. During the night, Sophie would be aware of Remi banging on the dividing wall from her flat next door to Sophie’s. Sophie then would have to suffer the indignity of being whispered about and covertly pointed at should Remi catch sight of Sophie in the garden. Sophie, feeling awkward, would attempt a pleasant smile at her ‘warring’ next-door neighbour, but Remi’s face would freeze, horror-struck that Sophie wo...

Read story

“The Clay Mountain” by Stevie Burges

During the summer of the late 1950s my family and I lived in Chessington a town based in the South East of England - a short journey from Central London. My story centres around when I was about 7 years old. I was the youngest of three girls and next door lived two young boys of similar ages and we were all great friends. Childhood memories are never totally accurate, but I’m guessing it must have been the school summer ...

Read story

Author bio

I live in Chiangmai, Thailand, but I am from London, UK. I retired from teaching in China in 2020 and have taken up writing as a hobby. I find writing very challenging but getting slightly more manageable as I practice. I love reading the stories on this site and am so impressed with all the skilled and talented writers that contribute to this site. smburges@icloud.com