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Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2020

Stories (236)
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236 Stories

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Sinatra on the Lawn

Submitted to Contest #148

Maureen, she’s done it again. I looked outside this morning and he’s missing. Frank is missing. This is the third time this month. Every day I live in fear of that woman stealing an innocent lawn statue just to get back at me, because I told her I didn’t like her peach cobbler. Francine has lived across the street from me for thirty years and we’ve never had a problem until she invited me over a few days before Thanksgiving to try her peach cobbler. Now, truthfully, the cobbler was mushy. I don’t like throwing the word ‘mushy’ around, bu...

37 likes 25 comments 25
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Rome. By All Means. Rome.

Submitted to Contest #147

We were meant to divorce after Roman Holiday.As the credits rolled at the end of the film, I found myself sitting in the dark next to Rob wishing I could see his face. I’ve always found that turning to look at the person sitting next to you at a movie is a risk. Whether you know it or not, there’s something you’re expecting to see. What if you don’t see it? What if it’s something else? What if the person turns and looks at you as you’re looking at them and both of you are surprised by what’s there?A small puddle of dried Diet Coke had been i...

30 likes 21 comments 21
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Margaret, Meditating

Submitted to Contest #146

Today I will focus on my breathing. Today I will-- Is that a dog? I think I hear a dog. That sounds like a big dog. Is the dog in distress? Should I go help the dog? I miss having a dog. But, you know, you get a dog, and it’s like having a child. You have to be home. When am I ever home? That’s not fair. It’s not fair to the dog. If you’re going to-- I need to breathe. I need to focus on breathing. I wonder if Napoleon had a dog? Focus. Focus on breathing. God, breathing is so boring. Why is meditating...

45 likes 24 comments 24
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A Crown for The King

Submitted to Contest #145

She gave me the crown to remind me that I was a King. My grandmother summoned me to her room on the second floor of our old house on Georgia Avenue during one of my parent’s tornados, and there it sat on her vanity. The crown was made of golden felt with fabric jewels sewn into it. While the cacophony raged downstairs over an unkind word at a corporate barbecue, my grandmother lowered it onto my head. At first, I thought she was playing some kind of game with me, but then she put her hands on my shoulders and looked at me with all the se...

33 likes 20 comments 20
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Before We Lose the Light

Submitted to Contest #144

My brother told me that if I stood closer to the edge, it would make for a better photo. Jake and I were running four hours behind on our way to see our father in Pueblo Norova. The twelve-year-old Toyota Camry we had driven from New York to Nevada had started making a gurgling sound that reminded me of the noises my boyfriend would make on the couch after a night out of drinking and Duran Duran karaoke, but we had an unspoken agreement to ignore it. In keeping with family tradition, we were prepared to ignore any and all signs of danger u...

30 likes 11 comments 11
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Muriel Stanley Buys a Succulent

Submitted to Contest #143

She loved saying the name. Echeveria. The scientific name being Echeveria elegans. It sounded like the name of a drag queen. Now coming to the stage to perform “Stand Back” by Stevie Nicks, Miss Echeveria Elegans! Muriel Stanley had heard succulents were difficult to kill, and so she purchased one at the supermarket. When she brought the little plant to the express check-out, the cashier remarked that her cousin loves plants. The cousin’s name was Steve and he no longer comes over for Christmas, because he’s invested in online cons...

33 likes 28 comments 28
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Looking for Mr. Darcy

Shortlisted for Contest #142 ⭐️

Every Sunday, I’m allowed to read a chapter from Jane Eyre.That’s a special treat for me since every other day it’s another Jane that commandeers the hour. My mother has good days and bad days. She has days where she can’t recognize me and days where she can’t recognize herself. Her life exists in that spot at the tip of your tongue where words and phrases go missing. Her life is made up of sterile smells and muted colors. She’s placed everyday in a chair facing a window that looks out on a man-made lake surrounded by a walking path and nati...

49 likes 59 comments 59
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Dusty Springfield at The Pie and Pancake

Submitted to Contest #141

Two stars was a cause for celebration. We had only ever gotten one star up to that point. Just about everybody in Scoville had taken the time to stretch out their keyboard fingers and let us have it at one point or another. The pie usually took the worst of it. Casey Ann said she wouldn’t serve that pie to a dying dog, but I didn’t mind the key lime. The custard? No, thank you, but the key lime you could eat if you were starving enough for it. Casey Ann just has refined taste, because before she was a waitress, she used to be married to a ...

25 likes 12 comments 12
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The Hijacking of Instagram KBJR0719

Submitted to Contest #140

When the Bitcoin pirates abducted my Instagram, I was watching a movie on whales. Something about how whales are worse than sharks. A documentary. I found it to be unreliable. A shark is a shark. This must be the work of the shark lobbyists, I thought. As I was creating oceanic conspiracies in my mind, I received a text message from a friend-- “Hey, I think your Instagram got hacked. Also, you still need to Venmo me for that thing with the hot air balloon.” I’ll tell you about the hot air balloon some other time. When I went to che...

46 likes 47 comments 47
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Wendy, Never After

Submitted to Contest #139

Day Four Hundred and Thirty-Seven Tinkerbell still won’t speak to me. She keeps insisting that I used her shampoo. I did no such thing. If I even attempted to pick up the bottle, I would crush it instantly. Her accusations used to be easy to brush off, but now they crawl up my skin like the forest bugs that swarm us every night after dinner. This place is meant to be some sort of Paradise, and yet, it has all the trappings of every other tropical island. Insects, humidity, birds that look like rodents and rodents that look like birds. Pe...

25 likes 12 comments 12
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Potato Salad

Submitted to Contest #138

They didn’t even bring potato salad. A picnic with no potato salad. I mean, what is the point, Grace? I ask you-- What is the point? I know, I know-- Take what you can get. When you’re an ant-- Mark says we’re bugs, but I disagree. There is a difference between an ant and a bug, and if you’ve ever spent time with a ladybug, you understand the difference. The point is, we take what we can get. That being said, there are certain expectations you have when you’re at a picnic. Nobody tries anymore. That’s the difficulty...

44 likes 30 comments 30
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The Boy in the Pink Tuxedo

Winner of Contest #137 🏆

I met the love of my life at someone else’s prom.He wasn’t my date.My date was a lovely young woman whose name I can’t remember. What I do remember is that her dress was blue the way Southern debutantes in movies always wear blue dresses. At least from the movies I’ve seen. It was blue, but not puffy, and I was grateful for that. I’m resistant to puffy. Puffy and poofy. I can’t tolerate either.We attended her senior prom together, because her boyfriend had just broken up with her the week before and she was heartbroken. The big night was a w...

328 likes 249 comments 249
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On the Mound

Submitted to Contest #136

Not one strike. That’s tough. Even one and you could walk out of here with your head held high. But the kind of failure you experienced today is a real chin-dropper. Can’t argue with that. Here’s a hot dog. Extra relish. I would judge you, but we both know an enjoyment of relish indicates sociopathic tendencies. You can be nice to puppies all you want, but slathering relish on a perfectly good wiener means I’ll probably have to have a therapist examine you before you reach adulthood just to make sure you don’t wind up stacking bodies...

28 likes 19 comments 19
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Snail Man

Submitted to Contest #135

Picture it. A shadowy figure moves through an alleyway. Past a tabby cat. Around a dumpster filled with refuse. Dancing over muddy puddles that reflect neon signs advertising coming attractions. A spy movie. Perhaps a prestige picture. The mysterious and nefarious being makes his way up to a couple waiting with their young child for a taxi to whisk them back to suburbia. Back to a pleasant house in a pleasant neighborhood where there are no alleyways or honking horns or men who know nothing but darkness in their hearts. The kind of dar...

44 likes 38 comments 38
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The Hovering Age

Winner of Contest #134 🏆

She’ll come down when she’s ready. My mother used to say when you reach the hovering age, it’s important to take your time. Don’t feel as though you need to keep yourself on the ground if your body wants to do something else. I hit the hovering age at thirteen. The first time I slammed the door in my father’s face, I looked down, and I was three inches off the ground. Always felt useless to me. Not to be able to fly--just hover. So I stopped right away. I didn’t have any interest in being an impractical person. My first boyfriend told me...

226 likes 136 comments 136
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