Susan Catucci

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2022

Stories (61)

61 Stories

2407 karma pts

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“SING ME A LOVE SONG” by Susan Catucci

Submitted to Contest #199

I have something no one else has. I hear music. All. The. Time. The experts call it Auditory Hallucination but, for me, it’s an internal soundtrack. It’s part of me, a living, breathing organism that is compelled to comment on everything by way of song. Everything.It began happening as I was first learning to talk. At the same time my infantile brain was putting the pieces together to connect sounds to syllables to objects, there were some additional cells working overtime to acquire an inventory that woul...

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“SUCH IS DEATH ” by Susan Catucci

Submitted to Contest #198

Andrei dreaded the thought of preschool.“Why can’t I be like Grandpapa? Grandpapa never went to school. And he’s always talking about the old days and what a great time it was to be dead.”“They didn’t have preschool when your Grandpapa was a pup. You’re fortunate to be dead at a time when there’s education available.”“No, I’m not."“Andrei, things have changed since Grandpapa’s time. Your father and I want only what’s best for you and we know the Institute of Terror and the Supernatural is it.”“But I won’t know anybody.”“T...

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“GAMES THE GODS PLAY” by Susan Catucci

Submitted to Contest #197

**Warning: silly religious humor, irreverent, but turns out well*** * *Satan sat back in his chair surveying his chips. “What are we playing for this round?”“Benjamin Jones is thinking about asking Katherine Pembrook to marry him. If I win, he goes forward with the proposal and they live happily ever after. White-picket fence, two kids, dog, the works.”“And if I win, it’ll rain on their wedding day and they’ll be divorced in under a year. Trailer Park, triplets, iguana.”“Done.”It was God’s turn as dealer. In or...

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“ARE THERE VIDEO GAMES IN HEAVEN?” by Susan Catucci

Submitted to Contest #197

*** WARNING: Disturbing imagery, language, mental illness **** * *Jeremy Small, age 13Monday, 8:54 p.m.Ugh. Tomorrow’s Tuesday. Tuesday’s such a nothing day. It’s like being the second child, or somewhere in the middle; not the first or the last. It’s not as weird as Wednesday though. I really don’t get Wednesday being hump day. They couldn’t come up with something better than hump day? All I can think of is Rocco, our French bulldog, on dad’s leg when he answers the phone and Rocco feels slighted. But Tuesday has no...

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“PRETTY LOOKIN' PEOPLE ” by Susan Catucci

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #196

PART 1: PRETTY LOOKIN’ PEOPLEBonnie stood staring into her closet. She was still wearing the worn slip she’d slept in. Since she’d broken her arm a few days earlier, dressing herself had become a challenge. She was quickly running out of garments she could fit over the plaster cast and washing her clothes was almost impossible with one functioning arm. Elsie, a nearby friend who lived alone, had offered to pick her up and have her come and stay for a spell, until Bonnie could manage to do more on her own.Bonnie...

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“WHAT'S DUNG IS DUNG” by Susan Catucci

Submitted to Contest #195

As the portal opens, a figure takes a tentative step inside. He looks around, eyes enlarged and exclamation points popping around his large pink head. On a desktop sits Tinkerbell, glowing, the receptionist, so identified by the name plate she sits upon, cross-legged, filing her fairy nails.He spies Tinkerbell and quickly puts to the task of checking in. Once that’s accomplished, he looks for a vacant seat.“Mi-mi-mind if I sit here?”“Help yourself.”“Have you be-be-been wa-wa-waiting long?”“Equivalent of half an episode, I...

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“GET BACK, JACK” by Susan Catucci

Submitted to Contest #194

**WARNING** Comedic religious themes, mild cursing.* * *Jack wanted out. He wagered he’d been in Purgatory longer than he’d been alive, hadn’t really gotten much out of either experience, and felt ready just to move on.Purgatory, for Jack, consisted of AA meetings, sensitivity training, and weekly counseling sessions. All this was deemed necessary because Jack, when alive, had displayed little regard for women, even less for the rest of mankind, and possessed an unbridled passion for food and drink. He’d died fat, drunk and al...

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“A POX ON BOTH YOUR HOUSES - or - THE BIRD AND THE BUG” by Susan Catucci

Submitted to Contest #193

Percy was a Honeycreeper. A Honeycreeper is a small bird with a curved beak that is made for sipping nectar, a staple of the Honeycreeper’s diet. Percy had hatched, along with his siblings, Sunny and Samson, six days prior and were being taught daily lessons by their mother and father bird so they would be fully prepared when it came time to leave the nest.Percy had already learned how to proficiently extract nectar from flowers, whereas Sunny and Samson never seemed able to sip a satisfactory amount, so had to resort to foraging f...

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“DEATH WITHOUT END” by Susan Catucci

Submitted to Contest #192

**WARNING** Contains themes of violence; disturbing images.Amen. That’s how it always begins. I say a silent prayer, then lean over to kiss Brad, my husband, good night. Before I can turn around to turn off the light, Brad takes my face in his hands, looks deeply into my eyes, and then kisses me, fully and deliberately. We haven’t made love since the baby.Something grips me in that moment. I hadn’t known how it would be, had become timid and slightly removed, anxious around my husband. Now, recognizing the urge...

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“FALL SEVEN TIMES, STAND UP EIGHT” by Susan Catucci

Submitted to Contest #191

“What’s that?”“I don’t see anything.”“There! It’s right there! Look! It’s green!”“Corey, it’s nothing. It’s probably just parsley.”“I can’t eat it.” “Honey, this is a very nice restaurant. They made this especially for you. It’s just pasta and butter.”“Then what’s that green thing?”“Here, let’s just take it out.”“But it’s already touched everything!”“Waiter?”It was about to happen again. I just could not fathom how a couple of foodies, avid students of life with a profound appreciation for great food a...

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“ON THE VERGE OF SPEECH” by Susan Catucci

Submitted to Contest #190

“Speak now, Bock. Speak, and you can have this treat.”Oooh . . .why, human, why tease and torture me? I wiggle my butt, isn’t that good enough for a cookie? See my tail? I’ve been wagging forever! Please, please, please! Give me the damn treat!“Speak! Come on, Knickerbocker. You can do it!”Of course I can, but it’s humiliating, human mom! I’m not a circus dog!“Speak? Speak! Well, if you really don’t want it . . .”*BARK*“Good boy! Here you . . . OW! Knickerbocker, not so rough!”...

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“DANNI'S FRESH HELL” by Susan Catucci

Submitted to Contest #189

She went somewhere outside herself after she’d landed the first thrust of the knife, as the blade sank deep into his stomach. After that, there wasn’t much she could remember clearly. She remembered what it felt like to hit bone, the sound it made when the blade could go no further. Like the thud of a dead body, the muted tone of a final utterance. She saw him as a wild boar that needed slaughtering before he could rise and attack her again. She was careful to mind the blood that accumulated on the knife handle and n...

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“SHOWDOWN INTERRUPTED” by Susan Catucci

Submitted to Contest #189

Messenger angels and demons throughout Heaven and Hell had begun spreading the word about an upcoming event that would determine, once and for all, the fate of the world. The polarization of life forms had proven to be a disastrous experiment. God and Satan had watched from their respective vantages and come to the same conclusion. The mortal realm simply could not figure things out on their own and it was time for drastic measures before Planet Earth was reduced to a fading memory, a blip on the radar of what once was.The two...

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“CATCH OF THE DAY” by Susan Catucci

Submitted to Contest #188

“So, what’s the catch today? Would you be the Skip in Skipper?”“Ahoy! You must be the new owner of the Rustic Scup.”“That’s me. I’m Chet. I hear you’re the man to see for seafood. You the Skip?”“Last I looked. How do, Chet. So, I hear you’re also the chef, that right?”“Guilty.”“Well, then, that’s what I’ll be calling you. Welcome to Skipper’s Slip, Maine’s finest, at least here in our little hamlet called Limerick. So, Chef, what’s your pleasure?”“I’ll just go back to the beginning. Wha...

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“BOOGEYMEN, COME TO ORDER” by Susan Catucci

Submitted to Contest #187

Susie found herself lagging behind her parents at the second national park they’d visited in a week. She never slept well in strange beds and her feet were dragging. The endless drone of the tour guide leading the group wasn’t helping. She felt as though all she wanted was to curl up on one of the wooden benches they passed occasionally and sleep the rest of the day.“Catch up, Susie!” Her mother beckoned her with a firm tone and gesture.As her mother turned her attention back to the painfully cheerful guide lady, Susie ca...

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Author bio

I have been reading and writing and loving both all my life. I recently had a children's book published and reedsy prompts is a wonderful way for me to practice and stretch my imagination. One of my personal favorite stories somehow has been listed separately and I don't want to lose track of it. It's entitled A Rat's Life, I wrote for the prompt to write about a character living through a major historical event, whether they know it or not. It was Contest #163 Leo Tolstoy and is categorized as creative nonfiction, drama, fantasy. I'm sorta proud of it. :) For ease of application, here's a link to A Rat's Life: https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/eselcu/

Shortlisted 3 stories ⭐️

Contest #196

PRETTY LOOKIN' PEOPLE – read story

Contest #186

READ THAT BACK – read story

Contest #170

A LITTLE TRIP – read story