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Tara Leigh Parks

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jun, 2022

Stories (6)

Comments

Library

16 Followers

15 Following

6 Stories

217 karma pts

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Battle of the Hedge

Tara Leigh Parks

Submitted to Contest #303

<Note: This story contains alcohol use and physical violence.> When Ann Dennison looked out the window and frowned at Joan Hancock, Joan maintained a steady grip on the clippers. Her heart thumped with the fervor of her Revolutionary War ancestor. Protect your liberty and land, she thought, as Ann stepped out on the porch.Clip, clip, clip. “You’re a Hancock,” she reminded herself, teeth clenched into a fake smile she hoped to God would make her neighbor go back inside. But it didn’t. Instead, Ann raised her coffee cup in a good mornin...

10 likes

Mother Nature - The Story of A Serial Killer

Tara Leigh Parks

Submitted to Contest #187

This story contains sex and violence.---I don't think fuck, or any other derivative of that monumental word, should be changed to duck when I finger-bang my passion into a text. If I ask a man to come over, we're not going to duck anything. So.Also: Do you know that ducks take part in forced copulation? Biologists and other smart-ass-types say that ducks waddle in a line because it makes them less suspectable to predators. They say the waddle also helps them forage for food. But I think they do it because back at the duck pond, the male duck...

20 likes

The Center of the Universe

Tara Leigh Parks

Submitted to Contest #186

This story contains mental health issues and adult language; discussions about drug use and sexual references.I cast a spell on men with such limited vision that despite being the Roman goddess of architecture, they created an arena and train station that spans Midtown Manhattan with all the grace of concrete herpes."You created this ugly place, so dwell here you shall."So, dwell I do. Father gave me wings. He made me long for things, like a moth to a flame. Trite, I know, but truth is often trite. Symbolism, too, with this whole wings- as-c...

12 likes

Robbing Hookers

Tara Leigh Parks

Submitted to Contest #182

When the cab struck us, Mecca ricocheted off Seventh Avenue South and died. Mecca was a stupid nickname for a first-generation Chinese guy from Queens. He always said that any woman would make the journey for his love. Even dead, he looked like a heart attack waiting to happen. Maybe he lost control of the motorcycle because of a heart attack. Overeaters should not be getaway drivers. A siren wailed. There's always a siren in the city. But Mecca was past that siren's help and me, I didn't want it. I picked up the bag and limped toward the Bo...

15 likes

Suicide or Cilantro

Tara Leigh Parks

Shortlisted for Contest #179 ⭐️

Note: This story contains substance abuse, language, and thoughts about suicide.***Toward the end of the evening, I like to take a drink. The longer I work at the taco truck, the earlier the end of the evening becomes. You know, there’s that saying about it being five o’clock somewhere, a saying that a lot of people use as an excuse to get drunk before dinner. I always say it’s five o’clock somewhere, too, which irritates the hell out of me. I want to sound more refined than that. The gourmands I once starved to impress say they drink at 17:...

33 likes

Mutantur Tempore

Tara Leigh Parks

Submitted to Contest #178

(This story contains the threat of violence and language.)Greta woke and ran to the mirror to see if time travel messed up her face. She always worried about losing her looks in the name of one of Greg's experiments. Her face looked the same. Even the room looked the same. Greg was nowhere to be seen, though. Because everything looked the same, she figured the time travel didn't work. He must've left her sleeping while he went to drink away his fury. She hoped he was passed out because she didn't feel like dealing with a drunk Greg who went ...

12 likes