Thom With An H

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2020

Stories (53)

53 Stories

10800 karma pts

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“Second Chance, Third Strike” by Thom With An H

Submitted to Contest #149

Prisons have a unique smell—a curious cross between perspiration and despair. Debbie noticed it each time she came to visit Seth. It’s a little like blindness, she contemplated as the guard led her to the visitation room. Debbie had heard how people who had lost their sight would marvel at how their other senses became heightened. It must be like that with freedom, too, she reasoned. Her eyes darted around, noticing every crack and stain on the drab walls as she passed through the locked doors and dingy corridors. Even though Debbie was...

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“To Whom It May Concern” by Thom With An H

Submitted to Contest #146

“What the fuck do you want?”The question Jimmy’s brother asked was straightforward. The answer, however, was not. “My teacher—you see—my teacher, she gave us an assignment. I'm supposed to write a letter or something like that,” Jimmy replied, rambling while trying to maintain his composure. “And I thought you…”“Get the fuck out of here, you piece of shit. I don’t care about your fucking teacher or your goddamn assignment.”Jimmy had thought his commonality with Jamaal would be an asset but, in an instant, he started doubting the ch...

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“One To Three” by Thom With An H

Submitted to Contest #145

“I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?”A choice? Choices were usually for other people. Destiny didn’t choose to feel run down or to be limited to medical care at the free clinic. She didn’t choose to wait three hours just to be seen by whichever doctor was next in line, but at least she had this choice.“What’s the bad news?”Experience had taught Destiny that the bad news was typically far worse than the good news was good. Her choice, therefore, was determined by a primal need for self-preservation."The good news,” the doc...

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“One Small Step” by Thom With An H

Submitted to Contest #144

“Will we dream?”The question made Theo chuckle. He had taught more classes on interstellar hibernation than he could count as it was a requirement for all passengers preparing for the flight to Proxima B, a planet in the solar system of Alpha Centauri. He was an expert on hibernation and responsible for ensuring a successful liftoff and, yet in every class the first question was about dreams.“No, you won’t dream, Dawn. It is Dawn, right?”“You know it is,” the pretty blonde answered with a flirtatious smile.Theo had met Dawn—and her husband, ...

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“Best Of Buddies” by Thom With An H

Submitted to Contest #143

Mosby came to me during one of the saddest times of my life.The day before we met, I was forced to put down my dog, Pepper. She was a thirteen-year-old miniature schnauzer with a salt-and-pepper colored coat and the first dog I was able to call my own. Pepper had lived a long and happy life, but age and disease had ravaged her little body, and I loved her enough to let her go.Losing a dog instantly leaves a void, one that feels impossible to fill. You cry and you laugh but mostly you just remember. I knew I wasn’t ready to open my heart up t...

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“Just In Case” by Thom With An H

Submitted to Contest #141

“What are you doing up there?”I have no idea, Maggie thought to herself, contemplating her mother’s question.“I’m going through some old pictures,” she finally responded. “I think it’s time to purge.”“Hooray,” came the reply from the bottom of the ladder. “Two years is too long.”Maggie’s mom was right. It had been two years since she had shown up on her parent’s doorstep, mascara smeared around her eyes. Thanks to her best friend, her marriage had ended in an instant. Her husband didn’t even have the courtesy to rent a hotel room for his try...

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“For Pete's Sake” by Thom With An H

Submitted to Contest #140

I’ll never forget the day I realized my dad was going to die.Young boys know nothing of mortality, certainly not when it comes to their fathers. To most sons, dads are giants among men, strong and fearless. It’s why we rely on them to fight our playground proxy wars. “My dad can beat up your dad!” is often the last salvo of scared boys who don't want to fight—but act as if they do. I had often made the proclamation because if my dad were indestructible then maybe I was too.Most of the life lessons my dad taught were obvious only in hindsight...

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“Between The Lines” by Thom With An H

Submitted to Contest #139

Marie had never painted before—that was always John’s job. But the house needed to be sold and according to the real estate agent, it needed to be painted. Marie wasn’t mad at John for leaving the task to her; she was angry at him for dying. John had bought life insurance, but hadn’t anticipated the medical bills. He fought until his last breath, but the fight left Marie without a husband, without resources, and without a home.A painting novice, Marie attacked the big rooms and hallways first. They were the easiest with most of the furn...

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“A Soldier's Story” by Thom With An H

Submitted to Contest #137

The first time I saw Schmidt was my first day of basic training. We were transported in “cattle cars” to our new home away from home in Fort Benning, Georgia. When the doors opened, there were what seemed like an infinite number of drill sergeants—although in reality, there were only eight. They greeted us using names many of us had never heard before. We were “maggots” and “shitheads” and “faggots.” We were all devastatingly scared—all of us that is, except for Schmidt. It seemed that no matter how much the drill sergeants tried t...

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“Home of the Brave” by Thom With An H

🏆 Winner of Contest #135

A mom’s job is never truly finished—Elise knew this instinctively when her son was born. For at least the hundredth time, she sat next to his bed in that chair mending his quilt. There was no way of knowing, the day she bought it at a flea market, that it would become her son’s most valued possession. To call it a quilt stretched the definition as it was nothing more than a thousand pieces of oddly shaped swatches stitched together, layer after layer, until the whole of it was thick enough to hold in the warmth of a small boy's bod...

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“Hallowed Sound” by Thom With An H

Submitted to Contest #132

Nate remembered one thing vividly about his first day there—it was quiet, too quiet for a teenager. Go a mile in any direction and there was hustle and bustle, but not here. Here the quiet was loud and that was unnerving. It was more than just the silence though. There was something else. Nate just wasn’t sure what it was. It might have been the gate, or the fence, or the fact that most of the neighbors were octogenarians. He couldn’t put his finger on why. He just knew he hated this new place. He, however, also knew he didn’t have a choice—...

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“Solid Grounds” by Thom With An H

Submitted to Contest #130

“Can I get you anything else?” the wannabe barista asked, not having the courtesy of coming out from behind the counter. Juliet didn’t ignore the question—she just didn’t hear it. Her preoccupied eyes, red and moist, darted from the container in her right hand to the door in front of her and then back again. The cup had Juliet Lamb written in sharpie near the top. She wasn’t sure why she had given her full name when she ordered, maybe she thought it would make her bigger, like a blowfish under attack.The height and placement of the table wer...

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“The Power of Ordinary” by Thom With An H

Submitted to Contest #106

Shane wasn’t like most super heroes. He didn’t come from a far away planet or get bitten by a radioactive spider. In truth, he was the last person you would expect to save the world, but in his own little way he did just that.   The Parker’s, Mary Louise and Peter, had long since given up hope of having a child when Mary found out she was pregnant. The news, however, was as welcome as it was shocking. It was probably for this reason that they seemed to be the only two people not disappointed when Shane was born with an extra c...

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“Perspectivegate” by Thom With An H

Submitted to Contest #105

Day after day, it’s the same thing. Stand at the gate, listen to the stories, open the gate, hand out the welcome packet, and close the gate. The day God offered the job to St. Peter,  he jumped at the chance, I mean, it’s a very important job and God had specifically chosen him.  Who wouldn’t be honored? For the most part, St. Peter loved the job, welcoming those to the pearly gates. Everyone seemed happy to see him, and in the truest sense, he was heaven’s gatekeeper. There were some unusual days to say the least, though, and ...

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“A Loan” by Thom With An H

Submitted to Contest #103

“Daddy, what does ‘fuck’ mean?”The word hung in the air like a fart in a crowded elevator. The trip, originally intended as a pleasant getaway for Stan, his wife, and their two children, had become anything but. They quickly discovered the problem with public campgrounds is one is forced to share them with the public.Although Stan worked long hours at the post office, there never seemed to be enough money for a vacation. Finally, in desperation, he marched into his bank and requested a loan. Stan had gone to high school with Bob, a loan offi...

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Author bio

Still here

Winning 2 stories 🏆

Contest #171
Silence – read story
Contest #135
Home of the Brave – read story

Shortlisted 4 stories ⭐️

Contest #234
Two Buckets and a Rope – read story
Contest #176
A Letter From Mosby – read story
Contest #173
The Purse – read story
Contest #166
The Natural – read story