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Author on Reedsy Prompts since Apr, 2024
Submitted to Contest #281
In April of 1919, shortly after the end of World War One, Colonel James Forrest Cain of the Royal West African Frontier Force was stationed in Cameroon for a period of one year, which might be extended depending on the prevailing conditions in the territory at that time. He was to serve as the commanding officer of a garrison of 200 soldiers stationed at Douala, a port city where the river Wourri pours out into the Atlantic Ocean. There was some social unrest but no major uprisings during Cain’s term there so he was able to spend much o...
Submitted to Contest #280
CW: This story contains themes of physical violence and suicide.The following is the transcript of the cockpit conversation captured by the onboard black box recorder, which was recovered following the crash of Delta 928 in Denver, Colorado on June 16, 2025. The National Transportation Safety Board will include this as a key exhibit in the incident file and it will very likely have a significant bearing on issues related to causation and legal liability. We caution you in advance that this transcript is highly disturbing in nature.Captain Da...
Submitted to Contest #279
Clay was driving west on I-270 towards Saint Louis. The radio was off. He was alone with his thoughts. His father had died two days ago and he was on his way from Chicago to the services, trying to reconcile his feelings on the road. He loved his father but the old man was very difficult at times. He didn’t really view Clay as his son. He viewed him as his private property, to do with as he wished. It was always football practice, baseball games, wrestling meets, karate lessons and more. Sometimes Clay just wanted to hang out with his friend...
When Daniel woke up on the morning after Thanksgiving Day, he did not know who he was. He knew his name, he knew his address and he knew his phone number, but that was about it. He could remember nothing about his past. Nothing at all.He wandered the house in search of clues. There were framed photos hanging on the walls, Daniel posing with various different people who were presumably friends and family, but the faces did nothing to aid his recall. He found a small stack of bills on a table, but that only told him who was supplying his insur...
Submitted to Contest #278
"Everyone, deep in their hearts, is waiting for the end of the world to come."-Haruki Murakami The chapel hall was silent.“You opened the gate after sunset. You know the penalty.”Carter looked bewildered. He held out his palms and shook his head. “No. You don’t understand…” He ran out of words.“You opened the gate after sunset. You know the penalty.”The elders seated at the long table in the front of the chapel had solemn eyes and stern faces. People seated in the pews in the rear began to mutter darkly among themselves. Daniel Granders...
Submitted to Contest #277
CW: Mentions of sexual violence and gun violence“You have to make an effort. You have to try to fit in. You just have to try harder to make some friends.” That, and things like that, are what my parents always told me, and then they would give me my daily dose of Prozac, Xanax and Adderall and whatever else, and then I would just drift off somewhere, trying to make sense of everything. Trying to escape the dark clouds. I was confused and alone. I was always alone. I wanted to get my nose or my eyebrow pierced again. I wanted more black ...
Submitted to Contest #276
Andre was my best friend in the summer of 1982. I met him at the YMCA summer camp held at White Plains High School in Westchester County, New York when I was 13 years old. He was black and I was white. We became fast friends. We rode together on the bus every day and we shared our lunch and we played dodgeball and sometimes we stood up to the bullies together. We didn't always win, and sometimes we left bloody, but we always stood together.If you fought Andre, you were definitely gonna fight me too, and vice versa. He was skinny and lanky bu...
Submitted to Contest #275
I was a dog person, not a cat person.I had always been a dog guy my whole life, so I was a little disjointed when the feral black cat sauntered out of the alley by my apartment building that morning and just glanced at me with a saucy look on her face and then began leading me towards the entrance to the downtown 6 train. I knew where I was going. I grew up here, for fuck sake. What am I, some God damned tourist? I don’t need your help. Fuck off, Cat! You’re lucky if I don’t kick you out into traffic. I know how to get to the fuckin’ subway....
Submitted to Contest #274
I saw my cousin Audrey five times after she died.The first time was at the wake. I remember looking down into her child-sized coffin and thinking that her head looked just fine. Her skin was really pale but otherwise she basically looked like she always did, her curly blonde locks flowing down her shoulders. I stood there for a minute or so, feeling awkward, and then I went and took a seat next to my mother. She was praying silently with her palms pressed together in her lap and her eyes closed, so I did the same.I mentally recited The Lord’...
Submitted to Contest #273
STEP ONE: First you have to kill the dog. If you don’t kill the dog you won’t be able to get downstairs, and the house is already going up in flames, so you really don’t have much time and the dog is always right there at the top of the staircase, growling at you.There are a few ways to do this. At first, I used the Phillps-head screwdriver from under the bathroom sink, but if you do that your hand and arm will be injured from the bites and you won’t be able to fire the pistol with any accuracy later. Then you're done.The best method is to g...
Submitted to Contest #272
Ahmed stared at the fence and the woods just beyond. He couldn’t see anything moving out there with the exception of a few birds flitting around through the branches from time to time. There was so much talk but never any evidence. Still, his eyes continued to scan the forest floor and strained to search the shadows. After a short time one of the security guards took notice of him standing there so he moved along with everyone else towards the cafeteria for breakfast, which was sure to be some kind of flavorless gruel or maybe the soggy whea...
It was already too late. I was a dead man, and I knew it.Her teeth were out and she was coming for me at a full sprint with that insane glazed-over look in her eyes. There would be no reasoning with her. No negotiations. No quarter given. I knew all this and I also knew it wouldn’t be long before she overtook me. Still, self-preservation is a basic human instinct so I ran and I ran hard. I ran for all I was worth.When I reached the fence I had just enough time to slam the gate shut behind me, and I’m sure if I had not she would have taken me...
Submitted to Contest #271
I was born in a small district in the northern outskirts of Constantinople in 1901, the son of a foreign diplomat. Growing up I sincerely believed that my father was a well-placed and influential man but as I came of age I understood that he was merely a common civil servant who frequently traveled to places that were generally not as exotic nor as significant as I thought, and he primarily did so to attend to the needs of his superiors. Still, I was always excited when I was invited to accompany him on the occasions when he traveled to plac...
Submitted to Contest #270
CW: This story contains depictions of violence, including dismemberment and murder. References to suicide and infidelity are also present. Reader discretion is advised.The following is my home recipe for Charles Stew. I met my husband Charles while we were both training to become professional chefs at the Culinary Institute of America in Poughkeepsie, New York in September of 2009. Served with fresh-baked bread and a nice red wine, this stew is a great Autumn meal and I think you will enjoy this dish, which must be made with true passion to...
Submitted to Contest #269
The ring was perfect.It was a 1.75 carat "Princess Cut" stone in an elegantly stylized platinum setting that encircled the diamond like a cresting wave. Colin had been stopping by the window of this jewelry shop on his way to the subway after work once or twice a week since he first spotted it two months earlier. He just liked to look at it and calculate how much longer it would be until he saved up sufficient funds to make the purchase. Barring any unforeseen expenses, it would only be another month now.Randa was waiting for him when he wal...
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