Tricia Shulist

“There's No Place Like Home” by Tricia Shulist

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME CRASH! “Oh no! Oh no no no no!” I looked at the crushed remains of what was once the most important piece of the collection. I felt sick. ***** I’d been looking forward to today all week long. It was Restoration Day — the day that we examined a predetermined collection and decided whether or not the artifacts within that collection were aging well, or if they needed some TLC. And being the head curator and in charge of maintaining the historical “health” of the various collections, today was the da...

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“My Shoulder Angel and Devil” by Tricia Shulist

MY SHOULDER ANGEL AND DEVIL They have always been with me, and they have always argued! Right from the beginning, bickering back and forth. ***** “You should throw that at Mom.” “Noooo. That’s mean!” “But funny!” “Noooo. You could hurt her.” “Yeah, but still funny!” SPLAT! I started to laugh, but was quickly silenced by the look my mother gave me. She stared at me, surprised, and a bit angry. “Alexandra! What do you think you’re doing?” She looked down at her shirt. “Why would you throw your ...

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“The Captan and The Petty Officer” by Tricia Shulist

THE CAPTAIN AND THE PETTY OFFICER Casha twisted the door handle, and pushed. It was heavy, but the door opened slowly. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she said, squeezing through the narrow opening.  She was in! Thank God. She didn’t think that she would have been able to survive much longer outside in the storm — she was cold, wet, bruised and battered. And …  She looked around. She was in the lighthouse. Not one of the new, automated ones, but one of the old ones that had been retrofitted.&nbs...

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“MI-3” by Tricia Shulist

MI-3“The magic seems a bit stronger than usual,” said Detective Inspector Janet Delacour, reading through the pile of daily reports.“Yes, I noticed,” said Detective Ethan Ryder. “Why do you think it’s happening now? What's changed?”“I wish I knew. Then maybe we’d be able to control it more. I'm afraid we won’t be able to do a damn thing until we know why.”Ryder handed Delacour a stack of manila file folders.“I have a number of incidents here I think we should investigate today. The top one is regarding a possible electron...

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“Who Are You, and What Have You Done With My Friend?” by Tricia Shulist

WHO ARE YOU, AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY FRIEND?“If I don’t get out of here, I’m going to chew off my own arm so they have to call the EMTs and I can leave.”*****“I think it will be beneficial.”“Really? Have you met me?” Renata said, looking at her friend and co-worker Callie. “When have you known me to be quiet? Except maybe when I’m sleeping, but I can’t be sure, because I’m asleep. I probably talk then, too. I’m a stream of consciousness kinda gal.”Callie laughed. “Yes. Yes you are. That’s w...

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“Hell On Wheels” by Tricia Shulist

HELL ON WHEELS “You? You’re my date? Unbelievable.” ****** “You know, Wren, Brandon’s got a friend. I think the two of you would hit it off. Do you want to go out for dinner next weekend? I could set it up. Double date?” Wren gave Cybil stink eye. Then she dramatically looked around the room. Then, doing her best Robert De Nero from Taxi Driver, she pointed to her chest, and said, “You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ me?” Cybil rolled her eyes. “Yes, Wren, I’m talking to you.” Wren shook her he...

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“Great-Aunt Hilda Versus the Machines” by Tricia Shulist

GREAT-AUNT HILDA VERSUS THE MACHINES When the Johnson’s first saw their new home, they were a little disappointed. It had been Jolly Johnson’s Great-Aunt Hilda’s house, and Jolly and his wife, Willow, had never actually been to the house. The best they had were pictures, and those were mostly of Great-Aunt Hilda in her house, not necessarily of the house itself.  Great-Aunt Hilda had never married, and had no children of her own. Her only brother, Charles, had only one child, Werner, who also only had one child, and t...

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“Run!” by Tricia Shulist

RUN! I opened my eyes to the warm sunshine flooding my bedroom, and stretched. It was a great day. I had absolutely nothing on the agenda. Since I’d retired from running, my calendar was surprisingly open. I never realized how much of my time racing took up until I wasn’t doing it any more. I smiled, rolled over, and went back to sleep. ***** “GO!” I took off from the starting gate, running as fast as I could, trying to catch the leader. It seemed the faster I ran, the faster the leader moved. I...

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“The Last Thirty Seconds” by Tricia Shulist

THE LAST THIRTY SECONDS I looked at Ken Jennings. He stood there passively, waiting for the thirty seconds to tick down on Final Jeopardy!. Either I knew the answer, or I didn’t. And, unfortunately, I did not.  Crappola! So close. Three Minutes Ago “The category for Final Jeopardy! will be [CHIME] Word Origins. And the clue is coming up right after the contestants make their wagers.” Bet big, or bet nothing? If I bet big and know the answer, then yeah. But, if I bet big and don’t know t...

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“Because I Have To” by Tricia Shulist

BECAUSE I HAVE TO I looked down at the journal in front of me. “January 1” was staring up at me, the page void of anything but the date. I sighed.   I had bought the diary, journal, reflection book — whatever you want call it — last week. It was a book that I had purchased out of necessity.  It had been the week between Christmas and New Year, and I’d been at work. The office was mostly quiet, and I had opted not to take holidays. Most people wanted the whole week off. Not me. It was the perfect time...

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“Dark Skies, Polar Bears, and Northern Lights” by Tricia Shulist

DARK SKIES, POLAR BEARS, AND NORTHERN LIGHTS “Svalbard.” “Where?” “Svalbard archipelago, Spitsbergen Island, the town of Longyearbyen.” “I have no idea what or where you are talking about.” My boss, Josh, smiled at me. “I figured as much. The Svalbard archipelago is part of Norway. It’s in the Arctic Ocean—‘ “Did you say ‘Arctic Ocean,’ not Atlantic Ocean?” “Correct. It’s actually north of the Barents and Norwegian Sea and east of the Greenland Sea.” “That sounds too far away. How close to Norwa...

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“I Went To The Store, And Ended Up Here” by Tricia Shulist

Submitted to Contest #231

I WENT TO THE STORE AND ENDED UP HEREWhen I woke up, I had no idea where I was. None whatsoever. Zero. Complete blank. I wasn’t even sure what day it was. There’s nothing worse than not knowing where you are, or why. In a perfect world I would be in my own bed in my own house … I had a house?I looked around. I was sitting in a chair in some sort of huge waiting room. There were a whole bunch of other people—dozen and dozens, maybe hundreds—sitting here, so …So what? What the hell was I doing sitti...

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“The List” by Tricia Shulist

Submitted to Contest #231

THE LIST Shred. Shred. File. Recycle. Shred. Shred. File. Recycle. File. I was up to my eyeballs in paper clutter. I really needed to get a better system than “I’ll deal with that later.” Because by the time later came, I had one hella big mess to deal with. Recycle. Recycle. Shred. Recycle. Shred. It was that magical week between Christmas and New Year’s. I was off work, had burned through Netflix, Disney+, and Prime, and really couldn’t bear to see another person until...

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“Prom” by Tricia Shulist

PROM Ohh, I thought, I do not feel well. My forehead was drenched in sweat. My body was wracked with pain. This was not how Prom was supposed to go. In fact, this was not how my life was supposed to go.  I looked around trying to spot my friends. They were out on the dance floor making fools of themselves. I smiled. Or tried to over the pain. I breathed in through my nose, and out through my mouth, the way they tell you to in yoga. In … out … in … out … I started to feel a little bit better.  O...

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“Queen Molly?” by Tricia Shulist

QUEEN MOLLY? I was riding my bicycle down Chester Street, a sparsely populated part of town. While lovely during the day with lush coniferous forests on either side of the road, on an overcast day just before dusk, the dark woods were kinda creepy. I was peddling my heart out, when a red sports car sped past me, throwing up road grunge, spraying me as it went by. Yuck. Jerk! Then, the car screeched to a halt, the front door flew open, and the driver stepped out, and threw something into the bushes. I watched the pac...

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