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Tricia Shulist

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Feb, 2021

Stories (216)

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109 Followers

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216 Stories

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Speak Now

SPEAK NOW “Speak now …” I looked at my soon — very soon — to be husband. He was smiling at me. Not even worried. He looked so sure of himself, so confident. Like the day we met … ***** “Hey.” I turned and saw a tall guy looking at me. Was he looking at me? I literally did that thing where you look around behind to make sure that the person is really talking to you. I even pointed to my own chest with a finger to make sure. “Yeah, you,” he said. “You’re new here, right?” I was new...

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Why?

WHY? “Brother Charles, there are two people to see you.” Brother Charles looked up from the work he had been doing at his desk, at Abbot James, surprise writ large on his face. “Me?” he questioned. He was sure that he didn’t know what this could be about. He rarely had visitors, and anyone wanting to see him called and made an appointment, or he saw them away from the Abbey. Abbot James nodded. “They are waiting in my office.” The two men walked together towards the Abbot’s office. When Brother Charles ente...

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A Leopard and Its Spots

A LEOPARD AND ITS SPOTS “So, what’s the catch?” I looked across the table at Anna, my best friend. “I can’t believe that you and Kevin are inviting me to dinner at Chez Chic just because you like me. Why so fancy?” “Weeellll,” said Anna, “Kevin’s friend from university, Colin, is in town, and Kevin thought that maybe you’d like to join us, and —“ “No.” “Cami!” “No,” I repeated adamantly. “I do not do blind dates.” “It’s not a blind date.” “Are you and Kevin inviting me to a fancy restaurant to meet Kevin...

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Kittens in Thebes

KITTENS IN THEBES The two kittens stayed close to the wall, edging their way closer to the door. The door should have been closed, but it wasn’t, so the kittens saw their chance for escape. When the human standing at the door turned away, they made their move, dashing for freedom. But the human caught movement in the corner of his eye. “Hey! Stop!” He made a grab for the kittens, but they were faster. They ran down the alley, the human in hot pursuit, bellowing after them. "Stop, kittens! Stop!" The k...

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Cat Chat -- What?

CAT CHAT — WHAT?“Catastrophe. Catatonic. Cataclysmic.” “What?” asked Tallulah.“Catty. Caterwaul. Catapult. Catcall.”“Fine. What’s your point?”“Well,” said Luna. “I’m just reminding you that cat is the prefix for all these words. That should give you a hint at what to expect with a cat as a pet. These are not words with great outcomes,” said Luna. “And we seem to have a difference of opinion, so I thought you could use a refresher.”“A refresher?”“Yes. You seem to think that I should ...

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Books Can't Do That!

BOOKS CAN’T DO THAT! “Ashley, go clean your room.” “Argh! I hate cleaning my room!” Ashley stomped into her room. Her mother was always telling her to clean up her bedroom. She liked her room exactly the way it was — messy. But, according to her mommy, her room was a disaster zone. Just because she was a kid her mom figured that she could boss Ashley around. When she was grown up, no one could tell her to what to do! She would have the messiest room in the world! Her mom popped her head into Ash...

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We Were Once Fifteen

Submitted to Contest #186

WE WERE ONCE FIFTEEN “Finally, the bell. It’s a wrap. We can leave? No one needs you until tomorrow, right?” “We can leave. Sitting around waiting for someone to tell me what to do is, to put it politely, mind-numbing.” “And ass-numbing.” “Haha! True! … Lunch?” “Sure. Where? The commissary?” “Hmmm. No, we always eat at the commissary. How about Chinese? There’s a great place not too far from here.” “Sounds good.”  ***** “Why so quiet, Charlie?” “Umm, no reas...

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A Dragon's Treasure

A DRAGON’S TREASURE Gruff looked around. He was surrounded by everything that he held sacred. He paused. Everything his family held sacred. Him, not so much. There was gold, and silver, and gemstones, and rings, and bracelets, and every type of treasure a dragon could want. Problem was that Gruff didn’t really want all this treasure. What good is treasure, if you're all alone? he wondered. What he wanted was something completely different. He wanted a warmer climate. Winter was coming, and the...

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Boys and Their Toys -- You Can Never Be Too Prepared

BOYS AND THEIR TOYS — YOU CAN NEVER BE TOO PREPARED There are different degrees of quiet. There’s the quiet during the night, after everyone has gone to sleep — the usual sounds that a house makes in the dark, late at night. Then there’s really quiet. The sound, or lack of sound, in that same house when the power has gone out. All the background mechanical sounds in the house are gone. Gone is the slight buzz from the nightlight in the kitchen. Gone is the quiet sound of the compressor in the fridge. Gon...

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Barking in the Night

BARKING IN THE NIGHT BARK! BARK! BARK! I sat bolt up in bed, confused, looking at Barkley, my dog … pony … whatever. He’d just roused me out of a pretty sound sleep, and my heart was hammering in my chest. My head swung around, taking in my room. In the dim light from the street, everything seemed to be as it should be. Except Barkley. “Barkley! Quiet!” I hissed. He looked back at me quickly, acknowledging, his head then swivelled back to look toward the darkness of the hall. BARK! BARK!&n...

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The Path Less Travelled

THE PATH LESS TRAVELLED “I’ll show them!”  Lara stomped down the path. “They have no idea!” She was so angry that she hadn’t realized that she had veered off the main path. Instead, she had diverted to a smaller trail. One that wasn’t nearly as well-travelled as the main path. But still she blundered forward, unaware of her mistake, mumbling to herself. The reason that Lara was out big-footing it around the wilderness alone was because she had just left her friends — and she used the term “friends” very loosely. “...

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Christmas in a Cave

CHRISTMAS IN A CAVE “I’m pretty sure it’s Christmas,” I said. Bart and I were wandering around the perimeter of the cave we were being held in, looking for a way out. “Christmas?” my companion queried. “Yeah, Christmas,” I said. “You know, the Sweet Baby Jesus, son of God, Blessed Virgin Mary, Joseph, Christmas carols, Santa Claus, presents, food, parties, stockings hung by the chimney with care, reindeer … Christmas.” “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I looked across the room at him. “You don’t know about Christmas?”...

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The Downtown Grill

THE DOWNTOWN GRILL Christmas was a little less than a month away, and Britt was trying her darnedest to finish off her gift list. She only had a couple of things left to pick up, and was so proud of herself for getting to it before the stores got crazy. Usually, she would leave things to the last minute and inevitably something would be out of stock, or couldn’t be delivered until after Christmas. But not this year. No, siree, Britt was all over Christmas this year. But with shopping came great fatigue. You can...

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Money

MONEY Bree “Thank you! It’s just what I wanted!” I looked down at the nightgown my mom just gifted me. It was a lovely gift.  Problem was that it was the nightgown that I had gifted her last year. My mom had actually picked it out, and I bought it for her.   What to say … What to say … “This is a really nice nightgown, Mom,” I said, holding it up for her to see. “It is nice! I really like it. It reminds me of you,” she said, smiling, completely oblivious of the fact that it reminded her ...

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The Best Laid Plans ...

THE BEST LAID PLANS … “Excuse me?” “I said, ‘you’re pregnant.’” “Really?”  The doctor looked at Faye. Faye looked at the doctor. “You’re sure?” asked Faye. “We are. One hundred percent,” said the doctor. “Really,” said Faye, nodding her head slightly Faye had not been feeling particularly good lately. Especially in the morning. Because she knew that she was healthy, and because she monitored all aspects of her health daily with a myriad of devices — FitBit and Apple Watches, digital thermomete...

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