Trudy Jas

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Nov, 2023

Stories (71)

71 Stories

5358 karma pts

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“Come sail away.” by Trudy Jas

Submitted to Contest #272

Come sail away.Once again, I watch as the late-afternoon light creeps over the threadbare Persian rug and caresses the leather club chairs. It glints off the pewter vase holding the past-their-prime red roses and passes over the pale-blue teacup with half a chocolate biscuit on the saucer. On the once-maroon velvet chesterfield with the tired cushions and tarnished nail heads sits an old woman. In her arthritic hands is a silver frame that holds my picture. In a corner of the room a gramophone plays Winter by Vivaldi.She gazes out the French...

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“Halloween came early this year.” by Trudy Jas

Submitted to Contest #272

Halloween came early this year.For the history on Miss Abigail Forrest and Captain Jonah Heisson, please see "The house with five doors" Contest 251.Behind the old Victorian house I bought last year is a small one-room church with a Civil War era cemetery. There are twenty-eight gravestones in the yard. Three of the graves are empty.It didn’t taken long before I met Abigail Forrest, a lady, or more precise, a lady of the evening who had lived in the house soon after the Civil War. She had allowed me to read her diary and the letters to the s...

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“How I met your mother.” by Trudy Jas

Submitted to Contest #271

How I met your mother."Daddy." My four-year-old daughter abandons her Lego creation and leans against my leg. Her boney elbow digs into my groin. Out of self-preservation I lift her up on my lap."What, baby?""Tell me the story again." she demands."Again?" I widen my eye in mock disbelief. Her blond curls, so like her mother's, bounce in affirmation.She was a beacon in the smog of grey business suits that drifted around her on the subway platform. Among these minions, mindlessly scurrying to their dead-end jobs, she embodied the proud strengt...

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“3 am” by Trudy Jas

Submitted to Contest #270

3 am, the dead of night. My chest hurts.The familiar sounds barely register. The gentle hum of the ceiling fan. The more intrusive knocks and pings from the refrigerator, the measured flub when another minute is counted off by the old clock. The distorted whine from an eighteen-wheeler speeding down I-74, the futile protest from a dog awakened from its sleep, an owl calling for a mate. Then all is quiet again except for the muffled thumps from the washing machine.I am staring at several innocent looking items spread before me. The small...

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“Little Magic Boxes” by Trudy Jas

Submitted to Contest #269

Not long ago, only a lifetime, this room was comfortable, warm, colorful. It was a place for creativity and peace. It reflected me. Then one day, a small package arrived. Though it was meticulously wrapped; the name of the sender was smudged. I was surprised and excited. It had been so long since I had received a gift.I carefully unwrapped the package and found a small box, the inside was lined with midnight blue velvet. On the velvet rested a smile. One so brilliant and charming, I had to smile back. There wasn’t anything else I could do wh...

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“Cliff Cottage” by Trudy Jas

Submitted to Contest #269

Silently dusk invades the room, claiming the corners before slithering up walls. It washes the yellows with sepia. It bruises the blues and darkens the reds into dried blood. The chest of drawers heaves one last sigh before it snuggles against the wall, leaving shiny handles as so many glimmering eyes. The fading sunlight caress the slender green bottle on the table and shows that it is half empty.Soon enough the moon, using tree branches as puppets, will create Wayang shows on the colorless walls and floors. The last sunbeam scratches ...

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“Bargain on the Orient Express” by Trudy Jas

Submitted to Contest #268

The train’s sharp whistle startled her out of a restless sleep. Though the benches were upholstered in plush velvet, being squeezed between Mr. X’s boney frame and Mrs. Y’s overflowing one, Caro was trapped. Across the narrow space were the sleeping figures of the young girl, her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Z and, near the door, a young man.Caro had tried all afternoon not to ogle him, but her eyes had a mind of their own. Using the half-light from the exit sign over the door, she stole another glance.He smiled at her. Tipping his head toward...

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“Signing off” by Trudy Jas

Submitted to Contest #268

It’s kinda ironic really. When I was a kid, my grandpa played me this record. Honestly. He had a turn table and records. He’d inherited them from his grandpa. Nobody now knows what that looks like, but I remember. I think the guys’ name who sang the song was David somebody. The song was about a major Tom, who ended up lost in space. “Floating in a tin can.” I remember that line.No, don’t worry. I won’t sing it for you, whoever you are.Throat clearingThis is Argot 3442. Approximate mission date 2231.Yesterday, the cargo ship Argot 3442 was hi...

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“Temporal Tempest” by Trudy Jas

Submitted to Contest #267

Nothing happens in town before 7:53am.Until then the good citizens wait, sip their second or third cup of coffee, tighten shoelaces one more time, slick down Skip’s cowlick yet again, frown at Bobby as he slurps the sugared milk from the bottom of his cereal bowl.At 7:53 Ciril Presicz, CPA and Town Treasurer, who is so accurate one could, and many do, set their watch by him, passes by the First Marrien Bank. Up until this moment, the clock, perched on the bank’s facade, has confidently announced that the current temperature is 73 degrees Fah...

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“Story's Mission” by Trudy Jas

Submitted to Contest #266

Story’s MissionFinally, the library was one of the few places that offered any comfort in the old drafty Woodleigh Manor. The roaring fire was the main, though inadequate source of illumination in the cavernous book lined room. The light from the candelabra at Sir Percy’s elbow allowed for reading but did not reach beyond the well-worn leather club chair.Sir Percy turned the page of his book, pushed his half specs back in place and reached for the brandy snifter. Suddenly he paused in the lifting of the glass, his body at full alert. His bre...

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“Phoenix” by Trudy Jas

Submitted to Contest #265

Blindly I ran. Fuming, indignant and yes, scared, I ignored the gasps of protest behind me. Without thought I rejected the life sentence I had just been given and followed the arrows to the building's exit. Furious, I rushed through the old city covering winding narrow streets, crossing numerous bridges over stinking canals, ignored historical sites, did not pay attention to the fabulous architecture, a testament to man’s success. I sneered at the beauty of the futuristic new buildings.Instead, I railed against the unfair twists of fate and ...

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“Nuthin's pretty cool” by Trudy Jas

Submitted to Contest #265

Days ago, the young giant, too easily distracted, wandered away from his fellow giants. First, he loped after a butterfly. A pretty butterfly with many black lines and splotches of other colors. Until he got distracted by a skittish squirrel, but that little thing climbed higher up a tree than even the giant could reach. With a sigh of disappointment, the big guy moved on. He followed the spots of light that danced through the trees. Until those faded at the end of the day. That disappointment was also soon forgotten when he got a whiff of f...

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“Shadows” by Trudy Jas

Submitted to Contest #264

“Sasha!” mom hollers from the bottom of the stairs. If she doesn’t answer, mom will call for one of the boys. “SASHA!” or she won’t.Reluctantly, twelve-year-old Sasha starts to lower ‘Weird Girl’ by Myranda Marie, the book about an awkward girl who, together with her big ass dog, becomes part of a teenage werewolf pack. And discovers she has the special power of ‘seeing’. Just one more page.“SASHA! Now!”“Coming!” She runs down the stairs. Hopefully, this won’t take long so she can go back up in a second and finish the chapter. Surely Luca wi...

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“The Devil's Rebuttal” by Trudy Jas

Submitted to Contest #263

Author’s note: Long, long ago (contest #238), in a land far, far away a lady was debauched by the Devil. Today Mr. Devil asks, nay demands, equal time. Who am I, a mere author, to deny him.To all my female readers, please remember he is taken. To my male readers, I am willing to share his techniques, at a price, of course.Though it pains me to be beholden to a female, even though she conceived of me, I do appreciate to have been given the chance to clear my name. I assume you have read Lady Gwendolyn’s side of our story. She’s not known to b...

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“An Affair” by Trudy Jas

Submitted to Contest #262

“I’ll have half a pound prosciutto, extra thin, please.” “I’ll have half a pound prosciutto, thin, please.” That echo comes from my right. I glance at the man next to me, he pronounced it proshute, as if he knows what he’s talking about. His skin is sun-kissed, I think that’s the term. With well-styled, dark brown curly hair, sinfully long lashes framing brown eyes, a roman nose and full lips, he reminds me of a long-ago movie star. Can’t remember who. It’s not important. Are you Italian? I ask. He shrugs eloquently.  No, he answers,...

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Author bio

Past the mid-life anguish, staring old age down, knowing which one of us will lose. There is no truth. There are no lies. Everything is relative.

Shortlisted 5 stories ⭐️

Contest #255
Cheers, Mom. – read story
Contest #254
Whispers – read story
Contest #245
The Light at the Edges – read story
Contest #242
The Night Watchman – read story
Contest #237
For the Last Time – read story