Valerie Preston

Author on Reedsy Prompts since May, 2020

Stories (123)

123 Stories

2183 karma pts

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“Predictions No 3” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #62

Predictions No 3 It was very dark and smelt musty. I couldn’t see a thing and I felt uneasy, as if I shouldn’t have come. I had been summoned to his bedside, and I really didn’t know him. I’d heard the stories, strange and sometimes creepy stories. Tales about mean and nasty things he did to people whom he took a dislike to. “I don’t like my wife” he had said, and a few weeks later her twisted and broken body was found down the well. I never heard how he got away with it, but I believed the story. Now here I was, slowly walking toward the b...

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“The Fire That Shaped My life” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #60

The Fire that Shaped My Life She cleared her throat and began… “It was a disaster. Black acrid smoke filled the air for kilometres. Bright orange and red flames licked the sky and danced around the forest, taunting bushes and trees, surging in for the kill – hot and furious. They had no mercy. All that was living was now dying. Birds fled their habitat in fright, squawking as they flapped wings with such speed that it seemed to fan the fire on to more destruction. Fleet footed animals raced to escape the monster that was roasting them aliv...

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“The Outsider” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #59

The Outsider Old newspapers blew across the veranda and slammed the peeling front door shut. Jenny jumped, and waiting for her heart to slow down, she pulled the woollen blanket around her shoulders and sank back into the grubby and lumpy couch. White nylon curtains blew across dirty windows sending particles floating across the room. She watched, mesmerised as the bits went up into the air and then down, and up again. Putting her feet onto the worn, wooden and gritty floor, and with drooping shoulders, she trudged into the next room. Shiver...

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“Plunged into Darkness” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #58

Plunged into Darkness He looked in the full length mirror and liked what he saw. No, he loved what he saw. ‘A good impression, and all that’ he mused. The Italian custom tailored suit was a perfect fit. He was glad that he went with the mix of linen and wool for the material. Black shoes gleamed on his feet and he pulled the bottom of his pants up slightly to reveal the socks that matched the colour of his shirt perfectly and he smiled. Adjusting his blue silk tie a fraction, he had a final look at himself and was ready to go. Sliding into...

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“I Am Glad I've Moved On” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #57

I don’t know how I got here and I don’t know how I’m getting back. Am I going back? It’s a strange predicament I seem to be in and I’m not sure quite what to do. I don’t really know where I am but things seem vaguely familiar in a way. I see an overweight elderly lady, rather ‘well to do’ by the look of it. “Excuse me” I begin and she ignores me. “Hello” I repeat louder this time. But there’s no reply. Not even a look towards me. She must have heard me as I’m not very far away. I’m not used to being ignored. I’ll try this lad carrying his sk...

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“All that stress for nothing!” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #56

“Hmm I’m not really sure about the blue dress. I do really like it but….. I think it shows too much cleavage. It’s a little bit too racy for my style”. “What about the red skirt with the white shirt then?” the shop assistant asked, already showing she was fed up by the lack of positive vibes coming from the customer. She had to put up with the indecisiveness and the same old ‘I’m not too sure. I’ll try it on one more time. I think the green dress makes my waist look wide. Maybe the first skirt with the last blouse might look good. I’ll ...

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“Family Secrets” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #55

Family Secrets “Are you joking?” he asked, mouth wide open. “That can’t be true. Who told you? When did you find out? Come on tell me what you know”. Jake shifted about in his leather office chair. He was enjoying being the ‘town crier’ for once, although the thought that it was scandal about someone from his own family was difficult to believe. Usually it was him who was asking the questions from Phil. He liked it better this way. “Jake, you got me to come into town to your office on my one day off for you to tell me about something ...

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“Life does give second chances” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #54

I looked up and there he was – on the other side of the road waiting to cross at the traffic lights. Was it really him? Would I recognize him after all this time? I wanted to get out of the car and run to this person I once loved, and still loved. After all these years the thought that he was here in Australia was hard to believe. He looked tall and slim, slouching a little – hands in pockets. As he stood leaning against the pole, not moving or looking around, I felt the need to hug him and for him to hold me like he once did. ‘Why would he ...

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“I can't bear it!” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #53

As I swung my bare legs out of the bed I could already feel the heat. Flimsy curtains weren’t enough to stop it coming through the thin glass – it had penetrated the walls and roof of this small house for weeks - an unwelcomed guest, irritating and annoying to the people who lived here. I picked up the face cloth from the floor that had been my helper in the night – my soggy saviour who I dabbed on my hot and sweaty face and neck, allowing me a few hours’ sleep. I had felt like tipping a cup of water over my head at 3am but thought again bec...

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“Lost Love” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #52

Lost Love It was a magnificent day outside. It sounds like a cliché but…the sun was shining, the birds were singing and I was over the moon! This was my wedding day. Well actually it was my second wedding day that I was about to have, but I didn’t really count the first one. I was too young, too naïve and too stupid to get married. All my friends had made it quite clear to me from the day I introduced Trevor to them that I was making a big mistake. It wouldn’t last five minutes and I would regret  walking down the church aisle with my ...

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“The much anticipated Return” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #51

I felt excited at the thought of seeing it again. Forty years after that magical time in my childhood. Was it really that special – was I really that good at it? I think it was and I think I was. But forty years is a long time – I can’t remember what I did last week sometimes. I gazed out of the window and let my mind drift…..”Oh Louise is such a talented dancer” Mrs Grierson, the very thin and wrinkly dance teacher would tell my mother. “We will see her on the ‘big stage’ sometime in the future. That I know” and as she pronounced the word ‘...

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“The Tree” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #50

THE TREE Oh how I love this tree. The pungent smell of leaves and wood and sun dried flowers all mixed together, and with each inhalation it gently swirls around inside of me, warming my bones and my soul. I lay on my back feeling the soft rug spread out beneath me, warmed by the summer sun and giving off a perfume left from a previous user. I remembered the green tartan rug that we would all sit or lie on, and drop food onto. It would be taken into the house to be washed, smelling fresh and clean when spread out for the next tree house ad...

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“The Long Wait” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #49

A LONG WAIT: I parked the car and walked into the basketball stadium. It was quite full tonight but I saw a couple of free seats and they happened to be next a father from the same team, John, so we watched together. There’s something about basketball stadiums ….. Firstly the smell that hits you as soon as you walk in – it’s as if a half-eaten cheese sandwich has been left under each seat for at least a week. As soon as you accept the smell, the noise of the cheering and the yelling, echo and reverberate, and quite honestly sound at least fi...

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“Who would have thought......” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #48

WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT? I never knew I had superpowers until the day I had to rescue Major Drummond. I was sitting in my PJ’s on the lounge reading. It was a Saturday morning and my day off and as usual I felt lazy. I usually stayed in my PJ’s for most of the morning, ate my breakfast, read my book, watched TV, and drank copious cups of tea, all in my floral flannels. The only thing that was important to me at this very moment was deciding what I should do with the rest of the day. I could call up a couple of friends and we could wander arou...

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“It Should Have Been Said” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #47

It should have been said I’m not sure anyone will completely understand why you did what you did. Many people probably think you quite awful but you made a mistake and sadly paid for it for the rest of your life, thus far. You should have just said it …..’I have a boyfriend’. You wouldn’t be a forty something spinster now. You probably now realise that what you had was enough. Ok then I’ll go back to the beginning of the story. It must be nearly twenty years since that day. It was the day and the following weeks, that changed your life. It w...

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