Viga Boland

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Apr, 2022

Stories (25)

25 Stories

1486 karma pts

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“Liar, Liar” by Viga Boland

Submitted to Contest #281

<only mild suggestion of childhood mental abuse>I watch her now as she carefully lowers herself into what she hopes will be a comfortable chair for at least half an hour. Only I notice the wince that escapes her lips before she plasters on her best smile for the family. It’s Christmas. Only tidings of comfort and joy today, please and thank you.“Are you ok, Grandma?” 12-year-old Emily asks. “Would you like a cushion for your back?”She shoos Emily away gently with assurances she is fine. Liar, liar, pants on fire! That’s what I use...

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“TALK FOR TWO” by Viga Boland

Submitted to Contest #280

<The Banters are back! We hope you’ve missed their silly bantering. They’ve been gone a long while but they couldn’t resist a dialogue-only prompt…their favorite writing style! Enjoy!>Matthew, do you think I’m frumpy?Do I think you’re grumpy, Martha? Sure, sometimes…No, Matthew. I asked if you think I’m frumpy. FR not GR! Geez, I swear that new hearing aid we got you is no better than the previous one, and this one cost a fortune.I can’t help it Martha if they don’t make hearing aids that are perfect for my ears! You speak so fast and ...

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“PARADISE LOST or FOUND?” by Viga Boland

Submitted to Contest #248

That went well. Don’t you agree? I do. So simple. Quick. Painless. Good for you. You certainly made the right decision. Yes, I know I did, although it wasn’t easy. The children fought with me for months before they finally accepted that I’d made up my mind…as I’ve done all my life. I understood their viewpoint but this time, I had to do what was right for me, even if it hurt them. I wish I had done likewise. Instead, I let mine convince me to do this or try that. They talked about the benefits of one option over another and even they c...

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“BROMO ECLIPSE” by Viga Boland

Submitted to Contest #245

**The Banters are back and Martha’s not happy about that eclipse!**Martha, is something wrong? You seem really out of it tonight. Did I upset you in some way that I don’t know about?No, Matthew. It’s not you…Phew. Glad to hear that. It usually is me. Well, since I’m lousy at reading minds, especially yours, what’s up?Oh I’m just BROMO today.BROMO? You need a Bromo? I’m not sure we have any. Want me to check?No Matthew. You’re thinking of Bromo Seltzer and it hasn’t been available in the US since 1975 because one of the ingredients was consid...

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“TOTAL ECLIPSE of MY HEART” by Viga Boland

Submitted to Contest #245

**possible sensitive content: sudden, unexpected death of an adult child**Dear Nancy,As I sit here lost in thought on the eve of the total eclipse of the sun, I’m trying to think about something funny or witty about tomorrow’s big event, but nothing is coming to me. There’s just nothing funny on my mind right now.So I turn to poetry instead. I write a catchy line about the sunset cremating the sky over the ocean at Pescadero. I saw that “cremation” decades ago when death was the furthest thing from my much younger mind. And then your email a...

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“BANTER BLOOPERS” by Viga Boland

Submitted to Contest #244

Matthew, do you recognize this photo?Should I?Yes. After all, you took it!I didn’t take that! Why would I take a photo of what looks like a small bowl of half-eaten raspberry jello?Because you often take photos of food or other things I’ve never thought worth the effort. I’ve always found that a tad weird. Oh I know. I know. Don’t say it. You’re a photographer and see photos where others, like me, just see objects. But that said, how do you know it’s raspberry if you don’t even remember taking it? Like, maybe it’s strawberry jello?Well, what...

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“ Wandering Weird Loo-vres” by Viga Boland

Submitted to Contest #242

***The Banters have finally been prompted to bicker-banter again as they move toward their goal of getting enough banters together for a little book. Inspiration sure takes its time striking these days LOL.*** Hey Matthew. You won't believe this! What wouldn’t I believe? Well, this just seems so ridiculous. Like, how do people get locked in museums overnight? Um…they were taking a dump in the washroom when the museum closed? Oh, aren’t you the clever one? Now, how did you figure that out? That, apparently, is one of the most common reasons....

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“A BAD CASE OF APOSIOPESIS” by Viga Boland

Submitted to Contest #238

What’s more confusing than Abbott and Costello with “Who’s on first.”? The Banters of course, especially when Martha comes down with a bad case of APOSIOPESIS! Matthew! It’s happened again!What’s happened again?I’m…er…stuck.Stuck? Stuck where? In traffic?In my…ah…In your car? In a …Bar?No…I can’t say it!Say what?What I’m trying to say.What are you trying to say?I don’t…um…For heavens sake, spit it out woman. What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?I wish…I wish…Wish what? I wish I had more…um…more…Money? We don’t need more money.No,...

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“TIME ON HER HANDS” by Viga Boland

Submitted to Contest #234

***After 8 months hiatus from writing, 3 of the 5 prompts brought me back to Reedsy. Yay!*** ‘Scuse me ma’am. Would you mind if I ask you one simple question? Well, that depends on the question, doesn’t it? If I give you an answer, then I guess I don’t mind, but I don’t have a lot of time, young man. So what is your question? Well, actually, “time” is exactly what I wanted to ask you about. I just wondered if you’re obsessed with time? Now, why would you ask me that? Because I have so many wrinkles and grey hair? Of course I thi...

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“THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC” by Viga Boland

Submitted to Contest #201

The sweet, little grey-haired lady reminds me of my Grandma as she smiles up at me while I sign her program. “I remember you when you were first starting out,” she says with a twinkle in her eye. “Ginny said I just had to come to see you perform at the Springbrook Bandshell because you were releasing your first CD and all your classmates were coming out to support you. You remember Ginny, don’t you?” I’m trying to conjure up a picture of Ginny, but after all, that was over 20 years, scores of shows, and hundreds of people ago if you incl...

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“Molestation Magnet” by Viga Boland

Submitted to Contest #200

**please note story begins in 1953. Molestation and rape mentioned.** When the first of the molestations begins, I am 7 years old. I attend St. Vincent’s Catholic School. The school is located a few miles from the now infamous Kings Cross, a part of downtown Sydney, Australia. My molester is a 13-year-old student in Grade 6…a girl. Because I’m new at the school and think my classmates might not like me, I hide in the shadows of the building. She spots me there. She smiles at me and comes over. “Why aren’t you playing with anyone?” She ...

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“AN INCOMPARABLE MENTOR” by Viga Boland

Submitted to Contest #198

**small mention of physical abuse**So, here we are…a gaggle of gushing old geese fibbing to each other about how fabulous we all look, and how we haven’t changed in 50 years. As if! Okay. Maybe that’s a bit harsh, but I know what I see every morning when I look in the mirror: that reflection speaks a truth this reunion of excited, twittering ladies doesn’t. Oh, I know, I know! I need to be less critical of both them and myself. I’m such an old grouch these days it’s a wonder I get any compliments from anyone, anywhere, anytime. I need t...

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“TIME FOR SOME NONSENSE!” by Viga Boland

**In case you’ve missed them, or just need some nonsense, the Bickering Banters are back. **“Martha, you’ve got that look on your face”“How do you know what look I have on my face? You’re not even looking at me.”“I don’t have to. You’re standing 2 feet away from me and staring at me, waiting for me to look up from the paper. I can sense it.”“Extrasensory perception, Matthew? In 50 years of marriage, I have never found you particularly perceptive when it comes to reading my face or my mind…unless, of course, you have access to AI. According t...

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“THE SIDEKICK” by Viga Boland

The smiling MC waits politely for the applause to die down as the silver-haired ventriloquist and his large-mouthed Goofy dummy exit stage right behind him. “Weren’t they just wonderful folks?” He asks, coaxing another short round of applause from the mixed audience that ranges in age from seniors to youngsters.“Looks like all the performers brought their families out tonight,” I whisper to Andy. I take a deep breath, let out a tense sigh, and continue whispering:“I can just picture Mom awaiting her turn behind the curtain. She’ll be a ...

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“HOPSCOTCH” by Viga Boland

Submitted to Contest #194

***Trigger warning: violence; child sexual abuse, mental health***“Life is a game of hopscotch,” she tells Emily, her 20-year-old granddaughter. Emily is ebullient, bursting with excitement over landing her first job. Grandma’s thrilled for her, but the pain in her back is so severe she’s struggling to keep smiling. Visits from her daughters or Emily, or whoever’s left of her diminishing circle of friends are so few and far between these days that she really needs Emily’s youthful exuberance to brighten her day and ease the loneliness o...

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Author bio

Author of 7 books…the first earned a gold medal from Readers Favorite. Still wondering if that was because it was good or judges decided anyone who could write a memoir about incest deserved it 😂. Since leaving my first job as a high-school English teacher after 7 years, I’ve worn so many hats I need a new hat-rack. Now, in my retirement, I’ve coached memoir writers in live workshops but currently spend most of my time doing paid book reviews for 2 reputable online websites. I love encouraging other writers in their aspirations, and now, thanks to Reedsy Prompts, I am finally writing again after a 7-year hiatus. What is it about me and 7 year cycles? 🤔 About time I found the courage to do what I tell others to do i.e. just write! At 77 years of age, I hope I have 7 years left to do that plus rediscover a talent I’d forgotten I had: writing poetry. Speaking of poetry, I have just published a photography/poetry project that features my husband’s beautiful photography…yes he was professional…combined with my long-forgotten poems from the 70’s. The book, available as an ebook now on Amazon and FREE to those who subscribe to Kindle Unlimited, is titled WHERE SHADOWS DANCE, and it’s just received a 5-star review from Readers Favorite. Stoked! By the way, though I am a book reviewer, I do not take on reviewing books by friends or writers I meet here. That’s an uncomfortable undertaking, plus it requires time I don’t have. So please don’t ask me to review your books. Let me just enjoy your wonderful short stories on Reedsy. Thanks for understanding 😉 http://www.vigaboland.com http://www.facebook.com/vigaland Instagram: viga_boland