VJ Hamilton

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Feb, 2020

Stories (36)

36 Stories

1804 karma pts

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“Bullet Train” by VJ Hamilton

Agnes Beaulieu looked out her window as the bullet train pulled out of Tokyo station. Harsh late-morning sunlight alternated with shadows from buildings and tunnels: light-dark, light-dark-dark, light-dark-light, with increasing frequency as the train picked up speed. She gave a heavy sigh. For four years she had been accompanying young Katriona on trips from her father’s place in Seattle to her mother’s place i...

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“Drunk Santa” by VJ Hamilton

“Did you see their faces?” the man in the Santa suit says, suppressing a hiccup. The bar is dim, cheap fixtures casting a blanket of anonymity into the farthest corners. Shelves of liqueur bottles—red, yellow, blue, green, amber—gleam like a jeweled high altar. A tinsel garland is looped on the corners of a framed picture of Jerry Springer, and mini lights are strung around the entrance to the bathrooms. A few sad...

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“Freedom 95” by VJ Hamilton

Elliott retired years ago and Maxmillion Pennyworth, his financial advisor, compliments him on his glowing health. Until today, when he frowns. “The challenge, Elliott, is longevity risk.” “Longevity?” Elliott chuckles. “That’s a nice problem to have.” “In these high-inflation times, you might outlive your assets. That’s not so nice.” Maxmillion says. “Of course, you could consider a ‘top up’… do you have a...

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“The Harvest” by VJ Hamilton

In the night, Lucia awakens and remembers how it used to be, those hot summer days in Tuscany when everyone at the villa stretched out for siesta. She gravitated to the boathouse, where she’d mosey into the murky shade with the sound of water slapping the hull. And soon there would be Guido, also seventeen, climbing out from the water, pushing back his dripping hair. “Come, slip int...

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“Cabbage Hill” by VJ Hamilton

Charlie checked his Rolex. An hour before his flight to Toronto and the connection home. He had one final pre-arranged stop. He drove the rental Camry down the street of stunted maples and shaggy bushes until it reached Perimeter Road, then went two blocks beyond. Here we are, the house that time forgot. The bungalow needed paint and the front yard was overgrown with thick-stemmed thistles. The blinds were half-...

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“The Ride Not Taken” by VJ Hamilton

The plan was to leave campus early, before the snow set in, while light still filled the sky. But Aidan had fallen into a rabbit hole of online references and blogs and comments-on-blogs while researching his essay on indigenous land claims in northern Canada. Just an undergrad essay for an optional class, but it had suddenly become make-or-break, the piece he would regard forever more as the point when he committed, the...

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“A Night to Remember” by VJ Hamilton

I was waiting tables on a not-so-busy evening at the Old Mill restaurant the summer before my final year of actuarial science, a discipline all about probability and death. Although cycling to work was more dangerous, and Jenna argued I shouldn’t do it, I spent less time doing it, so in fact it was safer than riding a bus. Moreover, cycling took my mind off the new state of relationship limbo we had entered. A we...

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“Some Enchanted Evening” by VJ Hamilton

Nurse Alford noiselessly opened the door, just wide enough to poke her head around it. “Did you buzz?” she said to the woman who lay like a darkened splash on the slanted bed. “Yes,” said the woman, tapping the translucent IV line attached to her arm. “Please get me some more of whatever this is. I can’t bear how these afternoons drag on.” “Mrs. McKennitt,” the nurse said and sighed. “I would gladly ask the...

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“Lake Small” by VJ Hamilton

Everywhere the bodies were disappearing. Bodies of water, that is: the puddles, the sloughs, the ponds. Even the great river that ran among the lakes was growing smaller. On a tiny allotment, in a gentle valley, not far from a little village, the swimmer was crying. The air was so crisp each tear shrank to a grain of salt and was borne away on the breeze. She was crying because her beloved Lake Small was about to...

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“When Charlie Met Polly” by VJ Hamilton

Charlie Bemis tugged at the celluloid collar around his neck as he waited for the judge to grant him a private audience. He peered out the tiny window at the people on the dusty street of the mining town outside. A man was arriving on horseback; two others were preparing to leave. Women in bonnets and long aprons carried woven baskets as they stepped carefully around horse-droppings. “Next!” said the clerk and soo...

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“A Long and Winding Road” by VJ Hamilton

Long and Winding Road Excerpt from the diary of Daniel Bruback, 1978 Day 1 I promised Liz to keep track of the journey, not just the destination. She’s dead set against my plan, to skip one week of haying so I can show support for workers’ rights at the conference in the city. She’s always pulling rank on me. Fourteen months older but two g...

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“Queen versus Queen” by VJ Hamilton

Excerpt from the diary of Cordelia Brussels, lady-in-waiting to HRH Elizabeth IGreenwich Palace, 1593Dear Diary,The court was a-flutter with rumor of her majesty’s visitor today. I saw it in the heightened shine of their finery, the extra alertness in their eyes. Even my dear mousy friend Agatha wore a pretty shade of brown.The naval commander told me last week the visitor schedule...

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“Liar, Liar” by VJ Hamilton

What can I say? The guy’s my best friend—but he’s a pathological liar. This morning, for instance. We are at the indie coffee shop, in a line-up moving as slow as Saturday on a long weekend. Norman places his order, saying, “It’s a lovely day for a latte,” and the barista gives him a second look before she touches her order screen. She takes a cup and asks for his name. “Sam,” he says. His eyes flicker to her name badge ...

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“Swings and Roundabouts” by VJ Hamilton

When I heard Aunt Maisie’s warble on the voice-mail I groaned. Although she and Uncle Leland are no-fuss visitors, the type who’d welcome a cheese sandwich at my kitchen table, I suspected they had an agenda behind their impromptu visit in late spring. They’re good friends with Genevieve’s family. I wanted an excuse for a knock-down belly-busting barbecue. I was in the mood to coax a T-bone steak to perfection on ...

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“The Snow the Snow the Snow” by VJ Hamilton

Crack! Crack! The blade of Branden Bannerman’s icebreaker chipped at the mound of ice in his backyard. The snow had been thick this year, smothering everything, including the flimsy carport roof. After every snowfall, he had shoveled off the roof, creating a gargantuan snowbank, which the kids called “our iceberg.” In the freeze-thaw cycle of early spring, it was far too icy for the kids to ride their toboggans ...

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Author bio

Sitting in my basement, waiting out the pandemic... lots of good stories happening here on Reedsy. Why no category for "mythology"? Just askin'

Winning 1 story 🏆

Contest #45
Winds of Change – read story

Shortlisted 1 story ⭐️

Contest #101
Crush – read story