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W. H. Goodwater

Author on Reedsy Prompts since May, 2024

Stories (13)
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39 Followers
86 Following

13 Stories

345 karma pts

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Sanctuary

Submitted to Contest #275

Penelope Now surrounded by strangers and completely alone, she muttered to herself, "Once again, I find that the darkness clings to me. I spent so long reaching for the light, but now it's gone out. I feel a chill deep in my bones no fire could banish."  Penelope needed help. Xanthos, her eldest son, had gone to his new room to rest up for his next shift, a thought that made her shudder. Kicked out of the inn for giving birth too loudly, she was left wandering the streets. As she ambled, her mind became lost in questions. Will I have to...

22 likes 11 comments 11
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Corn Dogs in the Kitchen

Submitted to Contest #270

“Mom, I really don’t know what to do anymore.”Every cell in his body vibrated wildly. His fingers felt heavy and cold. He reached up to touch his face, and it was too warm. He unclenched his jaw and gave a deep sigh, trying to let out some of the jitters bouncing around inside.“What’s wrong?”“I can’t seem to make the right decision,” he said with exasperation. It felt good to get out, like letting steam free from a covered pot boiling too hot. She waited patiently for more, so he continued.“Everything I try leads to failure. I'm sorry I coul...

28 likes 12 comments 12
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The Frost's Embrace

Submitted to Contest #260

Pine trees reached high above her, their branches heavy with the weight of fresh snowfall. The world around her was a silent expanse of white save for the trees, the air crisp and biting. Yelena’s breath formed small clouds before her as she stopped a moment, suddenly unsure of which way she was headed. She slumped against a nearby trunk, weary. Cold was seeping into her fingers, into her bones. She struggled to move her fingers, her hands clumsy and uncooperative. Her body betrayed her, and then she was angry at the cold for sapping he...

18 likes 7 comments 7
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Neon Night Nerves

Submitted to Contest #260

The old diner sat at the edge of town, its neon sign flickering intermittently in the stale, warm night. Outside, the dark was eerily quiet, save for a lone dog barking somewhere in the distance, interspersed with the occasional rumble of a passing truck on the nearby highway.I took a booth near the window, more than ready to begin nursing a cup of coffee to sober up from a night of clubbing with friends. My tired eyes scanned the diner, barely registering the two women chatting in hushed tones two booths away. They seemed lost in their own ...

11 likes 7 comments 7
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Fields of Red

Submitted to Contest #260

Persephonus looked up at his mother. Her dark, curly hair was shining with a red ochre halo from the window’s light, framing her in glory. The light was sharp and illuminated only her, with all else cast into shadowy, unknowable darkness. His home was familiar, a soft feeling, but it felt fuzzier than usual. He longed for the sunlight ringing his mother’s hair to kiss his skin, and then he remembered the back garden, and all the flowers in bloom outside.  “Can I go out back and pick a bouquet? There’s someone special in my life that I ...

14 likes 3 comments 3
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Dark Waters, Darker Secrets

Submitted to Contest #259

The Scottish Highlands greeted me with a misty embrace as I got out of the car. I was unsure of what to expect upon arrival, but I could feel the chill, the dampness, the entire landscape whispering secrets I was eager to uncover. My cottage was little more than an old bothy, and while I appreciated the historical authenticity of the space, it did feel a bit cramped. I've rented it out for the next six months while I gather data. It was in the perfect place, nestled up close to the vast, somewhat foreboding (now that I take it in), bog.From ...

12 likes 8 comments 8
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The Creature in the Frame

Submitted to Contest #258

Under the blazing sun, the air shimmered with heat above the hood of her old Mustang. The desert stretched out in all directions, a vast and unforgiving expanse of sand, rock, and scrub brush. Mountains rose in the distance, their jagged peaks a stark contrast to the flatness below. To Lyla, a wildlife photographer who had spent years capturing the untamed beauty of the Southwest, this was her home. This untamed wilderness with its surprising gems, hidden oases and gorgeous mountains was where she often found solace, her camera a constant co...

23 likes 11 comments 11
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The Truth, Tucked Away

Submitted to Contest #258

Emily’s breath hung there, puffs of mist in the crisp air, a fleeting wisp that dissipated as quickly as it appeared. The pine trees loomed tall and silent around her, their branches quietly creaking secrets of a land untamed. Their sharp, earthy was scent a familiar friend. This was her world, a realm of solitude and silence, broken only by the occasional distant howl of a wolf or the sharp call of an eagle. Emily was alone, save for her father who was often absent, his presence a shadow that came and went with the cycles of the moon. The s...

18 likes 3 comments 3
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A 'Liv' by Any Other Name (Romeo and Juliet)

Submitted to Contest #257

I took a careful sip from my chamomile tea, still steaming as tiny tendrils wafted around my nose, then set it down gently on the side table and flipped to the next page in my book. Exhaustion from all that social interaction earlier had my eyes finding difficulty focusing on the letters on the pages, but I was unable to rest just yet. The soft glow of my book light cast a small shaft illuminating my precious pages in the darkness of the moonless night. From my balcony, I could hear the distant hum of crickets and the occasional bark from a ...

12 likes 2 comments 2
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The Day I Turned Fourteen

Submitted to Contest #256

I choked on the last dregs in the cup. The particles stuck between my teeth, and a bout of nausea surged through me, though my cracked lips were grateful for the moisture. It was bitter in my throat. I had begun the cup with such fervor, such ravenous righteous reverence, that in my excitement, dribbles from either side of my mouth had rolled down my neck, soaking my perfectly white linen tunic. Every day of my 14 years, each lesson taught in the dusty, harsh air under the stark suns, each prayer and sermon and rite held in the cool temples ...

12 likes 4 comments 4
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The Crumbling Farmhouse

Submitted to Contest #256

(TW: story deals with mental health and aftermath of abuse) Penelope broke her unfocused gaze and looked up from the littered earthen floor of her small farmhouse, her eyes flitting past the hearth in the corner. She didn’t need to look at it to feel it there. Or, rather, not feel it there. Warmth, gone. Cold ash in its place.  It bore marks from countless fires that had kept her family safe and sound even on the coldest nights. She shifted her focus from the crumbling bricks around the small window in her dilapidated home to their mode...

7 likes 2 comments 2
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Anna's Angsty Attempt

Submitted to Contest #255

The moon was already high in the night sky, an all-seeing eye that casually watched as everything I cared about spun out of control. My fingers tightened on the steering wheel as I drove down the old dirt road. I was so tired of everything slipping through my fingers—my friends, my life, everything. Tonight had to work. It was my last chance to hold us all together, to keep them from drifting away, leaving me behind. I pulled up in front of Emily’s house first. She climbed into the backseat, clutching a small bag tightly, eyes darting nervou...

7 likes 1 comment 1
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Shadows at the Crossroads

Submitted to Contest #255

The radiant moon perched high in the night sky, a cosmic eye watching over the old dirt road. This sacred place where four friends had come to test their courage. Inseparable since elementary school, their friendship evolved from shared lunches and sleepovers to whispered secrets about the mundane and the mystical world they were so eager to explore. Now, the time had come to forge their bond as a true coven. Anna, the leader of their would-be coven, had always been fascinated by the occult. It was she who had first come across Hecate, the G...

7 likes 1 comment 1
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