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Zahra Daya

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jun, 2020

Stories (22)

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114 Followers

34 Following

22 Stories

1003 karma pts

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"Who's Your Hero?" My 6th Grade Teacher Asked

Zahra Daya

Submitted to Contest #69

Trigger warning: Drug abuse and depressive talk. Her chest heaves and falls, this ongoing rhythm creating an atmosphere of serenity and stillness. The AC vent on auto just above her head, a caramel-brown piece of hair dancing in the cool air. I stop typing up my next speech that I am planning to give in less than a week and look at my mum. My eyes start to get blurry as I fixate on this piece of hair flying around merrily. Just as it is pushed to the right, the hair stops dead. Falls back onto her closed eyes. Oh no. Not again. My heartbea...

22 likes

The Perfectly Imperfect Proposal

Zahra Daya

Submitted to Contest #68

This was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Vander awoke merrily just as the sun rose from beneath the luminous clouds. Today was proposal day. Not for them, of course. For their beloved son, Theodore - or Theo, as he liked to be called. Elliot had no idea that she was going to be proposed to, and the Vanders had gone bonkers in attempting not to spill anything. But the day had dawned upon them and they couldn’t be happier. Mrs. Vander hugged her husband snugly - a rare action - and gave him a sloppy kiss on the che...

17 likes

A Muddled Mind

Zahra Daya

Submitted to Contest #53

I grab the tissue box yet again. If I’m being perfectly honest, this rota is getting a tad bit tedious now. This is now the 4th time mum has given a shot at a meaningful, enlightening speech that would aid me in my college life - and it merely ending in a torrent of tears. Of course, I couldn’t possibly show this on my front so I mask my face with a despondent look, casting my eyes to the floor. Honestly, I should get an Oscar for my flawless acting. “Thanks, honey” “No problem mum”, yep, even the same words. I climb the step...

20 likes

Gone with the Blizzard

Zahra Daya

Submitted to Contest #52

Coco Pops or Rice Krispies? My eyes dart between them, realizing this was simply a subconscious microcosm of my larger issue. Home is a twenty-minute walk from here. The hurricane of snow outside threatens to leave me trapped, alone, inside this Super-mart. All of a sudden, it clicks in my mind that I’m the only one in this shop. A neurotic mist clouds my mind as a tremor slides down my spine. The blizzard beyond the transparent glass has no discrimination as it embraces anyone and everyone that decides to capitulate to it. The bars ...

19 likes

Chase of Death

Zahra Daya

Submitted to Contest #50

Thump! Thump! The gravel beneath my feet crunched as I sprinted across it. My heartbeat rang in my ears, my breathing becoming heavier by the second. I embraced the aching in my body, the pain of the past, knowing it would all be over soon. I closed my eyes as I ran, the gift of vision unneeded on a path I knew all too well. I felt the cool air on my cheeks, whipping my short, uncombed hair back. I felt the gravel underfoot give way to rocky terrain and I opened my eyes, coming to a halt. A mass of scintillating water lay beneath the high cl...

23 likes

Worthy enough?

Zahra Daya

Submitted to Contest #49

Sighing heavily, I stuff the last piece of toast into my mouth wondering when it would be over. I check my emails yet again-for what feels like the hundredth time today. Every time I open that blue mail app, my heartbeat travels to my throat and rests there till I exhale in a myriad of emotions when I see nothing. I decide a distraction would do me some good right about now. I get up and rinse my dishes, climb upstairs on all fours - I hadn’t seemed to grow out of that ritual - and lay on my bed, phone still in hand. Just as I open the calm ...

19 likes

An Author's Consequence

Zahra Daya

Submitted to Contest #46

My eyes burnt with exhaustion as I tossed in bed yet again to check my phone for any notifications. By now, there should be hundreds rolling in. I just couldn’t understand it. A Crook’s Consequence had been published a week ago and only ten orders had come in. As it was, paying rent was a struggle, and Lara had been fired from her job last week for there had been a burglary at the house she was cleaning at, the very same day. Lara. I turned to look at her, sound asleep, a strand of stray hair billowing in the wind of her deep breaths. Her bl...

20 likes