Zorana Lorden

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2020

Stories (5)

5 Stories

105 karma pts

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“App with an Eye” by Zorana Lorden

Submitted to Contest #82

“I’ve poured my life into this app. Not just my time, but my emotions, fears, insecurities. My ups and downs. It started after the divorce. Maybe making a dating app as a married woman wasn’t the best idea. Maybe that was bound to cause some problems. Maybe, on some level, I knew that. Maybe that’s even part of why I did it. “I’ve poured my life into this app, and it noticed. It started to respond. At the same time that my wife stopped talking to me, she came alive. “The basic machine learning algorithm that started this was nothing ...

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“Wonder and Ways of Seeing” by Zorana Lorden

Submitted to Contest #77

Lillian’s nose pressed snugly against the cold glass as she glared out of her bedroom window at the snow. She had made sure to turn off the lights before doing so. She had recently discovered that when looking into dark expanse from inside, light hinders sight. She had learned this in her least favorite way of learning anything—at the hands of her Dad when he threw a grown-up temper tantrum about her turning the light on while he was driving. There was no connection in her brain between these fits and what her Mom called them. She thought th...

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“Shoulder the weight of a diamond” by Zorana Lorden

Submitted to Contest #76

“Once upon a time..” “Don’t start it that way!” “Why not?” “You’re being facetious Al. I hate it.” “Fine. Yesterday.. is that better?” “Much.” “Alright, but like, it doesn’t have the same drama. The same level of intrigue.” “We’ll live.” “Now who’s being facetious, Carrie? “No, that was sarcasm. There’s a difference.” “What’s the difference?” “Do you really care?” “No, not really. So anyways, yesterday I was driving along—“ “Wow what an unusual activity for a Monday!” “Well, I was telling it in a more interesting way, but you shut me down.” ...

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“Transit” by Zorana Lorden

Submitted to Contest #75

I woke up this morning with a weird feeling, but not necessarily a bad one. Maybe it’s best described as that feeling when you’ve slept in a new position and you don’t quite fit in your body. Then you stretch, and you feel more comfortable than ever. That’s how I feel right now. I woke up feeling good. I looked in the mirror and saw my reflection staring back at me. I looked just the way I thought I should. I can’t say that looking in the mirror was a pleasant experience. After all, I could still see imperfections and insecurities ref...

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“Count to Ten” by Zorana Lorden

Submitted to Contest #74

Seething, Hallie began the count. One. This counting thing was so stupid anyway. It’s a classic, cliché, and characteristically oversimplified psychological idea. Taught by every parent ever. If you’re mad, count to ten. The idea was unfortunately also touted by Hallie’s therapist as a way for her to slow down her “infinite train of thoughts” and “take back control of the situation.” Control. That would be nice. Hallie wished she had control over her thoughts. She also wished they would slow down. The counting didn’t help. She had done it so...

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Author bio

Hi folks! You can call me Zorana, though it's not my real name. I'm a 20 year old college student at a small college in rural Vermont. Believe it or not, my interests and major there lie in the realm of computer science and animation. But the child inside me wanted to be a writer, and I'm here to appease them. Anyway, I'm always down for a good story. Feel free to reach out and say hi!! And in answer to the question you did not ask, I am currently reading To Sleep in a Sea of Stars! So far, so good.