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Chris Cancilla

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Apr, 2024

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26 Stories

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Crossroads of Destiny

Weekly Contest #344

Gerald Capaldi sat in his living room. He loved this sofa; he’s had it for three years now. He bought it a few weeks after he moved into this house, his first house. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a nice modern kitchen, and a fantastic backyard in case he ever got a dog. But this sofa was perfect. The back was just high enough for him to rest his head and get the perfect angle to watch TV. He had his feet on the coffee table, shoes off, of course, and he had a drink in his hand. It was a special occasion, after all. He met a woman on the ride ...

1 like 1 comment 1
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Rebekka Oakly

Weekly Contest #338

Rebekka Oakly closed the book she finished reading about Annie Oakley. Her last name is similar, and she is a pretty good shot with an antique rifle. Rebekka has been a Temporal Researcher most of her life. Funny, but she knew this subject quite well. Rebekka wrote the book on Annie after meeting her and learning to shoot from her. In 1886, Rebekka was tasked with learning about her subject, Annie Oakley. She did! She travelled to 1885, and once a year for more than a decade and a half, she met Annie while she was working in the Buffalo Bill...

17 likes 3 comments 3
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5 PM

Weekly Contest #336

Vehicles continuously pass through this intersection regardless of the time of day. This is the busiest intersection in the city, 24/7/365. No one pays any attention to a small reflection in the center of the road. In reality, this sparkle under the traffic light is a miniature probe monitoring Earth. It has been here for more than 100 years. The probe is waiting for a specific sequence of variables to become true simultaneously. Patient, monitoring and silent until this afternoon at 5 PM. Every link in the chain of events has been forged; t...

14 likes 1 comment 1
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The Last Snowfall

Weekly Contest #331

Jessica spoke, “The last thing I’ll see is the snow falling!” She paused a moment as the snow under her became red and spread out around her. But that’s the end of the story. How did she get to this place in time? It started a few hours ago. She sat in a bar sipping on a ginger ale and cherry juice. The last thing she needed was a drink, but she was meeting someone, someone she met on those dating apps. He seemed nice on paper, and she did a shallow dive into his past and found nothing. She should have done the deep dive; she would have been...

7 likes 0 comments 0
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A Spec of Dirt

Weekly Contest #324

It was dark. Thomas Augustine Marcell hoped to find a place to land and repair his ship, but the storm took that out of his mind. Now, all he wanted to do was not die. He set the automated signal, S-O-S, and landed safely on the shore of a speck of dirt on an ocean of black. That was six weeks ago, and each night, like tonight, he relives it in his dreams. He knew every movement he made, and that there was nothing else he could have done that would have avoided his being stranded on this small island. His ship was damaged, leaking, but he fo...

8 likes 2 comments 2
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TINKO

Weekly Contest #321

Tinko walked around downtown Cleveland in the middle of winter, looking at the people covered head to toe, and for her life, she had no clue why they were acting this way. She loves cold weather and especially enjoys the day when the snow gently falls and puts a hushed silence on the hustle and bustle of society. She walked over to where the number one bus would arrive and stood there, waiting. No one paid any attention to her – as it should be. As she approached the stop area, she had to quickly sidestep to avoid being run through by someon...

9 likes 0 comments 0
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Herman of the Forest

Weekly Contest #320

The sun rose as it did each day, but this time it bothered him. That means he needs to fix the roof today, at least before it rains again. He rolled over and off the hay that he used as a bed. He pulled back the black blanket that covered the window and looked. He heard footfalls. Someone was out there. Someone was nearing his house. He stared out until he saw them. Three men, all armed with rifles, dressed in camouflage, and all wearing blaze orange hats. One man also had a vest that was a bit too big for him, which made him look like a wal...

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Temporal Displacement

Weekly Contest #317

We have all heard the rumors that on the Island, people travel in time. They go back and do god knows what, playing with our history. If they made a change in some way, the biggest question is, would we even know it? Perhaps they’re making changes to what we know, as history is not all bad. Maybe they fixed things that happened and saved lives, or maybe entire cities. But then again, do they do this to play? If they have nothing better to do than make subtle changes and see what happens in the future, then they have way too much time on the...

4 likes 0 comments 0
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The Invisible Wilson Pitt

Weekly Contest #316

[moderate violence] [mild language] Wilson Pitt walked into the bank. He was making a deposit like he did every Friday. This check was from the US Treasury. It was for $16,000, and when the teller was about to add it to his account, he realized he needed some cash, so he asked for $1,000 back in cash, and the cashier obliged because he had enough to cover it in this account. About that time, a man walked into the bank looking very nervous. Wilson saw it in the mirror wall behind the teller. Not only were his eyes darting left and right, up a...

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MYSTIC REALITY

Weekly Contest #310

Willy hated this class. Creative writing 101. He had already published three novels, and they were gaining traction with the science fiction community. That’s how he looks at the sale of five books. Gaining traction. He is, however, pulling in a royalty that will allow him to go to Taco Bell after the next royalty check arrives. But he wants a degree, and this is a required course, so he sits, and the teacher teaches, the instructor instructs, and the professor professes. He smiled at that thought. The teacher is Miss Alicia Burnham, and she...

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THE MUSE

Weekly Contest #304

The term muse is a term that implies someone, or something, acts upon a person to allow or aid them in creating something.Victoria is a muse.She resides at a small retreat for authors, artists, and poets located in Wyoming, making the rounds of the rooms and the inspirational locations around the property. As she approaches a living artist, she passes through them, giving a little of herself to the person. For her, it appears some of her energy is transferred to the artist, but to the artist, all they feel is inspiration.One artist, an autho...

7 likes 0 comments 0
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ISABELLA

Weekly Contest #304

“ISABELLA!” Thomas shouted as he ran out of the house. Running after the taxi as it flew down the driveway. Before he could catch it and stop the love of his life, it went into the clouds and was gone.He stared at the taxi until it was indistinguishable in the sky. Maybe a little longer. He sighed, resigned to the fact she was gone. But she was so wrong. The entire situation was circumstantial.He walked into the house and walked into the kitchen. He wanted to get blitzed out of his gord but decided to let it all out. He grabbed a glass of wa...

5 likes 7 comments 7
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LimeLight

Weekly Contest #299

[very mild cussing] We sat in a pub, not realizing it was open mic night. I already had three drinks, Macallan 18 on the rocks. My go-to because I liked the taste and knew I was not driving tonight. None of us were. We will call rideshare, most likely Lyft because I have credits!My three friends hammered at me to get onstage and make people laugh. That’s why I had three drinks, and Russ ordered the fourth. Don and Rick, well, they saw what Russ was doing and, being smaller bits of asses themselves, joined in. After that fourth, I was ready. ...

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Time is Relative

Weekly Contest #297

Bret was in the middle of a training class, teaching the art of subtle existence. Temporal agents need to be invisible in plain sight, so how is that accomplished?Bret said, “Class Epsilon 9: Time and reality are illusions. What you perceive as the passage of time is nothing more than the organization of events in your mind. Consider this!”He took a step backward, and he appeared directly in front of himself. His new visitor handed him a cup of coffee and turned to the class. Offering a small salute, he vanished, leaving behind the coffee, t...

6 likes 4 comments 4
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The Wooden Door

Weekly Contest #295

Rebeka walked into the living room and flipped on the TV. She sat on the sofa, an oversized, high-back, comfy couch. It took her a while to find it in 1962, but she did. Black and white material, she called it the Holstein. Within a few minutes, she became enthralled with the program she was watching. It was about the election of President Trump for the second time. She thought about the year 2024 and realized she was not born yet. The program ended, and she thought she needed to go to bed. She had work in the morning, but her shift started...

11 likes 4 comments 4
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