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Colin Devonshire

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2019

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180 Followers
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148 Stories

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Let's Go

'Let's go for a walk, son. I need to talk to you.' 'Sure, dad, what do you want?' 'It's not what I want. There is something I need to explain to you.' Father and son clad in warm winter jackets and their walking boots. The sun was glistening from the ice-covered puddles. Further on, ducks quacked, frozen in the pond. The pair walked in that direction. Birds swooped and called, and a wolf howled deep in the forest. But not a sign of human life; that was the idea. Duncan Blower had bought the cabin fifty years ago. Nobody lived near them, and ...

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School's Out

'Come on, let's sit at the back,' Belinda said. 'They,' Mel pointed back, 'won't want us. Sit here instead.' 'If we don't try, they will never accept us.' 'No, thank God. Who wants to be in their gang?' 'I do.' 'You go ahead then; I'm sitting here,' Mel's mind was made up, and she plonked herself next to the window. The school coach was filling fast with excited teenagers. 'Right, you lot, what is going on?' Mr Jones, the English teacher, shouted and clapped his hands. 'She started it,' a broad-shouldered, overweight boy, stiff-finger poi...

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The Minute Past Kiss

'Another celebration, another day,' Pegs said to the mirror. The mirror didn't answer. Instead, she smiled and turned away. Head down, she moved to her bed and slumped on it. Her phone rang. 'Yes, Angie, I'll be there.' Pegs let her towel drop to the floor, and another mirror got busy, this time a full-length version, and this time it admired her shape. She patted her stomach. 'A little too much food, far too much booze, but nothing else showing.' She smiled and threw open her wardrobe. 'Too frumpy, too skimpy, my God, why did I buy that thi...

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Celebrate? Wife or Book?

'Wake up; what is the matter with you?' Maxine left a cup of tea for Al, her husband. Al grunted and turned over. 'What's the matter with her?' he said. Thirty minutes later, Maxine stamped up the stairs, slamming the bedroom door against the wall. 'Asleep again? Get up, you lazy sod.' She shook him awake. 'What? Can't you leave me alone?' 'No, we have bills to pay, and you have a book to write,' Maxine said as she pulled the duvet back and left a curled-up husband to face her fast-disappearing body. She clomped down the stairs. 'Toast will ...

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Fortune

'It is so exciting. I am so lucky, imagine, to be the girlfriend of a pop star,' Gloria said. Her friend, Jessy, raised her eyebrows again. 'Yes, you are the luckiest girl in our village,' Jessy said. 'Do you think he will buy a Ferrari or a yacht?' 'I've no idea what famous people do with their money. Anyway, I wouldn't plan on spending his money. He hasn't got there yet.' 'I know, but he has been recruited to take Super Mack's place in the number one band,' Gloria said, preening in front of an imaginary mirror. 'Sad about Mack, though. He ...

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Mates

The sound of a textbook slamming on a desktop silenced the class, even the two boys fighting in the corner. 'Pavlok and Jones, my office, now,' said the headmaster as he turned and stormed down the corridor. 'Idiot, now look what you've done,' said Ivan Pavlok. 'You started it, dickhead,' answered Paddy Jones. 'Because I got all the questions correct? That's what we are supposed to do.' The boys glared at each other, and the classmates sniggered as they dragged themselves off. 'You see the copse of trees over there? Your job is to rake all...

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Red Lipstick, Green Bananas

‘Leave me alone, please. I’ve had enough of you and this country,’ Micky said as he stormed to the garden and slumped onto a bench. ‘Oh, darling, come back and talk to me,’ Bell pleaded. Micky’s early retirement had not worked out as hoped. Before it started, his divorce in England had cost more than expected; a chunk of his stashed cash found its way to his ex-wife, who laughed all the way to “her” bank. Nevertheless, Micky had planned for a retired life at fifty, and he would come out on top. He thought his pension and savings would be ...

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Golden Boy

'Well, Sugar, it's your birthday soon. What do you want as a gift?' 'First, don't call me Sugar. It is not my name. It's the name you call all those bar sluts, when you can't recall their names.' 'Okay, okay, did you get out of bed on the wrong side this morning?' 'I was wrong getting in it at all.' 'Let's start again. Pim, I'm sorry if I've upset you. I mean it. Please tell me what you want for your birthday?' 'Look, Harry, what I want, you can't give me. So forget it.' 'How about dinner in the Landmark Hotel? You love it there.' 'I'm not g...

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My E-Type

I'm sitting, at the edge of a pedestrian crossing, thinking, wishing. The bench is uncomfortable, and the vandals have ripped off the names of the people who donated the seat. I remember it was grandparents who came and waited for their loved ones. But now splinters burst from the hole where the named plaque once hung proudly. It is sunny and chilly, but a good day to be outside unless you have nothing to do. The junior school bounced and rocked behind me, as it did in my day. The children are making a racket; okay, it is playtime, I supp...

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What A View

'Twenty-five years ago today, I stood here and marvelled at this view,' Mark said. 'Have you not been since that day?' Peggy asked. 'No, dear. That was the first and last time, until today, of course.' Mark pulled his flask from his backpack and slugged it back. He was not offering Peggy a taste of his Thai whisky. Mark did look her way; she shook her head. He shook the container; there was a little left. 'What now? Are we eating our picnic or walking?' asked Peggy. 'It would be a shame to bring you all this way if we didn't enjoy the sigh...

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Come To Bed

'I've got a plan,' Christy said to her mirror. She didn't expect an answer. Instead, her smile cheered her as the girl clambered into bed. She hunted for her mother's copy of Agatha Christie's "Ordeal Of Innocence". 'Here you are,' she pulled the well-thumbed copy from under her pillow. Like several of Christie's heroes, Christy wants to be a private investigator. But, before that, she would have to finish school, train as a police officer, and then as a detective. Christy huffed at the thought of years of training. But then, she fell aslee...

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Happy Pumpkin?

'It is Halloween. Why did you give the pumpkin a smile?' said Bert. His wife turned back to her sculpture, a grinning winter squash with a kitchen knife embedded in its eye. At least it was happy. 'That eye is smaller than that one,' said Bert. 'Yes, dear, but I haven't finished yet,' said Dorothy. Her back was to her husband. She dared to look at the ceiling. 'Hurry up. The children will be here soon. Next year buy at least two pumpkins; then, when you make a mess of one, you can try again.' He slammed his newspaper against the wall. Doroth...

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Did I Dream That?

The train rattled. The passengers didn’t. Those sitting were reading newspapers or playing with their phones. Those standing had thoughts of their own. No one talked. A briefcase tipped, ‘Shit’ said its owner, bending and standing it between his legs. No one cared or even looked, me included, my eyes were watching branches as we rushed by. My watch told me I’d be late for my appointment. “Must not keep the professor waiting” the nurse stressed. I turned my head remembering. ‘I shot an eighty, last time I played golf there,’ I whispered to my...

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Just Dreaming

‘This can’t be bad can it?’ There was no answer from Mark’s girlfriend. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was steady. Why wouldn’t it be? Her legs were stretched, and her toes reached the gentle slap of baby waves trying to tickle her calves. A seagull screeched its presence above them. ‘He must be looking for food? Sorry bird, we have nothing for you.’ He wanted to adjust his seating but he didn’t want to disturb Lek. Mark was sitting with one arm buried in the sand supporting his upper body. His legs were straight with Lek’s head res...

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Where Do I Come From?

‘Where I come from, women are equal to men. Gays are accepted. What more do you want?’ 'Yeah, but that is not true. My mum is not equal to my dad.’ ‘Did your mum say that, or your dad?’ ‘Neither said it. I just know.’ ‘Really, how so?’ ‘Dad earns more.’ ‘Does that mean he is better?’ ‘No, but…’ ‘In your house is everyone equal?’ ‘No, if I want to watch something on tv, I can’t if football is on.’ ‘So, your dad is in charge of the telly?’ ‘He bought it, so, I suppose he is.’ ‘What if your mum wanted to watch a romance film, but the football i...

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