Menu

More apps built by Reedsy

reedsymarketplace

Assemble a team of professionals

reedsystudio

The writing app for authors

reedsylearning

Writing courses, events and memberships

reedsydiscovery

Get your book reviewed

reedsyprompts

Weekly writing prompts and contests

Menu

Prompts

Contests

Stories

Blog

Daniel Rogers

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Mar, 2023

Stories (97)

Comments

Library

520 Followers

268 Following

97 Stories

5945 karma pts

?

You're Like a Book with only One Chapter

Submitted to Contest #286

"I cried out, Bingo, and this is what they gave me." Aunt B pointed to Nick, a five-foot-tall stuffed Santa Claus. "I just wanted cash! The Idiots!"I love watching Aunt B rant and rave over the infamous slight perpetrated by a misguided Bingo hall. Never mind that it's been over twenty years. She drags old Saint Nick from the attic for anyone who hasn't heard the story. Heck, even for those who have heard the story. Aunt B isn't picky.Nick has been in the family longer than I have. The day after Halloween, he takes his place in the corner of...

41 likes

Moving Mudball Mashes Mind

Submitted to Contest #285

In an age when kids played outside, no, more than that, practically lived outside, and imagination was the only toy most kids had or could afford, a friendly gang of boys, who have been friends for most of their lives, stumbled on a mystery that started with a thrown mud ball. Since the gang ate, slept, and breathed Dick Tracy comic books, Jack, the oldest of the bunch, took the case in hand. It would be a difficult challenge to find the hitman, not because of a lack of evidence but because of the overwhelming amount of evidence. Every ...

25 likes

A Slogan For Every Town

Submitted to Contest #284

Americans will drive anywhere if it has a decent website and a catchy slogan. My wife and I saw several billboards advertising Arkansas's largest natural land bridge while driving to Little Rock. We didn't plan on seeing a land bridge that day, but, by golly, we did see a land bridge that day. Why? Because we're suckers for flashy advertising. The billboards promised an experience of a lifetime. It delivered a gift shop, an 1850s cabin (not sure what that had to do with the land bridge), and a broken land bridge. That's right. No one was all...

35 likes

I'm Dreaming of a White House Christmas

Submitted to Contest #283

Imagine the White House during Christmas 1789: George Washington and his wife sitting around a Christmas tree in the Oval Office, a newspaper artist sketching the festive scene, and Bing Crosby singing "White Christmas" over the phonograph. If you can picture this, I would say, "Wow, you have a wonderful imagination." Unfortunately, that's where this scene will have to stay—in our imaginations. That's correct. I made the whole scene up, except for Christmas, 1789, George, and Martha. The rest are complete fabrications. The first fabrication ...

37 likes

To Judge a King

Submitted to Contest #282

"Sorry, my king." Flajore fell to one knee, saluting with head bowed. "The northern wall is breached.""Don't hang your head, General. I'm proud of you - of all your men. You held out longer than believed possible."I am the one who should be ashamed. It's my pride and ambition that breached the wall. Father always said I was too reckless and arrogant."We will hold the keep. All is not lost."Their battering ram echoed through the hall. Each swing shook the dust from the rafters."Always an optimist, but we both know it won't be long.""Then I wi...

38 likes

Christmas Chameleon

Submitted to Contest #281

I hung my keys on the third hook, my coat on the third peg, and plopped my tushy on the third sofa cushion from the door, like always. That's my life - pathetically predictable.I wouldn't want there to be any misunderstanding. I have no problem with predictability. I'd be happy as long as it gave me enough to pay bills, rent a larger apartment, and occasionally buy something nice. But, no! Unfortunately, it turned out to be more like a deadbeat dad. But what can I do? I don't have any control over it.I hadn't realized it was Christmas E...

53 likes

Never Waste Broken Ribs

Submitted to Contest #280

"Just move already. You're not smart enough to need this much time." "Smarts? Hey? If I dumped everything I know about checkers into your head, it would explode. Now shut up. You've made me lose my train of thought." "So smart are you? You've seen the Tin Lizzie?" "Yeah, I seen it." "You admit you were wrong?" "Nope." "Ha! Old Clyde, the smartest man alive. Never wrong. Ha! The most stubborn man alive is more like it. Every family in America will have a motor car, you'll see, Mr. Ford will make it happen." "Pie in the sky. You've got as much...

49 likes

Tree of Life

Submitted to Contest #279

I trudged through a foot of snow, squinting as frozen missiles pelted my goggles. The wind had a physical presence like a wall of water. I swam through the storm more than I walked. I desperately needed shelter. Peering through the barrage of snowflakes, I could barely make out a darkish line. I pressed forward, refusing to surrender to the irrational desire to lie down and rest.The dark line turned out to be a forest. Once I entered, the relentless attack lessened. The wind howled through the conifer trees like wolves who lost their prey. I...

55 likes

Can I Kill Him Now

Submitted to Contest #278

"Alright, remember, the new treaty says relocation assistance — no killing!" Five years of fighting orcs doesn't switch off overnight. I could still see the fight in their eyes.  A newbie recently assigned to my squad shouted, "What if an orc won't relocate willingly? Can I kill him then?" "Didn't you just hear me? No killing!" "My bad," the knight said. "Just wanted clarification." We mounted our horses and rode out. The newbie caught up beside me while trotting to the orc's camp. "Sir, I've been thinking, what if an orc pretends to le...

52 likes

He's Pointing a Cookie at Me

Submitted to Contest #277

"Knock it off! Fleabags!" Another acorn hit me in the ear. I picked it up and hurled it at the nearest squirrel. It missed."Just what I expected from a baker," the squirrel said. "Go back to the kitchen and bake cookies. It's all you're good for." The squirrel clan laughed.I picked up another acorn and hit the rodent between the eyes. That put an end to his laughter."How's that for a baker?"The squirrel clan redoubled their missile attack. Acorns pelted me on all sides. Squeakings rang out for reinforcements. I just had to poke the bear. I'm...

37 likes

Scenic Ashes

Submitted to Contest #276

We erupted with a Mount Vesuvius-sized argument of hate and anger, the worst in our twenty-five-year marriage. Her scream shattered me like a rock hitting a windshield. My response only spread the cracks further. It happened during the epidemic in 2020. Our marriage shut down like unessential restaurants, clothing stores, and churches. We had no announcement from the president, but we knew only the essentials of our marriage would remain open.  I hoped a few weeks would pass, and then all would return to normal. However, like our world,...

52 likes

Everyone Loves a Good Burning

Submitted to Contest #275

"Are you going to cook me?" I laughed, "Goodness, no." I grabbed a towel from the wash pot and wrung it. "Besides, I'm not a big meat eater." I cleaned the blood from his forehead. "You've flooded our village?" The lad hesitated, his eyes darting around in apprehension. After agonizing moments, he summoned his courage and added, "More than once!" The clumsy lad wasn't used to using his brain. To put it bluntly, he was thicker than a queen's mattress. "That's your ancestors' fault for building in a floodplain." "A floodplain? What's that?" "P...

81 likes

The Tell-Tale Clock

Submitted to Contest #274

"The pictures were hanging upside down," I said.My friend gasped and smiled, "Mary, you are a born storyteller. I actually felt goosebumps."I put my can of Pepsi down without taking a drink. "No, Cindy, I'm not making this up. I came home, and there they were. Perfectly level, but upside down.""Now stop it. You're freaking me out.""How do you think I feel? I have to live here."Just as I finished speaking, my grandfather clock struck seven and began to play "Westminster Chimes." We jumped, startled by the noisy antique."Sorry, girl, I didn't ...

55 likes

Mistress of Doubt

Submitted to Contest #273

Darn it! The Old Hag is following me again! I just can't, not after yesterday. Another day like that, and I'm finished as a writer.Doubling my pace, I cut through allies and shops, but I could still hear her high heels clicking behind me. Five shops and three alleys later, the clicking finally stopped. I pretended to look back at a passing bus to confirm I lost her.Darn it! Still there! What have I done to deserve this? Unlike me, she wasn't even sweating. It was ridiculous! Instead of looking frazzled, she looked like she came from a glamou...

51 likes

Strange Noises Strange Eyes

Submitted to Contest #272

There are many strange noises in a forest on an island: the hooting of owls, scurrying of small animals, crunching undergrowth of larger ones. Or are the hooting secret signals from man-eating natives moving into position to attack? Or angry grundle barrs? Or confused ellawyns about to blow the marooned sailors into the sea. Captain Wington imagined them all."Did you hear that?" Captain Wington said.He gripped his sword tighter, peering into the spooky tree line for movement. Not that his frazzled imagination needed any proof. He "saw" plent...

52 likes