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David Sweet

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Dec, 2021

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404 Followers
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9 Stories

1816 karma pts

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Thirst

Weekly Contest #355

“And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.” Luke 16:23He was dying of thirst. The stench of sulphur burned the young man’s nostrils. Fever wracked his body. Fear gripped his gut. He was afraid to open his eyes, and when he managed to do so, all was darkness. Smog drifted along the hard earth where he lay prone.Eternal damnation. How could he be here? He had been baptized in the Harpeth River when he was seven—washed by the Blood of the Lamb. Read his Bible every day. He sat next...

28 likes 25 comments 25
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Cold Tea (Redux)

Weekly Contest #339

"Shit. All I have left is Earl Grey. Is that okay?""I really don’t care," Angela replied curtly. She curled up into an even tighter ball on the apartment's only couch. The frigid grip of December made the open design and original hardwood of the 100-year shotgun house uncomfortably cold. Compounding the problem, the fireplace didn't work, so Marcus had decorated both hearth and mantle with a menagerie of candles. Last night, the pale wax of those candles melted down while Marcus and Angela spent hours sipping wine, and re-living college days...

46 likes 44 comments 44
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Old Man Buckhart

Weekly Contest #224

The mugginess of night receded. A thin veil of blushing daylight clung to dark ridge tops under weakening clouds. A swift storm had moved through a few hours before. In its wake, soft gray shrouds rose among the hollows to greet the gathering dawn like resurrected spirits from some ancient sepulcher, accentuated by the ghostly refrains of an L&N steam engine pulling through nearby London, Kentucky. Lefty lay awake most of the night, mesmerized by the lightning but also lulled to drowsiness from time to time by the rain on the tin roof ...

112 likes 141 comments 141
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Cicero, '59

Weekly Contest #186

“Jimmy Dean Jackson, where do you think you’re going?“None-a-yer-business, Rosey Mae!”“If you get us both into trouble again, it’ll be my business!”“I’ll let you know when I need you, little sister.”“Little sister? I’m almost two years older than you! I know you just turned nine, but you know good and well that I will be eleven at the end of the month, little brother.”“I don’t need you taggin’ along. I’m big enough to take care of myself.”“You better not be headed off to go hang out with Stanton Burkhart. Uncle Bob and them haven’t lived up ...

61 likes 47 comments 47
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The Essence

Weekly Contest #176

Birth Moon reared its head over Black Mountain. It waxed nearly full as pale light spilled down the steep ridges, creeping among the dark forest. Wan light managed to flash in the cat's eyes, like a beacon turning on and off. Fearing discovery, the animal darted into dense, blooming laurel covering the mountainside.The feline slunk down the slope toward the cabin. It took a shortcut through low, thick brambles, heavy with ripening blackberries, seeking further cover. A rabbit flitted from the tangled thicket, fleeing the cat's ominous p...

49 likes 49 comments 49
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SOUTHBOUND

Winner of Weekly Contest #168 🏆

SOUTHBOUNDby David M. SweetDoralea looked out the window of the southbound train. Mid-October leaves dappled the Kentucky hillsides in fiery oranges and burning reds, dull yellows and rusty browns with a few evergreens peaking through the canopies. Colors were made even more vivid by the morning sun and clear, blue sky. Flaxen sedge grass along with green tangles of weeds, brambles, and even a few autumn flowers blurred together as she shifted her gaze downward toward the edges of fields and fence rows speeding by next to the railroad bed. T...

172 likes 143 comments 143
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Ardor

Weekly Contest #135

The low-level ranger padded softly through the woods on mocassin feet carrying a cedar bow hand-carved by his grandfather, the only gift his grandfather had ever given him. He slung a quiver of arrows, with fletching made from hawk feathers, over his left shoulder. Moving quietly through late autumn leaves, he hoped to take the small band traveling through the valley by surprise. They weren't quiet. They argued among themselves as they ambled along the shallow creek. The ranger took cover behind a large oak and slipped an arrow from the quiv...

29 likes 15 comments 15
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Ardor

Weekly Contest #135

The low-level ranger padded softly through the woods on mocassin feet carrying a cedar bow hand-carved by his grandfather, the only gift his grandfather had ever given him. He slung a quiver of arrows, with fletching made from hawk feathers, over his left shoulder. Moving quietly through late autumn leaves, he hoped to take the small band traveling through the valley by surprise. They weren't quiet. They argued among themselves as they ambled along the shallow creek. The ranger took cover behind a large oak and slipped an arrow from the quiv...

19 likes 13 comments 13
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Cold Tea

Weekly Contest #128

"Shit. All I have left is Earl Grey. Is that okay?" "Sure," Angela replied curtly. She stretched and then succumbed to a long yawn, deciding to curl up on the apartment's only couch.  Marcus had moved into the bottom floor of this 100-year-old shotgun house just outside of Cincinnati three months ago. The grip of December made the original hardwood uncomfortably cold. To compound the problem, the fireplace did not function. He had placed a menagerie of candles on the hearth and mantle. Last night, the wax had slowly trickled down th...

38 likes 33 comments 33
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