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Jane Andrews

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2019

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93 Stories

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If I Fell...

Weekly Contest #287

The smell of sawdust assaults Arthur’s nostrils as he waits patiently for the high wire act to finish. His face is hot beneath the white greasepaint that hides his handsome face and his heart thumps wildly as he gazes upwards. One of the tightrope walkers stumbles and sways and the crowd gasps, holding its breath lest the diminutive man falls. He won’t, of course: Pippo is one of the most talented acrobats in the business. He may be small in stature, but his talent is gigantic. He is the brother of Lorenzo, the circus ringmaster, and the hus...

14 likes 6 comments 6
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Amy's Gift

Weekly Contest #284

‘Another glass of red.’ ‘We’re closing in 5 minutes. Sorry.’ Josh blinked blearily at his watch. ‘It’s only quarter to,’ he protested. ‘You’ve got time to pour me another.’ ‘Last orders are always 20 minutes or so before we start chucking people out.’ She was only a slip of a thing, but the girl behind the bar stood her ground. ‘Anyway, you haven’t finished that one yet.’ He tossed the liquid down his throat just to spite her. He didn’t enjoy the taste these days – but then he’d always had other reasons for drinking. What did that doctor kn...

5 likes 0 comments 0
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2000 Pieces of Sky

Weekly Contest #259

My first marriage lasted less than two years but was extremely eventful. Looking back now, one incident in particular stands out: a week in Aubigny-en-Artois in the north of France: a week when I realised that my husband couldn’t be trusted. It is August 1988 and Steve and I are about to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. We are both twenty-one, both students, and we have a baby girl, Lily, who is six and a half months old. Our marriage was precipitated by my unplanned pregnancy, following in the footsteps of Steve’s parents, Mark and ...

10 likes 5 comments 5
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Three's A Crowd

Weekly Contest #258

I re-read the letter, noting the time and date of the celebration. A part of me thinks I should go; another more cautious side of me whispers that I shouldn’t bother. But there was a time, once, when Stef was my best friend…              The cardboard box has been under my bed for so long that it’s accumulated enough dust to make me sneeze. I find a cloth and wipe down the outside carefully before removing the lid. Memories I’ve kept hidden for years stare at me – relics o...

11 likes 1 comment 1
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The Noble Heart

Weekly Contest #257

Author's note: Technically, a tragic hero in Shakespeare's plays is someone of noble birth whose fatal flaw ultimately leads to their demise. My story is written in the vein of a traditional Persian fairy tale (think of The Thousand and One Nights) but with a tragic hero of lowly birth. You could argue that her noble heart is her fatal flaw, much like the richer Timon of Athens in Shakespeare's play of the same name. There was once a young girl and her name was Nousha. When Nousha was born, her mother breathed her last, and so it was that No...

10 likes 3 comments 3
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Chasing Juliet

Shortlisted for Contest #257 ⭐️

“You should totally go for it,” Artie says, giving my shoulder a squeeze as we stand gazing at the poster on the school’s bulletin board.           ‘Romeo and Juliet – auditions this Thursday after school,’ the words proclaim.           “Me?” My voice is the frightened squeak of a small animal cornered by a predator. Why would I want to put myself through the embarrassment and almost certain humiliation of something like that? &...

42 likes 26 comments 26
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Desperate Remedies

Weekly Contest #248

Jake had been deputy sheriff for about three weeks when the stranger drove into town. At first, he was puzzled: he’d thought he’d met everyone in this God-forsaken place – hell, he saw most of ‘em in the saloon every night – but this man was unknown to him. And then, as the horse slowed to a halt and long, lean limbs unfolded themselves from the driver’s seat, he realised his mistake. Years of hardship had etched lines on the woman’s face, but he thought she would be beautiful if she ever smiled.       &nbs...

21 likes 10 comments 10
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Paradise Lost

Shortlisted for Contest #248 ⭐️

Trigger warning: domestic violence, mental health The mind is its own place, and in itselfCan make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven. (Milton, Paradise Lost, Book 1) Some say that Signor Dante’s Inferno is a most accurate representation of Hell. For my own part, I would argue that Man makes his own Hell when he ignores the corner of Paradise he finds here on Earth and lets himself instead succumb to fatal passions.The cell from which I write has become my personal inferno, for Heaven is where she is and she is not here. They say I will han...

30 likes 12 comments 12
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Emma Bovary Revisited

Weekly Contest #213

“Lucy, this is my mother.” “Pleased to meet you, Mrs Higgins.” Lucy held out her hand. “Albert’s told me all about you.” “He’s said precious little about you,” was the rather ungracious reply. “Now then, Ma.” Albert forced a laugh. “You know Lucy works with me in the shop. It’s been eight or nine months now.” “And who’s going to help you once the two of ye are wed? It’s a wife’s duty to stay home and keep house for her husband.”               “I… We haven’t set a date ...

10 likes 14 comments 14
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Letters to Emma Bovary

Weekly Contest #212

“Lucy Marsh!” The handsome face in front of her broke into a grin. “I didn’t imagine I’d find you in here. What happened to your plans for university?” For a moment, Lucy struggled to place the army officer holding the toothbrush. Was he the brother of one of the girls she’d been at school with until a year ago? “You don’t remember me.” The stranger gave an exaggerated sigh. “And I always gave you top marks for composition too.” “Mr Franklin?” She’d heard he’d been conscripted; hadn’t realised he’d look so dashing in his uniform. At school, ...

5 likes 2 comments 2
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More things in Heaven and Earth

Weekly Contest #210

“There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” (William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 5) PART 1  “There’s no hope of this city surviving,” the Creator said firmly, shuffling the papers in front of him and gazing round the boardroom. Malachi, who had been idly daydreaming, stiffened with alarm. “I know recent crime figures have been up,” he began tentatively, “but isn’t that due to the hot weather?” “With respect, Sir, “Samael cut in smoothly, “I think you’ll find Birmingham is, in fact...

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Too Late for Whale Watching

Weekly Contest #209

They had always planned to go whale watching in Iceland. The 4X4 rumbles through the snowy scenery, the sound of the guide’s voice washing over her. Gunnar is well versed in his country’s natural history – so far, they have seen fissures, extinct volcanoes and a waterfall; but he loves the land’s mythology too. Before he started lecturing them, Deirdre hadn’t realised that Catholicism and superstition were so intertwined in Icelandic folklore, or that the Huldufólk (‘hidden people’) played such an important role.  “You would call them ...

21 likes 6 comments 6
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Cupboard Love

Weekly Contest #208

Trigger warning: references to abuse Lucy was six when she first discovered the secret of the cupboard under the stairs She had been trying to hide from her father when it happened – Daddy always said he didn’t mean to get angry, but he still hit her anyway. She stumbled into the cupboard, hoping to squeeze herself behind the vacuum cleaner, and found herself in a world of rainbows and unicorns. Everything glittered and sparkled – including Lucy herself; and after a while, she realised that she could unfold the gauzy wings that grew on her...

8 likes 2 comments 2
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Have you heard about Scott and Abi?

Weekly Contest #200

“Have you heard about Scott and Abi?” The school bathroom’s deserted as Jodie sidles up to Fliss, her best friend. Jodie’s not usually one to gossip, but she can’t resist passing this on. “They hooked up at Danny’s party last weekend. I saw them getting hot and steamy with each other on the landing.” “Scott and Abi?” Fliss says in surprise. “I thought he was dating Lauren.” “Maybe they broke up.” Jodie pauses to consider the possibilities. “Or maybe he’s cheating on Lauren with Abi. I wonder if she knows…” “Poor Lauren,” Fliss says. It’s ...

11 likes 6 comments 6
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Re-righting the Future

Weekly Contest #197

Most people live their lives in the present: looking back on the past; trying to anticipate the future. My gift – my curse – is that I was fated to foretell what will be. But the gods have a cruel sense of humour, for they decreed that no one would believe me when I spoke of things to come.Back then, I was Cassandra: daughter of Priam; sister of Paris. To be honest, I didn’t need the gift of prophecy to see that my brother’s desire for Helen would end in tears. She was beautiful – “the face that launched a thousand ships” is how one of the p...

16 likes 4 comments 4
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