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Joe Smallwood

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Apr, 2023

Stories (99)

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64 Followers

25 Following

99 Stories

2253 karma pts

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Aunt Bea

Submitted to Contest #331

“I suppose that in all the world there could never be another Aunt Bea.”New to Halifax and half-lonesome, waiting to ship out for the latest fight, that being World War II, I’d begun visiting hospitals and prisons, telling myself I was bringing cheer when really I was looking for some myself. And what do I see?Frost bloomed across the hospital windowpane in fern-like patterns, thick and white, hiding the city outside. A battered radiator hissed in the corner, fighting a losing battle against the Halifax winter. Yet here, in this cold, was a ...

6 likes

Mrs. Phoenix

Submitted to Contest #330

This fine winter was so much like how I’m feeling—cold and dark. I’m grasping at a life that once seemed so serene and pure, so within my reach. I can still imagine how things were, even as I’m on my way to present myself for M.A.I.D.So I caught the number five bus. It should be electric, but it meanders through these black streets, belching diesel fumes into the night. It is so cold. I look out the frosty bus window and shiver to the sound of grinding snow. Snow that made the bus’s tires squeal in protest.Yes, I made up my mind. These damn ...

3 likes

The Swimmer

I hadn’t even begun to take it all in—the beach, the sunshine. A gull screams overhead like a broken siren. Somewhere, a transistor spits static, and a kid’s plastic shovel scrapes rhythmically, a tiny excavator digging toward China. Diesel fumes drift in from the boardwalk, mixing with coconut oil and hot dog water.But here I am circling my life like a half-interested shark—just curious, no poking or sampling the wares.The swimmer in me is, of course, relieved. I had seen the photos. The gnawed bum, the lacerated abdomen. Eighty-nine stitch...

0 likes

The Falls

Submitted to Contest #326

As I remember, it wasn’t the cell phones not working that scared us the most. It was something else.The cell phone outage occurred before we arrived at Niagara Falls. Even hours into the blackout, Lilly couldn’t understand it. She’d shake her cell, muttering curses under her breath. I think she believed that the more attention she paid to it, the more likely it was to work. This happened every time she took it out of her pocket, more times than I could count.Lilly’s actions reminded me of a psychology lecture on “magical thinking.” It was Ma...

11 likes

Great Expectations

Submitted to Contest #325

I wasn’t there today. It was the other day when I couldn’t quite see what everyone was talking about.A fish restaurant that I promised myself I would visit yesterday, for the halibut.I toss that off, and there it is, gone like usual. So much leaving and going. The expectations are so endless that you have to claw away a moment to breathe.You smile brightly and let out that soft sigh, making me know what you are going to say.“What?” you ask.“That look, those expectations!”“Oh, we’re going to have another day like this…”When I oversaw my life,...

8 likes

11:58 Tick Tock

Submitted to Contest #297

Layoffs loomed, my stomach churned, and the neighbors’ party shook my walls. I wanted peace and a quick-to-bed right after the ball drop. So, I called 311 at about 10:00 PM to have someone to talk to. They sent a noise inspector.“Hi, my name is Carl. Do you want this done in the AM or PM?” he asked.“I’m not sure I understand,” I said.“One is more urgent than the other.”“You sent me a personal message? But what does 'AM' stand for?”His laugh barked like a hyena’s, eyes glinting. “Oh, you’re curious. I like that."I laugh, sort of. It's a weird...

11 likes

Double Double

Submitted to Contest #296

You’re a wisp of a person until you’re not. We touched down as two phantasms, casting no shadows just as the sun rose. A strange, sulfurous scent still lingered in the air, and the sky was a sickly, bruised purple. Even when invisible, Sheila scanned for surprises. Through experience, I knew nothing would upset our plans.It was always like this: slip in, get the job done, and leave before anyone noticed. They’re all in mourning—my victims, that is. I would imagine them grieving, my tears completing me. How that happened, I never knew. I’m no...

6 likes

All Fired Up

Submitted to Contest #295

It wasn’t morning or evening or just about supper time. Fate's hour struck. Be-ding! Now that got my attention, rehearsing what I would say to Mr. Peabody. Who wasn’t much to think about, all fussy and Jiminy Cricket-like, standing in my office doorway? I’m your regular guy, so into himself that there wasn’t much else to consider except how Peabody eyed me. What big eyes you have, I might have said. Or what running gag must we pursue now? I’ll be trim and docile, a mope for you, sir! You hold the cheques to my soul. It's all a matter of chec...

5 likes

No Problem

Submitted to Contest #295

While bringing in the groceries, I locked the apartment door each time I went to the car. Then, when I came panting up the steps, burdened with two heavy bags, I would unlock it again. It’s a routine you hardly think about. But one day, my apartment locked me out. That night, when I couldn’t sleep, I heard her voice. ‘It’s what you wanted!’ she saidWhich is cool. I think it’s a meme, so I make posts, and others say, lol, when they don’t mean it. That apartment, she’s more than just a place to live; she’s my best friend, my confidante. I call...

14 likes

Apex Exile

Submitted to Contest #294

I don’t know what came over me. Oddly, I can’t say everything. Seeing that everything knows me. You laugh with that look that you get with every failed joke.But I’m not kidding. We need to deal. Except that now I’m at a loss for words because if I truly know everything, there shouldn’t be a problem.It all began. How do you think I should say this? Yesterday? No, long ago. Both the other day and long ago, like time doesn’t matter. But why is there an obsession everyone has with beginnings? Something you have always been doesn’t have a beginni...

2 likes

Quite

Submitted to Contest #291

"Oh, don't you just love libraries? Quel ambiance!""Shush!" I whisper scream. It was those big oak tables. No, it was the proctor. Then again, it might have been me. Just mean me. I couldn't take any more of him. Or it. Or she.Being a roundish lout sort with appendages that swiveled about made generalized intelligence look amuck, on roller skates, it was. It was a person, impersonating a being, a Whatever?He, uh it had a name, didn't he, it, she?"Quite!" The thing said. "My name is Quite!"We both stopped. "That's quite a name. Where did you ...

9 likes

Once Upon a Time

Submitted to Contest #291

Once upon a time, I saw two spooks fighting, which wasn’t scary. It was more like a video—the ones that supposedly showed frightening events, like the video of the creepy creature that swooped around the Palisades before that massive fire that upset all the celebrities.However, it seemed odd that a child would fake a video of something so far away on their cell phone, flapping around and gliding, all black, like an air-borne demon. If you were to fake a video about something this alarming, wouldn't you do a better job of it? Especially with ...

15 likes

Seeing Red

Submitted to Contest #290

I was just getting off the elevator when it spoke to me. “Going down!” it said. Which was fine, except I wanted to get off, and the doors wouldn’t open. I laughed. What a silly predicament—alone in a talking elevator, the doors don’t open.So I used that telephone thingy, and no one answered. I had always wondered if someone would answer that huge thing hanging there with enough plastic to kill several fish. When something isn’t used much, does no one check it?Where’s the tag they hang from fire extinguishers that tells you when they were las...

19 likes

Ilsa

Submitted to Contest #289

One could remember that sunset. With Ilsa, I would have. The lingering threads of starlight envelop a world so drawn, unremarkable, and lacking. These stars, which guided us here, carried messages from even more remarkable beings whose names we do not speak.It was always this way: a flourish, resolutions, and feverish activity—from learning languages to making alliances. With whom? I hardly looked anymore. My mouth formed words that meant nothing to me. The northern provinces demanded grain while the merchant guilds clamored for lower tariff...

19 likes

Cyclists

Submitted to Contest #275

"... the cure for loneliness is a relationship with an AI..." His voice made it hard to judge whether he was serious or joking. So, you smile, then nod, then change the subject.  Not that it was a dreary day, being outside for a walk. It was just enough of everything already. Clearing cobwebs and calculating how to get through the day made us survivors, the latest company layoffs be damned! Maybe that was why a city block away, I could smell Montreal smoked meat on rye, oozing tender slippery beef, overflowing on bread ro...

16 likes