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Joe Smallwood

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Apr, 2023

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110 Stories

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Great Expectations

Weekly 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,...

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11:58 Tick Tock

Weekly 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...

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Double Double

Weekly 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...

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All Fired Up

Weekly 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...

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No Problem

Weekly 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...

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Apex Exile

Weekly 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...

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Quite

Weekly 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 ...

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Once Upon a Time

Weekly 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 ...

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Seeing Red

Weekly 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...

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Ilsa

Weekly 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...

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Cyclists

Weekly 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...

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All That Glitters

Weekly Contest #273

I won’t die today. Maybe only next week. Or so I imagine the doctor says as he hustles out of my room, just before the big weekend. I heard him talking to my nurse, “Can hardly wait, gotta new boat and girlfriend, it’ll be great!” My doc kind of goes with the sunshine that streams through my window, all patterns of luminescence, dancing through the lace curtain which moves with the spring breeze. That and the curly Q special lunch with a surprise! Dessert a la supreme chocolate cake, minuscule portion. Part of my special recovery diet! The k...

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The Ultimate Script

Weekly Contest #266

"If the voices in your head had any say, any say in the matter at all, how would they account for themselves?"One voice to another. Not quite fair. A fair question would begin with "Who is speaking?"Wouldn't they?I'm not quite with it yet. I'll let you know."But it isn't only a matter of perspective. Or you would be able to answer."Who are you?Answer who are you. Do it!"I said, I would let you know."Rubbish. I turn in and there is more than I can take in. Dreams that are neither here nor there. I wake up thinking I know what is what. What a ...

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Elephant Man

Weekly Contest #266

And they lived happily ever after.So, I ended my story and breathed a sigh of relief as I shut my laptop. I hadn't counted on staying up so late, with work only a few hours away. But what the hey. Push on through.The city was so quiet, the odd passing car, someone walking.Elephant man.Why did he exist? This plodder, who could never sleep, his heavy steps sounding through the night, back and forth, was it untamed feelings, or a broken romance?It's heartless to even think of progeny that could waste a night brooding and pounding floorboards i...

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Mark Sang

“Still a crackpot, huh?” Sara said over her lobster eggs benedict, talking about my erstwhile friend, Mark Sang, former app developer and Internet sensation. “Yeah, the deep end of all endings!” I chortled, digging into my gourmet pancake stack, fresh berries, edible flowers, and a drizzle of rare maple syrup. Everything was to impress Sara, so young and capable. Another convert, for me the company evangelist. Her resume was made to order, like our brunch, money no object. Who worked for a salary, anyway? You build a career with those oh so ...

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