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Kristina Hopper

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Sep, 2023

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16 Followers
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21 Stories

328 karma pts

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Labeled a Survivor

Weekly Contest #343

This story contains references/themes of mental health and violence. Lady in a green raincoat.Man in a wrinkled suit jacket.Mother and child grasping tightly to each other; boots scuffed in mud.“5. 34.”Man at the counter. Shuffling through customer after customer. Never changing expression. Not when the cards are declined. Or when the pockets are emptied with change. Not even when the man, in the wrinkled suit, chatters away on his phone. In and out. In and out. People come in and out. Then a sound like a firecracker. Pop. Pop. Pop.A feeling...

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Lack of Closure

Weekly Contest #340

It is devastatingly quiet...This was postponed for two weeks. Most of the state, having been buried in a foot of snow. Eerie, how snowstorms both disrupt and halt life. A tap on my shoulder. Uncle Marc passes me a Kleenex. He gives me a quiet nod and hurries to Aunt Marsha. Face buried in her hands.I tuck the Kleenex in my jacket pocket. The brown Peacoat jacket, that always seems reserved for things like this. It’s like my “death” jacket. I semi consider throwing it in the garbage after that thought crosses my mind.There is a rustling sound...

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Family Portrait

Weekly Contest #337

It’s deathly quiet.Well…that’s probably not the best choice of words, considering.Aunt Marsha is crying in the corner while Uncle Marc is desperately trying to layer a very small plate with fruits and assorted meats. He’s doing remarkably well, nodding when Aunt Marsha talks between sobs, as if the plate is really of no interest to him. Aunt Margaret is sitting in a chair, next to Aunt Rayna, as if Aunt Rayna really needs her there. Just yesterday, Rayna and Margaret’s feud was still alive and well. Or do healthy sibling conversations normal...

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Point of View

Weekly Contest #326

The room reverberated with laughter. Raucous and unfiltered. Plates full of green leafy salads and miniature tomatoes were replaced by chicken smothered in a fancy glaze sauce and sauteed carrots. The laughter continued with the shifting plates. Fitzgerald B. Phillips knew how to work a room. He was acutely aware of his wittiness and ability to disarm even the most placid person. He was a man, who although he grew up with high middle class luxuries, knew that his slight wealth made him no better than the next person. He was normally inclined...

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Fame Intermission

Weekly Contest #318

Ugh. It is contemptable. These people are fawning over her. These camera flashes are excruciating. The whistles…nauseating. The same questions repeatedly. Who designed your dress?What is the best advice someone has given you?How does it feel to be nominated?Blah. Blah. Blah.The dress is from a rack. On clearance for 5.99. Not Christian Dior.First lie.“My mother told me to live in the moment.”Haven’t talked to your mother in five months.Second lie.“It is such an honor to be recognized for this work.”An hour ago, you were mapping out your best...

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Between Writers

Weekly Contest #304

The prickling vine bush hangs down the peeling wallpaper, etching its impression down to the cracked linoleum floor. A soft whirring fan, covered in a myriad of dust, cascades a small dainty kitchen with one working burner and a sink full of dishes. A sink full of dishes that, most certainly, had not been touched in a few weeks. A sliding glass door opens out into an enclosed area with overgrown plants and stacks of books. All the books haphazardly stacked with no real organizational system. Chipped coffee mugs sit absentmindedly on a small ...

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Somewhere

The diner was tucked away off of a dirt road. A half-lit sign only brightened the DI…with the remaining ones left dark. An orange cat wandered through the gravel area, stopping periodically to look off into the dusk. A random palm tree, which had no clear reasoning for its presence, rested at the entrance. With all the oddities, there were at least twenty cars parked. A group of people stood at the door, chatting amongst themselves. Down the road, was a single pump gas station. Once entering the small city, you had to catch this place, or yo...

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Life in Friendship

Weekly Contest #283

The grass was unkept. Random piles of debris littered the driveway. Half-open cardboard boxes. Overspilled containers of dog food. Worn down cigarette butts. The mailbox was tilting to the side; the door half open and overflowing with brown envelopes. The entire house was reminiscent of any living state. Walter Totten navigated his way through the devastation and knocked on the front door. He heard a dog barking behind it. Then silence. Walter knocked again. The dog began barking once more. This time, he heard a rattle, and the door opened. ...

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Once Upon a Christmas Eve

Weekly Contest #282

“I guess I’m sorry.” “You guess?” Ryles Bennett shifted in his seat. “Okay. Okay. I don’t guess. I’m sorry.” Kit Barren looked at Ryles with a look of exasperation and let out a heavy sigh. “Whatever.” Ryles looked down at his phone. There were numerous messages from his fantasy football group chat. Didn’t score any points. Not in the playoffs…again. My grandma is bringing her roasted potatoes for Christmas dinner. Nobody will say anything but why does she put raisins on it? Ryles looked up. Kit was stirring a pot on the stove. “I think I bu...

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An act of Kindness

Weekly Contest #276

Grief is such a difficult construct. One that a human layers with differing views of timelines, guidance, and social acceptance. When someone passes away in our culture, we bury them in the ground after a series of services preluding the burial and we try to find solace that our loved ones are in what we deem to be a better place.              Grief has been a difficult construction for me. On January 3rd, every year, for the rest of my life that day will be a solemn remin...

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The Council

Weekly Contest #273

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” The wind was howling and causing the ship’s bells to ring frantically. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…” the deckhand continued to recite the verse of Psalm 23. The night sky had taken on an auburn hue. Annoying sea rats roamed throughout the sand of the long-gone island. The deckhand’s prayer could be heard until a path of twinkling lights presented itself. A wooden door appeared at the end of the path guar...

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Impending Doom

Billows Montgomery leapt thought the air. The cat’s feet landed with a thud on the hardwood floor. Thunder was crackling through the night sky and lightning was flashing periodically. Rain pelted the windows of the house, making it seem like rocks were being hurled at the glass. But the weather was not the reason for the cat’s leap. The fireplace, in the living room, had made an explosive sound and black smoke had risen in the room. Billows stood on the edge of the ceiling high bookshelf and waited. After a few moments, a figure rose from th...

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Life Choices

The bell chimed. Customers came in and out. The smell of coffee and pastry filled the air. The old-fashioned register made a chugging noise. With each order, a line of numbers would appear, and paper would unravel. Pop McGrady, the shop’s owner could be heard yelling out order numbers. Three employees, were mingling around, fulfilling orders, and working like a seamless machine. Curtis Winfield stepped through the coffee shop’s door. His morning had consisted of chasing his golden retriever, Mutt, around the neighborhood. Mutt was chasing on...

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Community Table

It was an early fall evening. Leaves were painting the town. The sun was disappearing behind the clouds and the night was setting in. A black cat was sitting on Gerrick Button’s porch, staring at him intently. It was his neighbor, Anna Harbor’s cat, McMuffins. He always found his way to Gerrick’s porch throughout the week. He had many guesses to why that was, but Gerrick would normally just walk by McMuffins, say “Hello” and let the cat be. Later in the evening, he would hear Anna yelling for McMuffins, but Gerrick believed that the cat did ...

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The Ritzy Column

Weekly Contest #254

This column is meant for entertainment purposes. Please do not sue me. Any tips or leads can be directed to my email which you can find on our newspaper’s contact page. It is fifteen minutes past six in the evening. The aura of prestige and class permeates throughout the Vee ’Ola restaurant. Political figures dine here. Self-made millionaires dine here. It is even rumored that actor Getta Davis received the call to learn that she had landed the role, in what is now her award-winning movie, Plausible Deniability. The reservations are made mo...

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