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Laura Camacho Frias

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Feb, 2024

Stories (60)

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93 Followers

24 Following

60 Stories

1593 karma pts

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48

Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #336

We were the last ones in the office. He, the person who had given me the opportunity to take my next step in my career, was sitting in the usual place, and I was standing before him, waiting to hear whatever he had to tell me."This is the year to die," he said, turning his chair to face me. It was dark outside, and the lights kept flickering. I never liked it when things didn't work the way they should. Lights, computers, phones, people…Each time the light changed, it seemed to wink at me, almost as if it was laughing. And him… well, he was ...

1 like

The aftermath

Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #332

I returned to my room as quickly as I could. Although I was supposed to stay there that night, the thought of meeting any of those people during breakfast made me throw up. I put all my stuff in my little weekend bag—the same one I took to the hospital when my daughter was born—and rushed to the reception to check out.“Won’t you stay the night with us?” said the woman before me, who should not be more than twenty-five years old. “Wasn’t everything as expected?”I was mortified. How could I explain why I need to leave? How could I tell her tha...

12 likes

Rita

Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #330

My name is Rita, short and simple. My father was in love with a Hollywood actress his whole life, and when he settled with my mother — who didn't look like Rita, but had fantastic self-esteem and a tremendous sense of humour — they both agreed that it would be a good name if they had a daughter. Their reasons, of course, were different: to my father, the romantic, the name represented beauty and success; to my mother, a very straightforward woman, it was practical, easy to shout out whenever I was playing in the park or had messed up someth...

26 likes

The grab

Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #325

CW: Physical violence, sexual assault My life couldn't be better. I had a beautiful family and a successful career, for which, at last, I would be recognized among my peers —something I'd been working on for years and, without any doubt, something I felt proud of. I had been teaching science in several high schools for a decade when one of my research projects finally caught the attention of the Ministry of Education and, to the surprise of many, I qualified for a national grant competition. In case I won, the award could secure me enough fu...

13 likes

Dinner & Blood

Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #322

Despite Rachel having told me several times that the gathering would be informal, with only a few friends of hers, I couldn’t help myself and looked for something in my wardrobe that made me feel confident, sexy, and Christmas-y. The truth was that I had no idea of which kind of friends would be around, but she had mentioned there would be at least a couple of guys, and I couldn’t stop myself, not because I was desperate to get some, but because I didn’t want anyone to think I had no other options but to spend Christmas with a coworker. I ha...

20 likes

Oscar The First

Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #319

Growing up in a wealthy family isn't easy. There is a strong expectation, from the moment you're born, to become a replica of those who surround you, which might be cute for some, but it was always my worst nightmare. I was the first son. My arrival was planned and strategized, just like everything around our household. Surprise family members would not have helped my parents' careers, so I arrived shortly after my mother got a promotion and my father opened his architecture studio. I spent a lot of time with a nanny who took over the care o...

6 likes

Sara's wedding

Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #318

I didn't want to marry him. I loved him, but the thought of spending the rest of my life with that man was making me nauseous. I couldn't vomit, though, or I would mess up the dress, the huge, sparkly, and sexy wedding gown I'd spent a fortune on months before. Months. I felt so good when he proposed. I felt special, although I knew what he'd planned before he popped the little ring box. I had seen that very same little silver container days before, when I picked up his trousers from the floor in the bedroom, but I had kept that discovery t...

22 likes

Bananas, chocolate and wine

Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #317

The first time I saw him, I was in the supermarket, reading the label of a can of chopped tomatoes, looking for the latest allergen developed by my friend's son. At this point, I have a file in my phone with more than a hundred items that can give nightmares to any mom in the playground, but not me. We had invited them for dinner, and I was ready to prepare a vegetarian, lactose-free, gluten-free, kid-friendly lasagna, followed by a fruit salad, as long as there were no fruits in the list... so... banana. I had a plan: kid-proof lasagna and ...

13 likes

Lie to me

Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #316

My father had spent a month in the hospital, and I hadn't slept in two days when I first saw her. Rosa appeared in my life the day before my father died. Little did I know that the time I spent with her would change my life. I was sitting in a poorly designed armchair, in no way comfortable for anyone who should spend more than five minutes there, and still, that metal and fake cow skin piece of furniture seemed to have become part of me. I guess the physical pain made me cope better with my mental state, which was bad, to put it mildly. I d...

22 likes

The Silver Knot

Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #307

Someone held my hand, and suddenly, I felt the prick in my finger. I never liked the way the cold metal found its way inside my skin. I'd fainted, vomited, and cried way too many times in my life during blood tests to know what was about to happen next, and it wasn't pretty. I stumbled and grabbed someone on my way down while the needle kept dangling during my fall. I heard the cries of a couple of people around me, someone yelling, "Grab her!" and then, there was nothing. I was out for a couple of minutes — that's what someone told me later...

22 likes

Nine months later

Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #305

Sometimes we have to do what makes us happy... It was my dream job. It had cost me my time, my health, and —let's be honest —a big chunk of my principles, but nothing mattered anymore: I'd made it. I was a mid-to-upper-level manager in a large company, one of those that shape the world and make your curriculum something to talk about, even with strangers who have no idea what you talk about at those fancy dinners people invite you to from time to time. I was a medium shot on my way to becoming a big deal. I had survived the Corporate climb d...

11 likes

Trouble

Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #303

My heart stopped beating at 11:35 on a Saturday morning. I heard someone saying I had waited for my daughter to arrive before giving my last breath, but the truth is that everything has been planned before, and I'm a man who likes his plans. That was the time expected, and that's when it happened. While a group of people discussed the music, candles and company I should have around in my last moments, the machine stopped beeping; I opened my eyes, choked, grabbed the first person who dared to hug me and died in the most gruesome and traumati...

36 likes

Sunday brunch

Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #297

The end of the year was never easy at work. Not only did we have to meet the targetted results and face personal appraisals, but we also had to play it cool and smile whenever things did not go as expected, which was exhausting. You never know which part of your day and looks can be used as ammunition against you when competing for a promotion, so the only option is to prevent the enemy from gearing up against you. In the corporate world, no excuses are allowed on the path of survival and success. Those TV guys who travel to a desert island ...

20 likes

Tonight we drink

Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #295

We were in the bar where my life had changed one year before. It was an odd place to celebrate a funeral, and still, convenient. It was dark, and close to a good alcohol supply. People would know what to do once the service was finished, and the poor lighting would be a perfect prelude for the dark night they would enter hours later.When we entered the place, the little silver urn on the counter reflected the light from the street as if someone were blinking at us. It did not suit him, the silver. I would have chosen a mate black, something ...

15 likes

Human Resources

Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #294

[Follow up to Submission to Contest #193: The midnight ride] People are paid to do their job, no matter how much they say they like it. If the salary factor were removed, no one would stay at their desk, no matter how much they like what they do, their colleagues, or the work environment. That’s a fact; if anyone says otherwise, they lie. Still, to me, at that point, salary was the least of my concerns. Since I had had my promotion, I had spent a fair amount of time trying to understand what I was supposed to do about my job and how I was su...

28 likes