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Lily Finch

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2022

Stories (110)
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206 Followers
118 Following

110 Stories

3857 karma pts

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RIP JR. WON’T VAN WINKLE

Submitted to Contest #314

Not long ago, on a silent Tuesday in a small upstate New York town, nestled between a vape shop and a closed-down RadioShack, a man named Rip Van Winkle Jr. lived.Unlike his namesake ancestor, who slept through the American Revolution (or at least dodged HOA dues for twenty years), Rip Jr. had a singular problem. He could not sleep. Not wouldn’t. Not shouldn’t. Couldn’t. “I can’t sleep,” Rip muttered again at 3:17 am. The blue glow of his laptop reflected the twenty-two tabs open on his browser: “5 Foods That Cure Insomnia,” “Are You Secretl...

8 likes 7 comments 7
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SDRAWKCAB

Submitted to Contest #313

The rain battered the windows like a thousand tiny pebbles hurled by an unseen hand. Outside, the storm blurred the world to grey, as if the night itself had lost its definition. “Oh my God, what’s going on?” Sylvie pressed her forehead to the glass, breath fogging the pane. Her voice trembled as she stared into the chaos.Phil stood beside her, phone in hand, but his gaze kept flicking to the street. “Dad, you seeing this?”Raymond didn’t answer, his eyes fixed on the impossible scene beyond the window. Cottam, Ontario—a sleepy, predictable ...

8 likes 6 comments 6
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Jason's Epiphany

Submitted to Contest #294

“You can’t run from your past,” Mildred told her son, Jason. “And that’s why Momma can’t belong to the PTA.” She smiled at her son and kissed him. She handed him his lunch and pushed him out the door. When Jason got outside at the end of the walk, he turned around and said, "But Momma, if it’s your past, then why do they keep bringing it up? Haven’t you already paid for what you’ve done?" She waved him on, and he met with his friends and talked about anything and everything sports. “Mrs. Horan, I have something on my mind,” Ja...

14 likes 10 comments 10
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dick's Loose Gems

Submitted to Contest #293

[Contains sexual content]Christmas Day, 2020, arrived. Our family had planned a trip to San Antonio for months. I had everything all set. Except I didn't.The woman taking our tickets asked for our passports. I produced five and gave two birth certificates for my little ones. I thought they didn't need passports. My hands shook. My heart burned as it beat into my throat, and as the beats came, they seemed to choke me. I couldn't breathe so well, and I had no words. I turned and stooped to my youngest children's height. I put my arms around th...

24 likes 6 comments 6
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Melanie's Hit Single

Submitted to Contest #292

Melanie Shaw, dubbed “Rattle Rocker,” stood at the crossroads of aspiration and reality, her heart beat in time with the strum of guitar strings. Though the bright lights of fame beckoned her, they were still miles away, and flickered like distant stars in the vast night sky. Though pursuing her musical dream, doubts about a more lucrative career plagued her.Known for her stubborn spirit; Melanie battled to juggle her love for music with the harsh truths of financial necessity. She shared laughter and dreams, her close bandmates were oblivio...

13 likes 7 comments 7
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DANIELLE’S ENERGY PODS

Submitted to Contest #291

The night the enormous boom came, all the children at the playground scattered homeward. No one lingered. Everyone got up and left‌. Their moms ‌waited at the entrances to greet them. They got there before the rain intensified from a drizzle to a monsoon-like deluge of volume and duration.  The air raid horn blew, and they headed to the basement shelters. A genuine threat materialized. The drills they practiced at school weren’t in vain. Fancy that! Even while sheltering underground, the sounds of explosions reassured the townspeople th...

14 likes 4 comments 4
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The Tea Company Workers

Submitted to Contest #290

Nobody living outside the world understood how the residents of Sin SLAMPPEP, the world without love, existed. No rationale supported human existence there because there was no love there, which made life difficult to live in a world full of suicides. A mandatory funeral exposed a community's tragic loss from unacknowledged suicides. Money didn’t matter. Without hope and companionship, the government-supplied reproduction levels became mere test tubes in the laboratory of life. A relentless factory of reproduction, where each worker felt the...

16 likes 14 comments 14
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The Date

Submitted to Contest #289

Can u meet me @ Bix? Sure. Todd, right? Huh, yeah, Todd. C you there in 10? Good. I'll be wearing red. Me, too. Been here for five where are you? I'm sitting at a table by the door. You must've walked past me. Heading back to the door now. No, don't see you. You sure you're in the right place? Yep. You? Bix on Main at Fifth. Oh, no. I'm at Bix on 32nd and Hall. Too far to meet now. What's up, anyway? I need to talk. I'm down. Why? You are so talented and so beautiful. Thanks. But I don't feel that way. What do you feel like? Like nothing. Li...

25 likes 19 comments 19
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Sandeep's Oolong Tea

Submitted to Contest #287

"Arrogant prick. Someone needs to put that guy in his place," Jaspreet said."I agree," Sandeep said."I mean, did you hear what he said?" The lines on her forehead were prominent."I know, right?" Sandeep agreed."Perhaps he needs a minor mishap or discomfort to understand others better," Jaspreet's nostrils flared."Yup." Unaware of the traffic and people around them, the two girls walked down the road. Their conversation was all about Ravi. His classroom behaviour offended Jaspreet. She was extremely offended by his foul language. Sandeep worr...

14 likes 7 comments 7
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The Struggle

Submitted to Contest #286

"Don't touch that," Jaq yelled as her mother grabbed one of her teacups and saucers."What do you mean? I wasn't touching anything. I wanted to make sure this didn't fall since the pile of papers you just put down and shoved caused the cups and saucers to move across the table," her mother said."That's touching," Jaq said, breathing long and loudly at her mother. Then, she got between her and the table. Rolled her eyes and made a growling noise.Her mother saw her daughter for the first time in the natural sunlight that came through the dining...

22 likes 8 comments 8
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Slobbering Oatmeal into Her Sweater

Submitted to Contest #285

Our virtue or excellence does not drive our actions but by the act itself. "We are what we do," ~Aristotle. Saliva mixed with cooked oats and brown sugar dripped in small streams from the wrinkled corner of her mouth onto her hunter-green cable-knit sweater. The kitchen emitted the aroma of cooked oats. Still, the scent of brown sugar dominated the ambiance, making it more attractive, reminiscent of when my parents lived here many years ago. The creek on the floor next to the archway notified me of Dad's approach, and Ada and I separated the...

13 likes 0 comments 0
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MISSIONARY STYLE

Submitted to Contest #285

“Hello, this is Mary calling.”  “Hi Mary, what’s new? Hang up, and I’ll call you back.”  “Okay, Barnie, Thank you.” CLUNK RING RING RING LONGS RING RING RING RING SHORTS “Hi Barnie, thanks so much for calling me back.” “No problem. Is something wrong with someone?”  “It’s Nick. I received another letter, and he needs money.”  “Money for what this time?”  “He’s building a mini hospital he’s calling a dispensary.”  “What about the Jesuits? Can’t they help?”  “They helped him with the church, and I know you pa...

26 likes 27 comments 27
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Polygamy, Blended, Single Parent Families Which Is Correct?

Everyone seems to know me here. What the hell is this place? I don't remember a thing. How is that possible? I must be at least 50 years old. Examining myself in the mirror, I see I'm beyond my youth.Was I ever younger? How would I know? Once I leave the house, I see the people across the street wave. I've grown accustomed to answering to the name "Jorgé," but why is it not for my comfort but to ease the minds of everyone around me?There isn't one thing that looks like I should recognize anything. I'm not exactly sure who I occupy this dwell...

6 likes 3 comments 3
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Aloha

Submitted to Contest #283

Most wonderful time of the year, my ass, Jimmy thought. I detest the chaos caused by everyone's fake smiles and insincere gift-giving simply because it's the festive season.This place will never be the same since Rocko and I were stuck together at Christmas many years ago. This year, he unexpectedly appeared in my thoughts, which caused me to feel as though something was amiss.Whenever I purchase a gift for someone, I feel like I'm being watched closely or that Rocko will suddenly appear and greet me with, "Aloha, friend."Considering that we...

8 likes 2 comments 2
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A Profound Effect

Submitted to Contest #283

He was 91 and healthy as a horse. Despite his advanced age, his mind and body were in excellent condition. He lived with his wife of 35 years, whom he could no longer stand or tolerate. His great-granddaughter, her friend, and their two children lived with him. They were supposed to make his meals and take care of whatever he needed while they were at home from work. Nobody understood the stress that Frances lived under daily. His wife told him that if he truly loved her, he would stay home and help her get out of bed to go to the washroom a...

10 likes 15 comments 15
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