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Marie Maher

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2019

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17 Stories

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Light Through Glass

Weekly Contest #364

Zoe was entertaining a forlorn hope that the pigeons would not come near her table. “Shoo!” she said, surreptitiously, flapping her cardigan at them. She liked birds, but she wanted to sip her cappuccino in peace and absorb the beauty of the Piazza San Marco without interruption, and the pigeons were becoming quite intrusive. “Those birds get everywhere, don't they?” a deep, English voice enquired of her. Zoe turned to an adjoining table, where a man was sitting. She laughed self-consciously. “I know. And I just wanted to sit and soak up the...

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Mortant!

Weekly Contest #275

I gazed up at the old house, which lay mellow in the morning sunlight, its ancient walls covered with ivy. From far overhead came the raucous cries of the sea-gulls as they circled in their endless quest for food, while in the background was the ever present surge of the sea, and I remembered. At the landing window I looked out and sighed with pleasure. It was going to be another beautiful day. The sun, already high in the sky, shone down on the streets which were thronged with tourists. When the resort became popular this house, once the ho...

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Old House

Weekly Contest #234

I gazed up at the old house, which lay mellow in the morning sunlight, its ancient walls covered with ivy, and I wished with all my heart that I could turn back time. From far overhead came the raucous cries of the sea-gulls as they circled in their endless quest for food, while in the background was the ever present surge of the sea, and I remembered. At the landing window I looked out and sighed with pleasure. It was going to be another beautiful day. The sun, already high in the sky, shone down on the streets which were thronged with tou...

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Dryad

Weekly Contest #205

We were outside, in the garden, when it happened. I remember it was dark, though the moon was fat and bright. “Reggie” I said softly, and moved forward to take his hand. I felt some remorse, it was true. He was so dull, so hopeless, so wrong for me. But still, I was sorry for the hurt I was about to cause him; yet the excitement inside me was bubbling, raising higher in my breast, threatening to spill from my mouth and eyes and ears like white hot lava. Reg saw it in my face and recoiled. Shock replaced suspicion on his shrivelled feature...

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Clara Belle PI

Weekly Contest #204

The stagecoach pulled up in a cloud of dust, the coachman reining in the steaming horses with an oath. He jumped down, spat, and opened the stagecoach door. “Ma’am,” he said, his moustaches quivering appreciatively. Clara Belle descended into the arid atmosphere of Gorey Creek, a dewy rose in a desert. A lady of some twenty-five summers, her glossy chestnut hair was swept into a knot at the nape of her neck. She lifted her skirt slightly as she climbed down, to reveal starched petticoats and buttoned boots. Clara waited as the driver sw...

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Friends Forever

Weekly Contest #202

 FRIENDS FOREVER ‘So, Rhoda, what do you think I should do about it?’   Karen was sitting opposite her friend at the patio table, and was waiting anxiously for her reply.   Rhoda, as usual, was comforting.   ‘Well, I shouldn’t get too upset. Girls have these friendships much more than boys. She’s an only child as well, which makes her more susceptible.’   Abby, Karen’s four-year-old daughter had claimed to have a “friend”, who she met in her playhouse. Karen’s husband, Rob, had examined it in...

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Wrong Number

Weekly Contest #115

WRONG NUMBER     Mary picked up the phone. She’d try just once more to get the right number. However, just as she was about to do so, it rang. Rather unnerved, Mary said “H…hello?” “Hello?” Well, it’s a woman’s voice, Mary mused. At least that was alright. And someone of the correct age group, by the sound of it. “Hello?” said the voice again (it really sounded very nice, thought Mary) “Is Julia there please?” “Oh, sorry” said Mary, regretfully “You’ve got the wrong number, I’m afraid.” The lady on the other end was insta...

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Clara Belle PI

Weekly Contest #96

The stagecoach pulled up in a cloud of dust, the coachman reining in the steaming horses with an oath. He jumped down, spat, and opened the stagecoach door. “Ma’am,” he said, his moustaches quivering appreciatively. Clara Belle descended into the arid atmosphere of Gorey Creek, a dewy rose in a desert. A lady of some twenty-five summers, her glossy chestnut hair was swept into a knot at the nape of her neck. She lifted her skirt slightly as she climbed down, to reveal starched petticoats and buttoned boots. Clara waited as the driver sw...

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Dip, Dip, Dip.

Weekly Contest #95

Jane was walking slowly down the aisle to the mellifluous strains of ‘The Wedding March’, and she knew she had to make a decision fast. The guests were waiting expectantly in the pews as she reached the altar. Inexorable panic, slowly rising into the back of her throat, threatened to choke her. She felt hot; the palms of her hands were sweating as they clutched her bouquet. It was made up of her favourite flowers, roses and carnations, and she lifted it now to her nose to smell their heady perfume; then saw in horror that she had plucked all...

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Mae Flower

Weekly Contest #86

“OK, so my parents, who I admit should have known better, decided to christen me May. I can hardly help that, can I? I did the only thing I could do, which was to change the ‘y’ to an ‘e’. Yes, I know it’s still pronounced ‘May’! What’s wrong with Mae Flower? Oh, well, if you don’t want to take me on, that’s your loss, not mine!” Mae switched off her phone and gave a little scream of exasperation. “Mum and Dad, how could you!” she yelled, to no-one in particular, her anguish reverberating around the walls of her little flat. She’d reall...

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REPAIRMAN

“What a view!” Carly’s voice cried enthusiasm. Her new husband, Aldo, hurried to the window, and they both exclaimed at the vast concrete panorama far below. It was the year of The Mighty Lord, 2993; they were young and very much in love, and going to spend the rest of their lives in Aldo’s native Italy. However, Carly’s parents had objected. “What about our future grandchildren?" Carly’s mum had wailed. “We’d never see them grow older! You wouldn't ever be allowed to come back to the Commonwealth Republic! And,” she'd muttered under her br...

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Valentine v Cupid

Weekly Contest #81

Kate stared at the woman opposite. The blonde hair looked stylish and the make-up was perfect. Her eyes assessed the slim figure, chic in a little black dress, sharp heels and the latest jacket. She looked so sassy that Kate couldn’t believe she was seeing her own reflection in her bedroom mirror. She spun around to view her rear.  Wow! She was going to stun everyone, and just wait till James saw her! Kate had wanted this improvement for so long, but it had taken the catalyst of James’ defection to start the process. Now, when she look...

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Dip, Dip, Dip.

Weekly Contest #66

           Jane was walking slowly down the aisle to the mellifluous strains of ‘The Wedding March’, and she knew she had to make a decision fast. The guests were waiting expectantly in the pews as she reached the altar. Inexorable panic, slowly rising into the back of her throat, threatened to choke her. She felt hot; the palms of her hands were sweating as they clutched her bouquet. It was made up of her favourite flowers, roses and carnations, and she lifted it now to her nose to smel...

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Friends Forever

Weekly Contest #64

 FRIENDS FOREVER ‘So, Rhoda, what do you think I should do about it?’   Karen was sitting opposite her friend at the patio table, and was waiting anxiously for her reply.   Rhoda, as usual, was comforting.   ‘Well, I shouldn’t get too upset. Girls have these friendships much more than boys. She’s an only child as well, which makes her more susceptible.’   Abby, Karen’s four-year-old daughter had claimed to have a “friend”, who she met in her playhouse. Karen’s husband, Rob, had examined it in...

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The Case Of The Black Beast

THE CASE OF THE BLACK BEASTIt was a filthy evening in mid-November and Holmes accosted me as I returned from seeing a patient on the Marylebone Road.“Can your partner take your patients tomorrow, Watson?” he asked. “We must catch the early express to Edinburgh.”“I have nothing urgent, anyway. You have a case, then,” I added.“Yes, I’ll supply you with details on our journey. You should get your packing done. Don’t forget your service revolver,” added the great man, ominously.Holmes had booked two first-class tickets on the Flying Scotsman, an...

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