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Megan Cianfaglione

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Apr, 2025

Stories (14)
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14 Stories

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Ready to be Served

Submitted to Contest #333

The sound of boiling water hitting the flames jolted me into action as I whipped my head around and lunged for the dial to lower the temperature. Where was the box of pasta? I found the dark blue spaghetti box on the marble counter. I grabbed salt, threw it into the boiling water, and dumped the pasta in, trying not to splash. Then I refocused on cutting basil.I moved through the kitchen on instinct, every motion practiced and quiet. The knives were already laid out in order of use, their handles aligned just so. Natalia liked things precise...

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All Parties Served and Consumed

Submitted to Contest #333

My empty plate sat in front of me, as clean as a bone. I always finished my food too quickly, and my mother warned me about it. You’ll choke, she used to yell.As I sit here and think back to those moments at the dinner table, I wouldn’t mind choking to death around these people—snotty, unbearable, nepo babies. Meanwhile, I worked my ass off to get where I am today. I didn’t have mommy and daddy to bribe someone into passing me the bar exam or get me into law school for free. My eyes were fixed on my red wine when Barbara started clinking her...

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Blood Slushy

Submitted to Contest #331

Snowflakes glittered in the moonlight as they floated to the ground. My breath fogged the windowpane as I gazed out at the freshly fallen snow—no traces of humans or animals on the powder. Snow was forecast for the next hour, and we were expecting 7 inches total. I sighed as I backed away from the window and collapsed on the bed. It was nearing midnight, and my thoughts had begun to spiral. One thought blended into another, crashing together until there was nothing but a blizzard within my brain. Soon, exhaustion took me away to sleep. Whoos...

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Summer Ghosts

Submitted to Contest #328

The lake town looks exactly the same, which feels impossible. The same sun-bleached docks. The same cicada buzz. The same endless shimmer of heat over the water. Even the same red canoe, gently rocking against its rope as if someone left it tied up yesterday.She expects the memories to hit all at once—the laughter, the sunburns, the taste of metal from the old water pump. But instead there’s a hollowness, like the town is waiting for her to start remembering before it exhales. Even the air feels heavy, thick with damp heat and something she ...

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Peripheral

Submitted to Contest #325

The doctor told him there would be floaters.“Just the brain adjusting,” she said, sliding the neural interface into its sterile case. “Your mind’s relearning how to see again. The peripheral distortions will fade.”Elliot nodded, though the word floaters felt wrong. They didn’t float. They crawled.The first one appeared three nights after the surgery. A glimmer in the corner of his eye while he brushed his teeth. It was a small, translucent thing like a spider made of glass. When he turned his head, it vanished. When he looked back, the air s...

12 likes 4 comments 4
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The Weight of Water

Submitted to Contest #324

The sea was calm that morning, with whitecaps emerging in the distance. The horizon stretched endlessly in all directions, cold and relentless. Gray sky met gray water, and somewhere in between was my lifeboat, half-swallowed by waves. Despite the motionless oars and the salt-crusted handles, I refused to give in. My hands, blistered, bled, and went numb, but I persisted. I tried to count time by the sun's movements, but even that rhythm eventually felt off. Some days, the light never came at all.There’s a special kind of peace you make with...

20 likes 7 comments 7
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Hollow Fire

Submitted to Contest #320

INCIDENT REPORT Agency: U.S. Forest Service – Region 1 Incident Name: Pine Hollow Forest Fire Incident Number: MT-2025-0917 Date/Time of Initial Report: September 17, 2025 – 18:42 hrs Location: Grid 7-B, Pine Hollow, Lewis and Clark National Forest Cause: Under Investigation Units Dispatched: Engine 42, Brush 16 Status: Personnel unaccounted for.Smoke rose through the tree line, contrasting against the orange hue behind it. The two-tone howl cut through the evening air, rising and falling in that practiced rhythm that meant only one thing — ...

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How to Bake a Heart

Submitted to Contest #306

Intro:They say grief transforms us into monsters.But before we dive in, a little backstory—every good recipe needs one, and you’ll want to understand where it all unraveled. He wasn’t the first man to steal my heart. Just the last one I allowed in long enough to rot me from within. He spoke of "forever” with lips stained by someone else’s kiss. He brought me flowers when I detested that kind of bloom. He abandoned me in January, a cliché biting through the cold. Yet, here I am, ready to pick gravel from my knees to return to the night he wh...

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Secrets Beneath the Lake

Submitted to Contest #306

My toes splashed in the water as I dangled my legs over the edge of the canoe.“Wanna hit?” I offered Colin the joint between my fingers.He took a drag, then flicked it silently into the lake. Smoke drifted past my face as I smiled, the sun warming my skin. Birds chirped in the trees, and the soft lapping of water against the canoe relaxed me.I glanced over at Colin paddling. With his spiky hair and tattoos, he looked like he belonged in a punk band—but he was one of the kindest people I knew.He caught me looking and smirked. I turned away qu...

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Beneath the dust

Submitted to Contest #300

Cowboy boots crunched on the desert ground, creating a cloud of dirt. Saguaro cacti rose high to the blistering sun above, their spines protruding from their arms. Closer to the ground, prickly pear cacti pads give life to ruby fruits and barrel cacti loomed dangerously close. Heat rose from the ground creating distorted ripples through the eyes of brave passersby. The desert was a barren place, birds hid in scabs of cacti while the fiercer animals reserved their energy for night. Beneath the cracked surface, something stirred. It felt as th...

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Life in the Fast Lane

Submitted to Contest #299

There’s something about working at a quick lube that feels like being trapped in a sitcom. The characters are there, the drama unfolds, and you’re just trying to get through the shift without another annoying customer or meltdown from a coworker.Take my manager, Greg, for example. He’s got this bipolar energy that shifts on a dime. One minute he's cracking jokes, and the next minute he’s having an existential crisis over a car lining up in the wrong bay. You can never predict it, and sometimes, it’s better to just avoid him altogether.Greg’s...

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Midnight Snack

Submitted to Contest #299

A gentle breeze ruffled the curtains in Sammy’s room. Her blue eyes fluttered open as the chill crept over her. Moonlight cast eerie shadows across her room. Something felt off. She slid from under the covers and ran across the icy wood floor to close the window. She peered out into the backyard. Even the pale glow from the moon wasn’t enough to keep the darkness from pressing in on her, watching her. It was too quiet. Her heart raced as she saw something moving. She ran back to bed, pulling the covers over her head. She knew from horror mo...

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Between Hearts, Beyond Words

Submitted to Contest #298

Rayna had been working at Ink and Ivy for about a month now. In that time, she had grown closer to Joel. His easygoing, calming nature made it easier for her to relax. Greg, on the other hand, was…Greg. He was flamboyant and loud. He always entered the bookstore as if it were a stage on Broadway. She kept her distance from him after he started calling her doll. She hated it but was too shy and unsure of her voice to tell him to stop. The bell above the front door jingled as the last customer left. Rayna exhaled; it had been a busy day. She ...

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New Roots

Submitted to Contest #298

Rayna stripped her loud, red hair back to her natural brown, deleted every social media account, and vanished. Driving in her beat-up sedan across state lines she finally pulled off the road. Down a shallow ditch there was a river flowing by, dark and fast. Rayna reached into her purse, grabbed her phone, and chucked it into the river. This was not fueled by angst—it was survival. Someone had once sworn, they’d find her again. She watched the phone plop into the water sending droplets into the air. A bitter cold wind cut across her face se...

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