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Michelle Oliver

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Dec, 2022

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516 Followers
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85 Stories

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People of a Dying Sun

We are the last of the humans; the ones left behind to witness the final throws of a dying sun.The Arc, the behemoth space craft, the life raft designed to save humanity by boldly exploring new places to thrive, left us behind, the unloved, the unheard and the unwanted. They promised to come for us once they found a new home. We knew their promises were empty, yet we lived in hope, but the Light Stalkers found us first.Then we lived in darkness and fear. A dying people, under a dying sun.****The sibilant hiss sends shivers of terror up my sp...

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We, The Left Behind

Weekly Contest #232

We are the left behind, the ones who didn’t make the cut, the unlucky.When The Arc was created, they said the positions on board would be determined by ballot. Funny how that random selection process took one hundred percent of the rich and famous, the billionaires, the influencers, the celebrities and politicians. Oh, they took others too, the unnamed and unknown. Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, all randomly selected. Families were torn apart by the horrible choice, either stay together and die, or separate for a chance at life. M...

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Soulless

Weekly Contest #231

A soul was a weighty thing to carry. Florien had never realised how heavy it was until this moment. Sarah Jane looked at him with luminous eyes that were sunken into her pale face, her soul shining through the shadows of pain and exhaustion. An uncomfortable shame churned in his gut. He’d nearly killed her. He’d gone feral, giving in to his primal instinct to hunt, and he’d hunted her.It had taken years, centuries even, to reach the level of clarity that he had today. He could almost pass for human… almost. He drank ‘stil...

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The Trouble with Resolutions

Weekly Contest #231

***Content warning, Adult Themes***One glass1) Lose weight.(You need to make your goals specific and measurable.)(OK, how’s this then?)1a) Join Weight Watchers—Actually follow the program this time.1b) Lose 10 kilos by Christmas, (that’s less than 1 kilo a month, that’s doable right?)1c) Keep the weight off this time.(How are you going to manage that?)(With my second resolution.)2) Join a gym.(Specific and measurable, remember.)(***sigh***)2a) Pay for a year’s membership at Fitness First Gym.2b) Sign up for two classes per week.2c) Sign Kels...

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Today I Will Wake Up

Weekly Contest #230

“Goal setting is so important, it helps to break the impossible tasks into possibilities. Write them down, have a plan, have a goal. Tick things off the list as you go. You will be surprised at how much you can achieve,” said my therapist to me.“I know.” And I did know, I just never did it. But I will today.Today I will:1) wake up and I will get out of bed. I will do it without groaning or moaning. Nothing will hurt. I will be refreshed and rejuvenated. I will have energy to face the day. It will be a great day.2) get dressed and I will look...

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Soulmate

Weekly Contest #228

Florien felt a deep sense of regret and shame, overlaid with a heart wrenching panic, as he contemplated the gravity of his error. He’d eaten something he shouldn’t have. He’d eaten the artist, Sarah Jane.With self loathing settling in his stomach and the imminent repercussions resounding in his head, he withdrew his fangs from her neck and she slid to the ground in a boneless heap. The panic rose in his dead heart as he staggered to the side table where his phone was on charge, and opened his saved contacts. He only had one number, Mrs...

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Friday 13 January 1939-Black Friday

Weekly Contest #226

“On [Friday 13 January 1939] it appeared that the whole State [Victoria, Australia] was alight. At midday, in many places, it was dark as night. Men carrying hurricane lamps, worked to make safe their families and belongings. Travellers on the highways were trapped by fires or blazing fallen trees, and perished. Throughout the land there was daytime darkness… Steel girders and machinery were twisted by heat as if they had been of fine wire. Sleepers of heavy durable timber, set in the soil, their upper surfaces flush with the groun...

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Self Imagery

Shortlisted for Contest #225 ⭐️

Florien needed to find a real artist. Well, he was a real artist. Centuries of practice had honed his brush strokes to a level that far exceeded proficient. His landscapes were so vivid that you could feel the warm breeze and the soft sun. Or should that be, feel the soft breeze and warm sun? It had been over two hundred years since he’d set foot beyond these castle walls in daylight hours, so he wasn’t quite sure. But today, he needed to find an artist other than Mrs Bedford at the inn who’d painted the most hideous portrait&...

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Allondial and Remu— a myth

Weekly Contest #224

To hear the stories told by old women over the fire, one would believe the world to be inhabited by ghouls and hobgoblins. This is not true. The world is full of magic for sure, but the magic has been here longer than the old women, longer than humankind and longer indeed than memory can express.In the beginning of time, Allondial was born. Her first breath was a gasp that awakened humankind from the eternal sleep of non-existence. Her smile was gentle as she gazed upon all creation as it woke, and humankind smiled back, enthralled...

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Facing the Music

Weekly Contest #223

My bones hurt as I drag myself inside. It’s been a long day. Some people make snide remarks, ‘Oh, you’re a teacher? It must be nice to get all those holidays!’ and other such comments. I say, just try it. You go ahead and do what I do for a day, cramming a syllabus into the heads of the unwilling, while dealing with their issues and quirks, then see if you want to come back and do it again. I’m buggered at the end of each day, emotionally drained to the point that I really can’t ‘adult’ anymore.I kick my shoes off, leaving them where they fa...

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A letter to my daughter

Dear DaughterWith a heart full of mixed feelings, I sit here, scrolling through pictures and videos of you that I have taken throughout your journey through school. Your primary school photos, you and your best friend grinning from ear to ear, wearing gold tinsel and angel wings, messing about with friends, reading on the couch in pink pyjamas, winning trophies, playing instruments. There are so many memories. Each one is infinitely precious to me.Thirteen school years have raced by in the blink of an eye, and you’re now about to begin your ...

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The Trial of Don Gato

Weekly Contest #220

“Please state your name for the record.”“Mi nombre es Don Gato, como estas?”The Don rested in the chair with studied nonchalance, his face impassive, his whiskers impressive. He was very proud of his whiskers and spent many hours of every day improving them. His grooming was impeccable.“Mr Gato-”“Don.”“I beg your pardon?”“Is Don. Señor Don Gato, no’ Meester Gato.”“Yes, well, Señor Gato, please explain in your own words the events that occurred prior to the morning of July 15th this ...

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Deeper than the Darkest Night

Weekly Contest #219

Waking is my nightmare. When I open my eyes, there is nothing and for the briefest moment, I am drowning, lost in the prison of this endless and suffocating void. I scream, but the sound is stolen from me. I am buried alive in the unrelenting blackness that is deeper than the darkest night.Then the reality crashes back into my brain as my flailing hand makes sharp contact with human flesh. Small hands press against my chest and face, while unheard whispers sizzle over my cheeks. It’s then that I remember; I’m blind and deaf, the cruel conseq...

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This Wall of Silent Darkness

Weekly Contest #218

Pain, the memories of it flit along the sharp edges of my brain like wounds from a weapon wielded by an iron butterfly. I cry out in the silence, but the unending sea of darkness that I float upon swallows my voice. Sometimes this sea rocks and swirls gently, and at other times it churns with violent, silent waves that torment and spin me around, drowning me in the void. Fragments of memory assail me. Vague recollections of awakening from a suffocating sleep, arms flailing, hands grasping, and the instinct to survive battles with the encroac...

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Sir Braxton’s Alchemy

Weekly Contest #217

Savagely munching an apple purloined from the kitchen wench, Sir Braxton stormed his way through the outer courtyard, its stone walls ringing with the morning’s activities. Lord Hume had asked to see him in the great chamber and he could guess what that noble lord wanted.“Damn and thrice be buggered!” he hissed, startling a milkmaid as she went about her morning chores. He snarled at her impatiently and threw his apple core in her general direction. She squeaked as she dodged the projectile and scurried away, avoiding aggravating his temper ...

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