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Philip Clayberg

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2020

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77 Stories

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The Die Is Cast

BRONN: “Toshiko?” I said to my wife. “Could you hand me the entertainment section of today's Ellington Herald?” She did so. “The review of your very first play should be in it, Bronn. I bet they liked it. I did.” I turned the pages of the newspaper until I reached the reviews section. I tried not to stare at what I found. One paragraph? Just one lousy paragraph? Who were they trying to kid? I sighed and read it anyway. When I didn't say anything, my wife asked, “What is it, honey? Is something wrong?” At first, I honestly didn't hear...

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Inner Space (sequel to "Late Night Delivery")

GILLIAN (Eunice's mother): I felt like I'd been trapped in a lightless bubble since the accident last night. A pair of headlights heading right at my car. Blindingly bright. A flash of pain. Then nothing seen or heard for I don't know how long. When I seemed to regain consciousness, I wasn't in my car or at home or anywhere else familiar or alien to me. There was nothing but darkness around me. No stars above me, nothing solid or wet below and around me. It reminded me of a science article I once read about sensory deprivation. But everythin...

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The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Blast it. Not again. There wasn't even any sign that the lab animal had ever existed. Just an empty circle next to a complicated computer-programmed machine that had cost a great deal of money, effort, and time. Where the lab animal had ended up was anyone's guess. Maybe not just where but also when. At least it hadn't exploded. I suppose I should've been grateful for that much. Frustrated, I threw my light pen away. It landed on the worktable a few feet away, rolled a short distance and came to a stop. I almost threw my tablet computer ...

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Bumps in the Road (sequel to "Bethany and Sharif")

SHARIF: I was just leaving my Third Period class when I heard my name on the school P.A. system. “Sharif Darwish! Sharif Darwish! Please come to the school office!” One of the school bullies shoved me against a nearby wall and said in my ear, “I figured they'd catch up to a Moslem like you someday. They should've deported you and your parents after 9/11 happened. If I were you, Sharif, I wouldn't try to wiggle out of whatever you did wrong this time. Because if you do, you'll have me to deal with. Get me?” I freed myself from him and s...

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An Interview with the Bakers (sequel to "The Big Day: Part 1 - Preparations")

One nice Spring morning, my boss stood in the doorway of his corner office and shouted: “Miles! In my office! Pronto!”I wished that he could've just come over to my newsroom desk and said it more quietly. But that hasn't ever been his way.I sighed and shrugged to the reporters near me, then stood up and walked over to my boss.He stepped aside, gesturing that I enter first. I did so. He shut the door behind us. At least it wouldn't be audible to anyone else, even if they could still see through the glass-window wall that separated us from the...

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Credit Where Credit Is Due

From backstage, my wife and I could both hear the excited buzz of conversation coming from the audience. All that separated us from them were two curtains, with a tiny vertical opening in the middle of the stage where they almost met. Admission was free and I think that all the seats were occupied. Using crutches, I stood up. And immediately winced. Noticing it, my wife asked yet again, “Harvey, are you quite sure you don't want to take a painkiller before giving your speech?” I winced again and nodded. I tried to keep my breathing re...

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The New Purgatory Therapist

After I died -- shuffled off my mortal coil, joined the choir invisible, pushed up the daisies, or what have you -- I expected to come face-to-face with St. Peter at the Pearly Gates. I did. I also expected him to look like a haloed, winged angel in white robes. He didn't. Instead, he was dressed in a white three-piece suit and wore a white beret. His hair was short, almost military length. (Did he usually look like this? I don't know, so why don't you go ask someone who would know? Like God, for instance. Last I heard, He knows everything.)...

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A Moving Experience

It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair. I was happy here at the end of the street. I liked all the tall old trees that had grown up around our house and the other houses that ringed the cul-de-sac. Their shadows provided cool shelter from the heat and humidity each summer. Without them, there would be no piles of leaves to jump into each autumn. Their branches were even strong enough to support me. I remember sitting up in the tree in the front yard, legs dangling beneath me, wishing that I didn't have to go back inside. I liked the outdoor g...

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Bethany and Sharif

BETHANY: Are you there, Yahweh? (If that's being blasphemous, I'm sorry. But I'm Jewish and just calling you “God” didn't feel right to me. I guess you'll have to be “Yahweh” for the time being. I hope you don't mind.) It's me, Bethany.I thought if I could discuss the situation I'm in with anyone, you were the best person to discuss it with. I don't think that my parents or my brother Jake would understand.You see, it all began at a cast party last Saturday night. Cast parties are held after the final night of a play's run. (This time the pl...

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Redemption (the sequel to "The Calm Before the Storm")

QUENTIN: It was late at night. The small jail was mostly quiet and empty except for two prisoners, two guards, and myself. I placed a chair as close to the first prisoner's cell as possible, sat down, and started reading the book I'd brought along. I wasn't expecting any interruptions until morning. But even a lawyer can be wrong sometimes. “Mr. Ngomo?” the prisoner called. “You still there?” “I'm still here, Mr. Drummond,” I said. “I thought you would be sleeping, recovering from your hangover. So I brought a book with me.” “It's not ...

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The Midnight Bride (sequel to "Only Human")

SAM: “Such a strange time of day for a wedding,” my mother said. “And a strange time of the year as well.” I looked at myself in the full-length mirror. My mother stood behind me. It was hard to believe that the tall woman who was reflected in the mirror was actually me. Was I really that beautiful all the time or just on this special day? “Elias and I wanted to begin the new year and our life together simultaneously,” I said. “Was it his idea or yours?” my mother asked as she stood beside me. “Both of ours,” I said. “Having experien...

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A Dream Come True

My girlfriend and stood behind the fence, watching as each vintage race car sped past us, shaking the fence as they did so. Their engines grew in volume as they came closer, then dropped slightly in volume once they were past us. Red Ferraris, white or silver or red and white or light blue and orange Porsches, yellow or red Lolas, white Chapparals, silver Mercedes-Benzes. My girlfriend's long dark hair blew this way and that in the wind that came from the passing race cars. It was exhilarating being so close to them. For me, anyway. My gir...

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A Fraud and His Money

I whistled happily as I added up the proceeds of the day. A little over $5000. Definitely the best day yet. Skinning the fools who think that psychic powers are the real thing just kept getting easier and easier. They'd point to Uri Geller and ask, “What about him? Aren't his real?” I'd laugh and say, “Only if you want to bend spoons. I've got a wooden cane with more psychic powers than he has.” Unconvinced, they'd frown, purse their lips, and shake their heads. One said, “You wouldn't be so sure of it if you encountered the real thing...

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Past and Present (sequel to "Renaissance")

ARIANA: As Vicky refilled my mug (“Free refills,” she said.), she asked, “Haven't seen you in here before. New in town?” I nodded. “Just moved here from Dandridge.” I held out my hand. “I'm Ari.” She shook my hand. “I'm Vicky.” “Nice to meet you,” I said. “Likewise,” she said. “If you don't mind me asking,” I said, my curiosity getting the better of me. “Be my guest,” she said. “Are you first-generation like I am or has your family been here a long time?” I asked. “Fourth generation,” Vicky said. “My great-grandparents moved ...

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Renaissance

It was late afternoon at my parents' house in Dandridge. I was sealing a packing box with tape when I suddenly got the feeling of someone watching me. I looked up and saw my mother. Mom was standing in the bedroom doorway, arms crossed on her chest, looking at me.“I'm not dwelling on the past,” I said.“I know,” she said. “You wouldn't be moving if you were.”“I'm putting it all behind me,” I said.She said nothing.“What else could I do?” I asked.“Avoid pretending that it never happened,” Mom said. “Which you've been very good about. Ever since...

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