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Ralph Aldrich

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2021

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72 Followers
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122 Stories

2792 karma pts

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Tarrdic

Weekly Contest #239

It is Ralphie’s third birthday and his Aunt Maude has just given him the most exciting gift. It’s a teddy bear. But not just any teddy bear. It has moveable arms and legs and is covered in brown bunny fur, making it super soft. A red satin ribbon is around its neck, and its eyes are made of black plastic.Ralphie’s Aunt Maude, his great-aunt, is s widow. Her husband passed on years ago. Having no children of her own, she dotes on Ralphie and his three sisters. Smiling, she watches Ralphie unwrap the gift as he sq...

15 likes 1 comment 1
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Commitment

Weekly Contest #238

Oscar is in his fishing boat on his favorite lake, watching his bobber bob up and down in the sun’s glare. Light dapples across his face as a soft breeze tosses the few strands of his balding head. Suddenly, he feels a sharp pain in his side. He is snapped awake. Dolores’s bony elbow has hit him hard in the ribs. She hisses, “Oscar, wake up! You’re in church!”Oscar grumbles back, “I’m not sleeping. I’m listening.”“Yeah? Well, your eyes were closed!” Oscar lifts his chin defiantly, “...

16 likes 5 comments 5
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SETI

Weekly Contest #236

So sad. Mom has passed away. Cancer.  I have to empty out the house so I can sell it. I hate going through so many memories, but I will have to.  I’m going to have an estate sale, so I must prepare for it. The saddest part is that in 1995, Dad just up and disappeared. Mom came home from shopping, and he was gone.  No note. No sign of being unhappy. He just left, and we never heard from him again. For the rest of her life my mother never got over that loss.  She had hoped...

11 likes 1 comment 1
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One for the Road

Weekly Contest #233

  As conciseness begin to creeps back, I open my eyes a crack. My head lays upon my folded arms that are resting on the bar. I try lifting my head, but it feels like it weighs a million pounds. Smacking my lips, I realize just how badly I need a drink.  Pushing myself away from the bar, I sit up straight.  I see the bartender’s back as he washes some dishes. In front of me sits a glass of what looks like tomato juice. “Ahh,” I think. “A Bloody Mary, just what I need!”     ...

10 likes 1 comment 1
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Dusk to Dusk

Weekly Contest #232

It has taken three years to reach this shitball of clay. The mining company I work for had sent a rover in advance to look for precious ores. The report they received back from the rover was that the upper regions of the planet consisted primarily of nickel. It also reported that it found no forms of life. With that information under their belts, they assembled a crew of miners, of which I am one.The planet is RKT 607, and it circles a red dwarf sun. The planet rotates just enough to have a small amount of gravity bu...

19 likes 3 comments 3
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The Easy Go Bar

Weekly Contest #228

My name is Jared Jamison. My grandfather always told me my name reminded him of some big-shot lawyer. That’s why when it was time to pick out a career, I used the money he left me and went to the “Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law” at Arizona State University.  My major is in Patent Law. And just so you know, patent law specifies the subject matter to obtain patentability. After years of grueling study, I recently passed the Bar Exam. Yahoo! I have sent out several resumes, and today I received a requ...

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The Snow Queen (a fairy tale)

Weekly Contest #227

Once upon a time, when magic filled the mountains and valleys of ancient Russia, there was a small village called Zhigansk. It was nestled in a valley at the foot of the Verkhoyansk Mountain range. A deep, lush forest with clear mountain streams surrounded it. The village folk worked hard but loved the life they were living.  They gave thanks to the gods of the four seasons by celebrating with song and dance. The summer god is Anatoly because his name means “Sunrise.”  The village folks give him thanks and prai...

17 likes 1 comment 1
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Oscar and Dolores vs The In-Laws

Weekly Contest #226

Dolores blots her ruby red lipstick in front of the bathroom mirror. “Are you almost ready to go to mother’s, Oscar?” she bellows.“Am I almost ready? I’ve been ready for the past hour!”“Then come in here and let me have a look at you.” Dolores can hear Oscar grumbling as he approaches. Eyes wide enough to pop out of her head, she fumes. “Oscar! Did you really think wearing a shirt missing the top button to my mother’s Christmas dinner would be all right? Seriously!” Shrugging, Oscar strolls into the ba...

12 likes 2 comments 2
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Mirror Mirror

Weekly Contest #225

I stumble out of “Pete’s Blue Bird Bar and Grill,” where I’ve had my usual nightly meal along with two pitchers of beer.  Swaying slightly on the sidewalk, I light a cigarette. A cool wind whips around me. I shiver and flip up my collar. I exhale a stream of smoke into a starless sky, for they are hidden behind a wall of rain clouds. “I think I’d better hurry home to my empty apartment before it rains on my empty life.” I chuckle. Raising my finger, I pronounce, “But first, to the package store for my favor...

19 likes 6 comments 6
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The Comtemptuos Competition of Burger vs Pringle

Weekly Contest #223

Two professors who despised one another taught at the quaint but prestigious ivy-covered Brighton University in Cheddar, Scotland- Professors Hamilton Burger and Pennelopy Pringle. Their hatred for one another started the day they were first introduced. When Professor Pringle asked Professor Burger about his studies, she smirked when he replied, “The study of Historical Artifacts and their Effect on History.” Loathing filled his eyes and heart. He vowed never to speak to her again. Professor Burger is a lanky fellow with an ...

16 likes 2 comments 2
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Benny Freedom

Weekly Contest #222

Let me tell you why I’m running away. My old man ran off with another woman and refused to pay child support. That means my mother has to work two low-paying jobs to make ends meet.  She hasn’t any time to cook or clean, and especially none for me. I have two twin brothers who are four years older than me and are supposed to help Ma by keeping the house clean and watching out for me, but instead, I have to do all the work while they sit around smoking dope.  I saved up some money to buy a Fender Stratocaster k...

16 likes 5 comments 5
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Oscar and Dolores

Weekly Contest #221

The fall air is crisp, and the sky is crystal clear. Dolores ambles up her front walkway, still unable to understand how the world can be so cheerful after what has happened to her.  Having returned from Oscar’s funeral, she stops before her doorway and sighs. The funeral was held with just her son, Bill, and herself because she knew Oscar wouldn’t want it any other way. That’s just the way he was. Turning the key in the lock, Dolores bites her lower lip, takes a deep breath, and steps inside.  She freezes ...

12 likes 2 comments 2
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Everyone Calls Me Granny

Weekly Contest #220

I A hunter has become lost in the ancient forest on a cold autumn day. After wandering for hours, the sun has set, and the only light is the full moon streaming through leafless branches. He sees a faint glow shining in the distance and approaches it cautiously. Even from a distance of a few feet, he can smell the aroma of cinnamon and cloves. The bright moon emerges from behind a dark cloud to illuminate the ancient cottage before him. With narrowed eyes and short, quick breaths, a shiver runs up his spine, and he s...

22 likes 2 comments 2
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The Cell

Weekly Contest #219

In a dimly lit room, a man sits with his back pressed against the cold, damp wall. His eyes dart around, tracing the cracks in the peeling paint as though they hold secret information he needs to know.  He is convinced he is in a prison cell, a place of confinement.  Overhead, the flickering fluorescent light feels like a spotlight, intensifying his paranoia. They leave no shadows in which to hide.  He clutches the thin, scratchy blanket tightly around his shoulders, wrapping himself in an imaginary sanctuary of prot...

10 likes 2 comments 2
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Yuck!

Weekly Contest #218

“You’ve just got to try this place, Walter. I’m tellin ya I’ve never tasted a better burger in all my life! It’s out on Highway fifty-one going west. I think it might be a truck stop but, at any rate, it’s darn good!” So were the praises of my neighbor, Dave. I should have taken them with no more than a grain of salt. Dave is an alcoholic and a survivor of a car accident that destroyed his sense of taste and smell. But it still seems as though he can taste a little something. The food must be very spicy. &...

15 likes 2 comments 2
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