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Author on Reedsy Prompts since Mar, 2022
Submitted to Contest #289
“Easy for you to say, Em!” Franny said as she poured gravy on her mashed potatoes.I always hated that. Everyone was allowed to vent about life being hard, except for me.I mustered a smile and said nothing. Dad reached over and squeezed my hand. Franny saw that and also chose to let it go. After all, we were no longer eight and five. I can tolerate my little sister sticking out her tongue without kicking her in the shin.Later, while I loaded the dishwasher and washed Mum’s favourite gold embossed tureen, I looked outside the window at my sist...
Submitted to Contest #218
I opened my eyes, utter darkness. I blinked, open, shut, open, but nothing changed. It took me a few seconds to remember where I was. My senses overlapped like I was seeing noises or hearing sneers, fists, chaos. I clutched the sides of the bed to anchor myself. Though it felt that the walls around me and the mattress beneath me were shaking, I knew that it was just my utterly shaken body.I attempted to take a deep breath while pricking my ears. There was a woman’s desperate muffled pleas, a baby screaming its lungs into smithereens and the ...
Submitted to Contest #212
12.12.2022Dear Bahar,It’s day eight since I last heard from you. I know WhatsApp is not allowed in Iran, but I habitually check my phone every few minutes expecting a funny meme, a photo or just a “how’s it going, Hanhan?”Then I remember that we don’t know anything about your whereabouts. And I shatter.The other day, I passed by your classroom and popped my head in, half-expecting to see you there in front of the SmartBoard, telling your students yet another fascinating story about the Roman Empire or the WWII. But then I saw yet another one...
Submitted to Contest #188
Trigger warning: The story contains sensitive material that some readers might find disturbing and/or triggering. “Now who is this?” Zoe said squinting at the laptop screen. It jolted me out of my engrossment in yet another horrific local news story. Something about someone who destroyed the lives they were supposed to protect. Just what is wrong with human beings sometimes? “Who’s what?” I asked, happy to be brought into the world of Zoe and her little tizzies. “This person I don’t know sent me an email wanting me to go to his offic...
Submitted to Contest #182
Beep, beep, beep. SHIT! BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, the house alarm seemed to get louder and louder as I fumbled with the digits. I suddenly could not remember the code I’d been using for the past six years at least once a day. It was made worse with my hair wildly flapping around my face and my flimsy dress slapping my legs. “Are you sure you live here?” he mustered a weak smile. “Yes, of course I’m sure!” I said, growing even more nervous. I never function well when I’m being watched. Focus, focus, the whole neighbourhood is waking u...
Submitted to Contest #179
“You know what your New Year’s resolution should be?” Josh asked, half drunk, “To return these books to their rightful owners!”Lying on the other couch in our living room, wine in hand, I rolled my eyes lazily before I fell asleep. This was the last day of 2021. The last night.On January 1st of 2022, I woke up with a friendly headache. I gasped a little when I looked at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. I’d never gone to bed without washing my makeup, brushing my teeth, flossing and applying my night creams. I was never a drinker, e...
Submitted to Contest #178
Dearest Catherine,I set out to scam you. “Swindle” is the going term I believe. There! I’ve said it. I am a vulture that predates on prey that range from dead to weak.If this were me, I’d throw this letter away after that first line, but I know you won’t. You need answers, so here goes! This is a long letter, full of what one might deem digressions, but bear with me. Consider it a last –and first, for that matter– request.When I saw your Tinder profile, you seemed like the perfect target: introverted, doe-eyed, a little desperate (or so I th...
Submitted to Contest #175
“And how are you feeling today, Ms. Goldwell?” Joseph asked meekly. “Eh, as well as a woman with old bones can be in this horrible weather!” she coughed, not exactly looking at him. It’s all that smoking you do, he thought to himself. “Then I hope that you’ll be feeling better when I see you next Thursday,” he smiled as he bagged her groceries, “it’s supposed to be gorgeous weather all of next week!” “Ugh, don’t believe those liars!” she jerked her shopping cart, signaling she was getting impatient with all the waiting. He nodded as ...
Submitted to Contest #174
I’ve always loved airports. Airports are where emotions peak. There’s the euphoria of coming home– to a country or a someone-and there’s the grief of leaving home–a country or a someone. I guess this makes the arrivals area my favourite place at any airport no matter how big or small or fancy.Arrivals are promises. Promises of coming back, meeting again, fulfilled. Promises of new beginnings, life changes, new energies born from the collision of two or more souls reuniting… or simply uniting, meeting for the first time.Arrivals are big bouqu...
Submitted to Contest #170
*This story contains mild swearing*I have to go to the gymI have to go to the gymI have to go to the gymI repeated in my head as I drove the kids home from school. I had been planning to go to the gym for the past week. Ten days to be exact. I knew because my mum had given me a gym membership for my birthday. Really sweet I thought to myself, not allowing my smile to waver, but the witch in my head poked her head as she inspected her nails and asked nonchalantly, is she implying that you’re fat?“It’s a great way to meet guys, I hear!” Mum ha...
Submitted to Contest #168
It wasn’t so much disgust as it was curiosity mixed with shock. My fault really for allowing eye contact. I once heard that human beings are usually aware of being watched even from behind. Something to do with our primal survival instinct and so. I do allow myself to stare at beautiful people, but for no longer than four or five seconds, which is usually the time it takes them to realise they’re being stared at.I quickly lowered my gaze and hoped that the train would move, leaving behind the angelic-featured young woman I had indulged in ad...
Submitted to Contest #167
Last week I drove you to the airport. It was a ride of pride and pain; you were off to Australia. Why so far away? When you came into the kitchen that Saturday afternoon, all flushed with excitement about your gap year doing a beekeeping internship in Queensland, my heart fluttered with joy and plummeted with grief.When we loaded your guitar into the trunk of my tired Suzuki, you closed the boot with a bang and went to the front seat. I sat beside you trying to make little jokes about how bees wouldn’t like these banging noises and you nodde...
Submitted to Contest #166
“Come back, Will; we really need you!” I hesitated. My ear was pressed against the cool glass of the phone, now almost dripping with condensation. Why do my ears always do that? They get so hot and turn so red; you could practically see the steam hissing out of them. “Hello?” “I’m here.” “Will, please!” “You know I can’t.” “You can. It’s time to let it go! It’s not as bad as you think!” “I can’t.” I heard Linda heave the heaviest sigh, laden with desperation and disappointment. Then the call ended without a goodbye. I don’t blame her b...
Submitted to Contest #164
“You remind me of someone,” you say to me squinting your steely blue eyes. It’s unsettling how everything else about you has changed and withered over the past six years except for those damned eyes. I say hi and you look sweetly at me, offering your hand to shake mine. I like this. No more displays of forced, fake fondness. Now we can just be ourselves.Don’t get me wrong; I’m not a handshake kind of woman, but I like my words and gestures to be a true reflection of how I really feel about someone. It’s getting chilly out here. Sep...
Submitted to Contest #160
It wasn't really a pool. It was more of a huge wet sheet level with the matted grass, but it was so dark that you couldn't really tell the ground from the water. Then, I heard a scream in the distance, so I rushed to see who it was, and that's when I fell in. It felt like I had made a few steps on the glossy surface before I was noiselessly swallowed.I woke up drenched in sweat. My flimsy nightie was soaked, and the bedsheets were darkened with moisture. I struggled to find my arms and sat up, chest heaving and eyes bulging.The next morning,...
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