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Renee Yancey

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2023

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66 Stories

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April Weather

The air is still and heavy. To still. Almost thick. Not that they feel it. They are all inside, the parents visiting with a friend. The children lay on their bellies in front of the TV watching Sesame Street ™. Behind the adults, in the dining room, where they sit around the table, drinking coffee and playing cards, is a big picture window. Behind it is the back yard that stretches into a field. There are no weather bulletins on PBS, not then. Therefore no warnings. If the father hadn't happened to look up when he did, it would have ended in...

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Seeing God

I saw God today. Oh, I know how crazy I sound. Believe me. You will ask with your eyes rolling, no doubt, what He looks like. What He sounds like. Expecting the standard answers. Old man, flowing beard. Right? You don't have to say anything. I know exactly what the expectations are. You also think that maybe I met someone who said they were God. Maybe we are both crazy. I am not. Proof it, maybe you are thinking. Too polite to say it so I will for you. Next you are thinking, she can't. No way can you prove a negative. I don't blame you. A...

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Burden

He hates the fact that he needs her. It isn't the way it is supposed to be. He is supposed to be caring for her. “It is okay, daddy.” She has told him time after time. She has to say that, he thinks. She can't say that he is a burden. A huff at that thought. He raised her well. Too well. “You are blessed to have your daughter.” The nurse who comes once a week says. The physical therapist who is also present that day adds, “I tell him that all the time.” He rolls his eyes at this. He believes he has said that maybe once. “Now Mr. Brown, wh...

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Love Again

It wasn't what she expected. It was a typical day, or so it seemed. She headed to the library. She needs some books the college library doesn't have. She is searching through the stacks in the history section. Her paper is about the history of Georgia. You would think the University ofGeorgia would have lots of books on that subject but alas, most only give the sanitized history. That isn't all she is interested in. Yes, she is a southern Belle, a Georgia peach, and all the rest but she isn't blind to the wrongs her state has done. Her f...

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Someone Stole the Moon

From the time she was a newborn, her mommy has taken her out to say goodnight to the moon. She held her up, almost as an offering. “Luna, it is night and the moon says hello as we say goodnight.” Her tiny eyes went from bleary blinks to wide eyed wonder. By the time she was six months, she was reaching out towards it. The little girl was raised to respect the nature that surrounds her. Her little family lives in the woods where, as she grows, she learns to crawl among the moss that covers the downed trees. She splashes in the creek that ru...

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Impasse

Weekly Contest #336

Impossible. They should be able to work this out. After all they have been through, this, this is the thing that they can't get past. They stare past each other from across the room. He stands, shoulders stiff, staring out the window. She sits, hands on her lap, lips between her teeth. Her eyes are too full of tears to focus on anything. She seems to be looking at the books on the coffee table. They are arranged perfectly. Everything is. The beige couch she is sitting on is free of stains. The white rug under it is as pristine as it was when...

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64 Days

She watches the snow fall while she can. The sun will be setting soon. It won't rise the next morning. In fact, it won't rise again for 64 days. It will be her first experience with the strange phenomenon. Last year, she lived in the Continental United States, in the tropical climate of Florida. Why is she here? You may ask. A fair question. She moved to Utqiagvik, Alaska specifically for the next 64 days. When reading about the queer two plus months twilight/ darkness, she knew she had to experience it, at least once. It is minutes until s...

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Mystery

‘My darling, my Mystery, I’m sorry. They thought it best. I pray one day you will understand. I was barely past being a child myself when you were born. I didn't know what else to do. It seemed the only way. The woman you will know as mom, she made the decision. I could have argued but I’ve never won an argument with her. Besides that, it seemed she was right. I loved you. I love you. Still, I couldn't take care of you. I gave you life and your name. I insisted on that. She wanted your middle name to be your first. You were my little Myste...

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Hannah

Her laughter echoes around the room. After two early miscarriages, she has reached the second trimester in her fifth pregnancy. With two live children and two in heaven, she looks forward to actually giving birth to this one. Every day she holds him or her safely in her womb is a gift. Every appointment that shows the growth of her uterus, the amazing sounds of the baby's heartbeat, brings hope. This is especially true as she moves from 12 to 13 weeks. The most dangerous time is over. She feels free to get out the tiny clothes her sons have ...

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The River

It flows slowly. He sits on the side of the bank, his feet resting in the cool water. There is no hurry. He has nowhere else to be. There is no time clock that he needs to follow. No schedule he needs to keep. He is retired. Those type of worries are no longer his. The river runs lazily through the back of his property. He has spent time here. A few hours fishing with his children and now his grandchildren but those times were few and fair between. Life was busy. Bills have to be paid. The children had their activities. His wife had her nee...

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A Phone Call from Heaven

“Hello?” “Hello, will you accept a call from your mom?” “Ah, sure.” “Honey, I miss you so much.” “Mom! Is it really you? How? You are…” “Dead. Yes, I am. My earthly body is anyway. Here in heaven, I shall live forever.” “Wait! You are calling from heaven?” “Yes. I know you are worried about what you did, the decision you made. You needn’t. It was right.” “You mean…” “Turning off the machines. It was just my body there. I was already here.” “Oh that, thank you. I thought… I wasn't sure…” “I know. Being here, I see all God allows me too of w...

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Beware!

“Beware.” It isn't a normal thing for a stranger in an elevator to say. She moves as far away as possible in the small space. The other woman doesn't look crazy but one never knows. “Excuse me?” She clings to her purse, her back against the corner of the elevator. “You must be careful. You mustn’t trust him.” “Trust who?” Why is she even entertaining this? She glances at the top of the elevator to see they are still three floors away from the ground floor. “The man who will soon ask for your hand. You love him, yes? I understand that but yo...

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Stray Dogs Don't Get Baths

“You are blessed,” my mistress says to me, “stray dogs don't get baths. No one cares enough for them.” I don't feel blessed as I am carried to the water place. I knew as soon as she picked up the water carrying away cloth that this horrible bath thing was going to happen. Now she pours the water over me, getting me wet and taking away the natural scent I have been working on for a week now. She is my mistress, my world so I won't bite her. Never! Anyone who tries to harm her will feel my teeth, never her though, no matter who many baths I ...

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A Stolen Book

She frowns as she searches, once again for it. It should be right here among the mystery books. She knows no one has purchased it. This particular book, were it to be bought, the sheriff would have to be notified. No ordinary book was this for it told the story of a killer. Ten years ago around the time she opened her little book store, a young boy was found raped and strangled behind the boiling alley. In this small town such things didn't happen. The last murder had been almost thirty years prior, a domestic violence situation that got ou...

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Dark into Light

It was endless. The dark is as oppressive as the feelings going through her. She never expected this, no, not like this. A horrible slow death from cancer, yes. Time to say goodbye. But never this. A sudden stroke that took her mom away from her as quickly as the phone call that had informed her. The ICU waiting room is full of relatives who wait as anxiously as she does. Above them all is the ever present TV, even in death watch, you can't escape it. Tuned to one of the many shopping channels, its forced cheer is a stark contrast to the vi...

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