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Rich Conti

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jan, 2021

Stories (8)
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4 Followers
1 Following

8 Stories

149 karma pts

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Dinner with Amelia

Submitted to Contest #333

Dinner with AmeliaBy R. A. Conti Amelia wondered what kind of girl Babette would be. She had only seen Michael with one other girlfriend, and that had been a long time ago. She finished setting the table just as Michael and Babette arrived. Babette looked nothing like Kathleen. She had been a tall, slender blonde girl with long hair and a round face. Babette was short, stocky, and dark-haired. She nodded when Michael introduced them. Her penetrating eyes and wide smile struck Amelia.Amelia ushered them into the dining room. “Everything’s rea...

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Lily's Storm

Submitted to Contest #332

Lily’s StormBy R. A. Conti In the fall of nineteen-ninety-nine, Josh spent the day visiting his Aunt Lily at the State University. Just as he was about to leave, a heavy storm descended on the campus. Torrential rain, ferocious lightning, and earsplitting thunder raged outside. Instead of risking a drive home in the tempest, Lily urged him to spend the night in her absent roommate’s bed. While the storm raged outside, they settled into separate beds on opposite sides of the room. Lily felt calm. Josh seemed uneasy. She noticed and recalled...

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Truth to Power

Submitted to Contest #88

Truth to Power The temperature was almost sixty degrees, sunny, with a light breeze. A perfect day to get arrested, Babette thought as she parked her car, hurried across the road, greeted Naomi, and eagerly waited for more people to arrive. She felt certain she was ready this time. Her hesitation and anxiety were gone, probably because she had been honest with Gregory about what she planned to do. Although Gregory had watched the video she made of the civil disobedience arrests last Good Friday, his image of protester confrontations with...

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Wake Me When It’s Over

Submitted to Contest #87

They are so easy to manipulate. I don’t even have to touch them. They play with dolls in their dollhouses, but I play with their minds. All I have to do is plant ideas and watch the fun. A few of them know about me and blame me for what happens. They call me trickster, deceiver, or Lucifer. The problem is that I’m not to blame. I don’t have free will, but they do. I can’t help doing what I do. They have choices. They can choose not to harm each other. They don’t have to pillage, rape, conquer, and destroy. They could live in peace and harmon...

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This Isn't Real

Submitted to Contest #84

This Isn’t Real I used to cry every time I watched that scene in Soylent Green. I mean the one where Edward G. Robinson dies surrounded by images of the way nature looked before overpopulation destroyed it. I never would have thought I’d be watching similar videos of the way my world used to look before the global pandemic destroyed our normal human lives. But here I am, alone in my subterranean bunker. I have enough food for a hundred years. I’ll be lucky if I live another hundred weeks. Survival isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. It beats ...

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Snake Oil

Submitted to Contest #82

SNAKE OIL By Rich Conti Zelda fell asleep after she wore me out again. I couldn’t fall asleep, although I wanted to. I had to stay awake and think of a way to get away from her and take that damned gadget with me. How was I supposed to know any of the things worked? They were just gizmos to sell to gullible rubes. The alien I bought them from told me they were children’s toys where he came from. I got the entire shipment cheap. He said he had to get rid of them fast and was happy with my offer. I always wondered why. “Tell your customers the...

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Ice Storm

Submitted to Contest #81

Ice Storm By Rich Conti The clatter of sleet against the windows made Paula shiver although her bedroom was warm and cozy. Her grandson Michael slept in his crib. The lights flickered and went out just after she settled into bed with a good book. She sat in the darkness and wondered what to do. Her phone rang a few moments later. “Hi, Jane,” she said, grateful her friend was checking on her. “My power just went out.” “We have a generator,” Jane said. “You should come over here.” Jane lived next door. Paula put on heavy leggings and a ...

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Eirene

Submitted to Contest #80

Eirene By R. A. Conti Babette kept thinking she should turn the car around and head back home. She worried her life might change dramatically if she went to the meeting. But it's only a meeting, she reminded herself. If I don’t like it, I can just leave. She walked into the Quaker meetinghouse and noticed the worn drabness of the space. There were a couple of peace banners on the walls. A bulletin board contained an orderly arrangement of fliers and announcements of community events and activities. Several people sat around a large table. Ma...

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