Donny’s Whisper
Billy Miller stood up to Donny. That was a big mistake. Donny is almost twice his size, but I guess you can say that about most people compared to Donny.…[...]
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Package Deal
Carl was already at the curb when Eddie pulled up.“Morning, Eddie.”Eddie stepped out of the brown truck, scanner in hand. “Carl.”They stood there for a moment, two delivery drivers in…[...]
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One Good Turn…
The little black and white cat hid in the hollow of an old hawthorn tree. There was a fence behind it, and he could just squeeze himself through the gap.…[...]
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I Must Live
The rabbit burst from the undergrowth in a spray of snow.The fox followed.The forest raced past in flashes of grey trunks and white earth. The rabbit darted beneath fallen branches,…[...]
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The Princess Who Wouldn’t Kiss the Frog
By the time Florian lowered himself into Princess Amelia’s teacup, he had already tried everything.He had waited on lily pads, hoping she was one of those girls who believed in…[...]
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Cadence and the Marine – She broke training to save her person
Cadence and The Marine Cadence of Moonstone, a PTSD Dog who broke the rules to save her person.As told to Samantha MarisWritten by Sam Maris with Cadence’s ApprovalTW: Gunfire, mentions…[...]
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IT’S ALWAYS THE SHY ONES
July 2018 Kelly was in a hurry to get to the only store in the neighbourhood that was open on a Sunday evening. She had just got off the plane…[...]
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For Sophia
Hey, what the hell did I do now? It's all flat and shit,” Rob pulled his tray of cookies from the oven, exasperated. “It's because you melted the butter instead…[...]
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Smoke and Mirrors
The storm rained down on the portico above Konan’s head. Leaning on the post to the local bar, he opened up the pack of cigarettes. One left, and it was…[...]
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What Was There Before Now?
“Do you suffer from erectile dysfunction?” The thick red letters challenge Daniel J. Michaels on his way to a job interview. His gaze shifts down, then over. Whoops, caught the…[...]
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Reddish Yellow
cw: language, physical violence Onyx wasn’t a sun-kissed blonde. She was a moon-bitten brunette — a dark-haired fairy who emerged from the shadows and into the lives of those who…[...]
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Judging a book by its cover is never good
At 6:00 pm exactly every Monday without failure, my Granny Dolores takes us to her local library. While she spills the tea with her other fellow friends, my brother Sammy…[...]
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The Shroud
THE SHROUD Lancaster Lane was always cool in the summer, giant elms shielding it from the hot glaring light, an impenetrable shroud arching over the street like a cathedral ceiling…[...]
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About the Colour Pink
Sally had always loved the colour Pink. The walls in her room were blush Pink; her pillows were coral and raspberry, and most of her clothes were too, in fact,…[...]
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The Unlikely Friendship of Olive and Larry
The Unlikely Friendship of Olive and Larry Something Smells Fishy.Quite literally, actually, but that is neither here nor there. It is the name of the café where I reside.Something Smells…[...]
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Theria’s Lace
Reagan Theriault stepped back from her easel, paintbrush tucked between her lips, studying the swirl of blacks and greens on the canvas. To others, it was just another ode to…[...]
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The Ghost and the Hack
Thomas Mcoy, no second C, is a name you’ve probably never seen. Maybe you’ve spotted “Tommy M.” buried in the acknowledgments of a bestseller or scrawled on a Starbucks cup…[...]
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Villain of Your Story
Blink. Blink. Blink.I watch the black line appear and disappear over and over. Hi. You may have heard of me. I’m Jason. Actually, I was initially Benjamen. Before that I…[...]
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I’m Not Going
Whatever is in that cellar is not a rat.It’s not a rat or cat or a raccoon that somehow squeezed its way in to get at the potted meat you…[...]
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Tablets by Tom
“The paper is so nice.” I think to myself as I feel the soft texture in one hand, and dab my eyes with the tissue in the other. I am…[...]
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Adjourned. Indefinitely.
The seven of them sat around the table, locked in intense conversation. I sat amazed as I watched. Meetings like this one only happened once in a thousand years. The…[...]
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How to Bury Tommy Perez (a tutorial by Sailor Wizel)
TW: A little bit of gore and mentions of blood It was incredibly dark out the morning Sailor buried the boy.A certain panic can rise through your body when something…[...]
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The Bottle
Lester Holt was deep in thought as he walked along the beach. The tide was low and he enjoyed the feel of wet sand between his toes. He had the…[...]
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Character Development
The hottest teen show in the world, “Life in Charleston”, couldn’t have been thriving more. It generated millions of engaged fans who had begged for a second season for months.…[...]
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It’s A Short Trip
February 29, 1996 “You’re doing good, Dynasty. Push,” John said holding his wife’s clammy hand. The nurse wiped her face with a rag as she hyperventilated; telling her to slow…[...]
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An Unfortunate Patient
“It was such a bizarre scene. I’m tempted to call the market and see if I can get some details,” said the host. “She was sobbing. I mean really sobbing.…[...]
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Higher Power
Higher PowerShaking his head, Booker read the sign outside the meeting. Attendees streamed by him and into the building. The sign read, ‘Welcome to our local chapter of the AA.…[...]
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On the Eighth Day…
On the 8th Day…“I think God, in creating man, somewhat overestimated his ability.”-Mark TwainMichael stood on the raised podium, director’s wand in hand, facing the massive Heavenly Choir and the…[...]
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The Green Room
Larry and I had been married for three years. During that entire time my husband and I had been renovating our house, pretty much non-stop. Although it really was a…[...]
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Black and Blue
Jen left therapy tasked with owning her triggers. Feeling overwhelmed already, she told herself, “You are only being asked to own them. That’s all. Nothing more, nothing less.” After all,…[...]
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Color me Blue
The day was a musty, cloudy, colorless type of day, which made you want to pull the covers back over your head and stay in bed all day. But not…[...]
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Green Around the Gills
When Dr. Mary Winter looked around the labor suite and asked her next question, I knew my day had just taken a turn for the worse. “Where’s your husband?” “He’s…[...]
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The Meaning of Grey
The curtains that hung from the ceilings were a simple grey. Not the silver that sometimes comes from the moon’s light at the right angle. Nor was it the dark…[...]
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Morning Person
Same story, different day. If I don’t open my eyes it will just go away. The sunlight has crept around the edges of my blackout curtains again. Every night, I…[...]
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After the Before
[Spoiler alert: Story contains spoilers from the Before movie trilogy.] The scene goes dark on screen as the two peer onward from their seats. He leans into her ear.Him: “So,…[...]
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The Blue Hour
No one ever talks about the blue hour. Not like its counterpart, the golden hour, which receives praise for rendering the perfect glow for selfies and family photo shoots. People…[...]
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Death, in broad terms
Content Warning: Major Character Death, Crude Language Is that it?, he thought to himself, not so sure if there was such an answer that’d fit the purpose of knowing, in…[...]
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Roy-A Palette of Color
Prompt: Write a story in which a character can taste, smell, hear, and/or feel color. Roy-A Palette of Color Hello citizens, of this magnificent world! My name is Roy G.…[...]
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Minus the Blue
After serving the most persnickety customer in the world (and possibly the universe), Stella needed to catch a break. But the next man in line ordered a #17 minus the…[...]
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The Perfect Pie
"Mmmorninggggg." I know it is Pink that begins to hum… my sweet pink pillows, my soft pink sheets, my French pink nails. Even the sunlight filtering through my curtains is…[...]
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The Last Storyteller
“Let me tell you a story.”The man looks up at me, tearing his gaze away from his phone as I slide into the seat across the table from him. “Huh?”…[...]
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We’re NOT all gonna die: A Comparative Study of Traditional Methods to Ensure Faerie Safety Against Human Incursion
Abstract: Human encroachment remains the greatest threat to the Lands of Faerie, and to the wider wilderness with all its glorious birds and beasts. You’ve no doubt heard tales of…[...]
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Red Ruby Slippers
The Wizard awoke, and I knew we weren’t in Kansas anymore. The beeping continued, a dull mechanical tone, 60 beats per minute, steady as a heartbeat. The lights flickered, eyes…[...]
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Bottom Feeder
The tidepool where Ane Anemone lived was as beautiful and peaceful an environment as any anemone could imagine. It was her paradise. Cool, shimmering currents of water flowed over her…[...]
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The Philosopher’s Pitch
“Thank you, Vultures. My name is Matteo, I am 33 years old from Portland, and I am seeking $250,000 in exchange for 22% of my company. Our promise – turning…[...]
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Dug the Demon Poet
This is the guy I’m supposed to possess, I confirm as I look at my fact sheet. Dwayne Gary, age 33, single, waiter at Chili’s. He sounds incredibly boring. One…[...]
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I Am Was Is
It calls us. On the wind. It calls us all. It’s in the roaring whisper of the river. If only we would hear the words a bird forms upon its…[...]
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Set in Stone
Set in Stoneby Hannah M. Dewies ~ 1.900 words One does not, of course, choose to be looked at. One simply is looked at, in the way a portrait is…[...]
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There Goes the Neighborhood
There Goes The NeighborhoodBy Kirsten S. “Goddamit,” she heard Reed shout. “There’s another one!” Zee was gnawing at a shankbone, nibbling the flesh off the bone with delicate bites. She…[...]
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Excalibur Totallly
Let me just say this upfront: being embedded in a rock for an unspecified number of years is not the glamorous origin story people think it is, at all.Yes, I’m…[...]
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The Blue Book To Bird Heaven
December 18th, 2006 The birds are mocking me. They race overhead in an unorthodox pattern, squawking in a language they know im too feeble to understand. Incomprehensible heckles. It doesn’t…[...]
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Until Next Time
* Contains themes of captivity, coercive control, and implied medical threat involving a minor. * I swipe the paper doily off the floor, placing it neatly back on the side…[...]
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The Accidental Auction Bid
Rowan McCrae didn’t mind doing hard work.He minded being told to “smile pretty for the ladies tonight” by two separate grandmothers before eight a.m., but the work itself was fine.He…[...]
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A Picture Paints A Thousand Words
I am looking at a beautiful painting in the gallery. The painting I am looking at in the gallery is beautiful. I am in the gallery. I am looking at…[...]
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Dr. Lethargy and Joe
You can learn how to crochet granny squares on YouTube, and you can memorize a recipe to make a peach-infused Sex on the Beach. You can master bleaching your hair,…[...]
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Superstitionology
When the third black goat of the local farmer, the third-born of his family, unexplainably died that night, under the light of the crescent blood moon, everything became as clear…[...]
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The Experience
Preface:Author get to experience only what you see in the movie. Chapter One: The Author Lois tried to calm her nervous by pulling out a cigarette from her jacket pocket.Noticing…[...]
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Clap, Clap
The inn was simply called The Inn, as there was no other place like it within a two hundred mile radius. Or at least, according to a quick internet search,…[...]
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Medusa’s Lonely Quest
I knew the date was over the minute he asked if my snakes were “poisonous”. Ignoring the fact that snakes are venomous, not poisonous, that question is always followed by…[...]
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Stranger in a Strange Dating Scene
“I’d thought you’d be taller.” “I’m not really looking for a floogian right now.” “Do I look like I date Terrans?”“YOU DARE PROPOSITION ME, EARTHLING!?”“✡︎□︎◆︎🕯︎❒︎♏︎ ◻︎♋︎⍓︎♓︎■︎♑︎ ♐︎□︎❒︎ ⧫︎♒︎♓︎⬧︎ ⬧︎♏︎⬧︎⬧︎♓︎□︎■︎📪︎ ❒︎♓︎♑︎♒︎⧫︎✍︎”“Sorry,…[...]
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Dearly Dear
Form me to you. dearly, I am sending this letter to finally write back to you. I am sorry. I know it took me a while. But you know how…[...]
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A Last Night in Changchun
This story contains off-color language and some crudeness. Someone is yelling at me. A hand twists into my down winter coat at the shoulder, pulling my whole body askew and…[...]
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Seven in One Lunch
One thing about living on the very edge of a tiny Midwestern town: the view. Of course, I’d been more concerned with the view inside my room, where Bridget hadn’t…[...]
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Every Day, Take a Shower
Every Day, Take a Shower “This is what I insist you do. Every day you must get up and take a shower.” Natalie’s voice had gone from the caring tone…[...]
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Yet another Mars ticket
By 2142, Mars had become profitable.Priya and Ethan were sitting at their Martian desk, scrolling through the piled-up tickets. To improve efficiency, support staff had been relocated to Mars. Managers…[...]
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The Orion Spur East Local Council Public Transport Planning Committee
“Morning Pompo!”“Morning.”“How’re you?”“Good thank you.”“Very good! Good is good,” chirped Akbar, with an enthusiasm unfettered by Pompo’s weary expression.“Is everything set up?”“Indeed it is, everything is perfectly-”“And will all ten…[...]
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Your Own Path
The heat hit in a double blow, the sun relentlessly beating down and then reflecting off the marble paving of the square. Mary sat in a café sipping iced coffee.…[...]
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The Moral Bioterrorist
I was about to become a walking, talking biological weapon. I had terminal cancer and had nothing to lose. There were two viruses infecting our country. One was a lethal…[...]
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Please Keep the Burbon Off the Piano
Pastor Bell’s funeral became a roast the moment someone brought bourbon into the fellowship hall.Technically, alcohol was forbidden on church property. But Pastor Bell had spent thirty-two years selectively enforcing…[...]
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Grief Makes People Strange
Grief Makes People StrangeThe church fellowship hall smelled like burnt coffee, carnations, and emotional repression.Nora Whitaker stood beside the dessert table with a paper cup of lemonade she had not…[...]
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Served and Consumed
My empty plate sat in front of me, as clean as a bone. I always finished my food too quickly, and my mother warned me about it. You’ll choke, she…[...]
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Nobody Mourned Chuck Beauford
(This story contains sensitive content, containing mentions of substance abuse, mental health issues, and a creepy man) On an ugly, hot morning, in an ugly town, on an ugly stretch…[...]
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Lauren Peters versus Peter Lawrence
“Check this out, Dylan!” Mary Lucas carried her laptop into the kitchen, where her husband was sitting at the table, hunched over some receipts. Her footsteps faltered when she met…[...]
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Of Wood and Stone and Glabbers
When Shandol Gelbil spotted a kid sidling toward a pie she had left on the windowsill, she shouted "STOP THAT!" with such volume and ferocity that mischief of any kind,…[...]
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I Know What They Are Thinking
Note: The F-words is used occasionally. Sorry. If you have any doubts, you won’t after you finish reading this. You’ll know just like I do that my ex-wife’s new husband…[...]
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Reedsy Prompt #355 Uncle Albie’s Makeover
Reesy Prompt # 355 UNCLE ALBIE’S MAKEOVER “You girls pick up your toys, now,” Mama said. “Uncle Albie is on his way and he’ll be here any minute.” We did…[...]
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Best Served Cold
Diana got to the restaurant early. She looked into the bright, clean dining room. But not too bright…Most of the tables remained empty.Why did Jenny want to meet? She sounded…[...]
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This story is about tomatoes
Like every other Sunday, three contours sit on the table. The round cherry wood piece I bought at a flea market last month, is covered in dishes of baked potatoes…[...]
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The Agony Aunt
Julie peered out of the car window as Nolan carefully steered around the crowd outside the church. The lane was one car width and people squashed up onto the verge…[...]
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The Good In All of Us
The Good Inside All of Us“The line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.”-Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn It is only natural that we see ourselves as the…[...]
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The Jaws of the Common North American Alligator
Author’s note: This story contains strong language and the views of an openly racist character, which are portrayed in a negative light. “Well, look who the gator dragged in.” The…[...]
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Family Dinner
Jared looked at his son, Bobby, subtly in his peripherals. They sat next to each other at the breakfast bar, his son‘s cereal untouched. Oh I know this look, Jared…[...]
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Curious Coincidence
The date is March 9th, 2000, of course abbreviated as MAR09. I remember clearly, because the world finally got through that Y2K scare. You know the one, where the computers…[...]
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Money Grows on Family Trees
Money can’t buy happiness, but it sure is nicer to cry in a Rolls Royce than on a bike. The McDarin family had four Rolls Royces, and none of them…[...]
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