prompt_id,prompt,story_id,story_title,story_author,story_url,link,genre,is_sensitive,categories,likes,story_text,posted_date,comments
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",2ewny7,"Departed, Return",Emily Holding,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/2ewny7/,/short-story/2ewny7/,Science Fiction,0,"['Fiction', 'Contemporary']",41 likes,"
“And then there was another Mark,” Dad recalls, sending the table into an encore of laughter. 
 
“Stop it!” Hannah pleads, tears rolling over sun-reddened cheeks. She perches opposite him, one leg hiked on the serrated bistro chair, a rum and coke bubbling in her left hand, the right clutching her stomach. She is 18, the spit of her mother – so she’s told – and will be off to university in two months.
 
“Yes, God, please stop.” Begs Ryan, who is next to Dad, head in his hands. Muffled by skin, his voice is still so freshly broken that it takes a moment to place the deep timbre. At 15, and without an academic bone in his body, university is of no more concern to him than a misplaced earbud, or an empty crisp packet discarded on his bedroom floor.
 
You lounge at Hannah’s side, tipsy off white wine, delighting in their mortification at your pre-Dad romances. Mark one, from school. Chris. Dave. Chris, again. Mark two, from an 18-to-25s cruise, the details of which had scandalised Hannah half a glass prior. Mark three. 
 
The aluminium table you chatter around wobbles on uneven ground besides the shabby reception-slash-bar. From here, you and Hannah can see the gift shops beyond the gate, crammed along the hill all the way down to the sea. The water glistens salmon and cornflower blue, a glassy mirror of the sky above. 
 
In the fading summer sun, you send off the last of the holiday. Six days in Corfu, lazing by tepid pools that stretch out from two adjoining rooms. Fantastic views, boasts the website, a luxury experience at a modest price. The white walls hemming in each walnut deck between room and pool frame the hotel courtyard, still in the throes of construction, slate tiles and half-empty gravel sacks nestled under meagre cypress trees. 
 
The last pink sliver melts into the horizon. You sigh. Dad sighs louder, hands steepled over his belly. Hannah takes a picture. Ryan snaps a selfie. The sliver rises again. 
 
It climbs faster and faster, and everything becomes lighter, brighter, too bright, clinical white, nothing.
 
***
 
“And then there was another Mark,” Dad recalls, sending the table into an encore of laughter. 
 
Not far enough. Try again.
The sun scrubs across the sky, west to east.
 
***
 
Four of you arrive in prickly silence, three steering over-packed cases around potholes the size of small dogs. You, sans-luggage, glowering at the rear. Arguments had bookended both airports, now everyone ignores one another. Dad had insisted in taking your bags with his. You’d declined, he’d taken them anyway. You’d snapped, he’d started grumbling. He leads the sour trail, lugging weight he can scarcely bear, refusing anyone’s help.
 
Too far.
The sun jumps forward until it becomes the moon and then the sun again, twice over. Day crawls on. The shadows shrink. 
That’s better.
 
Floating on a neon green lilo, at the spot where the wall meets the veranda and shadows cool the air, you flex scarlet-painted toes in the water. Something vaguely blue and sticky-looking clings to the edge of the cracked white sill. A string of ants parade over the fissures. Dad snores from the deck, jet-engine loud. Luckily, the kids don’t have to share a room with him this time. 
 
It’s so far away, what if something happens? Your mother’s words find you in the shade. You’d exhausted yourself on the plane trying to chase them away, hence your especially acetic mood on arrival.
It’s only a four-hour flight. You weren’t going to let her guilt you this time. Besides, this’ll probably be Hannah’s last trip with us. Hidden behind purple-tinged sunnies, you grow drowsy, mouth parting as you slip in and out of sleep.
 
Gentle splashes from over the wall – Hannah, paddling over to Ryan. “We should get them something, like we used to.” 
Ceramic camper van from Devon, lilac and palm-sized. Plastic magnet of Brighton Pier. Wooden turtle from Spain, missing one leg thanks to less-than-careful treatment in the front pocket of a backpack on the way home. Tokens of thanks, from whatever was left of their spending money. Little treasures. 
Ryan grunts. “Probably just sit around the house with all the other tat.”
The kids think you and Dad hang on to things. Piles of bills from 2009 crowd the corners of the lounge. Bits of broken God-knows-what litter the shelf in the hallway, moved for dusting, put right back after. On the landing, stacks of old schoolwork; every report card Hannah’s ever had. Within a year, the tat will have doubled.
“True.” Hannah sighs.
 
***
 
The next morning, you convince Dad to join them – your own pool is being cleaned, the little robotic vacuum trundling merrily along the mosaic floor. Heat spikes your soles as you step onto their deck, nearly sending you hopping into the clothes horse by the door. Hannah’s white paisley bikini from yesterday dangles off one tier like an aged cut of meat. Ryan’s black swimming trunks are puddled on the floor. You don’t even notice yourself hanging them back up. 
 
A huddle of thirtysomethings clad in variations of the same striped shirt bounce down the path at the end of the pool as you wade toward the kids. One elbows his friend, laughing heartily, and you catch the end of his teasing.
“- just be normal for once, mate.”
Hannah snaps her head towards Ryan, whose eyes glint in recognition. They’re an even closer shade to yours than Hannah’s.
“Oh, nor-mil.” Ryan croons in a high-pitched voice.
Hannah laughs back, “Oh, very nor-mil!”
“What’s that?” you ask, worried you’ve missed something important.
“Nothing.” Ryan shakes his head, smiling. 
Hannah waves you off with a hand. “Doesn’t matter.”
And they bow their chins and snicker. 
 
Being an only child, you doubt you’ll ever understand their bond. You imagine it’s the same camaraderie Dad and Jane might have shared when they were young. Those two haven’t seen each other since they buried their own mother a decade ago. They learn each others’ lives via Facebook messages, tallying birthdays and Christmases and wedding anniversaries. Jane only lives two hours away.
“I’d hate to end up like that,” Hannah had told you once. 
But this is the only inside joke they’ve shared all year. 
 
The day passes. You send the sun away, reel it back, yoyo it between now and then and never.
 
***
 
This time, the kids come over to your side – their turn with the vacuum – and claim both wicker sun loungers on the deck. Grey cushions are a considerable oversight, so close to the water, but one that at least feels on-brand for the hotel.
 
After an hour pruning in the water - the kids eventually grew antsy and followed you in - you excuse yourself; it’s time to ring Nana.
Dad is waiting when you return.
“I’m sure she’ll call the ambulance if she needs,” he says with a reassuring pat on your shoulder when you relay the news. “She can take care of herself for a few more days.” 
You were fairly sure Hannah had pieced together by now that he wasn’t particularly favoured by your mother, and that he didn’t overly care for her in return.
You chew your lip. “I don’t know.”
The kids pop up from the water, settling elbow to sunburnt elbow on the deck.
“How is she?” Hannah says, a pleasantry.
“She alright?” Ryan asks, a formality. 
They don’t speak with her much, at their age. 
She isn’t – alright, that is. Days after you land back in London, Nana will be hospitalised. Stomach cancer, most likely, but she’s too weak to do any investigating, and too far gone for it to make any difference. 
“Just some tummy pain,” you say. Deep creases have carved a permanent home between your brows. 
 
You smile across the dinner table that night, a ropy approximation of happy. Several times, you catch Hannah watching you with thinned lips, like she’s trying to figure out when exactly you started pretending.
 
The sun sets. The sun rises.
 
***
 
On what might be the fourth day, or the second, or the fifth, you seek out Hannah on the deck next door, under the cover of the slatted veranda. She watches you sit down, hand shielding her eyes from the sun, assessing your dark circles, the way your skin hangs looser than it used to.
“You okay?” Hannah asks. She wants you to tell her the truth: you aren’t, you haven’t been for a while. She wants to be able to help. 
You nod, smile, lean back and open your book. “Just tired.”
The family has watched you drain for years. By October, you will be empty.
“What you reading?” you ask, nodding to the tablet propped against her legs.
“Sort of a mythological retelling. It’s good.” Hannah says. “What’s yours?”
“Murder mystery.”
“Nice.”
She’s always been an avid reader, the payoff of night after night spent giving in to her little clasped hands, badgering for just one more story before bed. The social skills, well. You can’t get everything right, says the first voice. 
 
Then the second creeps in. If you’d taken the kids on more proper holidays – the exciting ones, the ones their school friends went on, with theme parks, and watersports, and swanky beach-front resorts – would she be more adventurous, more sure of herself? Family holidays with you had been caravan parks, budget hotels, croissants and satsumas smuggled from breakfast, produced later from Dad’s cargo shorts to save on food. You’d have liked to go bigger. You could’ve afforded it, just about. Dad always talked you down. All those pennies pinched, all those trips untaken, and for what? The spare cash barely even covered Hannah’s packing list.
 
“We’ll have to go to Ikea when we’re back,” you remind yourself aloud. She still needs towels, bedding, kitchen things. 
Hannah nods emphatically, frizzy topknot bouncing against her head. “Yes, definitely.” 
In the end, Dad will take her, help her pick out plates, bowls, a trio of varying-sized navy towels, whilst you hover around a hospital bed, too distressed to watch, too distraught to look away.
 
The veranda’s shadows offer little relief from the heat, and soon Hannah retreats inside to the AC. Sweat stains linger on the sun lounger long after she’s gone. The rest of the day ticks away. 
 
You gather round the table: Hannah, Ryan, Dad, Mum. Mum, Ryan, Dad, Hannah. Ryan, Hannah, Mum, Dad. A hundred times, the order changes. It never matters.
 
The sun sets, unsets, sets again.
 
***
 
“One more round?” Dad asks. The three of you nod, Ryan stands to accompany him. It’s the final night again, or some version of it. 
You scooch your chair close to Hannah’s, and the screech of metal on concrete judders through your bones. When you draw an arm around her, you half expect she’ll shrug it off. Still, in that insufferable second where she tenses, your heart splinters. But then she loosens, leans her head on your shoulder. You hold your daughter for the last time that counts.
“I don’t hug you enough,” you frown into her hair, now shea butter and coconut. The milky newborn halo only seems like last week. “I don’t know why I don’t.”
She hums.
 
Nana will go two days before Ryan’s 16th, and you will tell Hannah, hundreds of miles away, over the phone. 
 
“We talked about taking you to Disneyland, once,” you say, through an ache in your chest you can’t imagine being without.
“That would’ve been nice.” Hannah muses, watching the sun dip below the horizon. 
 
You tug the headset off, hold down the button on the side until it turns red. Rise from the bed in the spare room, surrounded by a dead woman’s things, and trudge downstairs.
Dad is waiting in the lounge.
“You alright, dear?” He lunges for a tissue, thrusts it into your hand, eyes the blue of the Ionian sea darting worriedly over your face. He’s greyed since that summer. You aren’t sure if you love him anymore. You can’t remember if you still did then.
“I’m fine.” You sniff, dabbing at your eyes. The tissue comes away damp, flecked with mascara. You both settle on the sofa and wait for the call. 
 
Hannah’s name illuminates the phone screen. You answer on the second ring. Her face appears in miniature, navy towel binding her wet hair. It’s been a trying week – tell you later, she’d texted at lunchtime. Okay x, you’d replied, speak soon. She’s tucked up on her desk chair again, chin resting on her knees. Gold-rimmed glasses throw soft shadows onto her cheeks, flushed pink from the shower.
“Hello,” she says, “Can you hear me?”.
 
","September 09, 2023 02:48","[[{'Andrea Hanssen': ""Wowza. Hit me with an intense wave of emotion and nostalgia. A vacation intertwined with the narrator's certain awareness of everything slowly slipping through her fingers.  The death of her mother, the departure of her daughter, the disenchantment with her husband. Her realization of the potential the past held, while reflecting on the most recent of it. A fierce desire to revise, to relive. A vacation as a final glimpse at a life before it empties out. Having everything while painfully aware it'll all be gone soon. I haven't had a story hi..."", 'time': '16:10 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '6'}, [{'Emily Holding': 'This comment really moved me, thank you for reading!', 'time': '12:01 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Emily Holding': 'This comment really moved me, thank you for reading!', 'time': '12:01 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Alana Hartman': 'Congrats on the win!! I can’t believe you won with your first entry! That’s amazing! Please, keep this up! I loved your story!', 'time': '20:40 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '5'}, [{'Sarah Martyn': 'Came here to say this too! Super jealous but also impressed for her.', 'time': '14:57 Sep 16, 2023', 'points': '1'}, {'Emily Holding': 'Neither can I haha! Thank you so much, glad you enjoyed :)', 'time': '12:03 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Sarah Martyn': 'Came here to say this too! Super jealous but also impressed for her.', 'time': '14:57 Sep 16, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Emily Holding': 'Neither can I haha! Thank you so much, glad you enjoyed :)', 'time': '12:03 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Karen Corr': 'A woman caught between her mother’s death and her daughter’s new beginning accompany the guilt that she could have done more, with the rising and unrising sun a beautiful metaphor. Congratulations on your win, Emily!', 'time': '16:38 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '5'}, [{'Emily Holding': 'Thank you Karen :)', 'time': '12:04 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Emily Holding': 'Thank you Karen :)', 'time': '12:04 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Amy Curry': 'Congratulations on your win! Beautiful story and I resonate so deeply with being stuck in your own head as she is. The wonderful descriptions leave nothing to the imagination. Well done!', 'time': '01:13 Sep 16, 2023', 'points': '4'}, [{'Emily Holding': 'Thanks Amy, much appreciated!', 'time': '12:04 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Emily Holding': 'Thanks Amy, much appreciated!', 'time': '12:04 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Mary Bendickson': 'Congrats on the win. Been watching and learning for a while, huh? Then, Bam! Win with first entry.🥳🎉', 'time': '15:30 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '4'}, [{'Emily Holding': ""Definitely haha! There's so much great advice from writers out there, and I finally decided to take the leap :) Thank you!"", 'time': '12:08 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Emily Holding': ""Definitely haha! There's so much great advice from writers out there, and I finally decided to take the leap :) Thank you!"", 'time': '12:08 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Rebecca Miles': ""Oh, powerful fragmented style here to capture the emotional turmoil; the pain underneath it all is so visceral. Yes, it seems an idyllic family holiday of perfect, light- hearted togetherness, but....Have you read Deborah Levy's Swimming Home? This reminded me of the plot premise and style: in all the right ways!\nI really enjoyed your variation on the prompt with the sun setting and then immediately rising, this example in particular: \nThe sun sets, unsets, sets again.\nYep, you capture how this is nothing of wonder or beauty or cliche- which..."", 'time': '20:42 Sep 13, 2023', 'points': '4'}, [{'Rebecca Miles': 'No surprise here. Let me be the first to congratulate you on a remarkable story.', 'time': '14:58 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '2'}, {'Emily Holding': ""Thank you so much for your kind words and warm welcome Rebecca!! I'll definitely have to check out Swimming Home :)"", 'time': '12:09 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}, {'Rebecca Miles': ""You'll love Levy; she's the master of the fractured form."", 'time': '13:31 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Rebecca Miles': 'No surprise here. Let me be the first to congratulate you on a remarkable story.', 'time': '14:58 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'Emily Holding': ""Thank you so much for your kind words and warm welcome Rebecca!! I'll definitely have to check out Swimming Home :)"", 'time': '12:09 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}, {'Rebecca Miles': ""You'll love Levy; she's the master of the fractured form."", 'time': '13:31 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Emily Holding': ""Thank you so much for your kind words and warm welcome Rebecca!! I'll definitely have to check out Swimming Home :)"", 'time': '12:09 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Rebecca Miles': ""You'll love Levy; she's the master of the fractured form."", 'time': '13:31 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Rebecca Miles': ""You'll love Levy; she's the master of the fractured form."", 'time': '13:31 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'AnneMarie Miles': ""Welcome to Reedsy, and congratulations! Your writing style is superb. Absolutely stunning. I've learned so much from you with just this story. What a unique and creative approach to the sun setting and rising again."", 'time': '02:32 Sep 16, 2023', 'points': '3'}, [{'Emily Holding': 'Oh my gosh, thank you so much!', 'time': '12:10 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '2'}]], [{'Emily Holding': 'Oh my gosh, thank you so much!', 'time': '12:10 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []], [{'Kevin B': 'I thought this prompt would be so hard to accomplish with a limited amount of words, but you captured it all beautifully. Great job.', 'time': '17:47 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '3'}, [{'Emily Holding': 'Thank you :)', 'time': '12:11 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Emily Holding': 'Thank you :)', 'time': '12:11 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Anthony Payne': ""First entry, yet you wrote it with such inspirational confidence, as if this particular prompt truly spoke to you, or you are a diamond in the rough. Well, miss Holding, you've been spotted now. Congratulations, I'm still in the confidence gathering stage myself, but seeing an author such as yourself, as I said before, it's inspirational. Thank you."", 'time': '09:52 Sep 16, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'Emily Holding': ""The prompt definitely struck something for me, I'd been in the confidence-gathering stage for a while! I hope you'll take that next step as soon as you feel even a little ready - would love to see your work here :)"", 'time': '12:15 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Emily Holding': ""The prompt definitely struck something for me, I'd been in the confidence-gathering stage for a while! I hope you'll take that next step as soon as you feel even a little ready - would love to see your work here :)"", 'time': '12:15 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Jesper Jee': 'I love the descriptions you have in here. Well done!', 'time': '19:38 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'Emily Holding': 'Thank you!', 'time': '12:15 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Emily Holding': 'Thank you!', 'time': '12:15 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Michael Novak': ""Very nice, although I'm not sure if I understood it all."", 'time': '18:21 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'Emily Holding': 'Thank you for reading regardless', 'time': '12:18 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Emily Holding': 'Thank you for reading regardless', 'time': '12:18 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Chalice Davis': 'Truly exceptional imagery. I was especially drawn to your descriptions of the sky and details from past memories . I did have some trouble following who was speaking but, maybe that was a part of the aesthetic or potentially I missed some smaller details somewhere. Anyways, it was really inspiring to read your writing, you are very talented.', 'time': '00:37 Sep 19, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Ken Cartisano': ""Congrats on the Win, Emily.\n\nFor the record? I can see by the 'likes' and the win, that this was a popular story, but I was completely baffled from the opening lines to the end. The writing is crisp and clean, no errors, or typos either, very clean and polished. But I FEEL like you have sacrificed convention and clarity for style. Personally, I try not to do that. Style is great, but not when the meaning of the phrases is lost on the reader, me.\n\nFor instance, you wrote:\n\n'Too far.\n\nThe sun jumps forward until it becomes the moon and then th..."", 'time': '18:57 Sep 17, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Emily Holding': 'Thanks for the feedback, Ken! Everyone has their preferences - I do tend to lean towards stylistic choices more, especially in this piece. Appreciate you reading!', 'time': '12:21 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}, {'Ken Cartisano': ""I was expecting a bit of negative blowback on my comment, (from others, not you) so your gentle, open-minded response is most welcome.\n\nFYI, I re-read the story to my wife & mother to confirm my impressions which seemed similar to mine. However, my second read through gave me a much better understanding of the story. Little things like, 'I put on my sunnies...' I had no idea what that meant until the second read through, (out loud,) but my wife knew exactly what that meant. (In the far east I think people call sunglasses 'glares.' Go figure...."", 'time': '14:56 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Emily Holding': 'Thanks for the feedback, Ken! Everyone has their preferences - I do tend to lean towards stylistic choices more, especially in this piece. Appreciate you reading!', 'time': '12:21 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Ken Cartisano': ""I was expecting a bit of negative blowback on my comment, (from others, not you) so your gentle, open-minded response is most welcome.\n\nFYI, I re-read the story to my wife & mother to confirm my impressions which seemed similar to mine. However, my second read through gave me a much better understanding of the story. Little things like, 'I put on my sunnies...' I had no idea what that meant until the second read through, (out loud,) but my wife knew exactly what that meant. (In the far east I think people call sunglasses 'glares.' Go figure...."", 'time': '14:56 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Ken Cartisano': ""I was expecting a bit of negative blowback on my comment, (from others, not you) so your gentle, open-minded response is most welcome.\n\nFYI, I re-read the story to my wife & mother to confirm my impressions which seemed similar to mine. However, my second read through gave me a much better understanding of the story. Little things like, 'I put on my sunnies...' I had no idea what that meant until the second read through, (out loud,) but my wife knew exactly what that meant. (In the far east I think people call sunglasses 'glares.' Go figure...."", 'time': '14:56 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Philip Ebuluofor': 'Congrats. I can see you for business. Welcome.', 'time': '15:57 Sep 17, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Emily Holding': 'Thank you :)', 'time': '12:22 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Emily Holding': 'Thank you :)', 'time': '12:22 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Ashley Soto Prado': 'Congratulations on the win! Amazing that you won with your first entry! Beautiful story, a well deserved win.', 'time': '22:22 Sep 16, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Emily Holding': 'Thank you very much :)', 'time': '12:22 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Emily Holding': 'Thank you very much :)', 'time': '12:22 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Jonathan Page': 'Wow!  Great story.  Lots of life transitions are described in a very imaginative and beautiful way.  Packed a lot of punch in a few poignant scenes.  Congrats on the win!', 'time': '22:10 Sep 16, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Emily Holding': 'Thank you!', 'time': '12:23 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Emily Holding': 'Thank you!', 'time': '12:23 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Rania Assif': 'i looooove the storyy it was so entertaining but yould improve on saying their name too much', 'time': '16:59 Sep 16, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Emily Holding': 'Thank you for the feedback, much appreciated :)', 'time': '12:23 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Emily Holding': 'Thank you for the feedback, much appreciated :)', 'time': '12:23 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Kerry Clark': 'I love the way you used the sun’s reversal to gather the threads of this family saga; taking events out of sequence somehow adding a feeling of familiarity with the story. Lots of emotions created by reflecting her own view of her life in the end of her mother’s. Well deserved win.', 'time': '08:46 Sep 16, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Emily Holding': 'Thank you very much :)', 'time': '12:23 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Emily Holding': 'Thank you very much :)', 'time': '12:23 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",e9zmxe,Reserved Park,Chris Campbell,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/e9zmxe/,/short-story/e9zmxe/,Science Fiction,0,"['Science Fiction', 'Funny', 'Indigenous']",26 likes,"
“What’d I tell you, mate? Best fucking sunset in Straya!”“Too right, mate. Never seen anything like it. It’s magical.”“One hundred ninety-eight feet deep, mate. Do you know that down there in the middle of the crater, there’s acacia and eucalyptus trees twenty-six feet high?”“Crikey. That’s deep.”“Yeah, nah mate. Deep ain’t even the word. Three hundred thousand years old but wasn’t discovered until nineteen fucking forty-seven! That’s how remote this place is.”“Yeah, mate. You could die out here.”“You could die anywhere, mate.”“Nah, yeah. Fair point.”“What’s more, is that this rim we’ve parked the Ute on, is another thirty meters above ground.”“Yeah, I was going to mention that, mate. We alright parking here? I mean, it is a National Park. There must be rules.”“Fuck that, mate. Who’s gonna tell us to move? Park Rangers? See any around?”“Nah, yeah but aren’t we encroaching on local spiritual ground?”“The only spirits I’m worried about are the tins of Wild Turkey in the Eski.”“Yeah, nah. I’ll stick to beer, mate… Must have been one big fire storm when that meteorite hit.”“A fifty-thousand metric tonne piece of rock travelling at fifteen KPS, Whump! Right in the middle, down there. Second biggest crater on the planet.”“Wot’s KPS, mate?”“Kilometers per second, mate. About as quick as you were on Alice Dutton that night behind our school gymnasium – all those years ago.”“Never touched her mate. Nothin’ but a myth.”“Not according to Alice Dutton. You never wondered how you got your nickname?”“Wot, Speedo? That was on account of that fine I got for going sixty in a school zone, while wearing nothin’ but budgie smugglers; then crashing through the school gates, after I lost control from doing burnouts.”“Yeah, nah mate. Think again. Yous were all hyped up that night, coz you just lost your cherry after rooting Alice, then went off on one, like a frog in a sock.”“What I lost, was me wheels. Had to settle for me bicycle and rides from you, after I was banned from driving for six months.” “Yeah, I remember. You sulked for weeks, like you’d had your favourite toy taken away from you and crushed.”“Had to start all over again with L plates.”“You always were the reckless one, mate. I reckon if you could have driven a meteorite back then, you’d have crashed it into this place.”“Nah, yeah. At 15KPS, I reckon I’d have gone down in history as the first human to have caused a mass extinction of life.”“Yeah, mate. You would have been the one responsible for completely wiping out the Kangasaur.”“Yeah? Nah… Wot’s a Kangasaur?”“A bit like that herpes you caught from Alice Dutton that night.”“Wot? Oh, fucking funny, mate. I never kissed her, anyways. That was just a cold sore, mate… Was there really a Kangasaur?”“I suspise not.”“Wot’s that word?”“Suspise?”“Yeah.”“It means to be suspicious of, when in doubt.”“Like the word, Reckon?”“I reckon.”“Well, I reckon that’s another of your made-up words.”“Good one, though, yeah?”“Yeah, nah mate.”“Wot? That belongs as a permanent entry into the Urban Dictionary.”“What’s an urban dictionary?”“It’s a book of sayings and words that young cunts make up, trying to change the English language. The official term is called, Crowdsourced.”“Fucking Millennials. Why can’t the drongos just leave the English language alone.”“Yeah, keep things in the status quo. Don’t change our tongue, mate.”“Nah, yeah! Status Quo, mate! Down down, deeper and down.”“Get down, deeper and down.”“Fucking Coles commercial!”“Yeah, nicked that from the annals of great songs, didn’t they.”“Yeah, nah. Came out of someone’s arse, that’s defo for sure. I reckon people who write tv commercials have no clue about creativity.”“Howzat?”“Well, they’re either shouting at you to listen, or they get some Bogan to save money by employing their family members to act in the commercial. Might as well use wooden planks as actors. They’d be more convincing.”“Yeah, specially in the hardware store commercials.”“Nah, yeah. Put a cap on a two-by-four, draw some eyes, a nose, and lips on it, and film it with someone talking off camera, like We’ve got bargains galore at Bunnings! I Wooden lie, haa!”“Yeah, or like, Don’t let the sawdust settle on your barbie, cut yourself another stake.”“I reckon you’ve got a future in tv commercials, mate.”“Yeah?”“Nah!”“Time for a little Slim Dusty?”“Why not. Got coverage for iTunes?”“Yeah, mate. Two bars. Here, listen to this. A pub with no beer.”“Classic, maaate!”“So, how long till sunset?”“You know how to tell?”“Yeah, nah.”“Lift your hand in front of your eyes and position your index finger at the top of the sun, then count how many fingers down to the horizon. Each finger counts as five minutes. How many can you count?”“Half a finger.”“Then, it’s almost time to get a cardie and trackie dacks on, mate. Once that orange ball disappears, your apricots between those tender thighs of yours, start to contract; and your donger shrinks. It’s the law of the desert.” “What law is that, mate?”“The, It gets fucking cold at night, law. Throw us another stubbie before Slim starts singing Waltzing Matilda.”“Cheers, mate.”“To the end of the day, cheers.”“Fuck, it gets dark quick when the sun goes down.”“Yeah, nah, the orange glow across the horizon will be our night light for a bit.”“To Slim Dusty!”“To craters in the sun!”“Does the sun have craters?”“Nah mate. It’s a hot ball of bubbling gases.”“Maate! Is it my imagination, or is that hot ball of bubbling gases returning?”“Stop blithering and keep drinking, you clown.”“Take a look, mate.”“Fuuck me. You’re right!”“And does it look like it’s getting brighter and closer, like it’s heading right towards us?”“Nah, yeah. What is it?”“Dunno. But it’s taken on the colour of the landscape as it moves across the horizon.”“Yeah, but it looks like it’s right in front of us.”“It seems to be hovering above those Acacia trees in the middle of the crater.”“Mate, you hear the sound of a didgeridoo playing somewhere?”“Yeah, but it sounds like it’s playing on my phone with Slim Dusty.”“He never used didgeridoos, did he?”“Dunno, but Slim’s stopped singing. All I can hear is the haunting sound of that didgeridoo.”“Mate, look. The sun is dimming, and it looks like a… door is opening on its side?”“Yeah, nah mate. It’s a ramp and someone’s walking down it.”“Wot’s he look like?”“Dunno, the light behind him is too bright for a lengthy sticky beak.”“He’s heading towards us. Is he… fucking floating in the air?”“I suspise he is, mate. Wait, he’s waving at us, like he wants us to go to him.”“What-cher reckon?”“I reckon we have no choice. That didge is filling up my head and I can’t think much.”“Nah, yeah. I hear it too. Streuth! He’s a…”“Nah, yeah mate. That explains why this place is so important to the locals. It must be how they got here in the first place.”“Let’s go say G’day.”“He says only one of us… me, to be more specific.”“How’d he say that. I didn’t see his lips move.”“He’s in my head talking between the didge breaths.”“How’s that possible?”“Dunno, mate, but he says stop talking. You’re upsetting the trees.”“They’re all the way down in the crater. How am I upsetting the trees?”“He says you’re standing on their roots.”“Don’t get too close, mate.”“Nah, yeah. It’s okay. He says he has an important message for me to relay to you.”“To me?”“Yeah, mate… Okay, got it. Will do, mate. I’m coming back.”“Where’s he from?”“Dunno. I reckon he’s a local.”“In a spaceship?”“Nah, yeah. He mentioned something about being on patrol. But that’s not what he wanted me to tell you.”“So, what did he want me to know?”“He said that you can’t park here. It’s reserved for official vehicles only. And that the no parking sign must have been blown down by the wind.”“What No Parking sign?”“He says, the one that says Alien parking only. Violators will be abducted.”“He’s acting a bit of a Galah, ain’t he?”“Yeah, nah mate. Says he’s run out of fingers and toes to count the number of times idiots like you park in his spot. Says you’ve got two fingers in which to move your Ute.”“Two…? Oh…”“Yeah. Ten minutes, mate.”“You hear that? The didgeridoo sound is fading.”“Yeah, mate. He says his shift is over in ten minutes and you don’t want the next ranger to see someone parked here. Otherwise, it will be abduction and you don’t want that.”“How come?”“He says, because your clacker will be probed with all kinds of objects. Some, not so smooth that will make your little freckle look like a sore haemorrhoid. He’s gone from my head, now.”“Yeah, and his ship is heading back over the horizon. What do we do?”“Move the fucking Ute, mate.”“Think we should head back to civilisation and tell someone about this?”“Yeah, nah mate. Who’d believe us?”“We just saw a UFO, mayte!”“Yeah, nah. I can see it, now.  Scuse me Constable. Where do we report an aboriginal man flying a spaceship in the bush? They’ll drug test us for sure.”“Yeah, nah. We don’t want that.”“Nah mate.”“Okay, fire up the barbie, while I move the Ute. I don’t want to provoke any alien probing me nuggets.”“Yeah, nah mate. Another stubbie?”“Yeah, nah. I reckon it’s time for the Turkey. Bring any Coke?”“Nah, yeah. But the wrong kind.”“Well, at least it will keep us awake to watch the sun rise over the crater in the morning.”“Too right, mate.”“What a night!”“Yeah, mate.”“Alien parking only. Who’d-a-fucking-thought…?”
","September 05, 2023 07:46","[[{'Jenni Bradshaw': ""Crikey! That was a real stupor there, mate!\n\nBorn an American but I suspise I'm an Aussie now, mate!\n\nCheers to figuring didgeridoos are made of eucalyptus wood, down in the pit of that crater there, yeah! 26 feet long at that!? Strewth!\n\nYeah, nah mate! I reckon one of them blokes is named Leslie, yeah!? Might as well be a Sheila!\n\nBetter shut me pipes before the drongos tell me to park it elsewhere.\n\nDardy post, mate! Loved that the aboriginal park ranger seemed more like a True Blue and was a bit more of a Larrikin rather than straight te..."", 'time': '20:40 Sep 10, 2023', 'points': '3'}, [{'Chris Campbell': 'Too right, mate.\nGood on ya for sending me some great feedback.', 'time': '23:20 Sep 10, 2023', 'points': '2'}]], [{'Chris Campbell': 'Too right, mate.\nGood on ya for sending me some great feedback.', 'time': '23:20 Sep 10, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []], [{'Helen A Smith': 'Hi Chris\nAbsolutely hilarious. I was literally cracking up reading it. Great imagery and  dialogue and as with all great comedy, you smashed it with the timing.', 'time': '12:44 Sep 10, 2023', 'points': '3'}, [{'Chris Campbell': 'Thanks, Helen.\nMuch appreciated. So glad to have made you laugh.', 'time': '14:35 Sep 10, 2023', 'points': '3'}]], [{'Chris Campbell': 'Thanks, Helen.\nMuch appreciated. So glad to have made you laugh.', 'time': '14:35 Sep 10, 2023', 'points': '3'}, []], [{'Kevin Logue': ""Alien aboriginal park rangers, marvellous. I'm now away to look up the melange of new words you've presented  me with ha.\n\nP.S. no one in work even understood I was insulting them by calling them Cosplayers."", 'time': '10:52 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '3'}, [{'Chris Campbell': 'Thanks, Kevin.\nHilarious on the Cosplayers comment.', 'time': '14:01 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '2'}]], [{'Chris Campbell': 'Thanks, Kevin.\nHilarious on the Cosplayers comment.', 'time': '14:01 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []], [{'Tom Skye': 'Haha the Aussie bantz was strong in this one. Amazing job setting a scene like that with only dialogue. A throroughly enjoyable read and very very funny.\n\nGreat job', 'time': '08:43 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '3'}, [{'Chris Campbell': 'Tom,\nThanks for the great feedback.\nSo glad it tickled your funny bone.', 'time': '14:02 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '2'}]], [{'Chris Campbell': 'Tom,\nThanks for the great feedback.\nSo glad it tickled your funny bone.', 'time': '14:02 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []], [{'Michał Przywara': 'Heh :) I was wondering what people would come up with for this prompt :)\n\nAn amusing story, and ""suspise"" - a new word! It\'s always a good day for a new word.\n\nThe action in this one is clear, which is crucial for dialogue only. Pretty impressive, when the UFO action starts.', 'time': '23:03 Sep 06, 2023', 'points': '3'}, [{'Chris Campbell': 'Thanks, Michal.\nWould you believe that when I tried to add ""Suspise"" to the Urban Dictionary, it was already there? I still submitted my version for review, along with ""Kangasaur.""\nThanks for the great feedback.', 'time': '02:13 Sep 07, 2023', 'points': '3'}]], [{'Chris Campbell': 'Thanks, Michal.\nWould you believe that when I tried to add ""Suspise"" to the Urban Dictionary, it was already there? I still submitted my version for review, along with ""Kangasaur.""\nThanks for the great feedback.', 'time': '02:13 Sep 07, 2023', 'points': '3'}, []], [{'Michelle Oliver': 'Yeah nah mate. Bloody coles commercial is ringing in my head now. Thanks! \nYou have a gift of bringing the  Australian accent to life in written form.', 'time': '12:22 Sep 05, 2023', 'points': '3'}, [{'Chris Campbell': ""Thanks, Michelle.\nIt's a new skill. I hope I don't overuse it.\nSo glad you liked it."", 'time': '23:56 Sep 05, 2023', 'points': '3'}]], [{'Chris Campbell': ""Thanks, Michelle.\nIt's a new skill. I hope I don't overuse it.\nSo glad you liked it."", 'time': '23:56 Sep 05, 2023', 'points': '3'}, []], [{'Kay Smith': 'This made me feel so American. I had to stop and look up words quite a few times but wound up laughing my ass off at this pair! \nYour back and forth dialogue is on point! Really hysterical story!', 'time': '16:46 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'Chris Campbell': ""Kay,\nThanks for your great feedback.\nIt's like learning a new language. So glad to have made you laugh."", 'time': '03:08 Sep 10, 2023', 'points': '3'}]], [{'Chris Campbell': ""Kay,\nThanks for your great feedback.\nIt's like learning a new language. So glad to have made you laugh."", 'time': '03:08 Sep 10, 2023', 'points': '3'}, []], [{'Nina Herbst': 'These two are so delightfully crass! I almost want to go hang out with them!! (Almost… 😂) \nThis was great, Chris, and so funny! I don’t have the imagination to tackle the Sci-fi prompts. You do so well with them!!', 'time': '15:35 Sep 07, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'Chris Campbell': ""Nina,\nThanks so much for your great feedback.\nSci-Fi is one of my big interests, but I'm still learning to write in that genre.  \nSo glad you liked it."", 'time': '14:03 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '2'}]], [{'Chris Campbell': ""Nina,\nThanks so much for your great feedback.\nSci-Fi is one of my big interests, but I'm still learning to write in that genre.  \nSo glad you liked it."", 'time': '14:03 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []], [{'Delbert Griffith': ""Damn, Chris, you have a gift for Aussie dialogue. Any dialogue, really, but this was splendid. I know this because I didn't get all the Aussie dialect - but I did get enough to make me laugh and spit out my coffee! LOL\n\nGreat take on the prompt, my friend. I suspise that you had fun with this one. I think I really liked how the guys were commiserating about how the language was being changed by Millennials when they also had a part in changing the language. I suppose every generation feels that way about the change in our mother tongues. Ver..."", 'time': '13:08 Sep 07, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'Chris Campbell': ""Delbert,\n\nThank you for more great feedback.\n\nI had to do a little research into Aussie slang, as even after 12 years here, I'm still learning new things. \n\nGlad you picked up on the irony in the changing our language commentary. As always, English continues to evolve with each generation.\n\nThanks for reading it."", 'time': '03:55 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '3'}]], [{'Chris Campbell': ""Delbert,\n\nThank you for more great feedback.\n\nI had to do a little research into Aussie slang, as even after 12 years here, I'm still learning new things. \n\nGlad you picked up on the irony in the changing our language commentary. As always, English continues to evolve with each generation.\n\nThanks for reading it."", 'time': '03:55 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '3'}, []], [{'Derrick M Domican': 'I love your dialogue stories Chris! Great fun , brilliant writing as always', 'time': '17:07 Sep 06, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'Chris Campbell': 'Much appreciated, Derrick.\nI do enjoy the dialogue writing.\nCheers!', 'time': '02:14 Sep 07, 2023', 'points': '2'}]], [{'Chris Campbell': 'Much appreciated, Derrick.\nI do enjoy the dialogue writing.\nCheers!', 'time': '02:14 Sep 07, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []], [{'AnneMarie Miles': 'I love when stories can be told through pure dialogue. And a wild one at that! Very original and a great approach to the prompt. Those aliens sure must get frustrated about us taking their spots...', 'time': '13:22 Sep 05, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'Chris Campbell': 'Thanks, AnneMarie.\nI do enjoy writing dialogue-only pieces.\nSo glad you liked it.', 'time': '23:55 Sep 05, 2023', 'points': '2'}]], [{'Chris Campbell': 'Thanks, AnneMarie.\nI do enjoy writing dialogue-only pieces.\nSo glad you liked it.', 'time': '23:55 Sep 05, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []], [{'Mary Bendickson': ""Bad sun rising.\n\nThanks for liking my 'Kneaded Touch'.\n\nAnd my 'All in a name'"", 'time': '08:52 Sep 05, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'Chris Campbell': 'Indeed.\nThanks for reading it, Mary.', 'time': '09:17 Sep 05, 2023', 'points': '2'}]], [{'Chris Campbell': 'Indeed.\nThanks for reading it, Mary.', 'time': '09:17 Sep 05, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",e72q9l,Please Don’t Leave Me,Jonathan Page,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/e72q9l/,/short-story/e72q9l/,Science Fiction,0,"['Science Fiction', 'Fantasy', 'Drama']",26 likes,"
Selena and I were dancing hand-in-hand and singing at the top of our lungs out on our porch at the Presidential Suite of the Playa Del Carmen Resort, just feet away from the Caribbean Sea. There was a bottle of champagne in tow and a heap of menthol cigarette butts littered by the landing. After exhausting Pat Benatar and Rihanna, we were up to Pink: “da-da-dot-da-da… please… please… don’t leave me…” and the palm trees were two-stepping while the ocean was drumming a steady syncopated beat.The sun was setting below the surf, and I thought that this had been the perfect day: breakfast on the beach, sex in the shower, a couple’s shiatsu massage, piña coladas by the pool during a foam party, a barbeque lunch of tortillas, queso and tequila, with dinner at Alux—a restaurant in the belly of a cave—being the highlight.As the sun blinked shut like an eye, giving me a sly wink, its pink eyelashes broke the line of the horizon. I said under my breath, “I wish this day would never end.”There was a wild bird-of-paradise plant in a clay pot by the porch railing. A salamander perched motionless on one of its leaves, which rumbled under a scorching wind rolling in from the East. The salamander was half orange and half green and its orange face gleamed with an ancient knowledge. I noticed that the salamander had a small gold ring on his spindly green arm, and without thinking I reached out and touched it. The salamander dissolved into a gush of swirling blue-green flame and a dark-skinned man with no shirt, a muscular build, and a hairy chest with a rug of thin, tight curls stood before me. He wore baggy satin harem pants with red and gold columns which were sealed and came together at the ankle. He stood on hairy hooved feet.  He had long hoop earrings, a nose ring, and his arms were adorned with many gold bracelets. Time had stopped. The world was a vat of soft gelatin. I could feel the air on my skin—but my arms moved through it like molasses—knocking into and squeezing through the motionless columns of air particles. Selena was frozen beside me with her blonde hair hanging weightlessly.“Who are you,” I asked.“I am Shaddad,” he said, “you summoned me by rubbing Solomon’s Ring and I was beckoned forth by your curious wish.”“Who are you again,” I asked.“Your wish,” he shrugged, “is my command…” and he waved his arms, turning himself back into green flames and sailing off on the breeze without further explanation.“What wish…” I said. But he was already gone.The bright pink eyelashes of the setting sun had just winked shut, but the eyelids lifted up again, crusty with the dew of sleep. The sun yawned, stretching out its long arms, and arched its back. It rose from its earthy bed and stood to its feet, moving backwards, and breaking the line of the surf from the West. At first, it happened slowly. Then, faster. Like an old VHS tape that was being rewound at 4x speed. Finally, everything blurred into the stuff of dreams. I found myself lying in the king sized bed of the suite in the cool of the morning. Selena had confiscated all of the blankets and all of the sheets. I had never gotten married before. Well, that’s not true. There was that time in Vegas with Tara, but I wasn’t counting that fiasco—after all it had been annulled.I didn’t remember Shaddad or anything that had happened before. I just relived the day with a vague sense of nagging déjà vu, without changing a thing.Selena rolled over, yawning, and said, “Baby, I’m hunngggrrryyy.”* * *“I wish this day would never end,” I whispered and noticed that the salamander had a small gold ring on his arm. Without thinking, I reached out and touched it. There was Shaddad. As time stood still, I remembered our prior encounter. There he was arms crossed below a dark rug of chest hair, and I somehow knew what he was about to say.“—Hey, this time let me remember, so at least I could maybe change a thing or two,” I told him.“Wait, wait. Hold the presses. I thought you were just saying how this was the perfect day. You wanted to relive it forever and ever. Did I mishear that?” Shaddad said in a thick and rumbling voice.“No, it was the perfect day—but—you can’t—just—go on living the same day over and over again forever.”Shaddad parted his lips and cocked his head, “men,” he said, “always finding ways to mess up a good thing,” and continued, “your wish is my command…” and the green flames and the sun rising from the West... and I found myself lying in the king sized bed of the suite in the cool of the morning. Selena had confiscated all of the blankets and all of the sheets. Selena rolled over, yawning, and said, “Baby, I’m hunngggrrryyy.”* * *We were lying on the couples massage tables in the spa and Carmen placed hot stones on our backs.“Babe, I really need to see if we can find some Newport cigarettes,” Selena said. Carmen had the towel over my torso and was kneading my lower back and hip girdle with her elbows.“We are in paradise, on our honeymoon, and this is what you are worried about?” I asked.“I need cigarettes babe. Menthols, at least,” Selena said. Carmen started using her forearms to dig into my shoulder blades.“How’s the massage?” I asked. “I splurged for the best package.”“It is incredible,” she said, “I really needed this. I need a manicure too after this—I have a broken nail” she said, and then continued, “and babe, we really need to see if we can find some Newports. I’m serious. You know I get anxiety if I don’t have my cigarettes.”The other day, I brought Selena to the gas station, and we found her Newports, but today I went out while she was getting her manicure and bought her Marlboro Menthols, the Mexican kind, that have the flavor beads you pinch and crush to adjust the amount of menthol you want and waited for her out by the pool.While I was having a shot of Clase Azul at the bar, an older Gentleman named Finley with a black Hawaiian shirt, with a very expensive Patek Philippe gold luxury watch strolled up with a twenty-something Latina girl named Maria-Elena. Finley’s red hair and enigmatic grin warmed my heart. Maria-Elena’s loyal doting smile showed real respect and admiration.“You two want to do a shot of tequila?”The three of us clinked glasses—chin, chin—and I headed off.* * *I claimed a poolside cabana for Selena and I, with the white sheets and blankets and big body-style pillows, got us some big blue aquamarine towels, and ordered up a couple of piña coladas. I stripped down to my Chubbies shorts, oiled up my torso with Bananna Boat and laid back with my tinted Ray Bans to take in the sun.They were playing Jimmy Buffet over the speakers, “Wastin' away again in Margaritaville /Searching for my lost shaker of salt / Some people claim that there's a woman to blame /But I know it's my own damn fault…” And it was. It was always my fault.Foam clouds were covering the surface of the water. A stringy kid was floating on a Pink Flamingo floaty. Three girls were straddled up on one White Swan floaty, bobbling as their legs flailed. A red-haired balding Scottish guy with a British accent who had to be in his 40s—part of the same group—was riding a Purple Unicorn with his big gut bouncing against its mane, guffawing as he went. The whole scene was surreal. A young couple kissed in the foam. It transported me back to an equally strange day when all of this first had started.After our first trip to Mexico, I remembered standing at the customs gate of the Cancun airport, when Selena and I fumbled for our licenses.When I pulled mine out, she looked down at my license and said, “You don’t look like a lawyer.”“What do I look like,” I asked.“A handsome pirate with dark features and a ‘hell-may-come’ grin,” she said, with a goofy smile.“Wow! That’s quite a compliment. Did you pull that out of a romance novel?” I asked.“What about me,” she asked, “what do I look like?” And she gazed up at me.“You don’t look like a record producer, that’s for sure?”“Then what do I look like?”“A lawyer’s wife,” I had said. The words had just slipped out, and for a second, I had thought about taking them back, but then I gazed down at her.She met my gaze, looking up at me transfixed, holding back the sweetest of smiles. And in that moment, I had been able to see the two of us standing before an altar, exchanging vows.Disturbing me from my daydream, Selena appeared, doing a runway walk over to me in the Burberry Bikini I had bought for her for our trip, smoking a Newport cigarette triumphantly—God only knows where she managed to find one of those—freshly painted pink bejeweled nails glistening in the sun. She took dainty sips of the Pina Colada through a straw and said, “this is the best day of life.”Selena leaned over on the daybed and said, “Baby, I’m hunngggrrryyy.”* * *“I wish this day would never end,” I whispered and noticed the salamander... There was Shaddad. His arms crossed. I knew exactly what he was about to say.“Wait, what are my options here,” I asked him.“What do you mean, young master—you said you never wanted this day to end,” Shaddad said, furrowing his brow—""and it is for me to do as you command.” “I’m not quite sure what I’ve gotten myself into here. It’s like watching a movie for the second time. I’ve been noticing some things. Things that are a little off.” “Noticing things?” Shaddad said, genuinely perplexed. It didn’t occur to me that jinn are spiritual creatures who know and apprehend everything at once, and while they have emotions and purpose like men, the idea of a gradual realization of present truths is a foreign one for them. It also hadn’t occurred to me that he was genuinely disinterested in what I was going through.“How does this all work, anyway—you—all of this—what are the rules?” I asked.“I am a jinn. We are wandering servants. You came across my ring and expressed your heart’s desire. Now, I must provide you with three wishes—your first wish was for this day to never end—and so it hasn’t. Your second wish was to be able to remember and change the events. And now, you only have one wish left (unless I see fit to grant you more).”And with this Shaddad put his hands to the sides of his waist, arched his back, and belly laughed with dramatic effect.“What would you wish for if you had three wishes, just out of curiosity,” I asked.“What I would wish for,” Shaddad said. “I would wish that on the day of judgment that my lord would call me to his arms. I would wish that in the world beyond this world, I would be appointed and crowned—”“—Fascinating stuff—and I do want to hear all of it. But what would you wish for, if you were in my shoes, right now?” I asked.“What are you,” Shaddad said, sizing me up, “about an 11 wide?”“In my shoes, meaning in my present situation, with Selena,” I said.“That’s a hard one,” Shaddad said. “Perhaps, I might start by considering whether this perfect day, if you were to live it over forever—as you have asked me to grant—would still be perfect after a week or a month or a year—and I would start by really examining what a perfect day would really be like—asking if it is what your heart really most desires,” and Shaddad continued, “so I’ll see you the same time tomorrow?“Wait… you mean today?”“Touche,” Shaddad said pointing in my direction. Shaddad took a small bow with a faux hat roll and said, “your wish is my command…” and...I found myself lying in the king size bed of the suite in the cool of the morning. Selena had confiscated all of the blankets and all of the sheets. Selena rolled over, yawning, and said, “Baby, I’m hunngggrrryyy.”* * *Breakfast on the beach involved a quick dip in the ocean. But the shoreline was rocky (alpine mountain pass rocky) and full of sharp shells and slick tree branches that had not been dredged. Walking out a bit into the turf, Selena jumped into my arms. “Oww babe,” I yelled as my foot nearly went through a huge, jagged rock from her weight. I felt a pinch in my back that could have been a blown disc. “I need to put you down.” She grabbed her arms around my neck and said, “no babe, if I’m going down, I’m taking you with me.”I strained and cringed with each step but got us back to shore. I was feeling nauseas and my foot was bleeding. It was bleeding a lot. Both underneath and on top.Back in the room, in the shower, there was an awkward bit of embarrassing dry, well dry/wet humping of Selena’s leg to get the sex started. She wasn’t as enthusiastic as hoped for.The couple’s shiatsu massage was relaxing, except for Selena’s recitation of her State of the Union of grievances. Apparently, Selena had a dry, scaly corn on her heel and needed a pedicure, had a broken fingernail and needed a manicure, was starting her period and needed me to pick up some tampons, had an annoying nerve injury in her knee (fix to be determined), was suffering from knots in the fascia of her shoulder, and was debating whether she might have craned her neck and how that could have happened. The studio rent was also a week late, her artists were ungrateful, her mother wasn’t pulling her weight taking care of childcare duties for Selena’s niece, she was in a fight with her hairdresser and debating options—a truce, a replacement?, and she needed a raise—and therefore some help with studio rent. The piña coladas were syrupy and were making my stomach hurt. The pool was overcrowded. The nachos were soggy and the queso was dry. And Selena took forever to get ready for dinner, so I had to throw our chauffer for the evening an extra $40 for the wait.There was a bat in the cave. Bats, plural. Actually.* * *Selena and I were dancing and singing at the top of our lungs. The Caribbean Sea was fussy and churned with an irritated drone. The palm trees tapped their feet impatiently, like servers waiting on a last customer, ready to call it a night. A spilled champagne bottle lay on its side, spoiling in the summer heat. The air was rank of Newport cigarettes. The groundskeeper was hovering nearby, less than amused by the amount of pot smoke coming off the porch of the Presidential Suite.The scorching wind dusted dry sand up into the air which made us cough.“I wish this day would never end,” I whispered and noticed the salamander... There was Shaddad.“Hey, dude. We need to talk,” I told him.“What is it,” Shaddad asked.“Suppose I go back and change something from before… way before… and end this repeating loop,” I asked.“I’m following,” Shaddad said. “You can do that. But why? What’s the problem?”“Well, suppose I change something that means that I never came on this trip, right.”“Ohhh, Oh, Ohh,” Shaddad said. “That’s in the manual. That’s de facto wish cancellation by proxy—you would be acknowledging and waiving any right in continuation of the perpetual loop by doing so—you do acknowledge and understand that, right?”“Yes, yes, yes. If I never found the ring… is that a paradox or something—because how could I go back and change something—if I never found the ring?” I asked.“Hahhhahhhhhahhahh. Paradox. We are creatures of spirit, dude—not physicists. There are no boundaries to our power. Not to worry. One word of warning, though. If you change the past so the future here never happened—it always was that way—and you won’t remember any of this, or me,"" Shaddad said.""Good to know, makes sense” I said, pondering my next steps.“I want to go back to that day in the airport and not say that thing that I said,” I told him.“Your wish,” he shrugged, “is my command…” and he waved his arms, turning himself back into green flames and sailing off on the breeze without further explanation.* * *I found myself lying in my bed back home in Brooklyn in the cool of the August morning. Maria-Elena had confiscated all of the blankets and all of the sheets. Maria-Elena rolled over and said, “Baby, I’m hunngggrrryyy.”As I walked down Remsen Street to the breakfast shop, I saw a red-haired man with a young blonde in tow. Selena? He had a very expensive Patek Philippe gold luxury watch on his arm.“Oh, Finely, baby, we absolutely must get some Newports,” Selena said. He had an enigmatic grin that warmed my heart. I had the strangest sense of déjà vu.
","September 07, 2023 05:08","[[{'Stevie Burges': 'A good fun read.', 'time': '07:40 Sep 11, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Jonathan Page': 'Thanks Stevie!', 'time': '22:53 Sep 13, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Jonathan Page': 'Thanks Stevie!', 'time': '22:53 Sep 13, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Mary Bendickson': 'Hope he is happy with the redo.', 'time': '05:43 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Jonathan Page': 'Thanks Mary!', 'time': '07:02 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Jonathan Page': 'Thanks Mary!', 'time': '07:02 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Anna E. Walters': '""We are creatures of spirit, dude—not physicists."" Great line!\n\nI enjoyed your fresh twist on the three wishes from a jinn. Thanks for a fun read!', 'time': '18:10 Sep 07, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Jonathan Page': 'Thanks Anna!', 'time': '20:38 Sep 07, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Jonathan Page': 'Thanks Anna!', 'time': '20:38 Sep 07, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Nina Herbst': 'I love what you did with this prompt! You begin the story with such romance, excitement, happiness. I was swept away with the happy couple in paradise. Then the slow realization that he wasn’t in Kansas, er…paradise, anymore! \nYou set up the “honeymoon” period, then in one repeated day, brought him to the reality of his relationship. And he found a way to get out before it started. So clever!!', 'time': '16:48 Sep 07, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Jonathan Page': 'Thanks Nina!', 'time': '20:38 Sep 07, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Jonathan Page': 'Thanks Nina!', 'time': '20:38 Sep 07, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",egj7ae,Pinch the Sun from the Sky,Tom Skye,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/egj7ae/,/short-story/egj7ae/,Science Fiction,0,"['Fantasy', 'Holiday', 'Science Fiction']",24 likes,"
The sun's final sliver hovered over the Ibiza horizon as James pinched Shauna's knee to his right. They watched from the roof of a 20-story hotel three blocks from the beach. The two of them sang together:""Oh, tell me why, do we build castles in the sky? Oh, tell me why…."".""I would pinch the sun from the sky for you if I could,"" James whispered.Shauna began to laugh as James belted the female vocal with eyes closed to disastrous effect. The ecstasy pills from the previous night were still lingering, and both were keen to embrace the moment before an evening in the hotel. James' high note and Shauna's laugh were stopped dead by a short but jolting rumble to the Earth beneath them.""Terremoto!!!"" a distant voice screamed.The couple jumped up and leaned against each other to maintain balance. The sliver of sun in the distance began to flicker like a disco light.""That was beyond an earthquake,"" James said to Shauna. A violent thrust sent both of them to the ground. As they sat there trembling, the sun rose again above the horizon. James and Shauna held each other while those on the beach and ground beneath did the same or darted off in various directions.""James, what is it? Is it the pills?"" Shauna cried.""No, my head is clear"", he replied.The sun quickly rose to a late afternoon height and stopped. The Earth rumbled again, and the sun shifted down to the position of early evening. As Shauna looked through squinted eyes at the misplaced star, she could make out a hand holding the sun in place. ""Can you see that, James? This has to be the drugs!""""James looked closely, his eyes partially shielded by his Oakleys. ""No, it's there; that is a hand."" Two fingers are pinching the sun like a ping pong ball….""As he spoke, the surrounding screams rose to deafening levels as an enormous finger parted the sky and entered gently into the sea. The finger shone a brilliant turquoise, and scrapes and bruises decorated its surface. Following a more incredible rumble, the Earth was rotated back and forth by the finger, throwing people 10 feet either way. James and Shauna were kept on the roof by a 5-foot-high parapet.The Mediterranean Ocean flooded the beach before flushing the town beneath them further inland. Screams of the drowning could be heard, while the sun's movement manifested to the terrified crowds as a dimming and brightening of light. The air temperature fluctuated ten degrees up and down again and again. James and Shauna held each other and couldn't look. Somehow, the hotel remained standing.  Shauna found the courage to look again at the giant finger. She saw its multiple sections pulsate as it twisted and shifted the globe in one direction after the other. As she observed more closely, she witnessed the gravitational pull as boats and swimmers flew to its lower region.""James, what is going on? Smiley faces are sick, you said. This isn't a smiley comedown.""""This isn't the damn drugs,"" James cried back.""A second finger then lowered from the sky to position itself further inland. It began to sweep buildings away side-to-side as if clearing a space. Still, their hotel remained untouched.Booms and crashes accompanied the screams as waters sounded beneath like a power shower to the ear. James got gazed upwards. The sky had dimmed. ""Look!"" he said.The couple focused to see the intricacies of a giant palm of a hand as the lone finger wreaked havoc around them. The cold air had hit sub-zero temperatures, and they trembled now for warmth, and not only with fear.""What is happening?"" Shauna said. ""Is this a dream? Whether I am dreaming or just tripping out, don't ever let me swallow anything small and round ever again!""""I wish it were sweetheart,"" James replied. This giant hand, this rumbling Earth, that sun, it's all real…"" Shauna felt herself being pulled backward along the roof's surface by the gravitational pull of the unidentified hand. As this happened, James wrapped his arm around a nearby pipe and held onto Shauna. Their screams were drowned out by a slow crackling with intermittent taps from above.The people around all seemed to quieten as if in anticipation before a booming audio bellowed over the landscape in a strange, high-pitched language. The blocks of sound scratched and squealed before a semblance of English emerged from the din.""Apologies, species. One of our young misplaced its favorite rock. We are currently searching for it. Your side of this galactic body is currently the least affected, as your opposite is the site for the thumb in what you call a pinch. All efforts are being made to minimize long-term damage.""The couple became entranced through shock and seized to acknowledge their surroundings. Their minds wavered between the previous night's dancefloor and the harmonies they felt and sang during the world's last conventional sunset.As they lay trembling but calming, the chaos around them quietened. The floods began to recede, and the screams reduced in number. Shauna opened her eyes to see the sun finally set for good from cloud height to over the horizon. A second agonizing scream, reminiscent of an infant, bellowed from the sky.The fingers rose, and the hand moved away.""We could have gone to Blackpool,"" Shauna sobbed. ""Why did we have to party in Ibiza?""""I think they're gonna hear about this in Blackpool, sweetheart,""James replied. ""Just hold me. Everything is going to be over soon.""""You don't know that!!!"" Shauna shouted.""I don't know what over means, but it's gonna be over,"" he added.James and Shauna slept.Hours later, they awoke as the sun rose from the inland east. They stood and walked to the roof's edge, looking down into the demolished city. James pinched Shauna's shoulder.""No more pills, James,"" Shauna said.""Not much more of anything,"" James replied.They watched in the distance as the Mediterranean swished itself to a calm.
","September 01, 2023 17:35","[[{'AnneMarie Miles': 'Is that a little Mike Posner inspiration, I sense? What a great way to pull from a song and develop it into a story for such a strange prompt. Excellent premise. And I gotta say, I was wildly shocked and pleasantly surprised by the reveal: ""Apologies, species. One of our young misplaced its favorite rock. We are currently searching for it."" What a fabulous and creative and kind of silly explanation for such a scary situation. This was just delightful. Awesome job and I think you for sharing it!', 'time': '13:03 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'Tom Skye': ""Haha I do know the song. Maybe it burrowed its way into my mind somewhere. I found that prompt quite funky. I struggled to think of a suitable premise that didn't involve going back in time. I am quite excited to read other attempts at that prompt.\n\nThanks so much for reading and for the detailed feedback. I'll check out your potion story after work.\n\nThanks again"", 'time': '13:20 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '3'}, {'AnneMarie Miles': ""Ah, and it wasn't even intentional inspirational from Mike Posner! He would be delighted, I bet, but that does make this even better. Subconscious inspiration. Either way, it works. I've only read a few responses to this particular prompt, and each one is unique. Think this idea might be my favorite."", 'time': '13:24 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '2'}, {'Tom Skye': 'P.s. if I remember right, Cora was the naughtiest character (child) 😂', 'time': '13:22 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '3'}, {'AnneMarie Miles': 'Sounds about right 😂', 'time': '13:25 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '2'}]], [{'Tom Skye': ""Haha I do know the song. Maybe it burrowed its way into my mind somewhere. I found that prompt quite funky. I struggled to think of a suitable premise that didn't involve going back in time. I am quite excited to read other attempts at that prompt.\n\nThanks so much for reading and for the detailed feedback. I'll check out your potion story after work.\n\nThanks again"", 'time': '13:20 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '3'}, [{'AnneMarie Miles': ""Ah, and it wasn't even intentional inspirational from Mike Posner! He would be delighted, I bet, but that does make this even better. Subconscious inspiration. Either way, it works. I've only read a few responses to this particular prompt, and each one is unique. Think this idea might be my favorite."", 'time': '13:24 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '2'}]], [{'AnneMarie Miles': ""Ah, and it wasn't even intentional inspirational from Mike Posner! He would be delighted, I bet, but that does make this even better. Subconscious inspiration. Either way, it works. I've only read a few responses to this particular prompt, and each one is unique. Think this idea might be my favorite."", 'time': '13:24 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []], [{'Tom Skye': 'P.s. if I remember right, Cora was the naughtiest character (child) 😂', 'time': '13:22 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '3'}, [{'AnneMarie Miles': 'Sounds about right 😂', 'time': '13:25 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '2'}]], [{'AnneMarie Miles': 'Sounds about right 😂', 'time': '13:25 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []], [{'Ty Warmbrodt': 'Wildly imaginative and fun to read!', 'time': '15:26 Sep 07, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'Tom Skye': 'Thanks very much for reading. It was a wild prompt :)', 'time': '15:33 Sep 07, 2023', 'points': '2'}]], [{'Tom Skye': 'Thanks very much for reading. It was a wild prompt :)', 'time': '15:33 Sep 07, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []], [{'Martin Ross': 'Wonderfully surreal and imaginative!', 'time': '17:42 Sep 06, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []], [{'Marty B': ""Dramatic!  \nThe whims of extraterrestrial titans impacting earthlings makes it tough 'to embrace the moment before an evening in the hotel'\n\nKinda shows that no matter how much we plan, or focus on working vs. partying in Ibiza, fate intervenes and shows us we are just bits of sand on a beach.\n\nThanks!"", 'time': '02:46 Sep 02, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'Tom Skye': 'Thanks for the early read Marty. I found the prompt hilariously wild and specific at the same time, so wanted to contribute something. \nYou were on the money with the general throughline. The astronomy behind it was a bit suspect, but I had some fun writing it haha\n\nI will be really interested to see what others think to write for the prompt.', 'time': '09:52 Sep 02, 2023', 'points': '4'}]], [{'Tom Skye': 'Thanks for the early read Marty. I found the prompt hilariously wild and specific at the same time, so wanted to contribute something. \nYou were on the money with the general throughline. The astronomy behind it was a bit suspect, but I had some fun writing it haha\n\nI will be really interested to see what others think to write for the prompt.', 'time': '09:52 Sep 02, 2023', 'points': '4'}, []], [{'Tom Skye': 'I thought this was a wild prompt, so had a go :)', 'time': '17:37 Sep 01, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []], [{'Jenni Bradshaw': 'If I am ever in Ibiza, remind me to never take a pill. Haha!\n\nWhat a bizarre imagination you have! (I mean that in the best way possible). Makes me want to pinch the sun from the sky! I definitely could imagine giant fingers twirling the planet in its grip like a ping pong ball. And this line: ""The sliver of sun in the distance began to flicker like a disco light."" - I thought this imaginative detail was brilliant!... ""flicker like a disco light"" giving the feeling of shaking, but also like they\'re partying on drugs haha.\n\nThere are some pun...', 'time': '17:49 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Tom Skye': 'Thank you so much for the enthusiastic take. I will check out the grammar. I actually thought the funky premise might have room for expansion, but the general response has been good to the punchy nature of the story, so I am pretty happy with it.\n\nThanks again. I will read yours in a bit', 'time': '18:16 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Tom Skye': 'Thank you so much for the enthusiastic take. I will check out the grammar. I actually thought the funky premise might have room for expansion, but the general response has been good to the punchy nature of the story, so I am pretty happy with it.\n\nThanks again. I will read yours in a bit', 'time': '18:16 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Jonathan Page': 'I second the Mike Posner influence.  Brilliantly executed!  Also gives some EDM dance party vibes without making the story about that.  Well played, sir.', 'time': '23:40 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Tom Skye': ""Thanks Jonathan. It was a bit of a mish mash of ideas and I wanted to doing something 'out there' with that prompt. Glad it was entertaining. \n\nCongrats on the win last week btw"", 'time': '09:34 Sep 10, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Tom Skye': ""Thanks Jonathan. It was a bit of a mish mash of ideas and I wanted to doing something 'out there' with that prompt. Glad it was entertaining. \n\nCongrats on the win last week btw"", 'time': '09:34 Sep 10, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Kevin Logue': 'That was a lot of fun Tom, with a dash of dance days nostalgia. The best part for me is the unsaid, the idea that there is an infant galactic being just throwing rocks across the solar system that we assume to be meteorites.\n\nImaginative take on the prompt, nicely done!', 'time': '13:01 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",iy3q9a,Fimbulwinter's End,Derrick M Domican,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/iy3q9a/,/short-story/iy3q9a/,Science Fiction,0,"['Science Fiction', 'Fantasy', 'Adventure']",24 likes,"
To you, who is reading this, wherever you are, it saddens me to say this will be the last of my personal scribings, which you have presumably been perusing for some time, possibly out of curiosity for a civilisation lost, as I assume it must be, following the events of this eve. I am writing these words by candlelight, wrapped in my wolf hide cloak, attempting to fend off the cold and unbearable darkness that has descended on my mother’s Hall and lands, not to mention the world, following the death of the sun.Yes. That is what I wrote. The sun is gone. I don’t mean for the day. I don’t mean behind the cosmos-concealing storm clouds that clutch and claw at the sky as I sit here shivering, surrounded by treasures and fineries of the highest value which no longer offer any solace.The sun is gone. Taken. Devoured.But I am getting ahead of myself.I am speaking of what occurred at the end of this last day of fimbulwinter and I must relate the day’s events in full. If I were to speak of the atrocity alone, you would think my vacation in Folkvangr ended without resolution to the threads left dangling in previous entries. That would not do, so let me return to this morning and tell of the return of Queen Freya, following a two-day quest to retrieve her necklace, Brisingamen, stolen by the dwarves she’d given sanctuary to, having saved them from Brynhilder and her valkyries (who have been a thorn in Mother’s side since infiltrating Vanaheim but are no longer a problem as of today. I will get to that.)This day began the same as every other we have endured these endless winters, with the sun rising high above the snow-covered fields of Folkvangr, which surround the hall Sessruminir and stretch towards fang-like mountains in all directions. Or should I say that lifeless, white orb we continued to call a sun, despite it having provided no warmth or comfort since the death of Baldur and the commencement of fimbulwinter three years thus. At least it was something. Which was better than Nothing.And Nothing is all Skoll has left.But I am drifting, as Hnoss would say, nudging me to point out some attractive new male who caught her eye, living or dead, though more so dead since we’ve been in Folkvangr. Not that this deterred my sister. I fear she has worked her way through an army of Mother’s Einherjer in the three years we’ve been here, distracting them from their training and most likely ensuring they will not be at their best for the forthcoming war.Mother has not been happy about her wanton behaviour, but what did she expect, inviting the Goddess of Lust to spend the seasons here, surrounded by witless neanderthals, all of whom withered on the battlefield of whatever wasteful wars they took part in. Not exactly the intelligence I’d invite into my bed but that’s Hnoss for you, anything with (or without) a pulse.As I was saying, this day began the same as every other, cold, dreary, as lifeless as the lumbering corpses that lurch against the walls inside Sessrumnir. I emerged from my chambers in time to witness Hnoss casting a one-armed Einherjer from her bedchamber, another undead viking taken advantage of and discarded like dung. It gave me reason to mock my sister as we made our way to the banquet hall, lured as ever by the scent of slow-roasting, leftover Sæhrímnir, being tended to by father in the cauldron. Yes, he continues to defy cook’s orders to leave the animal alone to regenerate, completely sold on the belief that boar stew tastes better the second day. And he is King Oor after all. Who is Andhrimnir to argue with his Queen’s doting husband?I will confess to feeling bad about eating that poor creature’s meat, morning, noon and night, watching it regenerate each day with sad, soulful eyes only to be slaughtered again at sundown to feed the mouldering masses. And us Aesir. We are horrible. But one good thing about the events of this evening is that it won’t have to endure that any longer. Sæhrímnir is free. I really should set him loose now. It seems only fair, since Hildi had a taste of freedom earlier.Oh yes, Hildisvini, I must get to that also!But first back to Mother. We had barely finished eating (as much as it pains me to admit it, two day old Sæhrímnir really does taste fantastic!) and wandered out into the gardens for a stroll when father spotted her aloft, circling Sessrumnir’s towers on her cloak of falcon feathers. Of course she had to make a dramatic entrance. That’s mother for you. A born show-off. She wouldn’t come down until she’d whipped the Einherjar on the ramparts into a frenzy and could descend to the battlecries of warriors.When she eventually graced us with her presence, precious Brisingamen was once again secured around her neck. Those deceitful dwarves, she informed, had made it to the Asgardian mountains and were almost back in their own lands when she caught them and exposed their treachery. I won’t lie, I didn’t feel comfortable hearing her recount the tale. Not because she went into excruciating detail about what she did to the dwarves, lifting them into the sky and dropping them to be impaled on crystalline peaks. (Which seems unfair, considering Brisingamen is a dwarven treasure to begin with, one Mother acquired by sleeping with the four dwarves who forged it, dwarves who had no right to give it away, for silver, gold or a night with the Goddess of Seduction, in the first place. She honestly has no right to judge my sister.)No, I worried because of the way she was looking at me, like she knew I’d hired the dwarves to steal the necklace from her chambers while I distracted her. Obviously, as the Goddess of Possessions, Brisingamen has long been on my list of treasures to acquire and since Mother will never part with it, not even in death, what’s a girl to do? They only had to reach the Valley of Crystals and hide it where I told them and the necklace would have been mine. But you can’t trust a dwarf. Not to carry out a jewel theft anyway. I was left wondering as to whether or not they had also betrayed my confidence because it was just as she was getting to the end of her story that Andhrimnir interrupted, to advise Hildisvini’s pen had been left ajar and my mother’s other pride and joy, her golden-fleeced boar, was nowhere to be found.Have I mentioned Hildisvini? Mother’s swine, who she rides around Folkvangr like a horse? I did wonder why Andhrimnir would have checked on him, as he has not been, and never will be, on the menu. Perhaps it was out of annoyance at my father for cooking Sæhrímnir up again and prolonging the beast’s daily torment. Maybe he was going to slaughter Mother’s boar to make a point? Hildisvini cannot regenerate the way Sæhrímnir does, so that would not have been wise. We’ll never know.In any event, Mother was distraught at this news and turned her ire on myself and Hnoss, as it was we who were left in charge of the boar while she was away. I knew it had been Hnoss’s turn to water the beast the night before. And I knew Hnoss had other activities in mind. So if anyone had left Hildi’s pen open it was she. Not that I would stand there and accuse her. That is not in my nature. Hnoss, of course, was pointing the finger, but if there’s one thing Mother is good at it’s being fair. We were both left in charge, we were equally culpable, and so we were both sent out into the snow-covered fields to find the boar. Not the way I would have chosen to spend the last day of vacation, but at least we got to travel in style.As I have mentioned many times in these papyri, Mother’s golden chariot is another of her treasures I covet. Not as much as Brisingamen but close. As with all her worldly possessions, Freya is very protective of the chariot and until this day has never allowed myself or Hnoss to ride in it, the argument being she has seen how we handle horses and believes we wouldn’t have the skills to steer Bygul and Trjegul. Because of course she has to have a pair of cats pull her chariot instead of steeds. For the record, I am an excellent horsewoman. Horses are divine animals, the jewels of the animal kingdom, so why would I not be? Hnoss is another story, she handles horses like men, roughly, cruel. Mother recognised this today, when she granted us permission to use the chariot, giving instructions that I was to drive while Hnoss was to look out for Hildi. I doubt she would have let us anywhere near the cats or the chariot if not for the fact she was exhausted following her excursion to the mountains. We went out into the frost-encrusted meadows in pursuit of a golden-haired boar, and the cats handled like a dream, in particular blue-haired Bygul who was particularly responsive to my urging. Grey-haired Trejgul seemed to just lethargically follow his lead, kind of like my sister with me. I enjoyed powering the chariot through deep banks of snow, forgetting the task at hand on more than one occasion, deliberately steering in circles to prolong the fun (and Hnoss’ misery as she was splattered by sleet, a long awaited cold shower for my sibling.) The thought did occur to me that I could kick her off and abscond with the vehicle, a treasure in place of the torc I’d been deprived of. But sanity prevailed.After some time, we made our way within earshot of the squeals and grunts of a clearly troubled animal. My first thought was Hildisvini had fallen into a crevasse concealed by a snowdrift and I wondered how in Hel we’d get him out. Then Hnoss grabbed me and had me draw the cats to a halt as we crested a hillock. Luckily, she’d spotted ahead the true cause of Hildi’s alarm - he had been captured by a quintet of decrepit-looking valkyries, Brynhilder and her companions, all of them refugees from Valhalla and on the run from Odin having abandoned their duties.As I mentioned previously, those hideous wretches have been causing trouble in Folkvangr for months, preying on travellers, robbing and killing them, eating them, by all accounts, having reverted to cannibal instincts, and as I drew the chariot to a halt and saw them in the hollow below, with Mother’s boar tied to a stake next to a charcoal fire they were tending, it didn’t take the God of the Wise to understand what was happening.And what were we to do? A harlot and a hoarder? Take on five feral valkyries to save a pig? That was never going to happen. We would have turned the chariot around and returned empty-handed, having ‘failed’ to locate the animal, so it was more than fortuitous my uncle chose that moment to reappear.You will recall from earlier writings how Freyr, Mother’s brother, had been with us on vacation the first two winters but, unable to stop thinking of the Jotun princess Gerðr he encountered in the Domain of the Storm Giants on his way to Vanaheim, he had left at the start of the year to track her down. Against the better judgement of Freya and Oor, though I was in favour of the endeavour. If my uncle hooked up with a giant, my thinking was it would give me safe passage into Jotunheim where I might possibly get my hands on one of those gargantuan diamond rings.Another dream that will never come to fruition.  Anyway, just as we were about to turn tail and leave Hildisvini to his fate, Freyr’s boat Skíðblaðnir crested the hill on the other side of the valkyries’ encampment and thundered like a mighty sled toward them, causing them to abandon their dinner.Yes, I did say boat. Skíðblaðnir is as capable of sailing through snow as it is water, flames and lava also, if my uncle’s tales are to be believed. But that wasn’t the most exciting part. The most exciting part was when Freyr, at the helm, flung his magic, self-propelling sword from his hand and let it have at the scattering valkyries, stabbing, slicing, chopping and decapitating until the white snows of the hollow were painted crimson and decorated with discarded limbs.When I saw Freyr disembark from Skíðblaðnir to free Hildisvini and bring him aboard, I urged Bygul and Trejgul on down the hill to join him. I’m not sure he believed our story that we’d only just arrived on the scene, but Freyr isn’t one to make things awkward so he simply lowered a ramp to allow us guide the chariot onto the boat then began to sail it back towards Sessrumnir.One more thing of interest occurred which I must relate before writing about the loss of the sun. Freyr told us he had indeed reunited with Gerðr and they had been living happily together for months, but recent revelations made it necessary for him to return to his family. Though pushed, he wouldn’t tell what those revelations were, though he was grim as he dwelled on them, which wasn’t in his nature, so I knew it was serious.There was something he needed to check before returning to the Grand Hall, so he took us on a detour to the edge of the Muspelheim mountains. We didn’t have to get too close, he only wanted to see if a rumour he’d heard was true, that the Jotunn Eggþér, who’d gone missing from his home a month prior, had set up home by the mountains with his rooster Fjalarr, where he occupied his time by playing harp.This rumour was easily confirmed, first by the sounds of the harp reaching our ears as we approached, then by the sight of the Jotunn himself, a monolithic presence who rose into the sky at the foot of the mountains like one of their offspring.Freyr drew the boat to a halt and slipped deep into thought for several minutes, staring at Eggþér solemnly until the mournful tune the giant strummed came to an end and the large red rooster crowed, a harsh, tortured, sound that shook me to my core.Still Freyr wouldn’t speak.We returned to Sessrumnir then, leaving the giant playing melancholic tunes, and upon our return there was much rejoicing. Rejoicing for the rescue of Hildisvini. Celebration for the destruction of the valkyries. A feast was prepared in honour of Freyr’s return, or so I thought, though now I know it was just one big last supper.Sæhrímnir was spared one final insult, as he hadn’t regenerated fully, or so went the excuse. I should have known that wouldn’t stop them. Three-legged, two-legged or one, it had never stopped Andhrimnir serving him before. But I was so enthralled, along with Father, Mother and Hnoss, by tales of Freyr’s adventures in Jotunheim that I didn’t notice. Not until the rooster crowed again mid-way through the feast, something we shouldn’t have been able to hear considering how far away it was, but all heard easily nonetheless. Father, Mother and Freyr went deathly quiet. The conversation dried up. The banquet hall was vacated. Hnoss went to fetch an Einherjar for one final fling. I think at that point, we all knew. I spent the remaining hours of the day wandering aimlessly, drawing, watching the Einherjar train, napping at the top of the Hall’s eastern turret. Until Hnoss woke me and told me we’d been summoned to the south-west battlements.Which is where they were waiting. Oor and Freya and Freyr. Gathered together, close, arms around one another, watching as the sun set over the horizon. Hnoss and I were encouraged to join them, which was unusual, as we are not a family that hug. But we hugged tonight.And Mother cried, glistening teardrops that turned to gold as they fell from her cheeks, clattering on the concrete like nuggets. Valuable nuggets that on any other occasion I’d have been gathering up in my skirts. As a rebellious child, my favourite thing to do was make Mother cry, then pawn the results of her sorrow for jewels, but the time for such frivolities was over. And that was before I noticed the sun, reversing its trajectory and crawling back up into the sky.I don’t know how to write about what I witnessed. How do you describe, in any way that does it justice, the sight of the planet-sized wolf named Skoll, rising up over the horizon in pursuit of the retreating sun, kicking its legs as though it were running through sand rather than space, snapping its jaws at the cold, lifeless orb as it tried to escape, catching it at the apex of its arc directly above us, clamping its teeth around it, chomping it into its maw.I don’t know how else to describe how I saw the sun be eaten, as Fjalarr crowed a third and final time.The world is dark now. I don’t want to write anymore.Ragnarok has finally begun. The age of the Aesir is ending and in the distance I hear the rumbling sounds of war.I do not know what will become of us.But our fimbulwinter vacation is over.I’m just glad I got to spend it with my family.-GERSEMI, DAUGHTER OF FREYA AND OOR
","September 08, 2023 14:50","[[{'Danie Nikole': 'The mythology was lost on my ignorance, but the descriptions found me and kept me entranced. I loved the opening paragraphs, particularly the mentioning of the “death of the sun.” I loved the imagery in this, \n\nThank you. \n\nDanie', 'time': '00:54 Sep 16, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Belladona Vulpa': 'Really nice, the story is bringing the reader to the Ragnarok in the first POV, which is very engaging. I would definitely read it also as a longer version where we can see episodes or chapters. Loved the references and descriptions of the Norse mythology. Nice work!', 'time': '22:06 Sep 14, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Derrick M Domican': 'Thanks Belladonna! Yes I think a longer version with individual chapters would work well for this. I am thinking about it!', 'time': '06:09 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '2'}]], [{'Derrick M Domican': 'Thanks Belladonna! Yes I think a longer version with individual chapters would work well for this. I am thinking about it!', 'time': '06:09 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []], [{'Joe Malgeri': 'Superb story, Derrick, I think I only remember, and/or only ever knew just enough about Norse Mythology to get the jist, AKA gist, of your writing, unfortunately not much more. However, regardless, the adequate amount I was able to interpret I thought was interesting as Hell, & I really enjoyed it.', 'time': '20:26 Sep 14, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Derrick M Domican': 'Thanks Joe .glad you were able to make some sense of it! The stories in the myths are all a bit dreamlike and crazy you just have to go with it lol', 'time': '06:13 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Derrick M Domican': 'Thanks Joe .glad you were able to make some sense of it! The stories in the myths are all a bit dreamlike and crazy you just have to go with it lol', 'time': '06:13 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Philip Ebuluofor': 'Fine work Derrick.', 'time': '16:50 Sep 13, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Derrick M Domican': 'Thanks Philip!', 'time': '06:10 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Derrick M Domican': 'Thanks Philip!', 'time': '06:10 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Michał Przywara': 'The title caught my eye, and the story didn\'t disappoint! It took us right to Ragnarök :) \n\nIt\'s neat seeing the events leading up to it from the eyes of ""secondary"" aesir, and throughout, there is a sense of dread and inevitability in Gersemi\'s recounting. \n\nSome of the side stories are neat too, particularly her reflections as Goddess of Possessions. The very human nature of her musings, as well as her consideration of pushing her sister out of the chariot and just stealing it, actually reminded me a bit of the Olympians. \n\nAnd any story w...', 'time': '21:42 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Derrick M Domican': ""Thanks Michal. I've always wanted to write about the Norse Gods particularly Freya , I was going to do it from her pov but then realised it would be better writing about her from someone else's pov to keep the mystery. Gersemi and hnoss are kind of blank slates in the mythology so seemed like a good choice"", 'time': '06:12 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '2'}]], [{'Derrick M Domican': ""Thanks Michal. I've always wanted to write about the Norse Gods particularly Freya , I was going to do it from her pov but then realised it would be better writing about her from someone else's pov to keep the mystery. Gersemi and hnoss are kind of blank slates in the mythology so seemed like a good choice"", 'time': '06:12 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []], [{'Chris Miller': 'Good stuff, Derrick. \n\nIf you wanted, you could get a novel or a whole series of short stories out of that lot.', 'time': '22:07 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Derrick M Domican': ""Thanks Chris. Now you mention it, yes, each one of the incidents touched on could be a story in and of itself. I wanted to capture the idea that a lot of stuff had occurred during the course of the long 'vacation' all of which was culminating in this one final day before the end."", 'time': '09:08 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Derrick M Domican': ""Thanks Chris. Now you mention it, yes, each one of the incidents touched on could be a story in and of itself. I wanted to capture the idea that a lot of stuff had occurred during the course of the long 'vacation' all of which was culminating in this one final day before the end."", 'time': '09:08 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Mary Bendickson': 'Know nothing whatsoever about Norse mythology but was thoroughly captivated by the world you built with the assortment of names and characters.\nLiked MC was hoarder and knew it.', 'time': '18:00 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Derrick M Domican': 'Thanks Mary. I\'ve always wanted to write something about Freya\'s daughters, there isnt really a lot written about them in the myths, they are just named really and thats about it, so I thought they were a good choice to shine a light on. Love the name Gersemi, discovere it too late for my daughter to have had a chance of being called it!\nI would love to do a collection of stories featuring those two, though maybe for a younger audience, toning down the adult themes. Simply re-age them as kids and I could have ""The Adventures of Gersemi and H...', 'time': '09:11 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}, {'Mary Bendickson': 'Run with it😁', 'time': '09:15 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}, {'Derrick M Domican': 'I think I actually might!!! Could be the new Harry Potter lol. (Dream big!)', 'time': '09:24 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}, {'Mary Bendickson': 'Never know unless you try.😄', 'time': '09:30 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Derrick M Domican': 'Thanks Mary. I\'ve always wanted to write something about Freya\'s daughters, there isnt really a lot written about them in the myths, they are just named really and thats about it, so I thought they were a good choice to shine a light on. Love the name Gersemi, discovere it too late for my daughter to have had a chance of being called it!\nI would love to do a collection of stories featuring those two, though maybe for a younger audience, toning down the adult themes. Simply re-age them as kids and I could have ""The Adventures of Gersemi and H...', 'time': '09:11 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Mary Bendickson': 'Run with it😁', 'time': '09:15 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}, {'Derrick M Domican': 'I think I actually might!!! Could be the new Harry Potter lol. (Dream big!)', 'time': '09:24 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}, {'Mary Bendickson': 'Never know unless you try.😄', 'time': '09:30 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Mary Bendickson': 'Run with it😁', 'time': '09:15 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Derrick M Domican': 'I think I actually might!!! Could be the new Harry Potter lol. (Dream big!)', 'time': '09:24 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}, {'Mary Bendickson': 'Never know unless you try.😄', 'time': '09:30 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Derrick M Domican': 'I think I actually might!!! Could be the new Harry Potter lol. (Dream big!)', 'time': '09:24 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Mary Bendickson': 'Never know unless you try.😄', 'time': '09:30 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Mary Bendickson': 'Never know unless you try.😄', 'time': '09:30 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Martin Ross': 'When I was younger, I was fascinated by Norse mythology, and the MCU reawakened that. Very cool, and told with the perfect note of dread. I love how these prompts elicit such a diversity of themes and tones! Great work!', 'time': '13:57 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Derrick M Domican': 'Thanks Martin. Glad the tone worked and really happy to hear a note of dread came across. I didnt want to overdo it but hammering it home too much. Wanted Gersemi to kind of get lost in talking about the other things that happened during the day as if trying not to dwell on the current situation that was happening as she was writing. Hence why she wraps it up so quickly at the end, almost just touching on it as an aside. ""Oh , and by the way, having said all that, the world is ending now, so, bye"". lol\nthanks for reading', 'time': '09:13 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}, {'Martin Ross': 'I feel nothing helps underline dread or impending doom like a focus on everyday routine and minutiae, whether it’s dark-humored horror like “It’s a GOOD Life!” (the story adapted for the best Twilight Zone ep ever, with the psycho little boy) or fantasy/sci-fi world-building. You did a wonderful job, and created a lot of vivid imagery doing it. I’m really grateful to have found this group — good writers AND people.', 'time': '14:31 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Derrick M Domican': 'Thanks Martin. Glad the tone worked and really happy to hear a note of dread came across. I didnt want to overdo it but hammering it home too much. Wanted Gersemi to kind of get lost in talking about the other things that happened during the day as if trying not to dwell on the current situation that was happening as she was writing. Hence why she wraps it up so quickly at the end, almost just touching on it as an aside. ""Oh , and by the way, having said all that, the world is ending now, so, bye"". lol\nthanks for reading', 'time': '09:13 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Martin Ross': 'I feel nothing helps underline dread or impending doom like a focus on everyday routine and minutiae, whether it’s dark-humored horror like “It’s a GOOD Life!” (the story adapted for the best Twilight Zone ep ever, with the psycho little boy) or fantasy/sci-fi world-building. You did a wonderful job, and created a lot of vivid imagery doing it. I’m really grateful to have found this group — good writers AND people.', 'time': '14:31 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Martin Ross': 'I feel nothing helps underline dread or impending doom like a focus on everyday routine and minutiae, whether it’s dark-humored horror like “It’s a GOOD Life!” (the story adapted for the best Twilight Zone ep ever, with the psycho little boy) or fantasy/sci-fi world-building. You did a wonderful job, and created a lot of vivid imagery doing it. I’m really grateful to have found this group — good writers AND people.', 'time': '14:31 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Marty B': ""Great take on the prompt. I do not know Norse mythology, so have to say I was lost at the first set of dwarves and rabid valkyries !\n\nThe image of the wolf leaping across the sky  'snapping its jaws at the cold, lifeless orb' was great! \n\nThanks!"", 'time': '04:51 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Derrick M Domican': 'Thanks Marty. Glad you were able to stick with it despite the rabid valkyries! lol\nThanks for commenting!', 'time': '09:13 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '2'}]], [{'Derrick M Domican': 'Thanks Marty. Glad you were able to stick with it despite the rabid valkyries! lol\nThanks for commenting!', 'time': '09:13 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []], [{'Kevin Logue': ""This was a really enjoyable take in existing mythology. I'd say it took a lot of research, work, constantly checking spellings. \n\nGreat opening lines drew me into the world straight away. You had a lot of characters but handle them very well.\n\nAnother marvelous entry Derrick.\n\nOne thing to note though, some Folkvangr is spelled with two F's and I don't know if it's a mistake or meant to be."", 'time': '17:07 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Derrick M Domican': ""Thanks Kevin! I'm a huge fan of Norse mythology so it was actually easy, I know this stuff quite well. Had planned a novel around this idea originally but short story scratched the itch.\nThanks for the heads up. Should be 2 fs. I'll fix!"", 'time': '17:31 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '2'}, {'Kevin Logue': ""Have you ever read, The Gospel according to Loki? Iyss so good, audiobook is excellent, it's all the classic tales from Loki's POV, were he explains he had no choice to do the things he done. Funny too\n\nHave you played the two recent God of War games?"", 'time': '17:35 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '1'}, {'Derrick M Domican': ""Haven't played last GoW yet but did the one before, was epic . The Fenrir stuff was so good."", 'time': '18:47 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '1'}, {'J. S. Bailey': 'GoW Ragnarok is probably my favourite game ever, definitely up there. I also was reminded of those games while reading this.\nYou captured the essence of the Norse myths so well here using a stand-in voice so we could all project our minds into the story without being drawn back to her constantly.\nI love Norse Mythology and this is an excellent take on it with sharp, colourful pros. I love it.', 'time': '19:23 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Derrick M Domican': ""Thanks Kevin! I'm a huge fan of Norse mythology so it was actually easy, I know this stuff quite well. Had planned a novel around this idea originally but short story scratched the itch.\nThanks for the heads up. Should be 2 fs. I'll fix!"", 'time': '17:31 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'Kevin Logue': ""Have you ever read, The Gospel according to Loki? Iyss so good, audiobook is excellent, it's all the classic tales from Loki's POV, were he explains he had no choice to do the things he done. Funny too\n\nHave you played the two recent God of War games?"", 'time': '17:35 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '1'}, {'Derrick M Domican': ""Haven't played last GoW yet but did the one before, was epic . The Fenrir stuff was so good."", 'time': '18:47 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '1'}, {'J. S. Bailey': 'GoW Ragnarok is probably my favourite game ever, definitely up there. I also was reminded of those games while reading this.\nYou captured the essence of the Norse myths so well here using a stand-in voice so we could all project our minds into the story without being drawn back to her constantly.\nI love Norse Mythology and this is an excellent take on it with sharp, colourful pros. I love it.', 'time': '19:23 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Kevin Logue': ""Have you ever read, The Gospel according to Loki? Iyss so good, audiobook is excellent, it's all the classic tales from Loki's POV, were he explains he had no choice to do the things he done. Funny too\n\nHave you played the two recent God of War games?"", 'time': '17:35 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Derrick M Domican': ""Haven't played last GoW yet but did the one before, was epic . The Fenrir stuff was so good."", 'time': '18:47 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '1'}, {'J. S. Bailey': 'GoW Ragnarok is probably my favourite game ever, definitely up there. I also was reminded of those games while reading this.\nYou captured the essence of the Norse myths so well here using a stand-in voice so we could all project our minds into the story without being drawn back to her constantly.\nI love Norse Mythology and this is an excellent take on it with sharp, colourful pros. I love it.', 'time': '19:23 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Derrick M Domican': ""Haven't played last GoW yet but did the one before, was epic . The Fenrir stuff was so good."", 'time': '18:47 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'J. S. Bailey': 'GoW Ragnarok is probably my favourite game ever, definitely up there. I also was reminded of those games while reading this.\nYou captured the essence of the Norse myths so well here using a stand-in voice so we could all project our minds into the story without being drawn back to her constantly.\nI love Norse Mythology and this is an excellent take on it with sharp, colourful pros. I love it.', 'time': '19:23 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'J. S. Bailey': 'GoW Ragnarok is probably my favourite game ever, definitely up there. I also was reminded of those games while reading this.\nYou captured the essence of the Norse myths so well here using a stand-in voice so we could all project our minds into the story without being drawn back to her constantly.\nI love Norse Mythology and this is an excellent take on it with sharp, colourful pros. I love it.', 'time': '19:23 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",qej3fo,Whose Dwelling is the Light of Setting Suns,Chris Miller,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/qej3fo/,/short-story/qej3fo/,Science Fiction,0,"['Romance', 'Science Fiction', 'Sad']",22 likes,"
I was warned as a child that looking directly at the sun would result in the retinas being burned out of my skull. That they would be fried like onions, sizzling unfunnily in vitreous humour. Nobody ever identified the point at which it was not only safe, but positively medicinal to look directly at the sun. Rays robbed of retina sauteing power by virtue of travelling on an angled path through the atmosphere now painted me in the same milky peach as the few thin, gilt-edged clouds that teased over the horizon. She was next to me, but would not be for long. The medicine was not strong enough. I sat on the edge of the bed, my weight pulling the clean sheets tight over her thin legs. The peach-milk light leaked onto them giving everything a healthy flesh tone, pouring the outside world into the never-dark room of tubes and softly pulsing electronic sounds. “I was always told I shouldn’t look directly at the sun,” I said.Just a weak smile in response. She shifted her back slightly against her bank of pillows, attempting to alleviate a pain she would never be free of again.It was visibly dropping now. The descent had become visible as soon as the disc’s lower edge had breached the cloud-muddled horizon. Time appeared to have accelerated.“I don’t want it to be over.” I took her hand, tanned by the sun when both it and she were younger and stronger. It was passive now, the practical grip gone, but still beautiful and smooth. The sun was holding us in its orbit and the gravity of its daily demise, the last she would see, was pulling a lump into my throat. The soft, healthy light had moved up the bed and now the sheets returned to clinical white in the weak electric half-light.“No. I don’t want to go,” she said, raising her other hand with a marionette swing and resting it on mine, holding hers, “but it’s ok.”“It’s not fair.” Pathetic. The lie of a lifetime of self-proclaimed stoicism revealed as the first tear welled.“No, but it’s only as unfair as it is for everyone else.” She wheezed at her own joke, the oxygen line extending her Cheshire cat grin literally, laterally, from ear to ear. Would it remain when she disappeared?A nurse pressed buttons and the electric sounds were gone.“Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you,” said the nurse.“Thank you,” she said.A machine was unplugged and wheeled away.  The sun threw out rays over the valley, anchors to slow its sinking and hold its top third above the rising horizon, but they slipped over the fields and hedge-hemmed roads, failing to find purchase. It tried to leave part of itself in the windows of a distant house, glinting and bright, a memory of its blinding power, but the spark soon faded and the house watched on from its hillside with black eyes. Maybe from where the house sat the spark could be seen lingering in the windows of the hospital, in rows above and below where we waited? Us, just another temporary star in a pixellated matrix.“It’s the end of the holidays. The kids should be back at school tomorrow.”“Do you think they’ll remember me?”“Yes. Of course.”“It’s just that after all of these years my memory has basically edited my grandparents down to a pipe smoke stain on the ceiling and a recipe for lasagne with cabbage in it.” “Exactly, both of them remembered. What do you think you’ll be?”“What do I hope they’ll remember, or what do I think they’ll actually remember?”“Hope.”“Helping them learn to read.”“Actually though?”“More likely they’ll remember the two years when we didn’t have a TV.”“No doubt in my mind.”We both laughed, life and death briefly harmonising before my laugh met a sob in my throat and hers crashed into a globular cough.The sun was nearly gone, flushed red with the effort of hanging on. Only a portion equivalent that which you would slice off the top of a boiled egg was still visible, just enough to fit a soldier of toast in.“I would do anything if we could have one more minute,” I said. “I think if someone could give us one more minute then I’d be happy to go with you when our time was up.”She was transfixed by the last orange rays painting a premature autumn onto the tops of the valley’s trees. “What would be the point in one more minute?”“Over the horizon that same sun is young and yellow above a round ocean. Somewhere else it’s just about to push the first blue tint of a new day over the silver floor of a black night. We could spend one more minute together, in the light, while everything happens, all at once.”“One more minute,” she said, watching the slipping sun through half closed eyes.The nurse was back, wheeling a machine of wires and screens on a tall chrome pole.“One more minute?” said the nurse.I looked at her, slumped against her pillows. Her papery eyelids were closed. Her beautiful mouth slightly open as if poised to speak.“I would be ready to go myself, go with her, if we could just have one more minute,” I said.The nurse plugged the machine in and tapped at its small screen. Her face was lit by the bright green readout, which overpowered the fading afterglow of the now vanished sun. The nurse checked her watch and pressed one last button, smiled at me and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. The machine’s small screen showed 1:00. The numbers on the screen did not change and for a moment their green light was the strongest in the room, until a faint red glow began to kindle around us.I looked back at the bed. Her mouth was closed. Open eyes smiled into mine and then looked out of the window at the rising sunset. The anchors were thrown out over the valley once more and the sun was hauled back above the horizon, igniting the thin clouds as it reheated from the red of its death to raging orange. As peach-milk painted the room again there was weight once more in her smooth brown hands.The machine gave a soft bleep and I looked to its screen. 0:59.We looked at each other as the sun began to reset.0:51“How do you think the boys will remember me?” I asked.“The TV thing,” she said with a grin. We laughed and squeezed our hands together and looked only at each other as the light withdrew and night fell. 
","September 06, 2023 21:34","[[{'Joe Smallwood': 'Amazing imagery here, Chris. So full of feeling, and focus.\nI think you were right to severely limit what happened in the story, no nurse Ratched, no interference, conflicting with anything, just a simple story with great feeling.\nThanks for sharing.', 'time': '15:28 Sep 10, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'Chris Miller': 'Thank you, Joe. \n\nI like stories where not much happens and they are so much easier to plot.\n\nThanks for reading.', 'time': '16:01 Sep 10, 2023', 'points': '2'}]], [{'Chris Miller': 'Thank you, Joe. \n\nI like stories where not much happens and they are so much easier to plot.\n\nThanks for reading.', 'time': '16:01 Sep 10, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []], [{'Kevin Logue': 'The tone of this is perfect for the character and plots, it\'s a sad smile at the inevitable lose of life and love. Very tenderly done Chris, extremely well written.\n\nThis line from the opening struck me as particularly beautiful in both visuals and poetics , ""Rays robbed of retina sauteing power by virtue of travelling on an angled path through the atmosphere now painted me in the same milky peach as the few thin, gilt-edged clouds that teased over the horizon.""\n\nMarvelous work here.', 'time': '12:06 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'Chris Miller': 'Thank you, Kevin. I have always struggled to describe the colours of sunsets. Milky-peach will do for now. Thanks for reading.', 'time': '19:15 Sep 11, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Chris Miller': 'Thank you, Kevin. I have always struggled to describe the colours of sunsets. Milky-peach will do for now. Thanks for reading.', 'time': '19:15 Sep 11, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Michał Przywara': 'A melancholy story, peppered with bright moments and memories - a desperate battle against the inevitable. Love conquers all, but death - and yet because of the love they share, though she is afraid and though she doesn\'t want to go, she also finds a measure of peace. \n\n""No, but It’s only as unfair as it is for everyone else"" - capitalized ""It\'s""\n\n""The sun was nearly gone, flushed red with the effort of hanging on."" - great line! \n\nThe returning of the sun, the ""just one more minute"", is interesting. Anyone who has lost anyone will immediate...', 'time': '20:39 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'Chris Miller': 'Thank you, Michal. \n\nI fixed the typo.\n\nYes, I thought about the nurse, expanding their role, introducing some kind of explanation or motivation but left them mysterious. Most of what happens to/is done to most people when they are in hospital, especially when they are dying, is a complete mystery to them. \n\nIs the nurse trespassing on an intimate moment, or is a moment of intimacy trespassing in a medical/commoditised environment?', 'time': '20:58 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '3'}]], [{'Chris Miller': 'Thank you, Michal. \n\nI fixed the typo.\n\nYes, I thought about the nurse, expanding their role, introducing some kind of explanation or motivation but left them mysterious. Most of what happens to/is done to most people when they are in hospital, especially when they are dying, is a complete mystery to them. \n\nIs the nurse trespassing on an intimate moment, or is a moment of intimacy trespassing in a medical/commoditised environment?', 'time': '20:58 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '3'}, []], [{'RJ Holmquist': 'Wordsworth!\n\nExcellent as always!', 'time': '18:42 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'Chris Miller': 'Thank you, RJ.', 'time': '18:51 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '2'}]], [{'Chris Miller': 'Thank you, RJ.', 'time': '18:51 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []], [{'Mary Bendickson': ""Sweet love story, Chris. Written like it could be likely.\n\nThanks for liking my 'All in a Name'"", 'time': '05:16 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'Chris Miller': 'Thanks for reading, Mary.', 'time': '08:54 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '2'}]], [{'Chris Miller': 'Thanks for reading, Mary.', 'time': '08:54 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []], [{'Ty Warmbrodt': 'Your words capture a very tender moment. A moving story. Thank you for sharing.', 'time': '08:05 Sep 07, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'Chris Miller': 'Thank you for reading, Ty.', 'time': '09:13 Sep 07, 2023', 'points': '2'}]], [{'Chris Miller': 'Thank you for reading, Ty.', 'time': '09:13 Sep 07, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []], [{'Nina Herbst': '“The light withdrew and night fell” - 😢 \nPowerful story, Chris. So much emotion in so little words. Well done.', 'time': '17:58 Sep 11, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Chris Miller': 'Thank you, Nina. I like to try and keep them short and sweet. Thanks for reading.', 'time': '18:12 Sep 11, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Chris Miller': 'Thank you, Nina. I like to try and keep them short and sweet. Thanks for reading.', 'time': '18:12 Sep 11, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Jenni Bradshaw': 'Hi Chris!\n\nI chose to read your story firstly because of the title. I always love reading and re-reading titles before diving into a story because they can provoke such curiosity and yours does that beautifully!\n\nWith that said, I also choose to read certain stories based on their first sentence or intro paragraph. Yours displays impactful adjectives that transcend throughout the story, which I love! ""vitreous humour""; ""gilt-edged clouds""; ""marionette swing"" (although marionette is a noun, not an adjective - I do understand what you meant by...', 'time': '02:30 Sep 11, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Chris Miller': ""Hi Jenni,\n\nThank you very much. The title is a line from Wordsworth's Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey. It is so evocative, it seemed a perfect fit for a story featuring a sunset.\n\nThank you for reading and taking the time to leave such kind comments."", 'time': '07:48 Sep 11, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Chris Miller': ""Hi Jenni,\n\nThank you very much. The title is a line from Wordsworth's Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey. It is so evocative, it seemed a perfect fit for a story featuring a sunset.\n\nThank you for reading and taking the time to leave such kind comments."", 'time': '07:48 Sep 11, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",ri9tlm,The Escapist,Dorian Edgerly,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/ri9tlm/,/short-story/ri9tlm/,Science Fiction,0,"['Science Fiction', 'Thriller', 'Speculative']",16 likes,"
The sun was going down on the last official night of summer, and if I could have, I would have frozen that moment in time forever. I would have let the sun hang eternally over the horizon, painting the ocean and the earth in stunning gold and orange, warming my face and hers despite the breeze that said fall was coming. I would have let it sit there in that spot, unmoving, never giving way to night or coming back again to announce the arrival of the following day, if it meant this summer didn't have to end.
     Lina sat beside me, her gaze soft and her eyes just the slightest bit glassy, buzzed on the expensive bourbon we had saved for the occasion.  She didn't look at me. She was fully lost in the moment. It was one of those things that seemed like a skill in itself nowadays -- the ability to lose oneself completely to a single instant -- but she had it. It was one of the things I loved about her. One of the many things I hoped she could teach me to do better.
     When I looked back at the horizon, I was disappointed to see that all my wishful thinking had done nothing to hinder the inevitable. The sun was still descending, closer now to the point where it would wink out and put an end to this summer that would probably go down as the best three months of our lives. It was hard to think about what might come after this.
     Do things go back to normal?
     Do we go home, back to the States, and fall into the same old routine?
     Or do we go back changed? Better?
     Does life take on a different shape now that we've spent this time living everywhere and anywhere across the ocean, each of us learning along the way why we had fallen in love to begin with?
     I shook the thoughts away and tried to lose myself the way Lina was lost. Tried to milk every drop of joy out of these final moments as the sun sank deeper behind the horizon, the ocean swallowing the last light of the perfect season.
     It was when the sun had almost disappeared that I felt it. A twinge or a tingle that almost made me wince. Like my brain was a circuit board in a room with too much moisture in the air.
     Lina didn't seem to notice. She only sat and stared at the last of the sunset as it—
     Hm. Weird.
     Last I had looked, I was sure the sun had finished dipping below the horizon, but now there was a red sliver poking up, like the universe itself was trying to hang on to this moment as hard as I was.
     No. A trick of the light playing off the surface of the water. My mind had gotten the best of me for a second, and I had been afraid to let the moment go.
     I leaned into Lina, but she didn't move; only sat staring, still lost to the majesty of the moment.
     I watched her watching, and the light—
     Yes!
     The light on her face was getting brighter. The sand’s amber hue crawling ever-so-slowly toward a more radiant orange-yellow. When I turned to look again, the sliver had grown to a slice, and there was no chalking it up to optical illusions or wishful thinking this time.
     The sun was rising.
     I blinked hard a couple times, as if I could reset my vision and make the scene make sense, but it kept coming up.
     I don't think I was breathing as I nudged Lina. Once, twice, and finally on the third nudge, she turned. When her eyes met mine, my spine went cold.
     There was nothing wrong with her, exactly, nothing outwardly alarming except...
     ...except she wasn't there.
     Her face was right there in front of me but Lina, the woman I had finally proposed to, the one I had finally given my life to, was not behind it. I don't know what or who I was looking at, but my fiancé was gone. In her place was a husk. An uncanny facsimile of the person I loved.
     She smiled, the impossibly rising sun brightening her features further, throwing into great detail the nothingness, the no-oneness, the artificiality of this strange, yet so familiar face.
     I scrambled sideways away from her in the sand, feeling like a cat who had come around a blind corner to bump noses with a taxidermied dog.
     Her expression shifted. There was no transition, just a switch; from a smile, to a foreign look of concern, something that looked almost practiced.
     The sun cleared the horizon, and the world got brighter. Her face, fully illuminated, twitched, as if her expression was about to change again, but it didn't, like it had gotten stuck on the transition.
     I stood up and put a little more distance between us. It wasn’t a conscious movement, but something deep in my lizard brain wanted to be as far from this person as possible. I settled for just outside of arm’s reach.
     ""What's wrong, baby?"" The voice was hers, but it wasn't. It was like watching a doll speak in my fiancé's voice, and my spine froze all over again.
     The sun was a finger’s width over the horizon now, but, impossibly, it seemed to have stopped. The whole world seemed to have stopped.
     For a second, and for the second time, I though it must be my imagination, but then I saw the waves. The small, rolling waves that had been lapping the beach minutes before, lulling Lina and I into a blissful semi-hypnosis, were frozen in place, the closest just about to break on its way to the shore.
     A seagull hung in the air over the water, but it wasn't hovering on the wind the way it had been for the minutes before. There was no wind. The bird was just hanging there, motionless and soundless as Lina, who continued staring through me without blinking.
     I chanced a glance back up the beach behind us. I had to see if anyone else was seeing this, or if everything was frozen in the moment, but by the time I got my head around, the world had come back to life. A kid chased a bird that had come looking for scraps at a family’s picnic, a couple bought a pair of cocktails from the mini bar at the top of the beach, the birds not being chased by overzealous children hovered naturally on the wind, which had returned in the same moment the world had awakened.
     Lina looked confused, looking up at me from her spot in the sand.
     ""You okay?"" She said.
     It was her. It was Lina. She was back, and despite the strangeness of the last minute or so, despite how real it had all felt, my instinct was to go hug her. And I did.
     She laughed a little, but hugged me back. ""Okay, I'll take this."" She kissed me, the scent of her skin and her sunscreen mingling with the whiskey still on her breath.
     She was warm. She was here. The soul was back behind her eyes. As I looked back to the ocean, the sun was about to touch the horizon, on its way down for the last time this summer.
     Amazingly – I’ll have to look into this phenomenon one day – I was back in the moment, already ready to let those couple of strange minutes fade from memory. I had obviously had some kind of episode, but Lina seemed as ready to let it go as I was.
     When the sun was halfway hidden, a tingle in the back of my head, that short-circuit feeling that had preceded all the strangeness, began to return, this time as a gradual swell rather than a sudden spark.
     Before the sun was fully hidden, the scene glitched, and for a moment I saw blackness.
     No. Not total blackness. A red-black. The insides of my own eyelids.
     I tried to open them but didn't have the strength. I tried moving, but my limbs were held fast by something, and even if they hadn’t been, I felt so weak that just the weight of my arms themselves might have been enough to hold me down.
     The warmth and the breeze were gone. It was cool and dry, and I was lying down. One more time, knowing it was useless, I tried to get up.
     The struggle lasted all of a few seconds before I was back on the beach in Portugal, the sun on its way down toward the horizon.
     Lina, sitting beside me, interlaced her fingers with mine, and I watched in horror as the sun began to set on the greatest summer of my life.
 
***
 
They had been able to safely pull me out of the sim after sixteen sunsets, though I had, according to them, suffered a nervous breakdown by the seventh. It took a couple days before I was lucid enough to speak with someone from the company about what had happened.
     I had been in the hospital since they pulled me out, and LucidStream Experiences had sent a representative to “debrief” me after the ordeal. We sat at a small table in the day room down the hall from my room to talk.
     The first thing I asked was where Lina was. If she was okay.
     The man across from me, Mr. Lindhelm, project manager and nice-enough guy, looked uncomfortable. “Lina,” he paused. “Lina’s not a real person, Mr. Simmons.”
     Though I’m sure it wasn’t my first time hearing it, I didn’t understand the answer, and the Lindhelm could tell, so he continued without my asking.
     “You don’t remember creating her?” He asked. “You sat with the programmers and designed her yourself.”
     There was the hint of a memory there, like the recollection of a secondhand story, but nothing concrete; nothing I could grab onto and claim as my own. My gut wanted to believe the man was lying, but the rational part of me knew he wasn’t, and knew he had no reason to.
     I searched my memory – my actual memory – for a woman named Lina, and quickly found that no such woman had played a part in my real life. A woman like Lina wouldn’t have. A woman like Lina could have anyone she wanted. In the sim, that had been me. I was perfect in there. An exemplary alpha with everything going for him. Handsome and charming, vital and virile; everything I wasn’t out here, everything I could have been, given a few different turns on the road of life.
     Who knows? I could probably still get there, but it would take time, and I would suffer for it. In the meantime, even if I took responsibility now, even if I started working on a better version of me today, someone worth the likes of Lina, it would be months – maybe years – of “in-between,” of “work-in-progress,” all the while watching all the Linas of the world get swept up right under my nose.
     No. I’d had my chance. I’d chosen my path.
     “I want to go back,” I said.
     Mr. Lindhelm looked confused. “Excuse me?”
     “Back inside. Just put me back in.”
     Mr. Lindhelm shook his head, his expression apologetic. “Your subscription’s up and your account’s empty. If you want to switch payment methods we could consider it, but there’s still going to be some mandatory rest and recovery. You’ve experienced a massive glitch, and it’s important that we make sure you’re alright before we can think about letting you back inside.”
     “I’ll get the money. Just get me back in.” I tried to stand, but even using the table for extra help, I didn’t have the strength. I imagine I should have felt embarrassed, an uninjured man, victim of his own indulgence, struggling to get out of a wheelchair he shouldn’t need, but my desperation to get back inside overtook any logical emotion.
     “Mr. Simmons, we’ve already put you ‘back in’ multiple times, at your insistence and against our better judgement. You need exercise. You need real food. Your muscles are atrophied, your digestive tract is in shambles, and your dopamine receptors are so overloaded you’re not even feeding yourself.” Mr. Lindhelm paused for a moment, and the concern on his face actually looked sincere. “Live, Mr. Simmons. Really live for a while. Try it on. It might fit.”
     “I have another account.”
     Mr. Lindhelm sighed. “We’ve exhausted your backup account. The add-ons start get expensive quick if you’re not careful. Your accounts are empty. Please, there’s a real world out there waiting for you.”
     The phrase tasted sour, and he was talking down to me.
     I was about to let him know what he could do with his “real world” when the door to the small sitting room opened and a male nurse walked in. My vitals must have elevated past the arbitrary ceiling they had placed on me.
     Knowing it was purely for spite but not caring, I locked the wheels of my wheelchair. Let them work at getting me out of here.
     Some work it turned out to be. The nurse simply pinned both of my wrists in my lap with one hand – gently, which was the worst part – and unlocked the chair with the other, and with that I was wheeled out under the pitying gaze of Mr. Lindhelm.
 
***
 
As far as the hospital and LucidStream Experiences knows, I’m adjusting fine to the real world. Luckily, I don’t really need them. It took a little digging, but I found an indie company that offers a similar experience. I couldn’t quite get Lina exactly right, but she’s close. The locations and the NPCs for both programs are all imported assets from a third party, so other than Lina, everything is almost the same. Even the neural shunts that LSE installed are compatible with Mind Ivy’s jacks. I didn’t even need another surgery.
     Mind Ivy’s sim is not as seamless an experience as LSE’s – I have to come out at least once a day to eat, shower, and use the bathroom, usually during the time the in-sim sun is going down – but they’ve set me up with an indefinite line of credit as long as I give detailed reports on any glitches I find. 
     The worst part is that the sim will sometimes just randomly crash, and I wake up in my sim chair in what I’ve been told is “just a panic attack.” I’d always thought panic attacks were supposed to be pretty serious, but the crew here knows how to handle them. Luckily, the crashes are usually only momentary glitches that work themselves out before I can get too anxious. Also, sometimes, even when things are going well, I know I’m inside. Not always, and again, it’s usually momentary, but it really breaks the immersion when it happens.
     Oh, well. With my daily critical input and an indefinite free subscription to the beta, eventually the line between Earth and Mind Ivy will disappear completely.
     Then I can be happy.
","September 06, 2023 06:33","[[{'Kevin B': 'I looked at this prompt and thought, No way can anyone come up with something for that, but you did an amazing job. I loved the overtones of different genres. It all mixed together so well.', 'time': '16:55 Sep 19, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Ken Cartisano': 'Excellent. Very creative. Very convincing. I was sure Lina was real. I thought this was  a pretty tough and bizarre prompt, but you pulled it off beautifully.', 'time': '00:34 Sep 18, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Philip Ebuluofor': 'Congrats and welcome.', 'time': '16:57 Sep 17, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Jonathan Page': 'Congrats on the shortlist!  What an incredible story!  Got some Vanilla Sky vibes - ""tech support""- mixed in with some Total Recall.  But love how you have this protagonist seeking to escape and all-in on getting out of reality!  Great stuff.', 'time': '22:39 Sep 16, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Mary Bendickson': 'Congrats on shortlist. Can see why. Great explanation and execution.🥳🎉\nWelcome aboard.', 'time': '15:55 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Arpad Nagy': ""Hi Dorian. I enjoyed it and liked the first turn when Lina was different; the subsequent scenarios were also interesting but felt disappointed that it turned out to be Sim. Well written. If you'd like to give my submission a read, I would appreciate it. Thanks!"", 'time': '01:55 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Karen Corr': 'Scary sci-fi. Hopefully, not a future world problem. Enjoyed reading.', 'time': '13:53 Sep 13, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",km204w,Warped,Khadija S. Mohammad,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/km204w/,/short-story/km204w/,Science Fiction,0,"['Science Fiction', 'Speculative']",15 likes,"
The sun was cold.
 
Katrina was watching the sun set peacefully, but just as it disappeared over the horizon, it slowly come up again. Cold. It was black, giving off no light, no warmth, as bleak and dull as the surface of Mars.
 
Katrina blinked hard until dark spots appeared in front of her eyes, but the view didn't change. She shivered and stared. The sun rose again gradually, then sunk below the opposite horizon. Without light, she could look at it directly, with no more harm done than if it had been the moon. Without light, it could be mistaken for the moon. It could be the moon.
 
But even as she thought it, the moon rose to take its place. The stars twinkled once, then they and the moon were gone again, and the black sun dominated the empty grey sky.
 
The cycle spun faster, and Katrina's head spin with it. Stars circled their great lady, the moon, in a mesmerising dance, then gave way to the sun, the majestic lord who firmly refused to join them. Then he too was gone, and the moon appeared again. The sun rose again, then disappeared, and the dance continued. Again and again it circled, and Katrina watched until she grew dizzy.
 
Suddenly it stopped. A strong vibration almost knocked Katrina off her feet, and when she regained her balance, everything was still.
 
The moon hung delicately in the sky, as if a single movement from the stars around it would send it falling down to the earth below. On the edge of the horizon, barely visible, lay the sun. Everything was black.
 
*****
 
""Daylight malfunction on Earth-3!""
 
""Light visibility malfunction on Earth-3!""
 
""Thermal malfunction on Earth-3!""
 
Cecilia leant over Rosemary's shoulder to look at the monitor. The screen showed the simulation sun and moon racing each other across the sky. Cecilia strode off to inspect another monitor, but Rosemary called her back.
 
""Celia, what do I do with it?""
 
She thought about it for a moment before answering. ""Shut it down.""
 
""What?""
 
I should never have let my little sister have this job. ""Shut down the daylight cycle.""
 
Rosemary opened her mouth to protest, then thought better of it. This Cecilia was one she would never have recognised as the quiet, shy Celia at home. Her so sweet, so quiet voice was loud and commanding, and her grey-blue eyes flashed.
 
She moved on to the next monitor. ""What's the problem here, Lia?""
 
Ophelia tapped the screen to display a 3D image of Earth-3. ""The simulation sun has stopped giving light. The whole of Earth-3 has gone dark,"" she said.
 
Cecilia struggled to stay calm. This was her first malfunction, and she had no idea how to deal with it. She counted to ten silently before giving her orders.
 
""Try to get it running again. If the sun won't respond, maybe the moon will.""
 
The third monitor beeped violently for attention, but she ignored it and walked to the door.
 
""But what do I do?"" Asked the worker at the third monitor.
 
""Give the simulator some heat! Oh, and Paris?"" She added, pausing at the door.
 
""Yes?""
 
""Don't pull the Trigger Switch."" And she was gone.
 
*****
 
Finally, Katrina thought. It's warming up. After what had seemed like hours of shivering, blanket around her and tent overhead, she could finally get up and get something done. What a night for solo camping. She stepped out of her tent to get firewood for cooking -
 
Katrina turned around. The tent stood a few metres away. She put a hand to her head. She didn't feel feverish. She wasn't hallucinating. What had happened?
 
Cautiously she back away, her eyes still on the tent. Then -
 
She was sure she had only taken five steps. How was she already so far away?
 
Firewood. Fetch the firewood, she told herself. Ignore the fact that you're teleporting and just fetch the firewood.
 
She took a step towards the forest. Then another. She let out a sigh, relieved. She'd only imagined it after all. One more step towards the forest -
 
There were trees already behind her.
 
*****
 
""Helena, I don't know what to do!"" Cecilia said. ""Earth-3 is malfunctioning, everyone is looking to me for help and I don't know what to do. You've been through malfunctions before; You we're a manager of the SC once. Please help.""
 
Helena frowned. ""I don't know what's happening either. I'm sorry Celia, but the malfunctions in my time weren't this bad. An aeroplane that froze in the air, Northern Lights in America, rain on only one person ."" She blushed. ""I was at the weather controls when the rain happened.""
 
A beep summoned Celia back to the Simulation Control room. Robin stood at the door, waiting for her.
 
""Report?"" She said. Robin was shaking.
 
""Earth-3 malfunctions are worsening. Simulation inhabitants are beginning to panic. Malfunctions especially worth noting are warping, time loss..."" He continued, but Cecilia had stopped listening at the word 'warping'.
 
What do I do? She thought. She was almost frantic, but she managed to keep it out of her voice as she answered. ""Tell me more.""
 
Robin tapped the sensor on his wrist. Images began to appear, morphing as he spoke.
 
""When the warping began, it was small. People warped a few feet, a few metres at most. After two simulation hours, they were warping up to ten metres. Two more hours and they were warping miles. Now simulation inhabitants are warping across whole countries. Death counts are rising as people warp into oceans, or underground.""
 
Suddenly his professional air dropped, and he looked at Cecilia with the pleading eyes of a small boy asking his mother for help, believing that she could do anything. ""What do I do?""
 
Cecilia felt lost. Everyone was asking her what to do, when she was asking the same question herself. They all expected her to get them through the disaster somehow. They all trusted her blindly, and she was scared.
 
She pulled herself together.
 
""Get back to your stations everyone,"" she said loudly. ""We're due for an Inspection in ten minutes, and I expect everything to be looking fixed, even if, especially if if it isn't. The malfunctions should be properly fixed by the time the Inspectors leave, so don't panic.""
 
There was no Inspection due for another week, but Cecilia thought it would be better if they thought they had to prepare for it.
 
She continued. ""I want everyone to cover up their malfunction as best they can; The Inspectors should see everything in working order. Ophelia, are the lights working yet?""
 
""Still not working. Sorry."" Ophelia tensed up as if expecting punishment.
 
""Don't be sorry. This is your first malfunction."" She relaxed. ""Rose?""
 
Rosemary was clicking frantically on her own screen. She pushed herself away from the desk. ""I don't know what's happening, Celia. I can't get anything to work. The cycle's stuck on Lunar and it's been twenty-six simulation hours."" She looked pleadingly at her older sister.
 
""It's alright,"" Cecilia reassured her. ""It sorts out Liam's problem at least. Set the time display to a naturally Lunar time.""
 
A warmth spread over the company. They were united by a sense of conspiracy - No. Cecilia pushed that word away. They felt more like a team now, in the midst of chaos, than they ever had. Everyone felt comforted, convinced that they would pull through.
 
A green light alerted her to visitors at the Door. ""That's the Inspection now."" Who really is it? She wondered.
 
""Paris, is the thermal problem sorted?"" Paris nodded. ""Good. Well done. And Robin -"" She hesitated. ""Think of something to cover the warps.""
 
*****
 
Katrina sat at the top of the hill, surveying the land below. With the teleporting getting worse, it was almost too risky to stand.
 
I wonder where my family is now, she thought. The last few hours had been chaos, and by now, with everyone teleporting unpredictably, company for any length of time was too much to ask for. It was a lonely world.
 
Katrina froze. Was that someone one the other hill? She stood up to see better and unconsciously took a step forward -
 
*****
 
Cecilia walked out of the control room muttering to herself, her eyes on the floor. How is my team going to react when they find the visitors aren't here for the Inspection? She thought. Suddenly something caught her eye, and she looked up.
 
A woman stood before her. A woman with her pale skin, her straight black hair, her grey-blue eyes. A woman clothed in a thin layer of mist that was now drifting gently away from her. A woman who looked exactly like Cecilia herself.
 
The two mirror images stared at each other for a moment. One of them flickered, then disappeared like the flame of a candle being blown out, leaving only a trail of mist behind.
 
Cecilia blinked twice. She must've imagined it.
 
The green light was getting stronger, so she hurried on to the Door. She pressed the combination and the Door opened, revealing a single person in official-looking clothes.
 
""Excuse me,"" the visitor said. ""I've come for the Inspection.""
 
""Come this way,"" said Cecilia. What do I do? I wasn't ready for this. She lead the visitor to the Simulation Control room. At least that's one problem dealt with, I suppose. 
 
“May I inform my team of your arrival?” She asked when they were at the SC room door. The Inspector nodded, and she entered without him.
 
Everyone's eyes were on Cecilia as she closed the door behind her. “The Inspector is here, team,” she said. She gestured for Robin to come to her, asking if the warps were covered. He answered in the affirmative, and she opened the door for the Inspector to come in.
 
The room was as quiet as a schoolroom when the teacher enters. Rosemary suppressed a nervous giggle. The Inspector stood in the doorway for a minute, scanning the room and its inhabitants, before moving to Paris' monitor. He studied it closely, asking Paris questions, before moving on to Ophelia.
 
Cecilia held her breath when he came to Space Control, Robin's desk, but he merely glanced at the 3D images displayed and moved on.
 
As the Inspector reviewed the rest of them, Cecilia panicked inwardly. Despite what she had told her team, she still didn't know how to fix the glitches. Would they be shut down? Although naturally uninquisitive, she couldn't help the few frantic questions she asked herself. What would happen to the people inside the simulations? Her thoughts trailed back to the woman she had seen, her double. What would happen to her?
 
Cecilia realised that the Inspection was complete, and she left the room to assist the Inspector in finding the Door; It was a little unpredictable, prone to disappearing and appearing again in random places.
 
But as they turned the first corner, the Inspector quietly requested a private room, saying he wanted to talk to her confidentially. 
 
A minute later they had found a comfortable room and were settled inside.
 
The Inspector cleared his throat. “I have something to tell you,” he began. “The glitches, or malfunctions, in your software were caused by me, or rather by the organization which I represent. The purpose was to see how you and your workers react in a crisis. Any after-effects of these glitches have already been straightened out, although I must say your team managed them efficiently; There weren't many to fix. Your ability to cope with disaster has been tested, and I congratulate you on your performance.”
 
Cecilia stared openly at him. “So – so you made the daylight cycle stop working?”
 
“Yes.”
 
“And the light?”
 
“Yes.”
 
“Heat?”
 
“Yes.”
 
“Warping?” What if he says 'no'? Cecilia didn't want to think about it.
 
“Yes.” Thank goodness.
 
“And the woman?” she added.
 
“What woman?”
 
“The one who appeared surrounded in mist. The one that looks like me.”
 
He hesitated for a reasonably long time, but Cecilia didn't seem to notice. She was reliving her encounter with the strange woman. “Yes, of course. Her too,” he said ungrammatically.
 
After the Inspector had left, Cecilia let out a sigh. Maybe she could finally get some rest.
","September 04, 2023 18:10","[[{'Cecilia Englishby': 'This is beautiful Khadija, and not just because I have a new namesake to aspire to. ❤️😊\n\nI love how you worked the prompt into a proper bit of Sci-fi. The characters were fleshed out and compelling. 💪\n\nThank you for writing this and thank you for the dedication. \nI posted a reply on your update as well, but please know I was very touched by such a kind gesture. 😊', 'time': '20:34 Sep 07, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'Khadija S. Mohammad': ""Every one of your comments just makes my day 😊 Can you imagine what 3 of your comments do?\n\nThank you again for being so encouraging and reading all of my stories. I'll keep writing, and in exchange you have to as well! 😁"", 'time': '10:20 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '1'}, {'Cecilia Englishby': ""Very very welcome. \nIt is well deserved 😊\n\nI promise I will keep writing. ❤️\nNothing on last week's prompt, but I am submitting on the one launched today I'm a few days time 😊"", 'time': '17:01 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '2'}]], [{'Khadija S. Mohammad': ""Every one of your comments just makes my day 😊 Can you imagine what 3 of your comments do?\n\nThank you again for being so encouraging and reading all of my stories. I'll keep writing, and in exchange you have to as well! 😁"", 'time': '10:20 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Cecilia Englishby': ""Very very welcome. \nIt is well deserved 😊\n\nI promise I will keep writing. ❤️\nNothing on last week's prompt, but I am submitting on the one launched today I'm a few days time 😊"", 'time': '17:01 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '2'}]], [{'Cecilia Englishby': ""Very very welcome. \nIt is well deserved 😊\n\nI promise I will keep writing. ❤️\nNothing on last week's prompt, but I am submitting on the one launched today I'm a few days time 😊"", 'time': '17:01 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []], [{'Mary Bendickson': 'Tidy explanation of why everything awry.', 'time': '03:03 Sep 05, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []], [{'Khadija S. Mohammad': ""This is a small preview of a novel I'm writing! (Currently still in the 'Ideas' stage but I'll start writing it soon!)\n\nI'm hoping to see more of Cecilia (and probably Katrina too) in later stories, so don't be surprised at a sequel or 2! (To me this story doesn't really feel complete on its own)\n\nThis story is dedicated to Cecilia Englishby for being so encouraging, kind, and reading all of my stories. (She and her profile picture were also the inspiration for the character Cecilia) :)\n\nHope you enjoy!"", 'time': '18:12 Sep 04, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Cecilia Englishby': 'Khadija ❤️You are so incredibly lovely.😊😊 And have really given me an amazing compliment.  Thank you. \n\nAnd I am so sorry that I took a small break from reedsy, and missed this publication on the day.\nI am working through your stories now ❤️', 'time': '20:23 Sep 07, 2023', 'points': '2'}]], [{'Cecilia Englishby': 'Khadija ❤️You are so incredibly lovely.😊😊 And have really given me an amazing compliment.  Thank you. \n\nAnd I am so sorry that I took a small break from reedsy, and missed this publication on the day.\nI am working through your stories now ❤️', 'time': '20:23 Sep 07, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",9ybms4,"“Twilight’s Tango: The Unforgettable Sunset,”",Gary Fondaumiere,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/9ybms4/,/short-story/9ybms4/,Science Fiction,0,"['Inspirational', 'Science Fiction', 'Adventure']",15 likes,"
The final evening of our vacation on the tranquil beach, where the setting sun made me ache for summer to last forever,
 
Beside me, my friends and I sat on a weathered wooden bench, our toes buried in the cool sand, watching the fiery orb’s descent. We were a tight-knit group, bound by years of collective experience and an endless supply of laughter. This trip has granted us a much-needed respite from the pressures of our daily lives.
 
Like a dancer ending a lovely performance, the sunset symbolizes the passing of time and bidding farewell.
 
Similar to a ballerina’s bow at the conclusion of a spellbinding performance, the descent unfurled with beauty and poise as it bid the world farewell.
 
The waves lapped at the shore, synchronizing with our hearts. Seagulls soared overhead, their cries a symphony of freedom and longing.
 
My partner, Denise, nestled close to me, her hand entwined with mine. Her eyes, the color of the ocean depths, reflected the shimmering hues of the setting sun, like two pools of liquid amber catching the last drops of daylight. We had found love in the golden days of summer, and this vacation had been our secret garden, where our love had blossomed and thrived.
 
Our closest friends, Reggie and Gina, sat next to us and quietly stared at each other for a while. Reggie’s unwavering commitment to Gina was evident in how he held her, like a knight protecting his beloved from the world.
 
As the sun touched the water, the sky turned a beautiful shade of orange and pink. The scene was even more magnificent in its reflection on the ocean.
 
I wished our laughter would forever resonate on the shore, time would stand still, and this moment would endure eternally. As I made my silent plea to the heavens, something extraordinary happened.
 
The sun hesitated, caught in a moment of indecision. It lingered in a celestial pause that seemed to defy the laws of nature. The world seemed to hold its breath, suspended in this enchanted stillness.
 
Gasps of astonishment filled the air as we watched the celestial spectacle. Unexpectedly, the sun, the wellspring of all existence, withdrew as though time had enigmatically reversed its course. It ascended with a newfound vibrancy, casting a brilliant blaze of colors across the beach as if the universe had granted us a second act.
 
Metaphors spun through my mind like fireflies on a summer night. As the sun rose, it brought with it a tune long forgotten, one that had returned to serenade us. This melody reminded us that, while we often long for the past to remain, the future holds the key to hidden treasures.
 
Denise’s fingers tightened around mine, her eyes brimming with wonder and a touch of mystery. “It’s like a hidden revelation,” she murmurs.
 
I nodded, caught in the moment. “A waltz with fate,” I replied.
 
Reggie and Gina, equally awestruck, exchanged a knowing look. “A romance scripted among the constellations,” Reggie pondered.
 
As the sun continued its ascent, the hidden meanings of this extraordinary event unraveled before us. It was a reminder that time is not a relentless river but a winding path of possibilities. It urged us to cherish the present, for it held the power to reshape our future.
 
With newfound resolve, we left the bench behind and ventured towards the water’s edge. The waves welcomed us, like the embrace of a long-lost friend, into the ocean’s depths. Laughter filled the air as we danced and splashed in the waves like children caught in a world of enchantment.
 
Experiencing the rush of excitement sweeping over you is undeniably exhilarating. A shadow passed over the beach. The sun, which had burned so brilliantly, dimmed. Panic gripped us as we watched the sun’s light slowly fade.
 
“What’s happening?” Gina cried out.
 
The sun, now a mere ember, appeared ensnared by fate. It was a cruel twist, a reminder that even the most bewitching moments could be fleeting.
 
Amid our despair, a voice, soft as a whispered secret, reached our ears. I met a woman with eyes that seemed to hold the secrets of countless sunsets. She said, “Life is like a fleeting moment, and we must cherish every precious second”.
 
She reminded us we cannot contain time, no matter how much we long for the past to stay, as her words lingered in the air like a spell. The sun, once again, began its descent, sinking below the horizon and leaving behind a trail of stardust in the twilight.
 
We returned to the bench with a sense of acceptance, like explorers who had glimpsed a hidden treasure destined to return home. The sun’s final descent was a poignant reminder that life is a gallery of fleeting moments, each a masterpiece of its own.
 
As darkness settled over the beach, we huddled together, our hearts heavy with the weight of our revelation. The diamonds of the stars shone brightly against the canvas of the night sky, bringing solace and strength to our hearts.
 
Our vacation last night has brought us full circle, from wishing for a never-ending summer to accepting the passage of time. Every star had a story to uncover as we observed them. In their shimmering light, we found the promise of fresh starts.
 
It occurred to me as I lay on the sand and looked up at the many constellations overhead that the sun’s unusual reversal might have been more than a coincidence.
 
Something in the air—a whisper in the wind—suggested a profound truth was waiting to be exposed.
 
As the night wore on, we drifted into a dreamless slumber, the echoes of the evening’s enchantment still reverberating in our hearts. Upon awakening, the sun rose, renewing hope.
 
We gathered our belongings, preparing to leave the beach behind and return to our everyday lives. As we left the hallowed shore, I could not help but carry the memory of that extraordinary evening with me like a cherished talisman.
 
The sun’s cycle left us with a gift: appreciation for the present and wonder about the universe’s mysteries. We departed from the beach filled with gratitude for the time shared and the mystery of that unforgettable night.
 
The truth that life itself is a dance made up of transitory, one-of-a-kind events is what we ultimately remember, not the sun’s quirky waltz. I could not help but smile as I took my last look back at the vanishing shoreline.
 
The warmth of that special evening will remain in our memories, inspiring us to cherish every moment and dance gracefully amidst the symphony of life.
 
Memories endure, illuminating our journey even after holidays and sunsets, reflecting the beauty of each step we take.
 
","September 05, 2023 20:55","[[{'Xavier Pierre-Louis': 'Hope to read more of your writing!', 'time': '12:10 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Iris Pierre-Louis': 'I like your writing and the use of metaphors', 'time': '12:03 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",zngt9b,THE DAY AFTER THE DAY,Arlin Couch,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/zngt9b/,/short-story/zngt9b/,Science Fiction,0,"['Fiction', 'Kids', 'Suspense']",15 likes,"
Saturday, September 23rd, 2023, we were leaving the “Wander CampGrand Canyon” camp site to go watch the sunset over the Grand Canyonas we had every night since Thursday evening when we arrived for ourweekend getaway for the last days of summer. Depressed was anunderstatement for how I was feeling, but as we all know, all good thingscome to an end eventually. You know, just like summer does, then it startsgetting chili in the fall, and blistering cold in the winter. But that’s a whole otherstory we can dive into later. My family and I were sitting in the back of theminivan with the hatch opened watching the sunset one last time before weheaded back hours away to our home (it was kind of a family tradition forus to watch the sunset at this point). My mom was keeping up with the timeon her phone waiting to give us a countdown. “Okay guys, its 6:23 p.m., 1minute, help me countdown.” We all smiled with heavy hearts and lumps inour throat knowing this was the end of our vacation. “60, 59, 58, 57…” Webegan counting backwards from 60 (In my opinion I don’t know why westart at 60 but it has been that way for years, so no need in changing now.)“5, 4, 3, 2, 1!” We all counted the suns exit down to zero, with frowns on ourfaces we all watched as the last section of sun dipped down below thecanyon. Dad turned and looked at me and my brother “Well, that’s it boys,we go home tomorrow, so let’s go back to the tent and enjoy the night.” Butmy brother nudged me because he had noticed something miraculoushappening. When I looked up I couldn’t believe my eyes, “Dad! Look, it’scoming back!” The sun! It was slowly rising back up over the horizon! Mydad stood in aww as he watched this happening “What the heck is goingon?” he said to us all. My mom, standing with her arms hanging down byher side, and her mouth gaped wide open saying “I’ve never seen anythinglike this before in my life.” As we slowly watched the sun coming back inreverse at a distance, like it made a complete circle beneath the earth. Weall just stood there with our jaws catching dust, because they hadabsolutely hit the ground. After a few minutes of looking at thephenomenon we had just witnessed, my dad finally said “Okay kids, getback in the van, we, we, have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.” I hadnever witnessed my dad at a loss for words, he was always a talker, but hewas disoriented. So we all climbed back into the van to head back to thecampsite to rest up for our journey back home when my mom said “I’mgoing to google this and see if this has ever happened before.” We allagreed that it was a great idea and she took her phone out of her purse.She touched the screen of her iPhone to light the screen up when she letout a cry that shook us all “Oh my God, Oh my goodness!” Me, my brother,and dad all 3 yelled back “What is it?! What’s wrong?!” My mom, now palein color looked as if she had saw a ghost. “Guys, um, something crazy,beyond anything I’ve ever seen or heard of is going on.” Me and my brotherwere becoming agitated at not knowing what was going on screamed“Mom, what is it?” Mom finally caught her breath, turned to look at all 3 ofus and said “When my phone lit up, I noticed the date and time, guys, itsays Friday, September 22nd, 2023, and not only that, it also says it’s 6:14a.m.” We all 4 looked at each other in disbelief, this couldn’t be true, so Isaid to my brother “Joseph, pull out your phone and see what your dateand time says, maybe moms has something malfunctioned on it.” SoJoseph went ahead and did so, he pulled his phone out and same thing,Friday, September 22nd, 2023, 6:14 a.m. ‘We’re stuck in time’ I thought tomyself “Dad, let’s check our phones” I said hastily. Dad and I both pulledour phones out, and no change, they both said the same as my mothersand brothers, Friday, September 22nd, 2023, 6:14 a.m. Then my dad veryconfused turned to us and said “We have been checking phones for at theleast a minute” Mom replied, “Yea and your point?” With a slight giggle.“Well why do all the phones say 6:14 a.m.?” We all looked at our phonesagain, still yet 6:14 a.m. By this time we were all so confused and quitefrankly, scared. We had no clue what was going on, what was to come,nothing, not a clue as to what had happened. So I thought fast “Dad, turnthe radio on and see if anything is being said about weird sunsets oranything, I don’t know” I said with a slightly confusing giggle. So dad didjust that, he turned the radio on, found a news station channel and wewaited. All we heard was things about the election coming up in 2024,about if the coronavirus was back on the rise or was it just the regular flu,but nothing about the catastrophe of a reoccurring sunrise. “What is wrongwith people?!” I shouted out, “The sun has set and rose again within a 1minute span, and nobody is even talking about it. Dad, we have to get outof here and get back home!” My dad turned to me and said “Son, you maybe a kid, but I agree with you one hundred percent, let’s get out of heretonight!” My dad stomped on the gas and floored our van up a slope wewere heading up in the road. As we approached the tip of the slope the sunwas beaming in our faces, so bright that we were shielding our eyes, anddad was swerving all over the road in the van. It just kept getting brighterand brighter until it was burning my eyes “Oh my God” I yelled out. I cameto, lying in my sleeping bag under the tent we had been staying in allweekend. I looked over and saw Mom, Dad, and Joseph all laying in theirsleeping bags sound asleep, so I lie back down in my sleeping bag andclosed my eyes. It was all just a dream.
","September 01, 2023 20:11","[[{'Levi Michael': ""Hello Arlin\nI was prompted to your story by Reedsy's Critique Circle.\nI'm a relatively new writer so please take everything I say with a grain of salt.\nYour concept is entertaining. They all check the news to see if everyone else in the world is also experiencing the same phenomenon. Nice. \nYou build an immersive world around the family and their traditions, and the characters are somewhat well defined. I was able to picture them pretty easily. I believe one of the best things a writer can do is not make the reader work too hard to envision ..."", 'time': '22:04 Sep 16, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Tom Skye': 'Nicely written with some very funny elements. \n\nGood job', 'time': '15:25 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Arlin Couch': 'Appreciate the comment so much! Glad you enjoyed!', 'time': '18:07 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Arlin Couch': 'Appreciate the comment so much! Glad you enjoyed!', 'time': '18:07 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Patricia Casey': ""Arlin,\n\nIt might be nice to have a day begin over again, especially during summer. Since it hasn't happened before, you add suspense to your story through the characters' fear. That fear seems realistic. \n\nI think your story could be improved by not ending it as a dream. Here is a resource explaining why using that cliche isn't good: https://thewritelife.com/cliches-avoid-4-story-endings-readers-will-hate/. \n\nI hope this helps. Keep writing!\n\nPatricia"", 'time': '13:19 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Arlin Couch': 'Thank you so much for commenting, maybe I will go back sometime and add more and see where all I can take it.', 'time': '18:07 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '1'}, {'Patricia Casey': ""That's a good idea."", 'time': '13:30 Sep 10, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Arlin Couch': 'Thank you so much for commenting, maybe I will go back sometime and add more and see where all I can take it.', 'time': '18:07 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Patricia Casey': ""That's a good idea."", 'time': '13:30 Sep 10, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Patricia Casey': ""That's a good idea."", 'time': '13:30 Sep 10, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",1h0jnr,Our Last Summer,David Willett,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/1h0jnr/,/short-story/1h0jnr/,Science Fiction,0,"['Fiction', 'Friendship', 'Science Fiction']",15 likes,"
	The frosty amber liquid glistens through raised glasses in the ethereal light. We all gather outside to toast our final moments as the sun bids farewell to summer. It had been a season that would never come again. 
               I flick the curls of my auburn fringe to clear my vision and ask my three companions, ‘Are there any better type of beers than summer beers?’ 
               ‘You can’t beat them, Mike,’ Dean agrees, who is mesmerised by the frothy contents of his pint. 
               Sam and Rachel tilt their heads slightly in alignment with the sentiment. We all turn to look out towards the endless ocean. Warmth flushes our faces in a way that could only be balanced with another swig of beer and the occasional whistling sea breeze creeping up the cliff face. There is a silent euphoria shared between us. For a moment, we can ignore the bittersweetness of the ending befalling us. 
               ‘Mike, this house is fucking sick,’ Rachel says with a snap of her fingers. ‘Still can’t believe you scored it for today of all days.’ 
               My glass freezes right before my open mouth. I place it back on the coffee-coloured balcony railing and say, ‘Well, the owners were literally falling over themselves to let us have it. Not like they needed it for anything.’ 
               ‘Man, if I had an ocean mansion like this, I wouldn’t leave until summer was done.’ Dean interjects. The colourful patterns adorning his arm contorted as he raises his glass for another precious sip. I could not help but stare at how his biceps popped out of the rolled-up sleeves on his flannel shirt. 
               ‘Guess they had better places to be, isn’t that right, Mike?’ Sam’s dulcet tones drift across from the far end of the balcony. I failed to notice him staring into my soul with his sky-blue eyes. If a look could convey a message, this would be to change the topic. 
               ‘Well, drink up everyone. It is the end of summer; we have plenty of cold beer in the esky and a beautiful sunset to share.’ I exclaim, raising my glass to raise everyone’s spirits.  
               ‘Man, let's put on some fucking tunes.’ Rachel says as she dances a jig around Dean, flapping her tattooed arms like wings around his head. Dean winks and resumes absorbing every second of the moment. 
               ‘Rach,’ I pause. Wondering if what I had to say next should have been obvious. ‘There’s no electricity, babe.’ Sam still glares at me down the barrel of his pint glass.
               ‘Oh yeah.’ Rachel deflates before perking up again and saying, ‘Aww shit, I got a Bluetooth speaker in the car y’all.’ The final mouthfuls of her beer didn’t stand a chance in her rush to obtain the fabled audio device. 
               We top up our glasses, and music floods our ears. The deep base causes my teeth to chatter involuntarily, and I subtly sway despite not understanding a word of the lyrics. Rachel finally has Dean trapped in her dancing web. Her silky black hair whips rhythmically through the air. Sam sidles beside me and firmly grabs my shoulder with his free hand.
               ‘It is going to be ok, Mike. Just let them enjoy a final summer evening.’ He whispers in my ear. Something is caught in my throat, and I feel a sudden disconnect between the joy of my dancing friends and the reality of just how different this summer had been. 
               ‘I just hope they don’t look too far over the edge.’ I reply, craning my neck to look down the cliff face. 
               ‘Just forget about it.’ Sam’s tone is final. ‘What does it even matter? Just drink your beer and go dance with Dean. Summer is ending, Mike. You won’t get this chance again.’
               ‘How long until sunset do you think?’ I ask my vertically gifted friend. He swirls the last drops of his beverage before chugging it down. We all know what is supposed to happen at sunset, but we are here to try and forget about it. 
               ‘Who gives a fuck Mike? It will happen when it happens.’ He peels off his form-fitting black tank top and joins the dance party, beckoning me to follow with his body language. I felt inadequate when Sam or Dean got shirtless, which wasn’t fair. I don’t think either of them ever stepped foot in a gym, yet they had physiques that turned every head.
               Fuck it, I think to myself, and I dive in. 
               Primal instincts take over. Spurred on by the beer working its magic, mindless music washing over us, and the luminous rays drenching the balcony. Shirts disappear, and so do our inhibitions. Our bodies all move as one, and we become intoxicated with each other’s presence. It is not sexual, just four people sharing a transcendent connection. I close my eyes, and my consciousness slips into the sublime. Only to be brought back into the present by a tickle on my nose and the scent of beer dominating my senses. 
               ‘Thanks again, Mike.’ Dean is well inside my personal space. My shock causes a distance to open between us, giving me a view of Sam over Dean’s shoulder. Who winks at me as if to say, go for it. So, I do. 
               The afternoon is defying all expectations. We shake off the shit show that had been this summer and create space for joy again. The four of us had always shared a bond that could not be described, and we are now cementing our link into eternity. Indulging in what I never dared to indulge in was just the cherry on top. 
               The dancing lasts a bit longer until the music clicks out of existence. We all look around as if trying to figure out where it went. None of us need to acknowledge that the speaker had run out of power verbally. We also don’t feel the need to put our shirts back on; why should any part of our bodies miss out on the sun’s gifts? 
               ‘Fuck guys, I think it is happening.’ Rachel said, her chest still heaving. Her arm and finger stretch out toward the horizon, but none of us want to look yet. 
               ‘More beer?’ Sam asks rhetorically. 
               Dean pulls up turquoise striped deckchairs for everyone. We all sink into their deep recesses and allow breath to return to our bodies. The sun has almost entirely retreated to its hiding place beyond the sea. Its brightness floods my retina so much that I almost miss the streak of crimson ash across the twilight sky. 
               One look at the others, and I can tell they have not noticed it. Probably for the best, they should enjoy the moment. I wish I had not seen it, but there it was. It chases the sun as it vanishes for the last time, letting out a concluding scream of light. 
               My sight readjusts from the sudden deprivation, and I refuse to let any breath out. What happens now? 
               ‘Is the sun coming back up?’ Dean asks. ‘Is that how it was supposed to happen?’ 
               We all remain silent as the sun radiates outwards from where it had just set. Only it was doing more than just rising again. It ravenously consumes the skyline, bringing a blast against our skin that no cold drinks or refreshing breezes would save. 
               I am glad I got to be here with my friends for this. I am equally pleased that none of them looked down the cliff. Seeing those two bodies down there would have killed the vibe.           
 
 
 
 
","September 07, 2023 21:13",[]
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",vnkxd6,"Saturday, again.",Keelan LaForge,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/vnkxd6/,/short-story/vnkxd6/,Science Fiction,0,"['Science Fiction', 'Contemporary', 'Fiction']",14 likes,"
Saturday’s sunset was spectacular. Every one of us was sad to see it going to sleep, but its departure was a beauty that only the sky could produce. We looked at one another, knowing that we were sharing that bittersweet ending to our holiday. We had to fly home the next day and none of us wanted to. We were in Lake Garda and the weather had been glorious. We’d lounged by the pool in surroundings that bordered on the divine, and the following day, we had no choice but to go back to the dull, dark UK. Remote weather-watching told us that rain awaited us upon our return. 
 
Endings are always sad, no matter how much you have anticipated them, but they’re so much worse whenever you’ve been dreading them since the very beginning. I knew from the moment we touched down on Italian soil that I wouldn’t want to leave. We’d been spoilt over the two-week period we’d spent there. We were treated like royalty by the hotel we’d been staying in. We hadn’t had to lift a finger, unless it was for something pleasurable, like going for a swim. The head of the sun was vanishing over the horizon, and then it was gone; until it bounced back again. It reared its head over the horizon again in a moment so foreign I had the impression the world must be ending. Nothing else could explain such a phenomenon.
 
At first, I thought I was hallucinating; not in the conventional sense, but I thought I was seeing what I wanted to see. Your mind is capable of creating the most improbable things whenever it is desperate enough to see them. But no – the rest of my group started to gasp and then to scream. It was horrifying, even though it amazed us. You can witness the most beautiful sight on Earth, but if it’s unnatural to you, it can still leave you with a feeling of horror. 
The sun continued to rise, until the round fireball was wholly visible again. Joshua kept using God’s name in vain. The others were either silent or screaming; the two most common reactions to shock. Isabelle looked into my eyes, deeper than she ever had before. “What?” she mouthed at me, as if I could know the answer. I couldn’t think of a thing to say to her. I almost expected the world to end that second. Wasn’t that the type of thing that came right before the apocalypse? 
 
The sun was moving upwards. We were frozen in time, and I had no sense of how long we’d been watching it for. I knew it was moving at the typical speed of a sunrise, but I couldn’t take my eyes away from it. I’d never watched a sunrise so closely before. It’s funny the things you take for granted whenever you know they happen every day. We were witnessing a once in a lifetime event – whether it ended in our demise or not. It was one of those news-worthy moments we’d be interviewed about later, if we even survived it. 
We started to talk in reverse - each word we’d spoken before the sun had set but arranged into inverted sentences. I couldn’t stop myself, no matter what I did. Cole had a coughing fit that he’d had moments before sunset. He’d choked on nothing, and we’d all laughed about it, but the laughter came before the cough this time. We were acting in ways that felt like they’d already been coded into time. We had no control over our actions. We were doing it all over again, but in reverse. 
 
The sun was climbing while we talked. Maybe if you will something to happen enough, it can come into being. I’d wished all day long that Saturday would never end, that we could redo the whole thing – and here we were. It wasn’t exactly what I’d had in mind. If we could stall time, would we? That’s an important question to ask ourselves. In theory, yes, but was the reality of it different? I tried to ponder that, but it was hard to allow space for my own thoughts when we were acting everything out again, back to front. Isabelle was talking about the sunset, but with jumbled words, it was hard to make sense of what she was saying, even though I’d heard it all before. Her regret echoed over the quiet Italian sunset (that was really a sunrise.) The sky was gradually lightening, and the sun was returning to its uppermost point. It would take hours to get there, but I could see where it was going. It was all becoming completely predictable. The day in reverse was different than it had been the first time around. We got to our feet and walked back towards the hotel, away from our viewpoint. 
 
Isabelle was talking about how full she was. “full so am I,” she said. “?much so eat I did How” 
 
“?do to meant you are else What .buffet eat can you all an It’s” answered Cole. 
 
Trying to reorder the words, to make them make sense, to find out that we’d already heard them a couple of hours earlier, was disappointing work. 
 
I thought I’d give anything on Earth to have that indescribably perfect day all over again, and it had landed in my lap, like a wish from a genie’s lamp, delivered in a way that could never live up to the original version. I was angry with myself for ever entertaining the idea that it could. The allure of the unknown was tempting me, even if it meant going back to the greyness of the UK. The weather might have been predictable there, but at least nothing else was. I wondered if it was some sort of test – to make me realise what I’d had before I wished the future away; like a moral lesson provided by a preachy children’s book. But I didn’t have the key to return to normality. Was it just a lesson in the power of the present, or was it science fiction? Only time would tell. 
 
","September 04, 2023 08:24","[[{'Miriam Culy': 'Beautifully written :)', 'time': '21:32 Sep 11, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Keelan LaForge': 'Aw thank you so much. That means a lot :)', 'time': '12:37 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Keelan LaForge': 'Aw thank you so much. That means a lot :)', 'time': '12:37 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Delbert Griffith': ""Great last line! Only time would tell. Keelan, that was masterful!\n\nI like the concept, and I like the message about wanting to relive a perfect day, only to realize that it can't be done. The few sentences that you wrote in reverse was great. Just enough, but not too much. Nice touch, that.\n\nWonderful tale, my friend. You captured the prompt well and with creativity. Nicely done, Keelan.\n\nCheers!"", 'time': '13:29 Sep 07, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Keelan LaForge': 'Thanks Delbert. I’m glad you appreciated it because I was experimenting with something I hadn’t done before. I’m glad you thought I pulled it off ok lol. Thanks for all the encouragement 😊 Keelan', 'time': '06:04 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '2'}]], [{'Keelan LaForge': 'Thanks Delbert. I’m glad you appreciated it because I was experimenting with something I hadn’t done before. I’m glad you thought I pulled it off ok lol. Thanks for all the encouragement 😊 Keelan', 'time': '06:04 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []], [{'Mary Bendickson': 'Cool concept. Handled flawlessly.', 'time': '02:35 Sep 05, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Keelan LaForge': 'Thanks Mary, that means a lot 😊', 'time': '09:54 Sep 05, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Keelan LaForge': 'Thanks Mary, that means a lot 😊', 'time': '09:54 Sep 05, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",rv2gc0,The Church at the End of the World,Cami Green,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/rv2gc0/,/short-story/rv2gc0/,Science Fiction,0,"['Coming of Age', 'Science Fiction', 'Teens & Young Adult']",14 likes,"
“The world is ending and I am in an itty-bitty, yellow bikini. How the hell am I supposed to run?” Cassia screamed.
 
“Come on,” Theo said. “You know we have to get out of here so run in your bare feet like we used to when we were kids.”
 
Cassia ran off the beach like a deer running from a wolf pack. Her eyes were huge and her heart pounded. But she had been on the track team at school and with her long legs, she was one of the first out of there. 
 
“The roads are blocked,” Theo yelled. “We’ll have to run home to take shelter.”
 
“We don’t have enough time!” she said. “We’ll run to the church and hide in there.”
 
They made their way through the screaming crowd, elbowing people out of the way. Cassia would be damned if she let hysterical beach-goers keep her from her goal. She had Theo to think of. 
 
The church towered just ahead of them. It would be full soon, Cassia thought. She grabbed Theo’s arm and used the last of her sprinter strength to make it to the church on time.
 
They threw themselves onto the floor and latched the door shut. 
 
“Why did you do that? We need to help each other out,” Theo asked. He always has so many questions, she thought. 
 
She gritted her teeth and looked him dead in the eye. “We don’t want to be trapped in here with people who panic. They don’t think logically. We need our brains screwed on right to survive. Remember that,” she said.
 
—-
 
One hour earlier
 
The sun had not set that day. True, there had been a sunset, a dazzling display of lavender and peach that would make even the most colorful of birds envious. But after this display, the sun had turned right around and started to ascend back into the noon sky.
 
It had been the most perfect of summer days. The kind that’s not too sticky, where the cicadas sing and a heart feels at home on this earth. Cassia reveled in the easy laziness of these  last days of summer. School would be starting up again soon and they did not serve ice cream.
 
“What do you want out of this year?” she asked Theo, her little brother.
 
“Mmm, that’s kind of deep for a beach day,” he said. He paused, screwing up his brow as he focused. “I want to feel like this every day.”
 
“Me too,” Cassia said. She looked down at legs, noticing how tanned they were. She felt her focus drift to the feel of the warm sun on her skin. “It won’t last,” she said.
 
—-
 
Present
 
She was right.
 
“Why do you think this is happening? It doesn’t make any sense,” Theo said.
 
“Who cares? It doesn’t matter. We could think about it for the rest of our lives and never come up with an answer,” Cassia said.
 
“But what about gravity and the laws of physics and,” Theo said. 
 
“That’s enough!” Cassia yelled. “We need all of our attention focused on the now,” she said.
 
Theo looked down. His bottom lip was jutting out slightly. Cassia reminded herself that he was still little. He had hit a huge growth spurt recently and was only a few inches shorter than her. But he was still a kid.
 
“Well, I think this is going to mess up my senior year,” Cassia said.
 
Theo looked back up, smiled, and then a rumble burst from his full belly. Cassia winked at him.
 
“You two are lucky to have each other,” a husky voice said from the corner.
 
Cassia looked around. There were three others in there with them. None of them had said anything when she latched the door. Cassia thought they looked sensible but she had to be sure.
 
“Anyone have a problem with this?” she asked, pointing to the latch. 
 
“We’re going to be here for a while,” the husky voice said. “I think there are worse things we could do. I’m Erin, by the way.”
 
Cassia nodded at her. The skinny university student in the corner was Joon and the pretty girl about Theo’s age sitting in a pew was Chassidy.
 
Theo walked over to Chassidy, and sat in the same pew next to her. Cassia watched them chat away for a while, then turned her attention back to Erin.
 
“So what do you think about all this?” she asked.
 
“I think people are about to get real crazy,” Erin said.
 
Cassia nodded. “I’ll be honest with you, I'm scared,” she said.
 
“You’d be a fool not to be,” Erin said. “You’re doing a great job at keeping it together. Your parents must be proud of the way you take care of your little brother
 
Not really, Cassia thought. They’d had a lot of fights lately, screaming and shouting until her mother stepped in, yelling that they were disturbing the neighbors.
 
“We used to be closer,” she said after a long pause. “Theo and I were best friends, playing basketball after school every day then making up wizard or alien games. We used to sneak into our neighbor’s tennis court and play there until he caught us and told our parents.”
 
“What changed?” Erin asked. 
 
“I don’t know, exactly,” Cassia said. “I guess we both started growing up. We have different interests and different friends now.” 
 
“You can still get along even if you’re different,” Erin said. “Look, I’m not going to tell you to treasure your siblings because you’ll be grateful when you’re older.” She paused and gave Cassia a knowing smile.
 
Thank God, Cassia thought.
 
“But remember, if we make it out of this, life is a marathon not a sprint. You have decades together so if you don't get along for a year, or five, or even twenty, you still have the rest of your life to make up,” she said. “No rush.”
 
Not talking to Theo for twenty years sounded like way too long. But they’d be lucky to have that long with what was going on outside.
 
Cassia looked over at Theo. He was joking and smiling with Chassidy, the girl in the pew. Let him have a few more moments like this, she thought. 
 
—-
 
A bang on the door jolted them all, waking them up. No one moved. Then they heard it again, a deep, steady knock. 
“No!” Cassia said. “That could be anyone. It could be fifty, deranged people for all we know. We’re safe here with our small group.”
 
“Let them in,” Chassidy said. “They might have food.”
 
Cassia crumpled up her mouth and tensed her jaw.
 
“Well, I think the only way to settle this is to take a vote,” Joon said. “I say we let them in. Who’s with me?”
 
Chassidy raised her hand. Then, slowly, Theo raised his.
 
“You can be such a naive idiot sometimes,” Cassia said to Theo.
 
“Don’t call me that. I’m not the only one who thinks it’s a good idea. You’re just being selfish and calling it practical,” he said.
 
“Hey!” Erin said, raising her voice. “The majority voted and even though I don't agree with you, we have to start out being respectful. We don’t need it to get all Lord of the Flies in here.”
 
Cassia sighed loudly as Erin made her way over to the door. She unbolted it and in poured about twenty people of all different ages. They had on swim shorts and bikinis and each had a frantic look in their eye. Cassia moved to the pew farthest from the crowd.
 
After a few minutes, Erin joined her. “Hey, it’s ok,” she said. “They have food.”
 
Cassia laughed. Maybe she was being stubborn after all, she thought. She’d have to relax a bit if she was going to get through this. 
 
Cassia walked slowly and quietly over to where Theo was. He was sharing stories about school with a group who had gathered around him. She saw Chassidy and some other girls chuckle. Cassia couldn’t help herself. She smiled too. Those girls had looked so scared just a moment ago.
 
“Hey, Theo, can I talk to you,” Cassia said.
 
His eyes widened but he stopped chatting and came over to her.
 
“You know what, maybe I was wrong. They seem like good people,” she said.
 
“Yeah, they are,” Theo said, his jaw tightening and jutting out slightly. Then he relaxed. “You know, one of them is a scientist, and she’s got information from the government.”
 
“Well, spit it out,” Cassia said.
 
“They think the sun reversing won’t affect us too much. We’ll still sleep at night and then wake up about 7. Only it will be PM instead of AM. Then we go to sleep in the morning at 7.”
 
“Let me guess, AM?”
 
“Exactly.”
 
“That doesn’t sound too bad.”
 
“It’s not. Things will change but we’ll learn to cope.”
 
Just then, Cassia’s phone buzzed. The emergency weather alert has ended. Look outside, the sun’s back to where it should be. Please get back to what you were doing in an orderly way and stay safe.
 
Shouts echoed from the church walls, sounding out a hallelujah that warmed Cassia’s bones. Theo unlatched the door and the whole little crowd swarmed outside.
 
They looked up at the night sky, and sure enough, the sun was gone and the moon was beginning to rise. It was just like any other Sunday in August. Almost. 
 
Erin grinned at Cassia and Chassidy whooped with delight, planting a kiss on Theo’s cheek. 
 
Cassia felt a prickle of guilt on the back of her neck. She had to say something. “You know what, I’ve misjudged them,” Cassia said to Theo. “I think we made some friends for life here in this church at the end of the world.”
 
“You’re opening your mind, Cass,” Theo said. “You know, I’ve always looked up to you because no one’s as brave as you. You don’t care what anyone thinks but sometimes I think you get lonely because of that. All you need is to just give people a chance. They may surprise you.”
 
Cassia grinned and gave Erin a hug. After a second’s pause, she gave one to Chassidy too. Cassia grabbed Theo by the arm. They walked home together, hand in hand, like they used to when they were kids. Only with a few more friends. Tomorrow was looming over them, heavy with its questions and doubts, but it would come. Cassia was sure of it.
 
 
 
 
 
 
","September 09, 2023 01:58","[[{'Cami Green': 'ty!', 'time': '19:46 Sep 14, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Andrea Corwin': 'Great way to use the Prompt and I liked that you put the emergency weather alert in the story!', 'time': '02:33 Sep 14, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",5bx51n,Black Ocean,Elisabeth U,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/5bx51n/,/short-story/5bx51n/,Science Fiction,0,"['Science Fiction', 'Horror']",13 likes,"
	Every summer my family goes on a cruise to the Bahamas. It’s a week-long event, and it's genuinely the perfect way to de-stress. All our work is done for us. We lounge in the sun, we take in the vast blue water that—when you’re far enough out at sea—can almost appear ink black in color; but its slightly jarring color is offset by the glittering reflections of the sun, like thousands of little jewels floating in the waves. It softened the sight, smoothing the small waves just a little.
	This is the final “free” summer I have until I graduate from university. In two more semesters I’ll be off on what I hope will be my first real job. As excited as I am, I don’t want it to end. I’m twenty-one but I still feel like a child; a strange half state between a man and a boy.
	Tomorrow morning we’ll dock back in Florida and I’ll be back in the present. But, as per tradition, my family and I will sit on the main deck in our lounge chairs on the last evening and witness the sunset. We’re close but far enough from land that it’s hidden from our view, so all we see is an expanse of dark ocean—and, of course, the streaks of orange and blue painted in the sky. 
	It feels like we’re the only people in the world when we’re out here. For all we know, we could be the only people for miles and miles; excluding sea life, of course. At first, the idea of other creatures swimming below us, potentially gigantic in size, was unsettling to me. After so many years of vacationing I became accustomed to the idea, more or less ignoring it. It's not like I could see them anyway.
	Luck was not on my side tonight, however. My parents both have food poisoning and decided to rest in their cabin, and my siblings are drunk on the power that entails. They are off at the arcades, or maybe have snuck into the casinos; either is beyond me. 
	I sit alone, staring at the descended sun as it lingers half-way behind the sea. It’s different tonight. The sun is so large I can see the details of its surface and it's bright enough to hurt my eyes. I squint and take in the other vacationers around me, muttering and murmuring to each other. The atmosphere feels tense; everyone is pulled taut like marionettes, huddled near each other in fear. I turn to the two girls my age sitting near me, who meet my gaze with wide eyes. 
	“Do you know what’s going on?” I ask, leaning over my seat to hear their response; everyone’s quiet conversations are forming together into something loud.
	“I’ve never seen the sun this big,” the girl in the pink swimsuit says, her voice trembling. “It can’t be normal.”
	I look back at the sun, shading my eyes in vain. “I don’t think it is.” 
	The sun is only shown a sliver beyond the ocean. Soon, it'll be replaced by the moon, and we’ll come away with stories of the massive sun we saw on vacation. My sisters will think I’m being dramatic, but it’ll certainly make them feel disappointed about missing out.
	No one is overheated either, which I find strange. Maybe it's an optical illusion? There’s no way the sun being so near earth wouldn’t make the weather unbearably hot. In fact, I’m a bit chilly; though that could be from shock or fear. No one else is showing signs of being burned.
	We all sit in silence after a while, too entranced by this horrifying sight to continue our theories. It takes a while, but eventually the sun disappears and in its place is a low hanging full moon. Everything feels normal again, barring the slightly eerie aftereffect of the event.
	People break off to their respective activities; conversations are struck anew, the pool a deck below us is occupied again. I stay, however, along with a small few others. The girl in the pink swimsuit was abandoned by her friend and has moved her chair closer to mine. A couple is standing at the railing, eying another apprehensively. A young boy and what looks to be his sister are talking quietly.
	Before, everything felt like it was moving in slow motion; now, it was like the unexpected drop of a pen. 
	I couldn’t process anything before it happened. The sky lit up. The sun appeared again, growing larger and larger as it quickly reversed itself in the sky. It reminded me of the magnification of a scope on a colossal scale.
	How did we all not burn to ashes? The sun in its immensity was falling toward us; we should have all caught on fire. Our sight should be completely destroyed. 
	Each moment that passed it grew impossibly larger. The ocean, rattled by this cosmic event, was growing unruly. In the far distance, just below the sun, an enormous wave was growing taller as it made its way toward our ship.
	Everyone was screaming now. I turned to the girl beside me, who once again met my eyes. We were both silent as the world around us went to chaos. I wanted to ask her what her name was—after all, we were going to drown in this wave together—but I decided it was ultimately pointless. Even if I knew her name, she would always be the girl I died with. So, I took her hand and squeezed it, and I felt the pressure of her hand in return.
	The wave was half covering the sun and close enough to begin tipping the ship. I wanted to close my eyes, but I just couldn’t look away from the ocean water. Now that it was a large wall blocking my sight of the sun entirely, I felt a stupid kind of awe. I could not believe how black the water really was. 
	Without the light reflecting against it, it looked completely solid.
","September 04, 2023 19:33","[[{'David Sweet': 'An unexpected beach story. Perhaps a new way of looking at nuclear holocaust.', 'time': '15:51 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",q7qgb8,What You Wish For,John K Adams,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/q7qgb8/,/short-story/q7qgb8/,Science Fiction,0,"['Coming of Age', 'Drama', 'Science Fiction']",13 likes,"
Jack lugged the picnic basket up the path toward the overlook. 
He called back to Melody, his girlfriend, “Hurry, Jill! The sun’ll be setting…”
“Jack, please don’t call me Jill. How many times…?” Melody sighed.  
They found level ground. Jack spread the blanket, placed the basket and stepped over to look at the valley lit by the late summer sun. Leaves would soon turn. Melody stepped beside him and took his hand. They caught their breath while enjoying the view. 
“What a magnificent day.”
“I’m sorry it’s our last together. The perfect end to a perfect summer.”
Melody squeezed his hand. “You all packed?”
Jack nodded. “Driving out first thing. You?”
“The flight leaves early. I’ll be in Santa Cruz before dinner.”
He kissed her. She responded but did not linger. She sat to unpack the basket. 
Jack shook his fist at the setting sun. “Stop! Stop this madness, you!” 
Melody smirked as she uncorked the bottle of wine she’d pilfered from her parents. Pouring a little into paper cups, she raised one in a toast. 
“To the future, new beginnings, and to you, Jack.”
He took his cup. 
With a constricted voice, “To the future, and to you.” They touched cups and drank. Jack released a satisfied gasp. “I love the sound of paper cups tapping…” 
They laughed while unwrapping sandwiches. Jack murmured with pleasure at the feast before them. 
“I’m gonna miss you…” 
Melody put her sandwich down. “Me too.”
“Why do you have to go so far?”
“Don’t Jack. You’re leaving too. Starting our lives.”
“I like the one I have. But California? It’s impossible.”
“So, we’re bi-coastal. No big deal. Call me. Write a note.”
“You want me to stay in touch?”
“Of course. We’re not divorced. Think broadening our horizons. Exclusivity doesn’t work from thousands of miles away. But you’re still my friend, silly.”
“Ahh… ‘Just friends.’ Every guy’s favorite euphemism for…”
“Come on, Jack. We agreed. You’ll be so busy meeting people. Classes… Not fair to either of us.”
“You’re right. Of course. And I don’t want to hold you back… ”
Jack refilled his cup and stared into it. He offered it to the sun and drank. 
Turning to Melody, he said, “So, your classes all lined up?”
“Of course. Mainly general, intro stuff at first. Get my feet wet. Gonna do some modern dance…” 
She stood and did a twirl, arched her back and lunged forward into an attitude with her leg raised. Jack hopped up. Knowing nothing beyond freeform rock ‘n roll, he snapped his fingers and shuffled rhythmically. He took her hand. She leaned in, cradled in his arms. Jack held her for an exquisite moment. Neither wanted to break.
Melody eased away and smiled. “Thanks. That was nice.”
“We’re one of those timeless couples, Mel. We’ve a great future before us.” 
She returned to the blanket. “Ah yes, the future. When is sunset?”
“About an hour.” 
Golden light brightened their faces. She poured more wine.
Melody refocused. “Long term, I’ve got my eye on this new program. They’re training people to assist mermaids to return to their native culture. Of course, that will come later. Got to get through all the intro courses and such. May have to get a law degree.”
“Lawyers… Sad that to restore their souls, you’d have to sell your own.” 
“As they say, ‘know your enemy.’”
“Know thyself.”
“A big part of leaving is my dad. Such a control freak. He doesn’t understand. Wants to keep me his little girl forever.” 
“Reverse Pygmalion.”
“What?”
“You know, the old story about the sculptor who falls in love with a statue, his creation. He loves her so much, the gods take pity and bring her to life.” She looked expectantly. “Your Dad wants his statue on a pedestal forever. Static. Never growing or changing.”
Melody thought. “Maybe… Anyway, I’m rarin’ to go.” She sipped more wine. “More?” 
Jack shook his head. She stopped the bottle with the cork. 
Turning to him, she said, “What about you? A PhD in video gaming? Graffiti as fine art?”
“You know me. Party a few semesters. Ace the courses. No worries. Bide my time. Suss things out. I’m a good sport, but by no stretch an athlete. Maybe join a frat house. Watch tons of football.”
“So, you’ll just skate for a year?”
“Not a year. But I’ve got time before committing. Who knows? Maybe pursue the culinary arts. Become a chef. Can’t see grooming myself for some tie wearing corporate job, chained to a cubicle for nine hours a day.”
Melody laughed. 
Jack continued. “I’m told I should take business courses.”
“I hate business.”
“But everything is business. There’s always a business aspect.” He bowed and reached out to her. “Here’s the contract you asked for, Miss Melody. I put the ‘Hustle’ clause in, as requested. Sign here…”
“The Hustle isn’t modern dance.”
“You don’t think someone needs to sell tickets to pay the dancers? Or fuel the boat transporting your mermaids out to wherever…? Their island?”
Melody pretended to stifle a yawn. Jack laughed and offered his hand. 
“Let’s watch the sunset. I cherish these last moments.” He helped her up. They held hands while walking to the promontory. Melody rested her head on his shoulder. 
The sun neared the horizon behind stratified clouds. They thought silently about the next day, leaving their hometown and embarking on new adventures. New lives. They couldn’t wait.
He said, “We are one of the great love stories, Mel. Historians will mark this day.”
“How so?”
“We’ll realize we miss each other. Whatever it takes, I’ll find you again.”
“Seriously? You think that?”
“I know it.”
She squeezed his hand. “Don’t misunderstand, Jack. Stay in touch. I like you. Still want to know you. But being exclusive, at a distance, isn’t fair to...”
“I know. You’re right. Can’t believe this is it.”
“You always called this our ‘endless summer.’”
“And now the end credits are rolling.”
Melody fought the urge to look at her watch. The sun was taking forever. 
Jack fidgeted with the keys in his pocket. He stopped when he heard their jingle betraying his impatience. He urged the sun to get on with it. ‘Almost there. You can do it.’
The sun looked almost liquid hovering above the horizon. The clouds glowed as if aflame. 
Jack said, “Have you heard of the green flash? When the sun sets over water, just as it disappears it flashes green.”
“At our cabin one summer, I watched every night. Never saw it.”
The sun seemed to plummet. Streaks of light shone across the sky. Birds twittered in the still air as evening turned to twilight. No sounds rose from the town.
Melody pulled away, “I should pack things up. We want to get back before dark.”                                           
Jack said, “Wait. It’ll only be a minute.” She sighed and returned to his embrace.
Cool air washed over them. They both tensed. 
“What’s happening? Is it higher now than a minute ago?”
Jack checked his watch. “It’s late. Sunset was supposed to be at seven-thirty. It’s seven-forty.”
“I don’t get it. Look… It’s rising.”
“Impossible. An optical illusion.” 
Melody tapped into the search engine on her phone. The sun rose above distant clouds.
“This is crazy.”
“You’re right. It’s higher now. What’s it say?”
“Some nonsense. A rift in the space/time continuum… wait… the magnetic poles reversed…? It makes no sense! What are they talking about? They don’t know doodly…” She suppressed a scream.
“So, is time reversing? Are we in the same day?  Revisiting the past? Do we throw out our calendars? What’s going on?”
“The hell… I don’t know, Jack. Your words aren’t running backwards. But sunset just became sunrise.”
“What’s this mean? Is this tomorrow? Are we late? Did we fall asleep?”
“Need to get online. Does anyone know? We need to go…”
“Are flights cancelled? School may be on hold.” He touched her. “Are we still together?”
Melody busied herself throwing stuff into the basket. She repeated ‘I don’t know,’ under her breath until it sounded like a mantra. 
 Jack mumbled about regaining his stock boy job at the market.
She stood and they faced each other. Mixed emotions streamed and mingled. Words failed them. 
The sun gained altitude. The air warmed.
They struggled to mask their disappointment. They should be kissing good-bye now. Everything had changed. And nothing was changing. 
The day got brighter.
Jack held her close. “We’ll get through this. Don’t be afraid.” She nodded but believed nothing anymore. 
Hoping he was joking, Jack said, “Uhm, if you’re free, want to go to the beach?”
Her heart sank. She blurted, “No! I want to go. To fly away!” She pushed the basket into his hands. “I planned everything. Everything!”
They walked down the path. He reached for her hand, but Melody pulled away. 
It was early, but not a new day.
","September 07, 2023 14:31","[[{'Mary Bendickson': 'Well, what are you supposed to think/feel when the sun rises in the west?', 'time': '21:17 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '3'}, [{'John K Adams': 'It would be off-putting to me...', 'time': '21:56 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'John K Adams': 'It would be off-putting to me...', 'time': '21:56 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Sean McDonnell': ""I like what you've done with this story. You've made me root for both of the characters, even though their desires are somewhat at odds. \n\nI think my favorite line is the closer. Wraps it up well!"", 'time': '17:08 Sep 07, 2023', 'points': '3'}, [{'John K Adams': ""Thanks, Sean. \nIt was a challenging prompt, so unrealistic but allowing to tap into true emotions. \nI'm glad it worked for you."", 'time': '17:23 Sep 07, 2023', 'points': '3'}]], [{'John K Adams': ""Thanks, Sean. \nIt was a challenging prompt, so unrealistic but allowing to tap into true emotions. \nI'm glad it worked for you."", 'time': '17:23 Sep 07, 2023', 'points': '3'}, []], [{'Delbert Griffith': 'Whoa! Cool last line, John. Nailed it!\n\nLove the tale, the premise, and I especially liked the Pygmalion reference. And in reverse! The kid\'s a smart one, yes?\n\nThe girl really resents what\'s happening, but the guy doesn\'t. He\'s in love, certainly, and the girl\'s in love with a freedom that may or not make her free. The ""business"" discussion pointed that out. Nice touch, BTW. The parting of a couple to pursue their own ends is shown in their starkly different dreams. Very nice, my friend. Parting isn\'t necessarily such sweet sorrow, yes?\n\nNi...', 'time': '14:57 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'John K Adams': ""Whoa! Thanks, Delbert for the stellar comments! With encouragement like that, I'll have to write two stories per week.\nIt is such a pleasure for a reader to 'get' my intentions in a story and then let me know. Thanks. \nI wanted to write all my life. And now I am. It is so rewarding to get comments like this from you and others.\nThanks!"", 'time': '23:17 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '3'}]], [{'John K Adams': ""Whoa! Thanks, Delbert for the stellar comments! With encouragement like that, I'll have to write two stories per week.\nIt is such a pleasure for a reader to 'get' my intentions in a story and then let me know. Thanks. \nI wanted to write all my life. And now I am. It is so rewarding to get comments like this from you and others.\nThanks!"", 'time': '23:17 Sep 08, 2023', 'points': '3'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",dw8c7a,Never Fade Away,Jed Cope,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/dw8c7a/,/short-story/dw8c7a/,Science Fiction,0,"['Adventure', 'Romance', 'Science Fiction']",12 likes,"
Few Summers are golden. Golden in the way that etches them onto your heart. There is a rare alchemy that occurs just once in every generation and everyone remembers that Summer. The Summer where the magic happened and happiness blossomed. The Summer where dreams came true and just for a while, everything was possible. 
 
Those Summers are where many-a Once Upon A Time resides, but never an ending is in sight, because you see, the Happily Ever After is a promise that rides on the Summer breeze and all is right in the world.
 
I lost my heart in one such Summer, and then I lost my head. Maybe it was the other way around, but then, once someone has lost themselves so thoroughly there is no telling, only that they are lost and the chances are they’re never coming back.
 
The Summer in question had been a hot one, but not so hot as to be unbearable. A cool breeze accompanied the sun, they’d done a deal and the double act they formed was agreeable to all but the most surly of people. There will always be those who are not happy unless they have something to moan about. The sorts of people who bemoan the Summer and tell you they prefer the Winter, but in the Winter, they never once celebrate that season, instead they find something else to be grumpy over. This is why there will never be a perfect world. Because there are those who would stare happiness in the face and deny it. The contrariness of human nature is a curse that will perpetuate a morbidly interesting state of affairs for eternity and beyond.
 
For me, the Summer was a godsend. I had finalised the sale of my second company and I was emerging from the aftermath of the busiest period of my life, bleary eyed and so tired I wasn’t with it enough to even be confused.
 
I was so thoroughly wiped out. I was a blank slate and little by little, the sun warmed me and the cool breeze caressed my skin, reminding me that I was alive and that the world was brim full of possibilities.
 
Some would say that I had over a billion possibilities in my bank, but I never thought like that. For me, that money was a by-product of my success. Nothing more. You may scoff at that, if you do, more fool you, you’re more caught up by that figure and money itself than you should be. There really is more to life, believe me, I know.
 
Each day, I came alive that bit more. I wasn’t exactly born again, but I wasn’t the person I had been, and I was as yet uncertain as to who I was now, let alone where I was headed and who I was going to be. 
 
That element of uncertainty thrilled me.
 
In the second week, I cracked open a beer. I had never been much of a drinker, never had the time or space to accommodate it. That first beer was cold and wet. In the best of Summers, cold and wet is all you need. It wasn’t a knockout beer. No champion was this. It did what it said on the tin and no more. The third however? That beer was starting to get special. I resolved to drink beer over the Summer. Me and beer had at last become acquainted and I reckoned we could become very good friends.
 
In the third week, I walked, and I walked In the pursuit of beer. 
 
I’d hired a country getaway, prior to the sale of my business. Or rather, I’d asked someone to sort the details and arrange to get me there. That part of it remains a blur. That part is the grey detail that only matters if it goes wrong. In this case, it went right, but for those first few weeks I could have been anywhere. My senses were dulled and my mind was plodding along in a dressing gown, still wearing its sleeping mask and oblivious to the furniture around it.
 
When I at last ventured forth from the house I was staying in, I began to gain a sense of perspective. Again, this was a gradual, incremental process. I didn’t register it occurring and so it appeared to creep up on me.
 
The location of my retreat was sublime. I was in the womb of mother nature herself. As my senses came back to me they were treated and indulged and pampered in ways I never knew possible. I could smell the grass! Not cut grass. The grass in fields around me had a subtle aroma that soothed my soul, and when I entered the nearby woodland I swooned. I did! I had made my way twenty yards into the company of trees and I was damn near overwhelmed by my surroundings. The light was filtered by the outstretched arms of the trees and it was magically transformed. I felt like I could step into that light and I would be transported into another realm.
 
Then I realised I already had been, and I raised my head in thanks, smiling the warmest of smiles I began to experience an inexplicable transformation. I didn’t understand I had broken into a maniacal spin until I fell laughing uncontrollably upon the soft earth at the foot of a huge oak tree.
 
I was drunk on life, intoxicated by it, and that was the state I was in when I arrived at the Drunken Monk. The pub was old, but the site it was built upon was ancient. At one time there had been a monastery there and that was why the pub was so named.
 
The first beer I sampled at the Drunken Monk was outstanding. My walk had made me both thirsty and hungry and I appreciated that drink all the more for my exertions. I asked for a menu and the dour landlord handed me one. I ordered fish and chips after a moments glance at the contents within the overengineered binder.
 
“Where are you sitting” asked the landlord gruffly.
 
This question struck me as a little disjointed as I stood at the bar, but I got where he was coming from and spotted a small table that would do, “there,” I told him.
 
He scowled and rolled his eyes, “table five then,” he said as he wrote a scruffy five on the order.
 
I shrugged and sat at the table, the landlord had walked away anyway, so there was no point in hanging around. His absence gave me a chance to have a proper look at my surroundings. The pub was higgledy-piggledy, the too small windows criss-crossed with lead to impede the light of the sun further. Thick and dark oak beams hung here and there adding further to the lack of light, but there was no lack of air. The place was far from suffocating. There was a warmth to the Drunken Monk even despite the frosty reception I’d received from the landlord.
 
In no time at all my food arrived. I barely remember the food though, what I do remember was the woman who brought it to my table.
 
Dana took my breath away from the very start, and for a moment there I didn’t know who I was. I stared at her like a complete fool and she had to repeat herself.
 
“You ordered the fish and chips?” she said.
 
“Er, yes…” I replied, “yes I did.”
 
“Do you want anything else with it?” she asked me.
 
“What are the options?” Now I was coming back to myself, I didn’t want her to walk away.
 
“Sauces,” she shrugged, “you know, ketchup, mayo… there’s already salt and vinegar on the table.”
 
“Mayo, please,” I said this even though I wasn’t bothered about the sauce.
 
As I watched her walk away, I had a horrible panic. What if someone else came back with the mayo? Thankfully they didn’t. She returned and I couldn’t help smiling. That she smiled back was something both wonderful and also bewitching. 
 
“Listen,” I said as I took the bottle from her, “this may seem… I dunno… but are you busy later?”
 
She gave me a funny look, “are you asking me out?”
 
“I guess I am, yes,” I told her.
 
She looked around her before leaning in conspiratorially, “you’ve got a nerve haven’t you?”
 
I was puzzled by this, but then I have always been good at solving puzzles, “I dunno about that, it’s just I’ve never met anyone like you before and I’d be an idiot not to try to spend more time with you.”
 
“You’ll get us both killed,” she said this, but a smile played about her mouth, “are you staying at the big house?”
 
I shrugged, “the house I’m staying at isn’t exactly big…”
 
“Other side of the woods?” she asked hurriedly.
 
“Yes, I walked through the woods to get here,” I told her.
 
“I’ll come and see you later,” she told me, and with that she left me. I fancied that I spotted a spring in her step and my heart missed a beat when she turned to give me a lingering look before disappearing back from whence she came.
 
I left soon after. I needed to be back at the big house for whenever she arrived later. I got home and I showered and I fussed over what I should wear. This was not like me, but then she was unlike anyone I’d ever met, and this was going to be special, I knew it.
 
The next few hours crept along reluctantly.
 
When she appeared on my patio I could not hide my smile. My smile was so obvious and huge that I must have looked like an imbecile. She smiled back at me as I got to my feet and we kissed. Don’t ask me how the distance between us evaporated, but it did and we were enjoined in an embrace and kissing in a way I never knew was possible.
 
This was exactly what I wanted.
 
That kiss went on for an age and my heart ached as we eventually separated. She stared deeply into my eyes, studying me, “have you ever kissed a married woman like that before?”
 
My eyes went wide, “you’re married?”
 
She nodded, her eyes downcast and playful.
 
“Then why..?” I asked
 
She smiled sadly, “because nothing like this has ever happened to me before.”
 
“I don’t believe you!” I scoffed, but somehow I did believe her.
 
“Then believe this,” she said and she initiated our second kiss.
 
That kiss was the equal of the first, but then they all were. We lost ourselves in each other and that was how our Summer was. Dana found more and more excuses to spend time with me and our connection deepened with every moment we spent together, until the very last day of that Summer came along uninvited and very much unwanted.
 
The very last day of Summer. That one is deeply personal. There is something inside us that knows. 
 
The Summer days came along, one after the next, and for a while there, we thought that Summer would last for ever. That must be what it is like to be immortal. Never to worry about an end, because there is none. We drifted on that cool breeze and didn’t have a care in the world. For me, there was only Dana and I knew she felt the same way. There was no need for words. Everything we needed to know was contained in a touch or a look. Dana was there, with me and that was all I had ever wanted.
 
Then came that last day of Summer. 
 
She came to me early that morning, emerging from the mist like the dream she was. I watched her approaching and imagined the dew settling on her skin. I wanted to drink every last drop from her. I stood on the patio and I wanted to capture this moment. Every single detail. I was almost disappointed when she broke the spell and slipped her arms around me. The disappointment was forgotten in the moment that we kissed. 
 
“I’ve made a picnic,” I told her.
 
“Good,” she said, taking me by the hand and inside, delaying our planned walk by two glorious hours.
 
We emerged to a different world. The sun had taken its rightful place in the impossibly blue sky and banished the mist from the land. The day was already hot, but we barely noticed as we walked down into the nearby valley and looped around to the highest of the hills in the area. We stopped several times and enjoyed each other. Kissing. Touching. Being with each other in the most simple of ways. She laughed. Often she laughed, and the sound of it thrilled me. Her laughter reminded me of what it was to be truly alive. That the company of the right person switches us on in a way that nothing else can.
 
As we approached the summit of the hill, I was overcome with an emotion I had not been expecting. It was a jostling crowd of emotions and at the vanguard was this inexplicable sadness of loss. I stopped. I could not continue as the grief washed over me, and although I fought back the tears that threatened to break me into a thousand pieces, they came all the same. Dana didn’t say a word. She held me and we stood together there, in the shadow of the fierce Summer sun, as though we were hiding from our fates.
 
At the top of the hill we sat in silence and took in the view, a view that can never be captured by anything other than the heart. We sat and we took it all in. Together and yet separated by more than the small space between us. 
 
Eventually Dana opened my backpack and unpacked the food. We ate. Hungry, but unappreciative of the food. After a while Dana reached again into the backpack and poured drinks. 
 
“To us,” she said.
 
I’d brought two bottles of red wine, it had stayed cool, stored as it was with the food. I raised my glass and appraised it. The sun filtered through the blood red liquid and I had to stifle a strange sob, the beauty of the moment threatening to overwhelm me, just as grief had earlier.
 
“To us,” I said, once I felt able to.
 
We drank and we took everything in around us. 
 
I felt cheated when I saw the sun touching the horizon. I couldn’t understand how that had happened. Time had cheated me yet again, a habit it will never break. Dana rested her head on my shoulder, the space between us at last filled.
 
“I wish this moment could last forever,” she whispered to me, and in that moment I knew that it could not. Dana had spoken the words that should not be spoken, now the spell was broken and we were lost to each other.
 
“Me too,” I said the words that were expected of me and I meant them. I meant them with a vengeance. I pulled her closer and we watched the end of it all. We witnessed the sun fall from the sky for the very last time. 
 
We watched it all end.
 
“I…” she began to say something, and I turned to her to hear those words. Those were the words that I had waited a lifetime and more for. This was where my life would all make sense.
 
This is where her face betrays the moment.
 
I turn to see what it is that she has seen. I turn and I am confronted with the impossible. The horizon is on fire, and then the fire rises. It rises and then I see it for what it is, and I see it for what it isn’t.
 
The sun is returning. 
 
Has it not done with us yet?
 
The sun is creeping back up into the sky as though it has forgotten something important that it must do. 
 
I stand and I point as though pointing will at least pause that traitor sun. 
 
My arm hangs out before me and my breath is ragged, my eyes vomiting tears.
 
“Nononononono!” I utter my weak denial over and over and I dare not look back at her.
 
I cannot.
 
She is not there.
 
None of this is real.
 
The sun winds backwards and I am afforded this moment. 
 
A reminder that my own personal heaven is being used against me as my own personal hell. 
 
Played over and over again.
 
You see, this is my punishment.
 
And this is my pain.
 
I never wanted it to end.
 
There was only one way.
 
I wanted Dana, and I wanted her forever.
 
I couldn’t let her return to that husband of hers. He didn’t see her the way I saw her. We were meant for each other. We belonged together.
 
I’ll never tell you where she’s buried.
 
You can do this as long as you like.
 
Don’t you see?
 
This is what I wanted all along.
 
Afterall, I wrote this algorithm. 
 
It’s mine.
 
Just the same as Dana is mine.
 
Very few Summers are golden. 
 
Golden in the way that etches them forever onto your heart. We are gifted just the one in our lifetime. In that wonderful Summer there resides a rare alchemy that turns our world into gold. That is the Summer that the magic happens and love and happiness blossom. In that Summer everything is possible and dreams come true.
 
That Summer was my Once Upon A Time and my Happily Ever After.
 
I lost my head and then I lost my heart. I knew I would. I’d been planning it for such a very long time.
 
You never forget that singular miracle of a Golden Summer.
 
I know I never will.
","September 04, 2023 19:51","[[{'Mary Bendickson': 'The wonder of it all.', 'time': '03:38 Sep 05, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Jed Cope': 'Fun in the sun...', 'time': '09:36 Sep 05, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Jed Cope': 'Fun in the sun...', 'time': '09:36 Sep 05, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",esmb8i,The End of Summer as We Know It,Adam Oster,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/esmb8i/,/short-story/esmb8i/,Science Fiction,0,"['Science Fiction', 'Fiction', 'Inspirational']",12 likes,"
After a long, hard year dealing with the deaths of two grandparents and the family pet, as well as school and work troubles, and a schedule which had kept them from doing anything but the bare minimum to get by, even taking the time to plan a summer vacation had proved difficult for the Dillinger family. But Mary Dillinger had worked diligently to find time in the crevices of her days to plan, pay for, and schedule a brief long weekend vacation away from the hustle and bustle of town, to a small cabin in the Northwoods of Wisconsin on the shore of Lake Superior, where she, her husband Larry, and their three kids, Barry, Sherry, and Carrie, could get away, enjoy the outdoors, and leave the world behind.
They were only able to find three days in which they could get away, just barely enough time to get into a relaxed state before it would be over. Because of this, Mary decided that instead of following her standard plan of sending the kids off to their rooms for bed as early as possible so she and Larry could have some time alone in the quiet, she would gather them all together on their last night to sit on the dock outside their rental, and watch the sun as it disappeared over the horizon.
She had never been able to sit still long enough to watch a sunset before. She had always loved the poetic idea of sitting out and saying goodnight to the sun. The few times she had attempted to do so, usually with a young male by her side, she would get far too distracted by other activities to see the last rays of sunshine before they the world entered twilight. But for this one night, she decided she would do everything in her power to make sure that not only she, but her entire family, would witness the end of the day, as well as, metaphorically, the end of summer.
Larry, to his credit, helped her wrangle the children, although he spent a majority of the time asking why they couldn’t sit inside and watch the ballgame instead. The Brewers hadn’t exactly had a great run against the Pirates so far, but Larry was sure that the turning point would happen at any moment. Barry and Sherry fought the idea of putting their phones away, but were able to be convinced when told it would only be for fifteen minutes. Carrie seemed to be the only one actually excited about the idea, mostly because it would allow her to be up and out of bed longer than she was accustomed to.
When they we all finally seated along the dock, the children with their feet in the water, Larry and Mary standing behind them, in a position Mary couldn’t help thinking would make a perfect picture to share to her Instagram followers, a sense of calm briefly fell over the five of them. They could hear the frogs croaking in a patch of lily pads off to the right, the sounds of dragonflies’ wings buzzing as they took down a cloud of gnats, and the gentle lapping of the water as it swept up against the bottom of the dock. 
This sense of calm made Mary nervous. They were not a peaceful family. They were chaos. For all five of them to be in a state of serenity caused alarm bells to ring in the back of her head, which she worked to quiet. Perhaps the stars had simply aligned themselves in the right way for this one perfect moment. She had earned it, after all, hadn’t she?
The five of them watched in silence as the sun dipped down into the lake, casting its dark red light over the wavy waters. A fisherman drifted slowly across the water, his silhouette framed by the face of the sun. He, too, appeared transfixed by the sight of night’s approach.
Mary looked at Larry, wanting to share a smile with him over this perfect moment she had orchestrated, but he was deeply entranced by the sun’s descent. She looked to her children and noted that their feet had stopped kicking the water beneath them. It was almost as though the world had stopped around her. This world which had been moving at such a high speed for so long, simply ceased moving. And although Mary, only moments prior, had been excited about the idea of shipping her children off to school in the next couple of days, she now found herself wishing this moment could last forever. That summer could last forever. That she, and her family, could simply stay in this moment of peace and serenity, forever.
The sun finished its goodbye and Mary became aware that she had been holding her breath, as if nervous that breathing could have disturbed this tranquil moment.  As she exhaled, the rest of the world came back to life.
Larry patted her on the back and gave her a kiss on the cheek as he wordlessly turned and went back into the house. Barry and Sherry stood up, pulled out their phones, and walked to the house as well, their faces now lit by the bright blue light of their screens. Mary watched as her family made their way back inside, feeling both renewed by this brief moment of calm and disappointed that it was over so quickly.  The silence was broken by the soft sweet voice of Mary’s youngest child, Carrie, shouting from her place at the dock.
“The sun’s coming back!” Mary’s sweet eight-year-old said excitedly.
“No, honey,” Mary corrected without looking back. “That’s the moon.”
“No, the moon is up there. That’s the sun!”
Mary turned, ready to explain the world to her child who was obviously confused, when she saw what her daughter had spotted. 
The sun was back.
As if in a trance, Mary walked to the edge of the dock, next to Carrie, staring at what she saw on the horizon, certain it must be some trick of the light.  The longer she watched it, the more she became convinced that her eyes weren’t deceiving her. Carrie was right. The sun was coming back. Rising slowly in the sky, as if it had forgotten something in its path across the sky.
“I didn’t know night time was so short,” Carrie said simply.
Mary, still transfixed by what she saw, corrected her daughter. “No, honey, it’s not.”
“Does the sun come back like this every night? Do we get to see it go back down again?”
“No, sweetheart.”
“Oh, you wanted us to watch tonight because tonight is special?”
“This is special all right,” Mary said, still staring in confusion. Her head cocked to the side as she worked through the possible explanations for what was occurring. Maybe this was normal to see when you had a clear view of the horizon like she did here on the lake. Maybe there was some scientific explanation, like that that it was a reflection of the water that played a trick on the eyes. She pulled out her phone to see if she could get an answer to her questions.
“Whoa, that’s wild!” Barry said, running out the sliding glass door from the cabin. Sherry was shortly behind him.
The two of them ran to Mary’s side and stared at the sun as it continued getting larger in what was supposed to be the night sky. Both of their heads bobbed as they switched from staring at the sky to staring at their phones.
“It says here that this is happening everywhere. That everywhere is seeing the sun moving in reverse,” Sherry said to her mother.
“Everywhere?” Mary asked. “Like, everywhere around the lake?” 
“No,” Barry said as he pointed the phone in his mother’s face, “like, everywhere everywhere.”
Larry now came out of the house, the look on his face one of grave concern as he, too, looked at the horizon to verify the claims he had just become aware of.
“What?” Mary shouted to her husband, whom she could tell was scared.
“I thought it was a joke, like a joke commercial or something,” he said, walking closer to his family, his eyes never leaving the direction of the sun.
“What was?” Mary asked, fear catching in her throat. There were very few things that would cause her husband to break away from the television during a game, primarily snacks or the bathroom. Otherwise, even during commercials, he remained seated to ensure he didn’t miss a single moment of the game.
“The breaking news report. Apparently, the Earth is spinning in reverse.”
“That’s impossible.” Barry laughed. “Wouldn’t we have felt it if the whole thing just started spinning the wrong way?”
“I don’t know, pal, I’m just telling you what the news reports are saying.” Larry turned and hastened back toward the house.
“Where are you going?” Mary asked.
“To watch the news. To see if anybody knows what’s going on,” Larry answered before reentered the building.
Mary, realizing that she needed answers as well, hurriedly followed behind him.
“Does this mean it’s not bedtime, yet?” Carrie asked her mother. 
Mary, stopping briefly enough to consider her answer, turned and said, “Um, I don’t know. Give me a moment.”
She entered the house to hear the television now blaring loudly throughout the building. Mary reminded herself that she would have to schedule a hearing appointment for Larry once they got back home.
“—several scientists have now confirmed that the Earth is indeed spinning in reverse,” the reporter on the television said with a dire tone. “This retrograde rotation could have dramatic consequences over time, as it would impact ocean currents and wind patterns across the globe. While no one appears certain as to what could have caused this drastic change in the earth’s rotation--”
Larry turned the television off, yet another first for Mary’s husband, which showed her just how seriously Larry was considering what was happening around them. 
“Why’d you turn it off?” Mary asked as she walked to her husband’s side.
“They don’t know anything. They’re just speculating. All we’re going to hear from them is how we’re all going to die.”
“But are we? Going to die?” Mary asked, suddenly realizing how much of an impact this could have on her directly. For years, she had avoided the news because it always wanted her to know the millions of different ways she was going to die. But in this case, she wondered, could they be right?
“That’s the thing, Mary, nobody knows.”
“But shouldn’t we listen in case someone comes up with an answer?” Mary asked. She felt the panic rising up in her chest. Her heart was beating faster. What could it possibly mean for the Earth to spin in reverse?
“What are they going to tell us? That we should all get out and push on the ground to try to get the planet moving in the right direction again?”
“I don’t know, but—” Mary was finding it hard to catch her breath. Regardless of which way the Earth was spinning, she was definitely feeling it spin around her now.
“It stopped!” Sherry screamed as she ran into the house. “The sun stopped moving!”
Mary looked at Larry with wide eyes. 
“It couldn’t have stopped, Sherry,” Larry said, headed back outside to take a look for himself. 
“Neil DeGrasse Tyson just retweeted a tweet from British Astronomical Society saying it has,” Sherry debated. 
“Is it even daytime in Britain right now?” Mary asked as she followed Larry and Sherry back out onto the dock. Looking at the sky, she couldn’t see anything that would indicate that the sun was any different than usual. Sure, it was supposed to be gone right now, but how would one even tell if it wasn’t moving any longer.
“Um,” Barry said, his mouth hanging open as he stared at his phone. “The Earth isn’t spinning backward.”
“Okay, that’s good. Someone managed to get things back on the right track then,” Mary said, turning to go back inside now that the matter had been resolved.
“No, um,” Barry said, his eyes still scanning the text on his phone. “The Earth isn’t spinning at all. It’s stopped.”
“Now how in the world could anyone possibly know that?”
“The International Space Station is looking right at us. They say it’s just stopped.”
“What does that mean?” Sherry asked. 
“If the Earth stops spinning?” Barry asked rhetorically. “Um, it means that all life on the planet is pretty much done for.”
“Oh, come on, Barry. There’s no need to be so dramatic,” Larry reprimanded his son.
“Dramatic?” Barry retorted. “Think about it. If the Earth stops spinning, that means half of the planet is in constant daytime and half of it is in constant night. Half of the Earth’s plants won’t get any sun. The other half will get too much. Half of the planet will freeze; the other half will burn. This could very well mean the end of the world.”
“I’m sure this’ll fix itself in a minute. The world can’t simply stop spinning,” Larry said, waving his hand as if to say this is all a phase the planet is going through.
“But what if it did?” Mary asked, suddenly realizing all of the time she had wasted in her life. Was this actually the end? Now? For real?
“Well, then I guess it’s the end of the world,” Larry said simply. The words hung in the air as everyone reflected on them.
Mary’s mind raced with all of the things she would have done differently if she had realized how little time she had left. How much less time she would have spent running from place to place and how much more time she would have spent simply experiencing the world around her. If the world was well and truly done for, she couldn’t help but thinking that she had done a terrible job of appreciating it while it was here. 
The silence was finally broken by Carrie, still sitting at the end of the dock with her feet kicking the water playfully. “Does that mean it’s the end of summer, too?”
“Actually,” Mary said a renewed sense of serenity coming over her. She walked to the dock and sat down next to her child, placing her feet into the cold lake and giving it a playful kick, “I think it means it’s summer forever.”
“Yay!” Carrie cheered. “Is it vacation forever, too?”
“Sure,” Larry said, joining the two of them at the lake. Barry and Sherry followed right behind him. “It’ll be vacation forever.”
The five of them sat at the edge of the dock and kicked their feet in the water, working hard to ignore the sun shining down on them in its eternal golden hour, none of them worried any longer what tomorrow may bring, as they realized there would be no more tomorrows, only now. For however long now may continue.
 
 
 
This starts a panic among everyone. What does it mean? Does it mean that summer’s here to stay? Are they going back in time and will have to do everything they did over again? The family watches the sun for a few more moments and it’s obvious that it’s definitely going in reverse. Mom starts to freak out, while Dad tries to suggest that it’s just a trick of the horizon. Probably a reflection off the water or something. They continue watching, and the sun is definitely rising back up.
Phone notifications start going off, and they find out that they’re not the only people seeing this odd thing in the sky. They check social medias and everyone is talking about the return of the sun. 
So…the answer is obviously that the earth suddenly started rotating backward, but what does that actually mean? Maybe it does mean that summer will last for forever because this is happening due to the earth’s orbit slowing and it’s now being pulled into the sun? 
Ultimately, because of the upcoming disaster, the family decides that they’re going to stay on vacation, because why go back to school and work if everyone’s going to die.
 
This is a good start, let’s let it mellow before we do any actual writing.
","September 07, 2023 17:17",[]
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",yvnps6,Good Night Sun: A Mike Dodge Mystery,Martin Ross,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/yvnps6/,/short-story/yvnps6/,Science Fiction,0,"['Mystery', 'Contemporary']",12 likes,"
“Oh my God, just look at that sunset!”Mike stirred, swallowed a sigh with a residual essence of his morning chorizo, and lowered his Kindle.Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye. While he’d read the thing a dozen times over the past 40 years, Mike’d downloaded it that morning after listening to some $300 haircut with a New York honk mangle a cordial “muy bien” into a preening “muy bueno” to the inscrutable delight of the lobby breakfast host. Mike understood maybe one word of the host’s sardonic response to a server before he spotted the tubby Illinoisan. Mike grinned and shrugged– a secret between dos conspiradores -- and the host relaxed, winked, and choreographed an arriving church group in matching polos.Something about the bargain-package decadence, the socioeconomic dynamics playing out subtly, obliviously, tugging at the seams when a bill was disputed or a massage misscheduled, hastily mended with currency and loaded smiles, frayed where the all-inclusive’s white sands surrendered to cracked cement and the playa’s DMZ of cheap tchotchkes and comfortably Mex-Texed platters supersized with copious agave. Chandler seemed about right after a day of communing with dolphins (according to the Google, the rape-y frat boys of the sea) in a dolphin toilet.“Yeaaah,” Mike breathed as he stared dutifully at Sarah’s salmon/gold miracle and the orange ball he’d been urged not to ogle from childhood. To Dodge, it was a sherbet reminder of the fragility of a system designed around a ball of burning hydrogen so fucking inconceivable you could blind yourself three planetary exit ramps away. Life had been pressing its luck for three billion years, and that tab eventually had to come due.“It’s really awesome,” Mike concluded, returning to his Marlowe after an appropriate interval. Then, Sarah squeezed his shoulder, and he thrummed on the Kindle as he refocused on the searing death star.“Get a picture,” Sarah ordered.Mr. Dodge unholstered his iPhone and added yet another 10 raspberry-tangerine specials to his Camera Roll. Someday, he’d reel in a favor from the Chicago Art Institute and do a soft gallery opening of The American Sunset and Fireworks: A Study in The Same Old Shit.Finally, as the sun dwindled to a cocktail wedge on the rim of the Earth, Sarah settled back into her lounger, and Mike resumed Kindling. Dinner was still about an hour off. Italian tonight. It was the second time around at the Playa del Oro, but the Disneyfication had begun even 15 years ago, when they’d married off Melanie with a lavish beach reception still cheaper than a three-meat option back home. The all-inclusive had gone all-out trying to keep the estupidos norteamericanos from confidently blundering into nocturnal local shit that might shut everyone down, and thus last night’s Teppanyaki had been muy bueno.“Holy shit!” Metal scratched loudly on tile.It was a male voice, young, and Mike peered at the fourth-tier balconies to either side. A lanky kid with a Momoa man-bun and calf-length trunks was leaning over the rail to the left. It pressed into his thighs, and what remained of Mike’s huevos y jamon shifted acrophobically.“You okay?” Mike called.Man-Bun’s eyes were locked on the horizon. “It’s coming up! It’s fucking coming up!”Mike hoped the folks below had already gone Viagra-and-T-shirt shopping. “Uh, you need some water or something?”“Dude. The sun. It’s fucking unsetting!”**For the second time that evening, Dodge looked into the sun. The orange wedge was now a quarter-submerged Valencia.“The fuck,” he muttered. Sarah was now at the rail, and a couple of other turistas wandered onto their hotelbalcon drawn by Man-Bun’s commotion, trying to comprehend what fresh climatological/ecological hell was threatening their Thursday ruins tour or playdate in the dolphin piss-pool.Mike’d felt a bit unfocused most of the day – he’d wondered if maybe he was nursing a mild dose of salmonella from the porpoise potty. He consulted his earlier photos, to see if perhaps he was sunsetting, but indeed, there was now more sun.“You see that?” he asked Sarah. She squinted, frowned.“I don’t know…” she drawled. “It looks…kinda higher…”“It’s unsetting!” Man-Bun insisted, loud enough to turn a few heads on the beach below.“Sure as fuck is,” the robed man on the balcony to his left marveled, as if the Playa del Oro had arranged a little something especial for the Wednesday supper crowd.“You’re full of shit,” his apparent partner breathed, perhaps the slightest hint of apprehension.“What the hell’s going on?” a middle-aged woman to Dodge’s right whispered, as a stockier version of her shook her head disgustedly. Murmurs, whispers, wonder, fear circulated above and below their balcony.“I just don’t know,” Sarah stated.**Nuevo Italia would provide some surprisingly awesome veal piccata but no sanctuary from the second act Stephen King roadshow. Word had spread rapidly among the Oro guests and staff, and although the sun finally had stayed down, “American” and Canadians and Brazilians and Japanese mobbed the sands beyond the plate glass, and servers and bussers periodically peeked toward the now-hazy glow at the edge of their world. The parties around the Dodges were either subdued and sober or animated with theories and not a few apocalyptic admonitions. Mike recognized the leader of the church group, and judging from the scale of her cross, his wife.“I just didn’t see it,” Sarah said. “You’re on record,” Mike noted. “How’s that bucatini, Champ?”Man-Bun, AKA Nathan, nodded a strand of hollow pasta vanished. “Awesome. Thanks for letting me crash dinner, you guys. That was fu--, sorry, ma’am, freaking crazy. But you saw it, right?”Dodge speared a caper. “Well, I saw something, and photos don’t lie. So, who’s up for some tiramisu?”“I wonder if it was climate,” now V-necked Robe Guy ventured, leaning over with a forkful of chicken.“You are so full of shit,” Snarky Partner muttered. “You know, this is not vegan alfredo.”“Didn’t think there was such a thing,” Mike murmured.“The guy said. Oatmilk or something. I’m getting a distinct dairy vibe. Victor, by the way. And Greta Thunberg over here is Louis. So you think, what, ozone depletion caused some kind of solar yoyo effect?”“I never said that,” Louis said through his teeth. “I was merely thinking this might be some kinda optical illusion – solar rays refracting through greenhouse gases. Ever heard of the green flash?”“Wonder Woman’s boyfriend?” Mike asked as his veal cooled. “The one who recycles pizza boxes really, really fast?”Louis gave Sarah an empathetic grimace. “It happens at the moment of sunset or sunrise, if the conditions are right. You see a green spot or what looks like a green ray shooting from the sun for like a couple of seconds. Like a prism effect – the atmosphere causes sunlight to separate into component colors. So what if what you saw was sunlight refracting through CO2 and methane and shit, above the actual sunset?”Mike nodded appreciatively, as Nathan processed the science. Victor rolled his eyes and waved the young waitress over. I recognized her from the breakfast buffet. Sarah nudged a truffle from her rav.“Maybe it’s one of those signs of the apocalypse, lakes of blood shit,” Victor smiled. “Hey, maybe everything rebooted. Wouldn’t that be nice?” “Maybe it’s a glitch in the space-time continuum,” Nathan said with stunning sincerity. Then he straightened abruptly. “Hey, thanks, guys. I’m chill now, but I think I better hit it.”“See what you started, Neal deGrasse Tyson?” Victor scolded as the kid shuffled off.Mike took advantage of the Great Alfredo Battle to saw at his supper.“I think you guys were seeing things,” Sarah scoffed. “It went down and stayed down.”“Photos don’t lie,” Dodge oversimplified for the second time.“So what do you think happened?”“Don’t ask me. Better call Sol. You know, Sol, the sun--”“I’m going to the ladies’. Order one tiramisu to split, and don’t go wandering off to theorize.”Mike dredged his last sliver of veal through lemon sauce, but before it reached his lips, he recalled the morning’s exchange between the dining room host and the serve, the single Spanish word he’d grasped. The waitress had delivered a fresh bowl of fettucine with olive oil and basil to Victor, and Dodge waggled fingers. “Did you enjoy your meal?” she inquired warmly.“Oh, yes. You been on since breakfast? I saw you this morning.”“Oh, no. I work the breakfast, then I help my father in the farmacia and come back for dinner.” She eyed Dodge curiously. “Can I bring you anything else?”“Yeah, we’d like a piece of tiramisu, please, two forks? You know, the thing is, I had a question.”“Yes?” Warily.“I had a little, well, dispute today with a gentleman I saw at breakfast, and was wondering who he is. I think the host said something about him to you. See, I don’t want to make a complaint, start trouble if this guy’s some kind of VIP.”The young woman leaned in. “Senor Rilke is with the hotel people – you know, the New York hotel people. ‘La marca de excelencia’?”Even Dodge could suss that one out. “Highmark Resorts?”She glanced nervously about, and he checked he nametag. “I should not tell you this…” Mike flashed the palms-up White Dude Confidentiality Pledge. He was relieved to see Sarah at the rear of the dining room, talking to the sisters from the next balcony. The skeptical sibling was waving off her sister’s dramatic recounting of the unsetting sun, a glucose monitoring disc floating like a buoy on a sea of flabby cellulose. The missionary dude and Mrs. Missionary Dude sat silently, absorbing it all with pinched smiles.“They’re here to see if they maybe will buy del Oro, and the staff is very, ah, nerviosos – nervous. I am just saying this is not a man to make angry.”“I got a sense your coworker wasn’t any too fond of Mr. Rilke. All I could make out was something about the sun…?”Ana’s forehead wrinkled, then she laughed lightly. “Renaldo thought you heard him, that you might report him.” Mike semaphored discretion. “It is like a joke between us. ’Piensa que el sol sale y se pone sobre él.’ Mr. Rilke believes the sun rises and falls on hi—“ Anxiety flushed her cheeks, and she beamed even as he eyes darted toward the horizon. “I saw on the guest list it is your anniversary?”“Thirty years.”She clapped her hands together. “I shall bring you two tiramisus and also some of our vanilla helado, ice cream. It is made with fresh beans from a granja lechera near Cancun.”Dessert was gratis, anyway, but Dodge could not refuse such a hospitality. He hoped Sarah would see it the same way. She soon plopped back into her seat.“Sorry, I got trapped. The drama queen next door’s one of those psychic types – the Tarot cards and the crystals and all that, and a Trumper to boot, and she thinks the whole thing’s some kind of native curse.”“The hell’s she even doing down here?” Mike frowned.“What do you think? The pharmacy’s at the end of the main drag, and I saw her this afternoon with a bag big enough to start her own CVS.”“Which reminds me, you sure you didn’t go over the Premarin limit today?”“Why don’t you put it on the hotel PA system? Half the people here probably come down for cheap drugs.”“Yikes, phrasing. By the way, what’d the rollers think about tonight’s solar event?”“Said they’d pray.”“Sounds right.” Sarah looked up as Ana deposited the tiramisu, arched a brow at Mike. “Happy anniversary, Baby,” he beamed.**As Sarah began her protracted evening maintenance regimen, Mike googled, then returned to his Chandler. He retired to the balcony after Sarah drifted into kitten-like snores.By about midnight, the badges were trying to railroad the only Latino in the room. “’They’d hang it onto you and love it. Just the kind of smokescreen that would make them grin with delight.’” Less enlightened time, Dodge mused.A disembodied cough started Mike, and he moved to the rail to ID the body responsible. “Can’t sleep, either?” Nathan jumped, then took a hit off an e-pipe.“Guess I’m still kinda freaked.”“Don’t be,” Dodge advised. “No, I mean it. You ever hear of folie a deux?”“Man, I only know enough Spanish to ask for a lawyer.”Mike let it go. “A delusion shared by two. Except this one turned into a pandemic. Half the folks down from the U.S. are here for or at least scoring drugs. Cheap vejayjay ointment, Viagra, diabetes meds that would cost them a fortune back home. And my guess is, some folks come for the non-prescription stuff. Nathan?”“You DEA or something?” Nathan finally whispered.“Yes, I’m DEA,” Dodge said. “Standards aren’t what they used to be. You know one thing Quintana Roo is famous for besides ruins, manatees, and kickass margaritas? A little cactus called peyote. Shit-ton of mescaline -- one of the oldest highs around. The Native American Church still uses peyote in religious ceremonies, and during the Civil War, Texas Rangers on the Confederate side soaked peyote buttons in water to get through the long and lonely nights in Union prison camp. Peyote’s a hallucinogen -- altered realities, paranoia, confusion, sound distortions. You ever see Altered States? William Hurt?”“The dude in The Hulk?”“Ah, sure. Part of what makes peyote such a happening religious trip is shared consciousness. There’ve been documented cases of groups of users experiencing similar hallucinations or delusions if they take peyote or other hallucinogens in a similar setting. Nathan, you ever partaken, maybe today?”The young man planted his elbows on the rail, and Mike’s gut rolled again. “Shit. OK, I did score a little, just to take the edge off. But that was this morning, and I just took, what do they call it, a micro-dose?”“And you got this from who, a hotel employee?”“I don’t want to get anybody…”“Won’t happen, I don’t think anyway. See, I think you got a little more than a micro-dose. I think your cabeza was playing tricks with you.”“But, dude, you saw it, too. ‘Photos don’t lie,’ right?”“Well, not without some help, anyway. But the brain can be one duplicitous bitch. Wish I had an egg and a non-stick pan to demonstrate. But in short, Dude, we been trippin’.”**“Bien,” Dodge answered the host. The dapper young man smiled approvingly.It was business as usual at the Playa del Oro – Norte Americanos and Brazilians and Germans and Japanese fueling up for a day of Aztec history, dolphin-hugging, trinket and pharmaceutical shopping, or just a coma on the beach. The dining room was abuzz with the previous evening’s cosmic event, but by the time jets touched down in L.A., Indianapolis, Rio, Tokyo, Berlin, Toronto, the Night The Sun Unset would be urban legend the resort would happily never confirm nor deny. The buffet crowd was light this morning, Dodge assumed, because of the assorted upsets and allergies the affected guests would have attributed to Montezuma’s sadly most vaunted accomplishment.The news on CNN and Azteca Uno didn’t seem to darken or remotely impact the collective mood. The CEO of a major U.S. resort chain arrested south of the border for attempting to molest a housekeeper and a hotel security guy, seemingly in a drug-induced haze, wasn’t their circus. If anything, Raymond Rilke’s purportedly Weinsteinian history and Highmark’s battles with the SEC and FBI seemed to merit a nice bit of karma. Except to FOX News, which sputtered over “the retaliatory framing of a distinguished U.S. businessman.”“How’s the chorizo today?” Mike inquired. The host turned back, studying Dodge’s reciprocally smiling face. “That’s how I figure you did it. My wife didn’t see last night’s miracle, but then, she only ate some scrambled eggs and a little fruit at breakfast yesterday. Victor two rooms down is vegan, and he didn’t see anything either. One of the two ladies in the next room over has a glucose monitor – her sister saw the sun unset, but she didn’t. Chorizo is high in calories, fat, sodium – awesome for me, but not so great for a diabetic. I guess Ray Rilke was really partial to your chorizo, which is understandable.“My guess is you and Ana just wanted to lower Rilke’s natural inhibitions a bit with a teentsy dose of mescaline buffered with, what, a little oxy or salvia or some other psychoactive from Dad’s shop? Rilke’s an animal, and I saw him on CNBC about wanting to give U.S. and European tourists ‘a safe Mexican travel experience.’ I can imagine what that would mean for the existing staff and the local economy, especially if Highmark wants to cash in on the wall-builders.”Renaldo was still smiling, but with a higher iron content. He’d gradually backed into an alcove across the hall, nodding a waiter into host duties.“If a few guests felt a little under the weather afterwards, they’d assume it was just a bad melon or sausage. But Ana was doing a little pharmaceutical business on the side. Nathan, the nice stoner boy next door, took what he didn’t realize was his second hit of peyote for the day. When he hallucinated the sunset rising, he tripped some kind of shared delusion among his drugged neighbors, including me. That domino effect spread, and even those who didn’t see the sunset bought into it. So my question is, how’s the chorizo today? We good?”Renaldo glanced toward the dining room, then remembered to exhale. “Yes, sir. We had a problem with our regular supplier, but all has been corrected, and we have a fresh supply. Soooo, we are good?”Dodge smiled, and looked to his frowning bride, spooning huevos onto her plate suspiciously. “Bueno.”  
","September 08, 2023 23:38","[[{'Mary Bendickson': 'Simple explanation 😄!\nWell, it has been interesting to read all the ideas as to what would cause the sun to rise after sunset. Thought your explanation 🤔 rang true.', 'time': '22:31 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'Martin Ross': 'Smart aleck, LOL!', 'time': '23:08 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '2'}, {'Martin Ross': ""I was kidding -- I had decided to keep it supernatural to the end, but the mystery lover in me wouldn't let me. I always liked the old detective story writers who'd set up an impossible situation, then come up with a logical solution. Then I found out peyote cactus mostly grew in the region of Mexico I was writing about, and voila! The green flash thing is a thing, too."", 'time': '23:34 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '2'}]], [{'Martin Ross': 'Smart aleck, LOL!', 'time': '23:08 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []], [{'Martin Ross': ""I was kidding -- I had decided to keep it supernatural to the end, but the mystery lover in me wouldn't let me. I always liked the old detective story writers who'd set up an impossible situation, then come up with a logical solution. Then I found out peyote cactus mostly grew in the region of Mexico I was writing about, and voila! The green flash thing is a thing, too."", 'time': '23:34 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []], [{'Joe Malgeri': ""I've always said there's nothing like a nice dish of chorizo and peyote to see a sunset rising. In fact, it's contagious. Many times even my dog would experience the domino effect directly after my cow and I had partaken. But, in all seriousness, great story, Martin, very unique ideas. I got lost once or twice, but went back and reread it, which isn't your fault, it was mine, because my phone rang twice. Anyway, I enjoyed it, and now I'm off to Mexico."", 'time': '23:52 Sep 14, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Martin Ross': 'Thanks, Joe! Buenos dias!', 'time': '00:16 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Martin Ross': 'Thanks, Joe! Buenos dias!', 'time': '00:16 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Aoi Yamato': 'Not real?', 'time': '02:08 Sep 13, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Martin Ross': 'I’ve always enjoyed mysteries that seem impossible or supernatural but that have a rational solution. I started this as a fantasy story, then decided to put Dodge in.', 'time': '02:18 Sep 13, 2023', 'points': '2'}, {'Aoi Yamato': 'Because you love him.', 'time': '00:56 Sep 14, 2023', 'points': '1'}, {'Martin Ross': 'Yes.😊', 'time': '00:58 Sep 14, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Martin Ross': 'I’ve always enjoyed mysteries that seem impossible or supernatural but that have a rational solution. I started this as a fantasy story, then decided to put Dodge in.', 'time': '02:18 Sep 13, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'Aoi Yamato': 'Because you love him.', 'time': '00:56 Sep 14, 2023', 'points': '1'}, {'Martin Ross': 'Yes.😊', 'time': '00:58 Sep 14, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Aoi Yamato': 'Because you love him.', 'time': '00:56 Sep 14, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Martin Ross': 'Yes.😊', 'time': '00:58 Sep 14, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Martin Ross': 'Yes.😊', 'time': '00:58 Sep 14, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",5v7x99,The Void,E. Fois,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/5v7x99/,/short-story/5v7x99/,Science Fiction,0,"['Science Fiction', 'Contemporary', 'Fiction']",11 likes,"
The sand was still warm under my feet. The kids were playing in the sand while my wife packed the beach towels in the bag. 
 
I gazed at the ocean, admiring a glorious sunset. I wished the vacation would never end and I could escape my usual life. I dreaded the return of the anxiety that would assault me, choke me in my sleep, and spawn those horrifying nightmares, nightmares in which I felt like a foreigner in this world. 
 
The sun cast its last rays of fire while I savored the last moments of serenity. People left the beach with their long shadows in tow. The last ray lapped the water and stayed there, suspended between the waves. 
 
The cries of joy of my children chasing each other distracted me for a few minutes. I concentrated on them for a while. As they turned in my direction I waved to get their attention, as we were due to leave soon. 
 
My eyes landed on the sea again. The sun was still there. It seemed like a sudden gust of wind or a foggy patch had caused it, but then I saw my wife taking the beach towels from the bag and laying them on the ground, one after another. The kids were still running but in reverse. 
 
I stood up and looked around. People reversed their course to the beach and settled in their previous spots from a few minutes ago. I almost took my breath away. 
 
The sun moved away from the sea losing its orange color and the light became more intense. The world was going upside down. 
 
I shouted to my family, but they ignored me. Then I noticed a man near me get up and reverse his steps to the kids: it was my own self. It was me half an hour earlier, we were playing together then I left them to go tidy up my things, but I decided to sit and watch the sunset for a few minutes. 
 
I couldn't believe it, while my wife sat on the beach, the boys and I played. But I wasn't with them, I was looking at them a few meters away and everything moved backward like a rewound film. 
 
The sun continued to climb up the sky. I didn't know if it was my imagination, but I knew for sure that I wasn't dreaming. I took out my cell phone to see if there was some general alarm, some natural phenomenon reported by others... but the screen was black. No communications. I remembered hearing something about a reversal of the Earth's rotation. Yes, it had to be this, the sun was going backwards because the Earth had reversed its path. But there was no talk of rewinding time too, but what was going on? 
 
Desperate, I decided to get away from the beach, maybe it was just a hallucination and I needed fresh water, I had caught too much sun. I reached the parking lot, while other people passed by me, all proceeding in reverse on foot, by car, by bike. None of them could see me. 
 
Then a man walked past me and touched my arm:
 “Come with me!” - He said. 
""Can you see me?"" - I answered. 
“Of course, it's time, the plan begins” - He declared.
 “Which plan?” - I asked.
 “What we are here for, you applied ten years ago, maybe you are still confused, it will come back to you on the way, let's go”.
 
The stranger grabbed my arm and dragged me to a vehicle. He flashed a tablet at me, but the writing was incomprehensible, it was a foreign language. Suddenly, I remembered the same tablet years ago, holding it in my hand and answering some questions concerning the planet Earth. 
“What does it mean?” - I asked him. 
“It's time to start the plan, we have to document everything!” - He exclaimed. 
“Everything what?” - I was more and more confused.
""The Humans!"" - He yelled.
 
I closed my eyes and remembered. 
 
I remembered when I volunteered for a mission. When they explained to me what planet Earth looks like and when they taught me how to behave like a human. 
 
I remembered my first day on Earth when I took Henry's place in his body. 
 
I remembered that I was a foreigner in this world.
 
The day had come. We had taken planet Earth. We were dormant in human bodies and only we could witness the planet's reversal of rotation. We had discovered a method to travel to the past, but we dared not try it on ourselves, we had to use it on a different world, a different kind of life, humans. 
 
I looked at my hands. I no longer looked like Henry, I had separated from his body at sunset. My fingers were bony again, the skin pale and transparent enough to show the veins and the yellow blood flowing inside. 
 
The sun was getting higher and higher in the sky. People walked backward. I saw my family driving back. Henry with his wife and children. I saw my children born, I raised them! I abandoned the stranger and ran home. I didn't know what to do, I couldn't escape. I watched my family retrace the day.
 
They all had lunch together on the last day of the holiday. I was there in my kitchen, watching their smiles, but they couldn't see me. Henry was sitting at the table, not me. 
 
The day continued to rewind its time and morning came as they began to pack for the journey. I had suggested doing them in advance and then spending the last evening at the beach. And then dawn came, and they put on their pajamas and went back to their beds. The sun descended on the mountains to relive its dawn, it descended slowly and inexorably to erase this day. 
 
I remembered all the days I felt inadequate, out of place, with no purpose in life. Then I looked at my children and happiness hit me hard and held me close for hours when I thought the world was perfect. And this man who was now walking backward towards his bed, I stole his life, fifteen very long years, fifteen beautiful years. 
 
I could not lose them. 
 
I waited for him to fall asleep. I entered his body again. Shortly after my wife woke up. She got up and went to the bathroom, walking normally. I got out of bed, the mirror reflecting the usual image of Henry. 
 
I looked out the window. The sunrise was wonderful. 
We had everything planned, we had to pack our bags and then spend the last day of our vacation at the beach. But I knew I had interfered with the experiment. I had intruded on the timeline. Humans would have relived the same day, but would not have realized it. 
 
I relived the whole day. Luggage, then lunch, then a trip to the beach. I savored every moment, understanding the warmth and value of human life for the first time. The life I had stolen from Henry. 
 
Then sunset came again. The kids played on the beach while my wife collected clothes and beach towels to put in the bag. 
 
I knew I would be punished.
The sun was magnificent, this time it let itself be swallowed up by the sea. The most beautiful sunset I have ever seen. And then just a few reflections in the distance. 
 
Then Henry gets up, breaks away from me, and walks towards his family. I remain seated on the sand and watch him fade together with the faint lights of the sunset. 
 
Then the dark. 
 
I don't feel the sand under my feet anymore, I don't hear the voices. 
 
The nothing. 
 
The Void.
","September 07, 2023 08:36","[[{'Tom Skye': 'Really enjoyed this. I was uncertain when it began because the backwards time thing seemed quite predictable based on the prompt, but the story then became much more complex. The plot was full of turns which were very imaginative.\n\nI also really liked that underneath the wild Sci Fi bulk, the story had a heart in the end, where the MC is fully appreciating the value of human existence. \n\nReally nice job. The complex story could probably do with being longer, but I thought this was super creative and enjoyable to read. Great work', 'time': '08:39 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'E. Fois': 'Thank you very much Tom!', 'time': '08:51 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'E. Fois': 'Thank you very much Tom!', 'time': '08:51 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Hannah Lynn': 'Very imaginative!  I enjoyed this a lot!', 'time': '23:35 Sep 11, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'E. Fois': 'Thank you Hannah!', 'time': '07:06 Sep 13, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'E. Fois': 'Thank you Hannah!', 'time': '07:06 Sep 13, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",u4is7l,The Island,Stevie Burges,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/u4is7l/,/short-story/u4is7l/,Science Fiction,0,"['Fiction', 'Fantasy', 'Holiday']",10 likes,"
They watched the sun slowly dipping, unaware of the darkness gradually enveloping them. She could feel the comfort of his warm body sitting close to her despite their bodies not being close enough to touch. As she took one more deep, satisfied breath, she almost sobbed. If only she could stay here forever.
 
She looked around and thought about the idyllic eight days of her holiday. The location, stunning amenities, hotels, and restaurants had all been fantastic, but the next day, it was time to go their separate ways until the next time. This had been the holiday to top all others, and knowing she would soon have to say goodbye to her holiday companion was really heartbreaking. She could have stayed here forever - just breathing - nothing more - not eating, drinking, or talking - just contentedly breathing. They would say their goodbyes at 7.30 tomorrow morning and then not see each other for another 12 months.
 
She slowly gazed around the rooftop garden. Although not many stories high, the skyscraper had been positioned on a piece of land considerably higher than any others surrounding it. The two sat on a bench carefully set in the cultivated foliage. Surrounding them were various low bushes showcased in all their beauty and meticulously placed on the enormous landscaped roof. In the rooftop garden were numerous covered canopies to provide shade from the burning sun, pergolas and trellises dividing the plantings into individual gardens. As far as she could see, one stunningly colourful flowerbed mixed with various foliage of differing heights drew her attention repeatedly. 
 
Here and there, walls of different sizes and designs protected the numerous ponds ablaze with waterlilies and plants that she couldn’t name, and each pond surrounded by its own miniature flower garden. In various corners were expensive-looking cafes and discrete restaurants.  ‘Perfect for illicit affairs’, she thought, as only the artistic signage, coupled with the occasional snatched words or laughter heard from behind flowering foliage and shady trees, made her aware patrons were enjoying a cooling drink or a delicious meal. 
 
Paths leading to fantastic scenic views were surrounded by protective safety barriers at the roof's edges. Although acknowledging her poor photographic skills, she constantly ‘click, clicked’ away, trying to capture an image of this beauty. Peering down onto the streets below were lines of shops displaying quite splendid wares, all determined to lure those with luxury tastes. The clean roads were busy with trollies, taxis and expensive-looking cars. Looking beyond the streets lay a harbour crowded with ferries, yachts and small boats bobbing up and down. 
 
Looking out further than the port were various vessels ploughing through the smooth channel and taking fare-paying customers from one side of the harbour to the other, whilst other boats had struck out further and were making their way to the various islands standing proud in the distance. As she sat contentedly yawning, she realised how she longed to be amongst those travellers transversing from one shore to the other. 
 
She raised her eyes to the sky, expecting to see the dipping sun and approaching sunset, and was surprised to notice the sun continuing to burn brightly above and retain the heat of the day. She slowly rubbed her well-made-up eyes, trying not to smudge the mascara so carefully applied earlier in the day. She shook herself gently, feeling confused. She had been about to suggest that they leave and go to their favourite restaurant for their final evening meal of the holiday, but somehow, she had judged the time of the day wrongly - it seemed that it was mid-afternoon, not early evening. Her partner didn’t comment on anything and seemed quite comfortable watching the afternoon sun beginning to climb in the sky.
 
Suddenly he stood up and said:
 
‘Too hot for me. We need to move ourselves”.
 
As she stood up, her eyes drifted to the harbour far below.
 
“Do you fancy going to the harbour and jumping on one of those ferries? It seems a shame not to have visited a few of those islands before our holiday ends”, he said.  “Race you to the harbour”, he said.
 
*****
Their feet thundered along the boardwalk as they rushed towards the first ferry scheduled to leave; they paid their dollars and joined the other travellers in the well-sheltered seating area of the ferry,
 
’Do you know where we are going?’ she asked.
 
‘No, don’t care - do you?’ he said laughingly.
 
‘Wonder how long it takes?’ she mused.
 
‘What? The ferry? Depends on where it’s going. Let’s enjoy the journey.’ he said.
 
She nodded and smiled contentedly.
 
A short while later, as she left the ferry, wondering where they were and what to expect, a short Asian man came towards them, offering them a hand of welcome.
 
“Hi, I’m Sunny, offering a tour of the island. Can I show you around?’. 
 
She saw no other tour drivers as she looked around.
 
’How fortunate that the other travellers had not booked Sunny’, she said to her partner.
 
They jumped in the taxi with Sunny and set off. 
 
They were on an island under new development commercially and for the tourist trade. Tall, impressive skyscrapers jostled for space next to Temples and Churches from different eras and cultures. The main commercial streets still badly needed transforming, and the small shops bore little resemblance to the expensive stores on the other side of the harbour from where they had set off. Many shops were housed in old colonial buildings from the island’s history. 
 
Sunny expertly drove them around the small, under-developed roads and happily answered all their many questions.
 
‘Most people come here for the Casinos. Would you like to visit one?’ asked Sunny.
 
Sunny took them to ‘The Gondoliers’ as he felt it was one of the prettiest. As the taxi swung into the complex, they were immediately caught up in the crowds and general excitement. Young Gondolieri, dressed in blue and white striped t-shirts, blue trousers and straw Panama hats adorned in blue ribbons, rushed forward and swung open the taxi doors to help them out. They both bade farewell to Sunny and were guided to a descending set of steps where a brightly painted gondola awaited them. Holding her hand, the Gondolieri slowly assisted her to a soft-cushioned seating area. She turned to her partner, and both smiled broadly, clearly in agreement that this was turning into a beautiful afternoon.
 
Standing at the back, the Gondolieri steered them around the various Casino canals until they finally reached an imposing set of stairs leading up to a magnificent entrance hall. As the gondola approached the steps, two men dressed in blues and red descended and assisted them as they climbed the steps towards the entrance. Offering his arm, her guide helped her proceed upwards to make a grand arrival!  More guides awaited them as they reached the landing at the top of the stairs.
 
‘Would you like to go round the tables, or would you prefer refreshments first? ' one of the guides asked.
 
‘Shall we go round the tables first and then go for something to eat and drink after?’ she suggested.
 
All agreed this was a good idea, and bowing deeply, the guides ushered them into the main Casino.
 
‘Do you want to stick with me, or shall they meet up in an hour or so?’ she asked her partner.
 
‘I’ll just wander. I find people losing money fascinating’, he said.
 
They went off in different directions, and she went to the ‘Fruit Machines’ - not for her Roulette, Poker or Craps. She loved playing the machines and was surprised at how much Fruit Machines had changed since she last played. Firstly, it was now possible to feed a ‘bet’ directly into the machines using bank cards; buying tokens was no longer required. She sat in front of an enormous machine and noticed there was no longer a handle to pull. Instead, there were various icons and buttons to press, which she assumed allowed different bets. She had no idea what these buttons did, as all attempts at pushing them did precisely nothing. All she could do was press the PLAY button again and again. Suddenly, a loud noise came from her machine. She swivelled her eyes over its busily decorated front, trying to see if the noise indicated her bet was depleted. In embarrassment, she moved her hands to her lap, hoping that removing her hands from the machine would stop the terrible noise. She couldn’t see any flashing lights or words likely to assist in putting a stop to the noise. Her embarrassment rose as the noise grew louder, clearly disturbing the other Casino players. Both croupiers and players’ heads had repeatedly looked up from the tables. Finally, in desperation, she stood up and began hitting the machine's front with all her might to try to stop the noise.
 
Her partner appeared from nowhere and ran over, looking concerned. 
 
“Is that your machine making all that noise?’
 
‘I can’t shut it up’, she wailed.
 
A handsome man wearing the uniform of a Casino employee came over.  He wore a name badge bearing the name Keith.
 
‘Do you want to cash in your winnings?’ said Keith, pressing a button. Immediately, silence ensued.
 
‘Thank you for shutting that noise off. What was causing it?” she asked confusedly.
 
Keith was laughing. ‘What do you think that noise was?” and without waiting for an answer said: “You won one of the Jackpots. Not the biggest Jackpot, but a Jackpot.”
 
‘My goodness. No wonder it was so loud. How do I get my money?
 
‘Just press ‘Cash up’, and a docket will come out, and then you go to the payout machines over there’, said Keith.
 
Pressing ‘Cash Up’, a printed docket appeared; she attempted to read it but quickly realised that the printing meant nothing to her. She shrugged her shoulders. Keith asked to see the docket, and passing it to him, he gave a long appreciative whistle. 
 
‘Wow, you’ve done well. It’s too much for the payout machine, so I’ll take you to the Cashier, who’ll sort you out. You need to follow me”.
 
Off they went, with her almost running to the Cashier to keep up with Keith, who was striding ahead. They got to the Cashier, and Keith flourished the docket at the man behind the barred window.  
 
‘Do you want the Cashier to count out the cash and give it directly to you, or would you prefer him to put it straight into your bank account?’ Keith asked.
 
Her partner, unable to control his excitement, said, “How much; how much”.
 
She began to laugh. A few days before, they had discussed coming to the Casino, and her partner had been adamant that it wasn’t a good idea to spend time gambling in a Casino. However, she had noticed his demeanour had changed dramatically, and he was no longer his usual calm, unfazed self.  
 
The amount that had been won was considered unsafe to carry around in her purse, so it was decided to pay the winnings directly into her bank. 
 
Another gentleman appeared at her side and asked if she required any ‘Winning Extras’. 
 
‘What on earth are ‘Winning Extras?’ she asked.
 
“A meal, a hotel room, a car to take you as you wish, the casino’s yacht to take you across the harbour”.
 
‘Well, we can’t stay in a hotel here as plane journeys are booked to our respective countries. How about the Casino’s yacht to take us across the Harbour?” said my partner.
 
‘Yes! Let’s do that. God, this whole thing is like a dream!’ she told him.
 
The whole boat began to shake as she gingerly lowered herself into the launch. ‘Phew’, she thought as she tried to find something to cling to.
*****
As her eyes slowly opened, she saw him smiling at her. 
 
She stretched and said: ’Come on. It’s time to go and eat, and I must finish packing.
 
She looked around her and felt immediately confused. It was by now dark but still warm. She put her hands down to her sides and realised she was still sitting on the bench in the roof garden. She smiled at the memory of what had been a dream.
 
She whispered to him, feeling a little foolish:
 
‘I dreamt we’d gone to a Casino and won a lot of money. It was such a vivid dream that I almost thought it was true.’
 
He looked at her, clearly confused: “We did go to a Casino, and you did win. Can’t you remember?”  
","September 09, 2023 01:22","[[{'Michał Przywara': 'Indeed, it was hard to be certain if it was a dream or not! The sun being back in the sky, everyone being so accommodating, winning the jackpot on the first try, being unable to make sense of the writing on the docket - all these seemed dreamlike. But then, the whole trip to the island was cogent, logically consistent. It didn\'t have any of the standard ""dream logic"". \n\nThis story almost flirts with horror too. The slot machine makes a noise she can\'t stop, and it makes her uncomfortable. Then there\'s her not realizing it wasn\'t a dream, rig...', 'time': '20:45 Sep 13, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Stevie Burges': ""My goodness, Michal I have missed your critiques.  Thank you so much for spending so much time and effort on the story.   \nI had decided to make all of it a dream - the huge roof gardens, the person I was with, etc.  I felt the prompt was a 'Fantasy' and I am useless with fantasy so wrote a dream.\nAgain many thanks for looking at it."", 'time': '23:07 Sep 13, 2023', 'points': '2'}]], [{'Stevie Burges': ""My goodness, Michal I have missed your critiques.  Thank you so much for spending so much time and effort on the story.   \nI had decided to make all of it a dream - the huge roof gardens, the person I was with, etc.  I felt the prompt was a 'Fantasy' and I am useless with fantasy so wrote a dream.\nAgain many thanks for looking at it."", 'time': '23:07 Sep 13, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []], [{'Mary Bendickson': 'Fun adventure.', 'time': '22:46 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",xr19w8,The Last Sunset,Katherine Crivello,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/xr19w8/,/short-story/xr19w8/,Science Fiction,0,"['Teens & Young Adult', 'Creative Nonfiction', 'Coming of Age']",10 likes,"
	With each step, my feet were enveloped by the soft white sand, and the occasional seashell would unpleasantly make its rough and spiny presence known to me. We stopped right before the water to admire the sunset, a brilliant masterpiece that only mother nature could contrive. A single firework burst directly above us, which I assumed was to commemorate a birthday further down the shore.
	“I wish this summer would never end” I whispered under my breath. 
	My younger sister turned to me, her eyes and somber expression conveying silent agreement. The sun was setting on our family vacation. It had risen with promises of warmth and gently descended on the horizon in vibrant multicolored hues. Though at this moment, it was hard to believe that this was the same sun that had been lovingly kissing my skin for the past five days. As it inched closer towards the glistening turquoise Caribbean Sea, that feeling of dread overcame me, which had haunted me each vacation before. The foreboding reminder that once it rises again, we will have returned to the place we started, and the joyous memories we collected will slowly and painfully fade away. As the sun was bidding its last goodbye, one solemn tear escaped through the cracks of its strict confinement. And in that moment, my blurry vision began to deceive me- because I thought that I had seen the sun beginning to rise again. 
	I wiped my eyes, and when they opened, a terrifying sight was before me. Four people were standing directly in front of me, who bore a striking resemblance to the ones at my side only a second before. Faces towards the sea, watching the sunset were the silhouettes of my mother, my father, my sister, and… me? Too stunned to speak, I apprehensively made my way to the front of them, until I was face to face with indeed a clone of myself, as real as looking into a mirror. She- or rather, I, had the same green watery eyes, long chestnut brown hair which was slightly golden from the sun, and a single tear on a freckled cheek. And even stranger than this, this tear was traveling upwards, as if gravity had been reversed, until it found its place back from where it came. I frantically scanned the beach, searching desperately for any explanation I could find. A man ran past us, backwards, and behind him was the setting sun, though now it was higher above the horizon than I remember it being just a minute before. 
	With a trembling breath, I managed, “What is happening?”
	To my surprise, my other self responded in a whisper, in a language that was completely foreign to me. Before I could formulate another sentence, faint sparkles of blue, green and purple appeared in the sky. More began to materialize as the colors intensified. Suddenly, the vivid orbs rushed inward to a single point, and disappeared with a 'pop!' This triggered a realization in me, that this was the same firework I had seen before. Though now, everything was moving in reverse. Time itself had completely shifted. I turned back towards myself, and my double was gone, along with the rest of my family. I had spotted them halfway down the beach, faces towards me, moving swiftly in the opposite direction. 
	I followed them, retracing the day and attempting to make sense of something which I was sure was a terrifyingly miraculous and groundbreaking phenomenon. As they deconstructed sandcastles and waves pulled their surfboards towards the horizon, I formulated a million questions in my mind. However, there was no one to ask these questions to. No matter how many attempts I made to communicate with myself or my family, or anyone else for that matter, it was as if I did not exist to them. The only time they spoke was in their new tongue, which I had now understood to be like a rewinding record. As they pulled food from their mouths and placed it back on their plates during lunch, I searched for anyone else who was moving forward with my same confusion, but there was no one to be found. The earth was now spinning on its axis in the opposite direction, and I seemed to be the only one left unaffected. 
	The strange and perplexing day had reached its conclusion, or rather, its introduction. As the sunrise made its way back again towards the horizon and my family closed their eyes to sleep, I felt no tiredness whatsoever. I sat and cried throughout the night next to my sleeping body, eyes fixated on the counter-clockwise clock. I attempted to manufacture an explanation for this entirely unexplainable spell I had been put under. I chalked it up to being a devil’s curse, and I even considered the possibility that I had fallen and hit my head and was now experiencing coma-induced hallucinations. When 10 pm had arrived, my other self began restlessly shifting in bed, and her eyes opened suddenly, looking straight through me as if I was nothing more than a ghost. It was now night number four of our vacation. 
	After watching in amazement at my sister and I washing our make-up on, and our clothes being thrown from the floor back onto our bodies, everyone hopped backwards into the car. I climbed in and sat between myself and my sister, second-guessing why I even bothered to put on my seatbelt. For a second I thought that perhaps I truly was a ghost and had already died. My father put the car in drive and reversed out of the hotel parking lot, and we made our way back to dinner for the second time. I still felt the residual horror of my new circumstance, however, I was all cried out. Even though we started the meal with dessert, and the laughing came before the punchlines, it was comforting to see my own smiling face. As we almost reached the beginning of our dinner, I realized that I did not feel hungry. I tried counting how many hours it had been since I had eaten or slept last, but I had given up on that math rather quickly. 
	We returned to the beach again for another beautiful rising sunset, followed by snorkeling, and other backwards activities. My sister and I would occasionally emerge suddenly from the water and fly through the air until our feet safely landed back on the cliff ledge. From my current point of view, it appeared to be more exhilarating than the traditional way. As sunrise approached, it had occurred to me that as fast as the day had progressed, it had gone backwards just as swiftly. I stayed up throughout the night once again, with only a few tears shed this time around. In this new world, I did not feel hunger or the need to sleep. And as the third night of our trip was inching closer, I longed for normality and deliberated if I would ever receive it. 
	The next two days flew by even quicker than the last, filled with more laughter than I had remembered. I started to hate the sound of music, which now had a strange and chaotic rhythm, but thoroughly enjoyed my family's new dance moves. Dancing in reverse seemed to be a lot more fun, and less embarrassing than the original, but I could not replicate them no matter how hard I tried. And although I could not understand or recall every conversation we had, looking in from the outside, it seemed that my sister and I had bonded a lot throughout this trip. Ever since she was little, we were constantly budding heads and arguing over any and every measly thing. However, as I watched her sleep that night, I really began to miss talking to her, and all those inconsequential disagreements seemed exceptionally trivial now. She slowly opened her eyes, signaling that the first night of vacation was finally here.
	After dinner, we made our way back to the beach. I sat next to my other self and as she watched her first Caribbean sunset, I carefully analyzed her face. I knew the thoughts and feelings of this naive girl, who stupidly felt in that moment that she was as free as a bird. She was formulating a plan to ‘accidentally’ miss the plane that would inevitably drag her back to reality, shackling her as a prisoner once again. We both knew that she didn’t have the guts to actually follow through with her escape, but sometimes it was nice to dream of being courageous. I was here reliving this formerly blissful moment, yet I could not enjoy it the same way that she had, because for me, this was no longer the first sunset, but the last. That feeling of dread overcame me once again, and I couldn’t decide which final sunset was worse. Was it the one that incited fear of uncertainty, or the one where I knew exactly what was to come next? I found myself questioning for the second time what would happen if I missed the plane that once carried me to paradise. I decided almost immediately that I was going to see this through, and stick by her side for all that was to come, the good, and the bad.
	I sat the entirety of the plane flight facing towards the back tail, and if it wasn’t for my foreknowledge of the plane having a safe take-off, a landing this sketchy would have surely been a cause for concern. The back wheels touched down and we were once again in California. The lump in my throat was gradually forming, and a feeling of uneasiness swept over me like a suffocating wave. This was triggered by the impending doom of being forced to relive the car ride that had ushered us to the airport. I once again sat between myself and my sister, unprepared for the inevitable. The tears appeared on my sister's face, and then on my past-self, but they were immediately sucked right back up. What unfolded was a stark juxtaposition to how I remembered it. Screams and insults from my father had no coherent meaning anymore, and they were swallowed right back into his mouth. The hurt and despondent expressions we wore transformed into innocent smiling faces. Now that time had been reversed, it felt as if this painful moment had been wholly erased from existence and replaced with my audible sigh of relief through unclenching teeth.
	I began to settle into this topsy-turvy life, and found joy in how my story was being rewritten. Like magic, smashed toys would glue themselves back together, and objects flew from my body to my fathers hand like we were playing a wholesome game of catch. Cuts and bruises were healed instantly by his touch, and I would often race myself back home, as if we couldn’t wait to finally make it there. This version of my father always knew how to turn our tears into smiles. 
	Several years had passed of replaying memories I had forgotten, and I eventually was spending a lot more time with my sister, when my other self was off doing something else that she thought was more important at the time. I didn’t know this, but when she was alone she would often draw pictures, which I found very entertaining to watch in reverse. And sometimes, it would even be pictures of me. However, as more time passed, and with each birthday party, I became increasingly concerned of what that meant for us. My sister was growing younger and younger until finally, the day I had been dreading had arrived. It was her first day on earth. I watched my parents hold her, something I wish I had done more when I had the chance. I had so many regrets, and spent the whole day wishing that I could do it all over again. From then on, as I watched my mother’s stomach shrink with time, I fell into a deep depression. Although I was able to keep the memories, the idea of her in the mind of my younger self was fading from existence. 
	Her absence was a constant reminder that soon, it would be my turn to go. My life had become nothing more than a ticking time bomb. My vocabulary began to shrink, and I unlearned how to walk. I used to sometimes question what would come after life, but I never stopped to think of what comes before it. A feeling began to grow inside me that my complicated life was coming to a close. I wondered if I would just fade away into nothingness, but then again, I wondered a lot of things that I would never find the answer to. 
	As the days were leading up to my birth, the depression subsided and I experienced a newfound peace. They were some of the happiest days of my life, spent watching my father and mother dote on me so diligently. It was nice to know that in my first and final days, I was loved so fiercely and unconditionally, and I never understood why it couldn’t have stayed that way back when my life had been moving forward. Then, on a chilly morning in October, we drove to the hospital and I said my last goodbyes, though I knew they couldn’t hear me. The doctor unwrapped me from my blanket and brought me over to my mother, and I knew that this was the end. I closed my blurry eyes and the last thing I felt was a single tear running down my cheek.
	I grew impatient with the torturous delay, as it felt like I had been standing there forever. I wanted nothing more than for it all to be over with already. Curiosity got the best of me, so I wiped my eyes and hesitantly opened them. When I did, a terrifying sight was before me. It was the sun setting over a turquoise Caribbean sea. I stood for a moment in shock. The sun was undoubtedly going down, falling beneath the horizon. And, standing next to me was my sister, looking the same as she was when time decided to flip. Without hesitation, I snatched her up into my arms and ignored her feeble attempts to flee while my parents gawked in bewilderment.
	My sister and I ‘accidentally’ missed our flight back home. And while she was often met with restless nights of worry and uncertainty, I slept more soundly than I had in a long, long time.
 
","September 09, 2023 01:33","[[{'Иляя Илчка': 'https://themyelitedatequest.life/?u=0uww0kv&o=1e0px26', 'time': '17:54 Sep 10, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",xu67ez,Casting a Spell for a Lame Summer Wish,Sol Le Roux,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/xu67ez/,/short-story/xu67ez/,Science Fiction,0,"['LGBTQ+', 'Teens & Young Adult', 'Urban Fantasy']",10 likes,"
It wasn’t supposed to happen before the fall equinoxe. I was supposed to have my plan ready. Mariam had said that when you draw on ancestral magic, it’s a sure thing, the ancestors don’t make mistakes. Well maybe mine have a weird sense of humour because it’s the last day of August, and as I’m watching the sunset with my clueless parents, the sun turns in reverse which means it’s starting. I have to go back right now and fix it all.
I take a deep breath and try to enjoy the view for the last few moments I have left. I want to capture mom’s cheesy smile, she’s always had a thing for sunsets, I know, lame. And I even want to capture dad’s grumpy not-showing-any-emotion-because-I’m-a-tough-dude’s face. There’s no guarantee any of this will be the same on the other side.
The sun accelerates its return in the sky, and everything becomes a blur of things and people moving back in a frenzy. The sun un-rises, the moon comes back up, then the sun again, times and times over until things start to slow down and settle. I know when we are. It’s the first day of August. I recognize the dark clouds gathering in the sky, tonight is the biggest thunderstorm of the season. And tonight is the moment when everything turns to shit. I’m hoping that I have what it takes to prevent it.
But before we go into the whole Lughnasadh fiasco, I think I need to start this at the beginning and tell you about what happened on the summer solstice. The stupid mistake that started this whole thing.
It was just a lame summer wish. I had been watching Drag Race in secret all year long and I was probably a bit dazed by all the shiny outfits and makeups, and the catwalks and the songs and RuPaul who kept saying to a queen “Now is your moment”. It felt as if she was talking directly to me and I decided that now was my time to be in the spotlight as my full queer self. Plus the summer vacation was almost here, soon I would be free from those depressed teachers and mediocre high-school kids. I just needed to find a stage, and fame would be mine. So I wished to be famous and fabulous. But I didn’t just make a wish, I made a magical wish.
Ever since Mariam had received a tarot deck from her witchy aunt, all she talked about were spells and pagan rituals. She was letting her dark curls grow and had started wearing long black dresses, which, let’s be honest, didn’t really help with my quest of being a cool kid. We were the weirdos at school. Me, with my indecipherable gender - some people from school still don’t know if I’m a boy or a girl, and honestly, I’m not entirely sure either, although when people learn my name, they keep insisting on calling me miss, and on repeating it over and over as if it would change the fact that they were confused about my gender just a second before. And Mariam, who was now getting an infamous reputation as Mariam the witch. To give her credit, she fully went there, I respect that about her. She spent the whole semester giving spooky tarot readings at recess to pay for her summer rune writing class at the local esoteric shop. She said it would make her a better witch.
But in the meantime, here I was, on the eve of the solstice, with a novice witch best friend who, when she heard I wanted to make a summer wish, took it as an opening to craft a weird ritual and did not foresee how terrible the consequences would be.
“A wish is sacred, you can’t just tell me about it! My aunt said that if you want your wish to come true, you need to speak it to the moon, in a place that connects you to the power of what you desire. I did this in January for my tarot practice, and you know I’m getting those dollar bills! By the way this needs to happen on an auspicious day, like a full moon or something. So we’re doing this tomorrow for the solstice.”
“I don’t know Mariam. What about the powerful place?”
“Since you were inspired by watching Drag Race, I think it’s only right that we do this at the Glitter Grove. They always have drag nights on Fridays, my sister goes with her girlfriend when they’re in town. Plus we have those fake IDs I made us when I was into true crime. Now’s the time to put them to use.”
She was so excited about the idea, I kind of wanted to say yes on the spot, but I knew already from experience to ask questions whenever she has an inspiration like that, because she has a tendency to not have the full follow through planned out. I probably should have asked a lot more questions.
“And how are we supposed to get in? Even with your fake IDs, maybe you could pull it off with some heavy make-up but everyone says I look 12, there’s no way.”
“Have you seen early transition trans dudes? They all look 12. We just need to paint you some acne, and if you can fake having your voice cracking I think that will do. And no offense if that’s your journey one day, I’ll support you 100%.”
“Thanks. But won’t the voice breaking make me look even more like I’m 12?”
“Come on, we at least have to try!”
Mariam is very persuasive. Or did she do a spell at one point to help with her persuasion powers? The fact remains that we did try to get into the Glitter Grove. And failed, terribly of course. So backup plan, we ended up doing the ritual in the alley behind the bar and maybe that’s the first reason why it backfired so bad. There were candles, so many candles. Mariam said that candles are always a requirement for night-time spells, but I think she went a little overboard because of how excited she was that we were doing a spell together for the first time. There was also her calligraphy set for writing my wish on a piece of paper and burning it while I spoke it to the moon. And a sewing needle to draw a little blood from my finger to sign the letter to the moon. All of this was apparently so routine that she didn’t feel like mentioning it before. The moon was beautiful though, it was visible behind the clouds in the sky, and almost full, which Mariam said was great because: “The moon is still growing so your wish will grow with it.” It did feel like a powerful moment. A black cat even walked by, right as I was saying my wish. Mariam was ecstatic, but I don’t know now if associating my desire of being famous and fabulous to an ominous back alley cat was really the right move.
At first, it seemed like the ritual worked. When I got home, I posted a selfie and tagged the makeup brand of the eyeliner Mariam insisted I wear for maximum dramatic effect. The next day, my phone was blowing up. The makeup company had reposted me and I had hundreds of new followers, comments telling me how fabulous I looked, even on my older pictures. I had become overnight an icone for queer teenagers all over the world. People wanted to hear my opinion, to see my makeup routine, to collaborate with me. And here started my journey with online fame which was soon cut short but I have to admit it was fun while it lasted. Nine days later, dad somehow heard about me through a colleague whose niece was a fan, and I had to shut down my accounts because mom and dad were “concerned for my safety” but “we promise it’s not that we don’t support you, honey, we are SO proud that you are part of the LGBTQIA+ community” and “you can be an influencer when you turn 18”. Thanks mom. That’s the lamest reason a teenager has for having their dreams crushed. But despite my online days being over, fame and fabulousness still found ways of showing up in my life. Those ways just got weirder.
I was featured in the local newspaper for being the 100th customer in the new smoothie bar in town, I was painted eating a burger by a somewhat famous artist, I was even invited to compete in the Miss Glamour Pageant - which I of course declined. It was a pretty confusing time. All of this didn’t particularly make me feel like my full queer self, and because of my short online fame, I was now publicly out so some people in town started giving me the side-eye. Discovering that the guy who sells you delicious cupcakes or the lady who walks her chihuahuas past your home every day are transphobic assholes is not the best feeling in the world - the chihuahuas were nice though. For once, I started wishing I didn’t shine as much.
Thankfully, around the same time, I met Emma Lunashine. She’s a drag queen who works at the Glitter Grove and she heard about me through Mariam’s sister. She reached out to help me unleash my inner drag royalty for a collab photoshoot, back when I still had my online fame. Emma Lunashine is a bit kooky, she claims that she is a sea witch and walks around in shiny outfits made of seashells covered in sequins and glitter. When she learned about Mariam’s spell, she took us both under her wings and decided that we were part of her queer coven now. Mariam was in awe, they talked about spells and tarot and moon phases all day long. And me, I was just amazed to be surrounded by someone as confident and unapologetic in their queerness. We still could not get into the Glitter Grove, but Emma invited us to join her for the mystical drag brunches that she held all summer long at the Sunset Café. When she wasn’t drawing cards and reading tea leaves for tourists, we would chat. It’s during one of those brunches that the Lughnasadh plan emerged.
“You messed up the first time, my witchycats. The back alley behind the Glitter Grove is where the drunk guys take a piss and the closeted people lurk when they don’t want to be seen inside. That’s not the best place to ask for fame and fabulousness. You should have come to one of my drag brunches!”
I gave Mariam a dark look, why didn’t she think of that?
“Not to worry though, I’m sure we can make this right. You know about Lughnasadh, the pagan harvest festival, right?”
Mariam lit up: “Yes! My aunt told me all about it. It happens on August 1st and it’s a celebration of peace, friendship, and abundance. I was just wondering what kind of ritual we should do around it.”
“Well, I think that’s our chance for a redo. We’ll host a special alcohol-free, kid-friendly drag soirée on the beach. The three of us will prepare a magical number, you will be my little sea creatures, it will be fierce. And when the moon rises, you can do your spell again.”
It has to be noted that when I agreed to be part of Emma’s magical number, that’s all the information I had. I certainly didn’t imagine that she meant we would be dressed up as full tropical fishes covered in glitter and that she would wear a gigantic mermaid tail and arrive on a cushion carried by four of her boyfriends. Not to excuse my following mess up but this was a lot, okay?
To fully understand what happened on August 1st, you need to know about Eliah. I’ve had a crush on Eliah since middle school. When people learn about it, they’re surprised because everyone assumes that I’m into girls - which I am, but that’s not the point, and also, bisexuality people, it exists! Anyways, Eliah and I make sense. Mariam says that he is the water to my fire, the moon to my sun - she can get poetic like that sometimes. He is as much a boy as I am a girl, and if we weren’t stuck in high school and could be free to be ourselves, I know that our queer little hearts would have found each other already. When I made my summer wish of being famous and fabulous, I secretly desired that Eliah would see me for who I really am and fall in love on the spot so we would become this cool queer power couple. Maybe this should have been my wish. But I’ve seen enough TV shows to know that you don’t mess with love spells.
So now it’s August 1st again, I am back in time to try to fix the mess that I created. I know that Eliah is the first person I need to go see, because if he doesn’t show up later at the party wearing this sexy-ass blue-green eyeshadow, he will still be here tomorrow and for the rest of summer, and we will have plenty of time to fall in love. The only problem is, I don’t know exactly how to get to Eliah’s house, that’s the kind of information that I would have researched if Mariam’s spell had worked properly. His disappearance has been all over the news, and they organized search parties, so I know in which part of town he lives. Three buses later, including one that sent me in the complete wrong direction, I arrive exhausted already near Eliah’s home and start walking the streets, looking at the names on each mailbox. Finally, I find it. I knock on the door but no one answers and I hear enchanting music coming from the backyard so I go around the house and find the most beautiful vision. Eliah is alone, slow dancing in a small aboveground pool wearing a turquoise speedo. He looks so free in water, it kind of shines a light on what happens later at the beach. It feels weird interrupting his intimate moment, I look a bit like a stalker, don’t I? Nevermind, I don’t have time to think about it, I will fix this later but for now I have to talk to Eliah. So I call for him and he startles, gets out of the pool in a hurry and covers himself in a big towel. I feel so bad doing this to him, I know how it is to have to hide parts of yourself all the time, and the cost of doing the opposite.
“Hi Eliah, I’m so sorry to interrupt, I really need to talk to you. I know this will sound super weird but something bad is going to happen tonight if you go to the mermaid drag show on the beach. I can’t tell you how I know that, because it makes no sense at all, but please I really care about you, I’ve cared about you for a long time and I’d love to take some time to chat more tomorrow or later in the summer because I think we have a lot in common and we could really help each other. But for that to happen, you need to be here, so you can’t go to the beach tonight.”
He just stares at me in silence, it feels as if he’s seeing right through me, as if he understands everything, maybe even more than I do. He doesn’t say anything though, I’m not sure the speech I blurted out worked, so I add in a hurry:
“Please I need you to promise that you won’t go to the beach, that’s really important.”
He looks away from me and simply nods. He looks a bit sad, which I feel really bad about. But I will make it up to him, and in the meantime I have to go.
When I arrive at the beach, it’s too late. The show has already started. Emma Lunashine as a mermaid is making her entrance, and I can see past-me right by her side with Mariam. We look so good. How could I hate this night so much when it was one of the rare moments in my life when I felt so free as myself? The storm is fast approaching and we can already hear thunder in the distance. The moment of the spell is coming, I can feel the energy in the air, it’s charged with magic. I spent the whole month of August feeling guilty for my role in what happens during this Lughnasadh ritual, but as I look at the scene from a distance, it starts to feel like maybe this is bigger than me, maybe my role is just instrumental. Suddenly, I see him. Eliah. He’s already almost at the stage, I try to run towards him but the sand gets in my shoes, it’s too late for me to catch up with him. Past-me on the stage takes a look at him, and I know what happens next. I say the wrong wish, the one of Eliah and I being free to be ourselves, at the exact moment the thunder hits on the cabana. Everyone screams, Eliah turns into a mermaid, jumps into the sea and is never seen again. Future-me watches him swim away. He looks back towards me and smiles. This was never about me at all. Eliah is off to swim in bigger seas, and I guess I need to find my own sea to swim in. But first, I have to tell Mariam to stop it with the spells, this summer has been enough drama already.
","September 07, 2023 23:06","[[{'Nicki Nance': 'Delightful from beginning to the surprise ending. You breathe a lot of life into your characters, and your imagery is worthy of the colorful settings.', 'time': '22:43 Sep 10, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Sol Le Roux': ""Thank you! I'm happy that you enjoyed it."", 'time': '09:56 Sep 11, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Sol Le Roux': ""Thank you! I'm happy that you enjoyed it."", 'time': '09:56 Sep 11, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",tr7m9q,Allurement,Hosea Guy,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/tr7m9q/,/short-story/tr7m9q/,Science Fiction,0,"['Fiction', 'Romance', 'Thriller']",9 likes,"
I am watching through the grimy panes of glass as he stands with his arms crossed before him on the counter. The sun is bright and hot on my back as it sinks toward the horizon, but it sheds light on the churning sea of filth upon these dark windows and my attention is lost in this sea that is incongruent with the rest of the world and does, in fact, appear to churn before my very eyes. There is a young girl delivering a slim white box to the counter, and then Sebastian is beaming as he carries our pepperoni pizza to the door, which is also made of glass and churning.“A hundred and nine,” he says to me as the door swings shut behind him. “Wow,” I say. “A hundred and nine? That’s a new record.”He hands me the box and I open it for him, allowing him to choose the largest slice, and we take one last look at the hundred and nine pizza boxes stacked neatly on the shelves beside the silver ovens before embarking across the empty plaza towards the marina, where the lake is shimmering like diamonds. “Well, hundred and eight now,” Sebastian says, and then he is telling me about the craft he made with his reading group at the library today, speaking wetly through mouthfuls of pizza, and I feel grateful that he doesn’t remember the way he cried earlier today, although some other part of me wishes he did. The other boys, Todd and Eli… they aren't Sebastian’s friends, but how am I supposed to make him understand that? It is the duty of a mother and father to pull on the curtains that shroud reality and, by doing so, break their children’s hearts. I am not ready to hurt my brother and this, I know, is a problem. There are a few men with fishing poles by the steel railing way off to our left. Their voices are weightless to us, meaningless among the kisses of the breeze. Sebastian is already shedding his clothes and preparing to dive into the cold, golden water, and I see now that his teeth are stained with chocolate. Between his bites of pizza, he has been sneaking bites of the KitKat in his pocket. Sebastian has always had a love for chocolate. Mom kept him faithfully stocked with his favorite treats and never showed any intent of improving her youngest son’s diet, and this is why the boys at the library call him Shitface, why he hides himself across the room at the circular pink table while the rest of them commune at their blue one.Of course, you must realize that the perpetual having of chocolate on his teeth isn’t the single reason behind the abnormality and utter separateness of the boy we call Sebastian; there are other contributing factors, but the chocolate doesn’t help. I came into the library a few days ago and found him at the pink table, far away from the other boys. He was savoring the last few bites of a Coffee Crisp bar, crunching slowly, admiring all the ripples in the chocolate as the crumbs fell on his lap. Mr. Dali pulled me aside before I could speak to my brother. He wanted to discuss Sebastian’s future attendance of the reading group, and whether continuing to send him there would be in his best interest. “I can’t afford to send him anywhere else,” I said. “I have to work until five every night; I barely have time to drive him to school in the mornings.”Mr. Dali motioned for me to sit in the extra swivel chair, and I did.“Your brother… doesn’t quite fit here.”“He doesn’t fit anywhere,” I said as Mr. Dali smoothed the wrinkles in his pink and blue button-down. “Look, Mr. Dali, can’t you, like… I don’t know. Can’t you be more present with them? I mean—”“More present? Do you have any idea how much business this library does?”I shrugged. “Not a lot.”“No. Not a lot. I am the owner and the only employee here, and those titles make me a very busy man. I—”And then I was standing from my chair, letting it turn and roll itself back under the desk. “I don’t have time for this, Mr. Dali.” I started for Sebastian’s table, but then I stopped. “How many responsibilities could you possibly have as a librarian? Are you seriously too busy to offer these kids a half-hour of your time? These boys need… they need structure, they need guidance and instruction, but you’re refusing to give it to them.”And with that, Sebastian followed me out of the library. “Do a penguin dive,” Sebastian says, flashing those chocolatey teeth at me.I smirk. “You gotta lick the chocolate off your mouth, buddy.”I ensure his teeth are brushed twice a day—once when we wake up at 6:03 AM for his karate class and once at 9:37 PM when the other alarm goes off, signaling that it is time to begin his nightly routine—so behind this current mask of milky brown filth, they are quite white. Sometimes, when Sebastian forgets to bring a chocolate bar to the library, Mr. Dali says they sparkle. But today, right now at 8:38 PM, Sebastian’s teeth are slimy and sweet and brown, and Mr. Dali is across the city, probably locking the library’s front doors and heading home to his wife. “I wish every day was the same,” Sebastian says after his teeth have been licked. “Can’t summer last forever?”I smile and place my hands on my hips as the sinking sun paints me in lurid robes of fire. “You’re not too excited about school, huh?”He shakes his head and scratches that skull of his, which is decorated with the coarse brown strands of a mop, thick with grease and utterly lacking any form of shampoo or soap.“If I was fast enough,” he says, turning to admire the sunset with me, “I would swim and catch it before it got away.”“The sun?”Sebastian nods fervently. “I would love to hold it.”I lean with him against the silver railing, my arms on the top as his hands grasp the lower bars. “It’s beautiful, huh?”“Yeah. It might burn me, though. If I tried to hold it.”“Hmm,” I muse. “I guess so.”I am distracted and I hardly notice the recession of the shadows on the wooden planks beneath our feet. I am remembering my encounter with Mr. Dali and his reluctance to establish a proper, friendly environment for his reading group.And do the words “reading group” even offer an accurate depiction of that strange assembly? Perhaps not, though it certainly cannot be labeled a book club. Members of a book club all read the same book at the same time, but these boys… well, there is no structure to what they do, for most of what they do is wait. They are always waiting to be released, and so they are absent, and so they are bored, and so they are bitter, and so Sebastian has been labeled Shitface and, undoubtedly afraid of all the animosity around the blue table, has stranded himself on a pink island, twelve feet away. “Look,” Sebastian says, tugging on my arm. I lift my eyes from the rocks that guard the marina against the lake’s turmoil and there, in the sky before us, is a miracle. The shadows are shrinking as the sun reverses its course, and now the heavens have become a stage, so that all the boats are standing still and the fishermen are standing with empty hands, their rods having slipped and fallen at their feet. Witness us here, crowding the shore in astonishment, waiting for trumpets to sound, waiting—And now voices are rising as we fall from our senses because something—everything—is changing. I am breathless, my knuckles white as I hold the railing; none of us can tell what is happening, but we are sure of one thing: it is happening very fast. We have light in our eyes and desire burns as brightly in our hearts, as brightly as the full body of the sun at 8:42 PM, and soon, I sense, we will be like animals. I didn’t notice Sebastian leaving my side; all I know is he isn’t here, and whoever’s authority it is that has overruled the passage of time and made the sun as red as roses is guiding me away, along the docks and towards the plaza. There is a hunger in me that has been made desperate and sharp, like the hunger of a shark tracing the scent of blood. There are people sprinting past me in both directions and there is a great urgency to all that they do; their voices are like sirens and their limbs are noodles dangling from a fork, flailing as they run and scream and surrender themselves to the force of the miracle in the sky. There is blood leaking from the lips of an elderly man who seizes both of my shoulders and shakes me until I shove him away. He stumbles and falls, and not a single soul intervenes as I collapse upon him, punching and biting and spitting. “The true king of heaven and earth is come!” he shrieks, blood spraying as he gurgles and chokes. “Gladness and sadness shall he bring from the skies; from fire and smoke shall his children—”The rest of his words are lost in the collapsing tunnel of his throat as I tighten both of my hands, making him gasp and retch and—My vision is swimming, for a boy has crashed into us at perhaps forty kilometers per hour on his silver bicycle. He recovers faster than we do, bolting for the slanted steel roof that, just a couple of minutes ago, had provided some shade as Sebastian and I beheld the sunset. The roar of a boat speeding from the launch ramp steals my attention, and I look just in time to see the old, bloody man leap headfirst, arms straining as his lips spread wide with insanity. The husband and wife on the boat do not flinch when the old man’s face strikes the motor, the tips of his fingers grazing the rim of the craft as the rest of him lands in the water. Blood distincts itself from the rest of the lake, so grave is the injury to his face, and he is motionless as the boat sails away.I found her in the convenience store next to the pizza shop, and we have been here ever since. Her hair is messier than it is when we’re at work together, and her eyes have been made beautifully hungry in the fire of the undying sun. I am clean now, for the first thing we did was wash each other in the bathroom. Most of our clothes are still there, and we have piled all of the shelves against the door and windows, so we are painted by slivers of burning wine. Outside, the havoc goes on, and perhaps the strangest part of this is the serenity I—we—feel. All of us. We are manic, but we are calm. Our hearts are slow, even as our lungs pulse and our throats tighten, and… “And it’s lovely, isn’t it?” she asks. I remember the way she looked at me four days ago, sitting across the table from me with her iced coffee and her work uniform, glancing at the clock on the wall every so often to make sure our lunch break hadn’t ended. She wouldn’t look at me, just a brief moment of eye contact, our lenses of different shades; blues, greens, colors of mystery. Was any of it flirtatious? Or just… personal, happy, comfortably in love that is as real as it is unspoken? Her hands are on my chest and my back is bare against the cold tile floor. She is in her underwear and a pink bra, her legs around me, sitting still with my hands on the insides of her upper thighs, gazing steadily into my eyes, and I am thinking to myself how much lovelier she is now in the glowing shadows. All of the questions I had about her are being answered through the silence of our reunion. We have silent history, see, and until now, I wasn’t sure if she was aware of this or not. I used to wonder if she thought of me like I thought of her, if our shared lunch breaks ever meant anything to her. I wondered if I was interesting, if she had any questions about the nineteen-year-old blond kid who came in every day and left covered in sweat and grime. I wanted her to notice me like I noticed her, and now I know she has.“I hope we can stay like this,” comes her voice from those soft lips, and for a moment I can see beyond the smoothness of her skin. For a moment, the rest of her is revealed to me; her heart, thumping slowly; her blood, coursing through veins of ice; her lungs, pulsing and wet. I can see her bleed without making her bleed, can see her breathe without hearing her breath, and I am thinking to myself now that I might like that internal side of her much better than this flesh that coats it all and, upon her face, contorts itself into expressions of sadness and longing. I move one of my hands to her cheek. “We can.”But when we emerge from our passion two hours later, our bodies slick with sweat and intertwined, there is a new deepness in the shadows, and the slivers of fire have died away. I find her eyes in the dark and kiss her, our tongues together, my hands on her legs and breasts, we are fighting to keep the beauty of our sin alive just a little longer. The floor is wet with us and when we are finished, we lie together on the glistening tiles, our foreheads touching, lips inches apart. “Should we go?” she asks after some time. I nod my head gently against hers. We dress ourselves and remove the steel shelves from the door and step into a brand new world; a colder world than the one we left behind, for night has fallen—or is it morning? There is no way of telling, for we have witnessed miracles and have both lost our phones. “I need to find my brother,” I say, the murkiness in my mind slowly clearing. “Wait. Listen.”Music drifts along the currents of a cool breeze, and what a strange taste it has upon my ears. There is a tongue whose words I do not understand, speaking through the eyes of the stars, and some part of me feels as if we are walking through the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse. Down by the dock, beginning in the water and stretching toward the clouds, is a tower of people. The tower’s base is wide and constructed by the bare bodies of maybe ninety people, men and women, boys and girls, and its peak, hundreds of feet above, is hardly visible.“It’s a castell.”“What?”“A castell—a human tower. They make these in Spain—Catalonia, I think—during festivals and whatever.”I notice a small silhouette at the far end of the dock, standing beneath the steel roof. I can’t be sure for the shadows of night and of the castell, but I think they are facing away from us, toward the open water. Her hand is on my arm as we crane our necks, taking in the hundreds of people that have assembled themselves on each other’s shoulders. “Where did they come from?”I shake my head, and then the voice of a man rises above the music, which indeed appears to emanate from the stars. “Protect us, protect us, protect us.” He wears white robes and is kneeling by the edge of the water. “Protect us and save us. Preserve us and keep us. Let us not be swayed by your fallen ones, but rather—”And then there is a tremendous splash, and a body floats slowly to the surface. The body is bent and broken and naked, and it is followed by others. Not a single scream interrupts the music as the castell collapses, and I have never run this fast in my life. Bodies are landing all around us, splattering themselves across the pavement, and I have her hand in mine as we run toward the roof. She shrieks when a form—that is all it is to us, a form, a body, genderless and skinless and hairless—lands five feet ahead of us, showering our faces with gore. We pass its annihilated remains and make it to the shelter, where Sebastian is leaning against the fence, gazing across the water. “Oh, my—” I hug him fiercely, kissing his filthy head, asking if he’s all right, kneeling and holding his face in both of my hands. “I thought I lost you.”He shakes his head, and his eyes are looking past me. I turn and find the man in white.“You, all you three,” he says and his voice is clear, for the stars have fallen silent. “You have been blessed beyond measure.” Behind him, the base of the castell is swaying to and fro like a flag in the wind. “Satan answered the Lord and said, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.’”“Job one, verse seven,” Sebastian says, recalling the Sunday school lessons Mom used to teach us. “Yes. Very good.”My eyes are on the castell, this spectacle of swaying bodies, fighting so hard for balance. Satan is present here, we know, we know, and we will never forget.
","September 05, 2023 16:23",[]
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",vzj3iy,The Eye of Time. ,Emanuel Diaz,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/vzj3iy/,/short-story/vzj3iy/,Science Fiction,0,"['Romance', 'Science Fiction', 'Mystery']",8 likes,"
Till Douglas and his wife, María, stood hand in hand on the beach, gazing at the fiery hues of the setting sun. The salty breeze ruffled their hair, and the soft, warm sand beneath their feet seemed to be a testament to the perfect days they had spent together on this vacation. As they watched the sun descend toward the horizon, Till couldn't help but think that summer should never end, so they could savor these lovely romantic evenings forever.
 
But just as the sun dipped below the horizon, something strange happened. Time seemed to shift and warp around them. The waves began to crash in reverse, and the seagulls that had been soaring in the sky suddenly flew backward, as if rewinding a scene in a movie.
 
Till and María exchanged bewildered glances, their hearts racing as they realized that time itself was moving in reverse. They could feel the warmth of the day retreat from their skin, and the colors of the sunset faded back into the sky.
 
As Till and Maria witnessed time flowing in reverse, they were overcome by a sense of disbelief and anxiety. Their first moments of realization were met with wide-eyed astonishment. The waves crashing backward against the shore were a surreal sight as if nature itself had hit the rewind button. The once-peaceful seagulls now seemed like messengers from an alternate reality, their graceful flight retracing an impossible path.
 
Their footsteps in the sand left a fleeting trail, rapidly disappearing as the beach erased their presence. They watched as children's laughter regressed into puzzlement and confusion, and the delicate sandcastles that had been carefully crafted were dismantled before their very eyes. The carefree holidaymakers who had been soaking in the sun now walked backward, their expressions shifting from relaxation to bewilderment.
 
As Till and Maria ventured further along the beach, the disorienting sight of the world unraveling played tricks on their senses. The world around them seemed to be unraveling, like a tapestry being unraveled thread by thread. They watched in astonishment as boats that had sailed gracefully toward the horizon now reversed their course, seemingly sailing backward through time.
 
With each new discovery, their anxiety grew. They couldn't comprehend the forces at play, and the fear of the unknown gnawed at them. It was as if they had stumbled into a realm where the laws of time and space had been upended. Their anxiousness deepened as they realized that this bizarre phenomenon was beyond their control.
 
Through it all, Till and Maria clung to each other, finding comfort in their shared confusion and fear. They were determined to navigate this surreal journey together, holding tight to the hope that they would eventually find answers to the mysteries of time that surrounded them.
 
Till, a man of curiosity and courage, whispered to María, ""We must find out what's happening.""
 
As they continued their exploration, Till couldn't help but recall the lyrics of a song that seemed eerily appropriate for this strange experience:
""Some things should be, some shouldn't We see, but we are blind We throw shadows without light"".
 
They felt as though they were caught in a paradox of time, where the past was becoming the present. The memories they had created during this vacation were being undone, and they longed for the perfect moments to stand still.
 
They reached the spot where they had initially watched the sunset and looked out at the ocean. The sun, which had dipped below the horizon, began to rise again, casting its warm glow across the water.
 
María held Till's hand tightly, tears in her eyes. ""It's so beautiful, but it's slipping away,"" she whispered.
 
Till nodded, knowing that the reversal of time couldn't be stopped. They had no choice but to let it run its course. As they stood there, watching the world rewind, they found solace in each other's presence, cherishing the moments they had shared.
 
""When our time has come, it's time to go,"" Till said softly, echoing the lyrics they had heard earlier. ""Stop when it's most beautiful, the clocks stand still. The moment is so perfect, but time keeps ticking. A moment, please stay, I'm not ready yet.""
 
María squeezed his hand, and they continued to watch as the sun dipped below the horizon for the second time, knowing that even though time moved inexorably forward, their love would endure, and the memories of this perfect vacation would remain etched in their hearts forever.
 
As they stood there, Till couldn't help but hope that, in some way, this moment, frozen in their minds, would indeed stand still, a perfect memory in the flow of time.
 
As Till and María continued to witness the surreal reversal of time, they encountered an even more astonishing phenomenon. As the sun dipped below the horizon for the second time, a sense of dread mingled with their awe. In the inky, darkening sky, they saw something that defied all reason—a colossal eldritch eye, monstrous and unblinking, taking the form of a second sun. It hung ominously, piercing through the fabric of reality, casting an eerie, otherworldly light across the landscape.
 
The eye seemed to gaze upon the Earth with an inscrutable curiosity, its giant iris revealing nothing of its intentions. It was as though the very cosmos itself had revealed a cosmic secret, and Till and María couldn't help but feel a shiver run down their spines. Yet, amidst the anxiety that this cosmic eye invoked, there was a haunting beauty to its presence.
 
They found themselves drawn to this eldritch eye night after night as time rewound. It’s strange, unsettling radiance bathed the world in an otherworldly glow, illuminating landscapes and people in a surreal, dreamlike manner. They marveled at how even the most mundane scenes were transformed into ethereal, haunting portraits under the eye's gaze.
 
As the eldritch eye lingered, they couldn't help but appreciate its uncanny beauty. The shifting colors and patterns within the iris painted the world in mesmerizing, ever-changing hues. It was as though the eye held the secrets of the universe, and in its presence, Till and María found a strange serenity. They began to embrace the cosmic enigma, finding solace in its inexplicable existence and cherishing the unique perspective it offered.
 
""Time,"" Till whispered, ""It's so nice, so nice. Everybody knows the perfect moment.""
 
Even when facing the unknown with fear and anxiety, we seek the love and company of our beloved.
","September 09, 2023 02:39","[[{'Amy Curry': 'Awesome detail and description! Enjoyed reading this :-)', 'time': '01:26 Sep 16, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Emanuel Diaz': 'Glad it was down your alley.', 'time': '19:10 Sep 16, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Emanuel Diaz': 'Glad it was down your alley.', 'time': '19:10 Sep 16, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Emily Holding': 'Especially liked the lines about the warmth retreating from their skin and alternate-reality-messenger seagulls, and I really enjoyed this sense of acceptance of the bizarre from your characters!', 'time': '21:00 Sep 14, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Emanuel Diaz': 'Thank you. Glad you liked it.', 'time': '02:49 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Emanuel Diaz': 'Thank you. Glad you liked it.', 'time': '02:49 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Mary Bendickson': 'The mystery of it all.', 'time': '23:17 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",xl2qtw,Hues of Her,Joseph Hanna,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/xl2qtw/,/short-story/xl2qtw/,Science Fiction,0,"['Romance', 'Sad']",8 likes,"
	My sky shines with the colors of all the stars. The hues of rose red and bright bumblebee yellow falling through the cracks of the sun’s barriers. I see them crumble away to the ground where it coats my hands to the very pores of my skin. I feel the tinges of tangerine orange to tufts blue float beneath my surface, shining through the wounds left behind by surgeries not so long removed. The sensation of stitches still holding gashes in place sends shivers down my spent spine. I sit beside my lover, holding her hand with the same passion I held on our wedding day, a reminder of the vow of affection I made all those years ago. I remember the way her hair held so many shades of brown, flowing along the light breeze as our loved ones witnessed our holy matrimony. Yet now her hair only shows off the spectrum of gray and rough sensation it gives to my fidgeting fingers, a sign of the many years since that day still so vivid despite the passing of time. As I stare at her own scars and notches, I see her beauty as blinding as the setting sun, imprinting into my vision when I try to look away. Her eyes still shine with that same determination to thrive despite our many barriers built up by barred issues. We stood the test of time and found our way through the maze, but now find ourselves unwilling to leave its warm embrace.As I’m watching, I dream of more time with her, and yet I know this has to be our last day together. I can feel my body weakening, taking down my ability to remember all the ways in which we were in love. The ways in which we held onto each other all throughout the night, surrounded by shadows of silver reflecting off the windchimes we hung up to add our own sound to the quiet. Those days when we would talk in circles about events we both attended, sharing new perspectives and ideas we’ve heard a thousand times before, holding every second like glistening glass, one slight away from flying off to our gentle gray tiles. 	All I should be thinking about right now is the pain growing inside of me, ascending upwards as myself will soon move. My death, as did my birth, has a due date, and it just so happens to be today. Yet all I can think of is how her face gazes upon mine with such careful affection. An affection I have nothing to earn. She has held my mind together while I unraveled hers out of sheer compulsion. My boorish and blunt attitude have made her upset more times than I can count, and yet, here she sits beside me despite my shortcomings. I shall soon be born again into stardust, scattered across the gardens we have so meticulously maintained, sacrificing our softness for blooming blossoms. I see the Dartmouth green stalks attached to flower blooms that will grow from my ashes, bringing her the last part of myself that I can give. I used to gather them with her guiding hand moving me through each moment. We would sway along with the wind for hours, floating through fields of flowers, chasing our never ending love for hours. I wish I hadn’t been so tough on their stems, clumsily pulling out all their roots as life does to me now. 	I wish I could have given her the world, but all I could afford were these few acres in the countryside, a long ways from which we grew up. I can trace my finger along the path of a map to show how far we’ve come, shying away from bustling cities and fairing instead for the loud quiet that we could love for eternity. The crickets singing above the hum of the night, crowding out the spaces where birds once sounded their song some hours prior. Listening to the last bustling creatures bumping around to find home as we once had to do when we were younger and less astute to the importance of stability. We used to move like broken records, running through the same grooves over and over until we finally broke loose and discovered that life is about grace. We found the grace in sitting still, saying nothing at all. We knew the grace of knowing when and who to call. All our lives we were entangled: on tree branches, in blankets, across the cold floors, and through the soft glimmering grass of the fiends. She always thought it was enough, and I know that at the end of the day, it was, but only for me. 	I remember in the week we found out that my life was nearing its end and we held onto one another and cried until at last we had to pry ourselves off of one another to find our new definition of love. It was turning gray, ashen and could crumble at the slightest touch. All we hoped for was one another. Yet somehow, I couldn’t provide that either. We learnt that our love going monotone didn’t mean that we had to forgo our weekly game nights or Christmas dinners. The only difference, it seemed, was that the colors were less vivid. We sit now, hand in hand, against the blooming essence of the universe surrounding our insignificant bodies. It’s the last day the sun will shine this bright, the crickets will be this loud. It’s the last day I get to experience much of anything at all. I hold her hand, feeling my breath hitch deep in my throat as my oxygen levels decline. I see tears well in her darkened eyes, swirled with hues of bright blue and green, a charming blend of the only world I hope to see. My thoughts of love echo into my vision as my eyes doze, leading me to the primrose we planted along in dozens of rows. Their petals lives are soon to come to a close, feathering the same surface I will soon lay down.	Yet, I most curiously notice that the spot in the sky I so traditionally stare at to try and contain the overwhelming beauty in front of me is moving in reverse. I feel my oxygen bubble up once again, through my tank and into my tubes. I feel our hands, solid atop the bench where we rest. I watch the overwhelming speed of time going back, faster and faster, till my sight can’t catch up. All those curious little thoughts of regret I so dutifully held back into the depths of my brain come bouncing out of hiding as I realize what has happened. I’m standing in front of a young woman as a young man. Her eyes holding that same shine with that determination to thrive. I’m getting to love her, all over again.
","September 09, 2023 03:45","[[{'Catherine Colquhoun': 'I liked the story so colourful but', 'time': '11:46 Sep 17, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Ruth Ford': 'I like the colorful description it helped me get a vivid mental picture of the events.', 'time': '22:03 Sep 13, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",ep1a21,The Boy Who Destroyed the World,T. Shen Long,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/ep1a21/,/short-story/ep1a21/,Science Fiction,0,"['Middle School', 'Funny', 'Science Fiction']",8 likes,"
	If anyone found out this was all my fault, I’m sure I’d be killed. I only wanted a little more time of summer vacation.
I learned in the fifth grade this sort of thing sometimes happens in places way up north. Places with polar bears and tons of snow. Places where they could use a little extra sun. Places like Alaska, or Russia, or Wisconsin. Places, that for days on end, the sun never quite makes its way past the horizon. Dad says this isn’t like that. Dad says this is different. Dad says this is bad.
	It’s been twenty-three hours straight of sun. The sun rose at its normal 7:10 a.m. on Sunday morning. (Yesterday morning? This morning? Actually, I’m not sure how this works...) And the sun began to set at its normal 8:10 p.m. on Sunday evening. And then, just as the last glowing ray of light was about to fade from the horizon… it didn’t. And like a slow, golden yo-yo, the sun popped right back up again. It’s been retracing its path ever since.
	Charlie, our “Indianapolis Channel 13 Weather Professional,” said we shouldn’t panic. He said this “weather phenomenon” is likely due to a major solar flare, or a polar reversal, or something else quite explainable by science. Charlie said a temporary Western Hemisphere heat wave was the only thing we had to worry about. Dad said Charlie was an idiot. He usually says that about him. This time though, I knew Charlie was wrong, but I couldn’t tell Dad that. I watched as beads of sweat accumulated on Charlie’s brow through our 4K TV. Maybe he knew he was wrong, too. Or maybe the heat was getting to him.
	Mom spent the last hour on hold with Seymour Middle School. Apparently, parents all over the district had been calling in to see if the first day of school would be canceled. I reminded her that technically, as the sun didn’t go down all the way it was still Sunday and the first day of school wasn’t until Monday. Mom didn’t like that. She made me get ready for school, anyhow. If Mom only knew what I did.
	After I got dressed, I met my family in the kitchen. I glanced at the clock on the microwave. Of course, it didn’t care that the sun rebounded back into the sky last evening. It continued to count minute after minute, and will continue to count minute after minute for infinity, or until we have another power outage, and then it will just flash 12:00 for a couple days until Mom pesters Dad enough to fix it. It said 7:00 a.m., nearly 24 hours of sun. Dad told me to eat my breakfast. Then he cussed at the Indianapolis Channel 13 Weather Professional. Then Mom mouthed to Dad to shut up. She was finally talking with someone on the phone now.
	“Mom, is there school?” I asked as I shoved a pop-tart into my mouth.
	“Shush… I don’t know. I’m talking with Grandma.”
	Mom had dark bags under her eyes. She had been talking with Grandma intermittently all night, err… day… second day… still not sure how this works. Anyhow, Grandma was afraid the world was coming to an end. She had called around 2:00 a.m. to see if we had been raptured up into the clouds. When she had found we were still on the ground, she scolded Mom for not going to church more often with her. After thirty minutes or so of ridicule, mom reminded Grandma if rapture did happen, she was still on earth, too. That was enough to make Grandma cry and hang up. Dad made me go to bed shortly after, but around 4:00 a.m. I heard Mom call Grandma back to apologize.
	I followed my sacred tradition of picking the frosting off the top of my pop-tart, burning the tips of my fingers on the magma-hot filling.
	“Grandma wants to talk to you,” she said to me as she passed me the phone.
	I looked imploringly at Dad, hoping he would bail me out. “Shouldn’t I head off to school, just in case?”  
For the first time this entire summer, I wished I was back at school.
	Dad looked at his cell phone. “You don’t have to leave for another twenty minutes. Talk to your Grandma.” The way he said this, I’m pretty sure Dad knew he was next and was trying to stall.
	I grabbed the phone from Mom, spreading sticky blueberry filling fingerprints all over her phone case. Mom’s eyes rolled in a surprisingly accurate rendition of the sun’s previous 24-hour trip.
	“Hi Grandma,” I sighed into the phone.
	“Have you been praying every night like I asked you?” Grandma never was one to mince words.
	“Yes, Grandma,” I lied as I continued dissecting my pop-tart.
	“It’s because of those kids in dog suits,” Grandma lamented.
	“Absolutely Grandma, wait… what?”
	“The furries!” Grandma replied, “I saw on the news that they demand litter boxes at school. God’s own children, made in His image, mind you, pooping in boxes like wild animals. This is God’s punishment for the furries! It’s their fault the sun won’t go down.”
	“Yes, Grandma you are probably right,” I said, trying my best to sound solemn. If Grandma only knew it was my fault the sun had zigzagged across the sky. It was my stupid wish… “Say, Grandma, I gotta get going to school.”
	“You mean you are still going to school?” Grandma gasped, “Just like the public school system to completely ignore a sign from God. I bet if some liberal riot leader would’ve died yesterday, they’d have taken the whole week off for it. If we aren’t all in heaven by this afternoon, be sure to call and tell me how your first day back to school went.”
	“Will do, Grandma.” I said as I handed the phone back to Mom. My stomach was feeling queasy. I couldn’t even finish my second pop-tart.
	Instinctively, Dad got out of his chair and made a beeline for the garage, “Better water the lawn before I head to work. This sun is gonna kill my grass.”
	Mom shot him a sour look, then continued her conversation with Grandma.
	“So, are you sure there’s school today?” I asked Mom as I dumped the remains of my breakfast pastry into the trash.
	“School’s not far, just walk and find out,” she whispered as she covered the mouthpiece of her phone, “Head back if it’s closed, okay?”
	I frowned, grabbed my backpack, and sulked my way to the front door. Instinctively, I grabbed my jacket from the coat hanger, but as soon as I stepped outside, I knew it would be suicide to wear it. It was 7:30 a.m. and it was already 90 degrees out. Dad was lackadaisically spraying the lawn with his garden-hose. Rings of sweat were already forming on the pits of his button-down work shirt.  His hand shaded his sweaty brow as he gazed Eastward at the sun.
	“Bet the sun will just keep going in that direction,” he said more to himself than to me, “and we’ll all go on as if nothing happened. What’s so bad about the sun setting in the east and rising in the west for a change? Everyone’s panicking over nothing.” It was a stark contrast to his earlier opinion of a climactic catastrophe. Dad must be really worried if he was willing to agree with the Indianapolis Channel 13 Weather Idiot. Was it better for him to believe a lie, or hate me forever, or for at least the brief period we had left on Earth?
	I shrugged and waved goodbye to him as I made my way from the driveway to the sidewalk. Dad continued to stare at the sun as it slowly approached the horizon. In less than an hour his theory would be proved false.
	I continued on my route to school, using the shadows of houses and trees as best I could to block the sun's rays. Despite my best efforts, intense heat remained on my side, as if the sun was punishing me for making it work overtime. I kept my head down as I went, trying my best to hurtle each crack on the concrete, so much so that I nearly collided with Jake, my neighbor who was coming from the opposite direction.
	“Woah, you’re going the wrong way, dork*.” Jake was in high school, so obviously he didn’t say dork, he said something very much worse.
	“What do you mean?” I asked, as he piled his backpack on top of mine. I obediently followed him like a well-trained pack mule.
	“School’s been canceled. For all of us. Everybody’s been sent home. Something about the teacher’s union saying they won’t work during Armageddon or some stuff* like that.”
	If someone had told me a little over 24 hours ago that school would be closed, I would have been ecstatic. Instead, I felt like I was gonna hurl. Tears began to well up in my eyes.
	“The heck*’s the matter with you, doofus*? Ain’t you excited we get more vacation? We might not be going back for freaking* months!”
	Believe it or not, I liked Jake. He was the kind kid that taught the younger kids all the stuff their parents wouldn’t. For instance, a few summers ago he taught me what the word he actually said instead of “freaking” meant. He was the kid that wouldn’t tattle on you for lighting a bag of poop on fire on Mrs. Keen’s doorstep (in my defense though, it was his idea.) He was the kind of role-model a young world destroyer like me could trust, which was why I finally broke my secret.
	“Jake… it’s all my fault,” I sobbed to my teenage confidant, “I wished the day wouldn’t end. As the sun was setting, I saw the first star in the sky, and I wished on it… I wished… I didn’t want to have to go back to school and now the world is gonna burn up and it’s my fault.”
	Jake stopped walking and contemplated my confession for a moment. Then, he put a hand lovingly on my shoulder, looked at me with eyes far more wise than his acne covered face would suggest, and declared, “That’s the stupidest gosh* darn* stuff* I’ve ever heard in my entire life. What kind of freaking* Disney watching dork*face believes in wishing on the first star in the sky? What, and you think you are the only dummy* who hoped school was gonna get canceled today? The sun don’t revolve around you or me or any other doofus* kid. It revolves around the earth and it’s gonna revolve around the earth how it wants regardless of what baby poop*heads like you wish for. All you can do is make the freaking* best of it. Now quit your freaking* crying and enjoy your extra gosh* darn* day off from school.”
	I wiped the tears from my eyes and cracked a small smile at my neighbor and exemplar. Jake always knew the right thing to say.  
	“The earth’s gonna revolve around the sun how it wants,” I corrected.
	“Huh?” 
	Jake thought for a moment. Then he punched me as hard as he could in the arm. I called him a dork*. He smiled. Then, we both stared together at the eastern horizon as we waited for the sun to make up its mind.
 
Meanwhile, another boy in China…
 
	If anyone found out this was all my fault, I’m sure I’d be killed. I only wanted a little more time to sleep…
","September 07, 2023 01:21","[[{'Miriam Culy': 'Love that ending!', 'time': '21:32 Sep 11, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",6cwcdc,Western Sunrise,R M,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/6cwcdc/,/short-story/6cwcdc/,Science Fiction,0,['Science Fiction'],8 likes,"
The thick, humid air boiled the depths of Dylan’s lungs. Depths that haven’t been reached since his most recent failed attempt at getting into better shape. That valiant effort met its demise a little over five years ago the day Joey came into the world. There was something different about this particular brand of summer mountain air that he couldn’t quite pinpoint. The familiar earthy, electric taste of the recent rain shower was still radiating from the wet Georgia clay. On this specific evening it was paired with something that could only be described as a presence. Every breath seemed to take up residence in Dylan’s mind as a feeling of both nostalgia and a foreboding sense of the unknown.“Buddy. I think it’s time you start breaking in them new hiking boots,” he said as he lowered the precious cargo off of his shoulders. “You’re ol dad’s not the same spry twenty year old he was when he hiked this mountain fifteen years ago.”He eased Joey onto a small boulder. Joey promptly leapt from the boulder and threw himself into a superhero landing pose that would rival any box office star’s performance. That is, if it wasn’t for his wayward daypack continuing on with the motion and thumping the clumsy five year old in the back of his head. As Joey brushed the dark brown strands of hair from his equally brown eyes, Dylan decided to take advantage of the newly vacant boulder and sat down to catch his breath. He ignored the damp heat of the granite as he wiped the sweat from where his own brown hair used to reside. A sweat earned from a father’s never ending effort to be the greatest father to ever live. As Joey bounced his attention from one of nature’s small treasures to the next, Dylan sat present in the moment and reflected on just how lucky he was to finally be able to start sharing his passions in life with his maturing son. His curious young mind was at that age where he could fully appreciate new experiences and his body was mostly coordinated enough to participate.Throughout Joey’s entire existence, Dylan was wedged somewhere between his role as the hard-working breadwinner of the family and a stay at home dad. The booming advancements in artificial technology over the last decade had made his expertise in machine learning immensely lucrative. As an independent contractor, he worked from his home office and had the luxury of choosing his hours. With the amount of money each job brought in, he found himself working fewer hours each day and maximizing his time with his loving wife and prized son. Dylan was fortunate. His career allowed him to never miss a moment of his son’s life. He got to witness the first time Joey lifted his head as an infant, the first time he rolled over, his first steps. Every milestone that most fathers usually only hear about through an excited call to the office from the wife, Dylan got to experience first hand. These experiences helped forge an ironclad bond between them he may have missed out on if he was stuck working a traditional nine-to-five. Every break he took from work, he would walk down the long, open hall from his office to the living room to get in a few memories with his son between meetings. He would pay no attention to the expensive paintings on the walls or the rare sports memorabilia on display in the curio cabinet. He never once stopped to reminisce on the photograph of the president shaking his hand congratulating him for a job-well-done on the cyber identity and biometrics project from a few years ago. The real treasure in Dylan’s life was at the end of the hall. It was the quick patter of nearing footsteps, and the ear to ear smile on Joey’s face that only broke to shout “Daddy!” once his hero was spotted. No father had ever loved their son more than Dylan loved Joey. Of this, he was absolutely certain.“Alright, Pal. I think I’m ready to get movin again,” he said to the energetic boy who was now hopping from stone to log to tree stump.“Watch how high I can jump over this log, Dad”.“That’s incredible! But be careful. The ground is still slippery from the rain. We only got about fifteen minutes til the sun starts to set. I’ve wanted to show you my secret spot on this old mountain since before you were a thought in your mother’s mind. It’s a perfect spot to watch the sun go down.”As Dylan got up, he took one final glance through the forest as the distant trunks began to darken to shadows. He closed his eyes, supplied his lungs with one last deep breath of this strange, baleful mountain air, and began the last leg of their journey. As he advanced up the trail, Joey circled him like an energetic dog off-leash, exploring every puddle he could find, kicking unsuspecting rocks, and jumping to smack any low hanging branch unfortunate enough to be within his reach.They reached the clearing with no more than five minutes to spare before the Blue Ridge mountain sunset really began its show. The quaint, flat clearing was perched a quarter mile down trail from the mountain’s peak as if it were a landing on a grand staircase. It was just large enough for a small group of campers to escape together in solitude. To the East, the tree line shielded the sanctuary from the trail. Wild grasses blanketed the rust colored clay from the tree line to the sheer rocky western face of the mountain. A large granite outcrop protruded vertically from the edge just enough to act as the perfect viewing bench for those brave enough to take a front row seat to God’s handy work. Dylan and Joey were brave enough.“Take a look Joe,” Dylan said as he looked vacantly out to the sky. As they stood on the outcrop, he held tightly to Joe to protect his enthusiastic child from the dangers of their damp footing. In the distance, the lingering clouds from the morning’s rain had turned to miraculous shades of amber, pink, and yellow. The colors hung vividly above the hazy blue and purple folds of the far off Blue Ridge foothills. The scattered buildings in the valley played an important role in reflecting the cosmic palette. A single burst of amber light beamed from the metal roof of a chapel as if it were God’s signature reminding all who marveled who created this masterpiece.As they both gaped in amazement, Dylan realized this wonderment of color would soon give way to darkness. He forced himself to shift his focus to preparing their headlamps. He retrieved the tangled mess from his pocket and, looking down, began to work the elastic headbands free from each other's grasp. Preoccupied with his task he asked, “What do you think, Buddy?” There was no answer. An instant sensation of panic and dread rolled through his body. It was as if the entire supply of emotions from the day’s malefic air materialized into a tangible moment in time. Dylan’s eyes shot from his task in a bolt of panic and dread. He safely laid eyes on Joey who was no longer facing the sunset and was peering straight into his father’s eyes with the same astonished stare he offered the sky. The boy’s youthful curiosity had brought him closer to the mountain’s edge for a better look at the final moments of artwork reflecting over the valley lakes. Dylan’s heart began to beat again. As he pulled Joey back, they stepped down from the outcrop and retreated to the safety of the grass.”This was so beautiful. I love you, Dad,” Joey said.As he sighed in relief Dylan said, “Come on Joe. It’ll be dark in a minute or so. Get your headlamp on so we can be ready to head out.” As they stood arm in arm waiting for nightfall, Dylan couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed. He felt something foreign. Something new. Along with the joy and happiness he expected to feel, he couldn’t ignore the weight of emotions the recent scare had burdened upon him. Joey was just fine. Why did he feel like something sinister happened? Eventually, nightfall came. A darkness reserved for a secluded countryside fell upon them. They turned and started back to the trail under the guidance of their flashlights. But then, over the same mountain peaks which it had just retreated, the amber glow of the sun began to creep back over the valley, rose up the mountain side, rolled across the grassy clearing, and washed over their backs. Dylan froze.Confused and terrified, Dylan looked over his shoulder to confirm what he couldn’t believe. Surely, he must have just misjudged the timing of their exit and didn’t realize the sun had a few more moments of serenity to offer. But it had been dark. He was sure of it. They turned to study the solar curtain call. As the minutes passed, the sun rose higher in the west, offering a second wash of color over the still landscape. A second day was born.As they somberly made their way back down the trail, Dylan felt peculiar. A side effect of the queer celestial behavior no doubt. A few years ago, he had a lucid dream after a night cap of the perfect amount of two dollar Cabernet Sauvignon. In the dream he sat up, walked around the room for a bit and looked back down at his sleeping body. As he explored this dream, he could simultaneously feel sensation yet felt nothing at all. Just as in that dream, everything on the mountain now felt real yet intangible. The curious air that had pestered his mind all day had changed. The humidity dropped to zero. It tasted sterile and felt alarmingly cool for a Georgia summer.By the time they reached the trail head, Joey was asleep on Dylan’s back. Though it was now as bright as day, it was still well past the youngster’s usual bedtime. After he carefully strapped the sleeping cherub into his car seat, Dylan climbed into the old, but reliable, crew cab pickup truck. He sent a text to his wife, fully aware that it wouldn’t send until they got further into a nearby town and found cell service.“Headed back from our trip. Joe’s asleep. Had a wonderful time but can’t comprehend what is happening in the sky. I think something big is happening. Hope you’re ok. Love you Janey. See you in a couple hours.”He started the truck and frantically searched for a radio broadcast covering the phenomenon they just witnessed. All he could find was static. They were still too deep in the mountains to get a good signal. As a courtesy to his sleeping son, he decided to leave the static on at low volume to drown out the chomp of worn tires eating away at the gravel road as they started their journey home.Once they got to the main road Dylan finally heard some faint voices amongst the static. He couldn’t make out much but what he could piece together seemed to be a lecture on a topic with which he was very familiar. Artificial intelligence. He turned the volume dial up a few clicks.“…some speculation on how the technology works but with the assistance of advanced machine learning, research shows that we can pinpoint and recreate, or even alter, recent memories tied to individual emotions. Combined with some breakthroughs in the medical field…” the staticky voice explained before falling victim to a flood of pure white noise.“…ventilator and other life support systems allow him to remain in a suspended state of animation, reliving a select memory that evokes our desired emotion,” the voice continued. “It’s almost like a lab controlled lucid dream. This is all still very experimental. Initial tests show that sustained levels of dopamine and oxytocin provided by the memory coupled with the incorporation of AI assisted neuroengineering technologies will rewire the patient’s brain to better cope with traumatic events. The only drawback is that evidence shows that if the patient were to die within their altered memory, they die in the physical world as well. It seems to be a physiological response to what the mind experiences. We wouldn’t have even considered treatment if it wasn’t for his work on Project 972. It was from his theories and neural networks that we derived this advancement in telepathic communications when we applied them to our own research. We owe him.”Project 972? That was the project Dylan worked on that earned him the presidential handshake commemorated in his hallway. He was struggling to put the pieces together on what this broadcast was about. What treatment? Were they talking about his work? He knew the reports were declassified but he had no idea his work was being applied to neuroscience. He put on his sunglasses as the rising western sun crept into his pupils.“Doctor!” a young woman’s voice chirped through the radio. “The environment team just identified a problem with the time cycle. It seems that rather than looping between day and night, the cycle actually sort of…just started to rewind. We’ve been reporting an elevated heart rate and a volatile imbalance of neurotransmitters. We suspect this is a reaction to witnessing the glitch in the time cycle. So far the numbers reported suggest he’s dealing with the phenomenon pretty well but he’s been showing signs of increased stress over the last few minutes.”Dylan’s curiosity was starting to boil over. A wave of anxiety and fear took hold of him.“What’s going to happen? How much longer will he need to be like this?” a familiar, yet broken female voice asked as the quality of the radio signal began to improve. He could swear this voice sounded just like the voice that recited vows to him on his wedding day. But that was impossible. What exactly did he stumble upon? Utter confusion rushed over Dylan. He could not even speculate what he might be listening to. His heart began to race. He was pulling in the cool, sterile air with short, rapid breaths.“I’m sorry, Janey. I know this is hard on you. Especially at a time like this. We simply don’t know yet. We expected to see evidence of long term improvement around week three but the markers have not changed at all and we’re approaching week six. What we do know is how devastated he was when the rangers found him. By the time they got to him, he had been sitting on that mountain for three days in a catatonic state. You know how much your son meant to him.”“I know,” he heard his wife cry over the airwaves. “And I know you explain all this to me every week. I just need him back. There’s got to be something more you can do. I need him with me. He’s all I have left.”All at once, the pieces fell into place for Dylan. The foreboding summer air that tortured his emotions finally made sense. It was the recycled air he had been breathing day after day as he relived the beautiful, though altered, final memory with his beloved son. The surreal western sunrise had inched him back towards reality as his mind rejected the miracle and he subconsciously started to realize that he was in an altered state. The way he could feel sensation but simultaneously felt nothing at all was his body remembering the familiar experience of a lucid dream. The voices he heard on the radio weren’t being broadcasted at all. It was his mind fitting reality into this illusion. To confirm his suspicion that he was, in fact, experiencing an altered reality he held his breath. Without breathing, he could still feel the sterile hospital oxygen being pumped into his lungs. It was the ventilator.“Doctor!” exclaimed the young woman, whom Dylan now suspected to be a lab tech. “The environment team tells me that they have corrected the time cycle issue. Dylan’s sun has reversed course and is expected to set again properly. Things will seem pretty weird for him until we can wipe the incident from his memory but we need to stabilize his vitals first. His heart rate is off the charts. Neurotransmitters are all over the place.”Overwhelming grief and remorse took hold of Dylan as he realized what actually happened that fateful day. Why did he take the risk of bringing his cherished son onto that damp granite outcrop? His own incessant need to pass on his life’s experiences and passions had blinded him to the fact that Joey wasn’t ready for some dangers at his age. How could he take his eyes off such an energetic boy in such a precarious location? He could not bear the burden of the consequences. He turned the truck around.By the time they reached the clearing again the sun had sunk back to its position just above the western ridge line. They both turned to watch the sunset again together arm in arm. The brilliant amber sky started to turn to a soft gray as the sun began to part ways with its final moments of glory. Dylan stepped up onto the granite outcrop to catch one last glimpse of the same reflection over the valley lakes that enticed Joey to the edge. He turned and peered deeply into Joey’s innocent eyes from behind a wall of tears.“I love you, Joe. I’ll see you soon.” he managed to croak intermittently between the sobs. Dylan turned and stepped. The sun finally set. And darkness remained.
","September 08, 2023 17:44","[[{'Kimberly Straub': ""I absolutely loved the twist in this story, and using the radio as a way to implement the truth was a great tactic. You paint a strong picture of the setting, and as an avid hiker myself, I felt like I was truly there. \n\nI do think the Dylan's dialogue was a little too mature for his five year old. But I could also see the other side, with Dylan having a science background, he may not know any other way to communicate. \n\nOtherwise, I thought the story was so creative!"", 'time': '15:19 Sep 14, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'R M': 'Thanks for reading my story and for the helpful feedback!', 'time': '20:27 Sep 14, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'R M': 'Thanks for reading my story and for the helpful feedback!', 'time': '20:27 Sep 14, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Audrey Knox': 'Wow, such a powerful ending to an imaginative sci-fi explanation for why this would be happening. I get a strong sense from the very beginning of who Dylan is and what is most important to him. The action is a bit slow to pick up in the story, but once the sun starts rising again, the mystery kicks into gear and is engaging. \n\nThe strongest answers in a story are ones that feel surprising yet inevitable. This story definitely nails the ""inevitable"" part of the equation. All the details are meticulously accounted for and build our understandi...', 'time': '22:52 Sep 13, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'R M': 'This is such excellent feedback! Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story and provide such helpful notes. I definitely got lost in setting the scene and developing Dylan’s character before remembering the “short” part of a “short story”. Thanks again for the feedback and pointers!', 'time': '23:35 Sep 13, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'R M': 'This is such excellent feedback! Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story and provide such helpful notes. I definitely got lost in setting the scene and developing Dylan’s character before remembering the “short” part of a “short story”. Thanks again for the feedback and pointers!', 'time': '23:35 Sep 13, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",ki79d8,Woe is a heatstroke ,Rae G. Campbell,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/ki79d8/,/short-story/ki79d8/,Science Fiction,0,"['Fiction', 'Horror', 'Science Fiction']",8 likes,"
Splash.I heard laughter as my mom and baby sister played in the pool.It was the last day of summer vacation and tomorrow would be her first day onto first grade, as well as my first day in highschool.Closing my eyes, I couldn't help but feel anxious at the thought. Cassie was my closest friend through middle school but she'd moved away during the summer. We tried to keep in contact yet we hardly even text each other anymore.I'd be alone.""Syddie!"", I felt nauseous as my stomach took a sudden headbutt.""Maymay, don't do that!"", this brat.""Syddie, mommy says I got to sleep, but I don't want to! The sun is still up, so why?""""Ah! Don't pull my hair!""""She said I could play all day today, I still wanna play in the pool"", please let my hair go.Luckily my mom came and picked her up. After a bit of soothing, my sis decided she would go to bed after she watched the sun go away.We sat by the pool as the sky turned red, the sunset was nice.""Mommy, why do I have to go to school again?"", Maymay was clinging to mom with a sad face.""So you can get very smart.""""But I'm already smart!""""That's true,"" mom decided to change strategies, ""but summer's almost over so that means that summer break will be over too.""""Oh,"" she pouted, "" I wish it didn't.""Me too.We waited, then waited some more. Uh, it was taking a while wasn't it.'Mom, is it supposed to last this long?'?My voice, no, my mouth. Why isn't it moving?Not only my mouth, my body isn't moving. Nothing is moving.I'm stuck staring at the sun.It slowly starts to rise, and I can move.So why?Mom, May, me, doing stuff.Backwards.Don't like.Hurts.Mom it hurts.HelpEve rythin g is goiin g ba ckw******************************************************************************************************************************************************""AAAAAAAAAAAA""I hear screamingWhoI feel my head gradually clear up and I realize that my throat hurts.I stop abruptly and heave as I try to calm myself, but the screaming, I still hear it.All around.---You know, if time was gonna move backwards, wouldn't it be nice if it did after the hottest day this Earth has to offer?We're in the living room, mom, dad, and May.The news channel is playing on the TV.""A category 5 anomaly has hit worldwide...""I tone out the man's voice, it's too hot, ow my head. Our air conditioner was broken at this time. Very unlucky.Category 5, huh?Why couldn't it be a category 1, like that giant flock of upside down flying birds.Or not even a category. I know I wished that summer didn't have to end, but I didn't mean it. Who wants to deal with this hellish heat.Right, we went back a whole month. A whole month of moving backwards. Speaking, eating, other stuff, backwards.It was awful.I'm surprised any of us is still sane. At this point, isn't the whole world traumatized.Awful.It's hot, so I walk out.""Cassie..."", I hear my dad call out, but I'm already out of the house.Well, it's not much better out here that's for sure. I keep walking to who knows where. I just need to go.Most stores are closed and I hardly see anyone. Yeah, that makes sense. It would be nice to enter a convenience store though, I'm already sweating bullets.I don't remember how long I walked for. I'm at the town park, no one's here of course. I can see the forest nearby, wasn't there a lake in there?Should I go, it's hot. The pool we had was an inflatable we bought next week.Yeah, just a swim. Oh man, I can't even jog over there.I eventually make it, the tree's shade instantly lowers the temperature, if only a bit. Walking, moving plants, getting bit by mosquitoes, uh, it's a bit annoying.It's funny, how much I wish could be in school right now. Because that would mean nothing's happened. And I would only be thinking of how lonely it is, of the awkwardness of choosing a seat at lunch, the dread of introducing yourself for each class again and again.Ah, a clearing. And the lake!""Oh thank goodness,"" I quickly make my way over. Jump.Splash.Great! Amazing! Very cold! Back to shore!""What's that?"", I notice a frog floating a foot from the ground.It hops in place and croaks a series of sounds. Now that's a familiar sight. Simple anomalies, harmless and fun to look at.I'm reminiscing on all the odd stuff I've seen when I hear a rustle behind me.""Oh!,"" I sit up and see a girl my age exclaim,""oh wow, I didn't think anyone would be here.""""...""""Hi, my name's Allison.""""...""""You can call me Allie though""She made her way over, I should answer too right? Yeah. My name, name, name.""I'm Sydney"", nice.""Whatcha looking at?"", She leans over my shoulder. Oh, oh, I should stand up as well. She plops down next to me before I do.""A frog, cute! I remember we learned about this last year. What was it?""She lifted her hand to her chin with a focused look. I also try to remember.""I think,"" I speak, ""it was because of light. Um, and space thinking the frog is still there. Maybe.""So, the frog is somewhere else. Invisible.""That seems about right.""I forgot, yeah, it's somewhere else invisible right now. So cool. It's like we're spying on it""This is nice. We speak for a while. About the frog, the weather, school, we'll go to the same school apparently.We talk about what classes we'll take, what clubs, but we never mention the fact we went back a month.We came here to forget that, if only for a moment.Yet, out of everything that's come out because of that anomaly, this isn't so bad.
","September 02, 2023 16:26","[[{'Gregg Punger': 'Welcome to Reedsy. Good take on the prompt, and I like the sweet ending. \n\nI do think you need to work a bit on your grammar and punctuation. You miss a number of periods, and your dialogue is missing some quotation marks and proper ending punctuation. I would also focus on clarifying who said which line of dialogue. I was confused in a number of places.\n\nBut again very creative piece with good emotional intelligence.', 'time': '14:10 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Rae G. Campbell': 'Thank you! ⁄\u2060(\u2060⁄\u2060\xa0\u2060⁄\u2060•\u2060⁄\u2060-\u2060⁄\u2060•\u2060⁄\u2060\xa0\u2060⁄\u2060)\u2060⁄', 'time': '19:05 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Rae G. Campbell': 'Thank you! ⁄\u2060(\u2060⁄\u2060\xa0\u2060⁄\u2060•\u2060⁄\u2060-\u2060⁄\u2060•\u2060⁄\u2060\xa0\u2060⁄\u2060)\u2060⁄', 'time': '19:05 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",3eajkh,Summer Wish,Safara Chambers,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/3eajkh/,/short-story/3eajkh/,Science Fiction,0,"['Science Fiction', 'Black']",7 likes,"
	“Penny for your thoughts?” My boyfriend embraces me and kisses the side of my head.
	“I just don’t want it to end. Summer, I mean.” Everything around us looks perfect; the blend of pink and orange of the sky, the slightly dusty bed of his truck, the emerald green leaves on the trees, the cool grass, the birds singing as if they’re recounting their day to one another before going to sleep. 
	“But fall is ‘spooky’ season with apples and pumpkins. What’s wrong with it?” He wiggles his fingers. I prickle with irritation. I open my mouth to say something and close it again.
	I wrinkle my nose, “I hate pumpkin. Besides, fall just doesn’t hit the way summer does.”
	 He shrugs. I want to say how there’s something about fall that doesn’t sit well with me. It feels ominous in a way and I’ve never understood why. Mentioning that would make things awkward and I want to keep things the way they were. I pull out my camera to film the last few seconds of summer slip away.
	“Goodbye, summer. I wish you could stay forever.” A couple minutes pass and the sun doesn’t dip below the horizon. 
	“Sun’s taking its time to set, isn’t it.” He says casually as he takes a swig of water.
	“Is it just me or is it getting brighter?”
	I have a feeling that I need to catch this on video so I motion for my boyfriend to hand me my tripod. Minutes pass and the sun is rising to a new place in the sky. Within 15 minutes, we put our sunglasses back on. 
	“Huh, maybe your wish is coming true.”
	“Babe, is this really happening right now?”
	“Well, if it was some kind of atomic or nuclear weapon, we’d probably be dead by now.” His macabre joke makes me squirm. Everything seems as if it’s going in reverse. The day is getting brighter. The birds are chirping and flying around again. The air is getting warmer. Even the people further down the lakeside stop to stare. I open up a social media page to see if anyone in the area is talking about the phenomenon but there’s nothing about the sun.
	“What happens if we stay out here?” He asks.
	I tie my braids into a low bun, “I don’t know.”
	We planned on staying but nature called and I refused to use the park’s restrooms. By the time we got home, the sun was in the spot as it was around 2pm and the temperature had increased to 90º F. I looked at the clock and it read, 2:30pm.
	“Why is the clock reading 2:30pm?” I ask.
	“What are you talking about? That’s just the time.” We get into a small spat about the time. Still, things don’t sit well with me. Not only does he seem too casual about this, but there’s no buzz about it on social media, the news circuits, and no matter what he says, it was seven-something in the evening an hour ago. It’s not supposed to be 2:30pm.
 
	I make a post about it on my social media page but people only laugh and ask me if I’m hallucinating. The comments make me want to delete the post.
 Idk what you’re thinking but it’s almost 3pm now
 Lol, you must be dreaming
 Summer can stay for all I care, more time to barbecue!
 Honey, did you hit your head today?
	My friends think I’m crazy but I’m not. I know what I saw and my boyfriend was right there with me. I don’t know why he’s denying the change but I need to find out how to get to the bottom of things.
	I need to write down all of my observations. I need to ask my neighbors. This has to be some elaborate joke being played on me. I don’t tell my boyfriend what I’m doing. I don’t want to start another argument, so I leave when he’s distracted with grilling. He’s wearing his “Kiss the Grill Master” apron and singing, “Dancing in the Streets” at the top of his lungs.
	I head down the street and I see one of my neighbors pulling weeds in her garden.
	“Mrs Pike?” The older woman with smooth, brown skin looks up at me from beneath a wide brimmed hat.
	“Oh, hey hon. You wanna help an old woman with these weeds?” she laughed.
	“Um, not today, Mrs. Pike. I wanted to ask you about the weather.”
	“Yes, it’s nice, ain’t it. I don’t mind the heat so long as I have access to air conditioning and shade. My husband was the opposite. He couldn’t stand the heat. I could never get him to just enjoy summer.”
	“Did you notice the sun set then, uh, reverse itself just a couple hours ago?” Mrs. Pike stops her weeding and looks at me with a puzzled expression.
	“What sunset? It’s only 3pm.” 
	“No, seriously. A couple hours ago, my boyfriend and I were watching the sun set and then it… reversed itself.”
	“Hon, I know I’m old, but I’m not senile yet and you’re too young to be. You must be thinking about a dream or something. Do you want to come inside out of the sun?”
	“No, Mrs. Pike. That’s okay. Thanks for your time.”
	As I walk away, I look back to see her watching me walk away. I just smile and wave. She must think I’m crazy. But I’m not crazy. I know what I saw.
 
	I walk to five or six other neighbor’s houses. None of them know what I’m talking about and say the same thing. It’s only 3:45 in the afternoon. The last place is the corner store a couple blocks away. I’m getting kinda hot so I’ll use that as an opportunity to grab some water.
	“Ma’am I have no clue what you’re talking about but you look like you’re ready to fall out.”
	“This doesn’t make any sense. Why does no one believe me?” By this time, I’m sweating buckets so I make my way to the freezer section to cool off. I’m standing with the freezer door open and looking at ice cream when an authoritative voice calls out,
	“Excuse me, miss? Can I talk to you for a second?”
	My heart beats a little faster when I turn around and see a police officer approaching me.
	“Hello officer. Can I help you?”
	“The owner called us and said that you came in acting strange. I just wanted to check on you and make sure that you’re okay.”
 Oh, great. Now the store owner thinks I’m crazy, too.
	We talk for a couple minutes and he gives me a chance to tell my story. After the stories that I’ve heard about black people encountering the police, I’m surprised that he’s so calm and patient with me.
	“Well, I’m not sure what you’re referring to but you look out of sorts. I’d feel a lot better if you’d let me drive you somewhere safe and out of the heat if you didn’t drive here. The temperature may read 90 but the humidity makes it feel hotter than that. It’s okay to enjoy your summer indoors, ya know.”
 He doesn’t believe me either. I agree to let him take me home after I make my water and ice cream purchase. My boyfriend isn’t pleased to see that the police took me home but he’s thankful that I’m okay.
	“Babe where were you? When I finished grilling, I called you to eat but you didn’t answer. And you left your phone behind.” I tell him where I went and that no one believes me when I say that the sun went in reverse a couple hours ago.
	“It’s 2pm. Why don’t you sit down, have a late lunch and just enjoy the air conditioning? The weather forecast is predicting a sweltering afternoon.” I look at him like he’s the one that’s out of his mind. It was just 3:45 pm not long ago. How is it 2pm again? He just looks back at me with a blank expression.
	We watch a Netflix show while eating. It does feel good to be in a cooler environment and the food is pretty good. I’m not quite invested in the show though. I need to keep searching for an answer. I have to take a drive to the next time zone and I have to take it alone.
 
	I’ve been driving for what feels like hours. I waited until my boyfriend went to lay down for a nap and left when I heard snoring. Before starting, I set a stopwatch to gauge how long I’ve been driving since the clock wasn’t reliable. It reads that five hours had passed but when I glanced at the clock on the dash, it reads 3:15pm. I keep driving. As I look for signs of the sun and weather changing, I think about all the people that I’ve talked to. Everyone’s wording was different but the answers were along the same lines. They didn’t know what I was talking about, they quoted the time, and they kept mentioning enjoying summer. If this is some joke, they’ve had their fun but it’s gotta stop. Either that or I really am dreaming. I keep driving. When the stopwatch reaches seven hours, I notice that the sky looks a little dimmer.
	“Perfect!” I speed up. I push the gas pedal until the speedometer reads 85 mph. Then, in an instant, it seems as if the car hits something. Like a brick wall except there’s no wall, just an open road. Metal crunches, the airbags go off, and the horn is the last thing I hear as I drift off into unconsciousness.
 
	“Oh, great you’re awake!” I blink a couple times and let my eyes adjust to the light. He pats my foot.
	“What happened?” I ask looking around, “I was just in a car accident. How did I end up here?”
	“What are you talking about? I laid down to take a nap and you must’ve followed me sometime after. When I woke up, you were sleeping here. I’m getting ready to—”
	“No” I say firmly, “I was just in my car. I left when you were asleep and I drove for hours and the clock never showed that I had been traveling for seven hours and then the sky started to show signs of dimming. Then I hit something and—” I ramble on. My boyfriend looks at me with concern.
	“It’s only 2:05pm. You’ve been sleeping for a while.”
	“What do you mean it’s only two in the afternoon?! No one besides me sees that time has been repeating itself after two hours? How is the sun still shining? And where’s my car?”
	“Your car is outside, untouched. Look, it’s summer. Just enjoy it.” He walks away. I get up to shower. When I’m done, I hear him on the phone with what sounds to be an advice nurse. He thinks that my delusion is a sign of some sudden illness. But I’m fine. There’s something wrong with everyone else. Not me. I sit on the side of the bed and make a few more notes. I re-read what I wrote and an idea comes to me. It’s one that definitely sounds wild but I can’t think of anything else.
 Am I in a simulation? Am I the only one that’s “awake”? Throughout my day I went through several checks to make sure that I wasn’t dreaming. I’ve never been one to dream but from what I read somewhere, people couldn’t eat, drink, read or write clearly in a dream. I’ve been able to do all of those things today. I even pinched myself with my nails while driving and the pain told me that I wasn’t dreaming. I remember that I took a video of the whole event. I nearly trip over my feet running to the other room to get my bag. This will prove that whatever happened isn’t a figment of my imagination. I pry it open, pull out the SSD card, and slot it into my computer. My heart sinks into my stomach when I see that all of my photos and videos are gone. Somehow, some way the card got erased. I silently curse myself for not using my phone to capture it.
 If we’re in a simulation, is all of this a glitch? I don’t have time to worry about my missing photos. There’s nothing I can do about it. I take a deep breath and go tell him my idea.
	“Hey, um, I have a theory. I know it sounds nuts but work with me.” I tell him my theory, show him my notes, and even the empty SSD card. When I stop talking, he looks sad.
	“It’s a beautiful summer afternoon. I know you’re probably sick but why can’t you just enjoy it?” he grabs my hands.
	“I’m not sick.”
	“That’s what sick people say. Please let me take you to a doctor. I’ll listen to anything you have to say on the way there. Just do this for me.” He pleads. I can see the worry in his brown eyes. I hate seeing him like this.
	“Fine.”
 
	On the drive there, I don’t volunteer any more information. Even if I did have more to say, I don’t want to talk to him right now. He asks me questions and I answer so as not to be rude. He’s supposed to be on my side. He was there when the sun reversed itself and remained stuck in the sky. Why doesn’t he remember?
	The medical professionals ask me a bunch of questions and run me through a series of exams and tests. While waiting for the results of something, a nurse comes in carrying a pill in a cup and a cup of water.
	“The doctor wants you to take this.”
	“What are they for?” I ask.
	“She says that this will help you calm down and temporarily stop the hallucinations until we can get to the bottom of this.” He holds out the pills and water.
	“But I’m not hallucinating.”
	“Ma’am if you don’t take them voluntarily, we have other ways of getting the medication into your system” he sets them down and puts on a pleasant smile. 
	“Look, it’s a beautiful summer day. You don’t want to be cooped up in here with us. Take this and you’ll be one step closer to getting out of here.”
	I sigh and press the heels of my palms into my eyes. I’m tired of fighting with people about this. Maybe I am hallucinating. Maybe I am sick. Is this what crazy feels like?
	“What’s the other option?” I ask softly.
	“A needle.” I shift uncomfortably on the bed.
	“Fine.” I take the pills and water from the nurse and swallow everything in one big gulp.
	“How long until—”
 
	“Penny for your thoughts?” My boyfriend embraces me and kisses the side of my head… and it feels oddly familiar.
","September 09, 2023 00:49","[[{'Dominique Finch': 'I love this story!!! Soo creative and thoughtful. One must be careful what they wish for! 🤣', 'time': '19:49 Sep 14, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",6f3eh7,Echoes,Amy Curry,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/6f3eh7/,/short-story/6f3eh7/,Science Fiction,0,"['Fantasy', 'Romance', 'Science Fiction']",7 likes,"
	Wow, this has to be the most exciting Thursday morning I have had since the college dorm days, I think to myself as I gaze through the window of my mother's sedan at the trees on the side of the highway as we pass by. It was quickly enough that they looked as though they were all identical; bearing the same intense hunter green foliage you only see this vibrantly in the last of summer days. I try to spot the differences with an intense, yet vacant glare and it was truly the hardest I have tried to ignore my ruminating thoughts since I can remember.  Despite my best efforts, the teeter toter of thoughts, hopes and insecurities just kept leveling up and down in my mind. On the one end: loving excitement and the other: utterly ill with apprehension. I eventually succumbed to it and lied my head back, closed my eyes and took a slow deep breath. I said a prayer and finally tuned into the conversation my mother was having with the man in the car behind us, to herself, of course after merging off of the busy highway.
 
""Oh, okay. I guess I'm the asshole for not running the red light. How about you quit revving your engine up my ass, at 9am, drunk hillbilly!"" she says derisively as we sit at the stop light. 
 
	I chuckle, it's not as much of the lightweight road rage as it is the narrative she creates for the other drivers that are perfect strangers. I never liked her doing it with my friends and their parents or certain family members, but for some reason I have always found Mom's traffic banter amusing. She definitely had a quirky sense about her with that fiery Italian American temper. Although, that has considerably subsided over the years, we still see the tantrums come and go on occasion, it's more sarcasm and pouting in her golden years, which she is fiercely unapologetic about. She seemed much happier than not at these times, which afforded us a more quality friendship than latter-day.
 
""You're so quiet, I bet you're nervous... understandably. But don't worry yourself. I know I was semi neurotic at the thought of my daughter flying out of the country to meet some man she met on the internet, but when he came here to meet us, I know in my heart that he is a good man and will take care of you and Sam. What is the name of the location you are staying in again? Like, I know its South Africa but where there?"" she spews out in what sounds like a mile a minute run-on sentence, which my clouded brain fumbles to process.
 
""He lives in Durban, where I'll be staying the night when I arrive and then we will be going just a bit South of there to the Umlalazi Nature Reserve, on the coast of Indian Ocean."" I answer, distant and softly.
 
""Oh, Anna that just sounds so wonderful and romantic! You're going to love it. Just don't drink the water!"" she says with visible over excitement that feels too intense for me at the moment. 
 
	Traveling alone was the first source of my anxiety that I am forcing myself to believe is just a small hurdle I have to overcome and will then see that there was no need to tie my thoughts up with fear initially, while arriving safely and mentally intact. Mom knows I tend to be aloof in intense circumstances, so I know she isn't taking my silence personally and I feel relieved that she doesn't feel the urge to pry.
 
	Mother finally finds the airport drop off without verbally abusing anyone else. As much as I was desperately craving the silence at the time, as soon as her navy-blue Toyota disappeared out of sight, I was riddled with the fright of an abandoned child. I really don't understand myself at times. I open the ticket information on my email and head to the check in and find my gate, still in a haze from the mental exhaustion that the anxiety insisted from my brain chemistry for weeks now. I'm relieved slightly when I remember that I packed the Ambien in my carry-on... 
 
	You got it right; I breezed through the first half of the flight with a double dose of nighty night medicine and was dazed enough at the layover in Switzerland to have a glass of merlot and listen to some Pink Floyd to pass the time there. I was so hungover from the racing thoughts and prescription sleep meds that it makes me sad to look back and see how I was so tolerant of being so fearful and uncertain throughout life. Does everyone else medicate themselves as a result of anxiousness and fear? I ask myself as I pray that the fog clears and I can begin to enjoy my thoughts again. It dawns on me that I need to think more positively before I drive myself mad. I recall something Jasper always says when I'm feeling down and/or anxious, 
 
'No point in feeling down and out, it's never helped anyone or any situation. Think of the good, count your blessings and pray that it refreshes your worried heart and mind.'
 
	 I close my eyes, take a few deep breaths, then open them and scan the room. The busy Swiss airport starts to come more alive to me. I feel the sense of urgency in the room from the busy passengers, going from one gate to the next, in a quick pace. I see the bright teal blue carpet radiate from the floor.  This eases me and I feel pleased. I notice a woman bearing striking resemblance to myself, medium build, long dark brunette hair, fair skin and red lipstick. I marvel at the thought of how many doppelgangers of myself could be out in the world. I wonder where she's from. I notice she looks happy, with her cup of coffee and engaged in conversation with a handsome and well looked after older man. I smile about this and redirect my attention to the delicate sound of Floyd playing through my earbuds as the song switches to Echoes; one of my top five preferred songs, I'd say. What I love most about this tune is the fact that every time I hear it, I come to another realization. Whether it is my own self, someone else or just the meaning behind the song in general. I close my eyes again, paying close attention to the lyrics and ignore the hustle and bustle for a while.
 
 Overhead the albatross
					Hangs motionless upon the air
					And deep beneath the rolling waves
					In labyrinths of coral caves
					The echo of a distant time
					Comes willowing across the sand
					And everything is green and submarine
 
	It's trivial how hard it is to claw your way out of the dark depths of your mind sometimes, but the relief you feel when you lift up your metaphorical 100-pound foot and take that first step out of your own head is priceless.
 
	Feeling very grateful for the change in mindset, I board the plane to my final destination feeling a much better variety of anxious. In just seven hours, I get to spend the next week with my love and I begin to daydream of the new memories that will manifest from this long journey. Jasper has been over to see me in the states twice now and this happens to be my first venture over to him. I have only left the country a few times, many years ago and certainly not alone.
 
	The arrival to J was perfect, beyond any expectation I could ever fathom. Just seeing his gorgeous smile at the gate melted a million fears. I was beyond ready to take this adventure; he was worth every mile and the next week was filled with pure love, passion, exploration, alluring sights and so much more that rattled all of my senses (in the best way possible). It's always magic with him, but this was a different kind due to the fact that I was completely out of my element. He has a way of always making me feel loved, even during the few challenges we have had as a long-distance couple. I never felt as though he was trying to groom me into being some beddable woman that could be put on a shelf and taken down on occasion when he wants to play. Oh boy does this type of man seem to be the majority anymore...
 
	We awoke the last morning to the blaring sun peering through the blinds. I am faced away from him as I open my eyes and have to remember again where I am. It comes to me as I stretch my arms up with a grin, then roll over to face him, allowing my arm to gently fall onto his back. I giggle at the sight of his dirty blonde disheveled, yet sexy hair. He opens his light blue eyes with a slight squint as though they are smiling. 
 
""Oh hey. Good morning..."" he says softly with a quiet yawn that muddles his accent, just a bit.
 
""Good morning, babe. Do you hear the beach calling us?"" I whisper, coyly.
 
""I certainly do, love. Let's make a coffee and head down.""
 
	Being an outstanding morning and afternoon and all, bouncing back and forth from the beach and town, then back to the condo a few times, as well- something in the air just felt strange. Not because I was catching the red eye and heading back home later that night, (that was simple enough knowing that he is coming in only one short month to stay). More so like we may have unlocked the eighth day of the week or something of the sort. Perhaps God gave us a rebate on leap year this time around the sun, I crack to myself in my thoughts. We decide to close the day by heading back to the shore to watch the sunset. We put on a mix of mellow music as we sit there, enjoying the mystical and beautifully colored view and still pondering on the peculiar feeling of the day.
 
""Maybe it's just a soulmate thing we are feeling? Like, it's just us?"" he asks rhetorically with a tiny giggle and sincere smile.
 
	We sit in sweet silence for some moments after, admiring the view of the beautiful Indian Ocean; it's breathtaking. Funny how I have never heard this discussed throughout my life in The States. The alien feeling deafens slightly at the sight of the blaring reddish- orange sun that is slowly traveling to set in and rest for the night. This sunset is like no other I have ever witnessed, having seen my fair share, this time felt previously unencountered. As hard as I try, something won't let my eyes peel away until it hides under the horizon like a shy child behind his protector. We are satisfied with the beautiful experience, attempt to ignore the odd feeling and stand up to stretch in preparation to head back to the condo to get situated for my departure.
 
	As we gather our things in the dimly lit late evening hue, I begin to notice a light coming from somewhere far in the distance. I turn around to find the source and it looks as though the sun is peeking back over the horizon. Feeling puzzled, I think to myself that this must be some sort of anomaly on this side of the planet that I've never heard of. Why didn't J mention this before? How cool...
 That feeling of confusion turns very rapidly into an overwhelming and a seemingly hallucinatory experience that my brain cannot process- at all, in this split second. The sun went from a weak slow peer from the ocean to hundred miles per hour, directly overhead.
 
""Jasper...."" is all I could mutter but the sound of my voice wraps all of the way around us, in an almost soft undertone.
 
	He grabs me around the shoulders with both arms in an attempt to shelter me, not really knowing from what, exactly. The sun grows wider by the second until it almost seems to completely eclipse the Earth. It wasn't blaring hot; not even as uncomfortable as a sun burn, but warm and I feel myself to begin to unwillingly relax. I look over to him...
 
""Are you okay?"" and hear myself again in what seems to be a subtle surround sound.
 
He nods, vacantly.
 
	We subconsciously redirect our attention back to the circling sky and notice that pieces of the sun begin to separate into some kind of star/triangle hybrid; a shape I've never seen, it was sharp yet soft in appearance. The pieces break off little by little, gracefully until they are but a mass of ""day-time stars"" is how I can best describe. I had tuned out the music playing through my phone, until now, due to the intense circumstances. Now that the sun's puzzle laid scattered across the sky, my other senses begin to reel. I feel light and very unfamiliar, although I know myself more than ever in the same instance. Everything that frustrated, hurt and guilted me in the past I completely and clearly understood and embraced. Everything. All at once. It was like some sort of spiritual algorithm was downloaded into me and with complete certainty, I knew we were okay. The only doubt that remained was what this was exactly and why it was in occurrence? I wonder and begin to feel saddened on why this is the only thing kept from us. My mind seems to quiet long enough to hear the music I had involuntarily ignored throughout. That song I never knew the whole meaning to, all at once, until now...
 
 Strangers passing in the street
					By chance, two separate glances meet
					And I am you and what I see is me
					And do I take you by the hand 
					And lead you through the land
					And help me understand the best I can?
 
					And no one calls us to move on
					And no one forces down our eyes
					No one speaks and no one tries
					No one flies around the sun
 
""Ah, babe. I know where we are now...""
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
","September 09, 2023 03:09","[[{'Emily Holding': 'Loved the Mom’s road rage, and will be stuck thinking about how many doppelgangers I might have now. Also, the 100-pound foot metaphor is spot on, as is the line about not being made into ‘some beddable woman that could be put on a shelf and taken down on occasion when he wants to play’ *chef’s kiss*.', 'time': '21:08 Sep 14, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",4rovjp,SLIPPING INTO THE DARKNESS,Ruth Ford,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/4rovjp/,/short-story/4rovjp/,Science Fiction,0,"['Fiction', 'Fantasy', 'Horror']",7 likes,"
Tuesday, February 1stLocation: Home - Los AngelesDear Diary,A long time ago, I don't remember when I found you my beautiful diary at a flea market in downtown Los Angeles. I put you in my desk drawer to use one day. Today is that day. I am leaving on a trip this morning, and I will take you with me; it will be our little secret. Please allow me to share my thoughts. I will be honest and fair.Most days, I can only recall the past in flashes of colorful, striking images that appear and consume me in their voracity for only moments and quickly fade, leaving me weary for hours, sometimes days.------------------------------------------------------Friday, February 5thLocation: Air space somewhere over the Indian OceanChecking my watch, I find the flight has been in the air for an hour and is still over the Indian Ocean. We departed from Sir Gaetan Duval AirportPort Mathurin on Rodrigues Island, Mauritius. I know what you are thinking,What the hell is 43-year-old Bethany Molly Walker, paralegal, living alone in a great apartment in Los Angeles, California. The former, now divorced for three years, Mrs. Craig Keelan, voted""Most Likely to Succeed"" at Coleridge High School in Seattle, Washington, on her way home from Mauritius and small black box sitting on the airline seat next to me.We all have regrets in life; I certainly do. Eight years ago on a whim, I entered a thrift store on Mott Street. If only I had gone directly to my intended target, Ms. Tillie's Coffee and Donut shop on the corner, perhaps I would not be in this predicament. I chose to veer from my preselected intention, and my careless decision changed the course of my life.Once inside the thrift store, I passed a frail elderly man dressed in a dark blue Kutra Pajama seated in a chair to the side of the front counter. His small, black, beady eyes were surrounded by an unsettling mass of dull red veins.His gaze upon the world of the thrift store was leveled and unforgiving. Walking past him, he leaned slightly forward in my direction, tilted his head, his eyes narrowed, his bushy eyebrows becoming a single line across his forehead. He abruptly straightened and leaned back in his chair. It was then that he offered a slight nod. I tried to acknowledge him with a smile, but my stomach tightened, and I grimaced; he seemed not to notice.The thrift store looked like it had been in its location for decades; it was dark and dank, smelled of sweat, unfamiliar cooking odors, and a heavy dust layer covering every surface. Walking slowly, I was drawn to a long counter at the rear of the store. Above the counter were stacks of oddly shaped glass containers precariously arranged, assorted tchotchkes, and an array of rings and trinkets.I wasn't exactly sure what I was looking for, but I knew it was nearby. Rising up on my tiptoes, my eyes searched the menagerie, and then I saw it. A powerful blast of energy surged from my toes to my brain, ending in an exploding red light. Immediately, I knew my purpose: I was looking for that Music Box, but, for a reason I did not yet know. I rescued the Music Box.I dug into my purse and found a cotton handkerchief, a gift from my grandmother; I had taken to carrying it to honor her and for good luck. Slowly, I wiped the dust from the Music Box. In awe, I examined the magnificent outer rosewood carvings, patina, and craftsmanship of the exquisite piece.  On the front of the Music Box was a small gold plate that read ""Validus.""  I knew it was Latin but I was not sure what it meant.  Quickly I took out my cellphone and typed in the word it meant ""powerful."" I heard my inner voice it sounded so far away ""Put it back.""  Pretending I did not hear the words I proceeded to the front of the store. For some reason, I  had no desire or inkling to open the Music Box, hear the music, or see the tiny ballerina typically found inside music boxes. My mission was to rescue and protect the Music Box; I had to get it to my home where it would be safe.At the store counter, I paid the $25.00 marked on the white round sticker on the top of the Music Box. The clerk started to put the Music Box in a white plastic shopping bag but stopped short when the elderly man in the chair turned and glared at him. The clerk handed me the Music Box put his hands together and bowed. Leaving the shop I hurried to my car, ceremoniously placing it on the front seat. A fleeting thought occurred to me. It was that I was now a part of a partnership in whatever endeavor was to come. Struck by the thought I sat unmoving staring at the Music Box for at least a half hour. Finally, I put the car in gear and drove home.The first night the Music Box was in my apartment, I had a heart-stopping nightmare. I woke up panicked and confused. I had to remind myself that it was February 1st, the day after I found the Music Box.I fought, opening my eyes; I wanted to stay invisible to the world but mostly from the Music Box. Still, in the mental fog of twilight sleep, I was startled by a 9:30 AM alarm. My bedside clock buzzed for a few seconds, then shut itself off. I lay curled up, trying to recall when and why I had set the alarm and wondering how it had shut itself off.I tried to remain in bed; it was Saturday, but a powerful energy surged from my life, making me rise and throw back the covers. That is when I saw the Music Box sitting on a large white envelope on my bedside table. I remember being petrified, my mind whizzing to understand what was happening.In spite of my trepidation, there was a profound thought that all of that was happening was exactly as it should be in this world. Picking up the sealed envelope, I opened it, hoping to not destroy my manicure, and dumped the contents into my lap. There were two round-trip airline tickets, both in my name, from Los Angeles to some place called Rodrigues Island, Mauritius, a two-night voucher for the Hotel Bendin, $500 in small bills, my passport ( that was stored in my bottom dresser drawer), and a visa in my name.I examined the airline tickets. Why were there two tickets? One was for me; the other, I paused, not wanting to accept the thought. One was for the Music Box. The idea sent a shiver up my spine. I felt goosebumps rise on my arms. Noting the flight would leave in less than five hours, I dressed and packed one suitcase. It appeared we would only be in the country for 24 hours then return to Los Angeles. I was unsure how to transport the Music Box, so I found a small carry-on bag in my closet. Several hours later, I found myself and the Music Box seated aboard the aircraft. I was in one seat, and the Music Box was in the other.Getting to the island was/is not an easy task; two airline transfers in foreign cities, 38 ½ hours of flight time one way, and 11,848 miles later, we landed at the tiny Sir Gaetan Duval Airport in Port Mathurin on Rodrigues Island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. The small airport terminal was stiflingly hot, humid, and crowded. Unbeknownst to me, major soccer round-robin games were being played throughout the island causing a major increase in tourists.Outside the terminal, it was summer in the tropics; the humidity was high and the sun was blazing. A light ocean breeze gently ruffled the sun hats of the ladies, mostlytourists, as they strolled along the crowded sidewalks looking for bargains before the vendors closed up shop at 6:00 PM.A small crowd of cabbies stood in front of the airport terminal, calling out their availability and jostling for fares. Out of nowhere, a young man in a bright red shirt rushed up to me and, in Creole, offered to take me directly to the Hotel Bendin; somehow, he knew the destination before I told him.Although many islanders speak English, I asked and answered the cab driver in Rodriguan Creole, the French-based Creole language spoken on the island. I spoke to him in fluent Creole amazing to me since I had never heard the language before that moment.The driver did not hesitate to get me, my suitcase, and the carry-on bag into his ancient cab. He gunned the engine, causing a giant plume of black smoke to explode from the exhaust pipe. The driver forcibly merged into the busy thoroughfare traffic. Within minutes, we exited the city and were on a dirt road deep into the beautiful lush green jungle. We arrived at the Hotel Bendin an hour later.The classic Hotel Bendin is of the 1960s vintage and has only five floors; its expansive roof overhang provides a cooling shade to those sitting in its shadow in modern lawn chairs and enjoying the balmy summer weather. On every visit I have taken to this hidden paradise, one thing has been consistent; upon entering the small, well-kept lobby, sitting alone in a giant fan chair, is the diminutive elderly man with dark beady eyes whom I first saw at the thrift store in Los Angeles. Even though I have seen him many times since our first encounter I never have spoken to him.I look back on the first time I saw him at the Hotel Bendin; I boldly decided I would ask him to help me get rid of the Music Box; after all, I reasoned, I had purchased the Music Box in his store. I started to walk in his direction, and in a flash, my lips seemed to lock shut. My limbs became immobile, defying my will to move. His dull eyes stared at me, and then unexpectedly he turned his head away, a clear sign that there would be no communication between us.4:55 PM – Hotel Bendin, Rodrigues Island TimeI recall on my first trip with the Music Box to the island, carrying my suitcase and the Music Boxin in the carry-on bag up three flights of stairs to the hotel room; I vacillated between impressions of heightened excitement followed by a downward spiral of unexplainable doom. I wanted to scream, cry, yell, and beg to be released from the internal confinement that was now my way of life.Dragging my suitcase up the white and blue tiled staircase; I managed to keep a  death grip on the handle of the carry-on bag.  I stopped for a few moments to catch my breath.  I was overheating but I was almost to the third floor.   I began thinking about how my relationship was deepening with the Music Box. I admitted I was dealing with an energy or force that was dark and sinister. I was slipping into the darkness.  The darkness is the world of witches, warlocks, and demons.  When the full scope of my life-altering dilemma became crystal clear in my heart and mind:  I became dizzy, my stomach churned, my sight blurred, and I felt as if my head were about to explode. A  feeling of absolute terror washed over me. The shock caused me to miss my next step on the staircase, and I fell hard on my left knee; the sharp pain caused me to let go of my suitcase and grab hold of the metal railing.I heard my suitcase bounce and tumble down the staircase, landing with a heavy thud on the first level. Despite the pain and confusion, I still held on to the carry-on bag containing the Music Box.It was then, that I knew I would never be free from the force of the Music Box. On the staircase, at the height of the tropical summer, in an old hotel in the middle of the Indian Ocean, I accepted the truth. An energy or force had taken control of my mind and body in other words I was possessed.  Entering the hotel room, I knew my first action was to place the Music Box in its proper place. Still holding the travel bag, I walked across the spacious, homely-furnished main room to the double louvered doors leading onto a long, narrow balcony. I noticed a red-painted straight-back chair with pink and yellow flowered cushions on the far left side of the balcony near the wall. I knew that was to be my seat for the evening.Cautiously, I removed the Music Box from the travel bag, placing it on a smalltable several feet to the side of my chair. The hand-carved wooden table held a thick glass top covered with a simple, black cotton cloth that fell to the floor. From a place of knowing, I instinctively positioned the Music Box precisely in the center of the table with the front gold tag facing the ocean.I remember that there was a soft knock at the door. I opened it to find a young shirtless boy hardly bigger than my wayward suitcase, a wide toothy grin on his face, my bag at his feet; I gave him a generous tip for his service. Closing the door, my thoughts went back to the Music Box.5:55 PM – Hotel Bendin - Rodrigues TimeI lay on the bed trying to will myself to sleep or eat, but my body resisted the thought. Instead, I tossed and turned restlessly. A cold chill shot up my spine to mybrain, causing me to snap out of my mindset of dread. Checking my watch, I realized I had to prepare for the coming.I changed out of my travel outfit of slacks and shirt and took a quick refreshing shower. I donned a long-sleeved and floor-length black cotton dress.  I had found the dress neatly folded on top of my suitcase in Los Angeles.  I noticed the fabric was exactly the same as the black cloth covering the balcony table where the Music Box was resting. 6:14 PM – Hotel Bendin - Rodrigues TimeReturning to the balcony, the sun was still bright and overhead. I sat on the red chair and closed my eyes, listening to the sounds of the island. I love the fun and excitement of summer the high-pitched giggles of children splashing in the pool, The sound of the sea as it rushes to and from the shore, the calming rustling of the jungle foliage, the mouthwatering aromas of meats and fish cooking over an open fire pit. The romantically intoxicating sweetness of the Lilly and flowered hibiscus.Opening my eyes, I look beyond the balcony to an expansive view of the sparkling Indian Ocean.6:28 PM – Hotel Bendin, Rodrigues Island TimeThe sun had begun its farewell of the day. As if to announce its final departure, abrilliant breathtaking flash of orange, yellow, and golden light spreads across the horizon and quickly disappears. The sky becomes inky black, and there is an unsettling lull. The world surrounding us grew quiet, and the children's revelry, native music, and chatter of boisterous tourists at the pool ceased. Birds stop singing to us and each other, taking immediate refuge in the jungle trees.I sit motionless, my back ramrod straight, eyes focused on the black starless sky overhead and wait. I hear a soft creak as the top of the Music Box rises, revealing a black velvet lining. A petite wooden carved ballerina with painted blond hair, wide blue eyes, and a red pout is dressed in a black tutu and black-toe shoes, she snaps upright.  The ballerina's dancing reflection is visible in the mirror beneath her. Lowering my eyelids I try covertly to get a look at her.  Suddenly, she stops dancing and her head turns slowly in my direction.  I quickly returned my gaze back to the dark sky.  The ballerina began to dance around on her mirror stage and wondered if she had the power to kill me.   hear soft music coming from the Music Box; it is erratic and nonsensical.  The little ballerina twists and twirls, her arms and legs akimbo flying this way and that oblivious to the incongruence of dance and music. My heart beats erratically. The hair on the back of my neck began to stand up, and instantly I knew it was time.6:29 PM – Hotel Bendin, Rodrigues Island TimeThe unholy event begins at precisely 6:29 PM, 60 seconds after sunset.The sun began to rise from the horizon, moving slowly across the now-gray skyand radiating intense heat.As the sun rises higher and higher into the gray sky, so does the temperature. I can feel beads of sweat running down my face. More than anything, I want this satanic phenomenon to end. Out of nowhere, I think about Dorothy from The Wizard of OZ. I begin to chant my own mantra in my head: I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home. The sun remained fixed over our heads for five long, agonizing minutes.Then, slowly, the sun begins to descend, disappearing unceremoniously below the horizon, leaving behind a black night and an uneasy feeling. Within a few minutes of the sun's final descent, the island appears to begin its reformation.It's nighttime, the time for gatherings, under hanging twinkle lights, laughter, and frivolity. The dark clouds dissipate, leaving behind a clear night, revealing a glorious array of brilliant twinkling stars. A full moon appears, shining its light on the island and its people. Lovers again stroll along the shoreline. Island residents and tourists gather to drink, dance, sing, play cards, sip homemade Mamajuana, and feast on the mouthwatering catch of the day. At the same time, children return to their games on the hotel lawn.Dear Diary, I write to you with absolute conviction that after we arrive and I amhome again, I will open my diary to review the words describing my experiences during that February ritual will find the ink, and my words will have already…vanished from the page.
","September 09, 2023 03:43","[[{'Ruth Ford': 'Mary thank you so much for your comment.  I got goosebumps when I read it.  Your response was exactly what I hoped for.', 'time': '17:09 Sep 14, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Mary Bendickson': 'Bewilderment!\n Thanks for liking my donuts.', 'time': '01:32 Sep 14, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'Ruth Ford': 'Sometimes the thing we are driven to acquire becomes the thing that destroys us.', 'time': '10:23 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",xrni1r,A Higher Calling,J.R. Dell,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/xrni1r/,/short-story/xrni1r/,Science Fiction,0,"['Fiction', 'Mystery', 'Science Fiction']",7 likes,"
The day was perfect. A beautiful end to our small vacation. We all had just left the bar in a stupor. Heading for the beach to light the bonfire we had grown accustomed to sitting by. It was just about dusk, and the sun-kissed waters were reflecting the spread of warm red shears across the sky, mixing with vibrant orange and soft rose-pink hues above. We got to what had been our usual spot for the past 2 weeks and decided to light the fire before it got dark. I sat down with Ashley at the back of the group. We hadn’t known each other long, but long enough for me to know I had a significant interest in her. Always laughing together with hardly a dull moment. Though they were always group moments it was never just her and me. The liquid courage from the bar would help with the girl, but the fear of the water before me, would not fade. It hadn't for just over a decade now. An almost innate fear ever since I swam in this same sea and almost drowned. Not sure of what happened; my mother always said that I just started to sink. Unsure of myself, I scarcely said ""Hey Ash, you know we could hang out some more. M-maybe just us two when we get back? Doesn’t have to be a … a date but it could be."" This was my last opportunity; she was leaving for a new city when we returned and I was staying home. Stuck, perpetually in our small town helping my dad run his shop. ""Y-yeah Nick, about that, I know we get along well, but actually-"" ""Ashley? You okay?"" No response, she just froze there. They all froze. Eric, Kim, Mike, and even Alec. None of them were moving. I tried shouting, but not even the other people on the beach were moving. That's when I noticed it. My Shadow, it was receding. I turned to face the horizon. My jaw dropped from whatI saw. ""What the hell?"" I said, slowly realizing I was talking to myself. The sun, was as if it was going backward, and I was the only one left still moving. I tried to grab Ashley, but she wouldn't budge. Frightened, I thought, Run. I must run. I got to the top of the beach when I saw a family heading down to the beach. How come they can move? ""Hey! Don't go down! Something isn't-"" They froze too. Still running, I looked above, and the sun was retreating from the horizon as if it, itself, was running.Though the sun was now rising above, the horizon and sky weren’t any more bright. Darkness crept up from it. I had never been so thankful for having long legs and a decent running career in high school. Unsure of where I was running to or why I alone hadn't been frozen in place like the rest of them. I noticed more and more people were stopping to look at the sun, and just like my friends, they froze in place. I looked too though, I looked more than once. Why was it only me? Wait, they didn't have shadows. The sun had passed over them completely taking them. I looked down in a panic ""Whew, still got mine at least"" I said to myself in a nervous laugh. Still getting used to the fact my childhood friends were currently frozen in place, unable to respond or move. What did that mean though? Could I even do anything about this? Wait, I had stopped running. I didn't even notice, I was so lost in thought. The sun was almost overhead. Why was it moving so damn fast? I told myself to keep moving, so I turned, running again. If it catches me or my shadow, I'm sure I'll freeze. The hotel was only a few blocks away, maybe inside was safe. I had to try and make it. I ran onto the main roads. Yelling and warning everyone not to go in that direction. Some were smart enough to listen. Others though, especially those in cars, froze. Even the cars themselves had frozen. If the cars froze how safe would inside the hotel be?  ""Ow! What the-"" I looked down at the rigid figure that just fell from the sky,hitting me in the head. A bird? I looked behind me and witnessed a smattering of other birds freezing, falling from the sky. The birds had fallen stuck, as if still in flight. Others seemed as though perched on a wire. Now, all laid flat upon hitting the ground. Other animals were freezing just as well. All stuck in this petrified state. Shadowless. I turned a quick corner to the left and then again immediately back to the right. I had to keep moving in the direction the sun was going.Something is up there; I could see it then. Looming inside the glare of the sun. A massive creature, large enough to chase the sun out of orbit and replace it. I stumbled while looking back at the form in the sky with a creeping sensation of familiarity to it. Feeling so insignificant, I wondered if I should just let it take me. Now coming upon the hotel, people pushed past me crying and screaming trying to get inside. Some plead to whatever god they worshipped. Couldn't they realize no one was coming? What was I even running for? The girl I wanted to be with was back on the beach a mile and a half away, frozen in time and space. My best friends were all taken from me. My resolve to keep going without them wavered. What was I to do? Should I try to keep running until I get back home? Could I even make it that far? No, I really couldn’t.Awestruck, I stared at the presence held above our world. Out of fear and anticipation, I closed my eyes in prayer to my own god. I guess it was to anyone who was listening, that my parents were safe. Though, I knew they probably wouldn't be for long. Now with my prayers in place and a new feeling of welcoming for the petrification awaiting me. Eyes closed. It didn’t come. What was taking it so long? It moved so quickly before. I opened my eyes, looking up at the now expansive darkness behind the sun. The sun had stopped above, now slightly in front of me. The massive creature still there looming just behind it. Peoplearound me started to realize it too. Slowly the panic of the town started to fade into a morbid curiosity. When will it move again? Why did it stop in the first place? My friends, they were all still down there, stuck. I wondered, should I go back? Is there anything I can do? Well, I’ve got to try at least while I can. Slowly, I walked back in the direction I came. Strong in my resolve that I would either be taken or potentially on the upside have the chance to save my friends. Either way, something was bound to happen, and I couldn’t waver now. I got to just about underneath the sun when it started moving again. This time it moved in the opposite direction. Confused as to why the sun now moved in the way it was supposed to, I continued to walk towards it. The ominous presence started moving away slowly the more I walked towards it. Wait. The more I walked towards it? No, it couldn't be connected to me. Could it? I was the only one around who was moving in that direction though. I decided I had to test that theory out. I started running towards it, bewildered, the sun started retreating from me. It moved with the same speed it did before. Confused and afraid I kept running towards that beach. A sudden motion beside me as the animals and people started to move again. Their shadows returned to them as the sun crept back toward its correct place on the horizon. How was I connected to this thing in the sky? Why did it follow me? I didn't have time to worry about that. I just needed to keep moving towards the beach. I started running harder, faster, sprinting to myfriends and hoping that everything could go back to the way it was. Passing the people, I saw petrified earlier, I knew I was getting close. almost down to the sand. Rushing down the path I ran on prior, I reached them. All still standing there shadowless in their statuesque poses. Ashley up further on the beach where we were talking while the rest were closer to the water. I hated that water and now it was all I had left in front of me, where else was I supposed to go? I walked past Ash, her shadow returning to her as she started to speak from where we left off ""I'm gay Nick, I'm sorry I-"" she cut off noticing me walk towards the others who were still frozen in their celebration. Huh, she’s gay? Hopefully, she wasn’t keeping that from me out of fear. ""Sorry Ash, don't mean to walk away just need to do something really quick,"" I said knowing that I had nowhere else to go but that dreadful sea. It had been 11 years since that accident, and I still was afraid of drowning. The closer I got the more it called to me. My dread formed a new emotion of curiosity and longing to be swept out in the crashing waves. What compelled me to do this? I stopped just before the water. My friends all looking at me confused after coming out of their trance, noticing the expansive darkness in the sky. Looking up towards the sun, I felt a deep shiver in my core. Sitting in the sky was that otherworldly being. Its form was clearer now. Long tendrils draped from its core; a massive eye lingered in the middle of it. A shiver running down my spine. I stepped into the water feeling my body grow calm and my senses dull. I walked until fully submerged, casting all fear away. This was something I couldn't run from, not anymore. I looked up towards the sun as I sank into the abyss below. The creature writhed with satisfaction as I was now in a place purely of shadows. Unable to cast my own. Ah … who or whatever you are up there, you’re calling for me, I thought to myself submerged in darkness. It came to claim me today and it succeeded. Now shadowless, my consciousness faded as I could no longer move. Just as my mother always told me before. I sank. Now quicker, with velocity and speed. It was like I was running into that void below. I sank deeper and deeper, until, I awoke. I was heading in a direction I did not set. The Earth behind me now, the sun in its correct place of orbit, and the creature gone. I drifted through a new void. Curious, I thought, run.
","September 05, 2023 21:11",[]
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",u0ds9k,One Billion Apologies,Robin Owens,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/u0ds9k/,/short-story/u0ds9k/,Science Fiction,0,"['Crime', 'Thriller', 'Sad']",6 likes,"
It wasn’t the sun’s sudden reversal nor the tides rolling out that I noticed first. It was the blood on my hands, evaporating into thin air, like ballerinas leaping off my skin and disappearing into a dusky sky. For a stretchy, taffy-like ten seconds I watched as every bit of the boy’s blood left my hands, a crime attempting its own undoing. The knife slipped itself from his tanned neck, and the handle inserted itself into my closed fist like a key in a lock. My body rose to standing. White sand trickled off my knees, reuniting magnetically with the beach at my feet.
 
That’s when I saw the crashing waves changing their minds, lifting off the beach and pulling away one by one, like little apologies for the billions of times they had crashed into the shore before. The sun halted its dip as if it knew it had just missed something sinister—it threatened to peek and be my only witness. Unless there would be nothing to witness at all; maybe it could all be undone.
 
I was a puppet to time. And the strings were pulling me in reverse.
 
---
12 hours earlier
 
I put on the kind of makeup that looked like I wasn’t wearing makeup and joined my travel companions at the resort restaurant I couldn’t afford.
 
There’s Sela, they said. Last again.
 
My tardiness was, of course, intentional, as Macy never ate much so I knew she’d give me her untouched bagel. For free. I borrowed the money for the trip from my stepdad, who I knew would forget about said money, which was basically the only quality that made him better than my first stepdad. But that’s another story. Mom was the one who convinced me to go, saying it would be good for me, as moms say. I almost always took her advice. I was almost always honest with her too. Almost.
 
Everyone was ready to hit the beach as it was the only place you could feel the breeze in the otherwise stifling heat of the island. I was glad it was our last day, though I was trying not to show it in my face nor in the way I shuffled down to the sand with the tribe. Tribe. That’s what Corinne had called the six of us when we landed for Spring Break five days ago, and I had nearly gagged. Speaking of that which is stifling.
 
The thing is, I always had trouble making friends. I was naturally irritable and generally brooding, unlike Corinne who was a walking party. I was also not the girl-next-door; that was Macy, who was obviously into Aaron due to his unironic emo vibe. Corinne’s arm candy was fraternity president and prep king whose name was a well-suited Mike. And then there was Jordan, who some might have called a ringleader for his charisma and swishy black hair, but who I called—under my breath—a narcissist.
 
So there I was, complete with frizzy hair and a frown, somehow part of the tribe. That was probably thanks to Macy who was a serial dog rescuer. Was I a rescue? Anyway, if you threw us all together and turned on a camera, we resembled an Avril Lavigne music video.
 
On the morning of our last day, I tucked myself into the sand next to the girls and as far away from Jordan as possible without my choice being obvious. He carried a negative energy, a bad karma that it seemed only I could feel. Corinne and even Macy flirted with him all week, while Mike and Aaron hung on his every word. I was trying to cancel out their worship energy with my ignoring energy, but I couldn’t get the scales to balance. Jordan had dark secrets. And probably the only reason I could feel his was because I had a dark secret too.
 
It was like an anvil on my chest when Jordan was close. Each day, when he would finally put distance between us and leave the beach to dive into the ocean, the weight would lift, replaced by daydreams of him underwater suffocating, suffering. Dying.
 
He would always re-emerge to my great disappointment.
 
This psychotic cycle repeated all week, the daydreams growing stronger each day. If I wasn’t afraid of sharks, I would have followed Jordan into the water and--.  
 
Sela, Corinne said. Aren’t you going to get in? It’s our last day.
 
I feigned surprise as if I hadn’t been counting down the hours to the freedom of our flight home.
 
Fish pee in water, Mike said, the Mike-iest thing to say, and I was grateful for his weak attempt at defending my choice to stay dry.
 
I’m almost at my peak tan? I shrugged.
 
Corinne rolled her eyes. You’re fully in the shade of the umbrella. Fine, finish your book, she said, gesturing to the paperback I had been pretending to read all week. Come on guys.
 
Macy, Mike, and Aaron followed Corinne hypnotically into the ocean. They joined a still fully alive Jordan for a swim while I hung on to my last shred of sanity.
 
------
Evening
 
We ate dinner on the restaurant patio with a view of the apricot sunset. The boys dined on steak and lobster with a bottle of god-knows-how-expensive red wine. Corinne and Macy had burgers, and I had a salad plus a plethora of uneaten fries from Macy’s plate. Another sign that I might have been a rescue animal of Macy’s, but I digress.
 
Jordan was giving me nasty, knowing smiles throughout dinner, making my palms clammy. Did he know I hated him? That I was happy I would never have to see his face again after this night? Or, maybe he discovered that my stepdad wasn’t my first stepdad, that the first had died mysteriously one night when Mom wasn’t home?
 
Jordan couldn’t know. No one knew about that. At least not the part about me also being home.
 
It’s hot out here, I said, desperate to wrap up dinner, for the sun to fall, for the night to be over.
 
Let’s walk down to the beach! Corinne said like she’d just invented a new concept.
 
Mike signed his room number on the ticket, and we left the restaurant two by two. Corinne and Mike were arm-in-arm, Macy and Aaron shoulder to shoulder, and Jordan was holding such steady eye contact with me that I faked a frightening sneeze so I could turn away from him.
 
Go ahead, I said, stepping back to the table to grab a napkin, in which I wrapped Jordan’s used steak knife. I tucked it into the back of my shorts when no one was looking and followed the tribe down to a darkening beach.
 
Four of the six dispersed. I didn’t notice, frozen in the sand, staring at the ocean. The water was the color of Mom’s bruises. The pink sun, her bloodshot eyes. The waves crashed onto the shore’s skin shamelessly like angry fists. My heart twisted from the memories of my own helplessness which had morphed into a violent determination to act. The bathtub, the water, the blow dryer, the electricity, the adrenaline from carrying it all out.
 
Again, the anvil sunk into my chest. A darkness, one I was all too familiar with, was close. Was it my own? I pulled my eyes from the ocean to see him, the other lost soul on this beach besides me. Before I could run, Jordan pushed me down to the sand.
 
Despite my fear, I desperately wanted to know why. Power? Control? Is it always that? I didn’t have time to think or plan, like I did the first time. Though I did have one sharp, sliver of hope in my back pocket.
 
I kicked and thrust my hips until I pushed Jordan off me. Sand stormed about us like a tornado. A strength from deep within me burst forth. I pinned him down, pulled the steak knife from my shorts and forced it into his neck. Blood covered my hands. His body went limp.
 
Dread flooded my insides. I could not be that person again. I could not replace darkness with more darkness. There had to be another way. A different fight I could win—for me, for Mom, for all. I could be more. There had to be more.
 
A sliver of hope.
 
The blood began to disappear. The knife slipped out of his neck. I stood as white sand fell from my knees. It felt natural to surrender to time, to relinquish control, to let the darkness fall away. The first time would not be undone, I knew. And the undoing of one million transgressors and their one billion transgressions could not be. But this time...
 
The waves reversed,
changing their mind in
apology
 
The sun rose—
a bloodshot core softened
to gold
 
 
","September 09, 2023 01:24","[[{'Mary Bendickson': 'The undoing. What a possibility! Accomplished so flawlessly.', 'time': '23:00 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Robin Owens': 'So nice, wow! Thank you.', 'time': '01:13 Sep 11, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Robin Owens': 'So nice, wow! Thank you.', 'time': '01:13 Sep 11, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",aknpvh,Falling in Retrograde,Arpad Nagy,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/aknpvh/,/short-story/aknpvh/,Science Fiction,0,"['Fiction', 'Science Fiction', 'Romance']",6 likes,"
Autumn lay nuzzled beneath his arm, running her slender fingers through his thick brown hair, ""Coper,"" she said, looking at his strong jawline and super-kissable lips and felt the heavy thump-thump, thump-thump of his heart beating against the naked skin of her rib cage. 
 
She inhaled deeply. It reminded her of stepping out of a camp tent on a summer morning; he smelled like the forest mingled with a sweet wisp of cologne and a tinkling of sweat that tickled her nose pleasantly. To her, Coper Fields smelled like love. ""It's our last night together. Tell me something I don't know about you."" Then, Autumn pushed the hand on his shoulder and raised herself to look at his baby blues. ""And don't say something gross—be romantic—tell me something I can remember for the rest of my life.""
 
She seemed to be floating above him at that moment, with a half-scolding, half-seductive, and entirely irresistible smirk. Her long, auburn hair fell off her shoulder with a band behind her perfect little ear.
 
Her lips, still red and puffy from their amorous kissing, made him think of the new strawberries in his mom's garden when they were small and plump. He set his eyes wandering slowly, meticulously over her face, noting the shape and size of each freckle, how her cheekbones sloped and fell like an untouched snowbank, and how her eyebrows looked like tiny golden feathers above eyelids of pale, pink silk. Below them, Coper looked at her eyes, already misting with the tears he knew were sure to come.
 
He didn't think of himself as romantic, but his chest would explode if he couldn't make Autumn Presly believe she was the girl he wanted to have as his wife. ""Come here,"" he said, pulling her back down and into his side where she fit better than the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle. 
 
He pulled her close and drew the heavy wool blanket over her bare shoulders. ""Look up. Do you see that bright greenish-blue star that's sort of blinking,"" he asked, pointing his finger over the treetops and into the liquid-blue sky. 
 
""Yes,"" she answered, seeing the star in the summer sky that clung to the last bit of evening. ""It's out early. It's not even dark, and it's so bright already. Does that mean it's close?"" She didn't really care about the star, but she cared about being next to him for as long as she could and tried not to think about her father and little sister coming to pick her up and take her home. ""Home"" was only a province away, but the nine-hour drive might as well have been a million. After tonight, she might never see Coper again.
 
 She bit her lip hard to hold back the tears she felt welling behind her eyes. ""I love his voice. I could lie here forever and listen to anything he wanted to tell me, and they would be the most beautiful words in the world.""
 
Coper laughed lightly, ""No stars are 'close,' but it doesn't matter; that's not a star anyways—it's Jupiter."" He turned his head, just barely, only enough so that he could look at her, looking up. Her profile, a soft silhouette of the perfect girl, threw his heart into a panic. In the dimming light, her pale skin seemed almost to glow. He could see the white of her teeth resting on her bottom lip, and she was smiling. ""This might not even be real,"" he thought, ""This could all be a dream, or maybe she's an angel."" 
 
""I can feel you looking at me, you know,"" Autumn said softly, enjoying that he was. ""Tell me why we're looking at Jupiter.""
 
""Because it's where it begins.""
 
""Where what begins?"" she asked, furrowing her brow and adding a tiny nose scrunch. Autumn knew it was her best look; she'd practiced getting it just right in front of the mirror a hundred times and liked how boys looked at her without blinking when she did it. 
 
""The parade of planets,"" he answered, ""If we look closely when it's dark enough, we might be able to see all five in alignment."" 
 
""Wow! Do they always do that?"" she asked. 
 
""No,"" he said, still looking at her. Autumn had shifted her body, turning into him, and the blanket had slipped down her arm; the curve of her breast was visible, the powder pink of her areole barely peeking out from the cloth. ""It only happens once every twenty years or so."" He inhaled and momentarily closed his eyes. When he opened them, Autumn had turned her face to his. ""It's as rare as you. If you didn't know what to look for, you might go your whole life and never see anything like it."" He said, lost in her eyes. 
 
She threw herself on top of him, pulling the blanket over them, and kissed him furiously. Sweet and soft like fresh cookies, she gobbled his beautiful mouth with panic-chasing passion, knowing that the end of her summer vacation had arrived. In the morning, these best moments of her life would move to memories, and she wanted to add as many pages to her book of love as possible before time wrote the final line. 
 
She felt powerful and in full ownership of her beauty. Her eyes went wide, unblinking; she opened her soul and passed it to the man beneath her. Her hair cascaded over his face and chest like a waterfall, and she felt the powerful currents of pleasure rushing from her chin to her toes. Autumn Presly had arrived as a girl, but she had become a woman somewhere between the here and now and the there and then. 
 
Coper's hand rested on the small of Autumn's back, and his fingertips touched a trickle of perspiration. He felt a unique and unnamed satisfaction in having made her sweat. The way tiny beads appeared above her top lip and how the hair behind her ears and crown darkened with the moisture, all the while, her eyes remained open, staring, going wider with excitement.
 
It was twilight when she tucked into the hollow of his side, custom-made to fit her shape. All Coper could think about was the euphoric bliss racing through his body, but a new instinct told him, talking about how great it was and how everything felt would somehow take away from the magic. Instead, he set his eyes on Jupiter and quickly found the other planets in the celestial parade. 
""There,"" he said, pointing again at Jupiter but slightly up and to the right. ""That's Saturn, do you see it?""
 
Autumn was lying still and quiet, but a vibration of sheer joy was trying to escape her body through her toes; she followed Coper's outstretched arm and pointer finger. ""The small one? I see it! Saturn! Wow, that's so cool! What's next? You said we could see five.""
 
""She listens to me,"" he thought, and it warmed him knowing that this gorgeous girl found everything about him interesting. ""Maybe—well, there are five, but we probably won't be able to see Neptune and Uranus."" 
 
Neither allowed so much as a chuckle to escape at the planet with the worst name in the history of planets; both were trying very hard to be very mature. 
 
""Go back to Jupiter,"" he instructed, ""Now go down a little way, then scan left, just barely above the horizon—that'll be Mercury."" 
 
Autumn listened intently and carefully followed Coper's instructions. Her small hands squeezed his arm. ""I see it! Small and blueish—or white—I'm not sure what color it is, but I see it! Mercury!"" She wasn't faking; Autumn truly believed picking planets out of the evening sky was amazing. 
 
Coper shifted, breaking the seal between their bodies. ""I'll grab the binoculars from the truck. We won't see Neptune and Uranus without them."" When he popped to his feet and stood naked in the fading light, Autumn burst out in laughter, shrieking and kicking the blanket as he walked away from her. 
 
He stopped, turned, and looked back while scratching his head. ""What's so funny?""
 
The blanket bounced into the air from Autumn's kicks; she was in hysterics. 
 
""What?"" he asked again, turning in circles, looking for something amiss and embarrassing.  
 
She pointed as he pirouetted and shrieked again each time he turned his bare bottom toward her. ""I—I found it!"" she gasped between her cackling. ""I don't need binoculars!""
 
 Coper stood with his hands on his hips, looking well and truly confused. 
 
""URANUS!! I found URANUS!!"" she roared, pulled the blanket over her head, and shouted a muffled apology. ""I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. It was too perfect!"" She peeked from the blanket and saw Coper racing toward her in mock fury. She shrieked and dove under the blanket, her laughter echoing off the trees. 
 
He raced around her, swatting and growling at her like a bear, then began laughing. Leaving her unmolested, he trotted to his truck and retrieved the binoculars. Moments later, they resumed their positions, snuggled beneath the blanket, looking up at the night sky. It took some work, but in the space between Mercury and Jupiter, the pair of young lovers found Neptune and the butt of her joke, Uranus. 
 
While Autumn stared through the binoculars, Coper waxed on about the infinite and inconceivable expanse of the universe and how small and insignificant Earth is. While Coper went on and on, his wonder and awe growing with each new thought, Autumn's heart shrunk, and her joy evaporated. She didn't like the idea of being lost in such an enormous space. It was too much, too overwhelming, and lonesome. 
 
Autumn didn't want to think of the great, big universe; she wanted her world to be small. ""I'd be happy right here,"" she thought, ""In this little square of woods on the hilltop, a mile from a small nobody-knows-about town, with Coper, and I'd love him enough to fill his universe."" A sudden panic rose in her chest, and she wrapped her arms around Coper and squeezed him hard. The tears came. 
 
The impending arrival of her father, coming to collect her and take her home, felt like she was marching to her death. Autumn and Coper had been inseparable from the first night they met at the park after the baseball game. Her tears came readily now while he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. 
 
Jupiter's glimmering blue-green light reflected like a kaleidoscope through her watery eyes. Autumn wiped the tears away, stared at the Roman sky God, and made her wish—she prayed for the night never to end. 
 
""I'm sorry,"" she said to Coper, sniffling. ""I told myself I wouldn't do this, but I can't help it —I've fallen in love with you like every high school summer love cliché, and there's nothing I can do about it. I have to go home, and I'll never see you again."" 
 
Coper heard the words he was about to say, that he loved her and couldn't think of spending a day apart. He reached behind the blanket on the ground and retrieved his blue cotton t-shirt. Pulling Autumn into his side, he wiped the tears from her cheeks. ""Take my shirt. Keep it. I don't have anything else to give you, but I---,"" he hesitated.
 
She raised her eyes to him, waiting, hoping for a foolish promise and asking an impossible question. She knew and wanted to make it easier for him. ""Would you?"" she asked, smiling with trembling lips. ""Could you? Truly?""
 
He brushed the loose strands of her beautiful, long hair behind her ear and looked deep into her eyes with all the sincerity his heart could muster. ""I would, Autumn. I could. I wouldn't want anyone else ever for the rest of my life. I only want you."" 
 
A silence fell between them, and the universe hushed and stopped, opening a vein in time that belonged only to the pair so wonderfully, painfully, in love. 
 
It was Autumn who spoke first. Her heart swelled with emotions she hadn't the experience to understand; she was lost in the first perfect moment of her life, ""It's already perfect, you know."" She threaded her fingers through his and squeezed his hand tight. ""If you married me, I would be Autumn Fields—have you ever heard a more wonderful name? Autumn Fields."" She kissed him softly, once, then again. Her eyes shimmered with new tears, ""I would love to be Missus Autumn Fields."" 
 
Coper had been in unfamiliar territory from when Autumn first said ""Yes"" to going out with him. From the first slow blink and half-scrunched nose, he was a goner—she was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen, and even seeing her every day since then hadn't been enough—he wanted to fall asleep and wake to the sight of her beautiful face and the sound of her soft voice.
 
""I never told you that thing about me,"" he said. 
 
""What thing?"" she asked, glad he was taking the conversation in a new direction since she had no idea how to navigate the path they were on. 
 
""Something you don't know about me, something for you to remember me by—how I got my name,"" he explained. ""My mom, she's a space geek, believes all that star sign and God mythology bunk—for real, though. She's an astrophysicist. Works for a satellite company—deep space stuff. She named me for Copernicus, the famous French astronomer—that's where Coper comes from and why it's not spelled like the metal.""
 
Autumn looked at him and smiled. ""He really was from the heavens,"" she thought. ""That's how you knew about the planets,"" she concluded. ""I bet you use that stuff on all the girls."" She was teasing, trying to be cute, but his face dropped, and his smile flattened. She felt a new kind of nervousness. 
 
""I swear to Jupiter,"" his voice, calm but stern, ""If you leave me if you go home and forget me, I'll never raise my eyes to the stars again.""
 
And the old Gods heard their pleas. 
 
The last arc of fading sunlight held, the glow of twilight turning treetops into spears against the dimming sky. The parade of planets pulled together into a banner of blinking lights, then, like an arm reaching across the expanse, it extended a hand that closed over the earth, ceased its rotation, and turned it back. 
 
Autumn and Coper felt the earth shudder beneath their feet. The mighty trees swayed in the windless night, bowing to the right before snapping back and exhaling a spasm of wind. The sky turned, stars, clouds, and planets pulling in reverse. The fading skylight of the sun brightened and rose once more above the mountaintops. 
 
 
Time bent into light, and the world bulged, convex, and warped. It pushed Autumn and Coper backward through the actions of the evening hours. Holding onto each other, they watched their bodies replaying a bizarre orchestra of sounds and movements. They felt impossibly heavy, stretched, and nauseous. Pulled by forces beyond comprehension, their minds failed to maintain consciousness, and the young lovers, sworn to each other under the eyes of ancient Gods, fell to the ground, cocooned in the blankets of their lovers' berth. 
 
 
They woke from what felt like a long sleep, and when Autumn and Coper opened their eyes, everything was the same as when they'd driven to the top of the bluff. The blankets were rolled and tied, sitting against the log. The cooler sat next to his truck with the food and drinks Coper had packed. It was the same view, sky, temperature, and--,""
 
""Coper!"" Autumn yelped, ""Check your watch!"" Her eyes were so wide he could see the white all the way around her pupils. She was staring at her wristwatch. He raised his arm and looked at his grandfather's wind-up Swiss watch. Then they looked at each other. 
 
It was the same day. Six hours earlier. The evening had reset to late afternoon. They had been granted every man's most desperate wish—more time. 
 
Coper stood stunned, dumbfounded at the miracle, astonished by the feat—he had turned back time. He hadn't a chance to think it through when Autumn came bounding and leaped in his arms, shrieking with jubilation. He stumbled backward, wrapped his arms around her, and fell to the ground, clutching the most beautiful girl in the world—and he could keep her forever. 
 
Then, as quickly as Autumn had rejoiced, she suddenly recoiled. Pushing herself off of him, she dug her heels into the earth, scampered back, and stood. A look of panic struck her face. 
 
""Autumn! What's wrong?""
 
""I did it too,"" she answered. ""I looked at Jupiter, and through my tears, I wished it. I wished for this night never to end."" 
 
""Then what's wrong? Why are you upset? This is what we both wanted.""
 
She looked at him, her eyes still wide with shock, fear, and something else.
 
Regret. 
 
""But not like this, Coper. Not like this, here, forever!"" Her voice raised an octave, and she began to run. ""What about my dad? And my little sister, Kelsey?"" She yelled as she ran to the edge of the clearing that looked out over town. 
 
Then Autumn hit something that wasn't there and bounced back, tumbling into the grass. 
 
Coper ran to her, and he saw her crying, shaking her head, and pointing to the edge, but Coper saw nothing but wide-open sky and the hill dropping away. He charged ahead. 
 
Then he hit the barrier and fell back, tumbling beside her. 
 
Over the following hours, the pair stalked, walked, and crawled along every inch of the hilltop until the sun sank to the trees and rose again. It was the same everywhere. An invisible barrier held them, trapped in the place and time they had chosen to be their eternity. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
","September 06, 2023 02:47","[[{'Chora Chorion': 'Such sexy, self-aware writing! I love the pacing and the thematic relevance. Flawless execution overall :)', 'time': '07:35 Sep 14, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Arpad Nagy': 'Thanks, so much, Chora. I appreciate your feedback!', 'time': '01:28 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Arpad Nagy': 'Thanks, so much, Chora. I appreciate your feedback!', 'time': '01:28 Sep 15, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",yf7ij0,Second Chances,Hayley Chau,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/yf7ij0/,/short-story/yf7ij0/,Science Fiction,0,"['Fiction', 'Contemporary', 'Drama']",6 likes,"
	The sun is sinking into an endless beautiful blue abyss. On a spontaneous whim, I am visiting the same spot Peter and I went when he was sick. The beach wanes down with tourists and I am sitting on a bed of rocks, thinking about the last time I spent with my husband, Peter. All my regrets were starting to overwhelm my thoughts. I have so many and wish I could take them all back. I start to cry. It’s been a hard year. To be honest, I can’t remember the last time I was truly happy.
	From the side of my view, I see a stranger lingering around me. 
	“May I sit with you?” she asks in an empathic tone. I look up and there is kindness in her eyes. I give her a nod and she sits down.  She sees me crying and asks why I am feeling so much pain.
	I don’t know why but I began to pour out my heart, telling her my box of regrets to this woman. I tell her how I lost my husband to cancer a couple of years ago, how I was unable to conceive and pushed my husband away. I treated him awfully and I would do anything just anything to have him back with me. She just sits there and listens as I tell her stories of broken hearts.
	I told her the day the doctor’s gave my husband only a few months to live, I wanted to die. Words could not describe how I felt, knowing he was going to leave me alone. 
	I mentioned we had a rocky marriage. But after finding out the awful news,  Peter didn’t let it get in the way of our love for one another. I reminisced about the last few months and how we fell in love again.
	Peter was my first and only love. I was fortunate enough to marry my best friend. We met in college and after graduation, we moved into an apartment together. I decided to get my work on getting my masters in Botany and my dissertation was on redwood forests. One day, he said we were going on a trip to San Francisco. In the redwood forest, Muir Woods, he proposed to me.I was thoroughly surprised. Peter was like that, extremely thoughtful.
	 The first few years of our marriage, we were happy. Until, we decided it was time to have children. We both wanted a big family. Peter would have been a great father. 
	The first time I got pregnant, I had a miscarriage. Then two more. We decided to try Invitro. But, after great lengths and several attempts, it only ended in disappointment and grief. Then, the doctor said I was unable to conceive. I felt as though a part of me was ripped away. I wanted a child so badly and felt only a baby could make me complete, but my body didn’t allow me the blessing of a child.
	At first, Peter was very supportive. He said we could adopt. But selfishly, I didn’t want to. Then one day, trying to console my broken heart, he built a greenhouse for me, knowing how much I love plants. He thought spending time in the greenhouse would give me comfort.  However, the greenhouse didn’t help. 
	I lost any sense of joy and my state of mind started spiraling downwards. By then, I was on several different depression pills but the pills only made me lethargic. I couldn’t get out of bed and for a time was living only in my head. However, on the brink of getting fired from my job, I had to pull myself back together to go back to work. Fortunately, my job had the option of traveling, which I agreed to but that meant I would see less of Peter. I thought escaping was the therapy I needed.
	Looking back, I should have realized that Peter was also hurting and how badly I neglected his feelings. The deeper I fell into my rabbit hole, the more distant we both became towards one another. I felt as though there was an ocean separating us and I didn’t know nor really want to bridge that gap.
	We barely spoke to each other anymore. One day, I found divorce papers in a drawer, hidden under files and folders. Peter was entertaining the idea of a divorce and I couldn’t understand why he didn’t file. I knew it was my fault but my grief was too much to bare, and I couldn’t confide my feelings with my husband. This went on for several years.  We acted more like roommates than a married couple.
	I started to notice a change in Peter’s health. He was getting more and more tired. He was losing weight in such a small amount of time. Peter just didn’t look healthy. I suggested he go see a doctor. He asked if I would go with him.
	The doctors took blood work and a few days later, the doctor asked him to return to the office to go over the results. My heart sank. Why would the doctor ask to see us? It must have been bad news. A few days later, we were sitting in the doctor's office, waiting for the doctor to come in. My heart was beating out of my chest. Peter was holding my hand and said no to worry. He even tried to make jokes to get me to relax. Then the doctor walked in and by the expression on his face, I knew it was bad.
	“Peter, I’m sorry to say but your blood work shows you have blood cancer. You have only a few months but we have new cancer therapies I would like for you to try. I know it’s not a cure to cancer but it would prolong your disease,” the doctor said in a soft empathetic tone. 
	Without hesitation, Peter refused the therapies. I was shocked and angry by his response.
	“How could you be so selfish?” I retorted to Peter, trying to hold back tears.
	“Oh my darling Rose, I’m going to die. That’s a fact but I would rather spend whatever time I have left with you. I don’t want you to have to take care of me, waiting on me hand and feet as I’m throwing up or god only knows what else from the side effects. Please understand,” he pleaded calmly to me. “Now we can do all the things we wanted to do.” He went on to say how it was important to spend the rest of his days on this earth as my husband and not sick Peter. Feeling deflated, I managed a nod.
	Once home, he went up to the attic and brought down road maps. He wiped off the dust and started marking every place we said we would visit but never did. I was dying inside. 
	I tried to be strong when I was with him but it was difficult. I wanted to break down and cry but knew it would only make my husband sadder, so I saved my tears for the midnight moon. The next few months were amazing. I felt as though all the past trials and tribulations never happened. We spent every second as though it was his last. 
	We went to Paris, visited the Louvre and ate cheese, jambon-beurre and macaroons. Next, we went back to San Francisco and then to Muir Woods, where he proposed to me. Under a beautiful redwood tree that must have been hundreds of years old, Peter went down on one knee.
	“My darling, Rose, I want to thank you for being my best friend. I know it’s been difficult for you but there wasn’t a moment I stopped loving you. I know how badly you wanted a child and how it consumed our marriage. Every night, I wished upon a star, hoping the universe heard me. Granting us a child because you of all people deserved to be a mom. I wanted a child as badly as you did but could not possibly understand the deepest of pain you felt through the miscarriages. I should have tried harder to be your rock. So, take my box of regrets and let it burn,” Peter declared as tears ran down his cheeks. He took out two jewelry boxes. I opened them and saw another wedding band and a beautiful locket.
	A waterfall of tears was rolling down my face. I apologized and told him how much I loved him too. Before putting on the necklace, he asked me to open the locket to read the engraving on it. 
 “To my beautiful Rose, your love is a bloom I’ll always cherish.” 
	Suddenly, the fog from the marine shrouded the forest. In a lover’s trance, Peter embraced and then passionately kissed me as though we were love struck teenagers.
	Our final destination, we decided to go back to Maui, the same place we went on our honeymoon.  Every night we sat on the bed rocks over looking the most beautiful coral. We watched the sunset filling the sky with an orange glow. We talked, laughed and cried together. I wanted those moments to last forever. 
	Then a month later, Peter died. 
	The next two years, I barely got out of bed. My grief was too much to handle. I didn’t want to live. I shut out everyone and mourned the only way I knew how, in solitary confinement, my own hell.
	Then one night I had a very lucid dream. I dreamt Peter and I were sitting on the bedrocks in Maui. 
	“Rose, I need you to find me, follow your heart because I’m right here,” whispered Peter. I woke up in a pool of sweat, crying. The dream felt so real. I remembered every detail as though it just happened.
	The next few days I tried to shrug off the dream but I just couldn’t. So, I did something wild and extremely out of character. I followed my dream. I hauled myself out of bed, packed my clothes and called an Uber. I was heading to Maui. 
	So here I am in Maui, sitting next to the stranger, feeling foolish. I thought somehow my dreams would come true if I chase it fast enough. I don’t know what I was expecting but I feel the loneliness and grief creep back into me like a leech.
	“Oh my dear, you must have faith. Maui has energies that allow you to reconnect with your true self. Solitude for quiet time fosters self growth and being alone in the spaces is when you really make the most out of it. The time of quiet solitude is when you can actually hear and listen to yourself. This sacred quiet is when the most profound things can come through,” the native says to me. 
	I was processing what she said when without a word, the stranger left. Her speech left me wondering how I’m able to grow without Peter.
	Then something mysterious happens. The sun is just about to disappear into a rolling wave when it emulates the most beautiful orange and pink hue I’ve ever seen. Then … it reverses direction and rises up! 
	“What in the world?” I shriek for no one to hear. I stand up to look around the beach. No one looks disturbed by this bizarre sun event. How can the sun set only to immediately rise again? This spectacle is unnatural and why am I the only one to witness this? This is not really happening. I close my eyes and count to ten, open my eyes but the sun is still rising.
	“Oh darling, isn’t the view beautiful? I knew you would find me,” an all too familiar voice whispers from behind. It couldn’t be Peter but I’d recognize that voice in a crowd of a million people. I slowly turn around and there he is, in front of me. I fainted.
	Peter is still there when I wake up.
	“How could this be?” I ask. He is holding me. I start to cry.
	“Darling, we are finally back together but you might want to sit down because there’s something I need to tell you,” says Peter.
I look around my surroundings and we are no longer at the beach. Somehow we are in Muir Woods. 
	‘I don’t understand,” I say.
	“Rose, when you fainted, you hit your head on a sharp end of a rock and died. We have been given a second chance,” Peter explains. 
 
 
 
 
","September 07, 2023 01:20",[]
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",88z8uz,Scarlet Noah,Jermaine Packer,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/88z8uz/,/short-story/88z8uz/,Science Fiction,0,"['Science Fiction', 'Romance', 'Suspense']",6 likes,"
	A bead of sweat weaved through the thinning forest on my head as the reason for my personal eclipse waned away. “Wow,” was all I could utter as my breath took its time to rebound. But as it returned, the eclipse did also. “Wow indeed,” the eclipse said as they sought to resuscitate my lungs with mouth to mouth. It failed to bring my breath back rapidly, but the residue on my lips gave me life. 
	As I attempted to seek recycled air for my lungs, my head turned to view the sky turning orange. “We have to see the sunset,” I told my partner who was laying her head on my chest, slightly hindering my recovery. “Eh, you seen one, you seen them all,” she joked as her head turned opposite of my own. I knew she was joking though, because you see we have spent an ample amount of time together this summer. I know it’s only two months, but every second I had with her was worth losing every breath that I lost seeing her beauty. She could light up a room like a pyromaniac with just a step and smile. Her intellect could rival the top fellows of MIT. And her body exhibits the perfected frame chiseled by God’s hand personally. All of that together makes up the beautifully intelligent Luna. I am going to miss every bit of her tremendously. But once the sun sets this evening, the countdown begins to say goodbye. We might “play"" one more time, but we both have early morning flights so the chance is very low. But I’m not complaining because my body is exhausted. One more tender moment staring at the sunset should suffice. And then tomorrow things go back to normal.
	Of course, I’m not complaining about my normal. My normal isn’t too bad. If we are aiming for the American dream, then I believe I have achieved it. I possibly even surpassed it. But with the kids staying with their grandparents for the summer, my wife going on a few business trips, and the dogs staying with a friend, this summer of rest has been amazing. And then to spend my time with Luna has been…well, I can't find adequate words to describe my time with her. I wish I could show you this perfect physique that lay beside me. Oh, I guess the perfect physique that just stood up.
	“Fine, let’s go check out this sunset,” she says as she floats a robe around her exquisite exposed body. The fragrance that parked around her aura was a scent of enjoyable ecstasy that if inhaled could cause anyone to be over the limit of intoxication. “Soo, are you coming,” she asks as she holds her hand out for me to grab. After becoming inebriated from the scent, I stood up and followed her to the balcony. We sat beside each other as the orange ball began its descent. “I admit, this is kind of beautiful,” she said as she laid her head on my shoulder. “Told you. I think I should get some kind of reward.” Though I couldn’t see it, I felt a smile flow across her face. “Me sitting here is your reward,” she said. I laughed and wrapped my arms around her as the orange ball turned red as it dipped to show only a small arc. “I wish this moment could last forever.” “Me too,” she replied.
	Though I enjoyed the time sitting with her, I honestly didn’t realize how long sunsets last. She also started to get antsy. I glanced at the ticking box to confirm my suspicion of the length of time that had surpassed. “Either I am sleepy, or this is the longest sunset ever,” she said as she adjusted herself on my lap. “And I swear I saw the sun move up.” “You are probably just sleepy,” I told her. “How about we just say we watched it and go watch a show together? Maybe order a midnight snack.” “That sounds amazing,” she says as she abandons my leg to transport herself to the couch. I look one more time at the red horizon. I pondered if maybe my wish had come true because I swear the sun hasn’t moved.
	She started flipping through episodes as I picked up my phone to see what we could order. “We could do pizza. Or wings.” “Let’s do wings,” she replied. “The last thing I need is to be gassy on my plane.” I laughed and started to browse through the options of wings. But suddenly my phone went dark. “Umm. Don’t ask me how, but I think my phone just died,” I told her as I attempted to restart my device. “I can’t believe you still have that ancient phone that has to be charged. How old are you?” “Whatever, you are not about to make fun of my phone, again.” “Ok, grandpa. I’ll order and you pick the show,” she said as she put her glasses on. “That’s weird.” “So I’m assuming it’s not just my ancient phone.” “Probably some type of test. It is kind of late.” As she tapped away on her glasses, I stood up to look out the window. “That’s weird,” I said. “Yeah, why wouldn’t the TV work either? I need the government to do better.” “I’m not sure if it is the government,” I said as I stood in awe of the red sunset. “Why wouldn’t it be the government? Did those rebels do something crazy?” she said as she stood beside me. Immediately, her body became frozen with fear as we stared in the distance.
	“Tell me I was asleep and I dreamed about looking at the sunset,” she said as she walked onto the balcony. “I wish you were.” The problem with the sunset, it seemed to have turned into a sunrise. The tiny arc that was left only a few minutes before had become a red full semicircle that was double the size of the sight they just viewed. “Then what am I looking at?” She said as she placed her hand on the metal rail. “Ouch,” though the heat throughout the day wasn’t excessive, the rail on the balcony had become too hot to touch. I grabbed her other hand and pulled her back inside. “There is no way this is happening,” she says as she backs up holding her throbbing hand. “Here, let’s run some water on it.” My phone started vibrating as soon as I said that. I looked at it to see an alert flashing. Judging by the terror across Luna’s face, she had seen the alert too. “They said it wouldn’t happen this fast.” I tapped my phone to view the contents of the alert. The only thing that flashed was ‘Scarlet Noah.’ 
	I sighed as I looked at the alert. They had warned and prepared us for years for Scarlet Noah. We even had school drills about it. I think I was a little more invested than others though. I watched all the heated debates among scholars and politicians. Some said that it would never happen in our lifetime. Some said it would happen so quickly that we wouldn’t know it’s coming. And then some said that it would be such a slow progress that we have plenty of time to react.  Judging by how I can now see 3/4th of the red ball, the second experts won. I was so invested in it, that I actually worked on the project for a few years. It was a very interesting job, but very frustrating. Let's just say that inside there were just as many arguments as there were on the news.  I hope they resolved it though, because this bright red deathball seems to be moving fast. 
	Though I was calm, Luna was not. As I started texting everyone I loved, I watched Luna go through all 7 stages of grief in a minute. “Take a breath. Breathe baby.” “How can I breathe when I have a front-row seat to the end of this earth and my life!” “Breathe. We can actually make it to one of the ships if we go now. If I remember correctly, there is one very close.” I turned and looked out the window again as that once-small sunset lit up the sky. I also started seeing small lines rise into the air. I smiled as I received a text confirming my name would continue amongst the stars, even if I did not. I stared and imagined them on a ship that I helped build, maybe a little afraid, but also knowing a new frontier awaits them. But then a scream brought me back into the current chaos. “It’s too late! It’s too late!” “Luna, Luna!” I yelled as I grabbed both of her hands. “Look at me, Luna. Look at me and breathe.” I slowly escorted her to the bed in an attempt to calm her. “I so love you.” Her breath slowed as she looked into my eyes. “I loved spending this summer with you. If there is another lifetime for us, I hope every day I will be able to look into your beautiful eyes. I hope to experience that joy every time I see your smile. And I hope every day I awaken you take my breath away.” She smiles and comes in for a kiss before we lay down together.
	As I hope my last thought upload goes to the Scarlet Noah, first off just know I love all of my children, and my wife if she made it with you. But don’t cry for me because I enjoyed the most stunning sunset ever with one of the most stunning people to walk this planet. And even though that same sunset comes to take my life right now, it’s okay because I will feel no pain because I lay with a woman who already took my breath away.
 
 
","September 08, 2023 05:50",[]
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",ff13o5,Returning,PJ Town,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/ff13o5/,/short-story/ff13o5/,Science Fiction,0,['Science Fiction'],6 likes,"
RETURNINGIt’s been a magnificent day. I’m not sad it’s over, though.Coming down from our lovemaking, my body glows from tip to toe. As we lie side by side in the meadow, our warmth is maintained by a sun that’s low in the sky but still strong.In this light, Sophie’s skin is almost incandescent. I reach out to check that she’s real. For a change, we’re in concert, my hand meeting hers. We link our little fingers. We’ve never done that before; it feels just right.“Mmm,” she purrs.I have to agree but I don’t voice it. I’m content just to lie back and contemplate how the sun, changing from red to purple now, shifts in relation to the branches of a nearby tree – which resembles a silver birch, elegant and gleaming in the fading light. The leaves edge across the purple disc, creating exquisite, fluttering patterns.Unseen insects somewhere nearby step up their crick-crack-crick, as if welcoming the advancing dusk … or perhaps they’re protesting. If so, their protests are in vain; the sun now sinks behind the darkening silhouette of the distant hills, like an enormous purple coin slipped into a giant’s pocket.And then suddenly it’s dark. The insects fall silent, the only sounds our breathing and an almost imperceptible rustling as a faint, warm breeze tickles the leaves on the tree.There’s no need to whisper but we do.“How long do you think it will be?” Sophie asks.“They said minutes,” I reply, not knowing what that really means up here.There’s a certain tension in the air. I wonder if that’s just our perception or whether every living thing in this extraordinary world feels it; the insects certainly seem to have reacted to the transmutation.“I’m so glad we came,” Sophie says, nuzzling my neck and draping an arm across my chest. I rest my head on her hair, breathing in her scent, mingled with that of unnamed flowers close by.“Me too,” I say, taking pleasure in the way our whispers have become the ambient soundscape.“If only we could have done it years ago.” Her regret is almost tangible in the darkness.“Better late than never.” I hope she’ll hear my smile.And it is better. But the truth is that we couldn’t do it earlier because we didn’t have nearly enough credits … until Sophie’s father passed on. He saw the strain our marriage was under and could have gifted us some while he was still alive; he would have been able to witness how happy it made his only daughter. But that was the kind of man he was: he had one love only.Our financial difficulties were an anchor dragging our relationship down. The fundamentals were there – we’ve loved each other since we were kids, and both of us knew we were destined to be together. Life isn’t a two-credit romance novel, though; substantive things can get in the way.I couldn’t pay for the extension to my studies that would have taken me forward in my work. Sophie couldn’t afford the studio she needed for her painting. Our frustrations clashed and we fought, often.And of course, the idea of having children was out of the question; we wouldn’t have been able to bring them up in the way we’d always envisaged. This raised the most insurmountable barrier between us: we wanted to produce a manifestation of our love, and the inability to do it began to erode that very love.Then came her father’s death, mourned by no one. When your whole life revolves around lucre, to the exclusion of all else, you die unloved; credits shed no tears. With his passing, and the resulting inheritance, came possibilities.I began to enrol in courses to catch up on my studies; Sophie bought herself a studio. On the surface, our lives were firmly on the tracks and rolling. However, given the circumstances of the hard times we’d been through, mutual animosity had grown into a kernel of bitterness, hardening our hearts. We needed something special to dissolve it.Sophie had seen the ad on the vid-E and mooted the experience one day over a sullen breakfast. I could have dismissed the idea out of hand, but I maintained enough residual affection for her to be open to anything that might return us to better times.We ordered the tickets the same day. It was a relatively new venture and despite glowing testimonials from previous users, we were effectively taking up the service on trust.We travelled a week later. It took us some time to recover from the journey – ad margines travel is incredibly draining, as anyone who has experienced it will testify – but then we were ready, and here we are.The company’s advertising copy suggested that two ‘days’ (as defined by the temporal system of this world) would be enough time to resolve issues. The first day, it said, would be for ‘levelling’ – removing the jagged edges of your relationship. ‘Satisfaction guaranteed’, the company promised. If the first day has been anything to go by, we’re well on course for that.For the second day, clients have an option. You can take your relationship into uncharted waters, probing romantic and sensual limits. Or you can be returned to a point in your relationship when you both agree you were happy. We’ve taken the second option because we remember the bliss we felt before the obstacle of terrestrial practicalities got in the way of our love.And so we wait in the dark for the second day.“I think it’s happening!” Sophie whispers excitedly.Sure enough, I can just about make out her face now. I look up at a sky that’s changing from black to … what would you call that colour?! And …… oh … my … doG! Eht nus! Gnisir niaga! Yeht dias ti dluow neppah, tub taht t‘ndid eraperp em rof … hcus a … suordnow gniht!“Nac uoy ees ti?!” S‘ti a tnadnuder noitseuq, tub s‘eihpoS ewa si tahw srettam esuaceb m‘I gnileef eht emas. Ni eht gninoegrub thgil, I eciton taht s‘ehs gnipeew.I ekat reh dnah. Ew eil ereh yltnelis won, gnissentiw eht ecnecifingam ni sselhtaerb noitatcepxe fo eht yad daeha, dna fo a nruter ot eht evol ew tsol.
","September 08, 2023 13:28","[[{'Ken Cartisano': ""What a strange story, Phil. They didn't get more, or less than they bargained for, they got something else entirely. Your writing is 'os htrow gnidaer.' Except when it's backwards. But then I just kick my brain into reverse and ,aliov, on melborp."", 'time': '03:23 Sep 16, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'PJ Town': ""Thanks for the read and the dnik tnemmoc, Ken! (Missing you at the other place...)\n\nHope all's well."", 'time': '02:50 Sep 17, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'PJ Town': ""Thanks for the read and the dnik tnemmoc, Ken! (Missing you at the other place...)\n\nHope all's well."", 'time': '02:50 Sep 17, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",efd25j,Nostalgia,Jenni Bradshaw,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/efd25j/,/short-story/efd25j/,Science Fiction,0,"['Science Fiction', 'Romance', 'Fiction']",6 likes,"
The sun sparkled across the ocean with each rippling wave as a whispering roar tumbled over tiny toes burrowing in the sand. Distant giggles from seagulls and our sweet grandchildren swam through the air as a golden glow engulfed us all. I have always loved the fresh scent of a salty breeze and cherished every detail of our annual family vacation to this exact spot, wishing summer would never end.Sixty-two years had passed in the blink of an eye. Sixty-two wonderful years since our first kiss on this beach, in this specific lifeguard stand. We knew it was the same one because our initials were still carved into the raw wood on the underside of the seat where layers of paint couldn’t erase it. It was like a romantic love scene directly from a movie, but it was real life, and it was my life.Back then, most people thought we would fall out of love after high school. All of those people were wrong, every single one of them, because after two kids and six grandkids later, we are still so madly in love. We had a spark then that only grew brighter with time because we didn’t dim each other’s light. We celebrated a remembrance of that special kind of love by having our wedding on this beach and making it a point to visit every year since, no matter where life took us. But this year was particularly significant – we were celebrating our sixtieth wedding anniversary.Back then, I knew we weren’t just a summer fling falling short of surviving the future seasons. Back then, I knew he was the one.Of course, there’s been some highs and lows in our lives just like everyone else experiences, but this year was the lowest I have ever felt knowing my high school sweetheart had been given a proposed death sentence from his medical doctors of just a few more weeks to live after his condition had rapidly progressed in such a short period of time.To say devastation flipped my world upside down would be the understatement of the year.Alzheimer’s is a terrible disease, wiping memories clean and sometimes without warning. Our entire family had been crushed by the news. With any disease, there are good days and bad days, and luckily today was a good day – the last day of our family vacation all together.As I sat on the lifeguard stand, holding my husband’s hand, watching the sun kiss his wrinkled lips, all I wanted more than anything was to have him remember who I am and kiss me like he did when we were sixteen. The nostalgia gripped me every year, but this year, more than ever, I longed for reliving that exact moment.I remember it like it was yesterday. It was the last day of summer, September 1, 1961, and my best friends surprised me for my sixteenth birthday by inviting my high school crush to the beach with us. I remember feeling extremely embarrassed because we had never spoken a word to each other before. Little did I know then, he had his eye on me ever since we shared geometry class together freshman year. I never thought the hottest guy in school would go for a nerdy girl like me. I was quiet, timid, and frail, and he was outgoing, bold, and strong – just like Noah Calhoun in The Notebook.If only I could turn back the clock, back to that movie moment.I’ll never forget the way he looked at me, with a depth not even the Challenger Deep could reach. We got lost in a moment of silence as soon as our eyes locked onto one another, and I remember seeing his soul sparkle in love through his bright blue eyes when he said, “You are a rare beauty.” I swear in that moment he had synchronized his thoughts with mine because those were the exact words I thought when looking at him. Instead of melting from the heat of the sun that day, I could’ve melted by the emotions I felt deep in my soul. Even though he has forgotten after sixty-two years, I still feel the powerful resonance of those words.As the day was coming to an end, we all watched the sun begin to set, deepening its orange hue across the sky as it slowly sunk below the horizon. My husband was in a daze with the sun’s reflection lighting up his eyes.“What a special moment to share with you, my love, after sixty-two years.”The words trembled out of me as I looked at him with a weakening smile. His soul must’ve been somewhere else because he gave no response, not even a blink of the eye or a twitch of his dull smile.A tear bounced off my cheek, landing on the beach towel covering our legs. It took every bit of my energy to hold off another one from dropping. I wanted to cherish this moment in happiness rather than dwell in sadness, but my heartache intensified as the silence continued.The salty air got heavy with a chill as the darkness began to take over. Only a sliver of the sun was left, reminding me that summer was ending along with the reminder of it being our last family vacation all together.Our kids and their families sat on the sand nearby with a towel bundling them all together. The view of them made me think I was watching a movie, as their giggles warmed my soul and erased my heartache. I was grateful to have raised two human beings in a doubtful world with a love that was transcending into future generations.My four-year-old grandson, the youngest of them all, squealed with excitement as the last of the sun disappeared. I followed his finger pointing out to the horizon and noticed a pod of dolphins surfacing together in synchronized waves. First, there were two, then two more, and on the third resurfacing of the next two, the sun began to come back up over the horizon.I stared in a daze at the glowing ball of fire as a little boy ran up to the lifeguard stand I was on and screamed, “Happy birthday, Grandma!”His exclamation startled me, and I gave him an angry look of confusion.“After sixty-two wonderful years, you are still a rare beauty, my love. What a special moment to share with you.”I remained quiet as the man next to me kissed me on the lips after saying these words. I didn’t recognize him, but I was too timid and frail to fight him off. He had a scruffy white beard that scratched my face and wrinkly blue eyes that smiled back at me. A sickening feeling dropped in the pit of my stomach as I thought about how old this man was, kissing a teenager. I wanted to scream, but nothing came out.Then, other kids and adults were coming up to me, wishing me happy birthday and telling me how much they loved me. Even though it was precious to know I was loved; I didn’t know them at all.I looked around for my best friends: Judy and Sally, but they were nowhere to be found.What a strange moment to experience on my sixteenth birthday, the beginning of the last day of summer.***Alzheimer’s Disease International has declared September as World Alzheimer’s Month to raise awareness.
","September 08, 2023 22:18","[[{'Tom Skye': 'That ending was really powerful. It was touching, but the jarring nature actually made it quite eerie as well. \nThe little boy/happy birthday bit was a real ""whoa, what\'s going on here?"" moment. It was really effective. \n\nLeading up to that climax, the writing was beautiful to set the scene. \n\nReally great job. Enjoyed very much.', 'time': '21:46 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Jenni Bradshaw': 'Wonderful, Tom! I greatly appreciate you taking the time to return the favor of reading my work, although I did not expect you to do that. Thank you!\n\nI like creative works that are unpredictable and I was hoping to achieve that with this one. I figured the reversing of time (the sun coming back up in reverse) was the perfect climactic point to pull a ""Reverse UNO card"" out. Ya know what I mean!? ;) From the card game called UNO in case you don\'t know anything about it. Haha.\n\nAgain, thank you for taking the time to read my work and for enjo...', 'time': '23:23 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Jenni Bradshaw': 'Wonderful, Tom! I greatly appreciate you taking the time to return the favor of reading my work, although I did not expect you to do that. Thank you!\n\nI like creative works that are unpredictable and I was hoping to achieve that with this one. I figured the reversing of time (the sun coming back up in reverse) was the perfect climactic point to pull a ""Reverse UNO card"" out. Ya know what I mean!? ;) From the card game called UNO in case you don\'t know anything about it. Haha.\n\nAgain, thank you for taking the time to read my work and for enjo...', 'time': '23:23 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []], [{'AnneMarie Miles': ""Wow, Jenni, how beautiful. You wove that ending in so seamlessly that it really packed a punch when we realized the tables had turned. We were deceived, making the reveal that much more potent and powerful. I kept thinking...there's gotta be more to this sweet love story.. and it still hit me outta no where. You handled such a heartbreaking topic with such grace. Excellent job. Fingers crossed for you! 🤞"", 'time': '16:33 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Jenni Bradshaw': 'AnneMarie, thank YOU for this comment/compliment! \n\nMy strategy was to follow a typical romantic scene and then flip it on it\'s head when you least expect it! It\'s still beautiful but also has a hint of unpredictable sadness there. The sun rising in reverse ignited the turning of tables, so the prompt is what inspired me the most! I love Reedsy\'s creative prompts!\n\nI also humble myself when reading and re-reading my work, I tend to feel like it always needs more - ""there\'s always room for improvement"" - so if you ever feel like something cou...', 'time': '17:16 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '2'}, {'AnneMarie Miles': ""Isn't it great when these prompts direct you right into a story you might not have conceived on your own? I used to have such problems with prompts, but I've come to find them useful, as long as you're willing to break them open a little, which it seems you've done here. \n\nOf course, always room for improvement. Critiques are challenging for me but it is something I'm working on here! However, you're writing was so clean, I'm coming to you empty-handed on that front. Looking forward to more from you. Happy writing this week!"", 'time': '02:43 Sep 13, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Jenni Bradshaw': 'AnneMarie, thank YOU for this comment/compliment! \n\nMy strategy was to follow a typical romantic scene and then flip it on it\'s head when you least expect it! It\'s still beautiful but also has a hint of unpredictable sadness there. The sun rising in reverse ignited the turning of tables, so the prompt is what inspired me the most! I love Reedsy\'s creative prompts!\n\nI also humble myself when reading and re-reading my work, I tend to feel like it always needs more - ""there\'s always room for improvement"" - so if you ever feel like something cou...', 'time': '17:16 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'AnneMarie Miles': ""Isn't it great when these prompts direct you right into a story you might not have conceived on your own? I used to have such problems with prompts, but I've come to find them useful, as long as you're willing to break them open a little, which it seems you've done here. \n\nOf course, always room for improvement. Critiques are challenging for me but it is something I'm working on here! However, you're writing was so clean, I'm coming to you empty-handed on that front. Looking forward to more from you. Happy writing this week!"", 'time': '02:43 Sep 13, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'AnneMarie Miles': ""Isn't it great when these prompts direct you right into a story you might not have conceived on your own? I used to have such problems with prompts, but I've come to find them useful, as long as you're willing to break them open a little, which it seems you've done here. \n\nOf course, always room for improvement. Critiques are challenging for me but it is something I'm working on here! However, you're writing was so clean, I'm coming to you empty-handed on that front. Looking forward to more from you. Happy writing this week!"", 'time': '02:43 Sep 13, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",nccerk,Emerald Beach,Sophia ♡,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/nccerk/,/short-story/nccerk/,Science Fiction,0,"['Coming of Age', 'Fiction', 'Friendship']",5 likes,"
	It was a last-minute vacation, barely planned.  My dad and his friends texted around midnight, probably a bit drunk, and thought it would be fun to rent an RV and go camping at Emerald Beach.  The next day, we departed abruptly, only having the previous day to pack (much to Mom's frustration).
	I love the beach, it’s always so picturesque and relaxing.  But, as much as I like the place, I don’t particularly like the ocean and my dislike for it grew after watching Soul Surfer, and so did my fear of sharks.  Plus, I don’t love the fact that the sand clings onto every part of your body after stepping out of the water, and how it seems to fall out of your clothes for days on end.  But, if I bite my tongue and ignore all the inconveniences, it's fun to lay on the sand all day, going in and out of the water, cold but warmed by the sun.  And besides, Emerald Beach was the prettiest and safest beach in all of Southern California.
	The past five days at the campgrounds were relaxing, yet at the same time, exhausting.  The majority of the day was spent at the beach, whether it be making sand castles or body-surfing, or getting surfing lessons from Uncle H.  Back in San Diego, he surfed nearly every weekend as, I suppose, stress relief from the mental strain of being an anesthesiologist.  At night, delicious meat was grilled for the adults, and pizza was bought for the kids.  Most of the time, they ate at the beach and sand got all over their food, but I sat next to my Mom to steal some lamb and galbi from her plate.  We went over to the shops and bought boba on the first day for everyone, and I’ve gone with my dad twice more since I’m practically an addict.  Tonight’s the last night of this whole “last vacation of summer” and we’re planning to have a grand party.
	I was dry within a matter of minutes due to the strong sun and excessive heat.  I stood to brush the sand off my legs and watched Conner start paddling for a wave.  He had gotten pretty good at surfing, now able to stand without much hesitation.  I watched him catch a small wave then left to go help with party decorations.  Aunt Cher wanted to go all out for this party tonight and even brought some decorations, like lights and lanterns for the RV.  I hung my towel on the drying rack and walked over to Aunt Cher’s RV.
	I clip back my hair with a claw clip, “Should I get the chairs?”
	“Um, yeah,” Aunt pointed over to the tape.  “Can you cut me a few pieces first?”
	Soon, everyone was partly dry with some clothes thrown on and ready to feast.  We were handed pieces of tinfoil, and in it, we placed vegetables and a potato sprinkled with cheese.  Uncle Richard took it to place on the fire.  The little ones ran off, talking about a sand castle contest, and Conner left with them, excited about a moat.  I sat next to my mom, who sat with Aunt Cherry and Aunt Tiff, and listened to their conversation about their husbands.  When the tinfoil meals were ready, the little ones were called back.  We all ate a bit less to save room for a selection of desserts.  Uncle Richard and Dad had gone to the bakery and brought back chocolate pastries.  Plus, we were going to make s’mores at the beach while watching the sunset.
	Conner’s marshmallow caught on fire, but he didn’t let Mom remove the burnt layer, insisting that he had intended for it to turn crispy black.  Aunt Cherry sandwiched my s’mores together, and I climbed to the top of the sand dune where people sat to watch the sunset, joining my brother and Uncle Mark.  Soon, the others joined and we all chattered, waiting for the sky to turn shades of red and orange.  
	“It’s so sad,” Conner put his head on my shoulder.
	“What is?”
	“It’s the last day.”
	He gave me a hug, which quickly turned into a tight squeeze like that of a cobra, “Stop it!”
	“Fine,” he let go slightly.  “I wish we could go back in time.  To the first day.”
	“Yeah, me too.”
	“It’s setting!” Mom said.  “Conner, stop looking at it.  Look through your sister's phone.”
	Just as the sun was about to slip beneath the horizon, it went back up.  Higher and higher until it stopped where the afternoon sun was.  
	Conner jumped up and pulled at my arm, “Did you see that?!”
	I looked down at my phone and replayed the time-lapse that I had taken.  Conner bent over my shoulder to look at my screen, and we both groaned when we realized that the video had ended right when a sliver of sun remained.
	“I don’t remember ending the video,” I muttered.  But then again, I don’t remember a lot of things.
	“What are you guys doing up here?”  I turned to see Uncle Mark making his way up the dune.
	“I don’t know,” I shrug and look up at the sun, squinting my eyes from its harsh rays of light.
	Uncle raised up his hands, “You guys aren’t happy to see me?!”
	“Huh?” Conner spoke, looking over at me.  
	“C’mon, I just got here!”
	Now, I looked back at Conner and we shared the same confused look, “You just got here?”
	“Layla!!” Anne ran up the dune, giving me a quick hug, followed by her quiet younger brother, Ben.  “When did you guys get here?”
	“Um, some time ago,"" I stand and brush off the sand.  
	Uncle Mark looks at his phone, “Mom wants you guys back.”
	“Okay,” Anne and Ben run back down the hill.
	“You guys gonna stay up here?” Uncle asks.
	“Yeah,” I nod.  “We’ll be down soon.”
	Once he left, I turned back to the horizon.  Emerald Beach got its name from the color of its ocean.  The water was a beautiful emerald green near shore, and I had taken dozens of photos from the pier and stared at it time and time again.  It looked a bit different right now.  A bit brighter, maybe.  Then again, I’m not very observant and could be remembering wrong.
	“We turned back time!” Conner smiled, realization hitting him.  “You know how I said I wished that it wouldn’t end?”
	“What wouldn’t end?”
	“The vacation, duh,” he rolled his eyes and continued.  “My wish came true!”
	Conner danced in circles celebrating, “I don’t have to go to school!”
	“You still have school, it’s just a week later.”
	“Should we make a sandcastle?”
	I understood his excitement, but I had a weird feeling.  It’s hard to explain, but I can feel it, the uneasiness swirling around in my stomach.  I force a smile.
	“A sandcastle?”
	“Yeah, I’m pretty much an expert now.  I’ll get the stuff!” Conner ran off.
	“Slow down!” I started after him.
	Having another week of vacation didn’t seem so bad.  I wasn’t exactly looking forward to sophomore year.  I brushed off the lingering feelings of doubt and broke into a smile.  How could a repeated week be harmful?
 
","September 09, 2023 01:12",[]
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",fsg2f9,Nutmeg,Isabella Cook,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/fsg2f9/,/short-story/fsg2f9/,Science Fiction,0,"['Fiction', 'Romance']",5 likes,"
	""But I don't wanna leave!"" I heard my little sister Katie whine to my mom behind me.
	""I know honey, but you have school next week.  We can't stay on the cruise forever."" my mom replied.   Katie continued to whine.  ""Okay kiddos, make sure you come inside before it gets too late."" My mom said to me and Kai, my boyfriend.
	""Okay mom,""
	""Okay Mrs. Graham,"" Kai responded.
	I turned back around, leaning my arms on the starboard railing and stared off into the horizon.  ""You know I really wish we didn't have to go back to school next week."" I said, leaning my head on Kai's shoulder.
	""Yeah me too, but at least we're seniors this year, so we get a pretty fun year."" He said, leaning down to kiss my forehead.
	""I guess, but this cruise has been fun and I just wish I could stay here forever,"" I sighed.
	""Yeah, it has been really great.""  He turned to look at me, ""And hey, look on the bright side, when we go back to school we'll be able to see each other everyday,"" Kai said with a goofy grin on his face.
	""Ugh, seeing you everyday, sounds like torture to me, "" I said sarcastically.
	He rolled his eyes and laughed, ""Yeah, yeah, you are so very funny Juliet,"" He said, staring into my eyes.
	I stared longingly into his eyes, and then we heard, ""Juliet and Kai, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G,"" coming from behind us.  We turned to see Katie standing in the doorway, giggling and running back to mom.
	I rolled my eyes and turned back to Kai, I intertwined my hand with his and said, ""We should probably go back inside, it'll be dark soon.""
	I started to walk in the direction Katie ran off to, but Kai stopped me and spun me around until we were face to face.  ""I say we take a video to commemorate our time here.""  His goofy grin, that I love so much, spread across his face.
	""Okay,"" I said, smiling coyly.
	He dragged me back to the railing and took a video of us in front of the sunset.  He grabbed my waist and I laughed, leaning into him.  He glanced down at my face and I looked up at him, my eyes gleaming with happiness.
	""I love you Juliet Graham,""
	The biggest smile appeared on my face and I said, ""I love you too, Kai Marshall.""
	He leaned down and kissed me as the sun started to dip down beneath the horizon.
	He broke the kiss and then looked back up at the camera, leaning his head on top of my head.  He stopped the video and put his phone back in his pocket, before grabbing my hand and starting to run down the side of the boat.
	""Kai,"" I laughed, ""Where are we going?""
	""You'll see,"" he said.
	After a minute of running down stairs and across the ship, we finally came to a stop.  ""What- are- we doing?"" I asked, trying to catch my breath.
	""Close your eyes,"" He said.
	""Okay?"" I said cautiously as I closed my eyes.  Kai was a very sneaky prankster, so a surprise from him could mean anything from filling my room with buckets of lobsters to making me my favorite food for dinner.
	""Trust me, this isn't a prank,"" he said reassuringly.
	""Mhm,"" I mumbled suspiciously.
	I heard a few things bumping around, ""Uhm, Kai?  Are you okay?"" I asked.
	""Yep,""  he replied.  ""Just one last touch,"" he muttered.  ""And ta-da, open!""
	I opened my eyes slowly and saw Kai standing in front of a blanket set on the deck floor with pillows and a telescope beside it.  				""Aww,"" I said. ""You did this for us?"" I asked, admiring the work he did.
	""Yep,"" he said, his trademark grin on his face.  ""M'lady,"" he said, extending his hand to me.
	""Why thank you kind sir,"" I giggled.
	We sat down on the blanket and stared up at the sky, waiting for it to get darker.
	I turned my head to look at him, but he was staring up at the sky with a puzzled look on his face.  ""What is it?"" I asked curiously.
	""Is it just me or is the sky getting brighter?"" He asked, sitting up.
	I looked back up at the sky and sure enough, the sky was slowly getting brighter.  I stood up and walked back over to the starboard railing, Kai trailing closely behind me.  I leaned over the railing slightly and stared off into the distance where the sun had set earlier.  Sure enough, the sun was slowly creeping back into the sky.
""Okay what the heck is happening, this has got to be some sort of prank, right?"" I asked, turning to look at Kai.
	""I don't know, maybe we should look at the news, that's bound to have some sort of explanation."" He said, taking out his phone.  ""Uhh, I don't have any service,"" he said.
	""Then connect to the cruise wifi,"" I said.
	""I can't, there's no wifi services popping up."" He said, his voice sporting a bit of panic.
	""So no service, the sun is unnatural, and we're stuck out here in the middle of the ocean,"" I said, starting to panic too.
	""Hey relax, we'll figure out what's going on, okay?"" He said, reassuringly.  I nodded, ""Let's just go find your mom and Katie, and see if they know anything.""
	Kai grabbed my hand and dragged me down the hallways of the ship to get to our room.  'Knock, Knock'
	-No response-
	""Mom?"" I asked, putting my ear to the door.
	""Mrs. Graham?"" Kai asked.
	""Mom, open the door!"" I said, rattling the door handle, worried that something happened to them.
	-Still, no response-
	I looked up and down the hallway frantically, searching for anything I could use to pry open the door.  I spotted a room-service cart sitting at the end of the hallway.  I ran up to the cart and searched for a master room key, a screwdriver, a bobby pin, literally anything I could use.
	I found a pair of scissors in one of the drawers on the cart and ran back to the door.  I opened the scissors and started to pry open the door.  After a minute of attempting I finally got the door to open up.  I slammed the door open and frantically searched the room, but to no avail.
	""I don't understand this Kai! They said they were going to be here, where are they?!"" I shouted.
	""Hey, hey, calm down, we'll find them, don't worry."" He said reassuringly.
	He wrapped me up in a big hug while I sobbed into his chest.  After a moment, I composed myself and got my wits back.
	""Okay, let's think here,"" Kai said. ""If your mom and Katie went somewhere, Katie probably wanted something so where would Katie want to go?""
	I thought for a minute, racking my brain for something, finally I got it, ""That candy shop on the port-side!  Let's go!"" I said, running out of the room, Kai following closely behind me.
	We arrived on the port side of the boat where ll the gift shops were and glanced around the shops.  I spotted the candy shop and saw Katie crouched in the corner bawling her eyes out.
	""Katie!"" I shouted, running over to her and scooping her up in my arms.
	""Sissy!"" she exclaimed throwing her arms round my neck.
	""Where's mom?"" I asked, wiping the tears from her eyes.
	""I don't know,"" she sniffled.  ""We were at the counter buying my candy and she just disappeared, the candy guy too,""
	""Wait, what do you mean disappeared?"" I asked.
	""The candy guy was handing me my candy and then he just disappeared.  The candy is still over there on the floor."" She said, pointing to the counter.  ""I looked over at momma because I was scared but she was gone too."" She said as I picked up the candy on the floor.
	I looked over at Kai, who was holding Katie in his arms, while she buried her head into his neck.  I could see the fear in his eyes, and I had a feeling he could sense the fear in me.
	""Hey, let's just go wait for your mom in our room, okay?"" Kai said, setting Katie down and patting her head.
	She nodded and we headed back to the room, hands locked together.
	We reached the room and I set Katie on the bed and handed her the tv remote to keep her busy.  ""Okay Katie, I'm gonna talk to Kai outside really quick okay?  You stay here and watch tv,"" I said.
	""But the tv isn't working,"" she said pointing to the tv with a pout on her face.
	""Then read a book,"" I said.
	I dragged Kai out into the hallway and said, ""So what are we gonna do?"" I crossed my arms, ""We can't just stay here forever, and we still don't know what happened to the adults."" I said.
	""I think we need to go to sleep and then worry about this in the morning okay?  Being sleep-deprived won't help this situation,"" he said.
	""But-"" I started.
	""No, no buts, we both need sleep.  Katie could use some too."" he said, turning me around and pushing me back into the room.
	""So what are we doing now?"" Katie asked.
	""We are gonna go to sleep,"" I said, laying down next to her.
	""Yep,"" Kai said, laying down beside me.
	As soon as my head hit the pillow I was out.
	""Juliet, Juliet!  Juliet, wake up!"" I heard.  My eyes fluttered open and I was met by Kai leaning over me and shaking me.
	""What?"" I asked, rubbing my eyes and sitting up.
	""Oh, I'm so glad you're okay!"" he said, embracing me in a hug.
	""What do you mean, of course I'm okay,"" I said. I looked around and noticed the trees surrounding us.  ""Wait why are we in the forest?"" I asked, ""What happened to the cruise?""
	""You mean the cruise we went on two weeks ago?"" He asked, his face full of concern.
	""Wait, wait, what's going on?"" I asked.
	""We were in science earlier doing our nutmeg lab and while you were picking something up off the floor, someone hit the nutmeg container and it fell directly on you.  You ingested most of it, but some got in your eyes and you fell backwards and hit your head.  When you woke up I guess the hallucinations from the nutmeg set in and you ran outside.  We all ran after you and we've been looking for you all afternoon.  I found you passed out here a few minutes ago.""
	""So none of that was real?"" I asked, still a little confused.
	""Nope, just the nutmeg,"" he said.
	""Uhm, okay,""
	""We should probably go find Mrs. A, she'll want to know that you're safe,"" he said.
	""Yeah okay,"" I said following him.
-The End-
","September 09, 2023 03:11",[]
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",1mon0j,"The leaves, the sun, and us.",Lani Munzhedzi,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/1mon0j/,/short-story/1mon0j/,Science Fiction,0,"['Sad', 'Romance', 'Fiction']",5 likes,"
32.
 
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
I glance at my husband beside me. The sun begins setting behind the crushing Cape Town waves.
“Breathtaking.”
Absent-mindedly I check my watch, waiting for what is to come.
The mesmerising hue of the sunset entrances me as I look on over the ocean. I rest my hands on the stone balcony, taking in the scent of the dark rich burgundy of the vineyards below us. 
 
The sun is setting, the waves are crashing, the wine-rich air feels so light and celebratory. Except now I know it’s anything but.
As the lulling of the soft summer waves fills the air between Joel and I, I look deeply into the sunset’s magenta finish.
Or what should be its finish, but it never does.
Just as the sun threatens to disappear behind the horizon, its pink flurry becomes brighter and magically it rises again. At least this was magical thirty-one loops ago. Now it all just seems so mundane.
I take another peek at my watch. 
Fifteen seconds left.
“I love you, Joel. Always will.” My murmur picks up softly into the wind and it dissipates into the gilded clouds.
And like always, before the sun rises back up in some impossible phenomenon, he doesn’t get the chance to answer.
 
33.
 
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
Joel says the same thing in the beginning of every loop without fail. It feels like a taunt now, like a dig I don’t understand. I sigh and peer at the faraway jagged rocks, wishing in some sense they could impale me so this could end- not just the loops, but everything to come after them as well.
 
Stellenheld Vineyard was so gorgeous three years ago when Joel and I got married. We had our ceremony here, a small and sweet gathering of family and close friends. Now the vineyards, or the wine, aren’t so sweet anymore. They hardly can be when you know you’re confirming your divorce tomorrow.
 
In the first few loops, I figured out that it takes a mere six minutes for everything to play out. There are four constants that never change: Joel always starts with complementing the sunset, crickets start chirping at five minutes forty-seven seconds and just before the loop ends, by some compelling force I tell Joel I love him, but he doesn’t get the chance to respond.
And of course, like some cruel joke from the universe, the beautiful sunset reverses and everything plays out again.
I wonder if this is some sort of analogy of our marriage or end of, rather. It’s so beautiful and celebratory. The culmination of moments before the unexpectedly bitter end but instead it starts over, again and again in hesitance.
Always one foot off the ledge.
Never jumping.
 
65.
 
The visit to our marriage counsellor a month ago is the indirect probable cause of all this.
It was the last session of a coupon of seven I won at a wedding expo the year before. Dr Hubbard was the one who had suggested the ‘d’ word first but followed up with saying she had one last ‘exercise’ for us to try.
This cruel and seemingly indelible fate is that genius last ‘exercise.’
“Marriage is fundamentally a practice of muscle memory,” she had said, “try going back to the beginning. Remember why and how to love. Remember who you want to be for each other.”
Remember, remember, remember.
Like I forgot how in the first place.
Regardless of my opinion we found ourselves here three weeks later, trailing along a small carry-on and the wrinkled business card of our soon-to-be divorce lawyer just in case we couldn’t spark that ‘marriage magic’ back up again. I had high hopes.
 
“Should we call the lawyer later, Marie? Y’know so everything’s ready for when we get back home tomorrow.”
The breeze nips under my sundress at my ankles.
Home.
It still feels so foreign for him to say in the context of divorce.
I never know how to answer this question right.
“Yeah, that’s fine by me.”
He sets his mouth in a line and clears his throat.
“Okay. Great.”
There’s this awkward silence between us that builds for the rest of the loop until my “I love you” at the end. I’ve let it play out these recent times instead of trying to fill it. Nothing I say ever comes out right or truthful. Joel never ventures more than that one question, even if, I've shamefully found out, I attempt to pick a fight about something stupid. So it’s always easier to keep the silent and let the warm air dry out any conversation. 
For in that respect, I am not brave.
 
0. (before)
 
""I just feel we have to let go of each other, Marie.""
 
""Let go of what? Our marriage? The past seven years? Our future? You want to erase it all just like that?!""
 
I slam my fork hard onto the dining table, garnering a few looks from our fellow diners at the tables near us. 
When Dr Hubbard suggested this trip, I thought this was it. This was what we needed to move things along again. This was the romantic and easy fix, the happy ending of the story. I suppose I knew that the story ended long ago and these are the end credits. That we are just living in a memory.
Joel runs a hand through his hair.
""I just feel so stuck. We are so stuck. We have been for the past few months now, it's time we let ourselves be happy.""
His voice crumbles as he looks at me. His eyes are so hollow as they bore into mine.
""Why can't you see that?""
Why can't I see what he sees?
I twist my wedding ring into my finger and stare intently at the salmon on my plate. I don't think I remember exactly what happy is. Is it the familiarity of Joel's arms around me? Is it the tempting uncertainty of moving on without him?
His gaze is too honest for me to handle as I swallow a spoon of mashed potato. ""I don't want to talk about it anymore.""
Sighing exasperatedly, he stands. 
""I need to cool off for a second, then."" 
I watch longingly as he brushes past to the small terrace outside overlooking the wondrous ocean view. I wait a few minutes, choking back pieces of salmon through my silent tears, and stand to go join him.
 
87.
 
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
The waves crash against the dangerously sharp ocean rock and foam out like excited champagne bubbles into the sand. The air is salty-sweet with grapes and ocean mist.
The depth of the water carries far from the view.
I always knew what had to happen I think, I always knew I had to let the sun set in preparation for tomorrow.
Always knew I had to let the 'perfect' go.
Joel's words sting me still- the way his face broke when he said stuck. I understand now what it must have felt like: teetering off the edge of an uncertain but necessary fall, rope tying you down to what you know but must release.
 
Blinking tears back, my thumb finds my ring and the cool wedding band slips off easily with a gentle tug. The sun dips lower and flashes of pink and orange sky bounce off the diamond as I place it gently onto the stone ledge.
 
 Joel looks at me.
 
I realise then there was always another constant in these loops. The leaves of the trees below us rustle with a breeze unlike Summer’s. Autumn has always been visiting too soon.
 
The star of the show was never the sunset, it was never the buzz of opportunity to fix things. It was always the changing of the leaves on the trees. So ordinary and gradual you never seek to notice them become something new. It just happens.
 
‘You know,” I swallow the hesitance in my throat, “we’re like the leaves, you and I.”
 
Joel turns to face me, and I stare deeply into the grooves of the trunk of a tree a short distance away.
 
“The leaves?”
 
“Seasons, Joel. I love you. And I didn’t think I could ever let you go but I can. And I will.”
We’re the autumn leaves changing colour, becoming something more beautiful to look at than before. It’s more than okay that it isn’t the same beautiful we donned in the summer.
“It’s more than okay to grow apart.” I do not think these words are for him as much as they are for myself but there is something so fierce and freeing about letting their heavy weight fall into the wind.
Remember why and how to love. Remember who you want to be for each other. Dr Hubbard’s words deliver the hidden truth in my heart to the tip of my tongue.
“I guess,” the words sound so pathetic and futile as they leave, “I was ashamed to admit that I forgot how to love you.”
A crushing wave fills the air in ocean’s static and my watch face reflects magenta light.
Two minutes.  
The last ticks of fate’s loop. Sun colours the sky more intense as tears blur my eyesight and Joel’s hand rests on the small of my back, “divorce doesn’t mean our vows were meaningless,” he says, “our past selves just carry it now, that love. Into forever.”
 
Forever.
 
It’s almost over, I smile to myself, this forever beautiful scene.
This forever beautiful moment I’ve held on to for too long.
Staying in a familiar torture felt better than the uncertainty of another day, another season without being rooted by the tree I’ve known for the happiest times of my life.
 
“I love you.”
 
It isn’t a statement of holding on this time. It is the sacred words I gift to my happily married self to keep. The Marie-Ann who belonged to Joel.
 
“I love you too, Marie.”
 
His other hand finds mine and squeezes tenderly.
My thumb strokes over the delicate hairs on his knuckles, brushing past the fading red line where his ring used to sit. His infinite promise held by an object of the past. Mine held in the warmth of the fleeting sunset.
My head rests on his shoulder.
We both watch as sun dips completely below ocean’s end for its first slumber of autumn; clouds fading grey into imminent night.
The aching breeze picks up again, and a leaf flutters off a nearby tree. I track as it trails gently to the ground, its edges tinted orange.
 
","September 09, 2023 03:16","[[{'Catherine Colquhoun': 'Loved the story', 'time': '10:43 Sep 17, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Lani Munzhedzi': 'Glad to hear it, thank you!', 'time': '21:59 Sep 17, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Lani Munzhedzi': 'Glad to hear it, thank you!', 'time': '21:59 Sep 17, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",2lov4l,Time Weirdness ,Hannah Abrams,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/2lov4l/,/short-story/2lov4l/,Science Fiction,0,"['Fiction', 'Science Fiction']",5 likes,"
Logan sat on the beach with her best friend, watching the sunset. 
     She was thinking about the next day, it would be her first day of 11th grade. She was a little nervous, but pretty soon she'd have bigger things to worry about and it all started with that sunset. 
     The sun sunk below the horizon, but just as Logan was gonna get up and tell Roxy she was ready to go, the darkness that should have followed never came, instead the sun rose in the same direction it had went down, and this time much faster. Roxy gasped. Someone on the other side of the beach screamed. Logan just stared at the sun, until her eyes hurt. Finally the sun won and she looked away. 
     The one thought in her mind as people all around her were flipping out and Roxy was shaking her arm was, well this is new. 
      Logan didn't like change, she wasn't one to like when things in her life changed, but she never flipped. She hated it even more when things happened that had no logical explanation. She liked solid facts, facts like the sky is blue and the sun does not rise 5 minutes after it sets. This was not right, not normal, she could not change it by glaring at the sun. 
     She noticed something else as everyone else was freaking out. The waves were going backwards and a bird was flying backwards. She looked at her watch to find the second hand going the wrong way. Time was flowing backwards. That explained the sun. Finally at least there was a explanation for one thing. 
     Logan felt very unsatisfied. She needed to know why and why no human seemed to be stuck in this backwards flow of time.
     She was relieved to find time seemed to be flowing backwards no faster than it usually went forward. That meant she didn't have to worry about deaging anytime soon. 
     She stood up and pulled Roxy to the car, wondering if it would work. It did not. So instead she ran home dragging Roxy with her.
    Roxy was crying and seemed to be freaking out too bad to do anything. Most people seemed trapped in this spiral of panic.
     Logan brought Roxy home to her panicking parents, before going to talk to her favorite teacher. He lived two blocks from her house. House number 306, phone number 315-705-2694. He had exactly one son and one tree in his yard. A mailbox 15 feet from his back door and was exactly 60 years 2 months and 3 days old. 
     It might be weird that Logan knew so much about her 5th grade science teacher, but she paid attention. Plus his son had expressed very little interest in science and Logan's parents had expressed very little interest in her. He was like a dad to her. 
     She knocked on the door and exactly 20 negative seconds later it opened. 
     ""Logan. I thought you'd be here sooner."" He said. 
      He was in his lab coat and goggles, this was serious. 
     ""I would've been but I had to walk. Cars are not functioning."" Logan told him.
      ""Yes, I have noticed technology has failed. I could not call my son."" The professor said she knew him well enough to notice that the normally unemotional scientist was worried. ""Hurry. We do not have time for chit chat. Lab coat and goggles on."" 
     Logan quickly followed his orders and then followed him to his lab. She told him her findings. 
     ""Very good."" He said. 
     Logan noticed a string of scribbled formulas on his chalkboard. 
      ""Do you remember that time reversal was achieved in simulations?"" The professor said, Logan nodded. 
     ""Do you think they succeeded in a test on the real world?"" She asked.
     ""Succeeded does not seem like the correct word. Succeeded would mean time would not continue to move backward."" 
     16 year old Logan nodded. 
     ""You may stay here until we figure this out."" The professor told her. 
      That's how she wound up sleeping in his son's long since abandoned room. The walls were brown and there was no furniture besides a bed. 
      It proved dangerous to go anywhere because it turned out the only thing that wasn't headed backwards were people. A baseball flew the wrong way through a window, cars were moving without any drivers. If you wanted a ride it was possible to get one by jumping in a stopped car. Most people seemed to be trapped in a state of panic. Except for a few. 
      She ate dinner with the professor. He warmed it up by waiting until the oven turned on by itself. The professor tried to call his son by doing the same thing, it didn't work. His son lived across the country.
      The next day Logan was woken up by a really loud siren. She jumped out of bed and dashed outside, where the professor was already. 
     ""Anyone who is able to must report to the nearest government facility! Turn on the TV at said government facility at exactly 4 pm!"" The message from a speaker on a plane blared out repeatedly. 
      Logan looked at the professor.
      ""Guess we're going to the town hall."" He said.
       They grabbed some bags, he already had 2 packed. He brought his phone as he was really desperate to get ahold of his son. Then the teenager and old man made their way to the town hall jumping in and out of stopped cars. They reached town hall 17 minutes later. 
    There were already 6 people there. All were calm. One was reading. All had brought their go bags. A middle aged woman, 3 men, another teenage girl, and a little girl probably no older than 8. 
    ""What are your names?"" One of the men asked them. 
     ""I'm George Adams and that's Logan Dalton. Who are you?"" The professor said. 
     ""I'm Max. That's Sarah, Emmet, Lexi, David, and my daughter Kimberly."" The man said. 
     Sarah was the woman with her head in a book, Lexi was the teenager, Kimberly was the little girl, Emmet was a black man, and David had really big glasses. David was bent over an iPad and looked like he had taken the whole thing apart. 
     By 4 ten more people had shown up. Only one Logan knew. A boy named Jonas. He was in her grade. He was on the chess and baseball teams. 
     At 4 they all crowded around the TV watching the news report. 
    ""As you probably noticed, time is flowing in reverse. Most people appear to be caught in a state of panic. Our top scientists have figured out how to reverse time, unfortunately it went wrong. However we have also figured out how to freeze time. Time domes are currently under construction."" A woman in a lab coat said. 
     The instructions for making a time freezer device came on and between all of the people, they had all the stuff that was needed. It sent out a pulse like a rift in the air that covered the entire building. The TV stopped and so did the clock. 
     ""If we get separated I think I need that the most."" A pregnant woman said. 
     ""How many months are you?"" Logan asked her. 
     ""This guy was born yesterday or well tomorrow. I woke up and he was back in my belly."" She said. 
     Ok, this just got weirder. Apparently the human body was not immune to time going backwards. Deaging could be a real problem. At least Logan didn't have to worry about that for at least 5 years. 
     She did not feel like going through puberty twice or actually 3 times, since she would be going backwards through puberty. That didn't sound anymore fun. She was almost out of puberty, she didn't want to go back through it. But others like babies had much less time. They would need to hurry to fix this or the babies would need to be moved to places where time stood still. 
     The next day at exactly 4 pm, or what would be 4 pm if time was moving, there was another update. Anyone who wanted to help with the building of the time zones could report to specific areas where the work would be taking place. 
      The professor volunteered. Logan wanted to go with him, but he convinced her otherwise. Telling her that she would be aging backwards at a much more concerning rate than him. She'd be safe here. She wanted to argue but decided against it, so she watched as the professor and 3 other people left. 
    The professor never was one for emotional expression. Logan stayed behind, feeling rather strange. She almost felt abandoned. 
     That night she stayed near Jonas, as he was the only one here she knew. He didn't complain. 
      There were a total of 4 teenagers staying here. Lexi, Jonas, Logan, and a girl named Harper. Lexi was 15 and Harper was 13, while Jonas and Logan were 16. There were only 2 little kids, an 8 year old, and a 6 year old. The 6 year old was alone, his name was Xander. 
      At 4 pm there was another broadcast, with instructions on how to make a dart gun. Those who did not go to build were told that they should bring as many people as possible into the frozen time spots. Babies, little children, and pregnant women were top priority. 
     Logan went out of the time zone armed with her dart gun along with most of the other people. 
     ""You don't mind if I stick with you, do you?"" She asked Jonas who only shook his head. 
     She didn't want to be alone. It was strange out here. She saw a dog walking itself backwards, the leash straight up in the air as if someone was holding it. Crossing the street proved to require more brain power than normal as you had to be extremely smart to know when to cross. It was basically a riddle. Everything was moving backwards, and no car would stop for you because there was no driver.
      Lexi and Harper came with them. They held hands crossing the street, something Harper suggested. 
      ""Ok. 1, 2, 3, go!"" Jonas yelled and they blasted across the street as soon as a car stopped at a stop sign and the car on the other side seemed far enough away. 
      You had no way of knowing when cars were going to go, so you had to go fast. 
      The first person they saw was a small child who was crying. 
     ""I get the first one!"" Harper said, a little too excitedly. 
     She shot the kid with a dart and 5 seconds later he collapsed to the ground. 
     ""You get to carry him back."" Logan told her. 
      ""Now?"" She asked. 
      ""Maybe not right now. When we go back."" Jonas said. 
     The next person they ran into was a wailing woman. She seemed to be screaming for her children. Considering they only had about 3 darts per person they ignored her. 
     People were freaking out. Screaming, crying, having complete and utter meltdowns. It didn't make sense to Logan. Yeah, time was moving backwards but chill out people. It's not worth having a mental breakdown. 
     Logan stole a baby from a mother that looked very confused as to what the thing in her arms was. Logan had thought ahead and brought a baby carrier with her. The mother didn't do anything to stop her from taking the child. 
     ""Ok, this is ridiculous."" Lexi said, when she saw a full grown man having a temper tantrum. Logan nodded. 
     ""Why are they freaking out so bad and we're not?"" She asked. 
     Lexi shrugged. 
     So many questions. Logan thought. 
     She hated unanswered questions, they made her confused, and she did not like being confused. 
     The whole time they were on their mission, they talked to each other and tried to figure out the answers to the questions that were driving all of them crazy. 
     Jonas grabbed a shopping cart on the way back and piled all the little kids he had knocked out into it. 
     ""That...that's actually genius."" Logan said and grabbed her own shopping cart. 
     ""Why thank you."" Jonas said. 
     ""This feels so wrong. Like I think we're gonna get arrested, wrong."" Lexi said as she grabbed a shopping cart and placed a child in it.
      ""We're saving their lives. Time is moving backwards fast and these guys are so little."" Harper said. 
      Logan had managed to get 4, counting the baby. 
      After gathering all their stolen children they had to cross the street again. It was almost more dangerous this time than last, considering the shopping carts full of children. 
     Jonas counted it off again. They had to go in groups of two. He counted it off each time and both times no one got hit, so Logan guessed he knew what he was doing. 
     Suddenly she had an idea and asked him if he wanted to help her with something when they got back. He agreed so after they unloaded their load of unconscious children, they found a quiet spot in the town hall with a pad of paper and a pencil. 
      After testing a theory, by insulting his best friend while he worked she figured out that only those who were smart, calm, and didn't care who knew it, were here. She tested this several other times on multiple people, with the same result. Then she shared her findings. Everyone agreed that this made sense. 
      Weeks went by, or what would be weeks if time was flowing correctly. There were news updates every day at 4. 
     Logan gathered her friends and family inside the town hall, all knocked out. After a while the basement filled up with unconscious bodies. The good thing about stopped time was that you didn't need to eat or go to the bathroom, and they didn't wake up. 
     They took turns going out of stopped time to gather people into the basement. 
     So much time had disappeared that it was now snowing. It had been one day before school was supposed to start when time started going backwards. 
      Anyone who wanted to de-age stayed outside as much as possible. Logan had probably de-aged about a week in the time she'd be here. She missed the professor. 
      Finally after so much time had decreased that the old dog that had been walking backwards by itself was now a puppy, a news report came on saying that the time dune in their area was complete and they should try to make their way there with any small children they could. Logan made it there with 2 children that woke up on the way. 
      A young man came up to her. He was probably about 40. 
     ""Logan!"" He exclaimed. ""It's good to see you!"" 
       She blinked. 
       ""Do I know you?"" She asked him.
        He was wearing a lab coat and had brown eyes and brown hair and looked slightly familiar. 
       ""It's me, George. Professor Adams."" He said. 
        Logan blinked a few times, then gave him a hug. He hugged back. 
       ""How old are you?"" She asked him. 
        ""I believe my body would say 42. Although my mind says 78."" He said. 
       18 years. She hadn't seen him in 18 years, or well negative years for him, really only a week for her as time hadn't passed in the town hall. 
       He showed her around inside. It was a huge dome. There was a library and since no one needed sleep in stopped time the bedrooms were only little spaces for you to study by yourself. Entertainment centers were filled with books and there was a stage where plays could be performed. 
      The professor introduced her to his son who had de-aged only 2 years. His name was Marcus. Marcus had been an English college professor. 
      After a while they managed to figure out how to speed up time. It was on the news and everyone was told to stay put in a time freezer zone because if this worked things were about to get really fast outside. It worked and as soon as it was on the news telling them things were back to normal, everyone went home. 
      Logan was so tired that she fell fast asleep. She woke up to her mother telling her it was time to go to school and the whole day seemed so normal that Logan wondered if the whole thing had been a dream, at least until she went to the professor's house and a 38 year old professor opened the door, telling her to put her goggles and lab coat on and try to help him figure out why no one seemed to remember what happened. 
 
","September 06, 2023 21:59",[]
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",z63f45,The Twilight Time Travel Zone - The Sunset Spell ,Kristi Gott,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/z63f45/,/short-story/z63f45/,Science Fiction,0,"['Science Fiction', 'Fantasy', 'Fiction']",5 likes,"
Eerie music sounds. Like a drumbeat, a deep, slow voice speaks rhythmically. “Ladies and Gentlemen, fans of the hidden dimensions and unseen energies of the universe, where the physics of time, space and power intersect. I give to you a story of life in the Twilight Time Travel Zone called The Sunset Spell.”“Before us you see a group of friends celebrating the end of summer on a beach. They are wishing they could relive their summer. That it would never end. But they need to be careful with these wishes. The orbits and rotations in the galaxies of the universe, itself, could be changed.”“The question before us is whether having wishes come true is always what we want.  There is a saying, ""Be careful what you wish for because it might come true.”More eerie music plays. A scene emerges of people on a beach. “I’m gonna catch you,” a voice calls. There are figures running across a beach in shorts and t-shirts. “Ha! Just you see!” comes from a figure running in front of another.“Hey you guys, the campfire is ready for your marshmallows,” a young man calls. A low flame emerges from driftwood piled into a ring of stones on the sand. Several more people sit in low beach chairs or on towels around it.The two people running come over to the campfire. “What a summer!” A young woman raises her arms up to the sky. “I love you beach. I love you ocean.”A young man comes up to her and they embrace, kissing.They sit down by the fire, put marshmallow on long sticks and hold them over the hot embers. The sun is above the horizon, sending yellow-orange-pink rays across the ocean. “So when do you go back to school, Cristina,” says one of the other young women. “’Ooohhh, hate to think of it. Way too soon, for sure,” the woman who just sat down.“C’mon Babe. Take a semester off. Stay here with me. You can sign up for the local junior college,” says the young man who was chasing Cristina and kissing her.“I know. Wouldn’t I love it. But you know I need to work on my physics major at the university,” Cristina replies.“If only we could turn back time,” says Cristina’s boyfriend. The golden orb of the sun is touching the horizon now. They know it will go down fast now and evening will darken quickly.“Ooooommmmm,” says another young man, sitting in a meditation posture. “May Cristina and Carlos turn back the clock.”“Haha,” laughs one of the other people. “Oh Great Universe, we beg you to reverse, so we can live this summer again.”Cristina and Carlos take their marshmallows off the sticks. Carlos holds his in front of Cristina’s face and she leans in to take a bite. He moves quickly, intercepting her, and they kiss.“I feel strange,” says Cristina. “Carlos, wow, look at you.” They look at each other and see the extra glow. The beach begins to light up. It keeps getting brighter. People on the beach are staring at the sun now and pointing.“Hey you guys,look.” Says another woman in the group. They look at the horizon.Their eyes widen. “What did you put in those marshmallows, James, “ says one of the guys. “Are we tripping or what?”Shafts of sun rays cast shadows on the beach.Out beyond the ocean, the sun has not disappeared below the horizon.The golden circle seems to be higher above the horizon than before.“Oh my gosh,” says Cristina. “Babe,” says Carlos, wrapping his arms around her.The figures around the campfire sit, unmoving, faces still. The beach becomes lighter and lighter. The sun is now well above the horizon.“This must be an optical illusion,” says Carlos. “Like a reflection.”“You mean the sun went down. But it is reflected from the clouds.So we still see it?” says another man in the group. “Yeah, that’s it,” says a woman’s voice.The sun goes higher and higher in the sky. “A sunset that reverses, haha,” says Cristina. “You know, this is not funny. Something really weird is happening,” says Carlos.The group stands up and people start grabbing their towels. “This is too weird for me,” says one of the women. “I’m getting out of here.”The beach is as bright as an afternoon sun now. The sun is way up in the sky. “You guys all see this too, right?” says Cristina. “It’s not just me?”The group mutters and nods. “I don’t get it. Is today some kind of special eclipse or what?” says one of the men.“No,” Cristina says. “As a physics major there is no explanation.”“I’m feeling sleepy, like all my energy is gone,” says Carlos. “Me too,” echo the others in the group. They lay back in the sand, sighing, and close their eyes.Above them the sun moves faster and faster. It goes across the sky toward the east. Darkness falls. In only minutes the sun rises in the west. Crosses the sky. Over and over, as the group slumbers on the beach.Then the sun pauses, in a position just above the horizon. Cristina, Carlos and the people in the group stir and sit up.“Oh, how I love sunsets on the beach,” says Cristina. “Me too, but not as much as I love you,” says Carlos.“Just think. We have all summer now to play on the beach. Back to school is a long time away,” says Cristina.They look at their watches. “Well, only a few minutes till sundown. Let’s get this campfire going again and toast some marshmallows.” says one of the men.After awhile Cristina says, “Look, it’s as if the sun is not moving. It has been sunset for a long time.”“It’s stuck!,” laughs Carlos. “I mean it, really,” says Cristina.“Something’s wrong.” She says. Cristina turns her troubled face to Carlos. He squeezes her and kisses the top of her head. “It’ll be ok, Babe. Don’t worry.”Eerie music plays. The scene on the beach begins to fade from view.  Was it real and where are we? The deep, rhythmic voice says, “And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is how wishes can come true, time can reverse and stop, bringing an endless sunset, an endless time at the beach."""" Where the hidden dimensions and unseen energies of the Twilight Time Travel Zone intersect and can malfunction, causing an infinite summer.” 
","September 07, 2023 22:42",[]
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",rv5ey6,Endless Summer,Audrey Knox,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/rv5ey6/,/short-story/rv5ey6/,Science Fiction,0,"['Coming of Age', 'Fiction', 'High School']",5 likes,"
              “Don’t you see it?” 
              “See what?”
              “Right there. The sun. It was setting. And now it’s rising.”
              “It’s morning, already?”
              Violet sighed impatiently, exasperated but also like, low-key kind of freaking out. “No, if it was morning, it would be rising over there.” She pointed at the opposite horizon, then scowled playfully at her boyfriend Jason. “Aren’t you supposed to be an engineering major?”
              “Not until tomorrow.” He flipped his hair and grinned at her. She loved the way it swooped in front of his face like that. “And besides, engineering has nothing to do with the weather.”
              “The sun isn’t—” Violet took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose to calm herself down. “You’re lucky you’re pretty.” She pulled Jason into a kiss. They tongued deeply, like only teenagers in the throes of first love do. Sometimes they would make out for hours. She remembered the first time she got beard burn from his stubble; a small scab on her chin that her friends made fun of her for. Violet had worn it with pride. This was what it felt like to be a mature adult. 
              Jason pulled out of the kiss and looked over her shoulder. “Wait a second,” he said. “It’s getting lighter. Is the sun moving in reverse?” 
              Violet wanted to scream in frustration, but she was just happy that she wasn’t going crazy.
              “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you!”
              “No way. That’s impossible.” They both squinted at the sun. It was moving slowly, so it was impossible to tell right away. But they did both definitely recall that just moments before it had dipped completely below the horizon, bathing their parking lot in cool twilight.
              Their parking lot. It felt like they had spent the whole summer here, in the bed of his truck. Violet wanted nothing more than to be able to wake up one morning in Jason’s bed, wrapped in his arms, gazing into his eyes under pure white cotton sheets, like the lead in a romantic movie. But she was still just about to start her senior year of high school, and he was still living with his parents until he left for college tomorrow morning. 
              Violet shook her head, trying not to think about that. She knew, intellectually, what Jason going off to college meant for their future. She was too smart to imagine that their relationship could survive the long distance combined with the temptations on campus during Jason’s freshman year. But she didn’t want their relationship to end. She had wished this summer, their last summer, could last forever. 
              The sun was definitely getting higher. Its golden light bounced off the freshly painted monkey bars of the playground of the elementary school whose empty parking lot served as their rendezvous spot. In twelve hours, the blacktop would be covered in a winding line of vans unloading neighborhood kids in squeaky shoes and uncreased backpacks. But tonight, it was empty except for them. Jason and Violet lay in the bed of the truck, atop a makeshift mattress from a Costco foam pad, covered in a comforter he had pilfered from his twin bed, hoping his constantly disapproving, religious mother wouldn’t realize why it was gone. They lay tangled in each other’s arms, watching the sun.
              “I think it stopped,” Violet said.
              “I think you’re right.” 
              Suddenly, Violet started thinking about the consequences. She had read so many headlines about climate change and global disaster. What would this do to the tides, the weather, the public consciousness? She started to get worried again. 
              Violet pulled out her phone and shot a text message to her mother: “hey did you see what’s happening with the sun??? Is everything okay?” 
              Then, after thinking a moment, “I’m coming home.”
              “Jason, can you take me home? I need to check on my mom.”
              Jason wrapped Violet up in his arms, but he didn’t make any movements towards leaving. “Babe, I’m sure it’s okay. Can’t you just look on the bright side? We have more time together! It doesn’t look like tomorrow is coming anytime soon.”
              Violet frowned. 
              Jason kissed her gently. “Babe, why don’t we just stay here in this moment a little longer and enjoy the opportunity it has given us.”
              Violet looked down at her phone. Her mom had texted her back: “Everything’s fine sweetie! The sun looks beautiful. Are you coming home for dinner? Love mom.”
              Violet rolled over, so she was lying on Jason’s chest, looking at him. She tried to be the strong one here, the responsible one. “You know college is what’s best for you. Nothing has to change between us while you’re there and I’m finishing up here. You’re only a two-hour drive away.”
              Jason picked at a thread on his basketball shorts. “I know,” he said. ""You’re right.” 
              But neither of them believed it. 
              Violet looked down at her phone to explain what happened to her mom, but now their recent text exchange was gone, as if it never happened.      
              “What is going on?” Violet asked. 
              They both looked at the sun. It seemed to have settled into its pre-sunset position, not moving at all.
              “Babe,” Jason said carefully. ""Do you think time is suspended.”
				Violet looked down at her phone. It didn’t seem real, but she couldn’t think of any other explanation, and with Jason’s arm around her, she didn’t care. “It could be,” she said. “How do we find out?”
				Jason started sliding his hands under her dress. “Let’s figure that out after.”
				She giggled and slid down closer towards him. “After what?”
				“Since apparently we have all the time in the world, I want to make the most of it.""
				Violet let him. Her mother and the rest of the world would have to wait. 
	***
				After they had sex, they lay in the bed of the truck, looking at the sun hanging over the mountains. It definitely wasn’t moving, even though they had been back there for hours. It didn’t move during the whole time they watched Jason’s favorite movie (Team America), and it didn’t move during the time it took them to drive to Mel’s diner, sit on the same side of the table, and order burgers and fries. It didn’t move the whole time they walked around the downtown street and bought frozen yogurt (Violet got cake batter flavored with cookie dough, chocolate chips, sprinkles, and M&M’s on top. Jason got lemon sherbet). 
				They took the truck back to the parking lot and didn’t know what else to do, so they pulled up another movie (Sweet Home Alabama) and had sex again. No one bothered them, and no one had to be home for a curfew. Violet fell asleep in Jason’s arms underneath the sun suspended over the mountains hemming in their suburban town. 
			When Violet woke up, it was as if her dream had come true but warped. She felt like she had gotten a full night’s sleep, but she wasn’t gazing into her lover’s eyes underneath the gentle glow of dawn. The sunset light seemed to be mocking them with its vulgar constancy. 
			Violet rubbed her eyes, disoriented.
			“How long were we out for?”
			Jason checked his phone, but it still said 7:14pm like it always did. 
			“I actually have no idea,” he said, his voice starting to betray worry for the first time this evening(?) “We could have been out for minutes or hours.”
			“Or even days,” said Violet. 
			Jason poked her playfully. “You have way too much energy to sleep for days.”
			She laughed. “True.” But then they both got serious again. They were starting to panic and didn’t know what to do next. “Jason,” Violet asked, trying to keep her voice steady. “What’s happening to us?”
			“I don’t know.” He looked concerned too. “Do you wanna… go eat or something?”
			“No Jason, I don’t,” Violet snapped. “We literally just ate.”
			But as if to directly contradict her, Violet’s stomach growled. She was so confused. She did actually feel hungry again. How long were they out for?
			“I’ll drive us to Mel’s,” Jason said.
			Violet didn’t want to go back there and get déjà vu all over again, but she couldn’t argue with her stomach, so she moved into the passenger seat of his truck for the second time that evening(?)
			After dinner (breakfast?), he drove them back to their spot in the parking lot, and they didn’t know what else to do, so they watched another movie (The Notebook), then they had sex. It was as good as it always was, and Violet tried to take comfort in the fact that now she never had to leave Jason’s arms.
			Eat. Movie. Sex. Sleep.
			They repeated this routine over and over. Weeks passed, maybe months. There was no way for either of them to keep track. Any tallies they tried to carve in the truck weren’t permanent. They didn’t age. Violet didn’t feel herself growing fatter no matter how many meals of burgers and fries and frozen yogurt they shared together.
			One day after dinner, she suggested they watch a gory horror film instead of their usual romance or comedy. Jason didn’t argue. They both just wanted to feel something. 
			Violet didn’t want to say it out loud, but she had gotten soul-numbingly bored with Jason. Their relationship had grown stagnant.
			As they watched someone get disemboweled on the screen in front of her, Violet found herself jealous of the victim. At least they were experiencing something new. Even death sounded appealing to her in its novelty. Violet gazed at the curve of Jason’s jawline, the gentle stubble of his beard that never grew. She realized that she would never experience the love that comes from shared growth and experiences. Nothing between the two of them would ever change. 
			Jason paused the film. “Are you okay?”
			“We need to get out of here.”
			Jason didn’t argue. “How?”
			“I don’t know.” Violet was desperate. If she could just get them out of this time suspension, she would be able to save her relationship. They could continue to move forward together, like she had always meant to. 
			Violet climbed out of the truck and walked into the middle of the street. She held out her arms and looked up at the sky, giving herself up to the universe.
			“You win!!!!” she said. “I don’t know why you’re doing this to me, but I think it’s because you’re trying to teach me a lesson!! Congratulations, I learned it! I am okay with moving forward and I accept my fate. Jason and I are destined to break up. I am okay with that. I accept our future. Just get me out of here!!!”
			Violet collapsed to the ground, emotionally spent, ready for whatever magic was happening to hear her words.
			Nothing. The sun didn’t move from its post in the sky at all. Violet lay down in the street, hoping a car would appear out of nowhere and come run her over. 
			“Violet?” Jason asked. His voice sounded small and heartbroken. “Do you really mean that? I thought we had a future.”
			“Look around, Jason,” Violet said bitterly. ""We don’t have a future. We only have this over and over. I’m in hell.”
			“Wow,” Jason pulled away, hurt. “I didn’t realize this was so miserable for you.” 
			“Is it not miserable for you?” Violet asked. “Don’t you want to see what else life has to offer besides this?” she gestured around at them, the bed of the truck, the sun in the sky that she had now grown to hate with every fiber of her being.
			“Not really,” Jason said. “I love you.”
			“I love you too,” Violet said. “But I can’t spend eternity like this.”
			“But we said—”
			“I know what we said,” Violet told him. “But I worry if I look at you for one more minute, I am going to lose my mind.”
			Jason recoiled. “I think you should go.”
			“I think I should too.”
			Violet climbed out of the truck. 
			“Violet, wait. That’s it?” 
			Violet turned back and looked at him. She realized that even though they had probably spent years together here, he was still just a child. “Yeah,” she said. “That’s it.”
			“Where are you going to go?” he asked her.
			“I’m walking home.”
			“But it’s ten miles,” Jason tried to reason with her.
			Violet gave him a sad smile. “Jason honey, I have all the time in the world. Goodbye.”
			She didn’t look back.
	***
			When Violet climbed up the front stoop, her feet hurt. She was ready to collapse. She opened the door.
			“Mom?”
			Violet was hit by the smell of homecooked tuna casserole. It had been her favorite since childhood. The tears that she had been holding back finally came. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed this.
			“Darlin’!” her mom was just taking the pan out of the oven. She set it on the stove to cool. “I didn’t realize you’d be home. I’m glad ya made it. Didja get my text?”
			“Jason and I broke up,” was all Violet could say. 
			Her mom came over to her and wrapped her up in a tight hug.
			“Oh sweetheart, I’m so sorry. Come here.” Her mom knew better than to say any more than that. She led Violet over to the couch and they both sat down. Violet allowed herself to curl up into her mother’s arms and cry.
			Mom rocked her gently. Violet was still in that position, sound asleep in her mother’s arms, when the sun set below the horizon and the stars came out. They twinkled with possibility in the night sky, on the other side of the walls of the house. 
			Sylvia wiped away a tear as she sat holding Violet in the darkness. She remembered when she used to hold her like this when she was a little girl. She spent hours wishing that tomorrow would never come. That her baby would never grow up. 
","September 08, 2023 15:27","[[{'Michał Przywara': ""What a fantastic take on the prompt! Wishing to delay the inevitable, the painful, is a very common thing, but rarely do those wishes pan out the way we hope.\n\nTaken at face value, when time freezes for them Violet gets to see what a lack of progress might actually look like - total stagnation. Their relationship stagnantes, they stagnate as people, and life becomes totally, unbearably paused. Is it a cautionary tale about wild emotions and wilder young love? A warning about settling too early, before you've seen the world and even figured o..."", 'time': '19:42 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'Audrey Knox': ""Thank you so much for your feedback here! Yes, I really love what you took away from the themes. I had in mind all of this: we want to hold on to the love from our youth but doing so would mean that we don't get to experience the beauty that the rest of our lives has in store for us.\n\nThe POV shift in the last paragraph was an intuitive choice that I realize might be confusing. I decided to give her a name because I wanted her to become a person in that scene, but without an introduction or transition to smooth over the reader's experience, ..."", 'time': '22:00 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '2'}]], [{'Audrey Knox': ""Thank you so much for your feedback here! Yes, I really love what you took away from the themes. I had in mind all of this: we want to hold on to the love from our youth but doing so would mean that we don't get to experience the beauty that the rest of our lives has in store for us.\n\nThe POV shift in the last paragraph was an intuitive choice that I realize might be confusing. I decided to give her a name because I wanted her to become a person in that scene, but without an introduction or transition to smooth over the reader's experience, ..."", 'time': '22:00 Sep 09, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []], [{'Kimberly Straub': ""That ending was terrific! You did an excellent job of showing how heartbreaking moving on can be, even when we know it's for the best."", 'time': '14:58 Sep 14, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",ekbg9e,A Matter of Degrees,Bob Faszczewski,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/ekbg9e/,/short-story/ekbg9e/,Science Fiction,0,"['Adventure', 'Drama', 'Science Fiction']",5 likes,"
 
 
     As a lifelong resident of the Northern Hemisphere, I  normally looked sadly on the onslaught of fall and winter. During the summer my friends and I had romped with as little attire as possible in our local lakes and the Atlantic Ocean.  This year, though, we didn’t realize that the sun whose disappearance we so sadly mourned could become the instrument of the world’s destruction.
     As Mother Nature began to close the curtain on 2300, news reports began to surface about nature playing a cruel joke on humanity by having the sun shine continuously–24 hours a day.  Medical personnel working in emergency rooms across most of the civilized world failed to get the punchline.   They couldn’t find humor in the fact that the third-degree sunburn cases began to overwhelm hospitals across the globe, and they feared that death-toll records soon would follow. 
       Amazingly, most of the patients received their burns from only a half-hour exposure in the middle of November, when the majority of the hemisphere usually began hunkering down for winter.
     The epicenter of the weird climate reversal? The normally most frigid inhabited place on earth--Oymyakon, Russia. This area had set a record of negative 153 degrees Fahrenheit–in 1933.  Its daily temperature in the penultimate month of 2300 had averaged positive 120 degrees Fahrenheit for a solid week.
      Even though the overall temperature of the entire earth had increased only one degree every six months the world’s top climate scientists at first seemed unconcerned. As the illnesses and deaths began to pile up they realized that dire consequences could loom for the planet.
       The scientists also saw signs that oceans around the globe soon could dry up--putting even the most plentiful water supplies in danger.
        International news outlets also revealed that. although leaders outside Oymakon saw the signs mounting in their own countries, the effects--for the time being--were small. Politicians being politicians, therefore continued to put off taking united and concerted action.
         My friends and I resolved to follow the global situation closely, but felt as unconcerned, for the time being, as the rest of the world outside the Russian mining district.
         However, those working in the gold-rich mines, normally accustomed to laboring at full tilt for a maximum of  five hours a day in the most intolerable cold, now began to faint after an hour of minimum effort. Hundreds of workers filled every available ambulance, as emergency medical services transported victims to the district’s hospital to prevent their death from sun poisoning.
      International news outlets rushed to interview Demetrius Yarostikof, the 10-year foreman of the most rugged mining crew in the district. Despite warnings from national law enforcement authorities, Yarostikof saw no alternative but to call a halt to the largest extraction operation in this area.  He feared all of his crew members might eventually perish in the explosion of solar heat.
     The foreman complained that those supervising the operation and government officials had continued to breathe down his neck to increase production.  Eventually they, too, saw the devastation mounting not only in their offices, but in their own homes, as one person after another fell victim to the unbearable heat.
     In an interview. Dr. Ivan Makalevich, head dermatologist in the district’s hospital, said he had tried desperately to find a treatment for the apparently incurable sunburn that wreaked havoc on the bodies of hundreds in a region where the overwhelming sickness for centuries had been frostbite.     Due to their many years of experience, he and his colleagues had learned to deal with the results of living in the most frigid conditions in the world, but this heat and its resulting burns were an entirely different animal.
     The pressures on Demetrius and Dr. Makalevich paled in comparison to those on Dr. Igor Federych, Russia’s chief meteorological expert. He kept pushing his sub-skeleton staff, down to almost nil from the mysterious sunburn illness, to their limits to discover a cause for the startling reversal in their normally extremely cold climate, but none of them ever had seen anything like this and they saw no possibility for a solution to the crisis in the near future.
      Making the situation more dire--centuries of international aggression by Russia against many of its former client states had caused support for investment for a global-backed rescue operation to become nearly non-existent.
     Also, the remainder of the nations on earth, whose leaders felt considerably less threatened by the developing crisis, didn’t see an urgent need to risk scarce resources to prop up a regime that possibly might turn against them in the future.
     Leaders outside Russia also believed that, if the crisis kept expanding in more moderate climates, the road to a solution would come much easier for them than it would for Oymyakon, which had a much longer and complicated summit to reach.
      In the mining territory, Demetrius  and his family saw themselves in a hopeless situation. His country’s top experts apparently could find no solution to the crisis and the rest of the world continued to shrug its shoulders at the possible coming extinction of his homeland.
     In off-the-record interviews, the foreman confided that the only path left open to the gold mine foreman was to get out as soon as he, his family and close friends could before getting trampled in the stampede of those fleeing what eventually could be the end of their world.
      Demetrius secretly scoured the Internet for an alternative to what most certainly pointed to the coming of the destruction of his homeland and probably the apocalypse for the entire earth.
      His research brought him to an article on ScientificAmerican.com about exploration of a newly-discovered planet, Huchoron. Apparently this planet had a climate and atmosphere very similar to that of Earth and it existed only a day’s travel time via space vehicles available to Russians of the socioeconomic level of Demetrius in the dawn of the 25th century.
     In addition, he had won a doctorate in cybertechnology prior to pursuing  gold mining, which he had seen as a more rapid path to great wealth. He now tapped into his educational background to build an intergalatic communications system.
      Although communication proved extremely challenging because of the outdated Huchoron technology, he managed to  establish relations with the Governing Council of the Planet Huchoron and pave the way for the future domicile for himself and his family.
    The Huchoronians also saw an alliance with Demetrius as their best opportunity to tap into earth’s more advanced gold-mining technology in order to more easily open their own substantial gold reserves. Huchoron’s outdated mining methods had left these reserves untouched for more than 50 years.
     Although the Stone Age Huchronian technology made a return trip to earth impossible for the present, Demetrius saw this alliance as his only hope.
       He plotted his course for Huchoron and prepared his crew for the intergalatical voyage and swore those in his small circle to top secrecy. No use tipping off the rest of the world and causing a massive exodus and panic that could sabotage their voyage.
      Finally, the day of the voyage came and Demetrius and his crew took off for their new world.
      As their space vehicle cleared earth’s atmosphere they looked back in horror as the only world they had ever known exploded into a huge black hole in the vast darkness of space.
       It looked like a small group of Russian miners had more wisdom than most of earth’s intelligentsia and my friends and I became victims of our own naivete.
 

","September 03, 2023 13:45",[]
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",ghwu3w,Vicariously Inc.,Christopher B.,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/ghwu3w/,/short-story/ghwu3w/,Science Fiction,0,"['Science Fiction', 'Speculative']",4 likes,"
The rough wood of the little old dock is warm beneath me, and the sun is setting into the lake. It was almost perfect. It was a good Summer. But here I am, sitting at the edge of it, staring at a sunset that would simply go on forever if I let it, and instead of reflecting on how great this has been I’m stuck on what went wrong. I’d been involved, I had participated. But only some had laughed at my joke during the barbeque sequence. I should have seen the issue with the bug spray. And the frog still weighs on me.I don’t think it matters if you do one playthrough or a hundred. After all, we’re not stuck in the old days where the only option was to live with it. What difference does it make? The timeout options appear, hanging in the air as bats chase bugs through them in oblivious loops. Move on to the Next Memory or Overwrite and Restart. I can do better. I hit Restart.“So, I’m standing there, staring at the doctor, just absolutely blown away, right. Because he sounds like he’s speaking another language. So, I hold up my hand,” Jake stands up in front of the barbeque and mimes himself. He’s holding the greasy spatula loosely in his three fingers, he always smells like the grill; meaty, charred, smokey, vaguely delicious. “And I say to him, you already sewed me up, it’s not like I can lose them again. Of course I’m going back to work tomorrow. You think admins going to clean me out of the machine? Hell no. Besides, I got rent, I got bills, I got debt, I got responsibilities. I can’t afford to take time off for this, and I sure as hell can’t afford six months.”Four of us sit on the dock, each cradling a beer bottle as we listen to the story. We all laugh, of course. I missed something here, last time. It’s all about reading reactions. Bri smiles and turns her head away, laughing through her nose. Mikey laughs like a donkey, in long drawn-out brays that end in diminishing variations of the original. Jake smirks, lets out a short burst of quiet laughter that speaks to his being ‘blown away’. I chuckled. It’s a placeholder. What had I said last time? Something like, ‘some of us have to work, doc.’ They’d laughed, but it almost seemed forced. I hate thinking on the spot like this and I can feel the interaction window passing. Ok, what about this, “they’re two fingers short staffed now, they need me more than ever.” I smirk as I say it, raising my beer in salute to Jake.Bri has sucked in her lips; she’s looking at me and I can see her trembling as she bites back her laugh. Her eyes are wide and sparkling. Mikey brays the loudest laugh I have ever heard from him; it goes on and on. Jake is looking at me funny, his smile is strange, loose maybe. I get a simple ‘heh’ from him before he turns back to the grill and away from us. Mikey gets his braying under control; he takes swig and nods in approval at me. Bri is biting her finger and looking elsewhere, she’s smiling. Jake is silent, his only movement is the flipping of the meat. The grill speaks for him in hissing sizzles. They look to me now to carry the moment. I’m happy to do so.The rest is largely the same, until I get to the bug spray. Some things are off. Jake’s in a bad mood, he doesn’t say much and what he does say is short and curt. Probably just angry because I’m winning this thing. Can’t take that I’m better than him. Maybe he’s programmed that way. I’m on top and that’s what matters, my dreams, my rules. This is it, coming up now. Almost time.“Do we need bug spray for this,” Bri asks. I see her there, standing in the doorway as she looks out into the world, framed by golden knotted wood with a backdrop of dark green peaks, the smell of never-ending pines wafting into the cabin around her. It’s supposed to be a moment. It’s supposed to fill me with want, or joy, or contentment. To cement a memory. Maybe it did, the first time. But this time I feel something else. The scene is beautiful and warm. But my skin feels like it’s being pelted with ice. I want this, I crave it, and it makes me sick, which makes no sense.“I mean, we’re just walking around the lake,” she says.“Bugs wont bite me,” Mikey says, puffing out his chest, “my natural manliness intimidates them.” Most of us chuckle at this.Bri throws Mikey a crooked smile, “ok. I mean for the rest of us mortal folk then. It only takes us like twenty minutes. And I don’t like the smell of that stuff, it makes me gag. But should we?”“It doesn’t matter,” Jake says quietly, looking at nothing. “If we get bit, we get bit. At least someone gets a meal.”I can feel the mood drop; everyone is looking at anything but Jake. What the hell, Jake? You know what, it doesn’t matter. Last time I had agreed that we didn’t need it and we all came back from the walk looking like we had chicken pox. It was miserable. And obvious.“Better safe than sorry,” I say. “At least for those of us who aren’t protected by godlike testosterone.” Mikey brays at this, and Bri shoots me a sweet smile before she goes hunting for the bug spray. But Jake, what the hell are you doing Jake? He looks even more sullen now than he did before. What’s that about? Buggy programming? After we had all soaked in a mist of chemicals we headed out for our walk. The night is alive with the buzz of mosquitoes. The consensus is that I have saved all our lives. God I’m good at this. So what if Jake is stuck in some kind of negative loop. I am the hero, now. Go me! Now, on to the last one.It’s the day before the sun sets on this vacation. The night is cool, and a breeze carries little gusts of pillowy warmth. The stars glitter in the moonless sky in a way I didn’t know they could. They cut the dark not as suggestions but as stunning facts. An owl hoots in the distance, Mikey hoots back and we laugh. We’re sitting in the lawn chairs outside the cabin, enjoying the night, talking about nothing and everything with the ease that only comes at the end of a thing. The lake beckons a little way off, framing the little dock with starlit waters. I know it’s coming now, the first one always makes us jump.“BRRRAAAAAWWWWW,” explodes into the silence.“Jesus, every time with that thing,” Mikey says, readjusting after he’d nearly leapt out of his seat. Bri is laughing. More frogs call across the lake.“I just can’t get over how loud they are,” I say.“What? Never heard frogs before?” The sarcasm drips from Mikey's lips in metaphorical globs. I shrug. I haven’t though. Before this episode I had never heard a frog, live or recorded. Why would I? Who wastes their precious free time listening to a chorus of the dead?“Well, in fairness, most frogs aren’t this big,” Bri says and winks at me.“Oh, and you’re the frog expert, are you? Got a degree in frogology,” Mikey elbows her as he says it.“The title you were looking for is herpetologist,” she smiles and elbows him back. “And no, I come by my credentials honestly. I am the queen of frogs. It’s in my blood. Really though, when we were kids, me and my brothers used to have a competition at this time of year. Who can catch the biggest frog,” her smile softens for a moment as she looks towards the lake. Whatever she sees out there should be good, should inspire the next phase. She looks the same this time as last time. It’s the same look. It is. So why does it feel like a chunk of my heart just broke off and fell into darkness.“Herpetologist”, Mikey barely keeps it together, “sounds contagious.” he giggles at his own joke.“Well,” I say, “what happened?”She’s smiling again, looking at me, and it’s warm, as it should be. “I always won,” she said, challenge wafting on the air.“Must have had terrible brothers,” Mikey said.“Oh, they were a disgrace to the familial archetype.”“Sorry, didn’t realize I was going to need a dictionary tonight. Those are some big words for someone who whose never faced a real frog catcher,” Mikey tries to look serious.“Oh, is that what you call it,” she looks dead at him and raises her eyebrow. He disintegrates into giggles.“He’s right though.” I try to look as serious as she had, but I can’t do it if I look at her, so I look seriously at nothing in the forest. Throughout all of this, Jake sits at the edge of the light, far enough away to be forgotten, sipping his beer and brooding over the shadows between tree trunks. He hasn’t said a word all day. It’s annoying. Maybe I’ll actually make a complaint about this, be ‘that’ guy. It’s ridiculous. I just ignore him. A moment later we are all splashing along the lake edge.Water sloshes and toes sink in mud. I’m sneaking up on a big one, easily the size of my shoe. It’s so big that I’m a little nervous about grabbing it. I take another careful step towards it as someone falls with a splash around the corner, Mikey starts laughing again.Got to do it by hand. That’s the thing. I tried to catch it last time with a big stick, swiped it down and pined it in place. Seemed smart. I didn’t realize I’d killed it till I had gotten it in my hands. I can still feel it, slick and cool, like a limp water balloon in my palm. Why would you even make that an option, that’s what I want to know. Someone should seriously lose their job. I take another step towards the frog, and freeze.In the end I had left the dead frog in the lake. I told them I hadn’t caught anything. Mikey, holding a frog half the size of the one I had found, declared himself the winner, and Bri dropped her smaller frog down the back of his soaking shirt. I should have won. I’m going to win it now. I curl my toes into the mud, slowly, in case there are sticks. I tense my legs, dip down, and pause as the frog turns a little. Is it looking at me? Look at something else! Another splash around the bend and the frog turns away again. I launch. I am a wave of intent. The water shocks my skin as I fall, and nothing matters but that my hands grab hold of it. My hands grab. I’m under water, soaked through and chilled and thrilled. My heart races. For a moment I don’t even think of breaking the surface, instead I linger there, drifting in the muddy dark beneath the stars and listening to my friends laugh in the distance. The thing in my hand wriggles, but I am careful, and it doesn’t slip away.I make a show of looking disappointed, as I come dripping around the corner of the lake. I held the thing behind my back, trying to look like I’d pulled something. They laugh when they see me. Bri was soaked to the waist and holding her little frog like a teddy bear. Mikey was soaked to the neck; he was holding his frog like he was presenting Simba. Jake was dry. Completely and utterly dry. He stood behind them all, he barely managed to smile when Mikey turned to him and presented the king. Absolute buzz kill. Not going to ruin my moment though.“Awe, no luck,” Bri pouts as she says it. Her frog tries to kick free, and she scolds it. She looks so happy right then that it hurts. It’s a frog. It’s not even the winning frog. It’s just a frog. No one should be that happy over a frog.“Then take a knee, peasant,” Mikey says, his frog looking plump and pompous in his hands. “Bow before his majesty.”“I mean, I would,” I say, “but…” I pull my grumpy football into view. They all start shouting. Mikey is yelling ‘no!’ Bri is asking if I’m one hundred percent sure that it is a frog. Jake glanced, and I swear it was like he was sneering. Fuck you Jake, this is my moment. “Bow before the one true king,” I shout, and on cue the frog bellows its rawring croak. It’s too much. Everyone but Jake is laughing. I’m already working on my rage post in my head. But right now, I’m here, and I fixed it.I did fix it. I did. I’m sitting on the dock, watching the sun hover against the horizon in defiance of a planet’s spin. I did it right this time. I won, no question about it. Jake was a glitch. I can’t do anything about that. It was good. So why am I sitting here just looking at the idle screen? Maybe I could do better.The red alarm sign superimposes itself over the episode screen. I’m out of time. I dismiss it, and sigh into the perpetual sunset. Maybe later then. I exit the episode and select Wakeup. It pings and a blue spinning circle floats before each eye, it’s disorienting.The world swallows me like quicksand, bit by grainy bit, and I’m trying to focus on the ceiling. The sound kicks in first, a staccato of gritty rattling machinery and the incoherent rush of the overcrowded sidewalks below. The analogue alarm starts screeching through it all, I swat it into silence and reach back behind my ear as I sit up. The braided cable resists at first, it pops free with a tug. My ear hides the port back there, but I still feel naked after I pull out. It never fails. I never really understand what is exposed, exactly, but the feeling is persistent.I get out of bed and tap on the small wall screen, looking at the schedule for today. I had a little time before today’s shift starts. Sixteen hours of monotony, here I come. I try to nudge a smashed fly off the screen but just turn it into a greasy smear. Whatever. Not going to waste time on cleaning it, it’ll be dirty again before I even get back from work. Which is impressive, I think as I look around the tiny room, since I’m the only one who lives here. Jake keeps popping into my head, he’s staring into the dark in my mind. Nothing I could have done. Still…I take a step across the room and flick on the recessed faucet. I do a quick rubdown with a wet towel and brush my teeth. Nothing like the feeling of off brand spearmint in the morning. I lean down below the recess and spit into the drain. A glob of white spinning in the dark. A bloated belly, white and glowing, floating in the lake. The hell? This is supposed to be good for us. I grab my uniform; the grease of the factory is a balm against my fingers as I pull the pants on. I tap a galaxy of new smudges onto the wall screen as I devour my protein bar. Not it, swipe, not it, swipe, that’s the one.Description. Experience community without leaving your bed. Cutting edge social integration programming is designed to boost productivity and reduce workplace suicides by exposing users to historically accurate and dynamic group activities. No longer a thing of the past, social engagement modeling programs run while you sleep. The interface allows for more than a thousand outcomes per reasonably expected interactions. The authenticity of the experience is truly cutting edge. Winner of the Innovative Exploits award two years running. Live the life you deserve in your dreams. With over one hundred scenarios a season, you will be able to sleep your way to a head full of fulfilling memories. Brought to you by vicarious inc. Live vicariously through us.The next alarm buzzes. Time to go. Maybe tonight I’ll try summer again. Maybe. The door at the foot of my bed slides open with a crunchy hiss. The hall outside is a steady flow of bodies, either going to work or coming home from it. I swear I see Jake, standing at the end of the hallway, pale and staring at nothing as the people walk through him. I really should complain about him. But who has the time for that? I turn away from the ghost, from the memory, and head to my designated stairs. I’d have to hurry, as usual, to get there in time.I hit the stairs and join the descending flow of human resources, I decide I’m done with Summer. It hurts me somehow, and that’s works’ job. Tonight, I’m moving on to Fall, whatever that is. Sounds exotic. Should be fun. I let myself flow along with the stream of bodies. The stream becomes a river when I meet the sidewalks, broad and rushing and murmuring with the sound of feet. The heat is already picking up, sweat drips down my back under the brown sky of morning. Each block is a conveyor belt of thousands. No one talks, no one says a word, no one has the time. 
","September 09, 2023 02:30",[]
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",hchk3t,That One Summer,Jasper D,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/hchk3t/,/short-story/hchk3t/,Science Fiction,0,"['Science Fiction', 'Drama', 'Teens & Young Adult']",4 likes,"
	The fresh, salty air… I smelled as I sat on the beach, listening to the waves crash, it was so nice, and so much better than back home. The summer was coming to an end, as we were going to go back to Massachusetts tomorrow. Every summer, my family, and my moms’ best-friends’ family stay somewhere new. This year, it was Miami, Florida. This summer was going perfectly. The weather was very balmy. How could anyone want it to end? Especially when we go back, it's time for school, and I need to get a job.
	“What are you doing, loser?!” I heard my brother, Jackson scowl at me.
	“Enjoying my last day here.” I replied.
He kicked sand at me. I glared at him, and rolled my eyes.
	“What was that for?!” I barked.
	He laughed and walked away with Freddy, one of my mom’s friend’s sons, who was about his age, Freddy was 16, and Jackson was 17. They got along very well, as they had the same interests. I got along best with Freddy’s little brother, Cameron, who was about a year older than me, at a rocking 15 years old. Cameron was my best friend, and he was the big brother I always wanted. He always stood up for me, and is there whenever I need him, whether he’s 3,000 miles away, or in the other room next to mine.
	“Ignore those jerks” He said, coming to sit next to me, looking straight into my eyes, with his bright blue eyes, and curly blonde hair.
	“Really? I was gonna join them on being total bullies!” I added sarcastically. 
	We both giggled, as the sun had begun to set, he turned to me, looking deep into my eyes,
	“Are you ready to go back to Massachusetts?” He asked in a soft voice.
	“As if, what's better than this?” I said looking bummed. 
	“You got a point there…” he trailed off.
	We both turned to the sunset, watching it slowly go under the horizon, this was proof summer was ending. I sure wasn’t ready for this, not yet. Another year of being away from Cam? How could I do that? I really liked him, and he made it quite obvious he did too, but we were both chickens to say anything. And now, he will be thousands of miles away, the only way for communication is through calling, or sending letters. But who sends letters nowadays.
	As the sun dipped under the horizon, I thought I was seeing things now. The sun had reversed, and was going up?! 
 What in the world is going on?! I panicked as I thought about what could be happening…
	I looked over at Cam, he looked panicked too. Maybe I'm not seeing things, or what if we are both seeing things?!?! I was filled with fear, the only thoughts coming through my head were, “what could be happening, what's going to happen? Is everything alright?! Are we all gonna die?! Maybe it's just a dream? Maybe I fell asleep on the beach??”
	“Uh, are you seeing that too?” Cameron said is a hush
	“Mhm, yep, the sun is reversing?” I huffed, as my breathing felt as it was getting heavier.
	As we ran towards the houses, I saw my brother and Freddy running worried and panicked as well, it made me really think, why was this happening, how? Thoughts were still flowing through my head, over and over. We reached the concrete, and my brother and Freddy looked, as if they wanted to kill someone, but more in an afraid way.
	Cameron and I ran up to them, and we all looked at each other, petrified. 
	“Lily, do you know where mom is?!?” Jackson asked me with a fearful tone.
	“No, and I have no service.” I quickly replied, feeling agitated.
	Suddenly, I found us all trying to find a cell phone, or at least a person, there was no one in town, and there wasn’t even a fly buzzing around. At this point, I couldn’t even think. The boys were scrambling around the shopping center we were in, but the doors were locked, or boarded up. I suddenly only could hear myself breathing, it was loud too, I tried focusing on it, taking deep breaths, but I started hyperventilating. 
	Freddy looked over at me, “Lily you alright?”
	“Yeah, yeah I am fine, but look at the sun” I said frightened.
	The sun looked to be right in the middle of the sky. It went from the horizon to this. That really horrified me. The color drained from my face, where was everyone?? I thought to myself.
	“What is happening? Where is everyone?!” Jackson said in an alarmed tone. 
	We all stopped for a minute, looked at one another again, and ran in all different directions, we were scared for our life. I took a metal cro-bar I found, and banged it against a window, it instantly broke, glass flying everywhere. The boys froze and ran over to me. As I ran into the store, flowing like a ballerina on a stage. I scrambled through everything looking for a phone, the store was upside down. I ran out of the store, into the middle of the street, and froze.
	I was shook, Cameron and Jackson were snapping in my face, but of how shook I was, I completely zoned out. 
	“Lily! Hellooo? Are you okay??! We will get through this, come back to me!” Cameron had said. I snapped back, the worry on his face made me worry. I looked at the sun again, and back at Cameron, then my brother, and then Freddy. 
	“I’m okay-” before I could finish, he kissed me. 
I turned over, to see my brother's jaw on the floor, then suddenly, I was back on the beach, the sun was back at the horizon, and Cameron was sitting there, smiling at me. 
	“How was your nap sleeping beauty? You're missing this wonderful sunset!”
It was all a dream.
 
","September 09, 2023 03:55",[]
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",vpno23,Meet Me in Atlantic City ,Kimberly Straub,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/vpno23/,/short-story/vpno23/,Science Fiction,0,"['Romance', 'Fiction', 'Sad']",4 likes,"
The morning sun burst through the blinds and jolted Sadie from her sleep. Covered in sweat and heart racing, she looked around her bedroom, trying to find a foothold. The nightmare had felt real. So, so real. Her eyes jumped from the dirty clothes littering the floor, to her framed wedding photo on the wall, and landed on the empty side of the bed. Maybe, it wasn’t a nightmare, she thought with dread. Until the bedroom door opened and in walked Ben, smelling of soap, as he towel-dried his hair. “Rise and shine, Sleepyhead. I’ve got a surprise for you!” The panic from her nightmare released most of its grip, after seeing her husband upright and digging for socks in the bureau. But a small, dark fragment wasn’t willing to give up so easily. “You alright? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Sadie smiled at her husband, standing on her side of the bed, looking down concerned. “I’m alright,” she said, reaching for his hand. “Just had a really bad dream.” “Maybe it’s just the Sunday Scaries?” Ben offered. True, Sadie was stressed about starting her new teaching job tomorrow, but it wasn’t like she was moving into a completely new career, just a different school. Surely not worth a nighttime panic attack.“Come on, I’ve got something to make you feel better.” Ben flipped the covers off Sadie and left the bedroom. “Ben! It’s my last day of summer vacation!” She didn’t want to seem ungrateful for whatever Ben had up his sleeve, but he wasn’t about to get up at 5am every weekday moving forward. “Trust me,” he yelled from down the hall. It didn’t take long for Sadie to figure out what the surprise was. A quick drive down the eastbound expressway, with the windows rolled down and Springsteen turned up, led them to the Ocean’s open arms, and the sprawling Boardwalk of Atlantic City.  The resort town held a special place in Ben and Sadie’s relationship. The beach had hosted their childhood, and offered them a meeting spot to build sandcastles together. The pier’s Ferris wheel provided a hide-out for their teenage years, riding up in a gondola to kiss under the star-soaked sky. And it was on the Boardwalk that Ben lowered to one knee to reveal a ring that was almost lost between the wooden planks, after Sadie jumped in his arms to agree. They hosted their wedding reception at the Ocean Casino Resort, because why would they say yes to forever anywhere else but Atlantic City? “We should do this every year,” Ben had said after they snuck out of the hotel’s banquet room, eager for a chance to be alone after a full day of family and friends fussing over them. “What? Get Married?” They sat together on the beach, a bottle of champagne nestled between them. Sadie let the creeping tide grab at her wedding dress, as Ben dug his bare feet in the cool sand. A moonlit path reflected on the ocean, and stretched beyond what they could see. Ben laughed. “No, I mean celebrate.” Now, as they slid into a parking spot and walked towards the Boardwalk, Sadie realized they hadn’t been back since their wedding night, nearly seven years ago. There’s always next year, was the excuse, as if time was a promised thing. “I figured it’d been too long,” Ben said, his hand entwined in hers. “And you needed this. We needed this.” Sadie squeezed his hand; her silent thank you. They took most of the morning just to stroll and remember moments from their past. Sunburned tourists and skateboarding teenagers moved past like extras on a movie set, noticeable but featureless. Children shrieked as the Atlantic battered them with its waves. Fried food and salty air competed for attention. Why had they waited this long to be in the center of it all? With the sun rising in the sky, Sadie realized she needed to make up for lost time. She spun towards Ben and threw her arms around him, balancing on her tiptoes to meet his lips. Instantly, everything faded away, even the seagulls silenced, and Sadie basked in the moment. “Wow,” Ben said, his lips just hovering over hers. “What’s that for?” “For this,” she whispered. “It means a lot to me.” It’s funny how a relationship changes after marriage. It was never like she stopped loving Ben, that would never be the case. Although, it did seem that, overtime, their love changed. Backseat make-out sessions turned into quick morning pecks before work. Talking for hours on the phone turned into scrolling through social media next to each other in bed. They were still intimate, they never lost that, but the desperation was gone, turning into a more comfortable, casual affair. Was it bad? No. Did she miss their younger days? Sometimes, yes. She decided that today was going to be different. “So, what to do first?” Ben clapped and rubbed his hands together, greedily surveying the scene in front of him. “Should we grab a corndog? Or I could destroy you in Skee-Ball? Or do we start the day off with a bang, and lose our breakfast on the Tilt-A-Whirl?” “You pick,” said Sadie. Always the thrill seeker, Ben picked the Tilt-A-Whirl first.The minutes morphed into hours as Ben and Sadie explored the Boardwalk, peeking into shops, strolling the beach, and eating enough funnel cake and cotton candy to accrue a few dental cavities. They’d gone a whole day without running into any of Sadie’s past students, or any acquaintance they’d acquired being New Jersey natives, allowing them to focus only on each other. Eventually, the hours fell with the sun, and reality waited on the other side.Sadie sat down on a bench and looked out at the ocean. Ben stood next to her, leaning on the Boardwalk’s railing, his face somber under the evening’s golden light. “You ready?” he asked. Sadie felt her throat constrict. For a foolish second, she thought that maybe the sun would have forgotten to come down, and the day would have been theirs forever. Ben sat next to her on the bench. “We don’t have to say goodbye yet. Not until you're ready.”  Sadie thought about the tide rising, the beach emptying, the neon lights attempting to compete with the sunset. Everything pointed to the end of the day, and it pained her to think about it. She felt stupid for struggling with it so much, until she realized that maybe this wasn’t about getting ready for a new school year, or saying goodbye to summer. Maybe this was about something else. “I’m not ready,” she whispered. Ben cupped his hands under her chin and tilted her face up to his. Sadie regarded his slim nose, the freckle under his left eye, the scar on his forehead from a childhood accident. It’s funny how quickly you can forget about those small features, even when looking at the same person every day. “Only when you’re ready,” Ben whispered back.It scared her at first, seeing the shadows retreat inward as the sun rose higher. The ocean regained its sparkle, and seagulls circled under a cerulean sky. Sadie gaped at the scene before her, of sunbathers and selfie-takers, of lovers holding hands and children chasing entertainment. “What just happened?” Sadie asked, struggling to find words. Ben smirked, taking Sadie’s hand as he led her down the Boardwalk. “You didn’t want the day to be over. So, the day isn’t over.” A million questions spilled in Sadie’s mind. She managed to string only a few together. “How? What is this place?”Ben answered with a kiss. “Ours. For as long as you want it to be. Now come on, we’ve got a Tilt-A-Whirl to ride!”They did most of the same things as before, because who would say no to more funnel cake and cotton candy. When they found themselves back at the end, and Sadie discovered that the sun once again obeyed her wish to rise, they experimented with different activities: tasting every flavor of saltwater taffy, attempting to outsmart carnival games, riding the Ferris wheel to make-out at the top like they were teenagers.And then, at the end, Sadie willed it all over again. Her rising sun became as routine as the lapping waves. She still didn’t know where this new power came from, and wasn’t ever going to question it, until the bags under Ben’s eyes grew darker. “Are you okay?” she asked, just before she brought the day back.He took a beat to respond. “More than okay.” He gave Sadie a kiss, and the day started again. Eventually, Sadie couldn’t ignore that something was wrong. Ben no longer requested to ride the Tilt-A-Whirl, opting for naps on the beach. His feet dragged as they clomped up and down the Boardwalk’s wooden planks. He did his best to put on a smile when Sadie turned to him, but looked haggard and worn during stolen glances. This time, as the sun dipped behind the hotels and casinos, Sadie took Ben down to the beach, where they settled together in the sand. Night peeked up from the horizon, questioning if it was safe to come out this time.Sadie decided it was. “It’s time to go home,” Sadie said, her voice barely strong enough to make it over the whispering waves. Ben put his arms behind him and leaned back with a long sigh. It wasn’t easy for him to leave either. “Are you sure? I’ll stay as long as you need me to.” A tear escaped from the corner of her eye. Sadie tried to hide it from Ben by wiping it away with her sandy hand, which only made things worse. Ben delicately turned her head to face him, doing his best to wipe the tiny grains off her lashes. He was so close, but it was too dark to see the features she swore she would never forget. “I know. And I can’t thank you enough.” She wrapped her arms around him, burrowing her head in his neck as stars dotted the sky above. “But it’s time to say goodbye.”They held each other close as the summer sun sank, and darkness bled into the night.*****Rain fell in sheets outside Sadie’s bedroom window. She laid under the covers looking out, her back turned to the empty side of the bed. She wasn’t sure what to call it, that fantasy she had woken from. Was it a dream? Some sort of alternate dimension? Or something you can only find between life and death? She may not have known what it was, but she knew what it was telling her to do. With leaden limbs, she crawled out of bed and got ready to go see Ben.The drive to the hospital was a slow one. Most everyone on the road was headed to work, save for Sadie who took a leave of absence from her teaching job after Ben’s car accident. Plenty of people told her that getting back into a routine would help, and they were probably right. Maybe she did need to go back to teaching, to routinely set early alarms, to join the sludge of morning commutes. However, she couldn’t think about that right now. She had to do something else first. She pulled into the parking garage and trudged into the hospital. She took the elevator to the seventh floor. Sadie remembered how she thought it a kind of lucky homage when Ben was placed there, like maybe he would wake up from the coma, regardless of how many times the doctors shook their heads with somber eyes. In Ben’s room, a medical team waited for her. Family members would arrive shortly, and together, they would all say goodbye to Ben. Or rather, she would say goodbye. Everyone else was ready to face the night weeks ago. The Doctor handed Sadie some forms and guided her where to sign, her blurred vision making it difficult to see. She handed the forms back with shaking hands, everything inside of her screaming to stop, to run out of the hospital. Then a flash of Ben’s tired eyes came into view. He’d been fighting for too long, and it was time. It was strange to think this would be the last time she would be in this hospital room. It became something of a home the past few months. She scanned the flowers along the windowsill, the cards taped on the wall, and a photo of the two of them on Atlantic City’s Boardwalk framed next to the bed. It was a grainy image, as smartphones didn’t have the picture capability then as they do now. The crowded pier and bright lights melted together in the background, and their smiling faces were off-center. At the time, Sadie told him to delete it. Instead, Ben printed and framed it. “You don’t delete portals to your past,” Ben had joked. Sadie felt the ground beneath her tilt, and the corners of the room closed in. She needed to lay down. Slowly, doing her best to avoid the tubes connected to her husband like he was some sort of sci-fi experiment, she climbed into his bed and laid next to him.The nurses had encouraged her to keep talking to him, promising that he was somehow listening. But no matter how hard she tried, her sobs wouldn’t allow a single word. And, when she and his family gathered back in the room after the Doctor removed Ben’s ventilator, all language was lost to her. That last day was spent in silence, the only sound coming from the rain, and one long, steady beep of the heart monitor. Her in-laws offered her a ride home, which Sadie refused. She felt bad for not wanting to be with them, they needed support too. But right now, there was only one person she wanted to be with. Sitting in her parked car in the dim parking structure, Sadie pulled the framed photo she took from Ben’s room out of her purse. Freeing the picture from the back, she ran her fingers over Ben’s face. She stared at the picture for what seemed like hours, hoping to find herself once again surrounded by a blue sky and sparkling water. Instead, she found only concrete and darkness. Defeated, she started to pocket the picture, before noticing something scribbled on its back. Meet you in Atlantic City, it read in her husband’s jagged handwriting.  And then, Sadie knew. Last night wasn’t just a dream. It wasn’t a wishful fantasy she conjured in a fit of sleeplessness. And it wasn’t her losing grip on reality. She still didn’t know exactly what to call it, but one thing she knew for sure: It was from Ben. He created a space where they could say goodbye, giving Ben peace to rest and assurance that Sadie could, eventually, move on. And when the time came for them to be together again, Ben would be waiting, on a long Boardwalk, illuminated by blinking, neon lights and steady stars. Together, they’ll walk over the wooden planks and gaze out at the ocean, reflecting a moonlit path that stretches beyond what they can see. Or know. 
","September 08, 2023 16:45","[[{'Christine Bialczak': 'This was so beautiful! I lost my husband in 2018 and it really resonated with a reality that was so bittersweet.', 'time': '14:49 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'Kimberly Straub': ""Thank you Christine for taking the time to read and comment. I am so, so sorry for loss.  It's been my experience that even though we heal, scars always remain. My main motivator to write is to connect with others, and I hope my story provided some comfort."", 'time': '16:55 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '2'}]], [{'Kimberly Straub': ""Thank you Christine for taking the time to read and comment. I am so, so sorry for loss.  It's been my experience that even though we heal, scars always remain. My main motivator to write is to connect with others, and I hope my story provided some comfort."", 'time': '16:55 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '2'}, []], [{'Audrey Knox': ""Wow, this story is so moving, especially at the end. I'm glad Sadie was finally able to achieve the peace and closure that she was looking for. I love the quick picture you paint of their relationship in the flashback to her memories of their times at the boardwalk. Especially in the detail you include about almost losing the ring. Such a small thing to add, but it really made me feel like I was there.\n\nStructurally, I think the middle of your story could be better used to serve the pacing of your story. It really picks up at the end when we..."", 'time': '22:05 Sep 13, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Kimberly Straub': 'Hi Audrey! Thanks for taking the time to read and offer feedback. \n\nI was struggling with that middle part, wanting to offer mystery but not keep my reader in the dark. Your comments are incredibly helpful, and give me some great editing ideas. Thank you again!', 'time': '15:26 Sep 14, 2023', 'points': '2'}, {'Audrey Knox': ""Excellent, I'm glad I can help!"", 'time': '21:14 Sep 16, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Kimberly Straub': 'Hi Audrey! Thanks for taking the time to read and offer feedback. \n\nI was struggling with that middle part, wanting to offer mystery but not keep my reader in the dark. Your comments are incredibly helpful, and give me some great editing ideas. Thank you again!', 'time': '15:26 Sep 14, 2023', 'points': '2'}, [{'Audrey Knox': ""Excellent, I'm glad I can help!"", 'time': '21:14 Sep 16, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Audrey Knox': ""Excellent, I'm glad I can help!"", 'time': '21:14 Sep 16, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",lywhoj,Are we there yet?,Vesta Bartholomew,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/lywhoj/,/short-story/lywhoj/,Science Fiction,0,"['Fantasy', 'Contemporary', 'Science Fiction']",4 likes,"
 
        It was a little after 7 P.M. Eastern Standard Time Monday, September 4th as the five childhood friends relaxed on the dock on the shores of the Great Sacandaga Lake, in various states of intoxication. The group hadn't been all together in several years,  as the demands and commitments of life that interfere with once-daily relationships took their toll. This was especially true in this case- ten years out from graduation. College,  jobs,  relationships, and the nightmare years of COVID had sent them on separate paths that made the occasional get-togethers a little more awkward,  although full of enthusiasm.  Melinda,  Ashley, Carrie,  Bethany,  and Kaylee managed to evade any other responsibilities that otherwise would have killed their reunion plans on Labor Day weekend.  Melinda's parents owned a lakeside camp that had been in the family for years and no one else had plans to use it. The quintet met at Melinda's  Albany apartment on Friday morning and made the forty-five-minute drive to their great escape in Melinda's Honda. 
       They weren't the partying crowd- they all loved school and trended toward the nerdy.  Ashley and Kaylee were teachers. Bethany and Melinda were working while going to graduate school. Carrie was the agreed-upon genius. She had been their valedictorian and accumulated several graduate degrees, mostly in science.  She worked in a lab in Boston making a boatload of money while going through medical school. They arrived in high spirits at the Adirondack-style camp that was rustic yet homey. They were loud and hysterical,  reverting to their teenage behavior with their inhibitions fading.  There were great expectations for the weekend and their hopes were not dashed.  The weather cooperated fully - it was warm and sunny with the hint of autumn coolness that made the evening campfires a much-looked-forward-to activity.  They agreed upon a 10 to 10 schedule- with only minor objections.  They stuffed themselves from dawn till dusk - with mostly gluten-free or vegan options.  They grossed each other out with extreme food combinations,  were in and out of the lake all day, managed to capsize the kayaks, and played Dungeon and Dragons, Catan, and Sushi-Go. Carrie was almost hit in the head with an errant horseshoe.  It was a magical time as if they were transported back to their high school years without missing a beat.  
     Their collective state of euphoria dampened a little on Monday when they learned that the singer from Smash Mouth a band from their childhood- had passed.  The fact that they would be driving home and going back to their separate lives was giving them a dose of reality.  There were several boxes of flavored alcoholic seltzer yet unopened- so they hit upon the awesome idea of playing, ""Never have I ever."" They headed down to the dock in the late afternoon and sat in a circle,  ready for the last fun activity of their weekend.  Carrie was the master yet again.  She had a photographic memory of what her friends had done and she had not.  It also helped that she was a goody-two-shoes and had a more serious demeanor,  so it was less likely that she did any crazy,  embarrassing,  or risky things.  Carrie didn't have to take a drink when the questions of using someone else's toothbrush,  kissing more than one person in 24 hours,  stealing something,  cheating on a test,  or clogging someone else's toilet were posed.  Ashley made Carrie chug at the statement,""Never have I ever broken a bone.""  Bethany fared well also- she had a rather religious upbringing that managed to curb some of her natural inclinations.  The remaining trio was more or less in the same boat- not completely drunk or sober, just more than slightly buzzed.  Their laughter echoed over the lake-  a combination of their childlike delight at each other's company,  the absurd questions, and the alcoholic seltzer.  As they watched the sun sink further and further on the horizon,  the group seemed to be suddenly injected with a dose of seriousness.  Ashley sighed,  ""I wish this day and the summer would never end!"" Bethany broke into the song,  ""Walkin' on the Sun"", by Smash Mouth.  They all joined in, with their varying abilities and knowledge of the lyrics.  They started the song over again and were halfway through when Carrie yelled suddenly, ""The sun is going in reverse!""  This sobered up the friends very quickly as they watched this horrifying phenomenon unfold. Slowly but surely,  the sun seemed to rise gradually in the sky,  heading east instead of west and casting light instead of darkness all around them. They all stared hard at Carrie, waiting for the scientist amongst them to provide answers. 
       Carrie shouted, ""The sun's magnetic field might be reversing!! The tilt of the earth could be shifting!! Maybe extreme sun explosions are causing solar flares!!  I don't think the sun is dying out,  though!!""  She fumbled for the cell in her shorts pocket.  It had been agreed upon,  pre-game, that Carrie would be the only one to bring their phone on the dock.  They didn't want to be distracted but needed one in case of emergency.  She was also most likely to win, be the most sober,  and least apt to fall into the lake with an electronic device.  They huddled around her while she searched the internet.  There were reports from Australia and Asia, which were on average 13 and 14 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time,  sliding back into darkness.  Most of Europe was still mercifully asleep.  The other three American time zones were experiencing the same event as the friends- everyone was in a panic that the sun was rising in the sky and scientists were scrambling to figure it out. Many of the 70000 people trapped in the mud at the Burning Man Festival in the Pacific Time Zone were convinced that it was the end of days and started partying harder. 
     Suddenly Bethany blurted out, ""It is God who is doing this! Joshua asked God to cause the sun to stand still so the Israelite army could fight by daylight! A miraculous sign from God was offered for Hezekiah to make the sundial go backward!"" The others looked at her in shocked disbelief. They were stupefied that she had such biblical knowledge. They became believers that this was a good omen because there were no atheists in foxholes. In a mad dash, they sprinted back to the camp to grab their cells. Bethany's track experience paid off and was off like a shot. Kaylee stopped mid-sprint to help Ashley get to her feet after she stumbled over a tree root. When they almost collectively squeezed themselves through the door,  they rushed to locate their phones that had been abandoned for the game.  The noise in the cabin rose to ear-splitting levels in everyone's frantic calls to their families. The television was snapped on to hear news of what the hell was happening. Everyone ran from the camp as fast as they entered, so they could make their declarations of love to their families and significant others in private,  perhaps for the last time. 
       Melinda was the only one left in the camp - she had not been able to reach her parents in North Carolina. Instead, she left a heart-wrenching message and flipped the channels for news.  The first station had three scientific experts arguing varying theories about this cataclysmic event and were almost coming to blows until the host separated them.  She pushed the remote button to the next channel.  A very agitated political operative red in the face with veins popping was yelling with the host nodding in agreement.  He screamed, ""It's the environmentalists' fault with their damned wind turbines and solar panels!""  The next station explained that aliens were messing with us and the human race was most likely doomed.  Just then, logically Carrie ran in and outlined the plan agreed on by the others outside.  They were waiting in the car and would drive to Clifton Park to Carrie's parents' house,  which was centrally located.  Their families would meet them there and they could leave or hang out - Carrie and her mother had science contacts in high places.  Melinda was grateful to be going there and hugged Carrie hard. She handed the keys to sober Carrie. Melinda took the shotgun seat to guide them over the back roads to avoid potential traffic jams of panicked and desperate travelers.  Instead of ""Never would I ever "", they played an improvised game of * Why do we love Melinda,  Ashley,  Carrie,  Bethany, and Kaylee? ""  They took turns telling funny and touching stories about everyone in their special circle. The extreme emotions of the situation intermingled to create a maddening roller coaster that hurled them into unknown territory with the inability to get off the ride,
 
 Greece- September 1st 
       Zeus was sitting on what was once a happy fluffy Cumulus cloud that was now Cumulonimbus- also called a Thunderhead. The rain, lighting, and thunder matched his foul mood. Even the three-headed dog, Cerberus, licking his face with three tongues didn't improve his dark mood. He sat with his head in his hands, with the weight of the world on his shoulders.  He didn't hear his name called until the second time. His cousin,  Helios,  bellowed it from his golden chariot in the sky, drawn by four winged white horses. He circled and guided the creatures gently and carefully down to touch down beside Zeus.  Four feed-bags were strapped on the hungry beasts and Cerberus ambled over hoping for any stray droppings.  A quick check to ensure the sun was safely ensconced in the chariot was made before Helios took a seat beside Zeus. They both enjoyed each other's company and the inclement weather came to a halt. 
      ""Isn't he supposed to be guarding Hades-keeping the dead from getting out?"", inquired Helios, jerking a thumb at Cerberus. Zeus replied, "" I don't give a rat's ass,  he deserves a break""  Helios continued his line of interrogation and asked, ""How's Hera?""  Zeus shot him a  look that would kill and said in a loud whisper, "" How many times have I told you not to mention her name? She has better hearing than this six-eared hound dog and she's liable to come here snooping if there's a bit of gossip.  She likes getting into my business.  Well, she went home for a visit- it's her mother's birthday."" He rolled his eyes at the thought of his mother-in-law while grinning at the same time due to the fact Hera was gone. All rational thought seemed to leave the brain of Helios and he asked,  ""How's Leto ?""  With that,  Zeus shot up and started kicking the cloud beneath them,  stirring up lightning bolts in his temper tantrum. Helios slapped his hand against his head and exclaimed, ""I can't believe I screwed up again! You have relationships that are, well, complicated. "" Helios meant that in the figurative and literal sense. Zeus was married to Hera and she was vengeful and jealous.  She also happened to be his sister.  Leto was his mistress and the mother of their twins, Apollo and Artemis. She was kind, mild and gentle. Zeus and Leto's relationship was less incestuous than his marriage- they were merely cousins.  
       Hellos struggled to gather his thoughts and the light bulb finally turned on. He asked in a low whisper this time, ""Isn't Labor Day weekend the time you always visit Leto and the twins on the Island of Delos?""  Zeus nodded his head up and down sadly.  ""Leto sent me a message saying the Greek wildfires were sending up a ton of smoke.  She was concerned about my asthma and thought I better not come. This climate change stuff is a beastly business."" Helios nodded in agreement and the light bulb appeared for the second time.  ""Hey, look what I have here !"" he said. He reached under his tunic- Zeus wasn't sure if he was wearing underwear- and pulled out a travel brochure of the Adirondacks. ""Nico gave me this last week when I flew by and invited me to use his place up there for the weekend"",  Helios said.  Nico was also their cousin and made a fortune operating a chain of Greek restaurants.  They pored over the guide that described the delights the Adirondacks had to offer.  Helios said the camp was directly on the waterfront of a place called Lake George.  This area,  they went on to read,  long attracted the wealthy and famous since the 1800s. Nico claimed this scenic wilderness was even good enough for a Supreme Court Justice.  Zeus grew more and more excited about this positive turn of events.  He boomed happily, "" We're going!!""  Suddenly, he sunk to the ground like a beaten dog,  totally forgetting Hera might appear.  He breathed a sigh of relief when they seemed to dodge the bullet once again.  They jumped in the golden chariot and Zeus whistled for Cerberus to hop in. He couldn't quite make it, and Zeus had to lift his hind end to assist him. They compiled a list of guests they would invite and pick up. The requirements were that they should be fun and not take themselves too seriously.  They also needed for them to be able to keep their mouths shut.  This whittled the amount down considerably.  Hellos yelled,  ""Giddyap "" and off they flew like Santa's sleigh to their end-of-summer adventure. 
       They first picked up Leto,  Apollo, and Artemis, who were ecstatic about their new exotic travel destination.  Poseidon, Dionysus, Hermes, Hercules, Aphrodite, and Athena rounded out the rest of the excursion.  Zeus was tempted to bring Eros, but his adolescent twins were going and he wanted a family-friendly vibe.  Helios made a great time and the party arrived at camp- more like a mansion-  Friday afternoon.  Nico's sons,  Junior and Nicos, gave them a tour of the palatial estate and guesthouse and got them settled in. Over the next three days,  the Greek Gods were introduced to the delights of luxury camping.  They were blown away by the novelty of American food- hot dogs,  hamburgers, corn on the cob, and smores. Poseidon adored lake swimming and fishing.  Dionysus was impressed by the variety of craft beers and insisted on sampling every alcoholic beverage in the house.  Everyone initially wanted Hercules on their team for cornhole, horseshoes, and beach volleyball,  but he didn't seem to know his strength and Hermes had to fly off constantly to retrieve items that were thrown a mile away.  Aphrodite was ""Goddess Divine "" in her bikini and no one could take their eyes off her. Athena read trashy novels. Artemis was gravely disappointed to find out that it was not hunting season.  Her dejection turned to elation when Nicos introduced her to photography and was almost as thrilled at capturing wildlife with a camera instead of a bow and arrow.  Everyone agreed their favorite thing to do was to sit around the fire pit at night,  stuff themselves with toasted marshmallows, and entertain each other with epics and family gossip.  Junior introduced them to ghost stories-which caused most to pull their hoodies up over their heads.  Cerberus waited for more hotdogs to sneak up on him or fall on the ground.  It was a magical time indeed. 
     Late Monday afternoon rolled around and the epic getaway was nearly at an end. Hera was due back from her mother's and Zeus didn't want to take the chance she'd come look for him. Everyone was playing beer-pong and Apollo asked Helios if he could take the chariot for a spin.  Helios and Zeus were engaged in heavy competition and both yelled, ""Sure!!"", without paying much attention.  Zeus added, ""I wish this day would never end!!"" 
       Helios flew off and headed east,  while the Gods partied on. It was nearly two hours later when Helios looked up and yelled,  ""Holy Crap !! Apollo is flying the wrong way!! ""  Zeus didn't seem to grasp the whole picture and asked, ""What difference does that make?""  Helios said,  ""You don't understand!! Time is reversing and people will be in a panic!! They think the world is ending and there will be chaos!! "" He told Hermes to gather everyone together to leave and then he let out a decibel-piercing whistle.  They watched the sky as the chariot appeared, circled, and descended quickly. Zeus lit into Apollo and yelled, ""What were you thinking? You flew east instead of west!""  Apollo said, ""I did it for you because you said you didn't want the day to end!!""  The group's anger softened and Helios said,  ""No harm, no foul. Probably nobody noticed. ""  Athena put her arm around Apollo's shoulders and said, ""We all have great power and can wield it for our benefit.  Consideration should be given to the greater good.  Many in power disregard this philosophy. ""  The group nodded assent, climbed into the chariot,  thanked and said goodbye to their hosts,  and flew west into the sky.  They enthusiastically made a pact to return. 
 
      The Honda arrived at Carrie's house around two hours after the sun went backward.  Everyone's families were there except for Melinda's, but she had a heartfelt deep conversation with them by phone. The reunions were full of joy, tears, and uncertainty for the future.  They discussed news reports about people killing themselves,  looting, mass panic, and warnings not to look directly at the sun. Carrie motioned for her friends to join her in the backyard to look through her family's powerful solar telescope while everyone else went back inside to watch the news coverage. After about five minutes,  Carrie exclaimed,""I don't believe it!! ""  The five took turns and all agreed they saw the same thing.  They yelled, ""The sun is setting and we saw Santa Claus!! "" Their eyes were filled with happiness and wonderment,  exactly as they looked when they met on their first day of kindergarten. 
 
 
 
 
 
","September 08, 2023 21:42","[[{'Chora Chorion': ""Hey, this was a fun light read and it really came across as a nice attempt at flexing those creative muscles. I particularly enjoyed the juxtaposition between how the protagonists' friend group experienced this phenomenon and what was going on behind the scenes on Mount Olympus. \n\nI think you could definitely try rearranging this particular piece as a screenplay or a film script, as I personally feel that you went a bit heavy on the exposition and character explanations/ actions/ relationships between the characters. These are things that yo..."", 'time': '03:57 Sep 14, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",ek6o52,Ready or Not,Hunter Kinsman,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/ek6o52/,/short-story/ek6o52/,Science Fiction,0,['Science Fiction'],4 likes,"
 
	“Is everything all wrapped up?” Lucy asked, reclining on the comfiest chair on the deck adjacent to the pier- a seat her plump ass had not left in the five days they had been at the lake.  The locale had been on our bucket list for some time; but with COVID, and then life, getting in the way, we were fortunate to be able to finally get together.
	After an eventful, but mostly drama-free few days, most of us cousins were avoiding the reality of our departure from the rented cabin in the morning.  I, however, had assumed myself to the unofficial mom role, since the eldest Lucy had assumed her position in her chair and hadn’t left, no matter what activity we tried to get her to do with us. 
	“I think so,” I huffed, flopping down on an adirondack chair next to her, forgetting until the last second that this was the chair with the faulty back leg.  The leg of the chair bent, thumping my seat onto the deck.  I scrunched my face with anticipated pain that fortunately never came, and relaxed into the slightly tilted, but more stable somehow, position overlooking the sun getting ready to set over the lake.  
	“Hey, Dani, your chair’s broke,” Katie chuckled, walking down towards us.  I gave her a mom-like stare, which made sense because I was almost old enough to be her mom.  She smiled back.  “Thanks for hiding the last iced tea for me behind the lettuce.”
	“Well, you’re the only one who can’t drink, so it’s only fair.  And I told you no one would look behind a vegetable.  Use this trick to help save some of your own food from your roommates this year.”
	“Well we need to finish the rest of the alcohol tonight,” Lucy chimed in behind her sunglasses and floppy hat.  “No one besides you is going to be sober tonight.”
	Katie and I exchanged subtle looks.  We all had gotten good at ignoring Lucy these past few days, not letting her sloth, bad attitude, and excuses get the best of us.  Honestly, it had all gone better than anticipated. 
	Just then, Mckenzie and Gillian walked up, cooler in tow.  
	“This is everything that needs to go!” Mckenzie beamed.  We have enough to last us most of the night.  Unless Katie wants to join us?”
	“No thanks,” Katie quickly answered to my relief.  “I’ll wait until my first college party.”
	“Well, it would be better if you started to build up your tolerance now,” Gillian added.  “You don’t want to be taken advantage of.”
	“Or she could just not drink at all in college,” I chimed in.  The thought of smart, responsible, level-headed Katie getting plastered at some frat house disturbed me to my core.  
	Mckenzie and Gillian shrugged and smiled in response.   This had been the tone all week; I was insanely glad that we could all agree to disagree.  The past few days really had been the best.  It was nice to finally get away from my husband and young children.  The cousins and I have always been close, and this was just the trip to let loose, even if Lucy had been a bit of a sourpuss.  Everyone had done their part, cooking and doing dishes, driving the boat, coming up with fun ideas, paying for food or booze that was needed.  Everyone except Lucy; her excuses were a mile long, but I was truly thankful she came.  Her life as a self-absorbed shut-in back home wasn’t doing her health any favors.  At least here she was a shut-in outside and talked to us each day.
	As we chatted on the deck, watching the sun set, I lamented going back to reality tomorrow.  We would get home with enough time for me to start taking care of the mounds of dishes and laundry that no doubt would be there waiting for me.  
	“What’s up, Dani?” Gillian asked.  “You are spacing out big time there.”
	“Nothing,” I sputtered, glad to be pulled back to reality.  “I’m just thinking of the mounds of work to be done back at home.”
	“Well, stop!” Mckenzie chimed in. “Enjoy this amazing sunset!”
	We all shut up at that point and glared at the amazing ball of light  finally descending over the lake.  It was the highlight of every day; no matter what kind of excursion we completed on the water or in town, every night for the past 4 we ended up right here on this deck to watch the sunset together.  Once the mosquitoes got to be too much we would go inside to continue drinking and playing board games together until the wee hours of the morning.  Or until Lucy yelled at us to stop so she could get some sleep.  	
	It had probably been about 15 minutes or so of complete peace and twilight; the mockingbird that Katie had correctly identified the first night had made its way to a neighboring tree again, and crickets and locusts were audible, adding to the symphony of water splashing onto the piers and boats sloshing in their docks.  We all were savoring these last few minutes of tranquility.  
	“Hey, someone get me a drink,” Lucy stammered louder than necessary, indicating her sobriety had already gone downhill.  Gillian tossed her one, which promptly bounced off the tips of her slowly moving fingers and into my lap. 
	“Hey, thanks!”
	“That was a l-lousy toss.”
	Gillian passed another can down the line of all of us, ending at Lucy who was able to pop the can open, drawing a big pull on the ember inside.  If she kept this pace up, it might be a long night.  
	“I don’t want to go back to reality tomorrow,”  Lucy stammered.  In the fading light, it was difficult to see her face, but her voice seemed to quiver. 
	“Dude,” Mckenzie added.  “Not you, too!  Do we need to cut you off because of your bad attitude?”  
	I noticed Lucy’s eyes started to fill with tears.  Or was that what was left of the light reflecting off of the lake?
	“Hey Mac,” I whispered.  “Let her be.”
	“Well she’s been the laziest person on this trip!  Sure, you’ve haven’t stopped us from having fun Lucy, but at the same time you haven’t really contributed anything but allowing us to cater to your every whim and physical ailments that I think are just all in your head.  There.  I said it.”
	“You think Lucy’s pain is psychosomatic?” Katie inquired.  
	“Now you have the courage to say something, when it’s too dark to look me in the face!” Lucy yelled. “That’s why I didn’t want to come on this trip!  You guys think I’m always faking!  You don’t know what it’s like to be in this crappy body that’s falling apart all over!”
	“Yeah, but you haven’t really done much to put yourself on the right path,” Gillian calmly offered.  “Sometimes, from our end, it looks like you have given up.  And that’s not you.  You used to pride yourself on how tough you were- the fights you used to get into with your sisters, the time you fought off a would-be mugger. We don’t want to see you in this state.”
	Lucy’s face lit up.  “It’s just so… hard.”  
	“Look, we can’t even imagine, Lucy.  None of us have been through anything like this.  But we can’t help you until you help yourself, too. Talk to someone, try to take some sort of step forward.”
	Maybe because it had been quite a few months, maybe even a year, since I really had seen Lucy smile, because it seemed to brighten her entire face.  I looked around; everyone else seemed to be happier, too.  But then I noticed Katie’s face fall. 
	“What the hell is happening?”  It was unlike Katie to cuss in front of us.  “Why is the sun getting higher in the sky?”  She rubbed her eyes, pulling up the weather app on her phone.  “Sunset should be almost over by this time.  It’s almost completely above the horizon again.”
	We all looked at the sun.  It was almost too bright to look at.  Everyone started bringing up information on their phones, checking their smart watches.  The sun should most certainly should have been much, much lower than it was at that moment.  We were all struck dumb by the event.  
	I looked around, hoping to find another person on one of the neighboring docks or piers.  Maybe we were going crazy?  What was in that beer we had been drinking?  
	We all turned to each other, our faces wide with weirdness.
	“My phone now says 7:30,” Katie quietly muttered.  
	“My smartwatch, too, added Mckenzie.  
	“This can’t be right,” I stammered.  “There’s a couple of clocks in the house.  Let’s go check those.”
	The four of us marched into the house, while Lucy just raised her beer in salute and stayed put.  
	“These clocks say 7:30!” Katie hollered, the first one to barge into the cabin.  
	“Wait, wait,” Gillian mumbled.  “Our phones say the sun should have set.  We SAW the sun set.  It was dark when we were finally voicing the truth to Lucy!  Am I the only one who saw that?
	“No, we all did,” Mckenzie quietly offered.  
	I looked outside.  Lucy hadn’t moved an inch, but the sun was almost too high to look at now.  Things were happening too fast.  
	“Now my phone says the time is 6:00!  It’s only been a couple of minutes!” Katie shrieked.  
	“Let’s go back outside,” Mckenzie said. 
	We all shrugged in agreement and walked back down to the lake.  Our next door neighbor, a young man we had made small talk with all week, was outside grilling.  
	“Hey, ladies!  Can I cook up some burgers for you?”
	“Well, you know, if you’re-” Lucy began.
	“Na, we’re good!” Mckenzie yelled back.  “Thanks, man!”
	“Actually, sir?  Could you tell us what time it is?”  I inquired.
	“Just before 5.”
	“Thanks.”
	“Allright, well I’m heading inside.  Take it easy!”  He disappeared into his cabin, waving his spatula in salute.
	“Let’s just sit down,” I offered.
	 “Lucy, haven’t you noticed anything funny about the sun since we’ve been inside?”  I asked.  
	“Like what?”
	“Like it completely set, it was dark, and now you can’t even look at it.”
	“You’re nuts.  Hand me another.”
	Katie started, but the three of us gave her a look that quickly deflated her movements.  
	“When you and Mckenzie were going at it, it was dark out,” Gillian began.  “Don’t you remember?  I do, because it seemed to ease the situation a bit, the situation being a bit masked.”
	Lucy actually paused.  “Was that today?”
	“Yeah, it was,” Katie slowly answered.
	Katie’s youth seemed to sober Lucy up.  
	“Now that you mention it, the sun is too high.  When hot stuff next door was cooking, I noticed the shadows on his arms highlighted his muscles.  Those shadows on the deck are now gone.  Oh man, how much have I had to drink?  Maybe you guys are right.  I should cut myself off.”  Lucy shook her head as if the alcohol would fly out her ears. 
	“It’s not just you,” I told Lucy.  The neighbor isn’t affected by this, just us.”  Just then, to confirm my suspicions, a speedboat we had frequently seen flew by with some tubers in tow, screaming cries of jubilation in the hot, high summer sun. 
	“It’s getting faster,” Gillian said.  I swear it’s only been 20 minutes max.  Definitely not 6 or 7 hours.  My phone says 1:30.”
	 We kept checking our phones nonstop the entire time.  None of us wanted to take our eyes off of the sun or the outside surroundings.  After what was probably only about an hour or two (we guessed), the clock and sun stopped racing backwards at 8am, and things seemed to normalize.  
	“Hey, you guys are up early?  Or should I say still up from last night?”  Our neighbor guy chuckled, mug of coffee in hand.  
	“Good morning, sir.  We are just fine, thanks!” Lucy yelled back.  “Just trying to get an early start on this pleasant day!” 
	The man seemed to be taken aback, but he recovered nicely.  The four of us widened our eyes to her, too.  We hadn’t heard such a good attitude out of her the entire time we had been here.  
	“Ok my watch says “8:03,” Katie sighed, “but the date is still the same.”
	“So you’re saying we just went back in time?” Mckenzie asked.  
	“Looks like it,” Gillian added.  “My phone says the same thing.”
	“Well, it looks like we have one more day here!  Let’s unpack!” Lucy jumped up, and I jumped forward, thinking she was falling.  But she had just received a burst of energy from some unknown source.  
	“Katie, you’re young.  Find a good breakfast spot on your phone.  My treat.”
	Katie whipped out her phone, while the rest of us started to walk back to the cabin.
	“Where are you guys going?”  Lucy was all of a sudden on the pier. “We’re going to go somewhere where we can take the boat!”
	Katie squealed while tapping at her phone, beating us to help Lucy take the cover off.  We went out for breakfast, which turned into cruising on the lake and adjacent river, which turned into tubing and water skiing, which ended up placing us back on the deck to watch the sunset again that evening.   All with Lucy in tow instead of making excuses and getting drunk at the cabin.  
	“So what do you think’s gonna happen?” Gillian asked.  
	“I don’t know, but I would like to say something before the sun starts to kiss this vacation goodbye.” Lucy interjected.  All day, she had been by our side during activities, participating when she could.  All without complaints, all without judgment.   Now, Lucy was center stage, and we were all happier for it instead of anticipating another bitch fest.  
	She raised her can.  “I get that I have been a pain in the ass the past year.  I got sick, then mentally sick on top of that, which turned into even more physical ailments.  I haven’t taken care of myself like I should.  Before, I relied on my youth to get me through things, and when that was gone, I didn’t know what to do.  I have gotten stuck in this cycle, and it’s been so-so hard to break through.”  Lucy’s voice began to falter, but she forged on.  “These past few days have given me the courage to try and try again, with the help of my cousins.  Thanks.  Thanks for never giving up on me.  I know that this has taken me longer than it should have, and I owe you guys.”
	We all linked hands.  No words were needed.  
	“What if this happens again?” I asked everyone.
	“I’d be ok with that,” Katie said.
	“I wouldn’t,” Lucy answered.  “You need to start your life, kiddo.”
	“We will see,” Gillian added.
	“Whatever happens, I’m down for it,” said Mckenzie.
	“Me too,” I said, and I believed it.   
 
","September 08, 2023 23:30",[]
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",hxycba,A Leg Up,Andrew Spangler,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/hxycba/,/short-story/hxycba/,Science Fiction,0,"['Science Fiction', 'Mystery']",3 likes,"
The golden light of sunset bathes the calm forest surrounding them. Ray takes a deep breath of the forest air before opening another can of beer. ""Summer is coming to an end boys, and we only have tonight left out here.""
Jimmy fishes out a new beer for himself before plopping down next to Ray. ""If we can make the beer last that long."" Jimmy laughs, accompanied by his three friends. After taking his first sip, Jimmy points to the west. ""If we go now, we'll be able to watch the sunset from the cliffs. Wouldn't be a bad end to our first day of camping.""
George and Al groan, but Ray stands up, ""I'm game. I just love the way the forest air makes me feel.""
Jimmy joins Ray on his feet, casting an impish grin to the two lazier friends. ""Come on guys, it'll be fun."" George and Al cast weary glances at each other before shaking their heads. ""If we don't go now, we'll have to run to make it.""
""You know those guys are gonna keep pestering us until we give in. Let's just get it over with George.""
George grumbles as he throws himself back, laying flat on the floor for a second. ""Fine, but one of you assholes has to carry the cooler out and back. I'm not doing it.""
Ray laughs as he scoops up the smaller cooler. ""Don't worry fatass, I got it.""
George rolls over, climbing to his feet as Jimmy lends a hand to Al, his prosthetic leg making a small squeak as it straightens. George rummages through his duffel bag as the others start walking, finding what he's looking for before hustling to join them.
George pulls out one of his joints and lights it, taking deep drags before passing it to Jimmy. ""Hey Ray, you need to quit calling me fatass.""
""Why's that fatass?""
""First off, I lost the weight."" George lifts his shirt to reveal the beginnings of his abs. ""Second, you're looking like you picked some of it up."" As Jimmy passed the joint to Ray, George pokes at his side. ""See? You're starting to get a bit flabby."" George laughs as Ray takes a swing at him, nearly dropping the joint from his mouth.
Al scratches his leg just above his prosthetic. As Ray offers him the joint he simply shakes his head, passing on the offer.
Ray takes another long drag on the joint before passing it back to George to restart the rotation. As he exhales, Jimmy nudges him with a playful punch. ""Cut it out. I'll wrestle you when we reach the cliffs.""
Jimmy takes another hit of the joint, nearly finishing the roll before passing it to Ray again. ""Damn George, you get the shittiest pre-rolls. Ray, you know you're too scared to actually wrestle me, since you got that chubby when I pinned you."" Jimmy laughs with Al and George joining in.
""I told you guys, that was because of the meds I was on. I don't swing that way!"" Ray finishes the joint, pinching the roach off with his fingers to put out the small burning remnants.
George pulls out another joint. ""It's okay, when you're ready to come out of the closet Jimmy will take good care of you. He'll be your daddy."" 
Jimmy runs his hand over the back of George's head. ""Just like I'm your daddy?""
George shivers and pulls away. ""Now you made it creepy jackass.""
""You're the one making fun of my sexuality, I might as well use it against you too.""
Al continues to scratch at his thigh. ""You guys are all way too comfortable with touching each other.""
Ray lets out a raspy huff. ""That's enough guys. I'm done talking about this gay shit.""
""So my sexuality is shit to you?""
""That's not what I meant!""
""Relax macho man, I'm just messing with you."" Jimmy stretches his arms wide, ""But you're still too scared to actually wrestle me.""
The four men let out another roar of laughter as they continue through the trees, finishing another joint as they make their way.
True to Jimmy's word, the men make the cliff edge just as the sun is sinking, its final rays of light coloring the sky in iridescent hues of red and orange. With the final rays dying out, a strange wave of blue light Cascades across the sky in a flash, bathing everything around the group of men before disappearing just as quickly.
""What was that?""
""I don't really…""
Their speculation is cut short as Al begins screaming, falling to his side while grabbing at his leg.
George kneels beside Al, asking pointless questions while trying to help him. A sudden ripple in Als thigh causes the prosthetic to become loose, falling away from him. Al goes quiet, the pain becoming unbearable, rendering him unconscious.
Ray checks Als pulse. ""Should we try…"" Ray's words are cut short as red and orange light washes over them. 
The three conscious men stare in shock as they watch the sun rise rapidly from the western horizon.
""What the fuck?""
Ray and Jimmy turn to see what George is staring at now, finding Al's leg growing from the point of amputation. Al regains consciousness, gritting his teeth in severe pain, unable to scream any more.
As the sun continues to rise back to a noon position, Al's leg finishes growing into a complete, healthy appendage.
Al gasps in relief as his leg sits whole, his body made whole. ""What the actual fuck guys?""
The four men stand in fear, unable to move as the sun beats down on them.
Jimmy is the first to come to his senses. ""We have to get the fuck out of here. I don't know what the hell is going on, but we gotta get Al to a hospital, he needs to get checked out now.""
The others agree, with Al grabbing his prosthetic, switching the sock and shoe to his new foot. ""I don't know what is going on, but damn my leg feels great. Shit, I feel great!"" He stands up, flexing his regrown leg.
""Damn George, what was in those pre-rolls? That shit is miraculous!""
Al looks at Jimmy. ""That can't be it, I didn't take a hit.""
Ray taps each of the others on their shoulders. ""Whatever, let's go. We'll find out more about this at the hospital.""
The four men start running through the trees back to their camp, eschewing the trail for a more direct route. They each dart past the trees, covering the distance quickly.
""Hurry up! Just grab what we need and let's get going. Don't slow us down either fatass!""
George stops as he picks up his backpack. ""Now that I think about it, that's the fastest I've ever run. I don't even feel winded.""
The others look at George with unease, each murmuring that they feel the same. Ray is once again the voice of reason, reminding them that they need to get moving.
 
The run out of the forest, and the drive afterwards feels like a blur as the men enter the waiting room of the small hospital.
""Hello! We need some medical attention! Hello!""
A nurse pokes her head out from a backroom, a concerned look on her face. ""What seems to be the problem?""
Al comes forward with his prosthetic leg in hand. ""A little under an hour ago, after the sun had set, I guess I regrew my leg.""
The nurse looks at Al with wide eyes. ""Come to the backroom. You need to see this with the rest of us.""
The five of them make their way to the room the nurse came from, crowding in with almost two dozen other people, all seemingly in their late twenties to early thirties.
On the television against the wall a large flying object is seen in the background sky, with a large, muscular man standing in the center of the screen, the focal point of the camera. Everything about the man seems normal, aside from the slight blue tint to his skin and hair. When the camera zooms in on his face, his eyes become visible with shocking white iris against blue tinted sclera.
""I apologize for making you wait so long. I needed time to assimilate your primary languages. You should all be capable of understanding me now. I am Crume Talgast, an emissary of sorts. Your sun, and planet, and indeed, all of your people have been altered by my intervention. I have caused a temporal shift of sorts, to ensure that you are all at your peak physical conditions for what comes next. Another race is currently en route to attack your planet, to seize it for themselves. They don't use advanced weaponry, only ferocious, brute force. They enjoy their malicious extermination of other races. It is my hope, that with your newly revitalized and enhanced bodies, along with my advanced weapons and technology, that we may be able to halt their expansions, to halt their brutal slaughter. Please, I beg of you to join my resistance, I cannot lose yet another species to these monsters.""
The camera zooms out from the strange man, bringing the flying object back into frame, as well as the forty or so soldiers that surround him with their firearms trained on him.
Crume Talgast's voice rises once more. ""I am not your enemy, I seek to aid you in the coming war."" With that, Crume Talgast lowers himself to his knee, in a sign of surrender.
 
Al looks down at his leg. ""I think I believe him.""
Another man in the hospital's backroom looks Al in the eye. ""Why's that?""
Holding up his prosthetic leg Al answers, ""Because I've needed this prosthetic for the past two years, and now I have my leg back, stronger than before.""
""Well son, I'm right here next to you in believing him. You see, just about an hour ago, I was shitting my adult diaper, but now I look like I did when I was in the army.""
A woman with unkempt red hair steps towards them. ""I think I have you both beat."" Her clothes are mismatched, the colors clashing, giving her a childish look. ""I just turned seven yesterday.""
The people in the room gawk at her, muttering words of disbelief. One woman asks, ""What does all this mean?""
Al throws his prosthetic leg to the side. ""It means we're going to war.""
","September 09, 2023 03:20",[]
prompt_0006,"It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.",fm8v9u,"""Dusk""",Brownbread Fred,https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/fm8v9u/,/short-story/fm8v9u/,Science Fiction,0,['Fiction'],3 likes,"
	My wife and I sat watching the grandkids play on the last day of our vacation as the sun was clocking out for the day. They were swinging from an outcropping into the lake on a rope, blaring music from their boomboxes, laughing as they splashed into the green lake. My wife nudged me with her elbow and motioned for me to look to the left of the splashing, where the sun was about to meet its reflection in the lake's mirror surface. 
	""It's beautiful, don't you think?"" she said as she placed her hand on my thigh.
	I looked at her thin, sharp face, mesmerized by the way that the sun's soft parting light seemed to cling only to her. It was as if she was the source of the sun's light, which to me she was. 
	""I can think of something even more beautiful,"" I said, waiting for her hazel-green eyes to meet mine.
	She looked at me and kissed me. Even after all these years, electricity ran through my body, down to my limbs, then collected in my heart, where it sat for a bit.
	I put my arm around her and pulled her close, planting a soft kiss on her head before I rested my head onto hers. I closed my eyes and listened to the kids getting their final swings in, wishing that this vacation would never end. 
	I felt like I was falling asleep, so I jerked my eyes open and sat up. My wife was no longer under my arm. I looked around and noticed that there wasn't any splashing from the grandkids. There was still light emitting from the horizon, which meant that I couldn't have slept long. I began to panic as thoughts of one of the grandkids being hurt, which caused me to sprint towards the lake. 
	There weren't any signs of the grandkids at the lake. The rope that they swung from was limp and still. The towels, sunglasses, sunscreen, and boomboxes that littered the area were also gone. 
	""What is going on, here?"" I asked myself as I began to head towards the cabin.
	As I made my way, I noticed that the faded light of dusk was clawing its way back from the horizon. I looked at the shadow that a tree from the outcropping cast as it shrunk and deduced that the sun was rising in reverse. 
	""This makes no sense,"" I said to no one as I sat down on the old wooden rocking chair that belonged to my wife's father.
	""It makes perfect sense,"" a familiar voice said from inside the cabin.
	Before I could get up, a man exited the cabin holding two glasses and a bottle of scotch. I recognized his pockmarked face, which was adorned with a grey goatee and tortoise shell glasses. It was Dan, an old friend that I used to work with at the shop, who was cantankerous, yet playful, and seemed to dislike everybody but me for some reason. Dan moved away when his wife died in ’92 and I never heard from him again. He didn’t even say goodbye, or put in notice at work, he just left overnight.
	“You just don’t understand it,” Dan said as he placed the glasses down and filled them with two-fingers of scotch. 
	Dan picked up a glass and handed it to me. I looked over at the sun, which now hung in perpetual dusk just above the horizon.
	“So, my wish came true, then?” I said.
	“BWAHAHA,” Dan guffawed. “It did if you wished to die.”
	I sighed as I downed the scotch. I was not surprised that I was dead, as I was living on borrowed time thanks to Agent Orange, but I was nervous as to what was to come. Dan refilled my glass, this time with four-fingers.
	“Well, what happens now? Are you my guide, like Virgil or something? What about my family?” I inquired to Dan, who sat with a blank stare.
	“I’m not your Virgil, and I don’t like being compared to a lazy poet,” he said with furled eyebrows. He placed his drink down and stood up, placed his palms out and wiggled his fingers proclaiming, “I AM DEATH!”
	We both laughed hard for a couple of minutes. Dan was one of only two friends I had, and whether he was Death or not was immaterial, he was a good friend, and I couldn’t fear him. We recomposed ourselves and got back on track. 
	Dan finished his scotch and began to explain the ins-and-outs of the afterlife. Everyone has their own afterlife, which could be full or empty, as he put it. If you treated others well, then they would want to spend eternity with you, and will wind up in your afterlife. Those that didn’t won’t have anyone that wants to spend eternity with them, so they wind up alone. 
	“Both need to want to spend eternity with the other, that is vitally important,” Dan stressed with a raised finger.
	I looked around and didn’t see anyone other than Dan. Sadness washed over me, crashing into a wall built with stones of regret, forcing it to circle in the pit of my stomach.
	“I should’ve treated them better,” I said. 
	Tears welled up as I thought about the pain I caused my family, especially my wife.
	“Didn’t you, though?” Dave sat back and folded his arms. The perpetual dusky sun’s reflection was pasted on each of the tortoise shell glasses’ lenses. 
	“Yea, but it wasn’t enough,” I replied.
	“Says who!? You!?” Dan boomed. “They are the ones who deem when they have satisfaction, not you!”
	“They’re not here,” I said, my voice cracking.
	“Oh, so when you die, everyone you love dies, is that it?” Dan asked smarmily. “Death comes when it comes, and not a moment sooner.”
	Dan produced a smile so wide that his gold-capped molar was visible and chuckled.
	“Besides, time doesn’t exist here,” Dan said, still chuckling. “Matter of fact, you’re still sitting over there, dead, still warm, but dead.”
	“So, we don’t know who will be here, yet!” I said with optimism.
	Dan’s smile disappeared, and in its place was a frown. He sat back, the rocking chair creaked loudly in protest, and removed his glasses.
	“No, we know,” he said as he reached into his pocket and produced a white handkerchief with DC embroidered on it. “It’s always the same.”
	Dan cleaned his glasses in a rhythmic circular motion. He inspected them carefully, then spit on one of the lenses and resumed cleaning.
	“Everyone winds up alone,” Dan put his glasses back on as he continued. “People are selfish. When they die and realize that they can have anything, they always choose what they did not have, not what they had.”
	“Huh?” 
	A massive sigh erupted from Dan, “I forgot, you were in the Army, let me get the crayons.”
	We both laughed, then Dan proceeded to explain. Whenever someone choses who they spend eternity with, they always choose someone who they desired but never returned their affections. 
	“The Big Cheese,” Dan pointed up with a long, thin, finger. “She doesn’t force anybody to be bound by another’s will, that’s Man’s thing, not Her’s.”
	I stared out at the painting of the dusky sun, still unmoved, and pondered what Dan said. I closed my eyes and thought about who I wanted to spend eternity with. Burning green hazel eyes set in a thin, sharp, face. Long black hair that ran down her back, held back by a black and red ribbon. Stonewashed jeans, Chuck Taylors, and a black Rolling Stones t-shirt that clung to her athletic frame. A cigarette was in her left hand, which she brought to her mouth and inhaled. As she exhaled, she flung the cigarette away, and began to approach me. She smiled as she kissed me, which threw me back into Dan’s presence. 
	Tears cascaded down my face, as I realized that I would only be able to see her in my mind. I closed my eyes again, and prayed that whoever she desired reciprocated it, so that she wouldn’t be alone. I want her to be happy. 
	“Don’t get all mopey,” he reached out and refilled my glass. “Most just die and figure it out on their own. There’s one guy who died back in the 1400’s that still doesn’t know he is dead.”
	“Why are you here?”
	“You’re my friend,” Dan said with a serious demeanor. “My only friend since time began.”
	Dan raised his glass and rammed it into mine, sending a loud clink that rustled the trees.
	“You respect both life and death, and you live your life in such a way that you always try to do others harm, which is rare,” he said. 
Dan placed his glass down and stood up, which I mimicked. He smiled and stretched out his hand, which I grasped. We shook hands three times, he let go. Dan, my friend who never shook hands, shook my hand.
	“Look on the bright side, at least it will always be your favorite time of day,” he said as he turned to leave.
	“I prefer dawn,” I said. “I never liked dusk.”
	“Hmm,” Dan said as he walked away, looking towards the hanging sun. “Well, I guess there is a first time for everything.”
	Before I could think about what Dan said, I heard the crunch of loose gravel under Chuck Taylor’s, and the stale smell of burning tobacco. My wife always loved dusk. 
 
 
 
 
 
","September 08, 2023 13:22","[[{'Melissa Van Rensburg': 'Nice story! I was just wondering, is this a typo:\n\n""You respect both life and death, and you live your life in such a way that you always try to do others harm...""?', 'time': '23:38 Sep 11, 2023', 'points': '1'}, [{'Brownbread Fred': 'Yes, it is a typo, it should be ""do no harm.""', 'time': '08:39 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}]], [{'Brownbread Fred': 'Yes, it is a typo, it should be ""do no harm.""', 'time': '08:39 Sep 12, 2023', 'points': '1'}, []]]"