Nicky Frankly
Bio
Writing is art - frame it.
Achievements (11)
Stories (29)
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Winter Medicine. Runner-Up in The Ritual of Winter Challenge.
You know it’s winter by the lake effect snow about to bury Central New York. My dad recites the thermostat rules, my mom reorganizes the mudroom, and I press play on my annual reminder that they chose this tundra. Wayne Mahar foreshadowing the weather on the evening news while we eat dinner. Two to three feet likely, below freezing temperatures, whiteout conditions. It’s barely November. Joanie Mahoney comes on after Wayne, and my dad smashes the mute button before her campaign ad can play. She’s on the radio, the news, the billboards, and yard signs. My dad says what he’d like to do if he ever sees her. We laugh, even my mom.
By Nicky Frankly25 days ago in Humans
Four-Star Thoughts. Runner-Up in Maps of the Self Challenge. Top Story - November 2025.
Remember 2012? In some circles, there was talk of a galactic alignment, a rare formation when our solar system crossed into the "galactic plane" and was at the center of our galaxy. There, in the "photon belt," we received a massive infusion of light, opening channels to higher realms of awareness.
By Nicky Frankly2 months ago in Humans
Again, but with Magic
It was their first gig together, a weekend in Georgia at the Carrot Festival. The stage was set inside an old barn, its refurbished double-wide doors rolled back like curtains. Outside, haystack risers edged with carrot string lights conjured a rustic amphitheater from the fairground dust.
By Nicky Frankly6 months ago in Fiction
You First. Runner-Up in I Resign From… Challenge.
Dear Sir, Today is my last day as your trauma archive. After almost 30 years of emotional case history—first as your mistress for a decade, then in the post-abuse fog of a ‘nice guy’ marriage, and now having found myself after divorce—my time here feels complete. Throughout my tenure, I have experienced enough to understand that suffering did not happen to me; it happened within me as a result of what happened to me.
By Nicky Frankly8 months ago in Journal
SkyGrid. Honorable Mention in Tomorrow’s Utopia Challenge.
I was almost a Starling, once. What started with a childhood wish burst in the end - like all wishes do under pressure. If I hadn’t wished to become one, I might still have become a Starling. Not because wishes are weak or obsolete but because some things are inwrought- spoon-fed across generations, from concocted jingles that linger to uploads that no one downloads and run by default in the background.
By Nicky Frankly8 months ago in Futurism
The Meat, the Bones, the Skin. Honorable Mention in The Metamorphosis of the Mind Challenge.
Red—marbled, seared steaks raised me. Desire served in thick cuts. Blood still warm in the center, something primal not meant to be named but always devoured. No questions, just plates. Heavy—thick porcelain, rimmed in gold like something sacred. They arrived steaming, polished to a shine, mirroring a face back at you, distorted by the steam. Each one carried its own silence. A glistening steak cut too large for the appetite, flanked by obedient sides. Mashed potato afterthoughts. The meat bleeding in. No one said a word. The knives were sharp, the rules were sharper. Finish your plate. Even the parts that made you sick. Especially those.
By Nicky Frankly9 months ago in Psyche
The Last Sip
The formica tables at the Little Gem diner were wet and worn. The light over their table was dim, the napkins were empty, and no one was within earshot. Stepping through the plastic strip curtains, their waitress went into the kitchen. Two cousins sat across from each other, one stirring a steady stream of sugar into their coffee while the other squeezed lemon into their tap water. It was their Grandma’s favorite restaurant.
By Nicky Frankly9 months ago in Fiction
Digital Legacy
Knowing Carl was a skeptic, great care was taken to explain the bequest his father had left him in the will. It was Carl's sister, Olivia, who told him, rail-roading his decision-making, "When your father tells you to do something, you do it." Father's lawyer, Ferguson, was there, too, administering his final wishes. It was he who had suggested Digital Legacy, opening Father’s mind to such prosperous horizons. Ferguson had even helped sign him up as a beta tester so the application would be free, to him, silently bequeathing any future upgrade fees to his sole beneficiary.
By Nicky Frankly9 months ago in Longevity
