Valerie Taylor
Bio
Writer of short quirky stories, world traveler, lover of ren faire shenanigans, and dancer.
If you love 5 Minute Stories or my poetry, consider following me on Ko-fi (https://ko-fi.com/varerii).
Stories (27)
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5 Minute Fiction: Ring
Snow fell from the deep gray sky. Huge flakes alighted on branches and coated the sidewalk. I stood gazing up at the dense clouds and patches where the starlight shined through. The cold bit at my exposed fingertips but didn’t hurt enough to persuade me to go back inside. Beyond the muffled televisions and thrilled shrieks of children, the sighs of cars over the damp pavement, and the distant hum of caroling was the silence I craved.
By Valerie Taylor24 days ago in Fiction
5 Minute Sci-Fi: Update
Ben awoke to the garbled sound of electronic birdsong screeching in his ear. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he groaned, unprepared for the morning. He tapped the databand on his wrist twice to turn off the alarm with practiced ease before dragging himself out from under the covers.
By Valerie Taylor2 months ago in Futurism
5 Minute Romance: The Ski Lift
Anita skated forward clumsily towards the dip in the snow. She heard the grind of the ski lift’s overhead gears and watched anxiously as the chair in front whumped against the skiers before her. This was it, her first time taking the lift by herself. Memories of her first attempt last season resurfaced, warming her skin with embarrassment. She hadn’t been prepared for the lift’s speed and how it knocked her feet out from underneath her. Her skis had gone flying. Everything had to be stopped for several minutes.
By Valerie Taylor4 months ago in Fiction
5 Minute Horror: Mother’s Ghost
The house is quieter now. I sit in your rocking chair and recall the sound of your voice echoing through the halls, down the stairs, to my bedroom. The way you hummed while washing the dishes in the sink. I think about your smile as you stirred a pot of spaghetti, telling me how you saw a chef on the TV do something you too wanted to try. This house is empty, but the creak of the rocking chair against the wooden floor staves off the silence. It’s a numbing kind of comfort, focusing on the back and forth, back and forth.
By Valerie Taylor4 months ago in Horror
5 Minute Fantasy: Water
Zack stumbled over roots and branches, nearly landing on his hands and knees for the twelfth time. His palms felt raw, and he was pretty sure there was gravel ingrained in his shins. The ground here was steep, and if you didn’t watch where you stepped, you’d tumble down and down until you struck the creek. That’s where Zack was headed, but he also didn’t want to end up soaked. Not when the creature he sought wouldn’t take too kind to his intrusion.
By Valerie Taylor5 months ago in Fiction
5 Minute Fiction: Smoke
“See that’s the thing,” the guy with a cigarette perched between two fingers slurred. “You think you’re smarter than me.” Serafina rolled her eyes as she stared at the glimmering string lights behind the liquor bottles at the bar. She wasn’t here for this kind of interaction. Her dark fingernails impatiently drummed against the counter stained with a thousand rings from wet glasses and beer bottles. On the television above the bartender, the news—all bad news—rattled on and on. The closed captions blurred together, but she watched the words appear then vanish, taking it all in.
By Valerie Taylor5 months ago in Fiction
5 Minute Sci-Fi: Waking
What am I if not human? The man, if he was a man, stared at the white ceiling of his boxlike room. He should’ve been asleep, cloud-mind syncing with the HIVE. Yet, here he was, doing something so utterly obsolete that he could never tell anyone about it.
By Valerie Taylor5 months ago in Futurism
5 Minute Horror: Lady in White. Content Warning.
[Please note that this story may be triggering for some readers.] Marie opened the window blinds warily and scanned the fields opposite the house, nervousness etched into the creases on her brow. She looked to the tall dark trees framing the tilled field then towards the back corner, where untouched wilderness spread out. Fog clung to the edges, but Marie could sense that nothing of note was out there. Yet. Her hand came to rest on her swollen belly, and she felt a kick beneath the skin. She sighed.
By Valerie Taylor5 months ago in Horror
