Red Sonya

Joined January 2022

0 stories

Bio

I’m still finding my voice and loving the journey. Thank you for reading and would love any feedback: [email protected]

Stories (11/0)

The Real
Xavier rubbed his eyes vigorously, his tears carving small rivers down his flushed cheeks. His stomach lurched violently, and he quickly grabbed for a nearby trash bin. His body shuttered and strained as it forced him to empty the contents of his stomach until there was nothing left to expel. His entire body throbbed with pain.
By Red Sonyaabout a year ago in Fiction
Another Year Over
As New Year's Eve quickly approaches, millions around the world will resolutely declare their New Year's Resolution for the year ahead. These resolutions will vary widely, from losing weight, to getting a promotion, to buying a new home (or a second home), but they all have one thing in common: we believe achieving them will make us happy.
By Red Sonyaabout a year ago in Humans
A New Earth
The outside world was unknown to her, but she could see a glimpse of it through the window in his room. Dead and dry earth stretched like tanned leather in every direction and crumbling skyscrapers dotted the horizon like broken teeth. The endless dust and ash swirled in a frenzied dervish across the cracked earth and clawed relentlessly at the crumbled remains of the dead city. Burned out cars, remnants of the life before, were spread like shattered carcasses to the low hills in the distance. The sun, now hidden for over a hundred years behind a thick blanket of choking ash, was nothing more than a faint pinprick of pale, cold light in the gloomy distance.
By Red Sonyaabout a year ago in Fiction
The Threshing
I have dreaded this day for as long as I can remember, and now it is finally here - my 16th birthday. I am told that long ago, one's 16th birthday was cause for a huge celebration. It was widely viewed as a sort of rite of passage into adulthood, a symbolic transition to the bright and glorious future. There would be loud, noisy parties with string lights, balloons, and layered cakes with sparkler candles. There were DJ's and pop music and dancing. It was a time of joy, excitement, and eager expectation for the future...but that was before, this is after.
By Red Sonyaabout a year ago in Fiction
The Unmaking
The soil was damp and smelled of wet rot, of life straining to remake and laboring to undo. Somewhere else, a car door slammed, a woman fed a fire, a coyote gave chase, and a stoplight turned red.
By Red Sonya2 years ago in Poets
Vocal: Why You Should Dig Deeper
I joined Vocal several weeks ago when, like so many others, I was lured to this site by the chance at winning $20,000 with a short story submission. I thought, why not? Really, what do I have to lose? If anything, it will be an interesting experiment; do websites like this really give unknown and unheard writers a platform and a chance to be heard?
By Red Sonya2 years ago in Journal
The Most Dangerous Animal of All
It was the fall of 1935. The evening air was just taking on that extra chill that whispered of winter's impending arrival. The beech trees that stood guard around our little farm were afire with colors of burnt orange and umber red, while smoke rose in a constant, steady plume from the chimney like a beacon.
By Red Sonya2 years ago in Fiction
Strangers in a Strange Land
I awoke that morning with a raging hangover on a bare mattress surrounded by cardboard boxes. The morning sun was streaming through the bare windows, illuminating the small room and its contents in glaringly sharp detail. My sister Anne was still asleep beside me, still fully clothed, a hoodie pulled up around her face and tied shut so that just her nose was poking out. Anne’s faithful Boston terrier, Little Spanish Eddie, was curled protectively beside her, his ears twitching in mild curiosity as I slowly sat up and surveyed the room.
By Red Sonya2 years ago in Fiction
Desert Bride
People tend to do a lot of stupid things to try to cope with a broken heart. Some attempt to saturate their misery by drinking too much, some find temporary relief in brief sexual encounters, some simply distract themselves with shopping or vacations or eating. All this to numb the gut wrenching pain that constantly hovers in the background of life, like a low 60 cycle hum.
By Red Sonya2 years ago in Fiction
Reflections of 40
On the eve of my 40th birthday, I lay in my bed alone and sobbed uncontrollably into my pillow so that my 12 year old son in the next room wouldn’t overhear me. I’m not typically a crier (and I would actually assess that as a weakness, not a strength), but on this night, as I waited for sleep to come and reflected on the milestone day ahead, I had two dreadful realizations:
By Red Sonya2 years ago in Fiction
A Love So Big
A Love So Big By Red Sonya Lying on my side in my bed, I can see outside my bedroom window, down to the front yard below and halfway down the deserted country lane in front. Today, the world outside is painfully quiet and thickly blanketed in fresh snowfall. In the winter months, the snow absorbs all the sound that one would normally hear on this stretch of land at this time of day; like the muffled choke of Mr. Miller’s old Toyota wheezing to life, the slap of a splintered screen door snapping shut against the cold, and the constant hum and buzz of the single electric line overhead, setting my hair on end.
By Red Sonya2 years ago in Fiction

Red Sonya

Bio

Stories .css-19zxm0z-Text{display:inline-block;color:var(--text-default-mute);}(11/0)

The Real

Another Year Over

A New Earth

The Threshing

The Unmaking

Vocal: Why You Should Dig Deeper

The Most Dangerous Animal of All

Strangers in a Strange Land

Desert Bride

Reflections of 40

A Love So Big

Stories (11/0)