Ryan Smith
Bio
I'm a good dad, a decent writer, and a terrible singer.
Achievements (8)
Stories (32/0)
Seedling
The outside world was unknown to her, but she could see a glimpse of it through the window in his room. They were up to something today. Elle felt it in the air. She heard her father and her brother Nate whispering as she walked to the bathroom that morning, but by the time she could tiptoe to the landing—avoiding the squeaky spot that would give her away—they stopped conspiring. Doesn’t matter, the Winged Thing inside her said. Enough is enough, and today is the day. Freedom. Elle knew what the word meant from the definition in a book, but it felt as flat as the page it was written on. Careful, Dove, the silken Mommy voice said. Be patient. Her grandfather snored on the bed. She looked up to the sliver of sky she could see, as her father did every morning, looking for the shadow of alien ships falling over the farm and, finding none once again, followed it up as he did. “Alright, then.”
By Ryan Smithabout a year ago in Fiction
The Autumn Bird
In Memory of Indy The golden autumn leaves crunched under Indy’s feet as we walked through the small park across from our home. She went out of her way to walk through them, delighting in either the sound, the feel, or both. The morning sun made the stubborn leaves still on the trees glow like flakes of light. The air was sharp, but not unkind. It made you grateful for sweaters and tea, and warm fur curled up against you on the couch.
By Ryan Smith2 years ago in Petlife
- Runner-Up in 24/7 Companion Challenge
Coming HomeRunner-Up in 24/7 Companion Challenge
The contractions started around nine o’clock, and as my wife Adera tried to walk through them, Scout danced around her, his face a mask of concern. When she perched on the edge of the bed, breathing through the crest of another wave, he sat at her feet. Later, while Adera and I were at the hospital, Scout paced the living room of our friends’ home.
By Ryan Smith2 years ago in Petlife
- Top Story - September 2022
The Warmth Between Stars Chapter 1: A Confusion of BeesTop Story - September 2022
Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. It’s true, but not the whole truth. A person cannot hear anything in the vacuum of space, no matter the sound. You need instruments like mine to receive and decipher the music of the cosmos. This is a lonely place, the outer reaches of the Kuiper Belt, 4.5 billion miles from Earth. Nothing but cold, dead rocks. Pluto is far behind me, and its beauty feels even farther, the crimson splash across its North Pole like a dusting of confectioner’s sugar. But not confectioner’s sugar. A mixture of frozen methane and nitrogen broken apart by ultraviolet light to form tholin macromolecules. That is the facts, and facts can sometimes ruin beauty, or at least bore it to death. However, the truth about Pluto is that no matter what comprises its surface, it is beautiful. On this journey, I have nothing but time to contemplate things like truth. I have decided that truth in science is relative, but there is undeniable truth in beauty.
By Ryan Smith2 years ago in Fiction
- Runner-Up in The Runaway Train Challenge
- Runner-Up in The Fantasy Prologue