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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#100: Breaking Bread

One of the most intimate things you can do with someone is sit down to eat together. The idea of friends and foes, families and strangers breaking bread has been a recurring theme in art and literature for a very long time. It’s something that can bring us together against the steepest of odds; to quote Oscar Wilde, “after a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one's own relations”. But things don’t always end quite so harmoniously — food fights, anyone?

This week, we’re reflecting on the joys (or pains) of eating together or making a meal. Whether the dinner table is a place for communion or conflict for your characters, I look forward to sitting down to a hearty portion of food-themed stories with you. Bon appétit!

This week's prompts

Start or end your story with two characters sitting down for a meal.

Middle School – 264 stories

Write a story where a meal or dinner goes horribly wrong.

Thanksgiving – 201 stories

Write about a group of strangers — or people who know each other, but may as well be strangers — eating together.

Fluff – 152 stories

Write about a character preparing a meal for somebody else.

Fluff – 157 stories

Write a story that involves a secret or magic ingredient.

Halloween – 116 stories

Stories

“The Pig” by Jj Gomez

Submitted to Contest #100

Breathe, man, just breathe, Joe scolded himself. He could feel himself starting to sweat. Guests at the surrounding tables were staring at him. Or was he just being paranoid. He discreetly checked his armpits. His dress shirt was slightly damp but nothing to really worry about. Good, because he was already worrying. He’d planned this night for months now, booking a reservation to this restaurant well in advance. When he wasn’t Pig-hunting, he was practicing his proposal. Practicing it in his head during his morning runs, at Lou’s office, or ...

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“The Last Supper” by Aurora Bluemoon

Submitted to Contest #100

The Last supper Prologue “You deserve death rather prefers to live. Yet, I am offering you the last chance”, the two capsules were served on the dinner plates by the waiters. “I have offered you two capsules of red and blue. Red offers you Death and Blue gives your Life. Choose wisely what you want – Death or Life”, Mr R stated with an evil smirk on his face. The mask of panic and fear wore on the faces of seven people who were gathered around the dining table of a mysterious restaurant, upon the invitation from Mr R. ***** ...

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“Mama The Telephone Man is a Woman” by Meta M Griffin

Submitted to Contest #100

Mama, The Telephone Man is A woman I’m not going to regret what I’ve done—I’m going to regret what I haven’t done. That’s why I go out with the boys every morning; even though many people object. But the telephone company is still like home. I had to go to get a job at the telephone company after I left Wayne and moved back in with Mama and Daddy. Before I went out with the men, I worked at the switchboard and used to listen in on the switchboard when I know Norma isn’t watching. Nope, folks won't believe...

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“The Secret Stew Ingredient” by Scarlet Scribe

Submitted to Contest #100

The Wiebolds each received an invitation to dinner at Gus Amante’s house. Gus had been a family friend as long as any of them remembered. All accepted the invitation and looked forward to enjoying his special stew. Gus Amante, a local chef, was busy cooking for his dinner party. He reached for his special seasoning and knocked over a bottle of Amobarbital into the stew. He grabbed the bottle before all the pills spilled and fished the cap out of the stew. The drug had been prescribed for his insomnia but he hadn’t taken it for months...

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“A soup for you” by Nathalie Menard

Submitted to Contest #100

Maddie took two minutes to catch her breath. She had been running left and right all day to lead her team. She provided every guest with a detailed program presenting the menu with two choices of soup, the speaker of the evening and the D.J. who would entertain the participants. She composed herself so as not to get caught up in the stress of pulling off the event. She had had some fears when the arrival of the big tent was delayed but eventually it was quickly raised and all was well again. This was the first major event that ...

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“A Miniature Reverie ” by Eric D.

Submitted to Contest #100

Robert braced himself for the delicious prepared meal, cooked impeccably by his wife Helen. She was a sauté chef at a high end restaurant in the city which Robert reaped the benefits from as her eager taste-tester. Robert's lack of critical critique was irrelevant as Helen enjoyed watching him rejoice in her many cuisine creations. Today she melded together a home made version of Mongolian beef with brown sticky rice and steamed broccoli. He eagerly sets the table and places the utensils and napkins on the table besides two bowls of foo...

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“The Secret Ingredient is Foul Play” by Vance UponATime

Submitted to Contest #100

Fast food chains have always been competitive. They were forever coming up with new and improved flavors and affordable combos to keep their patrons from going elsewhere. And for every established food place, the recipes for their signature dishes were a closely guarded secret. Sure, that burger joint also sells pizza, but their pizza would never be as good as the pizza franchise’s pizza. Do the trending pizza places sell ice cream? Yes. Can their ice cream compete with the gazillion flavors offered by the country’s leading ice cream brand?...

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“Fantasy of a refugee living” by Saeeda Batool

Submitted to Contest #100

I'm a human who was born in a nation where boom shelling and body burying were commonplace. The entire day and night felt like a nightmare. My friends, relatives, and neighbours have all died. The secret boat made its way inside the flesh and blue zone. Food, water, and oxygen are in short supply. This appears to be a roller coaster ride, and the distance seemed to stretch on forever. The beautiful and pure sea waves push against the boat, making me feel alive. I haven't seen land in almost a week, and all I can think about is crying, food s...

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“The Weapon” by Joan Fiddle-Ferder

Submitted to Contest #100

The Weapon By Joan Fiddle-Ferder I never was one for parties. I would rather put my foot on the thir...

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“Close Call” by Jerry Nourrie

Submitted to Contest #100

Adam sat at a round wooden table dimly lit by a old glass lantern. He held in both hands, an old leather-bound book with Latin words garnishing the cover. He meticulously went over each word and said it out loud breaking it down to syllables. “Mor-tu-us est. Am-bu-la-re. Mortuus est ambulare,” he practiced reciting. Hovering near Adam by the door, pacing back and forth, was Zach. His huge frame towered over the 6ft. door, making it look tiny in comparison. He had a distinct black viper tattoo wrapping around his body with its head ...

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“Lunch bag” by Mariana Del Rosal

Submitted to Contest #100

That morning, as usual, Hanna set the alarm clock at 7 AM. It was still dark outside, but she refrained from turning the lights on as she didn’t want her son, Peter, to wake up before time. He had that big meeting ahead with the principal and the district supervisor, and he had been complaining all week about how he wasn’t getting enough sleep. So she decided to let him sleep. She put on the robe over her pajamas, and then she went to the toilet, washed her face, and combed her gray hair. In the kitchen, she prepared the coffee and toasted s...

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“Gift” by Anna Tishchenko

Submitted to Contest #100

At 5 am she rose from her sleep like a rocket breaking the atmosphere into consciousness. As tradition dictated, she looked at the clock, told herself ‘Five more minutes’ and then got up anyway. She knew all too well that once she left the realm of sleep, she could not return until the experiences of the day bought her passage for another journey into unknown lands. She had things to do, she reminded herself as she switched on the coffee pot, wash...

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“Madness Makes Strangers” by Tanya Humphreys

Submitted to Contest #100

Brison’s long, nimble fingers gently strummed the sensually curved mandolin in his lap. For the first time, he sat at the head of the long table, proud to be hosting this year’s summer solstice celebration. His tribe of Rhesus monkey and their closest neighbors, the dainty pale-faced Capuchins, relished any and all excuse for celebration. Brison was the now the head of his family. Until the month before, that honor had belonged to his father. He missed his father and his tune saddened as he gazed towards the river at...

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“Dinner Was a Mistake” by Tatiana Olin

Submitted to Contest #100

TW: domestic abuse, violence Some nights, like this night, sitting across from my husband at the small pub-style table at the window of our kitchen feels… wrong. Like it’s really familiar, but it’s almost unreal. Lifting a piece of chicken to my mouth on a fork, I look at him looking at the food. There’s always something wrong with it; there’s always something I mess up. I watch him slowly cut through the chicken and stab the loose piece. Everything he does seems violent, even the smallest of things. Sometimes I feel like I’m always u...

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“The Farewell Dinner” by Don Peavy Sr

Submitted to Contest #100

Jonathan Williams, in response to his mother telling him Kristina was calling, got up from his bed and walked into the kitchen where the only telephone was other than the one in his mother’s bedroom. As he took the first step towards the telephone, Jonathan knew exactly what he wanted to tell Kristina Edwards Collins. He would tell her that it is over between them and not to call him anymore. Then he would hang up the receiver before she could work her magic on him. However, ...

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$50

Prize money

891

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 02, 2021 EST

Won by Rayhan Hidayat 🏆

Title: mie goreng

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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