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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

“Food - Soothes the Soul” by Sharlene Addison

Submitted to Contest #100

Tonight, it's finally here; no turning back now. Seleena has planned a dinner for her two children. They neither like nor associate with each other. God saw fit to send them to her 10 years apart never developing a sibling bond. She thinks they try to tolerate her most of the time. She is now retired at an old age of 67. Thinking of her family she shakes her head and realizes she has such a dysfunctional family. She thought by this time in her life she would have a little control over something but definetly that's not the case.She was exc...

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“Rules For Dining” by Cassidy Carlisle

Submitted to Contest #100

I am not allowed to eat dinner with them. This has been the rule for as long as I can remember. My parents feed me first, thirty minutes or an hour before they eat, and then they send me out of the room for their meal. At first they would keep a closed door between us while they ate, to limit distractions. They would set me up in the living room with a toy or something else to keep me occupied. Now that I’m older I’ve learned not to bother them during dinner so they don’t close the door on me anymore. Sometimes I’ll sit just outside the thre...

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“a bento love ” by Bottle Of Beans :)

Submitted to Contest #100

It was a typical Monday evening. The dark colour of the night outside contrasted the bright colours of the lights in a bustling restaurant. A pair of small dark brown eyes eyed the door of the restaurant. It was packed with families and couples who came to have a good, hearty meal. The little girl shifted uncomfortably on her small brown stool beside the counter as she scanned the faces of every customer with worry. "Father?" She asked, shifting her eyes to the black haired man in the kitchen behind her. The man in the kitchen wiped t...

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“Out To Lunch” by George Davis

Submitted to Contest #100

Out To Lunch—George Davis Now let me see. I thought the roast had to go in at five-thirty to be ready for seven when Helen gets here. She is coming from her home twenty minutes away in Cumberland Falls just over the Sagamore River bridge. I’ve got the table all set. All I will have to do is transfer the food from the kitchen to the dining room, light the candles, and pour the wine. This has to be the best meal I’ve ever cooked. Understand, I am not a cook. I am the manager of Bickford Savings...

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“Love, Masala” by Asmita Kodityala

Submitted to Contest #100

I always envisioned myself coming home from college and stepping into the rich aroma of cardamom, cloves, coriander, and curry leaves. Now, I have to somehow recreate that. Knowing the recipe by heart, I decide to make my mom’s twist on baingan bharta- Indian comfort food made with eggplants, cashew and coconut sauce, and lots and lots of masala. It is usually eaten with chapati or flatbread, and I know that only my mom can make the perfectly round chapatis. It doesn’t help that she’s coming over after the pandemic- the meal has ...

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“Burned Food” by HBR Patel

Submitted to Contest #100

'Nothing can come near the taste of your food.' 'Don't butter me up, darling. I am trying to prepare it from a recipe.' 'Waiting eagerly to taste the delicacies.' 'Yeah. Don't worry, this time I won't alter sugar with salt.' saying this, Bella started smiling. Tim, her husband, was on the other side of the phone. He couldn't see her wife smiling. Tim could only imagine how Bella was smiling. That was all he wanted for her: a smiling face without any worry. 'Yeah, Please don't do that. Last time, I failed to gulp even one morsel. Please, this...

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“A Father's Love” by Megan Sin

Submitted to Contest #100

The rice cooker clicks off, wheezing like an old man and breaking the silent hum filling the kitchen. Faolan spares it a glance, body momentarily pausing in mid-action, before he resumes chopping the last batch of carrots. The movement calms him down, and for good measure, for he’s been feeling jittery all morning. “Like a bird,” his wife used to say whenever she spotted his figure scurrying around in search of something to calm the restlessness sitting heavy in his stomach. He can't help it, Faolan is nervous by nature and though he’s gro...

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“Barbacoa Float Life” by Gegi Leon

Submitted to Contest #100

"I'm full! Really!" I stopped on the boardwalk, my arms heavy with leftovers. A thermos with left over chicken noodle, not the good kind, and somewhere underneath the activewear jacket hung over from my mother's era, the straps of a Walmart salad bag, contents now slightly wilted, twisted around the two smallest fingers of my left hand, a local roaster's day-old espresso with a white layer bloom like chocolate gets when it sees moisture. And notebooks. Five or six notebooks with bits and bytes of data, some strains of old songs, right brain-...

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“Revenge is a dish best served hot” by Annie Goldberg

Submitted to Contest #100

“Hey honey,” Chris said through the phone. “I was just calling to let you know I’m gonna be home late tonight, I’m really sorry. We are just absolutely slammed here, but I should be home by 6:30 at the latest. Do you mind making dinner tonight?” I opened the fridge, holding the phone between my shoulder and my ear. “Of course, baby,” I said, forcing sweetness into my voice. I opened the freezer and noticed a couple unopened packages of ground meat. “How does beef stew sound?” “Sounds great,” Chris said. “I love you.” I bit back...

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“Uneaten Pie” by Eve Y

Submitted to Contest #100

I feel tears flood down my cheeks, blurring my vision as I set the fresh homemade banana Cream Pie next to my little sister. She loves the pie, and I know it, but I just wish she would tell me herself. I wish she would take a bite of the warm cooked pastry and grin at me wide like she used to, but she didn’t. She wouldn’t. Not anymore. *** One day ago “Emma!” I hear Lily cry from across the room. I look up from my phone and glance over in her direction. She’s made her way to the front door, slipping on her bright yellow running...

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“Be Dauntless, To Face Every Storms” by Vailor In Dark

Submitted to Contest #100

Be Dauntless, To Face Every StormsShort story by: Vailor In DarkThis is the day that I anticipated the most.It's not the first time that I'll do this...but I hope this time...I could make this...perfectly.We often desire to do things what we wanted to do in the very first place, practicing and practicing until we make it just right. And this time I want to make this...viand for my Mom, impeccable.Adobo is the Philippines' national dish, it's not questionable for the reason that it's tasty,yummy,and delicious for a viand. It perfectly suits i...

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“Sleeping” by David Rios

Submitted to Contest #100

By David Rios Today, tired, exhausted, I went to sleep and tried to dream. I used to have vivid dreams, but I forgot those as soon as I open my eyes the next day. So sad, because I wrote down the ones that I was able to remember; Why? Because those are my omens. Some are good, some are bad. Those omens are coming into the truth. I can see them appearing in my daily life as flash memories of my past, a past that will happen in the future. Maybe it is schizophrenia. But how could it be possible?. For instance, once I was trying to ...

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“Three Words” by Maria Bray

Submitted to Contest #100

When Eric woke up, he patted the bed next to him, mildly disappointed but not surprised that Emily wasn't there. It was normal for her to leave before he woke up when she spent the night over there. He stumbled out of bed to get to the bathroom, peed, and put his boardshorts on. When he opened his door, he smiled a bit at hearing Emily's voice talking to his youngest daughter, Amber. Maybe they could swing by her place and she could get her board and they could hit the beach, and spend the day together. Both stopped talking when they heard h...

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“Love at last sight ” by Olwethu Ntimbane

Submitted to Contest #100

It was around eleven o' clock on a stormy night when Richard slowly hopped out of the warm hospital bed and approached the window. He'd normally be asleep at this time,but after the news he received today , his mind couldnt rest for even a second. Just a few hours ago his life long doctor diagnosed him with stage four cancer and told him that he only had a few weeks to live. Restless as imaginable,he drags himself across the room and has a look out the five floor high window. "Not much activity " he thought as he...

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“A Harmless Meal” by Casey Morin

Submitted to Contest #100

Wow. What a crazy world I live in. There was so much to see, so much going on. With my whole life up to this point having occurred in our home, I was a little overwhelmed being out in the open for the first time. My older sisters had told me about the outside world but being out here for myself is totally different. A lot of this I had sensed on my older sisters when they returned from outside our home. But it was so much more substantial being able to experience it myself. This was my first time outside of my family’s home since I w...

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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.

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