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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

“Red-eye Voyage” by Hugh Thakkar

Submitted to Contest #100

Nola was the first to break the silence. “These pea meatballs aren’t bad, hey?” “So that’s what they are,” Roman replied. “What I never understood is why—when no one can get meat anywhere these days—they are still called pea meatballs? And not just… pea-balls,” Bruno chimed in. Jie snorted. Marlowe, as usual, had an answer to this question before it was asked. “Pea meatballs hold the form of the once popular dish, ‘meatballs’, which contained ground meat of various origin rolled into small spheres the size of those we are consuming n...

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“Title: Strangers in an unknown train Yakshaya K” by Yashpaul Kalra

Submitted to Contest #100

We all by some queer and cynical network of circumstances had been even totally unknown strangers happened to be jostled into each other in a bungalow of Kamlesh Patel at Pittsburgh. It happened just one year back when I had gone there to see my son Ashish along with his family there. My son as of course my son accepted his invitation without an iota of any objection. He also had a keen yearning to show us to his friends. It was a spectacular row of bungalows all so systematically synthesized at Higher Cleves in an elegant area so remarkable...

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“Good Vibes” by Wayne Njoroge

Submitted to Contest #100

The evening atmosphere was with a buzz of activity. Cars dashed while changing lanes, exiting, and entering through the various on and off-ramps connected to the busy Nairobi Expressway. Work was officially over, but the sun still shone like it was a hot sunny afternoon. Today was a memorable day for Charles. Two things made this particular day of Thursday 20th March 2025 momentous. Firstly, his long-time best friend, Eric, will arrive at JKIA on a Lufthansa aircraft from Germany. Secondly, today was a peculiar day of the year. Equinox coi...

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“Newness” by Caroline Min

Submitted to Contest #100

“How many?” The waiter that stands before them is tall and gauntly handsome, wearing thin-rimmed glasses and a pen tucked fashionably behind his ear. Rina holds up two fingers, and nods when the waiter tells them that their table will be ready in a moment. She feels slightly uncomfortable in her new tweed skirt, a bit too tight at the waist. She fiddles with her skirt, making a futile effort to stretch out the material, and begins to regret her decision to wear a skirt instead of jeans. The crowded restaurant is filled with people chatting...

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“4liferz.com” by Buggie Wuggie

Submitted to Contest #100

Kacii woke up, yawned and glanced over to the clock on his bedside table, the red numbers read 3pm. "Dammit.. I knew I shouldn't have stayed up all night." He sighed, and grabbed his phone off the pillow next to him, checking the familiar groupchat with his friends. "99+ notifications from The Wiffy Group." His eyes widened, as one more message from Milly popped up. "Yeah we're dating!" Quickly signing into his phone, he went to the website to see the messages. "Milly.. and.. Mari.. ette..? His words came out in a choked whisper, w...

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“A Game of Time” by Jadon Ng

Submitted to Contest #100

Catherine sat at the empty tavern bar, staring hesitantly at the wooden mug of beer in front of her. The bartender kindly offered to replace her beverage when he noticed it had stopped frothing an hour ago but the lady declined, stating she would rather not ride her horse home drunk. Catherine didn’t even know why she ordered it, having sworn off alcohol since she had Lana 10 years ago. “He invited you! It’d be splendid to reconnect with your old mates!” Her husband’s words echoed at the back of her mind, causing her to smile. He had alway...

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“Nina” by Madhuparna Goswami

Submitted to Contest #100

Warm yellow light illuminated the gilded dining hall while rain thundered across the hills of the Darjeeling. The plush scarlet rug felt soft under the sandals and the boots. The smell of cardamom and cloves filed the mouths of the guests with bile instead of water. A lavish dinner was placed upon the burnished wooden table that winked darkly at the guests. Rajdeep sat at the foot of the table, studying and watching with alert eyes. The dinner comprised of seven guests. At the head of the table was Professor Sanwar Ahmed, the man responsible...

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“Wedding Bread” by Hayley Johnson

Submitted to Contest #100

Orchestrated like the sweet, treat-producing hive of the honeybee, the organized chaos was flawless. Each person had a role and they each carried out the necessary tasks to fulfill it. Whether they were verbally instructed, given hand-written directions, or had an ingrained knowledge about this type of affair, I wasn’t about to ask. Though I knew the bride and groom, I felt like an outsider. Before the wedding had started, I stood awkwardly in the dining room, wondering if I should claim a seat while my fiancé took pictures with the rest of...

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“Escaping a Nightmare” by Maddie Pleimann

Submitted to Contest #100

Anna woke to a loud thunk. She didn’t open her eyes right away – she had been in this camp for months now and was quickly growing accustomed to the multitude of sounds reverberating through it. “Alright, time to get moving Delta!” a voice screeched from the walls. Delta. That was her barrack. No one bothered to explain how the camp was organized when she first arrived, but it didn’t take long to catch on that she lived in Delta. The camp consisted of a half dozen scattered buildings, each building with three rooms ...

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“Not My People” by Ingrid (Skarstad) Williams

Submitted to Contest #100

I followed the footsteps ahead with my eyes fastened to the ground. Dog poop. It was common on the winding dirt paths. A book title floated through my mind, Street Dogs of San Marcos, and I called out to José, “Hey, I just had an idea!” I shared my imagination of a beautiful coffee table book that could raise funds to care for the hundreds of homeless animals. “It’s more of a ‘feed the children’ kind of feel—photography and stories that are poignant and maybe a little tragic.” “Oh my gosh,” he replied. “That’s a fabulous idea!” In his usua...

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“Pea’s a crowd” by Leigh Minarapa

Submitted to Contest #100

CW: violence She hated snow peas. The way they became little strings after chewing, she said, frustrated her when they got stuck in her teeth. Mother loved snow peas. Even during the summer months she tried to keep them alive. But they usually died and mother would spend the rest of the summer months remarking on how this meal or that meal would have been better with those peas on our plates. Since her phone call, I’ve wracked my brain trying to think of what to cook for tonight’s meal. I thought of something with chicken or bee...

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“Cards on the Table” by Justin Rogers

Submitted to Contest #100

The Airfield at Frankfort am Main is new. I can practically smell the fresh paint. White. Is the color of the paint. It’s a spacious, many windowed, high ceiling-ed, building, which makes me think of freedom. My flight hasn’t been called yet. I’m reading a newspaper, sitting in a lounge on the second floor, in front of an enormous window looking out on the field. I can see great heaps of baggage, trunks, suitcases, bags. The heaps are very neatly arranged. God forbid someone should complain about the mistreatment of their luggage, or find ...

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“The Enemy of an Enemy” by Lyn Carstone

Submitted to Contest #100

Upstairs “We could still leave.” Crosser said as Valor checked the noodles. Nearly done. “We can’t. Too much is at stake.” The screams of friends echoed in her mind. “They won’t help us.” Her watch beeped. Valor pulled up the video screen and zoomed in. Dressed in their normal dark colors, not bothering to conceal their identities, Vilen and Bruiser entered the warehouse. “And yet here they are.” They would help. Valor had to believe that Vilen and Bruiser would come around. “They won’t help.” Crosser repeated. They had to, she thought. It...

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“That's A Wrap” by Heather Ann Martinez

Submitted to Contest #100

That’s A Wrap! By Heather Ann Martinez Every Sunday evening at seven o’clock, we sat down to eat at Joan’s Bed and Breakfast. Joan would cook all day after church. She called us her kids. She would tell everyone she met her kids were coming home for Sunday dinner. We weren’t her kids at all. We hadn’t even heard of Joan or each other for that matter prior to the new train stop being added between Milwaukee and Chicago. We could commute on the train into downtown Chicago and stay at the bed and breakfast during the week. Then, we could co...

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“The Big Three” by Macy Fidel

Submitted to Contest #100

The first to arrive at the gates were the boisterous Hippokampai, followed by the piercing sounds of the earth above quaking. Despite his pompous entrance, this guest was far from arriving on time. In fact, none of the brothers arrived to dinner on time. How does one who is hosting a dinner party manage to not arrive on time? When you are bestowed the position as leader of the underworld, that is how. Centuries of planning have gone into this dinner party. Years of time and energy have been devoted to finding the perf...

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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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