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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#112: Come Rain or Shine

From melancholy to cathartic to Singing-in-the-Rain-style joyful, rain somehow feels different every time. What’s certain is that rain often forms the backdrop to many of our human dramas — so this week’s prompts invite you to step into that downpour and let it soak you to the bones.

🥇 Winner

“Take that Drink” by Cathryn V

🏆 Winner of Contest #112

CW: CovidWhen the rain finally came, it fell in torrents and as if making up for lost time, it kept on that way for three days and three nights. Dry cracked soil turned to mud and without the roots to hold onto it, the dirt began moving, sliding down the walls along the road, covering the throughways with mud. A house leaned on a steep hill until the support posts moved, leaving the rear hanging like a broken wing.*That summer it seemed like the world had been sprayed in dirt and ash. Leaves hung limp over dried up fruit that lay dead on the...

117 comments 117

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“Korea 2108” by Alex Sultan

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #112

cw: mature subject matter, violenceThe most dangerous weapons to the world are the ones that live and breathe.Welding sparks flew off Kang Choi-ri’s skin. A wire surgeon worked to fuse a speaker into his shoulder, binding the device against Kang’s steel-laced bones. He replaced patches of skin with pale-colored plates, switched to a solder, and wired the speaker into his muscle system.A radio played century-old rap music throughout the basement. Neon-lit posters on the wall showed men with mechanical arms, and women with color-changing lips....

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“A Pale Flood” by Vince Salamone

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #112

Content warning: cannibalism, graphic violence, goreThey were in the stairwell when it started raining.Sergeant Vanya Kraz bent her ear to the sound, even as her booted feet continued to trample up the flaking ochre steps; muted bass thumping to counterpoint the drumroll reverberations from the armored men and women of the 6th Urban Pacification and Counter-Terror Group.Strange, she thought. The skies had been clear when they’d deployed, a crisp autumnal morning that had smarted the eyes, its brilliance intensified against the wan skein of t...

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“GIRL YOU WANT” by Caryn Devincenti

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #112

GIRL YOU WANT I met the girl of my dreams last week. I was away at college in Pennsylvania, attending my residency, a ten day reprieve from the Florida heat, my husband, and my kids. The first time I saw her, she was chatting on her cell phone in the restroom. I caught her reflection in the mirror and smiled. She didn’t seem to notice or was too wrapped up in her conversation to wave back. No matter, I thought. I was busy, myself. The next time I saw her, she was in class, reading aloud a rough draft of our latest assignment. The piec...

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“The Southern Penitentiary for Invisible Individuals” by Garrett Michael

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #112

CW: violenceHow we got here is unimportant. What matters is we are here. For now, at least.We deal with the reality like most of us deal with weight gain.I must have drunk a lot of water today.That extra weight is because I'm wearing pants on the scale.It's innocent enough, especially if it helps you live a less worried life.So when the clouds begin to come together in a beautiful and dark ensemble, the rain will come down, and people will disappear. A single drop of the Earth's new premium beverage gives us a chance to go away. To exist onl...

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“Seeds” by Penni Warford

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #112

CW: fire, natural disasterSeeds “What the hell am I supposed to do with these?” I gaze at a packet of zinnia seeds that were tucked in with the supplies I just picked up from the Red Cross. “Masks, gloves, goggles – seeds? Seriously?!” I squeeze my eyes shut as I hold onto the scream that is forming in my throat. I stuff the seed packet into my back pocket.It’s the first time I’ve seen what’s left of our property. James and I wanted to drive up in one car, but one of us had to grab the hazmat stuff while the other dropped the girls...

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This week's prompts

End your story with a character standing in the rain.

Angst – 99 stories

Write a story where it’s raining men, literally or metaphorically.

Valentine's Day – 24 stories

Write a story where something magical happens when it starts to rain.

Middle School – 53 stories

The first rain of the season arrives. Write a story that begins immediately afterward.

Spring – 27 stories

Write about a character driving in the rain.

Fall – 57 stories

Stories

“Take that Drink” by Cathryn V

🏆 Winner of Contest #112

CW: CovidWhen the rain finally came, it fell in torrents and as if making up for lost time, it kept on that way for three days and three nights. Dry cracked soil turned to mud and without the roots to hold onto it, the dirt began moving, sliding down the walls along the road, covering the throughways with mud. A house leaned on a steep hill until the support posts moved, leaving the rear hanging like a broken wing.*That summer it seemed like the world had been sprayed in dirt and ash. Leaves hung limp over dried up fruit that lay dead on the...

117 comments 117

Read story

“Korea 2108” by Alex Sultan

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #112

cw: mature subject matter, violenceThe most dangerous weapons to the world are the ones that live and breathe.Welding sparks flew off Kang Choi-ri’s skin. A wire surgeon worked to fuse a speaker into his shoulder, binding the device against Kang’s steel-laced bones. He replaced patches of skin with pale-colored plates, switched to a solder, and wired the speaker into his muscle system.A radio played century-old rap music throughout the basement. Neon-lit posters on the wall showed men with mechanical arms, and women with color-changing lips....

Read story

“Shenanigans” by Andas Adinoyi

Submitted to Contest #112

Rain! Rain! go away, come again another day, little Jerry wants to play... Jerry and I sang as i hurriedly search around the park for a place to ease myself. It's empty and I'm pressed, adding to my discomfort is not having a network service on my phone. We soon find a tree with an umbrella-like covering, i told Jerry to turn around as i quietly ease myself. Mum! when is daddy coming? Jerry asked and i wondered why he had kept so long after calling him to inform him that my car had broken down before i lost the network service. The scary par...

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“Another Form of Water” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

Submitted to Contest #112

The weather forecast called for snow flurries, unusual for this time of year. Yes, she had bundled up the kids for Halloween in all types of inclement weather when they were young—but never for snow. It never snowed this early in the season. No matter, she thought. The ground was parched and dry. Any precipitation would be welcomed.The cold winds had been strong and biting all day. Dead yellow leaves swirled in little vortexes, soon to be accompanied by carelessly discarded candy wrappers. Halloween kicked off the holiday season, culminating...

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“Broken Ship” by Andas Adinoyi

Submitted to Contest #112

Sometimes i think i am jinxed or probably hoaxed! Where am i going to with this life of mine? How many more bridges do i have to burn? What lessons have i not learnt? Are heartbreaks now becoming my bosom buddy?My heart couldn't evade nor ignore these questions everyday because the pain is deep; either i am falling apart or the least my mind does is play games with me telling me everything will b alright but this is the part i always go with because somewhere within i believe "life is hope and hope is life". I hate to love this as an eruditi...

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“Just Like Me” by Stevie B

Submitted to Contest #112

Sitting at my desk in the morning I studied the computer keyboard. Traces of dried blood were visible on several of the character keys; particularly the “Z” and the “C”. I had been hurt. My bandaged fingers still ached and throbbed from the accident. Of course I'm referring to my fistfight with the electric fan the night before. Yeah, I got banged up a bit, but hey, you should’ve seen the other guy! The fan, that bladed brute, was busted up beyond repair and now left for dead in the garbage dumpster that sat outside the building.Here’s what ...

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“Some People Feel the Rain” by Scout Tahoe

Submitted to Contest #112

It was exactly 47 degrees in the Bodega Bay Lodge on March 5th, 2021, outside room six. The wind licked goosebumps onto our bare arms as we waited. My sister, Piper, had a plain blue towel wrapped around her body like a burrito of warmth. Her chestnut hair skipped across her face. I knew she didn’t have to be here, but she followed me everywhere. I always tried to convince myself that it was annoying, but to be truthful it was flattering how she shadowed me like an old, faithful hound. Finally, the door creaked open. My cousin, ...

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“The Bright Ones” by Daniel R. Hayes

Submitted to Contest #112

In the beginning, before all things, there existed only darkness in the void. Then suddenly, as if a gift from the Gods, there was light. The light was just a flicker, no more than a candle flame. It pulsed like a beating heartbeat. For a millennium, the flame burned bright, keeping the darkness at bay, and all was well. Tranquility could not last forever, for there must be balance. The darkness fought back with a deafening silence. A cataclysmic event between the light and dark forces changed everything. BOOM! The peaceful tra...

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“Miraculous Rain” by Henry Vinicio Valerio-Madriz

Submitted to Contest #112

“It’s been a long time…” “It’s been a much longer season, indeed.” “Do you think this is it? I mean, this time?” “How can we know? Nobody knows…” “Of course, we know! When you face Death, you know… maybe, at the very last moment, but you know.” A few, the strongest ones standing, looked around. Cities were abandoned after the food was completely consumed (what provoked insane violent chaos), nothing was left in the markets or supermarkets. Water purifiers were still working, so, drinkable water was still available. Unfortu...

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“A Pale Flood” by Vince Salamone

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #112

Content warning: cannibalism, graphic violence, goreThey were in the stairwell when it started raining.Sergeant Vanya Kraz bent her ear to the sound, even as her booted feet continued to trample up the flaking ochre steps; muted bass thumping to counterpoint the drumroll reverberations from the armored men and women of the 6th Urban Pacification and Counter-Terror Group.Strange, she thought. The skies had been clear when they’d deployed, a crisp autumnal morning that had smarted the eyes, its brilliance intensified against the wan skein of t...

Read story

“Daughter of Slaughter” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #112

Grey clouds had been promising rain for hours. Leonor city needed the rain to wash away the blood of the siege. Its people were exhausted. The army had been slaughtered. Most men who had not fought in the battle at Worldworm’s Bridge had died defending the wall in the first attack of the empire. Queen Malin had turned the tables with a curse, not a miracle. Danielle saw, as all the defenders on the wall saw, that the northern wall was now surrounded by a line of deadly t...

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“Between the Black and White” by Katharine Widdows

Submitted to Contest #112

TW - themes of grief / loss.The wipers aren’t enough. Water gushes over the windscreen in waves as unrelenting as my grief. But, unlike my grief, it is swept away in measured, sideways beats. The streetlights are blurry starbursts in my struggling vision. I steady my right foot on the accelerator and my left hand on the wheel.Black cloud hangs with menaces above, banishing celestial light from view. The bottle in my other hand is difficult to drink from without banging my teeth, even at this low speed. But the bourbon tastes like freedom as ...

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“GIRL YOU WANT” by Caryn Devincenti

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #112

GIRL YOU WANT I met the girl of my dreams last week. I was away at college in Pennsylvania, attending my residency, a ten day reprieve from the Florida heat, my husband, and my kids. The first time I saw her, she was chatting on her cell phone in the restroom. I caught her reflection in the mirror and smiled. She didn’t seem to notice or was too wrapped up in her conversation to wave back. No matter, I thought. I was busy, myself. The next time I saw her, she was in class, reading aloud a rough draft of our latest assignment. The piec...

Read story

“The Southern Penitentiary for Invisible Individuals” by Garrett Michael

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #112

CW: violenceHow we got here is unimportant. What matters is we are here. For now, at least.We deal with the reality like most of us deal with weight gain.I must have drunk a lot of water today.That extra weight is because I'm wearing pants on the scale.It's innocent enough, especially if it helps you live a less worried life.So when the clouds begin to come together in a beautiful and dark ensemble, the rain will come down, and people will disappear. A single drop of the Earth's new premium beverage gives us a chance to go away. To exist onl...

Read story

“Monsters” by Olivia Lake

Submitted to Contest #112

“Mommy, I want to go home.” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to swallow the scream building in my throat. "This is your home now, sweetie." Rosie crossed her arms. She had been a nightmare all morning, sliding around on the hardwood floor in socks and nothing else, barely dodging the buckets set out for the leaky roof. She was so delighted by my fruitless attempts to catch her that it had become her favorite game every time I dried to dress her. Jason never had a problem getting her ready; she always listened to him the fi...

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$250

Prize money

260

Contest entries

178

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 24, 2021 EST

Won by Cathryn V 🏆

Title: Take that Drink

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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