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#113: Dreams and Nightmares

Different cultures and civilizations have been pondering the meaning of dreams for centuries. Whether you believe dreams reflect real life, or real life reflects our dreams, it’s difficult not to be intrigued by the personalized movies our brain creates while we’re asleep. This week’s prompts encourage you to explore what happens when we enter this liminal space between fantasy and reality — and how dreams can be beautiful, terrible, and everything in between.

This week's prompts

Write a story about a character who believes their dreams predict the future.

Thriller and Suspense – 39 stories

Start or end your story with the line ‘This is my worst nightmare.’

Dialogue – 74 stories

Write about two people whose dreams are somehow connected.

Thriller and Suspense – 43 stories

Write a story about a character who interprets people’s dreams.

Adults – 18 stories

Write about a character whose dreams are portals to other worlds.

Science Fiction – 54 stories

Stories

“The other side” by Ruth Zschoche

Submitted to Contest #113

The other side of the wall was there in his dream. The hallway went on, ducking down, then stopping to reveal another door. Through the door the cobwebs cleared. A little room sat there. A bed. A table, a chair, a red braided rug. A toy dog, plush and white.Sunlight playing through the window as the breeze lifted the sheer white and blue curtains and fluttered them. He turned back and saw the wall behind him. And the door. The door back to his room.He felt the control slipping just a little, found himself back in the tunnel between rooms. He...

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“Dreams of change” by Viola Kocsor

Submitted to Contest #113

CW: This story contains self-harmThis was a first for Helen. Waking up in the middle of the night, covered in sweat while breathing heavily. She believes, well, it was actually proven many times, that her dreams foretell the future. These dreams of hers usually predict only her fate and future, but on rare occasions, these dreams show her a much bigger picture. This time it was one of those rare happenings. Helen woke up not from a pleasant dream but from a dreadful nightmare that no person would ever wish to see. The dreamscapes of a land r...

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“Dejá Vu” by Lisa VanGalen

Submitted to Contest #113

Nothing is as it seems. I have woken from another dramatic dream and the world is different. Again. The pills I took last night did not keep the future from creeping into my thoughts, from morphing and altering the outside world into a demented version of what used to be. Just last week, I walked the streets of my town, waving at friends and neighbours. It was my hometown. I was welcomed by all. I sat in their homes, shared meals, laughed and cried and lived as a part of their society. Not today. Not ever again. For I have seen behind ...

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“Back up the pipes” by Ruth Zschoche

Submitted to Contest #113

TW: suicidal ideation“Everything is a dream because everything is already past. We are forever catching up with the past that we have yet to remember."I wrote in my journal that day, when I made my discovery. I read it now and hear the rambling angst and narcissism of the poet waiting for his brilliance to be discovered. Had I meant for someone to read this entry? My showmanship suggests a yes, but now that there is no one to read it I am glad for a bit of showmanship. It keeps staleness at bay.*Jan 1stThe now. The now. The now. The now come...

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“Dream Day” by Josef Schabell

Submitted to Contest #113

Dream Day Rain pools on the windshield as the wipers lag. Seconds accumulate; the red light blurs then is wiped clear. There’s that new car smell- plastic mixed with almost leather. A clear film covers the back door handle. As we idle at the light I pick at it. Scratching at the corner, I left it with my nail and then peal it. It curls into itself as soon it’s off and I roll it between thumb and index into a twisted litt...

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“Fever Dreams” by Lori Green

Submitted to Contest #113

This is my worst nightmare. It is the worst one I have had since last summer, when I left town after the fire. Every time I closed my eyes back then, I would dream the same endless nightmare. I tried desperately to stay awake as long as I could, but before long, my body would betray me and doze. I would dream of them. Those long amber flames licking towards the night sky, and I could feel the blaze behind my eyelids, the heat singeing my lashes. The smell of burnt hair and smoke hung heavy in the air, causing me to gag...

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“The Monster ” by SeAnna Lovett

Submitted to Contest #113

This is my worst nightmare. The thought flashed through her head, leaving a ragged trail of torn nerves behind it, and making her hands twitch and fidget. She would fail in her mission, and it would catch her, swallow her up so quickly that she would not even have time to scream. The thump, thump, thump of her heartbeat dulled all other sounds around her until there was nothing else but the beating and the roaring of the blood in ears. A hand to her head, she took a deep shaky breath and tried to organize her thoughts. Her mission, she coul...

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“"I think I should tell you something…"” by Vincent Cruz

Submitted to Contest #113

“This is my worst nightmare,” Ethan says. Next to him, curled in white bed sheets is Melanie, drinking from a green cup. “I wish you wouldn’t say that,” she says. “I don’t want this,” Ethan continues. “I never did, you have to understand.” The room is gently rattling to the rumbling train in the distance. Its whistle sounds like a siren; confetti falls from the ceiling in the bedroom. Someone comes into the room. It’s Ethan’s uncle, the one who helped arrange for his parents' funeral. “Uncle, what are you doing he...

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“In Marble Halls” by Mo Colby

Submitted to Contest #113

Is this my dream or yours?I feel... I feel as if I know you. Like I´ve seen you before. Somewhere.Is this my dream?I have no particular emotional link to the blue bicycle, the silver streamers at the grips. This is from your childhood memory, not mine. The temples are on me, I´m sorry if they confuse you... I find my way quite easily. Give me your hand. I´ll guide you through the pillars. I feel as though I´ve seen you. Not met you, but as if your face was a picture, spliced into the film of my life. Like a glimpse between tinned products on...

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“The Singers Heart” by Jesse Saville-Byrne

Submitted to Contest #113

‘I’m so sorry for your loss Mrs Hewitt,’ the young doctor looked at the floor, you could tell this was all new to him, giving people this kind of news was never going to be easy. That was the first night I dreamt of you, not that I realised the significance then nor for a while after that. I had to keep living, that’s what everyone told me, but how can you keep going when your best friend, soul mate, hell even partner in crime is gone just like that. We had no warning, he wasn’t ill he was just driving home from work one day and then he w...

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“Lucid Infidelity” by Brian Janko

Submitted to Contest #113

Mary pored over the catalog of extension courses offered by the nearby community college. Eddie watched her passively. However, he told her that he was going to feel foolish being the old guy in the class. “First off,” Mary said, “We’re not old. Forty is not that old. In fact, a lot of different people take these classes. That’s what they are for.” She partly closed the catalog so she could push the cover up to his nose while she pointed at the words “continuing education.” “See? It says continuing. There will be all sorts of people con...

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“The Pumpkin Smasher” by Marian Baldwin

Submitted to Contest #113

Toby walked into the kitchen and sat down at the counter where his mother was making pancakes. He ran his fingers through his hair, heaved a big sigh, and dropped his head down onto his folded arms. “Bad night?” asked his mother. Toby answered with a groan. He lifted up his head and put his face in his hands and then spread his fingers apart just enough to see his mother. “Must have been,” his mother said smiling. “I hope you're hungry.” “Maybe I will be when they’re done,” Toby answered rubbing his eyes. “You better be,...

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“The dream” by Margrit Perrin

Submitted to Contest #113

The Dream I like that state between half awake and also half asleep. My body still unmoving but my mind starting to float and drift. It is as if my thoughts become fluid and take themselves into their own directions. Usually I do not remember my dreams but by letting myself sink into this almost hypnotic state, my thoughts seem to be able to grasp the remnants of whatever dream I had that night. Today, however, there was no need for that. Today the dream stood in front of me, stark and strong with a clarity that demanded attention. ...

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“This Isn't It” by Doug D

Submitted to Contest #113

Content warning: natural disaster, death, mature, noob writer+++ He had slept. Or was it the other way around? He lost touch with which was which anymore. He was old again. Stiff, sore, and subdued. Strong, still, and in good shape. Not like the younger him who drinks too much, and knows too little for the power he holds.He stirred out of a comfortable lounge chair next to a pool on his private balcony high on a tall building. His sunburn revealed that he had been sleeping there for some time. A full pitcher of melted ice wa...

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“ALL BEHIND HER” by ROB MOLAN

Submitted to Contest #113

Janis wakes up with a broad smile on her face. Her hazel eyes gaze up to the ceiling which is illuminated by dapples of sunshine coming through the curtains and she thinks back on last night's dreams. It was obvious what they meant. She is going to marry Kenny next month when it is all behind her and he comes back from Afghanistan on his next spell of leave. There was the dream about her in the posh shop looking for an outfit for a special occasion. She had never fancied getting married in white and she had been trying on a gorgeous red f...

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$250

Prize money

228

Contest entries

139

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Oct 01, 2021 EST

Won by Megan Lange 🏆

Title: Dream Weaver

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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