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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#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

“In inferno, nulla est redemptio” by Danny G

Submitted to Contest #113

Finally home from his sixth straight 12-hour shift and Mitch was ready for bed. No partying. No going out. Not tonight.“Twenty-six and in bed by eight,” he muttered, buttoning up his pyjama top. “What a party animal.”He shuffled down the hall of his apartment with his phone in hand, browsing social media and heading for his bedroom, when there was a knock at the door.Mitch paused. Who could that be?Another knock, followed by a commanding voice, “Police. Is anyone home?”He felt his heart skip a beat and he almost dropped his phone. The police...

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“There's Always a Cassandra” by Elizabeth Fenley

Submitted to Contest #113

“There’s Always a Cassandra” by Elizabeth Fenley He always apologizes, the Babadook whose name he told me is Ensos, for bringing me the dreams. I ask why he has to bring the dreams at all—and why bring them to me? He says solemnly, “You are now the Cassandra. There must always be one.” He stares at me with vacant eye sockets, his skeletal face stretched tight with thin-sheeted rubbery pale skin. His black top hat, worn, crumpled, dusty though it is, gives him an air of dignity, of reserved poise, even grace. When his long skinless bone...

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“The Stuff of Which Dreams are Made” by Elizabeth Fenley

Submitted to Contest #113

“The Stuff of Which Dreams are Made” by Elizabeth Fenley The morning after the dream, I went to see Sylvie. She was setting up her shop for the day—the kind that sells aromatherapy, crystals, dream catchers, ritual athames, stuff like that. She was behind the counter, rearranging displays with swoops of her flowing, gauzy purple sleeves. Bangles on her wrists reverberating like wind chimes through the glass door. I could hear her humming to herself. Even though the sign said, “We are Currently Closed. The Universe will Open for You When It I...

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“Milly's Old Man” by Dr Stafford

Submitted to Contest #113

Milly’s Old Man “This is my worst nightmare, Mildred, the bank foreclosing on the cabin. Can you believe this? Me, Mr. Perfect. They call me that, you know. The boys in the plant. Every day at work they’d say, There goes Mr. Perfect. Even though they whispered, I heard them. At the water-cooler, in the break room, even on the floor, sometimes when the machines were not so loud, I could hear them. Look at Karl, the man with the perfect life, the perfect wife. He has a cabin on the lake too. Did ...

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“I Saw You in a Dream” by L.J Sunwing

Submitted to Contest #113

I felt a momentary haze, a crowd of people surrounded me, and myself amongst them. I never liked places like these. The confusion and exhaustion it elicited leave me feeling thousands of miles away from people who are physically next to me. For myself, there is a perpetual feeling of loneliness in large crowds. I’ve never cared for people, not in large crowds at least. I preferred the company of others as we sit across from each other in a quiet restaurant. In a Christian sense, my love for others was present, no matter how begrudging that...

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“Programmed into the Netherworld” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #113

Programmed into the Netherworld Tom Jepson worked hard as a project manager for Apex Computer Consulting. In fact, every one of his many clients would rely solely on Tom’s expertise. If he had taken one of the extremely infrequent vacations he took during his two-decade tenure at Apex, his clients would endanger the success of important projects rather than entrust ope...

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“It's All In Wonderland” by Jackie Streich Schoening

Submitted to Contest #113

Hi, I'm Mila. I'm a 13 year old teen in ninth grade. Now, I sounds like a normal human teen and, I am, until something happened that changed my life forever Keep reading to find out more about me and how things became really weird. It was a normal day in my high school hallways. Drama,gossip and more.I was on my way to Ms. Smith’s English class and dropping my bff’s (Lila and Lia) off at Mrs. Miller's math class. As I got closer and closer to Ms. Smith’s classroom I wondered more and more what we would be doing that day. I go...

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“A Fall From Grace” by Freya Matheson

Submitted to Contest #113

(TW: Mentions of assault/violence and suicide)Stella sets up her booth like she does every Friday. Ballston Mall is always swarming with desperate characters: flirtatious teenagers, voracious salespeople, millennials trying to find acceptance with a side of discount pajamas. She gets her fair share of hate, sure. There's always a MAGA Hat Asshole that spits on the ground and calls her some terrible slur. She usually makes at least $500 though, and for a fortune teller that's basically the best one can do."Hello? Do you take card?"It's a timi...

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“Cruel love: Flings and Devotions” by Chacha Jaramillo

Submitted to Contest #113

This is my worst nightmare- I’m still trying to figure this out. It’s meaning quite disturbing, shakes me to my core and at the same time, the morbidity it implies. A bright sunny day, high warmed breeze delicately brushing the tops of the dunes, where you can vaguely see a waving and sometimes whirlwind skimming the suntanned creamy ethereal two toned sand. The wind howling in the background seemed to be playing a new melody ‘Here comes the Bride’ with a sad hint, almost eerie and Halloween type of music. The bride; white ...

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“...not yet...” by Mat Hurren

Submitted to Contest #113

This is my worst nightmare. These have been the most difficult days of my life. Never have I ever felt the anguish that I am experiencing at this moment. My love, my passion, my partner in life, has gone. I wake in the morning and roll over to discover anew that I will never wake beside her beautiful smiling face ever again. Life feels meaningless without my love and my heart aches every second of every day since she has passed. I don’t understand how this could have happened. There weren’t any signs. There weren’t any indications that she w...

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“Sweet Dreams” by Kari Larsen

Submitted to Contest #113

Sweet Dreams by Kari Larsen My mother and I would visit my grandparents often. We lived an hour and a half away by car on good traffic days. I loved our visits. I remember the excitement I would feel as we made the left turn off of the main road onto Westmoreland Drive. My mother would pull over onto the grass so we could switch seats. She let me drive from that point to the house. We kept it our secret from my father. I would have to stretch my leg a little to reach the gas pedal when she first started letting me drive. We would pa...

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“Waterson Wakes” by Tanya Humphreys

Submitted to Contest #113

‘This is my worst nightmare.’ Thought captain Roscoe Waterson. He was willing to go down with the ship but losing the lives of his crew had always been his greatest fear. And now, it seemed like that was about to happen. Another blast shook the 60-foot spacecraft. Through the curvature of his windshield, he saw another two dozen scraps of metal explode off the left side in a puff of silver and yellow glitter. Before looking forward again, his eyes lingered on his co-pilot, slumped in the seat next to him. Hi...

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“Quasar 2082” by Bati Cruz

Submitted to Contest #113

The year is 2082, or that’s what Marianne figured from the holographic billboards in the neon-lit street she was walking down. “Get your 2082 gear on with Quasar Fashion.” Marianne avoided eye-contact as she pushed her way through the crowded streets. Instead, her eyes were busy wondering at the flamboyant and colorful gel-like clothes worn by the people all around. It seemed like jeans and hoodies had been abandoned in the past. And something else that had changed dramatically was the sheer scale of the city. This particular street was on...

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“Christmas Ham” by Lia Melendez

Submitted to Contest #113

This is my worst nightmare, while driving on the icy highway, a semi-truck side swiped my car! I swerved off the road and my car got stuck in a snow embankment. " Great!" I said, being sarcastic. This was the icing on the cake of one of the worst days of my life. I had a pain on my forehead and felt something warm trickle down my face. " What the?" , I glanced in the rearview mirror and realized the warm thing trickling down my face was blood. " Fucking of course it's blood," I said, "What a great way to end this crazy day!" I exited th...

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“The Toilet Block” by Maxine Danby

Submitted to Contest #113

This is my worst nightmare. I’d had a very exhausting couple of months with work and two teenage daughters pulling me in all directions. Each time I’m taken back to that night, my clothes become wringing wet with the fearful memory of that night. Driving along the winding country roads in the darkness of the moonless night was stressful, and the cloying heat of midsummer caused my back to stick against the car seat; sticky wetness created an annoying itch, forcing me to rub my upper torso hard against the back of the seat. I almost lost cont...

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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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