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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#118: Metamorphosis

Whichever way you look at it, fall is a season of change. The trees are changing color, the waking hours are getting shorter, and the days are growing colder. It also happens to be Halloween, meaning we might need to gear up for some spooktacular supernatural transformations too… if you believe in that sort of thing!

Whether your characters are enjoying the crunch of fallen leaves, or undergoing a creepy metamorphosis of their own, we hope this week’s prompts help you get the best out of fall this year.

This week's prompts

Start your story with “Today’s the day I change.”

Teens – 54 stories

Write about a character, animal or human, who is reborn as something totally different.

High School – 42 stories

Write your story from the perspective of an outsider watching something or someone change.

Middle School – 45 stories

Your character picks up a fallen leaf and can’t believe what they discover underneath it. What happens next?

Fall – 38 stories

Set your story during a sudden change of season.

Fall – 26 stories

Stories

“I Will Remember You” by Dell Bell

Submitted to Contest #118

(CW: Language) Mama was crying. Everyone was crying. Outside was loud but inside was louder. It sounded like the movies Sister used to watch during Halloween. Yelling and sobbing and trembling. All the types of sadness. No one moved from their homes on the ground. I guess they thought if they got up they’d be back outside. We all just huddled there in little bundles, shivering to the beat of grief. I tried to look around more, to see if I could find anyone I knew, to see if I could find Father and Sister, but Mama pushed me...

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“Blown Away” by Bettina Karpathian

Submitted to Contest #118

Lindy jumped for joy as she saw Grace extricate her lanky frame from her little car. Grace was attempting to carry multiple bags, which she promptly scattered as she swept Lindy into a bear hug. “Still living up to your name, I see,” said Lindy, laughing. “Graceful as ever! Welcome, sister. So glad you could keep me company while Dave's away.” A stocky man with a buzz cut and ear protectors suddenly appeared in the garden next door. With military bearing, he began marching up and down the lawn, wieldin...

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“A Walk in the Park” by Thomas Farrell

Submitted to Contest #118

A Walk in the Park by Thomas E. Farrell Jr. Today, finally and yet dreadfully had come. The morning sunshine burst through the curtainless windows, awakening Simon; causing him to squint his eyes before turning his face from the blinding light. He drug his body up off the comforter beneath him. The make-shift bed that gave no relief from the bruises that appeared on his hips. Bruises caused by the bare hardwood flooring under the once comfy bedspread which used to cover and keep him warm at night on his long gone queen-sized mattress. This o...

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“A Leaf Snowballs” by Maria Avisal

Submitted to Contest #118

Nadine wouldn’t have even noticed the giant leaf, yellow with brown spots like a gracefully aging banana, if her three-year-old son hadn’t recently become obsessed with the leaves on the ground during the walk home from her mother’s apartment when she picked him up in the evening. Yesterday he had spent ten minutes comparing shapes and relative sizes of yellow triangular ginkgo leaves and mastering the pronunciation of “gingko”. She wasn’t sure what type of tree this huge leaf had com...

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“MAPLES AND MEMORIES” by Joy A

Submitted to Contest #118

(TW: Bereavement and grief)With his face turned heavenwards and his right hand grasping a dried maple leaf, Andres struggled with his thoughts as he stood in their favorite park, under their favorite tree. How did it come to this?Only three hours ago, he was strolling through the park, humming a tune to himself as he enjoyed the gentle warmth of the Sun. Suddenly, his azure eyes spotted something on the bench that was under the maple tree Iris loved so much. He moved towards the tree, his eyes fixed on the brown item. As he got to the bench,...

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“Necro” by Francois Van Der Merwe

Submitted to Contest #118

Necroby Francois van der MerweEverything is ready for the ritual. The bodies are stacked high in the garden shed. The eyes glow, putrid fluid pools on the floor. Magic grows in green swirls as words of mouth and twisting fingers pull souls from the abyss.Animated dead shamble towards the house.A dead soldier walks through the front door. Startled shouts and screams cut the night. People back up as plates crash to the floor.A man in dark livery climbs onto a table and knocks an arrow to his concealed hand-bow.“Reck!” someone calls.The arrow f...

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“Precipitation” by Charity Jones

Submitted to Contest #118

Rain bounces back up from the clouded cement as it hits the ground. The rainstorm casts a muddied filter across the concrete jungle gym. The only splash of color from a nearby playground, a sweet red emerges the twisting slide heavily influenced by the steamy downpour. The shimmering playscape glows in comparison to its high and mighty bureaucratic brethren. I stare out my window sulking away day after day. Bored of the comfort of my bed I imagine a life I don't live and wouldn’t particularly want to live. “How do stray cats survive th...

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“Goodbye Commander” by Atlas Suarez

Submitted to Contest #118

"Today's the day I change." I wrote in my journal for what seemed like the hundredth time as the sticky summer heat subsided into crisp fall air. I usually write this when I begin to feel a certain way. It's nothing the antidepressants or a distraction can fix. It could be circumstantial as I haven't spent as much time with my friends, and first semester is already kicking my ass, but I should be happy...right? Days are starting to seem like a chore which makes me wonder..."Is my life a chore?" Thinking deeper about this my life is a chore. ...

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“I WAS GOING TO CHANGE” by Mary Kurpiewski

Submitted to Contest #118

➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢➢ I WAS GOING TO CHANGE! Mary Cahill Kurpiewski It was the day I was going to change! It was my chance--my chance to change! This was my chance to become a new person. This opportunity isn’t usually presented to everyone. I had the perfect scenario. It was my chance to have a new image--my chance! I was going to change! My husband received a job transfer from the East coast to the West. We were getting a new home, new neighborho...

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“Another Day in the Trigmore House” by Howard Seeley

Submitted to Contest #118

Today’s the day I change. I’ve been letting Casey get away with murder her whole, and now I’m going to put my foot down. She absently wiped a tear away. What happened to my baby girl? Yes, she’s done some naughty things, when she was young, like stealing candy or teasing her younger brother, Paul. But when I caught her in her bedroom, half naked with that boy, it was too much. What was she thinking of? Yes, she was seventeen, still she should have had enough sense to say no to him. Nora Trigmore threw her hands up in the air. And now that “...

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“The winter fall” by Kayem The Writer

Submitted to Contest #118

Today’s the day I change, were the exact words I uttered to myself a year ago when I started working for Blake Sowly, one of the most successful billionaires of New York. Becoming the secretary of the wealthiest holding company of the United States’ CEO involved many changes. Changes I wasn’t thrilled to make but changes I couldn’t avoid. I knew it; I had to give my best to reach my goal.I cleared my voice, forced a smile, and raised my gaze to the woman in front of me. She had high-heels, bright, ironed clothes, manicured hands, a made-up f...

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“The Vow” by Sophie Smith

Submitted to Contest #118

Today’s the day I change. I had told myself that for days. Weeks. Months. Years. But today is going to be the day I actually change. Today is going to be the day that I face my anxieties. Today is going to be the day that I smile. Today is going to be the day that I will change. I just didn’t know it yet. How could I? I hadn’t met you yet. The reason for the change. But standing here, in front of you, I now know that’s the day I began to change. That’s the day I met you.&n...

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“Changing Morr” by Tara Hoover

Submitted to Contest #118

“Today’s the day I change. No, really, this time I mean it.” It was the best lie I’d ever told myself while being ushered out of our gate with 7,000 other males. We bundled up our 1 pair of clothes on our shoulders along with our pride. Our shoes were stripped away as well as our Manma’s fingers, gripping our brown collards… Would it be considered real change if we knew it was coming from day 1? In Boarding we were told the definition was “the act or instance of making or becoming different.” I guess that’s what I wanted… I wanted somethin...

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“A good day to change” by Brett B

Submitted to Contest #118

CONTENT WARNING: The following story includes alcohol references and some unsettling situations. "Today's the day I change." He said to the ceiling. And this time, he meant it. Last night's drunken brain had succumbed to the futon's advances with little resistance and now his thirty-seven year old back dealt with the aftermath. Though, the stiffness in his lower spine would have to play a supporting role to the swollen watermelon at the end of his neck. The throbbing agony between his ears made him question if at some point during th...

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“The Struggles of Change” by Random Content

Submitted to Contest #118

*Trigger Warning: Contains violence and offensive language “Today’s the day I change.” Arthur stared at his reflection in the mirror as he repeated this phrase to himself. Change is not a simple thing for a person stuck in mundanity, but Arthur was determined to transform his life. He looked out the window at the sun shining amidst the clouds. He would no longer bend under the weight of society or those that drag him down. Arthur was a changed man. The walls of Arthur’s office were painted a drab gray which he found somewhat demotivatin...

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$250

Prize money

205

Contest entries

140

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Nov 05, 2021 EST

Won by Myia Melendy 🏆

Title: beneath the quaking aspen

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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