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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#119: Listen

It’s November, and with that come some familiar sounds: the pitter-patter of rain, the rustling of leaves, and the hysterical typing of writers attempting NaNoWriMo. This week, let’s throw the windows open and listen closely. And if you need company while you write, join the Reedsy team for a live Write-In on November 10th!

This week's prompts

Start your story with an unusual sound being heard.

Horror – 41 stories

Start your story with a character saying “Listen, …”

Valentine's Day – 57 stories

Write a story inspired by a piece of music (without using any lyrics).

Middle School – 39 stories

Write a story that involves eavesdropping.

Fluff – 34 stories

Set your story in a silent house by the sea.

Dystopian – 61 stories

Stories

“The Beginning and End of Sheba” by Karena G

Submitted to Contest #119

Sheba (Excerpt) “Bitsy” is what they used to call me. In first grade, I was almost the same size as the other kids. We were equals back then. Man, how things have changed. I stopped growing at ten years old. No one questioned it; it was a family trait. My mom is four foot eight and so is her sister. They told me I was lucky to reach four foot ten and I believed them. “Lucky” has different meanings to different people. Kids are cruel, but I never let the teasing get to me. I had a couple of besties who didn’t care if I was four feet ta...

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“Time To Grief.” by Colleen Brownlee

Submitted to Contest #119

Time To Grief. Melanie turned the key and took a deep breath as she entered the beautiful refurbished beach house. It had been a year since she had visited with her mum and friends. Today it was just her with George her dog entering the house, it was so quiet. As she walked in the hallway, she felt tearful but a peaceful relieve that she was there. Her mum had loved the beach house an escapism from the monotonous of life her mum had always confessed it was her outlay in life. “It was always our dream love to have a ho...

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“The Silent House” by Patricia Robinson

Submitted to Contest #119

“Buy our little house by the ocean and enjoy your final years!” My husband’s last words before he took his final breath. He lasted 4 months longer than the doctors predicted, but they were not months of quality, only pain and misery … and a bit of soul searching … for us both. On our 19 anniversary, two weeks before Thanksgiving, I was diagnosed with advance stage macular degeneration and told I would be mostly blind within a year. Paul died 2 days short of our 21st anniversary and I could see him clear as day. I’m sure he would agree that i...

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“Trust” by Anje Campisi

Submitted to Contest #119

"Listen, can you hear them? There they are whispering about her again." I turned towards the vent in the wall, ears open, but my mind still closed. This man had saved me, saved a lot of us over the years. He had always been one of the few approachable ones here, despite being Adam's left hand. Adam's right hand was a soldier, he fought and commanded those in the field for the cause, but his left, the crazed-eyed gentleman before me, had always been the backbone, the voice of reason and fortitude. If the right was the physic...

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“Those Days On The Island” by Mek R

Submitted to Contest #119

“Listen, could I just…walk around the community for a few minutes?” She gestured toward the gated community they stood in front of. The security guard turned down the music emanating from his booth and looked at her, brow furrowing in some combination of confusion and skepticism. She couldn’t blame him—anyone who wanted to actually live here would’ve called the leasing office. And she wasn’t trying to live here. She already had.Twenty years had gone by since she’d last seen it, and the place looked exactly the same. At least, she thought so....

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“Observer” by Emma Wood

Submitted to Contest #119

Not everyone could be an Observer. It was a heartless job: she would be deployed wherever they thought she would be needed, and no matter what happened, she would do exactly what her job title said. Observe. Hauntings, demon sightings, cryptic sightings, possessions—she’d only been at it for about a decade, but she’d already seen enough to last her a lifetime. People of her profession had also reached the status of urban legend. Watchers (a more accurate title, in Annie’s opinion), Men in Black (she particularly resented this title; ...

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“The Walls” by Emerson St.Laurent

Submitted to Contest #119

Tap...tap...tap... Laying in my twin bed. Pink flowery duvet under me along with my ten decorative pillows my mother insist is some sort of household fashion. I always did hate this house the weird creaks in the floorboards when my mother walks around judging the way I cleaned my bedroom. The drizzle of the kitchen faucet and of course the screech of my father's old typewriter scratching back and forth the keys clipping loud and his grunts when he messed up a sentence. Old houses always have thin walls and creaky he...

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“By The Sea” by Zachary Seda

Submitted to Contest #119

The gentle water rose and sank on the beach. Hot sand warmed the body. The fresh smell of nature was welcoming. Though the clouds loomed overhead, it was a beautiful day. One could die here peacefully. The worn-down wooden docks led to the little island in the middle of the sea. The island, sprouting only three trees, had a little silent house atop it. There lived an older man, minding his own business for the past several years. Every day he would come outside to water his flowers around the house, even giving the three trees a little lov...

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“Hindsight is a wonderful thing” by Alice Richardson

Submitted to Contest #119

Hindsight is a wonderful thing If only we could see the future, even just a little bit. A few hours could be enough. And if we could, would we be smart enough to do things differently? I wonder. I was holidaying at a little seaside town and, to fill in an hour or so, had been driving aimlessly around looking at the scenery. The dirt road I was travelling along terminated at a tee junction. A wooden signpost indicated ‘to the beach’ in one direction while the other side of the ...

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“Lost and found” by Jim Cowles

Submitted to Contest #119

LOST AND FOUND Jim Cowles - October 2021 2,500 words Listen! What was that! It sounded like someone trying to get in my window, but I don't see a soul outside. It sure makes me wonder if someone came in that way to steal it, then got scared I'd catch them. I tell you what, now that I've found it, I've got to know who did it. I mean,.maybe it was there all the time, I guess, huh (?), but if it was, how could I miss it? I must have walked passed it a thousand times, so if it was there, I just missed it? Ha! ...

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“The Night the Whispers Started” by Sophie Smith

Submitted to Contest #119

Normally I sleep through the night and dream away the darkness until the morning light. But not tonight. Tonight I have tossed and turned in the quiet darkness of my room. Seeing every hour pass by silently without a noise echoing through the sleepy house. Watching the numbers on my phone flicker to show the current time. 3:00. A slight panic coursed through my veins at the realisation of what time it was. Witching hour. The words of my Great Grandad rang through my head. Never be awake...

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“Beach Mansion” by Sam Newsome

Submitted to Contest #119

Beach Mansion The notice could not have come at a better time. James’ job had just ended with his company moving off-shore. There was nothing keeping him in the city and he was ready for a change of scenery. James’ wife, Jenny, was working from home. All she needed was her laptop and an internet hook-up, so the notice in the paper was ideal. Custodial Care Needed Custodial care givers needed for an exceptional opportunity. Infirm minimal custody inmates are being moved from stand...

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“Solitude” by Noelle C. Lee

Submitted to Contest #119

Each morning she walks miles along the coastline without fail. There’s no such entity as weather permitting. Sometimes I spy her bundled in layers protecting her from nature’s wrath. Today was not different, a sleeting blizzard took our shores but non the less she walked them in diligence and dignity. I have often wanted to approach her and ask her why she’s so dedicated to this mission, but I have held myself back. Living on this beachfront property for nearly 2 years, eagerly waking each morning to my cup of Joe, luxuriating in my senses...

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“The Search” by Dakota Nugent

Submitted to Contest #119

How Mia ended up chasing a sound that may not even be real through her house, she’ll never know. It was her day off from work and all she wanted was to enjoy it by reading a book or watching television. Yet, a high-pitched whine distracted her from doing just that. She had walked through the entire house looking for whatever was causing it. When she first noticed it, she was in the living room, happily reading an old childhood favorite of hers. Mia tried to ignore it at first, but after having to read the same page multiple times, she just c...

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“Cocked Eyes. Opened Ears” by Aletta Bee

Submitted to Contest #119

Washing the dishes had never been so difficult for Melissa. Not so much because of the washing itself, but because she yearned to know what her husband and his old med school friend were talking about way down the hallway, in the living room. As she sprayed the last of the bubbles down the drain, she wrestled with her feelings. Did she dare to tiptoe down the hall, stay out of sight, and listen? She cringed at the idea of eavesdropping… at first. But her need to understand what was going on with her husband, what was truly going on w...

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$250

Prize money

232

Contest entries

160

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Nov 12, 2021 EST

Won by Rachel Dzengelewski 🏆

Title: Suzanne

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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