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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

“Rumble ” by Amanda White

Submitted to Contest #119

“What was that unusual sound,” I said as me and my best friend Chloe were walking down this ally way the same ally way we have been taking ever since we were kids. The trees sway back and forth and the dead leaves dropping to the ground as we step on them, they make a crunching noise than wind noises push our hair from side to side or back but the noise that I heard was not anything in nature even Chloe jumped, and it was hard to get her scared. “Maybe it was an animal Beth” I then stared at her “isn’t that what people say in horror films an...

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“A Paper Bag Full of CDs” by Mandi Elkins Hutchins

Submitted to Contest #119

skchrlskchrlskchrlskchrlskchrl … We don’t have a paper bag full of CDs…. skchrlskchrlskchrlskchrlskchrl … That was the sound I heard, though, from the tiny bathroom — arms overhead, curling iron in hair, Sunday morning light reflecting back at me from the small mirror. Even if we DID have a paper bag full of CDs (which we DO NOT) WHY would Michael be rifling through them at 9 o’clock on a Sunday morning. He’s sound asleep… skchrlskchrlskchrlskchrlskchrl skchrlskchrlskchrlskchrlskchrl skchrlskchrlskchrlskchrlskchrl ...

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“Fish and KIds ” by Karen Lethlean

Submitted to Contest #119

Fish and kids. A knife slid through flesh, pulling and tugging with a slight squeal. Mala laughs remembering how she showed summer visitors, throwing out a line, lazing over pier fences, how to gut fish. They might waste hours, throwing more than a dozen under-sized tiddlers back. If insufficient bait they’d try bits of green weed. Wouldn’t work. When a legal creature extricated themselves from the deep finally, waves of celebration spread among spectators and fishers. Only to describe such accidental engagements with timid hooks, fish com...

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“Cacophony, New York City, Three AM” by Kieran Quinn

Submitted to Contest #119

The first time she heard the noise, it was 3:18 in the morning. She’d been awake, sweating under the too-warm duvet until around three, and had just sunk into the first few moments of heavy welcome sleep, when the sound came down from the ceiling and torpedoed the early stages of her REM cycle. Maureeeeeeen. A man’s voice, shaky and thin, yet piercingly loud.Maureeeeen! Maureeeeeeeen! Who the hell was Maureen? She’d met their upstairs neighbor, an older woman named Barbara with a severe silver bob and a hairless cat. Barbara s...

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“Pas de Deux ( A Dance for Two)” by Judith Dreyer

Submitted to Contest #119

Pas de deux (A Dance For Two) "Listen," said a voice that sounded like an elder man. "Understand dreams are real. We live in them as much as we live in this day-to-day world that we say is "awake." I heard his voice soft and muffled but couldn't see anyone; I just caught a glimpse of his back, something burgundy, from the corner of my eye. So, I drifted into a grey space, not defined, not knowing how this dream would begin. I found myself back in the ballet studio so I could practice when no one would be around. The glow from the ligh...

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“Fresh Start” by Holden Crake

Submitted to Contest #119

“Listen” actually you know. fuck this shit. so. that’s decided then. good job Kim. now where were you? focus your eyes. that’s it. shopfront. sidewalk. street. sidewalk. cigarette almost burnt out between my fingers. how long have I been standing like this? on the sidewalk. by myself. in the dark. staring across the asphalt lit moodily by a streetlight. streetliight peeeeple. oh shut up girl. ash cigarette. take a drag. drop butt. exhale. now where was I? oh yes, fuck this shit. “I quit”. take the earpiece out o...

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“Every Time a Bell Rings” by Holy Roly Poly

Submitted to Contest #119

“Listen…” Mrs. Lewis lowered the storybook she had been reading aloud from and turned to face her six-year-old daughter. Marie was no longer nestled in her bed as she had been previously, but was instead perched at the window, gazing intently out through a few holes she had rubbed in the frosty glass. There wasn’t much to see through the dim moonlight, only the shady outline of the dense forest that loomed ominously only a few dozen yards away, but her ...

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“Vagabond dreamin' takes me through the night” by Claire Bendig

Submitted to Contest #119

“Listen, I think it is time you go out and meet some people! You’ve been living on your own for a few months now and I don’t want you to get too lonely.”“Well it’s not exactly easy. You go out into the world and you have to cover your face with a mask, you try to make a little small talk and your glasses get foggy. I’m telling you, nobody wants to talk to anybody… a pandemic doesn’t really breed an environment for social hours.” “Espi, I think that is a little dramatic, don’t you? It’s Friday night, go out and put yourself out there. Yo...

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“Trapped” by Irene Oluoch

Submitted to Contest #119

“Listen, I beg you. Please, listen to me Mike. This is getting out of hand... I can’t take it anymore!” “Look, all I’m saying is; I need a small break from all this…I think you do too. Just a little time away from each other. We can’t keep doing this, Mike” I begged desperately, still locked inside the bathroom. “You can’t leave me Lena, I won’t let you! Not now, not ever, you hear me, never!” Mike’s voice came roaring from the other side of the door. “How dare you! After all I’ve done for you, and your family? How dare you tell me you want ...

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“Olive You, Forever” by Celeste Anderson

Submitted to Contest #119

CW: miscarriage “Listen,” the doctor says. “Can you hear that?” You can. Over the background whoosh there is a sound, an unmistakably beautiful sound. A tiny little pitter patter that says I Am Here and I Am Hope. A thump-thump thump-thump thump-thump. “Yes,” you say thickly, a happy tear escaping. “I can hear it. It’s definitely there.” In the chair next to you, He is transfixed on that black and white screen too and you squeeze his hand in elation. “Congratulations,” the doctor says, the printer whirring out a picture of a tiny dot...

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“Reminiscence” by Peter Phoenix

Submitted to Contest #119

“Listen here, you maggots!” the colonel shouted and his rough voice echoed in the spacious hall. “We will be landing in zone KR2-Y778, so expect heavy resistance! You have been equipped with the newest prototype tech we have, but it won’t protect you against your stupidity!” The colonel’s sudden shouting woke me up from my daydreaming. I opened my eyes and looked around. I was standing among hundreds of other people, in a dimly lit metal hall. The heavy air inside carried a very unique odor, a mix of an acrid smell combined with a metallic...

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“You Know I Am No Good” by Nelly Shulman

Submitted to Contest #119

You Know I Am No Good I do not know why I have such a fancy for this little café. The sparse copper burners exude the marginal warmth, failing to penetrate the numbing iciness of the wintry city. The sharp wind whips the pedestrians, hurdling them into the corner holes such as the one I have been frequenting lately. The central, brightly lit places swarm with beautiful young things. They order fancy coffees unheard of here, where the dilapidated plaster walls shed the greying particles as if the unkempt man scratches his head, spraying ...

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“Nights and Letters” by Vivian Gould

Submitted to Contest #119

I watched the candle flicker from the breeze coming from the open window; quill poised above the letter I needed to finish. I looked at the stack of letters I had written to you each night, never sent. Each a declaration, of what, I was never sure about. The thoughts of your beauty in my head confused me, making it hard to concentrate on what I needed to say. I set the quill down and walked over to the window. I opened the curtain to let the moon in. As its harsh white light fell onto my turned down bed, I thought about you. Your beauty; you...

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“Zoom” by F.O. Morier

Submitted to Contest #119

Zoom... Remember that song? I haven't heard that one in a while. I think I forgot it and to be honest, I think I chose to forget it. It was a commercial R&B hit with a soul vibe, during the '80s. Bang... heaven called and all the angels sang. It´s a song that comes pretty close to a demonstration of what might happen when love comes into your life. I'll admit it's a song you have to be in the mood for. (I guess it would be more accurate to say, that you have to be in the zone for this one.) Last week it came on the radio, and I fou...

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“You're Just Drunk” by RG .

Submitted to Contest #119

I really love her but her and I are two different people. We "mutually" decided to not talk anymore due to our differences. Ever since Ely turned 21, all she does is party and drink all day, while I just like to chill at home and play video games on my free time. I can't blame her though, she's a young, alluring model, while I'm a broke college student. Today, I surprisingly wasn't even thinking about her, I was playing Call of Duty and I got a text message that read "I miss you..." . As soon as I read the text, I dropped my controller. Sh...

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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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