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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#122: Spree Season

What comes after Thanksgiving? Black Friday, of course! Though this massive shopping occasion originated in America, it’s since become normal practice in many parts of the world. And did you know the reason why this jolly season has such a bleak name? (Hint: it’s got nothing to do with sales and discounts!) Apparently, the police once used “Black Friday” to refer to the bumper-to-bumper traffic and crowds congesting streets as people rushed through their holiday shopping. 


With this origin story in mind, here’s our gift to you this week: five prompts inspired by this strange and exciting intermission in the end-of-year holiday season. (And if you’re looking for actual gifts with a writerly flair, we’ve got 60 gift suggestions for you.)

This week's prompts

Write about a character who’s stuck in a shopping mall.

Christmas – 27 stories

Start your story in the middle of a traffic jam.

Thriller and Suspense – 27 stories

Write a story about a limited edition item going on sale.

Thriller and Suspense – 11 stories

A package arrives at your character’s house, but they didn’t order anything. Write about what happens next.

Thriller and Suspense – 59 stories

Write about a character who won’t (or can’t) shop for the holidays.

Christmas – 25 stories

Stories

“Twelve Hours” by Hannah Foust

Submitted to Contest #122

It all started because of his promotion and bonus pay, he wanted to surprise her with a shopping trip in the city, little did Carter know it would take the entire day, and he was beginning to regret his generous idea, however his wife Becca was ecstatic, living in a small town neither had seen anything grander than the drug store, and she was wild with delight, dragging him from store to store, at first he couldn’t get her to leave the baby in her mothers watchful care, but now they were here, he was pretty sure she had forgotten she even ha...

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“A Christmas Wish Come True” by Tanya Smith

Submitted to Contest #122

Christmas is my favorite time of the year! I love shopping for my loved ones! Jessie Jones, JJ to her friends, was at the mall shopping on Christmas Eve lights marking the last few gifts off of her list and admiring all of the lights and decorations. As she walked through the halls admiring the lights, the laughter of kids, and those yelling at their parents what they wanted, she couldn’t help but think about one-day finding love and having kids of her own. She loved shopping for her parents, siblings, their spouses, and their kids, but she...

1 comment 1
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“Confined” by Hannah C. Anderson

Submitted to Contest #122

"Everyone has a fear. No not everyone. Every living thing on this planet. Not just on this planet. Billions of galaxies away from Earth there is a creature alive and breathing that fears as we do. It's amazing to marvel at and analyze, it is also one of the few instances where everybody in this world or universe has something in common. We are limited. We are confined. Our potential is shortened by our fears. I used to wish for a world with no fear. Where everyone was free from their shortcomings and we could truly set our mind to do anythin...

1 comment 1
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“Dreams of Mechanical Butterflies” by Elliot Altin

Submitted to Contest #122

Malls weren’t designed with escapee-androids in mind.           At least, this one wasn’t. There’s a metal-detector blocking every exit, and the exits are all being watched by guards with grim expressions that don’t quite match the cheerful, holiday songs echoing through the mall. I duck into a random store and pretend to be interested in their array of holiday-themed soaps. The sharp, spicy scent of gingerbread is overpowering. Glancing over my shoulder, I watch as two technicians f...

2 comments 2
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“The Stampede” by Cindy Pereira

Submitted to Contest #122

Well now, what can I say? It is an annoying experience to be caught in a traffic jam. There’s dust, there’s smoke, and there are fumes and vapours, blaring horns, angry engines, whining motors, swears and curses, heat, sweat and impatience. Have you ever been in a cattle drive that has stampeded? I most surely have not; that sort of experience is confined to those who inhabit the Prairie and the Pampas and the Downs, but I will take the liberty to draw comparisons – we are in the middle of a cattle drive where the swirling dust has been repl...

1 comment 1
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“One Federal Street” by Nix ♞

Submitted to Contest #122

He starts—brakes——brakes again.There isn't—there can't be anything worse than this.Barely moving—Stuck—In spot—Worst of all he's on a—bridge.He remembers when the Tobin didn't have fencing——barricades.The state said they'd be too "cost-prohibitive." Isn't everything—everyone—Don't we all cost—something? Won't it all—something?Of course, the Tobin has fencing now. Since Chuck Stuart. Didn't Chuck Steward know it all cost something? He didn't know that. Or we'd assume that based on the—verdicts. But maybe—he did. In the end, maybe he did. The ...

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“The Bridge of Lake Roho” by Rebecca Perez

Submitted to Contest #122

In a rush to get home after my long and trying day at the office and the extremely long lines I had to endure on my shopping spree. I decided to take a shortcut that I normally wouldn't take. My normal route is the highway, which takes me about 5 miles around Lake Roho, or the Lake of Lost Souls as the crazy locals like to say. Instead, I took a winding dirt road which led to a bridge that crosses the massive lake. On the other side is my small sleepy town, and my warm soft bed. Which I was dying to climb into right now. Once I reached th...

2 comments 2
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“Dad” by Destinee Renae

Submitted to Contest #122

He lets out a sigh. Getting stuck in traffic certainly wasn’t on his holiday itinerary. With it being Black Friday, there must be hundreds of cars pressed nearly bumper to bumper as they rush to go shopping. And the ones who aren’t going shopping are probably trying to get home to their families. He’s not going home to his family. Well, not really. He’s going back to the house he used to live in, but only to drop Sarah off, and then he’s driving back to his apartment to spend the holidays alone. Which, though not ideal, has been the usual ...

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“Florence and the Machine” by Amelie R.

Submitted to Contest #122

Florence pressed her palm into the horn. It bleated like a wilting goat, and her car reverberated from the noise, coughing.  This would have been productive, if she had been the only one honking. Alas, the sound of her blast just drained into the sink of yammering traffic around her. After standing still for ten minutes on Shepperton, she croaked her Volkswagon into park, and stuck her head out of the window, on the lookout for an explanation. This hadn’t been how her morning started. She woke up early, picked up hot coff...

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“Looking For Memories” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #122

A gift is something special you give to the one you love, one that comes from the heart. One that you and your special someone will always cherish. Jacob and his love Arabella have been together for three years, recently things haven't been the same, just last month Arabella lost her grandmother who she loved very much, and with that lost came another lost. An Emerald ring in the shape of a heart with a gold band, part of the Hearts collection belonged to Arabella's grandmother has been lost since the day of the funeral. Arabella has l...

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“The Package With The Amulet” by Catherine Douglas

Submitted to Contest #122

It looked like a perfectly ordinary cardboard box. Just sitting there on the floor in the barracks. There was nothing strange or suspicious about it. What was suspicious was the fact that it was there. Its mere existence was strange, and Sergeant Plundell was only just starting to get used to the fact that this place was indeed very strange.What made things stranger was that the box had his name on it. There couldn’t be any other Sergeant Plundells, could there? And there weren’t any other prisoner-of-war camps with the same number.Every sol...

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“The Gift That Keeps On Giving” by Howard Seeley

Submitted to Contest #122

I cracked my eyes open to the rising sun. Turning towards the other side of the bed, I remembered what day it was. December third, the first anniversary of my dear Martha’s passing. The memory pressed against my heart, near to the point of breaking it. No, I said to myself. Life goes on. Forcing my sorrows to the back of my mind, I began my daily ritual. After getting dressed and brushing my teeth, I ventured downstairs, to be greeted by my cat. “Hello, Fido. You hungry?” Fido rubbed against my leg and began to purr. Then, ever so gently...

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“A Strange Package at the Door” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #122

 A Strange Package at the Door George has a Strange Experience ‘There was a knock on the door. The dogs heard it too, as they first barked like mad, and then rushed to the front window to try to find the one who had violated their territory. I was the third and last to get to arrive there By the time I opened the door, there was no sign of the person who had knocked. But there was a fairly large cube-shaped package carefully placed on the doormat.           &nbsp...

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“The Unexpected Package” by Words By Mary Isaboke

Submitted to Contest #122

Mariah Wynn opened her front patio door and there was a medium sized package wrapped in Christmas wrapping on the first step. She thought, "Who sent this? I have not ordered anything." Let me give you a little background on Mariah. She lives in a large city. Mariah is an introvert. She is not a sociable 66 year old. Twenty years ago, she was married but her husband sadly passed away due to cancer absorbing his body. Since the passing of her beloved James, she has not welcomed the company of another man. He was the one and only love of her li...

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“The Boy's Gift” by Karla Moore

Submitted to Contest #122

Thomas Weatherly stared at the box on his porch with a scowl. The elderly gent held the wooden rail for support and bent down to get a closer look. The address was correct, but the name on the package was blank. He wasn’t expecting anything. Must be a mistake. He looked up to hail the delivery driver, but she was out of sight. She was racing to get all her deliveries made on this Christmas Eve. He shivered in the crisp evening wind and reluctantly reached for the box. It was light, much to his relief, and not too cumbersome for the frail m...

2 comments 2
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$250

Prize money

149

Contest entries

104

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 03, 2021 EST

Won by Laura Jarosz 🏆

Title: No Forwarding Address

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!

Prompts | Many Hands | 2024-09

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Prompts | Many Hands | 2024-09

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