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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#125: Better Late Than Never

Everybody has that one person in their life who’s perpetually late. For those unfortunate souls, time is never quite on their side, no matter how hard they try. 


Whether your characters are rushing to make it, or deliberately taking it slow, this week’s prompts are an ode to the latecomers among us, and to those who don’t give up, even when time is running out.

🥇 Winner

“The Heart Specialist” by Shuvayon Mukherjee

The esteemed Dr Maharaj was the only cardiologist at St Agatha’s Hospital. Although I met him many years after he first arrived from Kashmir, the nurses told me everyone had taken to him right away. How could they not? There was a sincerity in the way he spoke; a strength in the hand he put on your shoulder. And when a patient’s heart was beyond repair - because there was no way he could save them all - he held their hand and promised to help them through until the very end. Dr Maharaj was the doctor that patients would kneel next to thei...

142 comments 142 WINNER 🏆
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⭐️ Shortlisted

“Medic” by Alex Sultan

According to the Geneva Convention, firing at a medic wearing a clear insignia is considered a war crime. The rule, by no means, rendered medics invulnerable. Rowe sprinted across the battlefield. Frozen branches snapped under his boots. Snow broke beneath him, artillery fire shook trees, and the rattling of machine guns echoed throughout the forest. Bullets struck the ground beside his feet as he ran.He held onto his medical kit, slung around his shoulder, light and low on supplies. Rowe ignored the calls to take cov...

72 comments 72 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“Late Forever, Amen” by Rob Ryter

Monday 20 December 19:30UTCMax Swanson sweated in the back of the Uber and read the electronic boarding card on his phone for the fifty-fourth time. Flight BA247 from London Heathrow to São Paulo, scheduled departure 21:10, gate to be announced, last bag drop 20:10, one hour before departure. Snow fell lightly, flakes melting and sliding down the windscreen before the intermittent wiper blades swept them away. They edged forward in the solid traffic.The driver didn’t seem to have much sense of urgen...

6 comments 6 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“Exactly The Way It Is” by Shari Tiedens

Arlen didn’t know that graveyards could close. Yet here she was, idling at the front entrance of Holy Hope Cemetery, iron gates frowning at her tardiness in an all too familiar way. Brick posts blushed and glowed in the sunset, embarrassed on her behalf. “I want something in time for her birthday,” Mom had said. “It’s just so hard to get out there, with the shut-downs and holidays coming.” “It’s fine, Mo...

6 comments 6 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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This week's prompts

Start your story with a character who is always running late arriving somewhere just as it closes.

Thriller and Suspense – 20 stories

Write a story about a late bloomer.

Spring – 13 stories

All clocks suddenly stop. Write about what happens next.

Science Fiction – 47 stories

Write a story including the phrase “Better late than never”.

Angst – 67 stories

Set your story in an airport, as someone rushes for a flight.

Thriller and Suspense – 21 stories

Stories

“The Heart Specialist” by Shuvayon Mukherjee

The esteemed Dr Maharaj was the only cardiologist at St Agatha’s Hospital. Although I met him many years after he first arrived from Kashmir, the nurses told me everyone had taken to him right away. How could they not? There was a sincerity in the way he spoke; a strength in the hand he put on your shoulder. And when a patient’s heart was beyond repair - because there was no way he could save them all - he held their hand and promised to help them through until the very end. Dr Maharaj was the doctor that patients would kneel next to thei...

142 comments 142 WINNER 🏆
Read story

“Medic” by Alex Sultan

According to the Geneva Convention, firing at a medic wearing a clear insignia is considered a war crime. The rule, by no means, rendered medics invulnerable. Rowe sprinted across the battlefield. Frozen branches snapped under his boots. Snow broke beneath him, artillery fire shook trees, and the rattling of machine guns echoed throughout the forest. Bullets struck the ground beside his feet as he ran.He held onto his medical kit, slung around his shoulder, light and low on supplies. Rowe ignored the calls to take cov...

72 comments 72 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“The Christmas dinner” by Ruth Porritt

Note: This story is a funny, Christmas-themed horror tale. Trigger warning: Self-harm, and mental health. However, these themes are not the primary themes in this tale. Story rating: PG-13 until the end of the story, which I give an 'R'.*****"I honestly don't know what takes you so long, sometimes," said Brian. "It took fifteen minutes for you to put the goose in the oven.""Really?" said Naomi. "You were counting? Don't you have anything better to do?""Why don't you let me help you?" said Brian, as he started t...

41 comments 41
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“Restore Point” by Jon Casper

Kieran Greene knew that in a moment, Doctor Albert would clear his throat and say, “Tell me again about doomsday.” It was the same every time, and Kieran was tired. So tired of knowing how this would play out.Doctor Albert steepled his knotty fingers and pursed his lips, raising his eyebrows at the patient across from him. His coiffed white hair gleamed under the LED bulbs that dotted the ceiling of the conference room.The doctor cleared his throat and said, “So, Kieran, tell me again about doomsday.”

41 comments 41
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“Moved On” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

“No.”“Hear me out.”“No. No-no-no. No. Get out.”“I can explain.”“I’m sure you can explain, and I’m equally sure I don’t want you to. Goodbye.”“It’s been three months. We should be able to talk about it.”“No. No-no-no. No. Get out.”“Don’t shut the door on my—DAMMIT.”“Move your foot.”“Move the door.”“Move your foot or I will decapitate it.”“That doesn’t make any sense. You decapitate heads, not feet.”“Move your foot or I will de-foot you.”“That’s not e...

42 comments 42
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“Fix it” by Thomas Giorgione

The boy stood in the center of the kitchen with a blue disposable razor in his mouth, and his father paced around him. He would fix the boy’s speech impediment at last. He worked on the device most of the previous night: he removed the blades, melted a small plastic block into strips, and arranged them to the speech therapist’s specifications.Mark looked at his five year old son, Jerry, whose red shorts sagged, and his white t-shirt hung down below his knees. Jerry was such a late bloomer that it was hard to find clothes...

18 comments 18
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“A Christmas Fire” by Daniel R. Hayes

(This story was inspired by "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens.) Hearts weigh heavy worldwide as Christmas Eve springs to life. Overdue bills and too much spending tend to make most people weary with doubt, and they often forget what the holidays are all about. Wealthy people hold on to their riches and care not for the agony of others. The poor gather what they ha...

19 comments 19
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“Late Forever, Amen” by Rob Ryter

Monday 20 December 19:30UTCMax Swanson sweated in the back of the Uber and read the electronic boarding card on his phone for the fifty-fourth time. Flight BA247 from London Heathrow to São Paulo, scheduled departure 21:10, gate to be announced, last bag drop 20:10, one hour before departure. Snow fell lightly, flakes melting and sliding down the windscreen before the intermittent wiper blades swept them away. They edged forward in the solid traffic.The driver didn’t seem to have much sense of urgen...

6 comments 6 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“Lunchbox Delivery” by Michelle Colpo

      Derek checked his watch for the third time as the plane slowly pulled into the docking area of the giant maze of an airport. Everybody on the flight was restless about the hour delay, but him especially.           His legs bounced anxiously under the large white box he was cradling on his lap as the smooth, yet dull voice of the flight attendant announced over the intercom, “Ladies and gentleman, today’s weather in Atlanta, Georgia is a bliss...

21 comments 21
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“In Sickness And In Elf” by PJ Aitken

“Did you get the red onions?” asked Jackie surveying the items she had put into the fridge in the last five minutes. “What are you talking about?” Matt looked in the fridge over Jackie’s shoulder trying to compute his girlfriend’s latest line of questioning. “Don’t you remember? I specifically told you to get some red onions.” Jackie pointed to the list Matt had discarded on the kitchen table. Matt picked i...

2 comments 2
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“Rabbit Moon ” by Anna K Firth

He only intended to bring down the moon. That was what the rabbit in the tall hat and red cape told the boy. A simple trick, he said, though it had to be done exactly right. “Wait and see,” he said, winking one of his big black eyes in the boy’s direction. He sat down on a bale of hay and began gently plucking at the strings of his violin, putting down his long ears over it and twisting the little...

10 comments 10
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“The Late Doctor Late” by David Brown

Doctor Jack Late slumped on his drawing room couch, and nursed the last dram of his third fifth of London Dry gin directly from the bottle, while lamenting his latest failure. His throat burned and his nostrils were imbued with juniper when he quaffed the final nip and threw the empty flask into his fireplace. Shards from the glass container skittered across the hearth where two other bottles were already shattered.He hadn’t properly bathed in over a week, and his jet black locks drooped onto his shoulders, matted and ta...

9 comments 9
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“Thirteen” by Sarah Rich

Tick. Tick. Tick. The clock thumped with a peaceful echo in the dimly lit hallway. As it always had, the pendulum swayed with the turn of each second. It was one of Theo’s favorite sounds. He appreciated the exaggeration of it whenever the house was empty of everyone but himself. Sometimes, he’d mindlessly pace to the beat and knocking. Today, for Theo, it was one of those days. ...

10 comments 10
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“The King Who Would Not Believe in Dragons” by Annalisa D.

King William Thomas Francis meandered through the courtyard watching blue birds land on a pink flowered tree, oblivious to the panicked yells and chants of the protesters surrounding his palace walls. The voices carried with such a strong, echoing projection, it seemed impossible to believe he couldn’t hear them, but the King’s face showed no indication he had.  A lanky man wearing clothes he had clearly outgrow...

25 comments 25
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“A Very Important Date” by Kevin B

Did I make it?  Did I-- Oh, sorry. Almost got my tail caught in the door there. You know, it’s a small tail, but it still manages to-- Did I make it in time? I see you’re counting the money in the cash register, but when I checked online it said you close at ten and I believe it’s-- Well, when last I looked at my watch, right as I was enterin...

13 comments 13
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$250

Prize money

168

Contest entries

115

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 24, 2021 EST

Won by Shuvayon Mukherjee 🏆

Title: The Heart Specialist

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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