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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.

This week's prompts

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

Thriller and Suspense – 19 stories

Write a story about a late bloomer.

Spring – 12 stories

All clocks suddenly stop. Write about what happens next.

Science Fiction – 45 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 Lapse in Judgement ” by Rebekah Wong

Submitted to Contest #125

The Lapse in Judgement After nearly dying because Rina had slid off the icy road into a snowbank, barely a foot away from a tree and four feet away from a river, she thought it would be rather hilarious if a wild animal lunged from within the dark forest and ate her alive. There would be a cruel irony of surviving one incident just to be taken out by the second one. She had predicted the crash would happen before it had even occurred. Anyone who challenges their fatality cannot be surprised when the weakness of mortality becomes unq...

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“Utopian Lies” by L.J Sunwing

Submitted to Contest #125

The party can be heard outside the extravagant and intricately designed restroom door. The low tones hum and give support to the piano piece intertwing in the sound. Margo tugs her dress to expose her shoulders. The scarlet material extenuates her pale skin and contrasts her glassy teal eyes. Tricking men was a talent that came easier to the striking women in recent years. In a short time, she had gone from administrative work to being in the field. She went from working as an academic assistant to carrying classified secrets to the ...

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“Clearview Mall” by Blair Law

Submitted to Contest #125

Candles, coat, picture frame. Candles, coat, picture frame. I know it’s last minute but I completely forgot gifts for my cousins. They aren’t close family anyways, how can I be expected to remember them? But, they’re coming to dinner at Mom’s house so I have to be polite. I mean, I guess I should put some effort in. It’s a little late to make that effort but better late than never, right? I bet they won’t even get me anything. It’d be perfectly typical, them forgetting about me. But, I can’t blame them. Even I forget about myself some...

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“Try Again” by Juptie Vhix

Submitted to Contest #125

Noticing she was at a stoplight, Raven reapplied her lipgloss and attempted to touch up her hair right before being honked at. “I know you like to move at your own pace, but you know you can’t do all this while driving.” The voice coming from her car weakly sighed before continuing. “Speaking of moving at your own pace, what made you decide to slow down for today too? I thought you were excited about this.” “Of course I’m excited! I just got a little nervous, it’s been a while since I’ve seen them.” Raven lightly chuckled. “I could bare...

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“RUNNING AGAINST TIME” by Del Gibson

Submitted to Contest #125

It’s breaking dawn and I am legging it through the front doors of the airport – it aggravates me how slowly they slide open. I burst through a throng of people, mulling about, getting in my way. Usually I like to people watch, take my time – but not today. I am about to miss my flight to Perth, to see my daughter Nicky and the grandkids. The clock inside the terminal tells me I have ten minutes to get to gate number 12, or miss my plane. I still have to check my luggage through. Darting around people, I push my way through to the check-in de...

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“3:23” by Maureen MacLennan

Submitted to Contest #125

3:23 Emerging from what was the best sleep in awhile, I heard the voice of the radio host. I’d been listening to the regular guy for years and we’d gone through a lot together. He was off this week so I let the dulcet tones of his replacement bring me to ‘awake’ mode. I flipped over onto my back and waited for her to announce the time. I’d plugged my cell to charge downstairs last night and this station usually told us the time about twenty times an hour. Turning my head to the window on my right, I could see it was light out, given that ...

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“The Better Clock” by Brian Janko

Submitted to Contest #125

Rick woke up, ready to get to class, but saw that his clock had stopped. The batteries had died.He found some spare batteries but had to fight the clock’s battery compartment door to get it open. He chided himself for not spending the extra five dollars for the other clock that had a plug-in cord. “Cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap,” he told himself.After he got the battery door open, he still had to fidget to remove the old batteries and put in the new ones. His mind wandered and he thought, “Maybe the clock is fine and the re...

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“‘Twas the night before, the night before Christmas...” by Raymond Cummings

Submitted to Contest #125

Seeing my wife in tears did it: her sheer, heartbroken disappointment. Misery had chiselled despair into her face. That look pressed me to insist on her taking a bath so that I could do something I had sworn I would never do again: make a phone call of complaint. I thought about starting with sure footing: an email: my preferred method. I am a teacher of English by vocation; writing to complain always makes me feel like I possessed an advantage. However, it was Christmas. Despite my wife’s disappo...

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“Missing Out” by Annette Rey

Submitted to Contest #125

Today would be a turning point. She promised herself to stick to the drudge work of completing necessary errands. Still, Missy broke her lovely ceramic dancing girl as she rushed around her apartment. Always rushing. Always late. Head in the stars her mother used to say. No, she’d rejoin, not the stars but in my books, mom, with my friends like the great detective Holmes and Miss Marple. Stories transported her from the misty moors to quaint English villages, meeting the least suspected villains and understanding their sensitivities. Grabb...

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“Eleven Minutes Past Nine” by Michael Van Citters

Submitted to Contest #125

Four minutes past nine. “Would you stand over here, Mr. Paige? That’s right, just here, thank you, Mr. Paige.” It had never occurred to Andrew Paige that his wife would give birth as late in the day as past nine o’clock at night and, until Lisa, his wife, had gone into labor only several hours prior, he had always thought of childbirth as the sort of thing that happens only in the morning, or perhaps in the middle of the day, leaving plenty of time for tea and supper after the baby had been delivered. At odds with this strange notion, th...

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“And yet he waits ” by TONI IKHILE

Submitted to Contest #125

She was an elusive one. It had been almost 10 years and yet Ben couldn't get a hold of her. The her in question was, of course, his mother. His beloved and yet spitefully hated mother. She had left when Ben was just a boy, around 8 in age, and left him with his father. A timid man who couldn’t protest over the leaving of his wife even if he wanted to. Ben’s attitude had always juxtaposed the influence that his single father had on him growing up. Whereas his father was humble and bashful, Ben was unashamed and proud. It led to more than a fe...

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“The Fraudulent Flight ” by José Pablo Carrillo

Submitted to Contest #125

GDL 11:03 - MEX 12:20, MEX 13:45 - DFW 15:30, the popular flight app displayed. “Dude it's not a bad flight for $300 bucks,” I told my brother as we sipped coffee at ‘La borra del café. “You won’t have enough time to catch your next flight in Mexico City,” He replied without even looking up from his laptop, “Trust me, I have been to that airport multiple times, and one hour is not enough time.” I was skeptical, I mean I had never been to Mexico City’s but a little over an hour to walk from one terminal to another? That’s more than p...

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“A live giving flight” by Marcella U

Submitted to Contest #125

The wail of sirens grew louder as the flashing reflection of the red and blues illuminates the terminal window. The ambulance with its fragile cargo entangled in cables and tubes approached the gate. The usual buzz of the airport and the hurried footsteps of those running late seemed to fade, this was no ordinary flight. This was a flight that meant the difference between life and death, every second counted. On the stretcher lay a frail lifeless body. The chorus of beeps from the thousands of monitors and machines seemed to ri...

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“The Game” by Christopher Linehan

Submitted to Contest #125

The invitation had come very late. Two weeks? Not even, he thought to himself. It was Wednesday and Mark was getting married on the following Saturday. That was just like Mark – impulsive and last minute – even his nuptials were not immune to his wanton and lackadaisical approach to time. Luckily for Mark, he had the charm to overcome his perpetual tardiness. Thomas, though not repellent, lacked the charisma necessary to live free of the omnipresence of time. Unluckily for Thomas, Mark had consistently made them both late for more than half ...

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$250

Prize money

164

Contest entries

113

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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