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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 Friendly Skies” by Elaine St. Anne

Submitted to Contest #125

Annie shifted her carry bag from one shoulder to the other. She felt a bead of sweat roll down her cheek. Her breath came in labored gasps. The unmoving moving walkway lay as still and silent as a dead boa constrictor. If she could move either arm, she would check her watch but what did it matter? She either made the flight or she didn't. Her eyes scanned the gate numbers. There it was -just ahead- Flight 4473 bound for Johannesburg, South Africa Boarding. Her dream trip finally coming true. A line of passengers was already shuffling f...

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“Running For a Train” by Bev Smith

Submitted to Contest #125

Running for a Train She couldn’t believe it: she was late again. It didn’t seem to matter that she had knocked off work five minutes earlier, it didn’t seem to matter that she hadn’t even paused to change out of her new super-high boots and into her joggers before leaving the office, it didn’t seem to matter that she had taken her life into her hands dodging in and out of traffic on the rush-hour High Street. Nothing seemed to matter, it was simply a case that she was, as usual, late yet again. &nb...

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“HE WAS LATE FOR THAT APPONTMENT TOO” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #125

HE WAS LATE FOR THAT APPOINTMENT TOO Terrence had always been a latecomer. His schoolmates, from elementary school, remembered that there had been no a day that he didn’t arrive in class, out of breath, all in a hurry, always after the lessons had already begun. Even when he was no longer a child, Terrence continued to be regularly late. He arrived late not only to appointments with doctor, with dentist, but even with girls to whom he cared a lot, with whom he had to insist&...

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“The Sacred Bloom of Flesh and Flowers” by Scoop Rittersblock

Submitted to Contest #125

I was always a late bloomer in life, being for as long as I can remember content to hang back from the howling rush so I could better see, hear and feel the symphony of life playing all around me. From an early age I was given to a kind of absorbed dalliance, or festive reverie, which made me prone to a habitual tardiness, the type of which triggers noisy alarms and flashing, blood red warnings above firmly closed doors. I have many times stood on the sharp end of these occasions and played my part with loud, woo...

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“Facade” by Jack Coey

Submitted to Contest #125

Lester lived by himself, and it wasn’t so bad until the virus came. He quite his cashier job, and wore a mask, and followed the reports of a vaccine being developed. He was in his 70’s. His wife was hit by a bus three years ago during a heavy rainstorm. He moved to the cramped apartment above the hardware store that felt like a closet and was embarrassed to invite guests. He made time with Mildred at the market, and probably could have had some action if they had someplace to go. He thought about a hotel r...

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“Late Bloomer” by Carolyn Jacobs

Submitted to Contest #125

“My kids. They’re both late bloomers. What can I say?” Bev’s raspy voice sounds defeated, tired. She turns her head and gazes out the dirty, aluminum framed window. From her vantage point five floors up, her view is mostly of gray clouds. Her snow white hair, normally soft and fluffy, is flat from too many days on a hospital pillow and too many days without a proper shower and shampoo. She sighs, a deep heave that lifts her chest, moving the thin hospital gown and jumble of tubes and wires with it. Difficult...

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“When Time Stands Still” by Charlotte Lewis

Submitted to Contest #125

When Time Stands Still Greg was one of “those” people. You know – the kind that never got anywhere on time. He was a wonderful person once you got to know him. But as he was late to every party, there wasn't always a lot of time left to talk before the host was closing the door. His tardiness was well-known. How he ever kept a job often baffled everyone but he worked at the same job for over twenty years. Perhaps, if you're really good at what you do, when you show up to do it doesn't matter. Greg met and married a wonderful woman. Sh...

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“Blizzard” by Eric Diaz

Submitted to Contest #125

The one clock hung over the mantle was still. Both hands stuck between the number eleven and the number twelve, just before midnight. John and his wife Ruth were asleep and hadn't notice the hands on the clock had stopped moving. Since that night endless walls of sleet, hail, and snow had whitewashed the woods where their beloved cabin was located. John peered out the window as the snow fell heavily; the full force of the blizzard continued to wreak havoc all around the cabin that was sheltering them from the elements. It was the middle of t...

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“All Clocks Suddenly Stop...” by Kathy Frizzell

Submitted to Contest #125

On this dark stormy evening, in my cabin, snuggled in for the night, thoughts of gumdrops dancing in our heads, little chuckle”, just remembering good old days when childhood was freedom, and beating of the drums, could be heard from miles around.Sparks from the fire lit up the room. This novel is getting really good now, at the part when the train stops to pick up passengers. This is not an ordinary train, this is a magical train, things that you see in the movies, and not the one that goes to the north pole. Okay; talking about ...

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“A Stitch in Time” by Aaron Falk

Submitted to Contest #125

A Stitch in Time R. Aaron Falk “Peter, wake up.” A shrill voice assailed his ears. “Go away.” Peter snuggled deeper into the fifteen-year-old easy chair that knew every part of his body. He rolled to the left and wrapped his arms around his chest to ward off the chill air. A surge of magic flashed through Peter’s body. Every muscle twitched. He opened his eyes. Grimilda’s elfin like face stared down at him. He flinched again. “Move your ass.” Grimilda sneered. “I can’t keep this level of magic going forever.” “So don’t.” Peter close...

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“Bliss” by Raihan Kibria

Submitted to Contest #125

It was 12:18 PM GMT on a rainy Thursday when, for one second, the world stopped. Archie watched the geese take off from the river and stop mid-flight, then continue, as if someone had momentarily pressed the pause button for the whole universe. He wondered if he’d had a stroke, but it soon turned out that he wasn’t the only one who experienced the strange phenomenon. The news that night confirmed that it had happened to every single person on Earth. Apparently, everyone who was awake at that moment had experienced a moment of silent stasis. ...

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“Finding a Place” by Elias McEaneney

Submitted to Contest #125

Feeling his hair blowing wildly in the breeze, he kept his eyes set forward toward the light, just breaking through the trees. It was far too late for his comfort, but the boy kept moving anyway, too many nights having been spent against a tree or in a field for both his emotional and his physical comfort, young joints aching as though he were of an old man, hunger weighing his body down toward the earth below his feet. If his navigational skills were any good- the main part of that phrase being if- then it was likely he’d find himself in ci...

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“How time flies” by Alice Richardson

Submitted to Contest #125

HOW TIME FLIES! Alice ambled along the pathway through the scrub. As she walked, she was reading a biography of Lewis Carroll’s life. Consequently, she didn’t realise there was a hole in the path until she suddenly dropped through it. As she landed she stumbled, dropping her book. Looking around, she was in a sort of cave. It wasn’t a normal type of cave because it had plants and there was light coming from somewhere. She heard a murmuring sound and moved cautiously towards it. She found a garden with rather enormous plants; roses, cor...

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“A Day's Wage” by Nandini Kumar

Submitted to Contest #125

“Today is the day,” thinking, Raju jumped over a puddle outside his house, making sure the sack in his hands didn’t fall. The whole street was choked with water from last night’s rain. Although monsoon was still a month away, the shower was an early reminder to get prepared for this small village in Northern India. Raju was a farmer who grew vegetables on his small ancestral land. Like most farmers, he was dependent on the rain for water. It was a relief that he had picked the vegetables a few days ago. But the downpour had restri...

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“Taking Time” by Rowan Bender

Submitted to Contest #125

“What was it like being her neighbor?” “Oh, um, yes… Well…” the widowed Mrs. Byrd stuttered out. The reporter blinked encouragingly with a warm smile. “She was a kind young woman” Mrs. Bryd said softly, pausing deeply before continuing. “Looking in from the outside, someone might say she was always running late. But from my point of view, she was just running on her own schedule.” The young reporter, about the same age as Sarah had been, scribbled something down on her notepad. She leaned in closer towards Mrs. Byrd and questioned… ...

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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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