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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

“What is meant to be remembered ” by F.O. Morier

Submitted to Contest #125

Suddenly all the clocks in the house stopped, not too long ago, in a place not too far away. She didn´t have time to take a few minutes and evaluate, there were no minutes left. Everything went dark, and the air was foul. She could sense a presence. A nightmare? So unlike any other dream, could this be anything but a nightmare? -“Hi there!” a voice spoke. A friendly ethereal and strangely comforting female voice. -“Who speaks? Who is there?” she asked with hoarseness in her own voice. -“How are you doing?” -“Who are you?” she asked, cl...

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“Keeper Of The Clock” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #125

In the land of the Isles, the Winter Isles, where time is slow, the clock of Aerona keeps the village moving at a quick pace. The clock of Aerona stands in the middle of the village, its keeper Magic keeps the clock rotating day and night. While the villagers sleep, Magic stays awake watching the clock so no intruder will steal the clock. The villagers sleep peacefully knowing the clock will always keep them moving fast, but then one day during a time honor tradition something happens that will cause the village of the Winter Isles to...

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“The point of NOAH return” by Valerie Cuffie

Submitted to Contest #125

Sounds of the alarm woke her. Picking up the cell phone on the nightstand and glancing at the time she saw it was already seven in the morning. Today was the day. Jene was the new director for the S.A.D.S (Synthetic Automated Death Soldier) program. In recent years the government discovered a way to synthesize the death process causing a person's psyche to temporarily leave their body and enter into NOAH (Non-Operational Animated Humans). NOAHs practically held the psyche in place. They were chemically induced clones made from fallen soldier...

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“Frozen Time” by Lindsay Nicole

Submitted to Contest #125

Writing now seemed annoyingly impossible. He clutched his pen for hours on end into the night, yet no words had come. The blank paged mocked him with the emptiness that seemed to only exemplify his failure. In a fit of rage, he crumbled the barren page and tossed it over his shoulder, and one after another a small pile amassed in the corner. Carter Reynolds often found himself in this state. Since a child it had been his dream to be an acclaimed writer; one who would be celebrated and the cause of effective change in thousands (maybe even...

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“The Day Everything Stopped” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #125

The Day Everything Stopped Struter Jones rushed to the corner to catch the 7:58 Fifth Avenue bus. As usual, she had timed every action in getting ready for her daily work grind down to the last second. No fan of her current dull-as-hell-go-nowhere clerical position, she did only what she had to do when she had to do it, as every day she se...

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“The Sleepy Clcok” by Sean Oreilly

Submitted to Contest #125

Tic, Tic Tic, Tic. The granular sound of each second passing was constant. Laying on the unkempt sofa, dreaming of summer days when I was younger; I had my eyes closed to the world. Tic, Tic, Tic. The sombre rattlings of an old clock pierced my ears with the passing of each moment. My time, however, was being spent in my imaginings. The playful, days I spent at the creek, or simply rolling down what I thought at the time was a massive hill. Going back years later, I realized the hill was nothing but a pile ...

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“A Tyranny of Clocks” by Melissa Woods

Submitted to Contest #125

The clockmaker’s mansion overlooked the town. Built on the foundation of a scorched castle, she’d inherited the home from whose window she now watched the sky deepen over the sleepy town. She was tired, too. A full-night’s rest didn’t enter her musings, though–not anymore... Taking a last sip of tea, she laid down. She didn’t change into bedclothes–she didn’t own any. They seemed pointless and inconvenient, given her nocturnal routine. The town looked sleepy, but she knew better. There, tonight, time would start, stop, or do both; it would c...

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“A Late Start” by Molly O'Connor

Submitted to Contest #125

A Late Start I turned over, nuzzled my pillow and snuggled deeper into the cocooning warmth of my quilt. Lazily I opened one eye, squinted and peeked at my digital clock. “Crap!” The covers flew and I was on my feet racing for the bathroom shouting. “Kristen, I slept in. Get up. Now! We are very, and I mean very late.” &n...

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“Life Changing Candy” by Deborah Elliott

Submitted to Contest #125

Life-Changing Candy Deborah Elliott The sign in Maple’s Candy Store window read, “Sweet Wishes Fulfilled.” Every kind of candy ever created filled the sparkling glass barrels that sat on the wooden shelves. On the lowest shelves were the kids’ favorite: bubble gum, lollipops, jellybeans, jawbreakers, and those large multi-faceted candy engagement rings that the girls liked to wear on their fingers. The next level held the fancy chocolates that courting men came in to buy for their sweethearts. There were chocolate creams, ch...

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“The Stone Labyrinth” by Melissa Woods

Submitted to Contest #125

The church smelled of old stone. A distinct smell: a little musty, like fresh dirt, though not as strong, and with a cool layer John could only think of as mineral (although he couldn’t have described what mineral smelled like). It reminded him of historic churches he’d visited in Ireland. They were ancient compared to this one, but it was old for a Christian church in the U.S. Maybe because it doesn’t get a lot of traffic out here, he thought. The church was in a rural area, within a national forest. It lay, nearly hidden, two roads ...

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“Words Spoken Too Late” by B Easton

Submitted to Contest #125

“Back in my day, when you buried a body, you had the decency to at least give him at least a few parting words.” The disgust in Pa’s voice would’ve been enough to fill the six-foot hole, but just to make sure there was no chance of him coming back, I packed the grave with enough dirt and heavy rocks to make up a small barn. Still, no matter how much debris lay on top of him, there was no stopping Pa’s voice from tearing into my eardrums, and as such, I gave into his final demands. “Well, gee, Pa, what is there to say… besides what took so l...

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“I Wish I Never Knew” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #125

“You will always be mum and dad to me but I have to do this” she told them. “We know love; it’s silly but your dad and I want you to come home afterwards”. “Are you kidding Mum? Why wouldn’t I come back? This is my home you daft thing. I just need to do this, find out who gave birth to me when she was just sixteen and gave me away. Anyway it might not happen – people don’t always find their birth parents”. She walked around the table and put her arms around Jenny, her mother since she was six weeks old. This kind lady, soft skin, salt and pe...

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“THE SMALL WOODEN BOX ” by Mike Williams

Submitted to Contest #125

It was a good day for Grace Templeton. It was a bad day for Jonas Bard. Jonas managed to reach the bank just a few minutes before it closed. The teller frowned as she looked at the withdrawal amount. The other tellers were starting to close their cash drawers, while she was trying to garner up the large amount that was being withdrawn. Jonas had carried a small wooden box with him to the bank. The teller put the stack of bills in two envelopes. She gave the two envelopes to Jonas. He placed them into his box and...

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“DESTINATION QUESTION MARK” by Debbie Curtin

Submitted to Contest #125

I arrived for my flight well ahead of schedule. I knew the time frame and where I needed to be at this moment. Always being an early bird has proven itself to guide me more times than not. When you're on the go, 24-7, you just follow the rule book. By that I mean, get your act together and don't blame anyone but yourself for your lack of time management. Too many people are not on the ball and definitely playing on the wrong court. I had my eye on the clock, per usual, walking casually on my way, across and into the airport entranceway. I ha...

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“The Lucky One” by Paulette Lundy

Submitted to Contest #125

The Lucky One Running down the concourse to the gate I was out of breath. My shoulders hurt. I was hot. I was wearing my winter coat because it would not fit in my red roll aboard. The coat was a sail catching the wind, holding me back, slowing me down. I could feel my face and ears turning red as I sprinted. I really needed to stop and pee but every woman’s room I passed had a line coming out of the door. I told myself, “I’ll go on the plane.” The airline representative saw me coming to the gate. I saw him pick up the microphone, sa...

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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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