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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#133: Chocolate Box

Next Monday is Valentine’s Day, which means chocolate boxes are popping up in stores everywhere. The sweet association between cocoa and romance began with the Mayans and Aztecs, but it only became a hallmark of Valentine’s Day when British confectionery giant Cadbury introduced the first ever heart-shaped gift boxes in the 1860s.

Today, chocolate is inseparable from this occasion in many parts of the world: in Japan, some give homemade chocolate to their loved ones; in Ghana, February 14th is National Chocolate Day. And we’re joining the fun with this week’s set of delicious chocolate-inspired prompts. Take your pick!

This week's prompts

Write about someone going on a search for a specific type (or brand) of chocolate.

Middle School – 24 stories

Start your story with a character finding an old heart-shaped box in their house.

Valentine's Day – 78 stories

Set your story in a confectionery shop.

Middle School – 40 stories

Write a story about someone making a gift (chocolate or otherwise) for a loved one.

Valentine's Day – 36 stories

Write about a character who finds Valentine’s Day sickly sweet.

Valentine's Day – 26 stories

Stories

“Velvet Heart” by Shelby Hayes

Submitted to Contest #133

Anna spotted it behind the mound of clothes in her parents closet. The doors, a faded chestnut, held mini craters that had been accumulated throughout time. They had been so worn out that the right one always came unhinged when she opened it. She now expected the crash and her reflexes naturally did their job. She couldn’t quite reach so she set the old lamp on the bed, pulled the side table over and used it as a step stool. She remembered when her mother bought the bedside tables. When she was ten, her and her parents went on a camping trip...

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“The Last Letter” by Chester Sakamoto

Submitted to Contest #133

As a child, I used to hate staying with my grandmother. There was never anything fun to do over at her place but, whenever my father had a business trip (which, given his line of work, was quite often), he would take me to stay with her. Reluctantly, I would pack my bag, he would load up the car with some necessary provisions and we would make the eight-hour drive from Sydney down to Melbourne, where she lived in an old house just outside Royal Park. How I would dread every single one of those hours, knowing that each passing ...

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“Chocolates for Rachel” by Ronald Sturm

Submitted to Contest #133

Chocolates for Rachel The Clark candy shop on the corner of Bradley and Ninth opened its doors at the same location seventy-seven years ago. Janice Ellinger runs the store now, but her grandfather, Weldon, opened it at the end of 1945, right after he came home from serving in the US Army in WWII. Chocolate bars were a favorite amongst the battle-hardened troops and Weldon claimed a candy bar saved his life. He never explained the story behind his claim. He just smiled and went about whatever he was doing. But, who’s to argue the point with...

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“The Twinkle in his Eyes ” by Kate Barrett

Submitted to Contest #133

"Tony's," as we kids called it, was an old-fashioned Candy Store in a three-story building in Queens, New York. It was sandwiched between the deli and the fruit store on a heavily traveled street in the neighborhood I grew up in. Even then, as a schoolgirl, the building seemed old. It was probably built at the turn of the 19th into the 20th century. It was constructed of decorative red brick and had beautiful detail with stone cornices and ornately trimmed windows. The storefront itself had large glass windows and an old wooden doo...

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“Last Minute Advice” by Kelsey Harder

Submitted to Contest #133

Bert sat back on his stool and watched the harried faces of the men and women in the shop. It was February 13th, and the procrastinators were out in droves. They all looked completely lost and panicked. He smiled to himself. This was his time to shine. He caught the eye of a man looking at the predictable and boring heart shaped chocolate samplers. He waved the poor soul over to his stool. The man nodded with desperate hope and hurried to Bert’s corner. “Can you help me? I need to get something for my girlfriend. I forgot all about Valen...

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“Cocoa” by Luxx Headroom

Submitted to Contest #133

Content Warning: Very dark use of fetishism. Scenarios of stalking others. Do not read if you are waking up, instead: drink coffee, do some yoga, say good morning to your loved ones, and take some you-time. There is no other way, it’s dark rich sugar melts fingertips and hearts. Everything encapsulates that ecstasy of passion and love, filling up heart shaped boxes with square, heart, and circular molds. Cocoa; desire that came from South America, cooked into anything with love, and crafted your desire. As you have said, there is no othe...

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“Das Gift” by Rob Ryter

Submitted to Contest #133

Friday, 7 May, 2021Behind tightly clenched eyelids, Bastian Schulz summoned a painful vision of ash blonde and sapphire blue, pert, cheeky and gorgeous, beneath a white woollen cap. Their last winter, a mere memory now. And there would never be another. He dared not open his eyes, for he knew his tears, already hotly prickling, would flow down his face and betray him.A sudden explosion of breaking crockery shook his resolve. He blinked as everything swam into focus. Another crash, as a teacup shattered, hurled with considerable force to the ...

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“Grandmama's Valentines” by Deborah Mosley

Submitted to Contest #133

Grandmama’s Valentines Anna pulled up to the curb in front of her grandmother’s house. She glanced at the clock on the dash. It would be another fifteen minutes before her mother arrived. Anna shivered. It was a chilly morning, and she was trying to decide if she wanted to wait for her mother or go in. Her grandmother had died suddenly and quietly in her sleep a month ago on Valentine’s Day. Oddly, there had been an old heart shaped chocolate box laying on the pillow beside her. It still did not seem real. &nb...

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“The Sweater That Didn't Happen” by Barb Leedom

Submitted to Contest #133

The Sweater That Didn’t Happen Audrey, 18, at an all-girls school, had her mind on boys all the darn time, Audrey determined she’d have to find something to fill her nights besides fantasies about imaginary boys. Bev knew how to knit, said it was easy and she’d teach Audrey. Knitting wasn’t easy fo...

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$250

Prize money

204

Contest entries

121

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 18, 2022 EST

Won by Stephanie Kaye 🏆

Title: Mythes

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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