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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#134: Look Up

This Friday, the 18th of February, marks the 92nd anniversary of Pluto being discovered — and though it’s no longer considered ‘big enough’ to be an official planet, it will always have a big place in our hearts. With it’s hot-to-cold cycles and snow-capped mountains, this almost-planet almost looks like home. (That said, we still wouldn’t recommend it for your next vacation!)

To mark the occasion, this week’s prompts are a love letter to our favorite forgotten planet, and the spirit of discovery in general.

This week's prompts

Your character, by chance or habit, peers through a telescope. They see something unusual — what is it?

Dystopian – 53 stories

Set your story beyond our own world.

Science Fiction – 50 stories

Write about a character who has a ‘hot and cold’ personality — or is affected by someone like this.

Character – 30 stories

End your story with a character looking out on a new horizon.

Narrative – 63 stories

Write from the POV of someone, or something, that experiences gravity differently.

Science Fiction – 27 stories

Stories

“Footprints on the Edge” by ROBERT Ellis

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #134

The most rational of men, Josh Rowbotham founded an entirely new scientific field which he named “Astro-Biochemistry.” When Astronomy magazine, in a four-page puff piece complete with photos of Josh and his lab, asked him to describe Astro-Biochemistry, he poetically responded, “Seeking the footprints of life at the edge of the universe.” Josh used telescope spectroscopy to identify the building blocks of life on exoplanets revolving distant stars. He observed light shifts occurring billions of years ago, signs of the joining of elements i...

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“Show's Over” by Poppy Jackson

Submitted to Contest #134

My coffee is too hot to drink. Across from me, Nadia unloads the contents of another sugar packet into her tea before tossing the wrapper onto the table, adding to a growing pile. She stirs her drink too fast and the spoon clanks against the edge of the glass in a way that makes my teeth hurt. Liquid slops out of the glass but she says nothing. I blow on my coffee. ‘We need to talk about what happened.’ I say. She nods. Silence is unusual for her, a woman who’s made a living with her voice. She can’t meet my gaze and her eyes are cast down...

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“Floating” by Hannah P. Simmons

Submitted to Contest #134

Study Log Subject: Human Female, locally known as MITSU 6:45am – BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Subject awakens. Looks at ALARM CLOCK. Heart rate has rapidly increased. Subject is exhibiting signs of distress. (CONSULTS LOGISTICAL STATISTICS) Deviation in pattern detected. Previous beginning time stamp was repeatedly noted to be forty-five minutes earlier at exactly 6:00am. This deviation possible cause of sudden erratic behavior. SCRAMBLE. Gravitational Reading – Base Normality, in spite of accelerated heart rate 8:00am – Subject ...

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“The Plutonians Are Coming” by Maggie Gibbs

Submitted to Contest #134

TW// Mental HealthI found him. I peered down the alley and saw the man digging through a dumpster. I didn’t recognize him in the visual sense of the word but as he turned and looked toward me, my heart recognized him. I felt a flood of emotions. Some went through me so quick I might’ve missed them. Sadness was at the forefront.I picked up my phone and dialed mom. I know it’s him. What if I can get him to come home? What if I can get him help? What if I can get him back to normal? The line rang so many times I nearly hung up, but just as I wa...

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“The Seed Sown” by Dan Goff

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #134

The farmer was a proud and solitary man. Though his neighbors were nothing but kind to him, the farmer had always held them in a sort of contempt and rejected all forms of friendliness, until he gained the reputation of an unlikable hermit obsessed with his crop of corn and nothing else. The farmer was fine with the verdict; he would have described himself this way, too. He often entertained an unspoken dream of living alone on a desert island, with just his plants to keep him company. But now he was on the verge of losing his plants, his on...

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“Walterisms” by Maggie Gibbs

Submitted to Contest #134

“Judy! Judy get in here! You have to see this!” Walter had his 1944 vintage Nash Kelvinator binoculars pressed firmly into his eye sockets, while not so discreetly looking out the window of his study. The leather strap that once was new and sturdy was now coming apart at the studs on the ends and was filled with warped cracks all along its length. Those binoculars had seen so much in their 78 years, and so had Walter.Judy screamed something inaudible from the kitchen amongst the banging of pots and pans. He put the binoculars down and turned...

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“Twinkle, Twinkle” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #134

Sterling put the finishing touches on his gift for Astrid.‘Truly cosmic,’ he thought. ‘She won’t believe it…’She would arrive at any moment and he wanted everything to be perfect.Hearing the doorbell spurred him to stow scraps of wrapping paper and ribbon. He poured wine into the crystal glasses, and placed them on the table next to her gift.He faced the door, and said, “Yes!” He opened the door to the love of his life, looking beautiful as ever.She said, “Hi! I now have non-binary, preferred pronouns for my hands. No longer left and right, ...

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“Eggs” by Clyde Laffan

Submitted to Contest #134

Eggs wasn't his name; I made that up after we had gone our separate ways, never to see each other again. From this distance - and time here is the geography; this story is 30 years old - some details are scant; pieces are missing, and I appear as a stranger even to myself. I remember the boy on the beach, the girl in the pink skirt and the sugar. Those parts of the story are clear.We had caught the same flight from London to Bangkok. For Eggs, Thailand was his destination; I was on a stop-over before returning home to...

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“The Swan” by Michele Duess

Submitted to Contest #134

Once upon a time, there was a swan. And a rather famous one too. You probably know the story, everyone does. What you might not know is the aftermath. Because there always is one. Happily ever after is, at best, a finite place of being. Things change, and trouble comes back. That’s the way of the world. This is what happened to Swan after the end. The one everyone called the most beautiful of them all. Of course, he found a mate, as princes do. She was the one they called Beauty and for good reason. Her feathers were white as snowf...

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“Where the water meets the sun” by Aerin Diem

Submitted to Contest #134

The open sea unraveled itself like the most luxurious silken blue fabric. It’s waves rolled and tumbled, as if pulled and shaken out by unseen hands on the horizon. The moon reflected on the water like a radiant woven tapestry, one of brilliant silver string. Every breath I took in, I felt the curl of the sea in my chest. Filling me up and rolling through me like a wave itself. The wooden boards beneath my feet creaked and groaned with every sway, sounding like a chorus of desperate and unwavering spirits. I stood and stretched my arms above...

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“She's Coming Home” by Ekta Garg

Submitted to Contest #134

Luna stood at the stove mixing the oatmeal, watching so it wouldn’t burn. She’d offered Kion a steak to celebrate. She’d even planned ahead, spending time at the market to pick the finest cuts of meat and scrutinizing the potatoes and beans. Berries, she thought as she moved to the fresh fruit. Kion loves berry pie. We can have that for dessert tonight. &nb...

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“Life Inside A Red Balloon” by Kathryn Gabrielle

Submitted to Contest #134

I could tell you why I am inside this red balloon, but you wouldn't believe it! I recall driving to the party supply store to get some extra red balloons for a birthday party. The weather is stifling hot outside and I welcome the air conditioning inside the store. I pick up six bags of red balloons, when I notice that one of the bags is torn open. Walking over to the customer service desk, I hold up the bag of red balloons and say, “ I don't want this one, it is already torn open.”The woman behind the desk looks at me and without hesita...

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“Green Gremlins” by Bettina Karpathian

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #134

It’s my last day of gazing up at the blue sky, spring foliage and blossoms. Instead of a grassy meadow, I am lying on a hard, cold steel table which could belong in a morgue. The only sound is the whirr of the machine. No birdsong or spring breeze here. Every now and then the tech’s disembodied voice reverberates with instructions. Move, don’t move, hold your breath, breathe. She is safely ensconced somewhere out of sight. I picture the malignant cells in my breast as little green cartoon gremlins, squealing and running for cover as the invi...

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“BLANK.ZeroZeroOne” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #134

On planet AUM.108 ashes are sacred. The shadow of its inhabitants is never lonely. For it has two suns. When the two suns are equidistant from AUM.108 its inhabitants congregate. They sit cross-legged on the grey ground, place their purple translucent upper limbs on their knees and close the single eye on their foreheads. And begin to chant. A chakra begins to grow at the base of every throat, a glowing lapis lazuli. The conscience connector wedged as liquid emerald in their chests branches out like a tendril. The salty orange rivers freeze....

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“Help, I’ve broken time.” by Holly Guy

Submitted to Contest #134

Broken corkscrews pile up in the well-decorated, glass jar besides me. They overspill and jump out the jar, rolling onto the stained carpet. Red stains. Red stains everywhere. The lit cigarette burns me as it kisses my fingers. I let it go. It can join the corkscrews on the carpet. Shakily, I try to push myself out of the sofa which sucks me in. As I find my way to my feet, the world spins. A humming in my ears starts chanting a death song and my vision taunts me with a fake reality. My head lolls forward and I’m propelled through diffe...

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$250

Prize money

223

Contest entries

128

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 25, 2022 EST

Won by Story Time 🏆

Title: The Hovering Age

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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