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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

“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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“Trapped Between Two Worlds” by McCampbell Molly

Submitted to Contest #134

Sila was exhausted. He walked into the galley, stretching his arms high over his head, then bringing them down to rub his eyes. All he wanted to do was curl back up in bed and pull the covers over his head. His eyelids were still heavy, and he swayed a little as he reached for the coffee. But even more than being sleepy, he was just plain tired. He could feel it deep down in his bones. His legs and arms felt heavy and ached, as if he had run a marathon.Yanti took one look at him. Her voice sounded muted to him. “Let me guess, my crystal ball...

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“Songbird” by Angelus Fluer

Submitted to Contest #134

Trigger warning: War, Death, loss of loved one, slight gore February twenty-second, oh, how I remember that bittersweet day. It was the day where we made a promise over the glistering sea. How long has it been since you died? Five years? Eight? No, I think it’s been ten years since year since you passed. Still, I remember that night as though it were yesterday. It was my birthday, you and I both baked chocolate muffins, my favorite sweet. I remember how we partied until midnight. It was an enthusiastic celebration, but eventually, I went...

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“As Nature Intended” by Kenneth Goldman

Submitted to Contest #134

As Nature Intended by Ken Goldman Geoffrey’s ultimate decision felt right. He had to smile whi...

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“Floaty Fallon” by Sharon Hancock

Submitted to Contest #134

People are afraid of a lot of stupid stuff, right? Clowns, the number thirteen, snakes, swapping souls with the undead, spiders—you get my drift. And for the most part, I agree, wholeheartedly, that irrational fears are just that. Irrational. Nonsensical. Stupid. I’ve never had much time for them, myself. Except for one teensy-tiny-itty-bitty thing that has always frightened me senseless. I can’t even talk about it. Thinking about it makes me cringe, takes my breath, sweating profusely now,OMG DON’T MAKE ME SAY IT! Heights. (P...

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“When I’m Cleaning Satellites ” by Kev Neylon

Submitted to Contest #134

Contains language that some may find offensive. I really should have studied properly when I was at school. I could be doing a proper job now if I had. I could be a bartender, a spaceship washer, or a refuelling jockey. But no, I was too much of a smart arse to do any studying at school on Gemini III. I thought I didn’t need to do any studying. I thought I would be moving back to Earth where I could be a professional slacker; living off my father’s money once he had finished his term as the human ambassador to the Castor half of the Gemini...

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“In the last hours of May” by Cairo Woodward

Submitted to Contest #134

This story contains the following:Mental healthPhysical violence, gore, or abuseSuicide of self-harm Faded, I slump into the back seat of a cab I didn't call. My leather jacket looks inky in this moonlight. Muscle shell black, they called it. Looking through the pay window, I can see a hoard of exhausted cigarette stubs in the ashtray awaiting another casualty. A silvery ribbon of smoke hits me with De Ja Vu, but there's no way I've been here before. It snakes towards the car roof like hips swaying to a slow salsa. A crackling oran...

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“I am a Cloud ” by Sarbjeet Kaur

Submitted to Contest #134

I am a cloud. I was not always a cloud, but now that is what I am. I was born a little girl and was given my grandmother’s name. I still find it funny that my name was not even my own. Anyway, it doesn’t matter because I don’t go by anything now and soon it will slip my mind. My life is a peaceful one. I linger above in the great blue and I see the whole world. In the summertime, I would go cloud gazing with my brother on lemonade filled days but now I go people gazing. It’s more boring than I thought because nobody ever seems to ...

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“Mosquito Men of the Mata Atlântica” by Craig Westmore

Submitted to Contest #134

Okay, so there wasn’t actually an astronomy salesman at the store peddling telescopes and promising me a wonderful evening on my balcony watching celestial objects like the moons of Jupiter. I dished out two thousand reais–roughly three hundred and sixty dollars–for a StarBlast refractor telescope because the picture on the box showed a father hovering over his son who looked through the telescope with his lips pursed in a ‘Wow’ moment and the father pointing up to the Milky Way galaxy at the other end of the glossy box, which, probably glow...

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“Stars over the Horizon” by Isaiah Wilson

Submitted to Contest #134

A blaring sound rang across the small town, it was oddly rhythmic. As if it was sounding off to the tune of that one Rick Astley song. Markus couldn't remember the name but the words came perfectly to him, as the siren blared the town began to sing in a beautiful unison “We’re no strangers to lov– Can you turn your alarm off?” Markus’ eyes shot open with a look of surprise and disappointment at the ending of such a beautiful dream. He rubbed his eyes, gave a big sigh and sat up slowly singing along to his alarm “I just wann...

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“Fluttering Feeling” by Anthony Aguirre

Submitted to Contest #134

“Hina! The bell rang.” My head jolted up from my desk. I wiped the drool from my mouth as I looked at who called my name. “Mori. Ah. Um, sorry. I must’ve fallen asleep.” I readjusted my feet, hoping they were firmly planted on the ground. “Yeah, I noticed. You always do this.” Mori teased. She flashed me a soft smile. “Come on. The school’s gonna be locked up soon.” She started walking ahead. “Right.” I got up from my desk and started to catch up with my friend. As Mori implied, it was the end of the school day, and no one else was on campus...

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“Peering Through The "What-If" Telescope” by Kathryn Gabrielle

Submitted to Contest #134

"I spy, through my telescope's eye, something strange and unusual!""What is that supposed to mean?," a swaggering wise guy asks.A meek geek wearing a striped shirt and broken glasses brightens up and starts rambling. "My name is Norman. Tonight is the night of the Full Moon. I peer through my Big Red Telescope and what do I see? Something very strange and unusual! A world where one exists but are polar opposites. Winter here, Summer there. Shy and awkward here, confident and popular there. If you are successful here, a total loser there. Yo...

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“Uncle Sam and the depression,” by Mark Nicholson

Submitted to Contest #134

I woke up depressed. Waking up with depression is like waking up filthy dirty, but it’s not cured with a bar of soap and a long shower. Depression clings on like a withered snakeskin and I needed to shed this filthy putrid skin before it suffocated me to death. But here’s the rub, depression doesn’t want to peel off its host. It wants to hang on grimly and putrefy slowly making everything smelly and ugly. No few hours of Pythonesque struggle will see a neat sleeve of skin discarded like a ghostly shell of you left hanging in a maudlin manner...

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“Be Wary of Crooked Halos” by Bay Nichols

Submitted to Contest #134

“Just press that button there and it all restarts.” A man dressed in shimmering white robes appeared in the distance. He smiled. A crooked halo sat on top of a head of fluffy brown hair. He raised his hands in the air and a beautiful world came to life. A forest of trees sprouted to the skies, their leaves dripping with god-like power. Streams of crystal blue water flowed to the right, and to the left stood white-tipped mountain ranges. Beyond the conjured horizon, the arms of lively flames moved with the breeze. All the elements in ...

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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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