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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

“Another Flawless Accident” by Isabela Maher

Submitted to Contest #134

“Where are we going?!” Aella shouted over the near-constant rumbling of thunder. Rai didn’t answer, although her shout had certainly been loud enough. An echo of her voice still rang in his ears. This girl had never been planet-bound before, and she was his responsibility. His father could not have made that clearer. Glowering and pulling her by the forearm, Rai sprinted towards the stables at full speed. They had served as his go-to hideout for years, whether a storm was barreling down on him or not. Aella was stumbling behind him, s...

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“Doomsday Diary ” by Sylvie Smith

Submitted to Contest #134

“Hmm, what’s this” I wonder out loud as if anyone is around to hear me. It seems like an odd-looking trinket of some kind, made of a soft metal maybe? It’s pretty badly charred and sort of… melted. ‘Could be an artificial tooth or something’, I think as I raise it to my mouth and furl the corner of my lip as if to test its fit. ‘Eh I don’t know, looks kind of weird’, I decide as I think twice about actually putting it in my mouth. At this point I’m just collecting anything that could possibly be of some use and metals always have worth, espe...

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“The Death of a Universe” by Gwendolyn Labarcena

Submitted to Contest #134

The universe was burning. Stars were decorating the darkness like fireworks on the Fourth of July, folding in on themselves before exploding into massive bursts of energy that torched anything that dared to be in their vicinities. Meteor showers threatened to steal the spotlight from the assortment of supernovas; the minuscule rocks whistled through the air, their jagged edges threatening to tear tiny wounds into the skies’ skins. There were bodies floating about, celestial and human alike. Worlds were breaking down, moons squirming...

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“Two Suns Away” by Susannah Meghans

Submitted to Contest #134

Two Suns Away Ten years...how could ten years go by in a flash? Laura held a yellow umbrella above her as she stood waiting outside the restaurant door as violet rain fell freely from the sky. She thought about how she had lost him and then been so lucky to have him back again. Her mind wandered back to the beginning. Ten years ago, she had been surrounded by her family as they all huddled together. Laura had gripped...

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“The Window ” by Claire Cervino

Submitted to Contest #134

Katie laid in her bed, her light purple comforter pulled all the way up over her head. All that could be seen of her was some blonde curls that rested on top of the lilac comforter. A phone glowed a soft blue aura from under the sheets - the only light in the dark room on that warm June night. An open window brought in hot, stifling south Georgia air but that little vortex also let in a soft breeze and the chirping of the crickets which made Katie feel not so alone. Then she heard the noise Katie dreaded for the past few hours. The faint ec...

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“Fairytale Romance” by Susannah Meghans

Submitted to Contest #134

Fairytale RomancePresent Day Jessica sat in the corner of a bustling coffee shop, sipping her delicious latte while people watching. She had learned the hard way to cherish these moments of peace. As I watched another couple holding hands, my mind drifted back to the beginning of my own fairy tale romance or so had I thought. As a matter of fact, it all started here.Six Months Ago Jessica had been enjoying her lunch at this same coffee s...

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“The Heart of the Family” by Mattea Wise

Submitted to Contest #134

She heard the door slam and flinched. By now, she’d learned to deal with Raul’s outbursts, but they were never pleasant. She’d much rather be doing anything else than babying her younger brother, even washing his dirty laundry. She wrinkled her nose at the thought and braced for the impact of his attitude. “Why does this always happen to me?” “What happened?” Raina asked, tensing slightly in case he decided to direct his anger at her. Again. “They turned down my scholarship request again.” “What?? Why??” “They said I didn’t have my grades up...

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“Queenie” by Steve Penn

Submitted to Contest #134

Queenie’s stockings were smudged with coal dust as she trudged home with a bag of old newspapers. It wasn’t too far from the Ovenden’s; just a ten minute bus ride but she had to walk today. The snow was thick in drifts and the ice was black in places. She stopped every hundred yards or so to straighten out her back and breathe warm air into her red raw hands. Her little road was quiet except for the concerned faces appearing at the windows and the shuffle of her boots.She forced the door to her little terraced house with her shoulder; on the...

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“My Baby Brother Runs Away From Me and I Chase Him Laughing and Falling Over in the Grass” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #134

Like a reel of film playing in my mind, it just goes on and on. It seems to be in sequence but not everything is showing on screen. I’m back to being a little girl and my whole life is before me – like a story book where only the first few pages have been read. I had a good childhood. My baby brother runs away from me and I chase him laughing and falling over in the grass. “Come on you two” mother shouts “tea time” and I pick myself up, grab Tommy by the arm and we go inside the house. The aroma of dinner makes me feel really hungry and afte...

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“Eva” by Christina Henderson

Submitted to Contest #134

Trigger Warning- sexual content and violence Her eyes screamed in silence, her lips parting like the red sea and her moan was explicit. My kisses trailed down her abdomen, past her navel and to her inner thighs. As I reached the mouth of her moisture, my rapid heavy breathing makes her twitch wildly. She begged for release but I jolted awake. The dream had made me frothing and left me gasping for air. It made me wonder to myself why I have these dreams, is it because I'm living a lie? Here I lay next to my wife, as she begins to stir, her ...

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“The Pull of Gravity” by Shirrl Beeson

Submitted to Contest #134

Isaac sat waiting for the appointment, watching the door to the doctor’s office when it opened, waiting to hear his name. The woman who emerged looked discombobulated as she lost grip and juggled, then dropped her phone. Then her key fob fell out of her purse as she reached for the phone. Isaac picked up the phone and fob and held them out to her. Her eyes were puffy and wet but the most beautiful blue–the sky on a perfect summer day with rays of sunlight sparking out from the tiny pupils. She smiled and her eyes smiled too...

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“The First Man” by Mark Wambugu

Submitted to Contest #134

*Incoming Transmission* Hello? Hello? I hope this thing is on. Sorry about the noise. I'll try to be quick. One of my ancestors was the first man in space. Do you know how big of a deal that is? First man in space! He was incredible. An actual legend. But then another man was shot into the great beyond after him and set foot on the moon. This is the man most people remember. I think it's unfair. My name is Yuri. Or should I say it was? I doubt that I'll be alive when you receive this message. I was named after the first man. The first crea...

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“A Blink on Venus” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #134

The First Event Henry Hopper looked up at the star-like planet as he did most nights through the telescope that could be considered a companion. What he saw on this night was not the usual, but the unbelievable. There was a blink on Venus. That was the best term that the astronomer could come up with for what he had seen. It was like the planet was a giant eye, partially opening up to be seen like it never had before. Then the opening closed. He knew from prior experience when he presented papers on Venus at ...

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“1866” by Ray Tennison

Submitted to Contest #134

‘And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on that great Day’ - Jude 1:6 There comes a point when you dream about it, when the drill of the memories infect your mind when you sleep, piercing down through the skull and weaves into all of what the mind wants. The urge to look through it but in the end of these dreams, I always burn them. I burn every telescope before I can look through it and I then awake. However, in wak...

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“The Telescope” by Allya Nosmada

Submitted to Contest #134

“Happy Birthday, Simon!”The young boy did not wait another second before he tore off the wrapping paper on the large gift his mother had set before him. “Ooh, cool!” he exclaimed. “A telescope!”He soon forgot about the cake, the other presents, even his mother who had gifted him the object of his fascination. He opened the box and ran upstairs, carrying the telescope piece by piece to his room. He laid everything out on the floor and examined the pieces. Consulting the instructions periodically, Simon managed to assemble the instrument ...

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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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