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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#135: I Wanna See You Be Brave

Looking at the children’s books I used to read, there’s a lot of emphasis on being courageous. It makes sense — growing up means facing one tough new thing after another. But in adulthood, we stop thinking about bravery so much, as if the concept is confined to the chivalrous men and misfit animals of fairy tales and picture books.

This week, let’s think about what bravery (or its opposite) really means, in an everyday context, a fantasy world, or a children’s story.

This week's prompts

Write about a hero or a villain deathly afraid of doing their job.

Adventure – 37 stories

Start your story with someone stepping outside their comfort zone.

Middle School – 60 stories

Set your story in a town full of cowards.

Fiction – 31 stories

Write a story where fortune doesn’t favor the brave.

Thriller and Suspense – 38 stories

Write about a casual act of bravery.

Narrative – 46 stories

Stories

“Serendipity 'alla Romana'” by Rodd Dana

Submitted to Contest #135

Serendipity ‘alla Romana’ Walking down Via Condotti, the odd feeling I had experienced all through the previous photo-shoot at the Excelsior Hotel, lingered with relentless insistence. It felt like being reminded of an appointment I should keep. Arriving at Via Sistina, close to my apartment in Piazza de Spagne, I turned right, finding myself oddly propelled into a familiar neighborhood ‘piano bar’. Halfway down the length of the elegantly carved Venetian Tabarrok Mahogany bar, I heard, “Ciao, Marco.” “Ciao, Mimo,” I mumbled to the smiling...

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“Glioblastoma” by Sajeev Poovadan

Submitted to Contest #135

“Splenial lesion with hemorrhage and increased perfusion with choline and lipid peaks; features suggestive of high-grade glial neoplasm. However, Glioblastoma cannot be excluded.” She stood for a long while at Ajith’s bedside, staring at his MRI report. “Is everything okay Nena?” The voice of Ajith’s mother disturbed the stillness. She managed in a firm voice, “All well, Amma!” She neatly folded the Report along the existing crease lines and slid it back into its cover, carefully, as if any additional bend or fold could hurt Ajith’s ...

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“Now or Never” by KS Logan

Submitted to Contest #135

You can do this Lily. Just breathe. Put one foot in front of the other. You’ve been preparing for this for months… years. Jack believes in you, Tara believes in you. You’ve got this.She absently twirled the silver ring around her thumb.Remember what Dr. Martin said. “All your time, effort, and hard work was set up to prepare you for this day. The biggest accomplishment of your life.”Her palms were sweating, and her legs felt like they would give out, as if her bones had turned to jelly. Her entire body quivered, and her bladder felt wea...

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“Starting Over” by Michele Keeton

Submitted to Contest #135

With tears in her eyes, she looked around the room once more before walking out of the door. Should she take a few pictures to remember this beautiful place she was leaving? Or should she just turn and run? At the age of 51 she had never been on her own before…not completely alone. Her kids were grown and living on their own; all she had right now was her dog, her self-respect, and a tremendous amount of fear and uncertainty. She did take pictures, only to be deleted a few months later…deleted out of her phone and eventually out of her memor...

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“A Bridge Too Far?” by Shirrl Beeson

Submitted to Contest #135

Luke had always known God. Yes, he was a fourth generation pastor’s son, but before he ever went to Sunday school he felt The Presence. He thought maybe all children did, which was how man’s manifestation of right and righteousness managed to pull at the heartstrings of so many people. Perhaps every child knows The Presence, but the enchantment can become lost in the translation of society. No man in Luke’s family had ever not been a pastor. He had taken History with a minor in English before Seminary school, and he ...

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“THE THIEF OF WINGS” by Tammy Castleman

Submitted to Contest #135

Terror. From the inside. My entire being held captive by an invisible enemy. Unseeable fingers clenching my throat, making it difficult to breathe. Heart pounding, dizzy, cold sweat, chest tight. I contemplated boarding the plane at Chicago O’Hare. The plane that would take myself and my daughter to a place I’d dreamed of since I was a small child: England. But I knew I couldn’t do it. I also knew by now, age 52, the difference between a heart attack and a panic attack, but my brain somehow did not and it kept telling me “You’re go...

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“Italian Courage” by Heather McGuire

Submitted to Contest #135

The door to the airplane was like a threshold. Stepping through meant leaving behind the cozy house where we had become a family of four, the city in which I had grown up, and my parents, whose tearful farewell was already settling into my bones, making them ache with the throb of goodbye. With a chubby toddler on my hip and her towheaded older sister setting out resolutely before us, we made our way across the invisible line between the known and the unknowable. It was impossible to understand then, despite our imaginings, the words o...

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“Last Cup of Coffee” by Marae White

Submitted to Contest #135

Last Cup of Coffee The first thing I see when I return from the hospital is a cup of coffee, still sitting on the table, no longer steaming, but not quite cold either. Black, unsweetened, it sits in a cup half full—or half empty, depending on how you look at those things. The cup itself is yellow with a big smiley face on the side to keep up my dad’s spirits. He hasn’t had much to smile about for the past year or so. Now that my mom is gone, his dogs and his gr...

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“Nika's Bravery” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #135

I never expected this to happen. I never intended for this to happen. I did what any normal person would do. But yet it is happening, the whole town is here. I don't want the recognition nor do I need it. I'm a simple person who did something others would do. But nobody did anything. I was there and saw what happened. Yet others were there as well and did nothing to help. I did something. I saved a life no one wanted to help and now they want to honor me for doing something they didn't have the guts to do. There were so many people...

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“A COWARD'S HAVEN” by Darrell Grant

Submitted to Contest #135

My grandfather had told me a story of how he had lost his way in life during the war and became a wanderer before stumbling into a town that wasn’t on the map. The town was called BRAVERY. The craziest thing was that while he was there, he found out that this was a small town full of cowards and only for cowards. I know... the irony of it all.He said that after a short time he was able to escape the grip he felt the town had on him and the force that brought him there . One night he just upped and left the same ...

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“Cape of Fear” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #135

The ringing phone interrupts her typing. “-Hello?" “-The harassment meeting will be today? No one told me-” “-1 PM, OK. I just want to tell my side of the story-” “-No. only myself, was I supposed to bring representation? I dont have anyone.” “-Thank you.” She hangs up the phone, and looks at the clock. 3 hours, 47 minutes. The waiting and delays are over, and her fear comes back. The meeting she has been asking for is finally happening, and now she feels her skin prickle with anxiety.&nb...

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“Fortune Lost” by Mark Hebert

Submitted to Contest #135

Fortune Lost A Tale From The Silver Exodus Series Marcus Abear Copyright March 2022 When the aliens announced the silver trading program my wife and I decided to play it safe and keep our trades quiet. In the weeks following the Yellowstone eruption, society had spiraled out of control and those with silver became targets. Intelligent people, like the two of us, didn’t advertise our ownership of silver or tell others about the technology we traded for. Even though the aliens explained how they could track stolen silver and prevent the tr...

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“Two Men in a Van” by Liz Neylon

Submitted to Contest #135

Two Men in a Van “Hey man, we’re cool, you can come out now, we’re over the border. I’m going to pull into a transport café about 20 kilometers from here.” Sandy slowed as Mustapha climbed over the back seat into the front of the van. He said nothing but turned quizzically towards Sandy as the van pulled into the motorway parking lot. “Don’t worry, we’re going to order coffees, then take a shower and get into our disguises. C’mon, we’re going to hit gay Paree dressed as painters. The worst part is over.” He could feel the other man ...

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“FOPS” by Deb Kane

Submitted to Contest #135

Well of course I said ‘Yes’. When I read the message from the owner of Flat Stanley’s Barn Grille asking if I would introduce the comedian she had booked for this Friday night, I was thrilled. I do love to chat, and according to anyone sitting within earshot, I have quite a sense of humor. So certainly, she explained, I was the first person she thought of when the headliner (a local comic who zipping up the region’s entertainment ladder) told...

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“A Journey of Self-Discovery” by Shana Kneebone

Submitted to Contest #135

People define bravery in different ways. Some see it as standing up for someone that cannot stand up for themselves, others see it as simply getting out of bed for the day. How do I define bravery? For me, I see it as stepping outside my comfort zone. Let me share my story with you. My name is Marie. I won’t dive too much into my past and my childhood, but lets just say it wasn’t the greatest. I had to learn to fend for myself at an early age, look after my own needs, as well as my siblings. Even though we experienced a lot of ...

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$250

Prize money

212

Contest entries

154

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Mar 04, 2022 EST

Won by Thom With An H 🏆

Title: Home of the Brave

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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