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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

“The Flower Strikes Back” by Tiombe Chappelle

Submitted to Contest #135

It felt good to grab the last succulent out of my locker. It’s finally cleared out. Another school year is in the past. Next year will be my last year of secondary and I was glad of it. With a wistful sigh, I turned the small potted plant over in my hands. I touched a finger to the soil and got a rush when its energy ran through me. I prepared to tuck it into the allocated slot in my bag when it was smacked out of my hand. My eyes widened as the pot shattered, dirt skittering across the floor. Luckily my succulent was intact, but the...

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“Jack Lives!” by John Hanna

Submitted to Contest #135

Jack is on the outs with his family. The oldest of five he feels he was held up to unreasonable scrutiny. He has spent a few drunken evenings during high school resulting in nothing good. He wasn’t perfect but he did his schoolwork which graded him in the top fifteen percent, meaning little. His immediate family didn’t fare all that well, forever holding him up to his successful relatives. His grandfather, an affectionately distant supporter, landed a night job, in his youth, as a lone fuse checker for Ohio Edison. On the rare occasion that...

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“Duty of a Queen” by Aspen Hall

Submitted to Contest #135

Breakfast is normally my favorite meal of the day. Eggs, sausages, potatoes, and toast with jam. Breakfast also means a new day where anything is possible. Maybe I’ll get to take a walk down to the seaside. Maybe I can sneak into my father’s court proceedings and learn how to rule one day. Maybe I’ll get to see the blacksmith and get my hands on yet another fine weapon that my parents disapprove of. But today is different. Today's breakfast means that in less than six hours I’ll be married to someone I’ve never met before. I’ll be sh...

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“Tooth Hurty 🦷🪥👽” by PJ Aitken

Submitted to Contest #135

“Keith, you’ve done well so far by coming into the building this time, staying in the waiting room and now you’ve sat in the chair for longer than ten seconds but please keep your mouth open wide.“Please try not to talk, you’re spitting into my face and I can’t understand you because your mouth is wide open and I’m trying to inspect your teeth.“You’ve been so brave so far Keith but now I need to numb your mouth so we can start the first filling. “Please stop shouting! Are you crying? Come on, calm down Keith!“Keith, listen to me! If you...

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“A Walk in The Park” by Barbara Burgess

Submitted to Contest #135

It was early morning. Mavis was walking her terrier dog Billy in the park. Quite unexpectedly, Billy began pulling on the lead and dragging Mavis toward some thick bushes. She hung on tightly, struggling to control him, but he dragged her nearer and nearer the overgrown shrubs. She almost ended up falling over in them.“Stop it Billy. Whatever has got into you this morning.”Suddenly, Mavis lifted her hand to her mouth to smother a scream. There, among the dead leaves, empty cans of beer and sweet wrappers, was what looked like the side of som...

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“LITTLE DOG TO THE RESCUE” by Debbie Curtin

Submitted to Contest #135

It was a long, hot Labor Day weekend. The signs had been posted all over town. On telephone poles and trees located nearest the roadways, the message was the same. It was a plea for help. “Missing: Shih Tzu dog: Needs medication. Last seen on King Arthur Drive. If found…” and the contact information. The photo was of a black and white dog with an energetic, happy face. Amy signed after she finished stapling up the last poster. Geiser, the missing dog, had become her beloved pet just several weeks ago. Back...

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“Closing the Doors on Craven Ridge” by David Brown

Submitted to Contest #135

As the sun’s morning rays permeated the little southwestern American town that had once stood strong against a vast army over a decade ago, the reflections of red and pink in the low clouds portended evil tidings to come. An old, slightly wrinkled, man took off his hat, as was the custom when entering a church, and took a seat in the back row pew to listen to the townsfolk debate. His cotton shirt and denim pants were caked with dust driven by the desert winds, some of which settled on the wood bench where he sat. For many hours he just list...

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“First Day at School” by Mike Henry

Submitted to Contest #135

First Day at School I kept telling myself to be brave but it wasn’t working. In fact, I was shaking in my shoes as I watched the scruffy looking kid with dirty blonde hair and a snotty nose get ever closer. I’d been watching him for more than a minute, making his way along the queue of primary school students, many of them first-timers, like me. He looked mean and, by the way he shouted at the other kids and roughed up the smaller ones, I could tell he was a nasty piece of work. I was petrified. It was a quarter to n...

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“Born” by Jeannette Miller

Submitted to Contest #135

It’s dark in here. A massive expanse of what feels like pure nothingness and yet a strangely calming sense of what is to come. It is dark here. Full of nothingness and a wasteland brimming with fear. This state of being lasts for what seems like an eternity; although, what is time in a place like this? This feeling keeps me on edge for what feels like forever. I have no concept of time. My existence continues unnoticed with waves of motion sending me here and there without care or concern of my self. These waves support me. They take me w...

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“Polar Bear” by John Walsh

Submitted to Contest #135

Trigger warning: rape Bruno was beginning to think it was time to leave Quiverton. Quiverton had been founded a century and half ago in a secluded valley by an eccentric religious sect of extreme pacifists. They did not simply believe in nonviolence and passive resistance to evil. They actively retreated from any conflict whatsoever. As time went on the relig...

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“One Boy and His Gun” by Leon Moss

Submitted to Contest #135

I knew Dad kept a loaded gun at the back of the coat cupboard in the hallway. He showed it to me once and made me promise never to touch it or show it to anyone. “If a bullet from that gun hits someone, it will blow him into small pieces,” he explained. It was enough for me. Once or twice I swiped the coats aside and took a look; just making sure it was still there. “What’s it for, Dad?” I asked. “Anyone who threatens my family,” he said. “Just knowing it’s there makes me feel safe.” And it made me feel safe too. And nervous. Living here o...

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“TULSA POOL” by Dominique Bretin

Submitted to Contest #135

(This fiction story is about racism in history, and involves critical race theory which some audiences find offensive) Tulsa Pool by Dominique Bretin On a hot, humid day in Tulsa, Avery, my friend, was asked to leave the pool. My mother had given my older brother, George, and me permission to take the bus downtown to visit the Tulsa public swimming pool. It was a quiet Sunday in mid-August, the temperature over ninety and the humidity just about the same. We were happy to have a chance to cool off. It...

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“Is Boris Badinov?” by Kathryn Gabrielle

Submitted to Contest #135

Boris is a short guy with a mean streak. He likes to talk alot about how bad he is, but he has a secret.He is afraid of his job.Boris comes from Russia and he has thirteen brothers and fifteen sisters and they all have to work collecting rent money from the shopkeepers and drifters. Boris hears Papa's voice inside his head saying, "Don't feel sorry for them. They will cry, plead, get down on their knees. They will beg for more time! Take out your bat and that is their answer. Work! Collect Rent. Being home bacon to Papa!""Yes, Papa", Boris r...

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“Jesus' First Motorcycle” by Tsvi Jolles

Submitted to Contest #135

Peter, Andrew, Jesus, and I are sitting in one of those new eateries that have popped up like mushrooms after a rainstorm and Andrew remarks that it looks like Judith was hanging out with Abimelech.Peter takes a piece of the bread and says nothing more than: "It's good bread.""What's so good about this bread?" I ask, and he replies, "Nothing. But it's good. Taste!" and he pours some wine into my glass.“Judith, what did you say about her?" he asks his brother. "I saw her with that guy," Andrew says. "And what else do we know?" Peter...

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“Ardor” by David Sweet

Submitted to Contest #135

The low-level ranger padded softly through the woods on mocassin feet carrying a cedar bow hand-carved by his grandfather, the only gift his grandfather had ever given him. He slung a quiver of arrows, with fletching made from hawk feathers, over his left shoulder. Moving quietly through late autumn leaves, he hoped to take the small band traveling through the valley by surprise. They weren't quiet. They argued among themselves as they ambled along the shallow creek. The ranger took cover behind a large oak and slipped an arrow from the quiv...

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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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