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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

“Brave Boy in a Cowardly Town” by Robert Obszanski

Submitted to Contest #135

The room was empty save for a few lingerers. Each man but the bartender staring at the bottom of a glass or off into the distance. “Another round, Jim?” “Yes, sir. It’ll be the last.” “Coming right up.” The bartender grabbed a fresh mug, tilted it at an angle and began to fill it. He grabbed the empty mug Jim was staring into and swapped ...

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“The money” by Lee-Anne Lenore Archibald

Submitted to Contest #135

He drove that Brinks truck, like he was the super, proud owner, and earner, of every dollar in the back of it."Bye daddy" the cute little brunette, with the soulful dark eyes, squeaked, to her own close personal hero. I love you, was what he said to her, making a heart out of his two hands and fingers together. Smiling at her beauty, the beauty, only a six year old that loved you, could make you believe.Get on the ground m@#$$$ f#$%^%". "Sack of poop, he just told you to get outta the truck and get ona ground" said the second stupid, uneduca...

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“Willow Falls” by Kai Storm

Submitted to Contest #135

Willow Falls in itself has never failed to astonish me. Pure white suburban houses, cul de sacs, and freshly cut lawns. The kind of area where you can let your kids go out to play unaccompanied. The entire east side of town was a river in an almost perfect oval shape, spanning over 30 miles. The entire area is encircled by the most beautiful willow trees you can imagine. It is said that willow trees signify resilience in the way they thrive in many environments. When a willow tree’s branches are in danger of breaking, they bend rather than s...

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“The Mines” by Coltrane Rogers

Submitted to Contest #135

The messenger entered the throne room. “My Lord, I have word from the council.” The King switched his gaze from the glass pane that overlooked the mines to the man in green robes. “There has been a rumour from Faction Red. There are plans of a revolt. As suggested by the council, we seal off the Faction and send more guards into the mines to exorcise those who spread word.” “No.” His voice was carrying, “if the miners choose to spill blood once more, then let them.” The last revolt neared a decade ago. Over two-hundred fatalities and ...

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“Out of Reach” by Hannah Martin

Submitted to Contest #135

I always knew what my life would look like. My daddy told me at a young age that I’d marry a good man and raise strong boys for him. I had accepted my fate without really thinking about it because it was just what was expected. By the time I was seventeen, it was widely known throughout the town that I was next to be married. My cousin Fiona had married the preacher’s son only a year earlier and she was already pregnant, hopefully with a boy. One day after I cooked breakfast for the two of us, my daddy asked how I felt about the Phili...

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“A Debatable Act of Bravery” by Kim Anderson

Submitted to Contest #135

Content Warning: References to Child Sexual Abuse, Physical Abuse, Teen Death I would like to say that I don’t know what I was thinking, or that I don’t know what I thought I was doing. Because it’s embarrassing. Shameful. The fact is, I knew exactly what I was doing – and exactly what I was thinking. I cocked my fist and swung my arm as hard as I dared. The punch landed with a dull, heavy thud. I prepared myself again, determined to land an even heavier blow. Again and again, I swung my arm, the punches land...

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“Fire Deaths ” by Karen Lethlean

Submitted to Contest #135

Fire Deaths Mary couldn’t help it. Impossible to ignore those floppy ears, dark eyes and puppy jowls. One individual among so many furry caterpillar creatures who snuffled up to their mother’s ‘milk-tray’, pushing and tugging at her teats. Later when one began nibbling her fingers Mary felt a fierce ownership urge. Named him Deefa - D-fa-dog. She felt sure her husband Jack also desired a farm dog. She remembered their romance, a time when they wandered along silken beach sand. And held her hand out to scoop up setting sun auras appearing ...

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“Seraphin” by F.O. Morier

Submitted to Contest #135

What happens to a person when she or he, has no way to beat an intolerable system and there´s no way to escape? How does one break free from shame, and pride indistinguishable from fear? I would like to start with a preface but let´s be honest: that´s always written afterward. Just like history…one can only write it when history has already been made and is finished. That’s just the thing with history, isn´t it? it´s always in the making and never really over. Never… Why tell this story? The people who have lived through it have hardly eve...

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“The Drifter” by Paul Brown

Submitted to Contest #135

The DrifterThe dry leaves tumble across the dusty road, the trees gift of bronze and golds, to float in the warmth of a sleepy afternoon sun. The old pickup low on gas drives smoothly past the dry brown grass, and on through the quiet tired hard-pressed town. Shuttered shops line main street as the recession blooms, young and old without jobs or hope wander the sidewalks in silent groups. Despair in the air to see no end, to a mellow time as grief unfolds in bleeding hearts and distraught minds, sorrow at loved ones lost amid the unending to...

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“Bus Boozer” by Zach Martz

Submitted to Contest #135

The bus was several minutes late as usual, which frustrated Anna greatly as she was tired from a stressful day at work. As soon as the doors opened, she jumped on board, swiped her farecard, and took the first seat she saw that was not occupied. Pressing her body against the smooth cold window, she fumbled through her phone and whipped out her earphones for some music to accompany her on the ride home. There were not many other passengers with her, even as the bus took its tour through the bustling downtown. Anna took a gander of the vehic...

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“One More Step ” by Michelle B.

Submitted to Contest #135

TW- Death, drug abuse, child neglect, depressionLeanna opened the refrigerator and took out eggs and butter. She sat them on the counter and turned on the stove. She moved slowly and mechanically, going through the motions. It was breakfast time, and Lily would be up soon asking for food. Lily was only three, and her routine stayed the same regardless of what was happening around her. Leanna envied her daughter at times. Envied the simplicity of her world, the brightness, the ignorance. She buttered the pan and cracked the eggs in it. The ki...

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“How much does your cause cost?” by Sara Al-Hafiry

Submitted to Contest #135

I was walking back home past nightfall, exhausted after the long day I spent in college. The street I used to take from the bus stop to my home was quite lively, and it was a short walk before I can finally leave all the day events behind me. It was a particularly tiring day after I lead an uprising in the biology lab. We were dissecting frogs since first year, and we are third-years now, and we were always used to anesthetize them by knocking them out. It’s a method carried out by holding the frog from its hind limbs and knocking them on th...

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“What Would Zelensky Do?” by Michele Brower

Submitted to Contest #135

What Would Zelensky Do? After a few cars passed by my home, I pulled on my sneakers and started making my way down the hill to attend our coffee hour. I’d moved into the small park-model development during the pandemic and hadn’t been able to get to know people, but lately, we’d been told it was safe to be unmasked with people. When I got to the row of mailboxes that separated the upper section of the development from the lower, I oriented myself towards Edith’s flower garden. Today her daffodils were in bloom which made my tactic less ...

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“A Weird and Scary Day” by Valerie Vince

Submitted to Contest #135

(This is an early reader picture story, for ages 4 to 8.)Every day at exactly noon, Victor sits in his cubby corner in his family’s small living room, with his sad dad who reads in his armchair while his mom and sisters go to the shops. [picture of Victor’s dad in a small living room, his face in darkness, a book on his lap, sitting in an armchair, wearing dark trousers with suspenders, thin. Pills and a water jug sit high on a shelf. From the kitchen doorway comes a shaft of light and a swirl of steam. Victor sits on a large cushion in...

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“Forever Young, Forever Old” by Lee-Anne Lenore Archibald

Submitted to Contest #135

He was tired of fighting, with the adults, on the big island. Drake, on the Children of the Isle, was tired. He had had wars with the adults before, but nothing compared, to the war they were in the middle of, with these big people.They were all adults of the big people, from the big island. Thier "Children of the Isle" Island, being inhabited by only, forever children. Given, an anti growth hormone at birth, made development of adult hood, null and void. All of the children, that were shipped over from the adults "Big Island" stayed child l...

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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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