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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#138: Days in the Sun

If you live in the Northern hemisphere, now’s that time of the year when the days begin to feel a little longer. The start of Spring means you can look forward to afternoon picnics in the park, long walks while the sun is still up, and days that feel endless — like you have more time on your hands, even though that’s not technically true.

Celebrating this turn of the season, this week’s prompts take inspiration from these longer and sunnier days.

This week's prompts

Set your story on a day when the sun never sets.

Dark – 26 stories

Write a story about an afternoon picnic gone wrong.

Fluff – 37 stories

Write about a character who doesn’t want to go to sleep.

Horror – 53 stories

End your story with someone saying: “What a day.”

Summer – 40 stories

Write about light returning to a place that has been deprived of it for a long time, literally or figuratively.

Christmas – 89 stories

Stories

“Sunrise in the East” by Ari Jackson

Submitted to Contest #138

Daddy said the sun stopped burning when the baby died. Momma said it rises in the East. Daddy says when a boy sees death for the first time, it makes them a man, no matter what. He said words like heartache and pain, and explained they’re devils who come to collect the best of you when you meet loss, and you’ve gotta fight them till forever to get just a little bit of the good back. He said most people lose, while others pretend to have won, when really they just changed convincingly enough to make believe they’re back to normal, when real...

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“Sara Mason” by Crows_ Garden

Submitted to Contest #138

This story contains language, teenagers being teenagers(ex: talking about intercourse, drug use) and mentions of suicide.One day, in their freshman year of high school.. He noticed something different about the school day. There was less chatter. "Come on class..!" Mrs. Jones groaned. "I know you all know this." She says with an awkward expression. Mark looked at the board seeing the polynomial shit on the board.(3x+8x3-5+1) - (2x+3-2)He exhaled sharply. "What would be the simplified polynomial be?" What would it be? He thought to himself. H...

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“Endless Day Beach and Spa” by Sharon Hancock

Submitted to Contest #138

The invitation arrived on Tuesday; stuck between two busted samples of sunscreen that oozed and dripped in the mailbox. Sabrina frowned at the sickening sweet smell of coconut and mango as she squished the letters together and pulled them out of the box. A sticky blob of the lotion plopped onto her shirt and sat there; jiggling and glistening in the sunlight. She swiped it off; leaving a greasy smear next to the ketchup stain that was always there. The busted sample packs left globs of sunscreen on the counter where she tos...

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“Nord” by Jonathan Sadler

Submitted to Contest #138

“UFO ‘which crashed millions of years ago’ found in Greenland, conspiracy theorists claim.” ~ ‘Daily Express’ (British Tabloid), 21 September, 2020***20/6/2025 - 1200 HRS (WGST): MID SHIFT REPORT. DAILY INSPECTION OF ALL INSTRUMENTATION COMPLETE. NO ANOMALIES OR EQUIPMENT MALFUNCTIONS DETECTED...Hemming Sorenson stopped typing for a moment and reached for his thermos of rich, black coffee. He was about half a year into his twenty-six month assignment at the base, and in spite of the enjoyable nature of his stay at Station Nord, he could...

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“Pteridomania” by L.M. Lydon

Submitted to Contest #138

My final exam for General Biology is first thing tomorrow morning, Fern lectured herself sternly. I really should go back to my dorm and study. I’ll never keep that A average if I don’t ace this exam. The biological sciences department is so competitive and I won’t have a chance of progressing towards a career in biotech unless I maintain a high GPA in my life-science classes. Yet Fern couldn’t quite find the willpower to make herself rise from the soft towel spread on the outskirts of the quad lawn. Her skin still ached for the sensual c...

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“THE GOODBYE” by Carolina Flores Acevedo

Submitted to Contest #138

I found her in the rocking chair outside her room. Her eyes were vacant, red-rimmed, and tired. She seemed thinner every day, her cheekbones sharper and her collarbones more protruding. Today she was babbling a lullaby. I recognized the tune but not the words. She used to sing it to me as a child. I think somehow she was still connected to reality. Like her mind was barely hanging, clinging to the most random memories of her past. As I stepped closer, she stopped singing and focused those paled blue eyes on mine. She knew why...

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“Divine Intervention” by M.C. Washington

Submitted to Contest #138

The angel materialized into a physical body as he left the higher spiritual planes and crossed into the lower astral ones. His energy came to match the vibrating frequency of the material worlds. Transitioning to the lower planes was a rough experience; material bodies were heavy and slow—such bodies were cut off from the celestial energies and their spiritual forces. The angel had landed as close to his target as he could. The demon he was after was cloaking his presence like a master. His target was an exceptionally prestigious fallen ange...

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“I'd Rather Be The Thunderfly” by Janey El Napier

Submitted to Contest #138

CW: mentions of child abuse, domestic violence, needles/drip, strong language, panic attack situation. If Ian concentrated just right, he could make his skin glow enough to light up the entire room. Lightning Bug, Sister Dolores had called him at first. Never with a smile, never fondly, but still in a way that made him feel useful. It made him feel like she was pleased he was that way, just like Captain Bennet, and that coming to the House with all the other children was what he was made to do. Thunderfly, she began to call him wh...

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“Shedding Light” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #138

The warm glow from the fiber-place filled the large room. Since the abolishment of fossil fuels, many innovations were necessary. This appliance had glowing fibers dancing in an updraft to create the illusion of fire. It didn’t warm the air, but kindled the heart. The family sat facing the fiber-place. But each stared at the device glowing in their hands. Depending on its use they were called torches, or smarphs. A cool glow lit their masked faces. No one spoke. The sound of snapping of fibers and the humming fan filled the room. Fingers dan...

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“Skulls in the Dark” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #138

Eating rotisserie wood pigeon, Sir Danielle Longbow tried to hide her fear. Though the hosts had welcomed them, cenaga were startling if not nightmarish creatures to behold. Their snake heads had antlers. Their torsos bore two strong arms which were tipped with vicious looking claws. The rest of their bodies looked like a horse’s muscles in a snake body. Thick long tails balanced their torso but restricted their speed to less than that of cavalry. “How issss our food?” A...

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“Waiting on a Miracle” by Isabela Maher

Submitted to Contest #138

Although the sun had tucked itself below the horizon nearly four hours ago, Aurelie refused to let her mind escape into its dreamy abyss. She had gone through the motions of her bedtime routine merely because her parents had expected her to, but she had no intention of shutting her eyes - not for a second. “The day’s not over. It cant be,” the small girl whispered to her favorite stuffed rabbit. Her mother had told her that today, March 20th, was the day the doctors said she would meet her new baby sister. She had then gone on ...

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“Favorite School Project” by Daphne Chou

Submitted to Contest #138

It was 1983, but not quite the version you remember.In third grade gifted class, we made these little terrariums. I thought they were the coolest. Mrs. Manchester lined us up in front of a formica table covered with newspaper, a bag of potting soil, and a box of gravel. We each got our own fishbowl and filled it up, added a lonely jade plant, spritzed water on top, and behold, we were gods. My fishbowl was green and tumbled like sea-glass, not smooth and transparent like everyone else’s. “The pet store didn’t have enough ...

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“Starlight Revelation” by Sharan Sukumar

Submitted to Contest #138

World War 3 was never given an official end date. I couldn't tell you for certain how long it has been since civilization ended. Nor do I care to find out. All that matters to me and those in my colony is survival. And despite the world being ruined beyond recognition, we have managed to do just that, survive.It was tough in the beginning. Almost all of the infrastructure was damaged one way or the other. Roads were ripped open. Skyscrapers and bridges were cut in half. There was a global loss of power and communication which ushered in an e...

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“Illusory correlation” by F.O. Morier

Submitted to Contest #138

Tonight, the moon is full and lustrous. The final full moon of the winter season. A change is coming. The earth loosens her soil. Spring is just around the corner. I stood on the balcony wrapped in the gaze of the moon, inviting brighter and longer days, when I heard: -“Nana!” a very persistent calling from my grandson, probably trying to manipulate me into giving him some extra time, before turning off the lights. -“Have you seen the moon, Nana?” Raphael asked, with his nose stuck to his bedroom window. -“Yes, isn´t it beautiful? It is call...

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“All that glitters” by Isobel Tynan

Submitted to Contest #138

It was over coffee. In her light-filled kitchen, with its distressed oak seating, bright white walls and the expensive, nutty waft of roasted caramel pervading the room.I’d rehearsed what I was going to say. Over and over for the past three weeks. In the mirror. On the train. Still, my fingers twisted the sugar packets into tight knots. I couldn’t drink my cooling cappuccino.Sarah, as always, oblivious to another’s emotional turmoil, prattled on, occasionally flicking her freshly coiffed hair.Finally, I blurted it out.“I know about...

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$250

Prize money

245

Contest entries

154

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Mar 25, 2022 EST

Won by Christopher Kelley 🏆

Title: After the Rock

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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