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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

“Mark's Drawing” by Sam Joseph

Submitted to Contest #138

Mark’s Drawing &nbs...

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“What a Day” by Kenithia Briggs

Submitted to Contest #138

Janelle grabbed her coffee from the barista and ran out of the coffee shop. Usually, her order would be waiting on the drink stand, ordered and paid in the app. Today, of all days, her phone wasn’t charged. Janelle thought about skipping the coffee shop but quickly remembered the taste of coffee grinds usually found in the office community pot. Janelle let out a deep sigh and an exasperated yell as the bus sped right pass her. The time spent waiting in line at the coffee shop quickly pushed her from barely arriving to the office on time to ...

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“Rain Boots” by Andrea Moya

Submitted to Contest #138

The rain surrounded me in a gray haze creating an almost solid barrier between the building’s entrance and my car in the parking lot. I was stuck in the no man’s land of the covered entryway of my office, barely protected from the streams pouring down the sides of the roof and splatter from the puddles. Why did I even wear the boots if I was going to get wet anyway?I tried to will myself forward, to cross the threshold but I stayed rooted in place. My feet, encased in a pair of purple and pink galoshes with a wildflower pattern, slick and sh...

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“Glitter” by Maeve Riley

Submitted to Contest #138

For no apparent reason, the day sparkled from the moment I woke up. My sweetheart, Jake, and I were staying with friends who lived in the mountains. The plan that day was to go on a big bike ride that would end at a swimming hole. I, twenty-nine at the time, had yet to master the art of riding bicycles, so I made an adjusted plan. I was to drive out ahead of them and park at the trail head, then hike in to the swimming hole. It was going to be timed in such a way that they would find me when I was about halfway to the water. I set ou...

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“Must Remember to Drink More Water ” by Barbara Burgess

Submitted to Contest #138

I woke up. Or did I? I wasn’t sure I’d even been asleep. But then I remembered a dream…..or was it a nightmare? I must have slept unless, of course, I was daydreaming, but a daydream is usually about something good, like a holiday or becoming a pop star.In my nightmare, I was neither on holiday nor was I becoming a pop star. I was, in fact, running away. Running from what I don’t know. Then I was on my hands and knees clawing at the little gaps in the pavement where moss and grass grows. I was tearing at the grass and the dirt flew up in my ...

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“A day in the sun, not my favorite.” by Marik Berghs

Submitted to Contest #138

A day in the sunIn my mind, I cursed the heat. If I cursed out loud, it was a venial sin, and I’d have to confess it. If I didn’t say it, I could fudge. It wasn’t an impure thought, and I hadn’t taken the Lord’s name in vain, anyway. A cloud bank slid over us for maybe a minute, casting a shadow. Just long enough to feel a faint breeze. Just enough time for me to finish my row and get to my thermos bottle. I poured the water into the little lid that was supposed to be a cup; it was warm and tasted stale.In August, in Southern Minnesota, peop...

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“Aftermath” by Emilie Halford

Submitted to Contest #138

If there’s one thing that the large military hospital found at the heart of Camp Bastion is missing, it’s a half decent waiting room. For those unfortunate enough to find themselves waiting around for an update on a fallen soldier, an injured insurgent or, rarely, wounded civilians, there are only two options, and neither are particularly comfortable. The first option, and most popular choice, is the small room that had once been used to store medical supplies and an old ultrasound machine. It now houses three hard, plastic chairs that remin...

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“The House Full Of Light” by Jules Smith

Submitted to Contest #138

Lovebug adults are attracted to the light and to light-coloured surfaces, especially if they are freshly painted, but adults congregate almost anywhere apparently reacting to the effects of sunlight. Lovebugs help the environment when they are in their immature stage as they are attracted to flowers and are good pollinators. I only went out of curiosity more than anything. I didn’t go expecting; I never do. Besides, there couldn’t be much in a field stretching out further than my eye could see. In fact, I couldn’t even tell yo...

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“Evian” by Alison Bowman

Submitted to Contest #138

EVIAN There was always cloud. It was low and sometimes you could imagine you could reach up and brush your fingertips through the underside of it, but even if you could, it would only waft briefly. It would never go. Olders told us stories of days when the sky was high and blue and the clouds were like the sheep on the hill, but fluffy and white, not matted and dirty as they are. Frankly, none of us really believed those tales. Some Young’Uns said they had seen pictures with blue skies but pictures were fa...

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“The Light That Is Given” by Garrett Wright

Submitted to Contest #138

Sam and Mia stood in the middle of the living room. They were both silent. Mia’s arms had been crossed since she walked in and Sam looked around the room for a distraction - anything that would allow him to not have to look Mia in the eyes. “The plants are dead.” “Yes, Sam. They’ve been dead for a while.” Sam gently rubbed one of the dried-up leaves and watched as it crumbled between his fingers. The debris fell to the floor, some of it even got on his socks, but he didn’t care. When did he ever care about anything? Not for a while,...

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“Finding the Light” by Erin Cuellar

Submitted to Contest #138

Depression is like a black hole; it sucks in everything and leaves her in the dark. She sits there in this place that she can’t escape from, the gravity is too heavy to fight. Sometimes the bought will last for a few weeks, sometimes a few months. There is not a timeline for her to plan for, other than she must keep pushing through. That’s what her friends will say. That’s what the doctors will say. That’s what society will say. It’s very comparable to winter in the Midwest. Will she get a day of sunshine here or there? Yes, but ultimately, ...

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“Stop Her” by Amanda Galeno

Submitted to Contest #138

She opened her eyes and saw that she was still in the garage. She sat up and looked around. It must not have worked. Tears filled her eyes and she put her head in her hands; utterly defeated. She was still on the 18-inch air mattress she bought online. She had done her hair and makeup before she laid her head down. She looked beautiful. Her green eyes allowed the tears to fall and she sobbed in silence looking around her garage. Why didn’t it work? “You’re here,” he said from the corner behind her. ...

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“Terra-system 14” by Coltrane Rogers

Submitted to Contest #138

Submerged beneath an icy depth, head in an oak whisky barrel, he rose and flicked back his hair and looked to the sky. Fresh. Under the candour of stars.Have the constellations of this Terra-System been named, he wondered.A towel provided imbalance to his nude. Best to wash after travelling. Washes away fatigue. He picked up his white linens and pulled over his shirt and worked into a pair of loose-fitting trousers.His journal awaited his entry, resting on a wooden crate with the typographic: 3466e.Terra-system 0’s current fixture in time.He...

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“to my godparents ” by Rachel Lopez

Submitted to Contest #138

I was just 4 years old when I was living on the streets with my mother and two-year-old sister. I remember walking for hours in the dark street seeing nothing but street lights hundreds of feet away. People would think I was too young to understand but I knew exactly what was happening, there my mom was hopeless and alone, although she was never alone physically, I was always there; she never seemed to notice me. One day as we were near a freeway entrance this man pulled over on the side of the road and my mom so willingly and desperately wa...

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“The Light of Good” by Tanzaniyah Kash

Submitted to Contest #138

So many people are standing in a crowed room full of family and friends and still feel lonely. Especially when they truly need anyone to care. It's like having a dark shadow of separation and division that continues to haunt their path. In that moment they may need your time, money or great thoughts. But most times receiving only answers of promise. A promise that you know you will not keep- you give to them anyway. For it is always better to leave a person with a yes or a no then a wishful hopeful maybe. Living in this system we learned to ...

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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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