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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#139: Growing Up

As March reaches its conclusion and nature comes into full bloom (at least in the Northern hemisphere), it’s a time to reflect on growth. While shoots are emerging and flowers start to bud, it’s inspiring to think how big things flourish from such small beginnings.

This week’s prompts are about just that. Whether your characters have already gone through big changes, or are just beginning them, it’s time to get growing. I’ll see you back here for the next contest, when we’ll all be one week older and, hopefully, one week wiser.

This week's prompts

Write a story that involves a character donating a box of clothes which have been outgrown.

Middle School – 49 stories

Start your story with someone having their height marked on a door frame.

Middle School – 36 stories

Format your story in the style of diary entries.

Middle School – 52 stories

Start your story with the words: “Grow up.”

Angst – 62 stories

Write about a character sowing seeds for the future (literally or figuratively).

Spring – 38 stories

Stories

“How Darkness Grows” by Schrodinger Penning

Submitted to Contest #139

How Darkness Grows By Schrodinger Penning (Pen Name) Somedays, I just don’t want to accept it. It seems not possible, like a violation of life and reality. But that’s only if you don’t pay attention to the full picture. Life hasn’t dealt its kindest to me. Growing up, I thought I would have a good life. I loved my parents and siblings, I had food and a warm home. I was going to get rich one day. I had many things I wished to be when I grew up: a doctor, a firefighter, a policeman, robotic engineer.&...

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“Please Don't Cry When I'm Gone” by Jessica Hayes

Submitted to Contest #139

Dear Daughter, I wake up every morning to find myself looking at all the wonderful flowers. Some red, yellow, green orange and even blue. I like to look at my work, and think of all the pictures we take, and good times we have. When you work hard it pays off and the pictures are beautiful. In the end sometimes the results are worth working for. People say i have the most beautiful yard in the neighborhood. I just say thank you, but i'm awfully tired and too old to be working this hard. I'm just a widowed old woman who likes to make my yard p...

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“Queen of the Hearth” by Kate Armentor

Submitted to Contest #139

Hestia awoke to the sound of ringing bells. "Today's the Day" she thought as she danced to her wardrobe. From the very far left end of the closet she pulled out a purple-and-gold silk robe. She slid into the adorned coat like a snake who grew its new coat rather than shed for it. She made her way to the ruby-and-diamond studded mirror in the hall and set to work, combing her hair and applying her powders. Hestia made extra sure to align the brush carefully to her face, so that her face would look as smooth as a porcelain doll when she was ...

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“Pulling Weeds” by Georgia Blanc

Submitted to Contest #139

To sow the seeds of the future, it is required to destroy the weeds of the past. That is all one’s past is, isn’t it? A weed. It was a distraction. Hanging onto the past prevented a productive future. Everyone agreed on that and everyone lived by those words. The teen stared at the poster hung in the hallway outside the bedroom of her family house. It said those words, written in bright red against a picture of smiling adults, dressed in clean pressed business suits with small, professional smiles on their clear faces. The teen l...

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“WALKING FLOWERS WILL GROW IN THIS LAWN and TREES WILL FLY S” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #139

WALKING FLOWERS WILL GROW IN THIS LAWN and TREES WILL FLY The colors, of course it was also their colors ,always, so living ( vivid) and dazzling , which gave him that idea. But, above all, it was their scent, so intense , yet also evanescent, which you could now perceive so strong, so all pervaded, sometimes even stunned or pungent, and which soon after you could no longer feel, as if it had dissolved in the air, as if wind had carried it away. But here it is again, after just a moment or, however...

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“Father-Daughter Walks” by T. Powers

Submitted to Contest #139

Crunch, crunch, crunchLoose gravel crunching under the weight of her father’s feet was her favorite sound during their daily walks. Her little hand enwrapped in his large, calloused and tanned one wiggled free as she jumped and stomped, trying to emulate that specific crunching noise. She was just too little at that moment to even come close to creating such a cool noise!As decades past and time warped their bodies and minds into older beings, that crunch, crunch, crunch never left her.Daily walks through the neighborhood turned into yearly ...

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“It's All in Your Head” by Annette Perez

Submitted to Contest #139

It’s All in Your HeadBy Annette Perez“Damn I look good” Morgan smiled as she turned in front of the mirror admiring her taut muscles, massive energy glow, and her Boston Proper clothes. She had been putting 10 miles daily on the bike and working with weights and floor work for strength and flexibility. Coupled with the work, Morgan kept herself on a good diet and didn’t eat junk. She believed in showing off her hard work in a tasteful way wearing some unique yet nice clothing a...

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“Keepers” by Katherine Rager

Submitted to Contest #139

I never thought that I would be doing this. Throughout my childhood, Mother and I would set aside my favorite clothes, hoping they would one day be worn by my own daughter. The outfit I came home from the hospital in has grown faded from the bright yellow with pink flowers. My purple fifth birthday dress covered with ribbons and tulle is not quite as full after years of sitting in my keepers box. Countless shirts, dresses, and sweaters had sat collecting dust for years as James and I lost hope. Pinks, blues, yellows, an...

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“Backward Spiral: A short story by M.J. Palladino” by Kara Palladino

Submitted to Contest #139

Backward Spiral: A short story by M.J. Palladino It was an early sunset on a Thursday in March. Specks of dust fluttered about in the light seeping through the window. A box of clothes sat sunbathing on the bed, waiting to be moved. Just then, the doorknob twisted, and a young adult entered. She looked down at a small sheet of paper in her hand, her eyes scanning it. At the top, it read, “Thalia’s to-do list.” After a brief moment, she crumpled the paper and tossed it into a nearby wastebasket. She gazed at the box for a bit before picki...

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“Flourish” by Jess A

Submitted to Contest #139

NOTE: The following short story contains possible sensitive topics that may cause negative emotional responses: an eating disorder, fat shaming, bullying, and loss. “Spring cleaning time,” sang Ashlyn’s mother, Loren. To Ashlyn, it was a time for dust and dirt. A time for her mother’s—probably fake—flowers. They lay scattered on the kitchen island with cut stems, faded colours, and some petals shed. Among them—her mother so fervently informed her—were Delphiniums for goodwill, and Dahlias for warnings and change. ...

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“Bear” by Cordy Ranald

Submitted to Contest #139

The bear was big. Big enough to hold her draped in his arms like men held pretty ladies on the television. Ladies in white dresses carried through front doors. Ladies in fancy nightgowns carried up fancy stairs. Hurt ladies carried away from the things that hurt them.The girl slid an arm under the neck of the stuffed toy and curled her legs up across its sunken, formerly pot-bellied midsection. She saw herself held, loved, carried. She laid her cheek against the hard plastic of its black nose, feeling warm flesh. Slid her head down int...

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“Kids Clothes” by Brandon Zarycki

Submitted to Contest #139

Sandra Thomas stood behind the front counter and watched the man enter the store. The man Sandra would be forced to guess was probably in his late twenties, maybe early thirties a couple of hours from now. And when really pressed Sandra would say, “Yeah, twenty-eight could be about right.” But at the time this was just another person coming into the store carrying a large cardboard box. ‘Baby clothes’, is actually the only thing Sandra can remember thinking about when seeing this ‘five-foot nine, five-foot ten’ man walking towards her. ‘He w...

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“The Growth Doorway ” by Danielle Roach

Submitted to Contest #139

“Growth is an often missed and unmarked thing, yet surely and utterly undeniable.” -Danielle Roach For as far back as Katherine Scott could remember, she and her siblings had visited her Grandma Nellie in the hills of Oregon every summer, and it was the most exciting event of the year for Katherine. Amid the memories of playing in the yard, eating grilled cheese, selecting candy from a flower-patterned tea pot, and running around like crazy with the cousins, Katherine would remember one very specific memory during her last visit ...

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“Dimitro's Diary” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #139

Dimitro’s Diary December 1, 1905I can’t sleep. I am so excited. My mother gave me this journal that in English is called a “diary”. She says my life is starting again so I should write about it. I practice English every day. I will write in English. It is my new language. We are on a ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean. We are leaving our home in Kiev and travelling to Canada for a new life. W...

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“Journal Entries 2” by Rowan Legend

Submitted to Contest #139

After Rose TintedCW: Self-Doubt, question of Self-Worth, half nakedness, mentions of the use of drinking and most importantly; The tutus are back with a vengeance.Journal Entry 3?I’ve spent most of my days working on the Motel and I’m pleased to say that it’s looking a lot better. It just looked like beams and wood slapped together but now it looks refined with touches of art. I still do repair work in the rooms, it seems we’ll need a qualified plumber to fix the pipes. Paula is going to get on that next week before winter hits.Journal ...

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$250

Prize money

236

Contest entries

135

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Apr 01, 2022 EST

Won by Alex Sultan 🏆

Title: buried in saipan

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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