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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 – 53 stories

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

Angst – 63 stories

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

Spring – 39 stories

Stories

“Growth of a Bond” by Amber Parker

Submitted to Contest #139

Permanent marker scent still lingers in the nursery after a short while ago it had squeaked against the molding of the doorframe marking the height of our, now walking child. His crystal-clear, deep ocean blue eyes looking back at me in delight; but with a wondering look. Always curious. Absorbing everything around him. I think to myself how lucky we are to have such an inquisitive little guy. “Look how much you have grown since you first started walking!” It is just me and him in the book themed nursery where we share most of our days. As...

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“The Coat” by Kate Kilbee

Submitted to Contest #139

With dust motes glinting in the sunlight all around her Becky was swamped by memories of when she had been a little girl. Straight ahead was the door frame where her height had been marked with a permanent marker every six months. She rubbed her fingers over the marks as if by doing so she could reach back to all those happy times in her past. She had just unlocked the front door and was standing in a deserted, dusty, yet oh so familiar house. All the furniture had been removed yet the outlines remained on the floor. It was devastati...

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“A Broken Plate” by Kyla Ojalehto

Submitted to Contest #139

Do you remember, trying to press your spine against the wall? And how it felt so cold and smooth in the September heat? And how the shag carpet snaked between your toes because it would be dishonest to wear socks? And how it was just sunny enough to see dead skin cells floating in the light let in from a West facing window? You gave purpose to that room that was so dusty and empty and smelt of stale carboard. You took a dull pencil and marked exactly above where your head was, pressing your hair down first of course, in the name of fairness....

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“Goodwill Donation ” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #139

“Name?” The donation attendant asked without looking up at me. His clothing told his story with the ill-fitting pants and shirt with several holes in it. He wore a jacket that appeared to have been a donation with a ripped pocket and the letter “G” which had no apparent significance at the moment. His rugged face was partially obscured by a poorly trimmed beard. His nose was bent in an odd position indicating that it had been broken at least once, but my guess was that it had been broken more than once. “Henry. ...

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“Moth-holes and Memory” by Isabelle K

Submitted to Contest #139

I toss a hanger aside and throw a pale blue shirt into the cardboard box. I wore that shirt to a family dinner one night, when we used to do those. Loud, awkward ritual dinners my mom dragged and hounded us all to attend every other Sunday night. That particular dinner had been down on the sand by the quiet water, and I had paired my pale blue shirt with a pale blue skirt that tickled my ankles when I walked. The skirt had twirling patterns of flowers and stars and… Focus. Back to the closet. I reach towards another shirt, this one...

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“The scratch on the door” by Paula Bissoni

Submitted to Contest #139

My earliest memory of that time is of a white door frame. I remember looking straight into it, and there was nothing before that. It was a white-yellowish color door. Maybe it was a kitchen door. Cannot recall. Mother turned me around and pushed me against it. The door was dirty. She had a sharp utensil in her right hand, and I remember closing my eyes. I heard a scratching noise before she pushed me to the floor. Not even now, being back to this house I can recall these marks on the door. It seems like I have never seen it before, ye...

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“I Don't Want to Grow Up” by Pamela Torres

Submitted to Contest #139

Friday, March 25, 2022 9:30 p.m. Dear Diary, What's wrong with me? Is it weird that I really like where I'm at and what I'm doing with my life? All my friends do is talk about getting out of this "podunk" town and how there's nothing to do. So they dream about next week, next summer, five years down the road...and they miss the NOW. In the school cafeteria, it's a constant litany of when they get a car, then they can go places and do things. When they graduate from High School, then they can get a job and start making money. When they ...

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“Sign Of The Times ” by Jules Davis

Submitted to Contest #139

CW: Death | I never knew the volume of quiet could be this distracting. It’s been over twenty loud years in this home together; dogs barking, kids laughing and yelling, clattering dishes after dinner. We’ve survived tantrums, thunderstorms, children fighting, and even our own fights with my love. Now… it’s louder than I’ve ever noticed. Louder now that I’m alone. I am thankful that the kids came back for the funeral, but they have their own lives. Lives that are full of that same noise, joy, and chaos; lives they had to get back to. The...

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“Holding Still” by L.J. LaBree

Submitted to Contest #139

“Hold Still!” I clamped my hands over my mouth, giggling. Mama lowered her thin hand, pencil and all, and shook her head. And yet, her smile only grew wider. Her eyes crinkled as her mouth stretched across her face. “Baby, you gotta hold still, or else I can’t mark it.” “Do you think I grew?” I asked her. I hoped I grew. I wanted to show her I could grow big and tall, like her. “I think you did, but we need to measure so I can tell.” Mama gently pushed my shoulder against the closet threshold, holding me as still as she could. He...

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“The Princesses and Houdini” by Hope Linter

Submitted to Contest #139

On a Saturday morning after breakfast, Millie was in her room colouring in her Princess Colouring book. Her mom came into her room carrying a big cardboard box which she placed on the rug beside Millie’s bed. Millie turned in her chair and saw that the box was empty. “Time for some spring cleaning. Millie, I want you to put all your clothes that are too small into this box and we’ll donate them to the Thrift Shop.” Millie pouted. “I don’t want to give away any of my clothes.” Her mom put her hands on her ...

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“Life Cycle” by Mike Lavine

Submitted to Contest #139

“Grow up,” I tell the bike messenger. “And give me what I asked for. You know it’s not yours.” I’m standing on a traffic island in one of San Francisco’s widest and busiest intersections. After watching this guy blaze past the island every hour on the hour all morning, I had finally gotten lucky and a red light stopped him right in front of me. Lean tattooed body, tight jean shorts with ragged hems, and a bright pink cycling cap. He unclip...

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“Divorcing the Dead” by Rachel Snider

Submitted to Contest #139

The thing is, even though Rev’s the one who’s always been nice to me, I married his stupid brother instead. Why? Well, you can’t exactly marry the brother of the guy who knocked you up, right? At least that’s what Mammaw said. She said, “Darlin, you’re gonna marry the sunnuva dog who knocked you up. So who was it?” I said it was Tak Bullock (cause it was) and that settled that. On the day of our divorce (which Tak had not contested cept that he filed for full custody of Austin and Bella, which wasn’t happening over my dead body, eve...

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“Maturation Diary” by Mike Panasitti

Submitted to Contest #139

03/01/22“Being an adult child is not conducive to a person’s mental health.” Those were the good doctor’s words today. It’s his therapeutic longhand for saying, “you need to grow up.” I’ve got some nerve. Fifty-two years of age and I’m still being monetarily and emotionally sustained by my septuagenarian parents. But doc, I’ve got a handicap, the playing field I’m on is not level, the game’s been rigged against me. “And you’ve made and continue to make poor choices,” said the doctor. He is more than hinting his belie...

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“The Donated Box Of Clothes” by Jessica Hayes

Submitted to Contest #139

My name is Anna and I believe in magic. I want to tell you my story. I went to boulevard middle school and I didn't exactly fit in with the crowd. My hair stayed frizzy and my glasses were not exactly the most beautiful things. I wasn't what the other kids called pretty, I wasn't skinny, and I definitely wasn't like the popular girls at my school. I had always wondered what it would be like to be popular, and then one day something completely strange happened. It was my birthday and I wanted friends. I asked my parents to throw me a par...

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“El Jardín ” by Jessamie R.

Submitted to Contest #139

Childish giggles and soft gasps of awe filled the hushed quiet of the morning and my aching heart. Wide blue eyes gaped up at me, framed by lashes so thick even a mare would be jealous.“Can I plant the seed Mamá?”I smiled down at her, tousling those silky blonde curls that glinted molten gold in the morning sun. “Por supuesto puede, mi amor.”Isabella patted the damp soil with chubby fingers, flattening and smoothing it until it was what she deemed perfect. With a giggle at her dirty hands, she grinned up at me. “What now Mamá?”I knelt to her...

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$250

Prize money

239

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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