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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

“Beauty for Ashes ” by Cindy Strube

Submitted to Contest #139

Beauty for Ashes Dry lightning cracks the brooding sky, pointing sharp fingers at parched earth. A tiny spark, skipping to a clump of scrubby, desiccated vegetation, ignites the tip of a woody stem - transforming drab, grayish brown to deep, glowing orange. The pungent odor hanging in the air is sweet, with a tang of metallic sharpness.##########“It’s so peaceful up here,” Bonnie sighed. “Aren’t you glad we came?” She set two plain stoneware mugs carefully on the railing and moved in close to her husband, taking in the panoramic view. “...

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“Nurture and Nature” by Clare Knock

Submitted to Contest #139

"Congratulations! I can't believe after all these years you're both finally going to be parents! I'm so super excited for you both." Mum was clapping her hands like a cymbal- banging monkey and uncoordinatedly jumping up and down- until she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. "I just peed a little!” And with that - she ran out the room laughing. Half the family gathered around the lounge room hung their heads and shook them at their chests. The other half were slapping thighs and rocking back in laughter - I was one of the ones rocking b...

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“The Kingdom of Smart” by Zach Martz

Submitted to Contest #139

Just because it was 4 PM and Ricky Smart was home from school, didn’t mean he was having fun. The rain pouring outside precluded any outside activity, and he was reduced to sitting in his room. The books had been read and the games had been played; there was nothing in his room that could draw his interest. The persistent raindrops pelting his window frustrated him; the gray sky outside made him depressed and wistful.Looking at the comic book in his hand with disgust, he tossed it aside, and looked at his bed. He almost never took naps durin...

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“The Lost Episode” by Vie L'cast

Submitted to Contest #139

This farmland is stationed in the middle ground between data and deduction, between thought and action, it lies at the summit of man's anatomy and the pit of his understanding. You are traveling into another dimension, not one located in a distant galaxy but rather nested at the base of every human experience. It is a region of analysis and interpretation. Journey not into the abyss of space and stars but into an imaginative exploration of our humanity.You are about to meet two farmers. Opolo and Cervell. They sow seeds, till the ground, and...

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“The Real Deal Friend” by Lil' Sarah Starr

Submitted to Contest #139

There was a beautiful girl my age that lived over on the Historical part of Jefferson Street in a small city of Muskegon, Michigan USA, in the early 1980's. Me and my sister use to go over her house all the time and we would have so much fun, she was such a blast to be around! It was a relief to go over there because I was going through a lot at home, and also being bullied at school. Kids picked on me at my catholic school because I didn't dress cool or in fashion. I guess my parents didn't have the money and they sure didn't make an attemp...

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“Hidden Treasures” by Carolyn Carter

Submitted to Contest #139

Hidden Treasures There was a frozen stillness in the air one December morning as I hurried down the crowded sidewalk. Panic began to set in the more I realized how if I miss this bus, I will have to wait another hour to catch the next one and the thought of it sent shivers down my spine. Darting between people and practically leaping over the slow ones, I managed to squeeze onto the bus and found a window seat. Every morning my commute to work began with a multitude of ‘excuse me,’ ‘I’m sorry,’ and an occasional ‘get the hell outta my way...

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“SUPERHERO” by Richard Werner

Submitted to Contest #139

George pushed open the door of the orphanage and stepped into the corridor, slightly off-balance. As the door swung closed behind him, it shut out the icy wind howling outside. He shifted the box he was carrying onto his left arm and rearranged his glasses. He thought to himself that this wind meant that a freezing weekend lay ahead of him, and he had better get some wood for the fireplace. He pushed the thought aside and surveyed the corridor he was in. It was polished to a high gloss and there was a table with some flowers arranged haphaza...

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“The Mother Load” by Dotty Davis

Submitted to Contest #139

Sophie stared at the photo she posted to Instagram. She kept reading the comments over and over and over. Her friends and family loved the photo, but, somehow it made Sophie completely regret ever posting it. Some comments were nice like… “That looks good on you” “Cool vintage dress!” However, it was her sister Mia’s comment that really struck her. “Wow, you look exactly like mom.” Sophie heard this her entire life. As a child she felt complimented; as a teenager she felt annoyed; as an adult it was just so repetitive she usually just sarcas...

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“Like/Not Me” by Sean Mobley

Submitted to Contest #139

Content Warning: Transphobia The sterile, lemony scent of Lysol lingered in the lobby, melding with the comforting glow of the afternoon sun streaming through the sweeping exterior windows as Elias carried the box of his old dresses to the reception desk. To the left of the desk, seated at white tables surrounded by colorful chairs, a few teens scribbled in notebooks or tapped away on laptops, perhaps working on homework, though he suspected the trio crowded around one computer in the corner silently clapping each other on the back were ga...

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“The Packer Upper” by VJ Hamilton

Submitted to Contest #139

Today I dropped off three boxes of outgrown clothes: toddlers’ tops and pants; girls’ size-six summer stuff boys’ size-twelve shorts and tee-shirts. Not a tear shed, not a single sigh. My secret, you ask? Arm’s length. All were donations on behalf of my clients to the local Goodwill. I’m a professional packer-upper. My number is posted in the drop-off zones of every school and daycare in the city. Feeling overwhelmed? Your children are in college and you still can’t bear to part with the first communion dress? You need some clothing donati...

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“The Blue Rhinestone Dress” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #139

Driving the long road to the mansion on the hill, Mankell looked out at the dark clouds forecasting a mighty storm on its way. For the family he was going to visit, the storm had already come and crashed their carefully laid plans all about, leaving a dead girl, and a missing dress. It was Mankell’s job to make sense of what happened. He had most of it put together after the last couple days on the case, just one thread still dangling. It isn't going to be what the Dame wants to hear, but it will be straightened up, one w...

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“The Rippling Mirror of Time” by Ashley Frerichs

Submitted to Contest #139

As much as a long, deep exhale calms the nervous system, de-cluttering calms the soul. It’s been proven to help with anxiety; getting rid of junk helps the scatterbrained feel more collected and can cause the organized a level of satisfaction akin to orgasm. But clutter is the language in which the sentimental speak, and without it, it can render one feeling listless and alone. It’s for these reasons and likely more that I held onto these clothes as long as I did. They are a portraiture of a life long passed - a life I’d be hard-pressed to...

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“A Mother's Sigh's ” by Gemma Matterface

Submitted to Contest #139

A Mother’s Sighs By Gemma Matterface As I mark off my daughter’s height on the door frame I do a double take, she can't have grown that much in a month?! I checked again. ‘Its official’ I say, ‘you’re taller than your father’ ‘Yesssss’ Lucy hisses, she spins around to check her height. ‘I knew it!, I can't wait to tell him later’ She walks off, picking her phone up off the counter. ‘He’s not going to be happy!’ I say ‘hmm’ is the response, not even looking up, I have lost her to the digital world once again. She pulls up the hood on her ho...

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“Mom Won't Let Me Play On Birch Street” by David Mac Mahon

Submitted to Contest #139

Mom Won’t Let Me Play On Birch Street “Grow up, John! It’s not who’s taller, it’s who’s older that counts.” Tom is eleven, Tom gets to tell us what to do because me and John are still ten. I’ll be eleven next week, so I’m nearly the same age as Tom. John just marked all our heights on the door frame, to prove he’s the tallest. John’s the youngest, he won’t be eleven ‘till after Summer. We’ve be...

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“Lines ” by Dan Montesi

Submitted to Contest #139

“Hold still! I can’t draw a straight line with you fidgeting all over the place!” Aaron’s father laughed and tried to hold the level against his only child’s head while he marked the new height on the door frame. He wrote the date next to the line that showed Arron was at least two inches taller. It was a good day! Pancakes for breakfast, then off to school where Aaron knew his mother would set up a birthday celebration for the entire class in the afternoon. Aaron wasn’t a popular kid. He was overly shy and caut...

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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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