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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#151: Back to the Reboot

This past week we’ve been inspired by Lightyear, Top Gun: Maverick, and all the prequels, sequels, and reboots hitting our screens lately. For many of us, reboots inspire a sense of nostalgia, or déjà vu. But how do you interpret them? Do you welcome new creatives and their reimaginings of the past, or do you crave something fresh in its own right?

Of course, repetition can be creepy — and it can even become boring — but it can also open the doorway to improvement and growth. However you feel about the ever-rebirthing media cycle surrounding us, we hope you’ll find inspiration in these week’s prompts:

This week's prompts

Write about a character who wakes up in their past life, or as a future reincarnation of themself.

Fantasy – 54 stories

Write about somebody breaking a cycle.

Narrative – 42 stories

Write about a character who keeps ending up in the same place.

Sad – 40 stories

Repeat the same line of dialogue, from the same character, three separate times.

Middle School – 58 stories

Write about a character who’s expected to follow in someone’s footsteps.

Kids – 38 stories

Stories

“I Am Anna” by Kaili Best

Submitted to Contest #151

I could feel the sun shining on my face through the open window. That's strange; I usually keep my curtain closed at night. But, as I opened my eyes, I didn't recognize anything around me. This room is vast, with only a desk in the corner. The desk is covered in papers- some wadded into little balls, inkwells, a large pen, one candle, and a matchbook. As I rose from bed to get a better look, I felt the cold, hard floor through my thin socks. That's strange; I don't usually wear socks- or what seems to be a nightgown- while I'm sleepin...

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“The Taking Tree” by C. A. Sper

Submitted to Contest #151

A little girl in a little black dress stood with her mother in a slow-moving line. She eyed the room from her place tucked into her mother’s side, one hand clutching at the frills on her dress, searching anxiously for the reason the room held its breath. With every step the line took without breathing, the oppressive gloom of the space seemed to shrink in on itself. Around them the muffled sounds of crying faded into the background, and the girl clutched at her dress a little bit harder – as though the cheap polyester fabric might protect he...

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“Harry's Tale” by Allen Wilkinson

Submitted to Contest #151

Things came into focus as I sat up and opened my eyes, my hand stopped its rubbing across my forehead and I stared in momentary confusion at the curious scene in my mind. I wasn’t completely sure for a second what I was seeing; had I fallen asleep? Awareness of my situation grew and I began warming to the task at hand once again. I suppose that I had dozed for a moment, brooding on my thoughts. Harry’s tale was unfolding at last but only with considerable difficulty.I sat in front of the desk, hands working sporadically a...

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“The Statue of Osiris” by Alasdair Perry

Submitted to Contest #151

London, 1892 If he hurried, getting into the museum would be easy. Reginald Coleridge made brisk pace through the streets of London, inky, midnight darkness spilling heavily over the buildings and seeping into recesses and alleyways. Outposts of warm orange light glowed from windows and streetlamps, staving off the twilight and enlightening styx-black puddles. He was used to this trip by now, had been making it regularly for the past few months. The regularity furnished Coleridge with some degree of confidence - for every undetected trip ...

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“The Sea is Restless” by Yale Luken

Submitted to Contest #151

(Summary – A young woman, consumed by thoughts of anxiety about health and death, returns again and again to an ice cream shop on the coast. There, she endeavors to meet with the one she has been in a relationship with online for several years.)On the shore there is an ice cream shop. Pale and pink, it advertises itself like a warm, tired face.There are two skies now—one clear as day, the other troubled as dusk.I walk forward through the sand and sunshine and enter, watching through the window the mountainous crimson and navy clouds, which I...

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“Play It Again ” by Michael Shaw

Submitted to Contest #151

This story contains violence, profanity, and death "Play It Again" It goes like this: I down a shot of rye. It’s cheap shit, and it burns like hell all the way down my throat. It nestles in the pit of my stomach, embers crackling heat long after the flames are extinguished on my tongue. I slap a five on the bar and motion to the bartender. He’s a burly fuck with a bulldog-face and forearms the size of ma’s famous Easter hams. We don’t exchange words, the barkeep and me. He knows what I want and gives it to me, splashing another liberal ...

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“Towards the Rest of Her Life” by Maya Mason

Submitted to Contest #151

“I didn’t set out in life to be your side chick,” Rashell said quietly, “or anyone’s side chick for that matter,” She tried to sound more resolute as she put her car into park. “Rashell,” Max turned in the passenger seat to face her, “Come on Shell, look at me,” Rashell turned and looked at Max and he continued, “I know I said I would leave Lisa for you… and I meant it. I really meant it…. I do mean it. I will leave Lisa. But, leaving someone you’ve been married to awhile, it’s not easy. There’s a lot of nuance, there’s a like, I don...

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“Throw An Apple At It” by Amanda Blackwood

Submitted to Contest #151

“If you see something green, throw an apple at it!” My grandmother shouted out of the blue and it scared the crap out of me. I was maybe eight at the time, and I genuinely had no idea what she was talking about, but she said it with such seriousness that I was afraid to crack a smile at the insanity of her words. “What?” My confusion eventually overwhelmed me and I simply had to ask. “Didn’t your mama ever teach you it’s not polite to stare?” She tisked at me. “I sure know I taught her that lesson.” I loved my grandmo...

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“It starts with a question ” by Stephanie S

Submitted to Contest #151

(CW: drinking, dying, unsafe environment) If you really want to know someone don't talk to their family and friends. Talk to their hair stylist, their nail technician, or more importantly, talk to their bartender. “What can I get ya?” I asked the young lady who walked in alone. She in her 20s, long blonde hair and green eyes. She was wearing a waitressing uniform and looked like she just finished her shift. “Wine. Red.” She said as she took her seat at one of the barstools and placed her face in her hands. I placed a glass o...

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“Turn Right” by Chesley Richards

Submitted to Contest #151

The Tax notice came in the morning mail marked "Urgent." The text was even more ominous. "Your tax liability has been recalculated based on recent unexpected municipal costs. You owe $2,345.34 in tax due three days after receiving this notice. Failure to pay this obligation will lead to condemnation and seizure of your property." The letter, signed by the Deputy Assistant Tax Commissioner Talbot Arnold, even suggested that if I didn't pay now, they would also look back at my records for the last ten years. According to the letter, any ques...

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“NOT FORGOTTEN” by Jo Gatenby

Submitted to Contest #151

Sometimes she feared she was the only one left. The last one who remembered…. It started unobtrusively. Everyone forgets things sometimes, right? ‘I’ve forgotten what I wanted, ha ha.’ So when it began happening more often, no one noticed. * “Good morning, it’s Monday… Um… Er…“ “It’s May 6th, Chet.” “Ah yes, thank you… Now, over to you for traffic, um…” Karen’s first inkling something was amiss came at work. Administrative Assistant to the Vice President of Southern Exploration at a major oil company sounded prestigious. Truthfu...

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“Vacancy of the Heart” by Maddie Logemann

Submitted to Contest #151

Forgetting. Forgetting. Forgetting. He knows there’s a head that crown is meant to rest on. A body meant to carry the weight of it. Metal and jewel, gold and garnet. Heavy. Responsibilities and duties and so many open mouths all with warring needs and wants and shouted beliefs. Even heavier. He knows that throne wasn’t made to sit empty dawn after day after dusk. The grand hall, collecting dust, should hold audiences. Smiles. The curtains should be swept back to let in the sun. He knows the rose, ever and eternal, that is ke...

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“The Stranger” by Gigi Gibson

Submitted to Contest #151

Anna slipped into the leather banquette for the twentieth time this month. “Good Morning,” said Trudy as she poured a steaming cup from the pot. “What’ll it be today?” “Just coffee thanks. I’m waiting for someone.” Anna pressed the warm mug to her lips and breathed in the sensuous aroma of freshly ground beans. Trudy picked up another order as the stranger shifted onto the seat across from Anna. Dressed in a black trench coat, hat, and sunglasses, he asked, “So, you’ve found someone?” “Yes,” whispered Anna. “Her name is Trudy. She’s ...

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“Child's Play” by Allison Titus

Submitted to Contest #151

The sun was about to set behind Ms. Steven’s house. Someone yelled at Mia to hurry up and pitch, and she scoured the bases for the culprit. Greg Abbott stood in front of a mailbox with a deep frown on his face. Mia frowned back at him and picked up the kickball which rested against her ankles. It was old, most of it retained its original red hue, but its ridges had smoothed over with use. With a light squeeze Mia could tell it hadn’t been pumped in a while. She swung it behind her back and forward again, letting it loose. It skidded across t...

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“Torn Souls” by Marcia H.

Submitted to Contest #151

This particular December morning was the kind of cold which made your teeth chatter and your breath freeze. It was not usual for December nor was it unusual for Emma to be sitting in her blue and white car which could have come straight out of a nursery rhyme. Emma was waiting for a familiar face to appear in front of the cafe where she sat on the one way street. She knew that sooner or later that face would appear and she would do what she always did on any other given day. Emma didn’t have to wait too long. Twenty minutes later there he wa...

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$250

Prize money

232

Contest entries

108

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jun 24, 2022 EST

Won by Kelsey H 🏆

Title: The Lake

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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