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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#154: The Right Timing

It has come to our attention that Backstreet Boys (you know, the famous boy band from the 90s) recently announced that they'll be releasing a Christmas album. Naturally, this week's prompts are all about timing.

In a rapidly changing world, it can be hard to keep up sometimes. The newest TikTok is old almost as soon as it has gone viral, and trends come and go quicker than the seasons. And yet, some things are timeless classics. Taking inspiration from the ebb and flow of time, here are this week’s prompts:

This week's prompts

Start your story with someone saying, “We’re running out of time.”

Middle School – 77 stories

Write a story about someone who feels increasingly irrelevant.

Sad – 57 stories

Write a story — romantic or not — about two characters who can’t find the right timing.

Romance – 32 stories

Write a story about an object that has been around for centuries or passed down generations.

Kids – 46 stories

Write a story featuring an element of time-travel or anachronism.

Science Fiction – 68 stories

Stories

“The Time Traveler and The Immortal” by Kendra Lindholm

Submitted to Contest #154

"Something’s happening to me." I groaned. My body began to vibrate. It’s been 8 months since I jumped to 16th century Germany, the longest I’ve ever stayed in the past. Cassandra awoke and lifted her head from my bare chest. She sensed my panic and jumped out of bed. Candlelight glistened on her olive skin as she pulled on a nightdress. "I’ll get my equipment" she said as she left the room. My arms shook as I tried to leave the bed. Waves of weakness flowed over my body. Cassandra retuned with her medical supplies. She began her e...

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“A Dream Unlived” by BA Eubank

Submitted to Contest #154

The air smelled heavily of rain, but the clouds have yet to release their torment. Lightning crackled across the sky as the trees bent with the wind. She sat on the plastic chair on the covered porch and watched the clouds roll on top of each other. The house was finally quiet after the tornados that were her kids were fast asleep. She sat there with the one glass of wine she allowed herself. The trees moaning as the wind lashed at them, ripping off leaves and thrashing them in its macabre dance was the only sound. A sigh started in ...

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“Into The Mist” by Nevaeh Ryn

Submitted to Contest #154

1,003, 1,004, 1,005, 1,006, 1,007, 1,008 1,009, 1,010, 1,011, 1,012, 1,013…. So far, I’ve counted over 1,000 trees, a pretty fucking easy feat to conquer when you’re in a forest. Unfortunately, counting trees isn’t the most stimulating activity. However, when you’re being carried against your will by two strange men, you don’t have much choice in what activities you can and can’t do. I would much rather be wandering around these unknown woods with my sister, completely clueless as to what part of the U.K we’re in. However, my captors don’t ...

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“When I Am An Old Woman” by Cindy Strube

Submitted to Contest #154

When I Am An Old Woman Doris and I are having a bit of a tiff. She’s very polite at first, asking me to come in for coffee. I help by carrying the cups, while she reaches for a swirly glass bowl filled with cookies. The style looks like it came from Murano. “Have a seat,” she invites, indicating a Louis XVI chair upholstered with smoky blue brocade. “Oof!” I exclaim involuntarily. The chair is uncomfortable. Its pretty oval back is a smidge too convex, preventing me from leaning back. The seat is hard, and too shallow. “Somethi...

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“Dream Falls” by Nicole H.

Submitted to Contest #154

“We’re running out of time” cried Watson to June from across the raging river. June was standing on a boulder that was just barely unsubmerged on the river’s edge as the rapid waters splashed all around her. She looked upstream and gasped as the image of giant fallen tree logs came into view around the river’s bend. The logs carried such force and momentum, June knew they would take out anyone and anything in their path. June and Watson were on opposite sides of the fast-moving river and they both knew they only had moments before the logs w...

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“Posted With Demons ” by Scott Skinner

Submitted to Contest #154

My new girl likes it when I call her a whore, and my brother tells me if these streets don’t kill us first, they’ll make us strong. He likes to iron money and wear 2XL tall T’s that drape long enough to cover his sagging jeans and conceal his tucked Glock 19, which he brings everywhere. The gun doesn’t have a serial number, and I’ve never seen him use it, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t or won’t. Rusty security bars cover our house's windows, and outside our front door is another door made of steel that’s so heavy and loud it makes the ...

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“Don't lose her again ” by Haylie Winn

Submitted to Contest #154

The first time they met, or rather remembered meeting, might have been the most beautiful time. Streetlights glowed through the rainy, blue-violet dusk. They both were soaked disasters waiting for the bus to come. Dawn’s soccer uniform didn’t do anything to keep him dry. Both of them had forgotten to bring an umbrella with them to school. Azalea was gorgeous and warm. She made Dawn feel warm despite the weather. Dawn couldn’t help but start to catch feelings, as well as a cold, that night. She stayed in hi...

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“The Road Trip” by Donna X

Submitted to Contest #154

Mild foul languageIn a rare moment of reflection, the young woman occupying the passenger seat of my Toyota sedan turned to me, smiled wistfully, and said, “We’re running out of time.”It was the fourth of July holiday weekend, and all the nation’s fireworks exploded inside my head throughout my rollercoaster ride from Durham, North Carolina to Long Island, New York. I was en route to my hometown to visit relatives who I hadn’t seen in a decade.My trip began peacefully at 6pm on Thursday. I planned to drive three hours and seek refuge in Virg...

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“Been there, Done that” by N Martin

Submitted to Contest #154

(Possible offensive language)In a flash of bright green light, he stood eerily still. It’s not the first time Isaac had experienced this. It’s also not the first time that he begs for it to be his last.Barely a moment ago he was standing in front of Lorenzkirche with Mary in his arms. They just went to see the new romcom she was pestering him about, and he finally caved. Today was their second anniversary, just a couple they weren’t yet married. He didn’t care too much about it however, their anniversary. The celebration being more of ...

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“Killing Hitler and Other Clichés” by Angie Ayu

Submitted to Contest #154

„Why has no one used this technology to kill Hitler yet?” Cassian rolled his eyes and suppressed a sigh. There were people like this in every group. Annoying goody two shoes who thought they knew better than the professionals. And it was constantly the same thing. Killing Hitler. Always. Every damn time. As if there hadn’t been countless other dictators before and after him. “Because” The young man fought the urge to sound condescending “Time travel into the past is forbidden.” He tried to keep his answer as short as possible, bracing hims...

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“My Grandmother’s Apron ” by T W

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #154

I hate my grandmother’s apron. I know that’s an odd thought to have on the day of my mother's funeral, but I do. I hate it. Eventually I force my gaze away from it and find myself in the back hallway. Hundreds of photos crammed into dollar store frames, hung clumsily on the wall. This array of photos represents her life from start to finish. I find myself staring particularly long at one of myself. I was nineteen, long brown hair and fire behind my eyes. I thought I was going to be a singer. The photo was taken ...

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“All Hail the Metronome” by Sue Hunter

Submitted to Contest #154

Sometimes, teaching kids makes me want to put my head through a wall. I’m not talking math or science, either. That stuff is easy. Even the slowest kids will understand multiplication after a good tutoring session. I can teach almost anyone anything. I have a shortcut for almost every type of problem. Give me an hour with a D student, and he’ll start understanding how to multiply fractions or solve for x. 5th graders are annoying, bratty, and unusually idiotic. But they’re also pretty darn smart, and a good tutor can usually help them o...

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“I Owe My Life To Susan” by Thomas Pascal

Submitted to Contest #154

I stop pushing the pram when it catches my eye. A blue t-shirt, the fabric being pulled by the current of the river. White shoes. Blue jeans. I see a glimpse of skin near the blue t-shirt and in seconds I realise I’m looking at a dead body. I freeze. My three-year-old girl, Olive, puts her hand through the top of the pram as she likes to do. “Mummy, hold my hand?” she says. My beautiful Olive. I hold her hand through the pram. Three rounds of IVF and the result is the most wonderful girl in the world. She’s way too big for the pram but i...

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“Only A Dream” by Luwana Ransier

Submitted to Contest #154

Only a Dream There it was standing in the middle of the meadow. Nobody knew what it was, or where it came from, only that it had been there for forever. Kids used to play around it until weird things started to happen. Now it just stands there all alone. It was 1850, in New Hope, Ohio. Folks were just getting by, farming their lands and basically trying to survive. The cholera outbreak of 1849, took most of the population of New Hope, but there were still a few survivors left. The dead weren’t forgotten, but life had to go on. “Aggie?” Jo ...

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“Time to Breathe” by Terra Wertz

Submitted to Contest #154

*contains a scene with self-harm and centers around a family facing a cancer diagnosis.“We’re running out of time,” Mom says, and deep down, I worry she’s right. Her face, eerie blue tinged, is oddly but unmistakably happy. Her weighted blanket keeps her restlessness at bay. “Wow, these deals are just too good. Disney World seems like the obvious choice, but a cruise could be fun, too, huh?” she asks, beaming.“Mom, I’m not interested in being stuck at sea with strangers, and you know I hate Mickey Mouse. Plus, wasn’t Walt Disney b...

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$250

Prize money

280

Contest entries

112

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 15, 2022 EST

Won by Suma Jayachandar 🏆

Title: Moonlight and Madness

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.

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