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#159 Money, Money, Money

Like it or not, money makes the world go round. And while it (supposedly) can’t buy happiness, it can certainly change your life — for better or worse. This week’s prompts have money on the mind; whether your characters are winning big, or down to their last dollar, it’s time to start counting your cash.

🥇 Winner

Blood and Cookies

Daniel Allen

Winner of Contest #159 🏆

TW: Contains some descriptions of blood and violencePhilip smiled at me as I shuffled towards his counter. ‘Morning Frank, how can I help you?’Good. If Philip was in a cheerful mood, that would make this much easier. I smiled back at him. ‘One course of antibiotics, please.’He eyed me with concern. ‘You’re sick?’‘No,’ I replied. ‘Katy is. She’s got crimson fever.’Philip’s eyes widened. ‘I’ll get your meds right away.’ He put on his spectacles and turned to rifle through the bottles and packets filling the shelves behind him, the harsh white ...

293 likes

156 comments 156

⭐️ Shortlisted

If I Let You

Aeris Walker

Shortlisted for Contest #159 ⭐️

If I let you touch her, will you please be gentle? Just squeeze her little foot, rub her hand, feel her soft head. Look, she’s smiling; she likes you.If I let you hold her, will you please stop pouting? Here, come sit on the couch. Be gentle, not too tight—hold her head up. She’s new and little, and you must be careful. This is your sister; she lives here now, and I know she’s going to love you.If I bring you your own blanket, would you please stop crying? Here, I’ll wrap it around your shoulders, all soft and warm. And here’s a hat for your...

58 likes

Gluten Is What Makes This Nation Stick Together

Scott Christenson

Shortlisted for Contest #159 ⭐️

In Hoboken New Jersey, Felix lied to his wife Luna that he was going out only to pick up the sandwiches. Luna was very patriotic about wanting to eat sandwiches for lunch. He knew her preferences well. In the three or four years since they had been married, he couldn’t remember a time when they had ever argued about anything. Next year they even planned to make a baby.Outside, instead of going directly to the sandwich shop, Felix walked around the corner and away from Luna’s spying eyes, went into a bank branch. He took out his New York bank...

45 likes

How Much Does A Memory Cost?

Camille Mockingjay

Shortlisted for Contest #159 ⭐️

“How much does this cost?” I asked the seller, holding out my selection of bread and fruit. “Just a small memory,” he answered. “A happy one, if you don’t mind, Estelle.” I nodded and pointed to my head. He did the same, and I thought of a small happy memory. Fifth grade, answering a question right. Small but happy. The seller smiled, satisfied. He would watch the scene once, but the memory was not his to keep. It would go in The Book, full of memories playing over and over like a long movie. He would receive food for every me...

25 likes

Rational Choices

J P Fierkens

Shortlisted for Contest #159 ⭐️

I like to imagine Earth, that ancient blue gem where humanity was born. If I could I would lay myself down in a shallow pool of clean water so that it covered every part of my body except my nose and eyes, and stay there forever. Much better than laying on top of rough magnite with moldy, gray synth-cloth covering me. There is so much water on Earth that even the sky was blue. Reedie says that’s roach spit but I’ve read stuff. Typically I only get pieces of magazines like International Geographic or the occasional download of data from the o...

16 likes

Happenstance

Gina Burke

Shortlisted for Contest #159 ⭐️

The water raced along, ignorant of the brilliant sunshine gleaming off its surface. As I watch its seemingly endless progression, I feel it mocking my own life, forging ahead with no end goal in sight. Unlike me, the water doesn’t seem to have a problem with its race to nowhere. Also, unlike me, nature’s ‘race to nowhere’ usually has a purpose. That’s the flow of life. The creek, filled with rainfall, nourishes all life it touches. That is where the water and I metaphorically part ways. The ‘flow of life’ clearly forgot to carry me along in ...

11 likes

This week's prompts

Start your story with a character accepting a bribe.

Adults – 48 stories

Set your story in a world where the currency isn’t money — or at least not money as we understand it.

Fantasy – 62 stories

Write about somebody down on their luck who unexpectedly comes into a large amount of money.

Teens – 49 stories

Your character checks their balance at an ATM and is surprised by the number they see.

Adults – 32 stories

Write about a character who’s never encountered a problem they couldn’t buy their way out of — until they do.

Angst – 25 stories

Stories

Blood and Cookies

Daniel Allen

Winner of Contest #159 🏆

TW: Contains some descriptions of blood and violencePhilip smiled at me as I shuffled towards his counter. ‘Morning Frank, how can I help you?’Good. If Philip was in a cheerful mood, that would make this much easier. I smiled back at him. ‘One course of antibiotics, please.’He eyed me with concern. ‘You’re sick?’‘No,’ I replied. ‘Katy is. She’s got crimson fever.’Philip’s eyes widened. ‘I’ll get your meds right away.’ He put on his spectacles and turned to rifle through the bottles and packets filling the shelves behind him, the harsh white ...

293 likes

156 comments 156

Did You Know Them?

Brynn Helena

Submitted to Contest #159

“What do you want? Candy?” Derek asked, smacking a piece of spearmint gum between his teeth, some pop punk band blaring over his car stereo. Felix, sitting completely still in the middle of the road on his bicycle, stared at him with a bored expression. They’d been engaged in said stare-off for about five minutes at that point, Derek intermittenedly laying on his horn to try and usher the boy out of the road. This also wasn’t the first time they had crossed paths, in fact, these run-ins between the two were becoming more and more common. “...

68 likes

Something To Write About

Daniel R. Hayes

Submitted to Contest #159

(Content Warning: Language, Suicide, Abuse.) The world is too small for every dream to come true. A pretty odd thing to say when you think about it, but that’s what Kevin’s dad, Earl, told his son growing up. It’s not hard to ruin a child’s youth, all it takes is a little nudge in the wrong direction, and Earl knew all the right places to push. A light slap to the face, a belt snap to the back, or maybe some thick bruises above the shirt line just to make sure no one noticed. The worst kind of abuse is invisible. Back then, th...

61 likes

If I Let You

Aeris Walker

Shortlisted for Contest #159 ⭐️

If I let you touch her, will you please be gentle? Just squeeze her little foot, rub her hand, feel her soft head. Look, she’s smiling; she likes you.If I let you hold her, will you please stop pouting? Here, come sit on the couch. Be gentle, not too tight—hold her head up. She’s new and little, and you must be careful. This is your sister; she lives here now, and I know she’s going to love you.If I bring you your own blanket, would you please stop crying? Here, I’ll wrap it around your shoulders, all soft and warm. And here’s a hat for your...

58 likes

The Great Equality Act

Submitted to Contest #159

Astrid buckled her seatbelt and turned on her seat warmers. “Ahhh,” she sighed as she waited for her toosh to unthaw from the frigid air outside. She clicked on the AM radio station, her morning ritual, and backed out of the driveway towards her, now regular, route to work. “We want our lives back,” a lady on the radio announced, “Ever since The Great Equality Act was put into effect last year, those of us hard-working individuals who actually paid for our college and worked hard to earn our big money, are the ones who are losing out. It...

57 likes

Epilogue

Stevie B

Submitted to Contest #159

This was it! And Buckley felt just like turning around and going home without playing the song he wanted her to hear. The one he’d written for her on the subject of a potential “them.” His mouth couldn’t have gotten any drier than if it were stuffed full of super-absorbent, super-jumbo Berkley Jensen organic cotton balls. Right now he felt like an out-of-place idiot standing in the middle of a busy bar/restaurant with his guitar strapped uncomfortably to his right shoulder. Instead, he decided to stay and just give it his best shot. An ent...

51 likes

Gluten Is What Makes This Nation Stick Together

Scott Christenson

Shortlisted for Contest #159 ⭐️

In Hoboken New Jersey, Felix lied to his wife Luna that he was going out only to pick up the sandwiches. Luna was very patriotic about wanting to eat sandwiches for lunch. He knew her preferences well. In the three or four years since they had been married, he couldn’t remember a time when they had ever argued about anything. Next year they even planned to make a baby.Outside, instead of going directly to the sandwich shop, Felix walked around the corner and away from Luna’s spying eyes, went into a bank branch. He took out his New York bank...

45 likes

Kramblitt

Michał Przywara

Submitted to Contest #159

Malt Anderson stopped vacuuming when a Brussels sprout rolled out of the hallway and bumped into his foot. He scratched his head and picked it up to make sure, and yes, it was indeed a Brussels sprout, out for a stroll in the living room.He looked down the hall and saw another sprout roll out of the kitchen. It bumped off the wall and also wobbled towards the living room. Mom always said the apartment was tilted to one side, so he supposed it was true.Then he heard a noise from the kitchen, and frowned. It was a grunt, a thud, a rip. A wet m...

40 likes

Playground Protection

Story Time

Submitted to Contest #159

You better make this fast. We only have a few minutes left of recess and if we’re late getting back in line, Mrs. Pockey won’t let me take the class turtle home this weekend. Where’s the envelope? I told you to put it in an envelope. You can’t just be handing me cash and cookies right here on the jungle gym. Use a little discretion. You’re not a kindergartener anymore. This is first grade. We do things the right way now. Listen, I want to talk to you. I’ll take this as payment for today, but moving forward, I need double from you if yo...

29 likes

The cost of dreams

C.B. Chribby

Submitted to Contest #159

Nova’s first reaction to getting shot in the heart was to freeze. It could have been the shock but in her mind, she thought if she just held still, maybe it would be okay. Maybe she could assess the damage and maybe things would return to normal if she just held very, very still. But alas, the bullet had torn her heart in half, torn her future to ribbons. The next thing she knew, the world rotated around her and she was suddenly on her back. Her body wouldn’t respond. She felt scared, but for the first time (and last), her pulse was ...

28 likes

Amber Code Hell

Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #159

Last week after getting off a flight in Hong Kong and being sent into a 3-day hotel quarantine, I was naked, alone and afraid. Admittedly, only naked when I needed a shower, but alone and afraid much of the other time. After disembarking the plane, I notice the authorities have worked out all the detours I might make before showing up at the hotel. Shops. Bars. Walks in the park. I'm channelled out of the airport and straight into a taxi with locked doors. In the early days of quarantine, more than a few tourists had stopped for ‘a...

28 likes

Catch You Later

Submitted to Contest #159

TW: Swearing, sucking blood and speeding. The undead poser typed in the numbers on the ATM slow enough for her to see. “Withdraw as much as you can,” Esmerelda ordered, gun aimed at his balls. “And you’ll let me go, now that you have the card?” He was a pitiful excuse for a vampire. Nothing like the kung fu masters that seemed to spring up in Sunnydale. It was almost too easy. &nb...

28 likes

How Much Does A Memory Cost?

Camille Mockingjay

Shortlisted for Contest #159 ⭐️

“How much does this cost?” I asked the seller, holding out my selection of bread and fruit. “Just a small memory,” he answered. “A happy one, if you don’t mind, Estelle.” I nodded and pointed to my head. He did the same, and I thought of a small happy memory. Fifth grade, answering a question right. Small but happy. The seller smiled, satisfied. He would watch the scene once, but the memory was not his to keep. It would go in The Book, full of memories playing over and over like a long movie. He would receive food for every me...

25 likes

A Burden Lifted

Angel Whelan

Submitted to Contest #159

It was a slow evening, even for a Tuesday. I packed up my guitar early, slinging it over my shoulder as I rummaged through the tip jar for the price of a hotdog. I was ten cents short, but Joe let me slide for it. He filled a napkin with some scraps for Bonnie, and we headed over to our bench to watch the moon rise over the river.Someone was already sitting there, hunched shoulders and an air of dejection. Bonnie trotted over to him, her ears pricked up, tail awagging as he patted her muzzle.“Sorry, I don’t have any spare change,” he told me...

25 likes

Give Generously

Submitted to Contest #159

“I see,” said the manager, as he put the phone down and looked at the patron very carefully. Mr. Vanier was a patient man, working his way up the bank for over ten years until they finally decided he would suit them more favorably “running the whole show” – the owners’ phrase – instead of handling individual bank loans or opening and closing accounts. There was much to be said for the new job. The hours were brief and he did not have to deal with as many problems back in his private office. There had once been a bank robbery at a branch near...

25 likes

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Contest #160

This contest has ended. Thank you for your submissions.

$250

Prize money

216

Entries

88

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 19, 2022 EST

Won by Daniel Allen 🏆

Title: Blood and Cookies

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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