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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#166: Game, set, match

Lately, my sporting news feed has been taken over by the retirement of two legendary tennis players — Serena Williams and Roger Federer. Whenever sports stars end their careers, it leaves me wondering what it must feel like to start something new after dedicating so much time and effort into performing at top level.

Of course, retiring, quitting, or changing careers are life-changing events whether you’re a professional athlete or not, and the prompts this week are inspired by the bevy of emotions this can bring to the surface — from trepidation to excitement, to regret or even nostalgia.

🥇 Winner

“Letting go” by Rebecca Miles

🏆 Winner of Contest #166

I dedicate this story to my partner and to everyone who has carried or is carrying the burden of grief.Sitting by the bed, holding my hand, you think my mind is fighting against the decision of my body to quit life’s game. My eyes are closed, but I sense your will through the fingers laced tightly around my own. Tenderness is a force and you stake my claim to life through the insistent pressure of your hand. How it has grown over these long years from its immaculate small perfection to this manifestation of adult capability: greeti...

144 comments 144

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“Pants are Optional” by Aeris Walker

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #166

Be honest with yourself; you have a problem. You spent all those years saving and planning and preparing for the moment when, come that first Monday morning, you could ignore the hour and roll over and sleep until only your aching bones could force you from your bed. Now, you have nowhere to be. You can enjoy the sunrise from the patio chair on your back porch instead of squinting into it from the backed-up line of morning traffic. You can brew fresh coffee and drink it while it’s hot in a fragile, ceramic mug—a mug not intended ...

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“The Natural” by Thom With An H

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #166

In life there are monumental occurrences that act as time-freezing snapshots; the kind of events where, for the rest of your life, you remember exactly where you were when they happened. My grandfather used to speak with reverence about the day he heard that President Kennedy was shot. My mother spoke similarly of finding out about the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger. For me it was the day I stopped playing baseball.I was ten years old when I got my first “real” glove. It was a God’s honest big-league Rawlings rawhide and I loved i...

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“Surgery” by Lindsay Flo

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #166

I always imagined, when it came down to it, that I would be forced out for some physical reason. Arthritis in my hands seemed to be a popular choice, followed closely by a herniated disk, or dementia. We actually used to joke about that sometimes, me and my young staff members, because for all of my diligence and dedication, I am well-known for being scatterbrained. The irony, of course, does not escape me. It actually makes me a little bit sad, and no one jokes about me having dementia anymore. No one jokes with me much at all, not since...

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“The Carrier” by Courtney Renee

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #166

George Barnes was a mail carrier. The greater part of his fourty year career was spent taking the neighborhood of West Sagamore by foot. He was offered better routes over the years, ones with less hiking and houses that were easier on the eyes. As the years took their toll on George’s knees, he was encouraged to take another route. After all, he’d certainly earned it with his years of loyal service.Places like West Sagamore were meant for fresh faced carriers, with untried limbs and naive vigor. But with each passing season, George...

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“Fall Guy” by Donavan Barrier

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #166

Is this what you wanted? Huh? Is this what you sought to accomplish? All that hard work, all that good shit, all that talking about it. Is this what you've been looking for? Well, you got it. Man, do you got it! I hope you're happy, you son of a bitch. At least one of us will be getting out of this shit alive. But, hey, it's what I signed up for, right? It's what we knew was going to happen. I mean, come on, let's not kid ourselves. We knew our fate when we decided to pull this off. I must be stupid. I thought we'd get out of this alive. Oh,...

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“The Lamplighter” by Ann Martin

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #166

The Lamplighter Carol Ann Martin “Well, that was very nice, I must say.” Ethel Hardy pulled the pins out of her best velour hat and laid it gently as a baby on the parlour table. “I think they did Dad proud.” “Bloody think so,” grunted Arthur. “How many years has he given ‘em? Sixty, is it?” “Well, he seems happy anyway,” Ethel smiled fondly at the old man who shuffled into the room behind them. It was only the second time that any of them had seen Albie in his suit, the first time being at his wife’s funeral twenty yea...

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This week's prompts

Start your story with someone saying “I quit!”

Adults – 55 stories

Write a story about someone who knows it’s time to retire or change jobs, but is hesitating.

Adults – 43 stories

Write about a rivalry between two coworkers that has unforeseen consequences.

Adults – 26 stories

Set your story at a retirement or leaving party.

Adults – 19 stories

Write about someone who has long since quit but decides to go another round for old time’s sake.

Adults – 38 stories

Stories

“Letting go” by Rebecca Miles

🏆 Winner of Contest #166

I dedicate this story to my partner and to everyone who has carried or is carrying the burden of grief.Sitting by the bed, holding my hand, you think my mind is fighting against the decision of my body to quit life’s game. My eyes are closed, but I sense your will through the fingers laced tightly around my own. Tenderness is a force and you stake my claim to life through the insistent pressure of your hand. How it has grown over these long years from its immaculate small perfection to this manifestation of adult capability: greeti...

144 comments 144

Read story

“Not In It For The Money” by Stevie B

Submitted to Contest #166

I was a hacker for almost as long as I can remember. Even as a kid I lived to mess around with computers, programming, writing and cracking codes, and surfing to the darkest edges of the internet. What I couldn’t learn from manuals, chat rooms, message boards, or friends I pretty much just figured out on my own. So early on I knew that hacking would make me way more money than flipping burgers at Mickey D’s, earning a college diploma, or even scoring a high-paying job on Wall Street. And with a lot less of the mess and stress that usually ac...

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“Pants are Optional” by Aeris Walker

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #166

Be honest with yourself; you have a problem. You spent all those years saving and planning and preparing for the moment when, come that first Monday morning, you could ignore the hour and roll over and sleep until only your aching bones could force you from your bed. Now, you have nowhere to be. You can enjoy the sunrise from the patio chair on your back porch instead of squinting into it from the backed-up line of morning traffic. You can brew fresh coffee and drink it while it’s hot in a fragile, ceramic mug—a mug not intended ...

Read story

“The Natural” by Thom With An H

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #166

In life there are monumental occurrences that act as time-freezing snapshots; the kind of events where, for the rest of your life, you remember exactly where you were when they happened. My grandfather used to speak with reverence about the day he heard that President Kennedy was shot. My mother spoke similarly of finding out about the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger. For me it was the day I stopped playing baseball.I was ten years old when I got my first “real” glove. It was a God’s honest big-league Rawlings rawhide and I loved i...

Read story

“The Wink of a Lifetime” by Melony Beard

Submitted to Contest #166

"I quit!" The words lingered on the tip of my tongue. My hands shook with fury as I slammed the register's cash drawer shut. I had been extremely clear with Steve when I accepted this job last week about how late I could work. Between college classes in the mornings and my job at the bank in the afternoons, my plate was overloaded.Steve's scrawny figure stomped across the cold hard tile floor of the auto parts store as he bellowed demands. "Melanie, get out here and straighten this merchandise! Everyone will stay here tonight until this whol...

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“The Redundant Crusade” by Michał Przywara

Submitted to Contest #166

After what felt exactly like one-thousand-four-hundred-and-eighty-five years, Arthur was finally beginning to suspect he wouldn’t be needed any more, and that they could all retire just like his men wanted. But just then, the old stone door covering the cave entrance slid open, and they saw a figure silhouetted by the glory of the daylight. Arthur leapt to his feet at once, his chained mail jingling. “Merlin, old chap! It’s about bloody time.” Then all his knights jumped to their feet too, and everyone drew their swords and cheered, “Huzzah!...

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“Surgery” by Lindsay Flo

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #166

I always imagined, when it came down to it, that I would be forced out for some physical reason. Arthritis in my hands seemed to be a popular choice, followed closely by a herniated disk, or dementia. We actually used to joke about that sometimes, me and my young staff members, because for all of my diligence and dedication, I am well-known for being scatterbrained. The irony, of course, does not escape me. It actually makes me a little bit sad, and no one jokes about me having dementia anymore. No one jokes with me much at all, not since...

Read story

“Stiff Competition” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #166

The eyes of two hundred passengers at Gate 27 stare at a monitor that now reads, “Flight 873 cancelled - Bad weather.” They look at the red letters of death and then at me behind the boarding gate counter. Something changes in the humanity of the crowd as they advance toward the counter, shuffling in one by one. It's a crowd now thirsting for airline employee blood. A minute before, my esteemed coworker Kristin went for a bathroom break, leaving me here flying solo.Before the crowd reaches the thin defensive line of my plexig...

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“Master of the Drops” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #166

The Master will be celebrated at nine. An hour later, the King will be dead. The cause will be natural. An attack of the heart. Tragic thing. Although kings do die young. It’s a known fact. The stress of it all ages them prematurely. The hair grays. The lips chap. They find themselves urinating far too frequently despite not drinking enough water. The King will take to his bed with something of a headache. He will be found the next morning. By then, the Master will be retired to his country house where he plans to spend the remainder...

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“Icked Off” by PJ Aitken

Submitted to Contest #166

BURRRR-TING! For three long months, every person in the villa shared a combined sensation of excitement and dread whenever that sound echoed out of their mobile phones. This time was different, they knew exactly what it meant for all of them. The end was near. All the islanders heard exactly where the sound came from and were looking up at the outdoor terrace expecting an announcement. Moesha stared at her mobile, afraid to read aloud the words in front of her. Inhaling more air than she needed, she closed her eyes and nervously screamed the...

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“The Halloween Desk” by Annalisa D.

Submitted to Contest #166

I loved the first morning of October each year. I had my box of Halloween decorations ready to snazz up my office cubicle. Spiderwebs to line the partition walls, a cauldron filled with candy, orange lights to sparkle around my computer, little trick-or-treater figurines, plenty of pumpkins with long, twisting stems, and a cd of creepy music to play on repeat. Every other month, I felt as invisible as a ghost haunting my work space, but this month, people stopped by my desk and acknowledged my existence. Women would stop by to take a sm...

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“Merl and the Mothman” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #166

TW: Swearing, guns, monsters.Rain hammered down on Esme’s night black Lamborghini Diablo. “First stop is the woman who gave the interview to the news,” said Merl. He sat in the passenger seat, polishing his favourite revolver. “Are you sure she’s not just a nut job?” Esmerelda asked. “If she wasn’t, she probably is now. That don’t m...

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“Click” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #166

“Why ya wanna do it again, Champ? The doctors all said your mind can’t take the punishment no more. You’ve had your moment. Let the others fight over your leftovers. You got nuthin to prove!” James Lightning Rod Johnson stood staring out of his penthouse window high above the New York skyline, observing the busy streets below, jammed with traffic and people that – from his high perspective – looked like armies of ants devouring every inch of sidewalk with their systematic marching to and from wherever their day dictated. James couldn’t help ...

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“The Big Shutdown” by Francois Kosie

Submitted to Contest #166

My eyes meet the gaze of the first stars of the evening, and I wonder if they’ll bring us luck as they watch over us tonight. From the hill our neighborhood stands on, I can see the city lights below us, and I feel safe inside my family's house as I watch the last stragglers hurriedly heading home through the twilit streets. They know as well as I do that soon, almost everything will shut down. I can already imagine the darkness.If all goes well, by morning, it should all be back up, and the world will be managed by the much-hyped new versio...

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“Dreaming of Morris” by Mike Panasitti

Submitted to Contest #166

I quit. I can’t take the dread and agony any longer. I am no Morris James. I am no Royal Reptile. I'm deathly afraid of landing in jail or a psychiatric ward again.For a second consecutive night, I cannot sleep. It’s four in the morning and I want to drive to the beach. Again. Tonight, though, I want to take the chance I didn’t last night, when I snuck out of the house I share with my mother, got into my car, filled my tank with gas, bought a packet of five bourbon-flavored cigars, and drove to a street close to...

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$250

Prize money

181

Contest entries

75

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Oct 07, 2022 EST

Won by Rebecca Miles 🏆

Title: Letting go

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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