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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#174: Evolution

On November 25th, 1859, Charles Darwin published his groundbreaking book, On the Origin of Species. The idea of evolution was controversial; to claim that the world wasn’t unchanging and had not always been the same chafed against human ideals of perfection. But as we well know, nothing in life is truly static.

In the spirit of this anniversary, this week we want to explore evolution and new discoveries; because sometimes change can be terrifying, but it can also be freeing.

This week's prompts

Write a story where someone says, “Everything is changing.”

Dramatic – 59 stories

Write about two old friends meeting for the first time in years.

Adults – 60 stories

Write a story about someone coming to terms with how different they are from their younger self.

Angst – 49 stories

Write about someone whose desire to constantly improve something borders on obsessive.

Dramatic – 25 stories

Write a story about a brilliant scientist making a startling discovery.

Science Fiction – 45 stories

Stories

“The Sins of The Past” by Puneet Dev

Submitted to Contest #174

I look into the darkness as I walk in the rain. My eyes wander across the street to a park. I instantly look away, recalling what had last happened there. I run back to my home as lightning strikes behind me. I remember what my best friend told me. He told me to never give up, no matter what the situation. It pains me to think about him after so many years. I get into my bed and go to sleep. The next day I wake up and put on my uniform. I do my routine and go to my table. As I am chewing my cereal a memory pops up in my head. It is about the...

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“THE BLACK ROSE” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #174

THE BLACK ROSE ( for now….perhaps DRIED ROSE? WITHERED ROSE?) When they were ( had been) schoolmates( classmates) Flora had jet very black hair and a very white, milk - white complexion, her cheeks reddened with emotion or cold. Her mouth, little, almost heart - shaped, and fleshy was very red. Now that she too, like Miriam, was in her sixties, she ( Miriam) would have expected ( would expect) to see her old friend if not with white hair, as Miriam had, with hair dyed a light color than her own pitch ( deep) black. But ...

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“Her New And Improved Version” by Latha Prakash

Submitted to Contest #174

The wind howled. The floral drapes swayed waywardly like the unrestrained human emotions. The pearls lining the big-sized mirror shone under the dim yellow light. Debra entered the room and placed her plush bag that was encrusted with real coral and turquoise stones on the table. Seated on a chair, she stared at her reflection. Freeing her petite frame of the woolen preserver, she examined the wrinkles that bedecked her skin. The windows rattled and diverted her focus. She walked to the windows and closed them. She removed the French barrett...

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“Reminisce” by Teddy K

Submitted to Contest #174

The restaurant is dimly lit, which is exactly how she likes it. Since she had reminded him, he couldn’t quite figure out why she likes to dine in the dark. He would much rather be somewhere bright and open, where he could see her features more clearly. Not only does he want to admire her, but he also thinks that a stuffy restaurant is a pretty piss-poor option for a first date. It wasn’t really their first date, but they hadn’t seen each other since their dramatic breakup in their sophomore year of college. Perhaps a restaurant wit...

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“Backyard Reflections” by Skyler Dune

Submitted to Contest #174

After a long drive home, I stretch my back, move my neck around in an awkward circle, and wiggle my toes. My feet are practically numb from being crammed in tight sneakers all day while I drove. It’s two in the afternoon, and I look out the window while I rinse my navy travel mug in the kitchen sink. I focus on the pool in my backyard – the streaks of light scattered on the surface of the water, the bees landing on the curved concrete edge, and the honeysuckles glowing as the sun shines through their small petals. I love the quiet of...

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“The Memorial” by Natalie Schmitt

Submitted to Contest #174

“Hey,” someone’s soft, gruff voice said into my ear. “Hey,” it said again, a little louder this time. I was starting to wake up. I heard the clack-clack of the train on the rails, and a whistle, softened by the distance between my compartment and the front of the steam engine. I opened my eyes groggily. The noises of the train were starting to gradually slow. I had been on this train for almost 12 hours, but given what I had to do next, I wasn’t sure I was ready to get off it. I looked at the man sitting next to me. I had spoken to him at t...

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“The Diet” by Kimberly McFetridge

Submitted to Contest #174

The aroma of puff pastry, kalamata olives, tomatoes, and feta wafts from the appetizer the waitress has just set in the middle of the table. I hear my client Cindy marvel, “I swear, this is manna made in heaven,” as she savors a bite of the Mediterranean Pinwheels she and her husband are sharing. They’re enjoying the warm May evening at Brass Tacks, so I hate to interrupt them, but as Cindy’s nutritionist, I must. As I stride towards them, Cindy pauses mid-forkful, looks at me with daggers in her blue eyes, and says, “Sara, ...

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“Science Is Sacrifice” by Lindsay B

Submitted to Contest #174

What happens after we die? Do our souls float from our bodies to join a greater being in the sky? Or do our brains just release a flood of feel-good chemicals to ease the pain and fear, creating one blissful dream that seems to last forever? Since the dawn of human intelligence, so many brilliant minds have tried to find the answer, and not one has succeeded. Sarah Proctor hoped to be the first. Beyond hope, she knew that she would be the first. After decades of hard work and ridicule from her colleagues, she would be the first to definitive...

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“Intellectual Curiosity Uncovers an Amazing Truth, or Perhaps a Frightening One?” by David Adams

Submitted to Contest #174

The medical centre on Eden was as quiet as ever with little sound to muffle the humming and occasional bleep of a molecular scanner as it analysed the sample inserted a few hours before by the town’s senior doctor.*** *** ***Dr Au Clair would have had to admit that her current work was really designed as a time filler. Two years on from Eden b...

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“Core Detachment” by Daniel Fapohunda

Submitted to Contest #174

“Everything is changing, Mom. Why can’t life just go back to the way it was? Everything was perfect last year.”"Change comes with embracing the future, it’s better not to fight your past. Life continues without certain people Roe," My mom preaches as she speeds down the block. It's the first day of school and I'm currently 7 minutes away from being late. Getting ready today was excruciatingly painful. "You and Sofia have been friends since preschool. I know it is hard to believe but people grow apart. Like your father and I." She s...

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“Dinner at Auroras” by Lilyana Halter

Submitted to Contest #174

I looked at myself in the gilded mirror. My throat was visibly swollen. Small beads of sweat had formed from being in my bunchy jacket all day. Winter was the absolute worst. People came in and out of the bathroom as I just stared at myself in fear. Three years and it all added up to this. I took a glance at my watch, it's almost 6. With a sigh I left the bathroom to return to the front of Aurora's restaurant. People chimed together at their little tables. The front was the most welcoming. A large circular table with people hired specifica...

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“Since We Last Spoke” by Caitlin McDaniel

Submitted to Contest #174

My eyes must be playing tricks on me. I rubbed at them and looked again. Squinting the figure into focus. That is him. His hair is now white as a cloud and his once youthful face is weathered, but it’s him. As he made his way around the pond approaching me, I could see him searching his mind for the memory of my face. He didn’t have to search long. “Roger? Roger Cook, is that you?!” he exclaimed. “It sure is,” I answered. I stood up from the park bench to shake his hand. “Charles Clark, it’s good to see you.” “Wow, you to...

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“Friends to the end” by Ryan Pattison

Submitted to Contest #174

The Old streets of London were always lively around spring. through the hustle and bustle you could still hear birds sing. The frost was still present with a feather dusting of snow, and every store front felt welcome with an amber lit glow. Every inch was packed tightly with tall umbrellas held tight, for the rain drizzled daily, the absent sun out of sight. There were puddles extending from every car that rushed by, The clouds so distressed, they couldn’t help but just cry. I paused there, hypnotic, the tapping rain as it fell, ...

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“The Brawl For It All” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #174

Eric Monarch chafes at the first question. “Shouldn’t this fight have taken place five years ago when both fighters were in their prime?” The promotor grins, the jewel in his front tooth gleaming against the lights, his spikey grey hair standing straight up like a forest of exclamation points He is not about to let his press conference get out of hand. “I should have married Christina Hendricks five years ago, but she wasn’t available. You gotta do these fights when the warrior's schedules free up. Carlos Madrid, ‘The Lion of the Pro...

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“Forgiveness ” by Cody Keown

Submitted to Contest #174

Mark drove in silence, watching the various things pass by on the long drive. Sign after sign, light pole after light pole. He focused on everything he could to avoid thinking about seeing Carina. He was up all night the night before, staring at the ceiling, thinking about today. Debating on actually seeing her or putting it off again like he had hundreds of times in the past. The bumps on the ceiling seemingly morphing into her face whenever she drifted into is mind, which was almost every night, but especially this one. ...

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$250

Prize money

238

Contest entries

96

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 02, 2022 EST

Won by Sam Porter 🏆

Title: Playing God

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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