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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

“Of Doctors in Debt and failed Drag Kings turned Crime Lords” by Elizabeth Alonso

Submitted to Contest #174

TW: Organized crime, Threats/Violence, Selling Drugs(offscreen mention), “Smoking”, Gambling, Cussing. “That’s bad for your lungs.” The doctor in him couldn’t resist commenting. “I’m threatening your life and you’re concerned about me being healthy?” She asked with a raised brow. “You know, in all honesty I don’t actually smoke these,” She put in in her mouth and lit the cigar, “I just hold them in my teeth ‘cause it looks cool. Same with that old-school pipe over there… brings together...

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“Reflected Shadows” by Alex L

Submitted to Contest #174

Alex LapeReflected ShadowsNeil hurried his pace as he strolled down bustling midnight streets of Sacramento, crinkling his nose as the noxious smell of rotten eggs seemed to well up from its sewage system. The meeting spot designated in the text he got couldn’t be three more blocks from the stoplight he had recently passed. A text from none other than his old friend Alphonse somehow managed to strike an ominous sense of dread in Neil, yet he found himself instinctively drawn to seeing what his former partner/handler sought from him.&nbs...

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“Raquel's evolution” by F.O. Morier

Submitted to Contest #174

Regret is a rare luxury… One day a year she allowed herself to be sad for a few hours. A few hours where she surrendered with reckless abandon to the feeling of abandonment and melancholy. One day a year; her birthday! On the other side of the street, the grass lay like a veil. There was only silence. All sound seemed muffled in the softness of spring. This was only an imaginary silence, for the laughter of a child at play floated through it. The sky shone so divinely bright above the grey outline of the city. Something seemed trapped in tha...

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“The Serpent of Pride” by Kevin Alphatooni

Submitted to Contest #174

“Well if that’s how you feel, THEN THERE’S THE DOOR!” My words cut through her like a jagged blade. Her blue eyes widened, horrified by its bluntness. Even I was surprised about the way it came out. So forceful. “You’re a cold-hearted jerk, Allen,” Darlene cried as she ran away from me, “I don’t even know what I saw in you.” A tide of fresh anger swelled within me, urging me to retort her claim but, before I could respond, she was already out of the room and quickly gathering her things. Part of me knew she wanted me to follow ...

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“A Hitman's Demise” by Brian Nk

Submitted to Contest #174

Every hour, every minute, every second, I get closer to a day I thought would never come. My lawyers always said, "Keep the faith." Those money-hungry bastards would say anything to keep the checks coming in.How can I keep the faith after 15 years locked up with 40 more to go? Can I be blamed for losing what the saints call hope? They keep calling it a miscarriage of justice and then start rambling all sorts of jibberish. They're probably admitting to each other "we're fucked" in Latin.To be honest, I didn't give a fuck, never did. I'm ...

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“A CHANCE MEETING” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #174

MAISIE A chance meeting was all it took to remind me of what I lost all those years ago. One sunny day at the local cafe I bumped into him. He didn't recognize me but I knew him. He left without saying sorry. I left the cafe disappointed. What did I expect of him, for him to crawling back to me, so we can be friends once again after what I did to him. I was a horrible person when I was young but I changed and how do I tell him that. The very next day He came back to the cafe. He called me Maisie. He knew who I was after all. We talked, t...

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“Taking Control” by Madison Eccleton

Submitted to Contest #174

“I’ll see you after class, Percy.” Cali looks down at Percy with a sweet smile, tall and dressed in a sleeveless lavender turtleneck tucked into a similar colored plaid skirt that he wears. “By the tree?” “Yeah… by the tree.” Percy, much shorter than Cali and dressed in a dark red sweater with faded black jeans, nods. “I’ll see you.” He watches Cali walk away, a sort of longing in his eyes as he grips the strap of his messenger bag; should he say something? They always spend time together in private, for the most part. Cali has been really...

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“The Things You Pass To Your Children” by Madeline Honig

Submitted to Contest #174

Trigger warning: Mental Health and Eating Disorders “One and two and three and four. One and two and three and four.” Cheryl shouts and squats along with the blond women on the television. She had subscribed to Samantha’s Twenty Minute Booty Blast for the past few months. She took before pictures of herself and has been taking progress pictures. These pictures were by the insistence on the Booty Blast method “in order to stay motivated”. Cheryl claims the difference is huge. Her husband, Mark, claims to ...

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“The Newton Challenge” by Mary Leah Howard

Submitted to Contest #174

THE NEWTON CHALLENGE Daniel Preston was a research scientist working for the Institute of Common Knowledge, an academic research institution. He had been employed there for the past ten years and had made several modest contributions to the scientific community. Daniel had a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and a master’s degree in Physics. His boss, James Williams, had been the Director of the Institute for the past twenty-five years and ruled with an iron hand. Although James was a stickler for accuracy and detail, he wanted his staff to...

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“Don’t talk about what happens at Unit 0” by Dom Jones

Submitted to Contest #174

Chapter 1 So this is what happened. In many ways, Michael was like a dog. He was loyal and compassionate but my God was he stupid. I’ll give him credit where credit is due, he knew a lot about cars. He called himself practical smart. What that meant exactly, I don’t know. He had worked at the same god damn mechanic shop since he was 14. He only got the job because his dad worked there, but it became his whole life, that and camping. He said that I could read all the books I want, but in a survival situation I’d be dead in a minute and he’d b...

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“A Remarkable Discovery” by Margarita Escobar

Submitted to Contest #174

A Remarkable Finding The lab’s bright lights bothered Sue’s eyes. Around her countless shelves with colourful solutions contained in long glasses and test tubes. Beakers, pipettes and burettes covered the long countertop in front of her. She took the tissue sample from the Petri dish and carefully placed it under the electronic microscope. She observed the specimen and nodded. Yes, it was perfect. It clearly showed the type of heart cell taken from a lab rat. She had to prepare ten more samples for her Pathology class the following day. ...

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“The Gift” by Anna Frederiksen-Washington

Submitted to Contest #174

I have had plenty of time to think on the long flight from Australia to Sweden but I cannot remember the last time I met Ulrika. It could have been just after my mother died and she invited me and my boyfriend to dinner at her apartment in the suburbs of Stockholm. She married a man from Argentina and had a son. I remember thinking how strange it was for her to live in a flat in the suburbs as I was used to seeing her in the grandparent’s house by the edge of the forest up the road from my family home. We grew up together. She was a couple o...

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“In-Person” by P. Beard

Submitted to Contest #174

I see her as soon as I open the restaurant door, waiting politely in the queue for the hostess. “Linda!” I say warmly, and we share a heartfelt if a bit awkward hug. I extend my arms and we stretch back without letting go to take a look at each other. “You look great!” I exclaim at the exact same moment as she says “I love your hair!” and we laugh as we pull each other back into the hug. Linda’s shape hasn’t changed over the years, beautifully rounded. She had confided it made her feel self-conscious back in the 1980’s but it has always abso...

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“Who Wants to Be Here?” by Rachel Livingston

Submitted to Contest #174

Kimberly MacLean never planned to get on Facebook. But when her middle child—William III—chose the platform as the only place to share photos of her only grandchild, Kimberly was left with no other option than to navigate to the infamous website and release loads of personal information into the world. As she hesitated to build out a profile, the knowledge of finding wily ways of keeping track of her other two—Sarah the oldest, and Thomas the youngest—was an easy push. What she didn’t expect as she waited days for them to acc...

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“Dear Chiara Grace, from Chiara Grace” by Chiara Grace

Submitted to Contest #174

Dear Chiara Grace, When I first read the prompts for this week’s contest, I didn’t know what to do. Not because I was short on ideas, but quite the contrary. Each prompt sparked in me different ideas. Being controversial in my writing allows me to free on paper those ideas I could never speak out loud. I thought to myself that this was the theme for me. But the time to decide which prompt to choose and to elaborate came. I was driven towards writing a story about old friends that meet one another after a long time. But there it was, th...

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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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