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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#18: Pocketful of Sunshine

Pockets are where we keep items of importance: our keys, cellphone, wallet, or, if you're Bilbo Baggins, the One Ring. (And if you're Natasha Bedingfield, the sun.)

Losing or finding such items can be a strong starting point for a story. Which is why this week, we're challenging you to write a pocket-sized (aka "short") story based on a pocket-themed prompt.

This week's prompts

Write a story about a character who buys a secondhand coat and then discovers something in the pocket.

Thriller and Suspense – 99 stories

Your fingers tensed around the object in your pocket, ready to pull it out at a moment's notice.

Science Fiction – 44 stories

Write a story about someone cleaning out their attic. They find an old piece of clothing, and inside of its pocket is an old keepsake.

Adults – 52 stories

"It was just here!" you shout, frantically searching your pockets for the missing thing.

Funny – 31 stories

Write a story about a very skilled pickpocket.

Character – 65 stories

Stories

“The Hunt” by Kaveen Selvi

Submitted to Contest #18

"Bind, kill, and bring it back." Those were the precise words of the Queen Safrine for the Prince and the Crown's Warrior. It was common knowledge that when the Queen declares an order it should never be contested but it would have seemed that the Crown Prince Kehlan would have a never-ceasing longing for a death wish. Worse, being dethroned. "I'm only saying we should find another way to do the Offering. Luring in mortals only brings more of their kind venturing into our world, in the name of investigation."Wyrn, The Queen's ...

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“Poison Lust” by Hailee Shrewsbury

Submitted to Contest #18

This was it. Today was the day. The day little girls dream about, and the day most people feel the happiest. Today was the day I proposed to my girlfriend.I had dated Sylvian Winechester for 2 years. Which, in my opinion, was far too long. As my mother always said, 'The right one will fall into your lap and you need to take action right then.' My mother was also an idealest. But truly, after God knows how long of trial and tribulation and many, many failed dating websites, this time I think I had found the one. Sylvia was gorgeous and smiled...

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“Five Dollars” by Jessica Burnette

Submitted to Contest #18

I need five to get the rent paid. It had to be somewhere. I stand in the middle of the room thinking. How could I only be short five bucks? I was sure it was in my pocket when I went to bed. The landlord will not care if I’m only five short. I have to find it. If I pay the rent late, it will cost another thirty. My so-called-husband won’t care.I yank the bedding off the bed and toss the pillows on the floor with the sheets. Nothing in the bedding or under it. Mark came into the room as I threw stuff out of the closet. “What are yo...

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“Love In A Pocket” by Risha Vaish

Submitted to Contest #18

A ray of sun peeked through my curtains and stroked my face when I woke up. I reached out for my phone to check the time, and sprang up from the bed and rushed into shower when my clock showed it was 8:00. I didn’t take up much time getting ready, I just slipped up a sweater and jeans, grabbed my bag and dashed out of my apartment, stuffing my pen drive with the presentation that I got to give today in class and some cash in my back pocket. As I was walking down the street I pulled out my earphones, connec...

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“Sunshine Likes To Hide” by Rosaline Hope

Submitted to Contest #18

I'm a poet. That feels so weird to say, but its true. Well, kind of. I write and save all these works of mine on a small flash drive. Like, I assume, the average poet-to-be, I was up at 3 AM again and thinking about my latest poem. Sunshine hidesWhen shadows nearBut Sunshine biteswho holds it dear I wish my life were a poem. Thats, secretly, what this is about. Sunshine represents the dreams I have. I hold them dear, but the moment real life comes, they disappear. Haha. That rhym...

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“The Awkward Date (a short story) ” by Eve Burks

Submitted to Contest #18

Pilar pulled her car into the parking lot, circled it a couple times looking for a closer spot. It must be busy tonight, she thought as she kept her eyes peeled for any empty spaces. Her palms were sweaty, and she could feel her heart fluttering as she drove. A car was pulling out two spaces from the front door. She shifted gears and backed up so they could get out, then waited for five minutes while the driver made a ten-point turn before exiting onto the street. She carefully parked herself and flipped the ignition off, pulling the keys ou...

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“Lost in the Pocket” by Daniel Vilaire

Submitted to Contest #18

You are in a dark, cold room. A white linoleum floor glitters beneath you, illuminated by the skylight above. You are standing in front of an electronic safe, protected with unimaginable firewalls, and impossible passwords.You slide the bypass cover open, revealing the black hole of a USB port. In a few moments, you will hold the culmination of years of hard work. You will have the key to unlock wealth and prosperity. “Hand me the drive.” You whisper to your partner. The drive. A single USB symbolizing all the work that you have ever do...

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“LIFT” by Jackie Davis

Submitted to Contest #18

When she first wakes up, she lies in bed, eyes closed, becoming aware of the signals from her body. If her belly fizzes, as though there is a thrum of moths’ wings inside her, she knows today will be a good day. If there is an emptiness, like the darkness inside a wardrobe, or the nothingness of an empty cardboard box, she will stay home. She will turn over, pull up the covers, sleep awhile longer. When she gets up, she may do some washing, or some house work. Or maybe not. Whi...

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“A Thief's Understanding” by Simon Ilincev

Submitted to Contest #18

Rob’s eyes blearily fluttered open, the sun’s rays dancing across his eyes. He lifted his hand to block the light, but instead fell off his bed loudly, groaning.His back issued a sharp crack, like the retort of a gun or the sound of a thief’s fingers being broken.That wasn’t good.To continue to earn enough money for his lodgings, he needed to be in top shape. Housing wasn’t free, and life was still hard even though he had left the slums.As he did every day, Rob stood up and began to stretch. First the ankles, which were important for speed, ...

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“The World's Greatest Pickpocket” by Joe Dozier

Submitted to Contest #18

The annual Cross Christmas Choral and Parade was ready to start; and, all available police officers, sheriff’s deputies, and State Investigative Bureau detectives were working the route. For the last few weeks, a pickpocket had plagued our county. Not your normal, run-of-the-mill pickpocket; this one defied capture. Not one victim could recall having seen, felt, or heard anything. LEOs worked all the seasonal events-craft fairs, regattas, tree lightings, Black Fr...

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“How Much I Had” by Melody Davidson

Submitted to Contest #18

As I walked along the street, every step was heavier than the last. Today was the day. It marked two years. Two years since mum died. Two years since Dad went to jail. Two years since my older brother, John, had run away. Two years that I had been in foster care. Everyone knew me. Once I was normal. A normal boy, with a normal family and a normal life. But now I wasn’t normal. I was the son of the man that killed his wife. I was the brother of the boy who had run away and was never seen again. I was the boy that stole. Just like his father, ...

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“The Benevolent Pickpocket” by KC Gilman

Submitted to Contest #18

There she was. Olive skin, dark black hair, brown eyes. She stepped out of her building and onto the cracked New York sidewalk, her black boots glistening in the unexpected but welcomed afternoon sun. Today, she was wearing a bright red peacoat that added a pop of color to the otherwise cold and dreary December day. I’d seen her around plenty of times before, but there was no way she knew I existed. At least, not if I’d been doing my job right.Olivia Madeira: 5’06’’, 28 years old, and allegedly addicted to her phone. At least, that’s accordi...

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“Acquired Skills” by Olivia Gilbert

Submitted to Contest #18

They call me the Snake. My slim figure and height contribute to this nickname, but it mostly stems from my ability to slip through crowds and claim their belongings as my own, without an ounce of guilt. I’ve never been caught, and I don’t plan to start now. I finagle my way through the horde of rampant shoppers on the busiest day of the year for retailers across the country. Black Friday creates a chaos like none other. The day after a holiday dedicated to being grateful for what we have, these materialistic buyers enter a craze of spending,...

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“The Empath Thief” by A.B.B. Olson

Submitted to Contest #18

It was raining when Milo Branson left his office building with his shoulders hunched against the miserable day. He gave the sky a sour look and pulled the collar of his dark pea coat up around his chin. It had been one of those days where nothing went right; everything he picked up he seemed to drop or knock over, every task he was given seemed to come with an unforeseen issue, and every person he encountered was unhelpful or cranky. As he walked along the busy sidewalk, Milo twisted and turned so as to not rub against people, and grimaced a...

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“Thrills and Anguish” by S. G. Moon

Submitted to Contest #18

Looking around apartment 2B, Lana couldn’t help but find herself overwhelmed with the desire to self-combust. Her beat-up couch was currently shrouded in a number of fabrics and clothing of which she really had no need. As she slid her socked feet through the expendable piles that littered her tiny studio, she recalled a time, that seemed like eons ago, when she was content and never wanting for anything in this world. Just last year she had been in the best place, that was until her gorgeous ex left her to her self-destructive ways, causing...

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$50

Prize money

291

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 06, 2019 EST

Won by Sam Lauren 🏆

Title: The Price of a Nice Guy

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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