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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 White Diamond” by Francis Groleau

Submitted to Contest #18

Rachel Malaney could barely concentrate on the tedious conversation taking place in front of her. She and her husband, Paul Malaney, had invited three other couples to a five-course dinner at the new French gourmet restaurant that had just opened on Main Street. She had agreed to the invitation on the grounds that it was to celebrate their upcoming fifth anniversary. Ever since Mr. Malaney had joined the most envied and private social club in town, their circle of friends had been filtered and cut down to a few elite members of the privilege...

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“Sea of pale faces” by Jayden Spresser

Submitted to Contest #18

His brown eyes stuck out as a light on a dark night amid the sea of pale faces all around him. His kind had no place here amid those of blue eyes and fair skin. Well at least no place among the well-respected people of this town. There was no work for people such as him. No good honest work that is. His kind we're stuck in the lower parts of the city, toiling in the mines, shoveling away the dirt from which they came from. That is what the respectable ones did anyone. The others well, they were workers of the street. Most running business th...

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“Jack the Elf” by Nicole Rook

Submitted to Contest #18

Jack grumbled, which wasn’t unusual for him. He was the oldest elf in the ‘assembly shop’. Most elves moved on to painting or wrapping, reindeer care or sled maintenance and loading. No one ever stayed in assembly more than two years. It was were every elf began and moved on from. All except Jack, he’d been there well on two hundred and twenty-nine years.Jack didn’t mind the work; he was left to work on his own mostly. Foreman Jingle had figured out very quickly that was how the aging elf worked best. He di...

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“Pass the Parcel” by Annie Percik

Submitted to Contest #18

Moonlight illuminated the casement window, dispensing with the need for artificial light. Stax was grateful for that; the soft, natural light enabled her to see what she was doing without making her any more obvious to anyone passing below. She made sure she was balanced securely on the sill, and retrieved a piece of heavy wire from her pocket. Inserting it in the slender gap between the window and its frame, she gave the wire a quick twist, and the latch sprang up. The window opened outwards, making it a tricky manoeuvre to swing around it....

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“What You Might Find” by Nick Lavitz

Submitted to Contest #18

You never really know what you’ll find in someone’s pocket.When you first get good, and the uncles let you loose somewhere with lots of pockets, you tell yourself there’s opportunity in every pocket you pick. That’s how you tell yourself there’s some romance or mystery to the task you’re set. That perhaps picking pockets is a gateway to another life.You tell yourself you might come across a piece of paper with secret information, or a telephone that’s not been released on the market yet, or some evidence that must be taken to the police, tha...

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“The Professional” by Vaibhav Sharma

Submitted to Contest #18

There’s nothing like winters to put a pickpocket out of business. With all the layers that people walk around in, it would be easier to just rob them at gunpoint. Which is why I found myself alone on the street near a library on the twenty second day of November. It was the time of the year for the pickpockets to go into hibernation, looking at months of honest work that will follow. I knew for a fact that Reggie had gone to work at the farm his uncle owned in Wisconsin and Slippery Steve was almost out of money. It won’t be days before he c...

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“Santa” by Nurul Aziz

Submitted to Contest #18

This is not your average biography. My name is Mikaela, your average office girl, and I am going to tell you about an infamous figure among the thieves, the homeless, the gangsters. They call him 'Santa'. None of them actually know his real identity, not even how he looks like. For all they know, those who stole something from others ended up having the things being stolen returned back to the original owner. The nickname was originally started by the victims who got their things back from this 'Santa'. Eventually, the thieves who found out ...

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“Danny Furlough's First Christmas” by Chris Novak

Submitted to Contest #18

Danny Furlough wandered around the courtyard of the outlet mall, watching shoppers come and go, arms laden with presents. Hundreds of people, nearly everyone smiling and laughing, chatting with friends and family. Danny loved the holidays, loved seeing the upbeat mood of the people, the bright lights, the decorations. He loved seeing the easy marks, fat wallets and purses, unattended packages and bags. Just waiting for him. An easy score. Danny Furlough was thief in general, a pickpocket by trade. He was a chameleon with unrem...

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“Stealing in the Square” by Charlotte Bunker

Submitted to Contest #18

The gray clouds hung low over the city of London. The cold, dull streets were filled with people bustling around in and out of shops. Jack watched as hats flew up into the gray sky like dancers twirling threw the air when a sudden and strong gust of wind blew past. Jack shivered and walked on through the square. In the midst of the hustle and bustle stood a rich looking man. The man stared down at a piece of parchment in his gloved hands, most likely, Jack thought, a newspaper. Jack continued thinking, the fool, he thought, standing around i...

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“Saccade” by Mezi Mul

Submitted to Contest #18

The man watched the woman’s hand fall into her purse as she caught sight of the “ATTENTION: PICKPOCKETS” sign. She pulled out a tube of lip balm and coated her mouth with the waxy end, satisfied to find everything in place. The man jabbed the crosswalk button a good few more times, then quickly hid his hands from the empty winter wind in his coat pockets. “Most push-to-walk buttons don’t do a thing,” the woman said between breaths. Apparently she’d been chuckling at his frustrated attempts.The man reflected her smile, scratched lightly ...

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“Recessed During Recess” by Yoshimi Takenaka

Submitted to Contest #18

“Elementary school playgrounds are a hatchery of crime.” Calvin hissed, and kept his stomach low to the ground as he crawled across the basketball court. His partner — Detective Elijah — was hanging on to his every word, but it was difficult to speak in his gravelly action-movie voice with his chest pressed into the concrete, so the boy decided to continue the narration in his head. Elementary school playgrounds are a hatchery of crime. A seedbed for to-be crooks, disguised by unassuming play structures and brightly painted swing s...

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“Not Cassandra” by Lynda Allison

Submitted to Contest #18

Not Cassandra “Hey, Betz. What’s up?” I blow on my hands and place them on my cheeks to warm them, glad to be out of the wind. Crazy lack of parking. Betz, the owner of Hidden Treasures, complained that it kept her clientele to a minimum in this weather. Ye-ah, no wonder. “You’re going to looove the wardrobe that came in yesterday,” Betz says with her usual upbeat lilt. “Perfect for that new job you’re going to f...

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“Time is up” by Cheryl Buchanan

Submitted to Contest #18

Jonah Star had been dreaming of playing lead for Les Miserable and now her time had come, though it was only High School it meant the world to Jonah. This was going to be the best and worst day of a brand new beginning.Production started at 7:00 p.m. The only prop Jonah was concerned with was an old London Fog grandpa had given her. It was 5:00 p.m. Jonah felt a wrenching in her stomach, "Where is the coat" she thought frantically to herself. "Mom it's after 5:00 and I can't find grandpa's coat". Mom had sent the coat to the resal...

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“The Coin” by Unknown User

Submitted to Contest #18

Johnny was getting antsy in his seat, as he glanced at the clock. 'Five more minutes until the last bell,' he thought. He was anxious to take the ride home on the bus again. And to sit next to Scootch, whom he found very interesting. That morning they had quite a conversation over their collecting habits. Johnny talked about his rookie baseball cards and Scootch compared it to his rare coin collection. Johnny followed Scootch onto the bus and down the aisle, waiting for his new friend to pick the perfect seat for the ride home. After a...

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“Bottled Moonshine” by Divya Singh

Submitted to Contest #18

“You’re my bottled sunshine, Jen” That was the sticky note left on the fridge before she left and still didn’t have the heart to take it down. Bottled sunshine, ha , I was a walking rain cloud after she left. Life became monotonous, sad, droopy, dead and wilted. I buried myself in the happier land of fiction and fantasy where broken worlds could be fixed again. I took to a lifestyle of anonymity, I was the shadow of a shadow. Over-sized trench-coats, baseball caps and sunglasses characterised my appearance. I shoved my hands ...

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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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