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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 Photo of Louis Harpen” by Bill Osuch

Submitted to Contest #18

"Wow! Look at this dress I found! It might fit you!" My annoying little brother said, flagging an old French maid's uniform. "Why don't you try it on?""Don't be ridiculous. That thing looks like you could blow on it and it turns into dust." I had no intention of wearing such a filthy garment. There were a few holes in the front, surrounded by brown stains and smothered in dust; it looked like it may have been authentic. "You know what. Screw it. I may have well have some fun today." Our mother was forcing us to clean up this junk heap. She s...

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“A Pocket Full of Sunshine: Her Ray's Just Might Blind You” by Thomasina Rushing

Submitted to Contest #18

Sunshine was a fierce young lady who loved life, people, and challenges. She was born on the very first day an eclipse took place in the town which was called Stausville which occurred on July 17, 1963. Well Sunshine was not well off or even rich, but she lived a lavish lifestyle. There was never a full moment with her because she would go all out of her way to have a day filled with Sunshine. That is a day without worry, chaos, or despair. Her friends were middle class and lower class individuals who never concerned themselves with status b...

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“Heart Treasures” by Kim Keolla

Submitted to Contest #18

It was early spring. The weather was warm and pleasant. The birds were singing and the fresh green leaves were stirring. The clouds were shifting into different shapes, painting the light blue sky in a beautiful scenery. People were working hard on the fields, taking care of their horses and farms, others looking after their children, and some hanging out with their closest people. There were people like Coleen though, once that were spending their day resting indoors. Coleen was laying in her cozy bed, relaxing as the heate...

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“The Quarter” by Jared Smithofjared@yahoo.com

Submitted to Contest #18

Arthur stared at himself in the mirror, amazed that his leather jacket still fit. Residue of the years streaked caramel strands in the deep clay color. His fingers pinched the patinated bronze zipper. It slid just as smoothly as it had the day he had bought it. He looked on, reading the lines in his face, stories written in his wrinkles, and a gray, thinning scalp. His breath fogged the mirror, shoulders slumped. An ache in his chest bid him, urged him to reconsider. Arthur shook his head and waved his hand at the thoughts that swarmed like ...

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“Clean-up” by Book Worm

Submitted to Contest #18

Sunday mornings have always been cleaning up days for her. Unlike other couples who sleep on till noon on weekends after partying until the wee hours of the morning or staying up to watch a movie, she would wake up at 2 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings to shut the door so that he could leave at an unearthly hour for work to avoid the early morning rush in the local trains. Unlike others who work five days a week and sleep till late on weekends, he worked only on weekends. ‘So that one of us is always home to look after the chil...

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“Went to bed as Jim, woke up as Liam” by Janhavi J

Submitted to Contest #18

Went to bed as Jim, woke up as Liam Darkness. All around me darkness. My mind is awake yet I can't open my eyes. As I slowly force open my eyes a headache grew within me steadily and painfully with each muscle that moved in my eye. As the light starts to fill my senses I soon find myself in the midst of unfamiliar people. Right in front of me was a woman who looked as though she was in her thirties, yet her worried creased eyes make her look a bit older. For some odd reason I feel a strong attraction to her. Is it wrong that I feel like marr...

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“ Grandmother's Attic” by Taylor Weborg

Submitted to Contest #18

There was a quaint antique thrift store across the street from my house which was located on the corners of Quinn and Fremont. The store itself was run by an elderly widow in her late 80’s. She was a small, frail woman with paper-thin skin and round, sapphire blue eyes. Her spectacles hung around her neck on a golden chain, and her feet shuffled whenever she walked. The first time I stepped foot in the store, I was greeted by the sound of a small bell over the door, signaling my arrival. The second thing that greeted me was the smell of must...

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“Dang Dumbo” by Kathleen R.

Submitted to Contest #18

I found you. It may have taken this long, but I never doubted you’d show up again. When you left, feelings of panic, concern, and disbelief consumed my mind, as I desperately attempted to pinpoint where you were. Although my faith to find you didn’t waiver, I struggled as more and more time went by, replaying the days leading to your departure, filling notebooks with every clue that pointed towards finding you. Finally, as days turned into months and months into years, my fears of losing the essence of your image arose and like a child, I re...

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“It Isn’t Worth It ” by Lipika Mallick

Submitted to Contest #18

Bzz.Bzz.Bzzz. I woke up and snatched my phone from my bedside table. There were about one hundred notifications from Snapchat and Instagram. I opened it up to see the usual “I Got an F on My Test” or “Skipping School Today”. Just as I was about to turn off my phone, I got a text message from an unknown number. It read “Meet me in the alley by Rodd Field Road with $1 million tonight at 11 PM sharp.” Oh shoot! I had completely forgotten about the deal I had made with a college admissions officer just a couple of months ago. B...

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“Jesse's missing object ” by Laynice Morrison

Submitted to Contest #18

"it was just here!!" I was just showing Em, Jesse's childhood best friend who was beautiful she had beautiful honey brown skin, long, soft curly hair in which she hated she would get a blow out and it would be a beautiful straight, but then as soon as she would get it done was just as fast as humidity would get it back curly again which fit her beautifully. But she had lost her favorite most prized pocket watch locket which was passed down from her mothers mother and then passed to her a little before her grandma passed so it was very dear t...

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“Key to Nowhere” by Ashlyn Feld -

Submitted to Contest #18

There it was. The last door we had to open before we could get out of this treacherous place."Finally! The last door!" Mark said, jumping up and down in excitement. He turned to me and held his hand out . "Now give me the key, Seth!" I gave him a big smile and reached into my pocket to retrieve the key.My smile faded when the familiar shape of the key didnt touch my fingers"Come on, Seth! Give me the key!" Mark urged, opening and closing his hand."Just give me a second!" I said shuffling through both pockets. My breathing increased as the ti...

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“The Thing” by Dave Maiden

Submitted to Contest #18

“Motherfucking, cock sucking son of an itinerant whore. It was just here.”The thing! Where was the fucking thing? I couldn’t do the meeting without the thing and I just had the fucking thing and now it is fucking missing. Fuck me!Right pocket, left pocket, side pocket, watch pocket. Jacket pocket, shirt pocket, aw fuck it. This is ridiculous. I had exactly 37 minutes to meet the guy at the place to give him the thing and I couldn’t give him the thing without the thing and the thing was missing.I retraced my steps. I had the thing when I came...

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“Let's go” by Mary Pearson

Submitted to Contest #18

Louisa felt tired, but she had to keep driving. It has been two hours since Julie got into Louisa's 4WD with her baby and it was another two hours to the nearest highway bus stop. Buses are few and far between in the Central Australian Dessert. Louisa had been a social worker for about three years out here now. As soon as she finished her studies in Melbourne she moved to Central Australia in search for adventure. And she found it, in the form of a domestic violence case worker job with a big white 4WD. Responding to domestic violence ...

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“Christmas Rush” by Anri Boyce

Submitted to Contest #18

I was late. Why must I be late for my meeting with the top Christmas house decorator? Not to even remind myself that this is the one that I have reserved two years prior so I can finally get the award for the best Christmas decoration on a house this year. It also doesn’t help that I live in Dyker Heights where all my surrounding houses create breathtaking displays of lights and arrangements.I remember last year, one of the houses became a total walk in wonderland of fake snow and frosty the snowman singing and dancing around the front yard....

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“The Missing Letter” by Lydia Pentecost

Submitted to Contest #18

"It was just here!" you shout, frantically searching your pockets for the missing thing. You were a member of the British aristocracy in 1774. Walking the streets alone was dangerous for anyone, let alone a rich young woman who appeared to be unmarried. Little did anyone know, you were married. You were married to a man named Alastair Taavi. His name was misleading. Though he sounded aristocratic, he was not. He was an immigrant from the spice capital of the world, India. He was selling spices to your father, a merchant when you met. It seem...

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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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