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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

“My Only Coat” by Barbara Eustace

Submitted to Contest #18

Bella Sutherland had never felt as alone in her life as she did at this moment. For as long as she could remember, it had just been the two of them, her and her mother.Oh, there had been others along the way, but for the most part they had been very temporary. Mum had insisted they move every few years. Bella had never been sure what they’d been running from. Was it debt? They were always short of money, but as far as Bella could ascertain they had always paid their way, just. Or perhaps it was someone in partic...

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“Golden Sunset” by Daniel Clark

Submitted to Contest #18

I cower in a deserted park with my hands thrust deep in my trouser pockets. As I fend off icy winds, my eyes squint out over a small, hazy lake. My rigid body remains motionless, except for my left hand, which gently strokes the small object skulking in the lower reaches of my pocket. I drag my reluctant hands out momentarily to check my phone, not surprised when there are no messages. As I’m switching it back off, I glimpse the time and realise I’ve now been waiting over two hours for my wife to arrive. The lock-screen photo remains scorche...

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“Better Safe Than Sorry” by Rudy Uribe

Submitted to Contest #18

The one thing Daddy’s little girl will never be accused of is being weak. I can’t stand being around victims or martyrs. They are feeble, pathetic people looking for sympathy. Not me. If you try to do me harm you will become the victim.Strength is something I learned from my father. He stood up for himself and showed me what it was like to be self-reliant. He was an attorney who fought for his own rights and the rights of others. My mother, on the other hand, was a martyr. She enjoyed suffering so that we could supposedly be happy. It was pi...

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“You Can't Apologize to Dead People” by Itxy Lopez

Submitted to Contest #18

Alejandra stepped into the hospital room where her dad was lying, barely alive. She held back a sob when she saw how his dark color had faded and could hear the wheeze of his breath. His eyes were closed, but he must’ve heard her footsteps because he opened them—half-opened was a more accurate term.“Alejandra,” he said. His voice sounded grated as if he’d walked through a desert for weeks without water.“Papi,” she said. She hadn’t meant for her voice to crack. She pulled a chair to move it beside his bed when she noticed a cross the size of ...

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“The Telephone ” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #18

The TelephoneUncle Franz was eccentric and when he passed away at age ninety, I was named the executor of his estate, meaning I had to clean out his attic of his house where he had lived after coming home from two years in the war. Refusing to abandon his house after Edith passed away nearly twenty years ago, Uncle Franz became a recluse, collecting all sorts of discarded junk until his house was filled with a wide assortment of useless keepsakes and rusty antiques that no longer had a practical use. He would remark with a sardon...

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“Mama’s Jacket ” by Ash P

Submitted to Contest #18

Mama died twenty years ago when Samuel was born, she died for her son, pa hid all photos of her from his two youngest.When he died his oldest sons Allester and Raphael wanted nothing to do with him, the youngest Evelyn who was two years older than Samuel went to the funeral, she helped Samuel clean up the attic but she left a week ago to go back home to her family thirty miles away. Most of the Hirsch children left town as soon as they turned, 18, all but Samuel. He stayed behind......As Samuel reaches the last box it gets cold in the attic ...

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“Hommy’s Juxtaposition ” by James Offenha

Submitted to Contest #18

There it was. I’ve been looking for this for years. I have friends who are mediums and one of their specialties is objects. I was looking in my attic for some old baseball cards to see if I could sell them on eBay and I found an old weathered beige jacket. The kind that’s part of a three piece suit. I didn’t find the baseball card, but what I did find was Hommy’s collar. * When I was twelve years old I had a traumatic brain injury called a subdural hematoma and after being in the ICU in Cleveland, Ohio, I, wit...

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“The Collectible” by Shelby Finger

Submitted to Contest #18

As he lifted the coat out of the box, he ran his hand across the stiff fabric. He remembered this well. The coat was originally a dark forest green, embroidered with delicately placed birds of paradise. Whatever color had existed before was now caked in a deep layer of dust. The embroidered flowers were torn and ragged around the edges, leaving disfigured doodles where art had once resided. Glancing over his shoulder towards the door, which still stood just slightly ajar, he caught himself wondering who in their right mind would be spyi...

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“Hang On!” by Megha Srivastava

Submitted to Contest #18

Chapter IThe Tragedy She was surrounded by people crying, weeping and mourning, but her eyes were dry. It was certainly rheumatic, and some part of her heart was aching but the pain was too less in comparison to her anger. She was bewildered at her younger brother's suicide. She had known Kunal hasn't been feeling good couple of months now and she was as supportive and understanding about all the plans he cancelled, of the days he refused to step out of his room, of the isolation he sought, and that's how he chose to repay her. No, she ...

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“The Smoke” by Melody Davidson

Submitted to Contest #18

The clouds were lower today, lower than they had ever been. Whatever The Agency had done this time was working. The smoke wasn’t normal smoke. It was thick enough to cut through; strong enough to kill. The town was falling before my eyes. People were coughing and dying without notice. Maybe, this once, The Agency had won.“You,” a harsh, whispering voice said from behind. I turned around and saw Jeff, the town’s crazy man.“Me?” I answered.“Yes, you c’m ’ere!” I walked into his bashed up house and he gestured for me to sit in a chair.“You need...

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“Breathe” by Anna Kubiak

Submitted to Contest #18

I recline in my seat, gazing at the once in a lifetime view out my window. Everything is fine. As normal as it can be while orbiting earth on the way to Mars. The impact is harsh and sudden. The ship is knocked off course. I’m thrown from my seat, my head crashing onto the table in front of me. White stars overtake my vision and pain shoots through my head. The lights go out. My heart beats fast. My air comes rapidly, too rapidly. The computer screen is beeping, flashing a blindingly bright red light a...

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“Missing in Time” by Cathryn Grossenbacher

Submitted to Contest #18

My hand slipped inside my pocket, grasping for the button that had been there only moments before. I was met with an emptiness, nothing in my pocket. Panic set across my face as my eyes scanned the ground around me in search for the missing button. "Oh god... Oh god! Where did it go? Please lord, just let me find it!" I exclaimed, drawing attention to myself. The eyes of the surrounding villagers on me. I could hear their whispers rippling through the crowd. If I didn't find that button I would be stuck here. I could not let that happen. I ...

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“Stalling for Time” by Sarcastic Kate

Submitted to Contest #18

There’s easily 300 faces staring at me right now as I fumble nervously but discreetly through my empty pants pockets. At what point am I allowed to let the panic show?“The ring?” the preacher asks again, looking me in the eye as if eye contact is either going to anoint me with a miracle or by the grace of God dole out a lightning bolt to strike me for my transgression; either way, I can see I need to do something about this little, uhm, situation, and fast. “The ring!” I shout, stalling for time, “is the uh, the symbol of love. The lov...

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“Lost Letter” by Connor Abate

Submitted to Contest #18

The young boy sat down at his desk in the midst of the crisp autumn night. His hand trembled ever so slightly as he reached for a black pen out from the mug on his desk and the dark blue spiral notebook from the drawer. Tears began to prick his eyes as he flipped open the notebook, starting to write a letter that was addressed to no one in particular. "Dear to whoever may be unfortunate enough to come across this," the letter started. With an intake of breath and slow shaky exhale, he began to write his message; his final message. "I, Dylan ...

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“The Pockets That Everyone Wished For” by Star Greene

Submitted to Contest #18

Jaimie was a lost boy. The sixth child in a family that could only eat once a day, sometimes not even one. All 14 children of their household scour the vast garbage field daily, situated in front of their home and hoped to find something that they can sell off.For the past 12 years, Jaimie has done this and thought that this was enough. He was not going to get anywhere in this kind of lifestyle. He wanted so badly for his life to change.One cloudy afternoon, he met an old friend of his that he has not seen for years.He was wearing some nice ...

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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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