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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#183: Opposite Day

January 25th was National Opposite Day — the day when topsy-turviness rules, and nothing is as it seems. On Opposite Day, you’re supposed to say the exact opposite of what you mean. And while this holiday is probably just one for kids, it’s a fun excuse to think about the ways we communicate, and about the concept of “opposites” more generally.


Opposites are a frequent source of inspiration for writing; whether your opposing forces provide balance, or are at odds with one another. With that in mind, this week’s prompts are all about obfuscation, contrast, and swapping between extremes.

This week's prompts

Write a story about someone who is cursed to always say the opposite of what they mean.

Dialogue – 26 stories

Write a story about two opposites finding themselves surprisingly attracted to one another.

Romance – 48 stories

Write about a character who uses sarcasm as a defense mechanism.

Character – 14 stories

Write a story that includes the line “We’re just too different.”

Angst – 67 stories

Write a story about two characters whose paths briefly cross, but are actually going in opposite directions — whether literally or figuratively.

Dramatic – 93 stories

Stories

“The Waiting Room” by Earl Carter

Submitted to Contest #183

The door WOOSHED open as she ran into the waiting room. “Am I late?” She frantically scanned the room.. “Did I miss it? Has he come yet?”“No, you haven’t.” A voice murmured behind her. She turned and looked at him. The young man was sitting, wearing a black hoodie and blue jeans. His hair was disheveled and his eyes were sleep deprived and sunken. He had a laptop resting on his legs and was typing away. “They started Pitocin about an hour ago. I think they just put in the epidural.” She turned and looked at him through pierced eyes, “Ho...

19 comments 19
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“Locomotives” by Pocket Paperbacks

Submitted to Contest #183

The little crease in his brow was there again today. It sat just between his eyebrows, a little valley with some stray hairs falling in. It seemed to be deepening the past few weeks, and I briefly wondered at the cause for this single, premature furrow before he handed me my ticket. He didn't smile this morning. He looked far away. I flashed a tight-lipped acknowledgement as I took the little paper from his hand and moved aside. I knew his funny little crease would be the first of many lines to come, and I found myself feeling strange as it ...

8 comments 8
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“Aqua Blue Headband” by Will Chu

Submitted to Contest #183

Boom -- Accompanied by a loud noise, a shell across the blue sky, a rock blast shattered, originally entrenched on the reef mermaid hurried into the sea, however, red blood still dyed the sea. "Fire! Fire!" The general stood on a splint, jumping furiously and waving his saber wildly. Under his command, the shells fell like a meteor shower on the sea. "Your Excellency General! We have no more shells!" The general kept growling as his adjutant tried to send him a message. "What? You're a bunch of worthless pigs! Go back to the dock and ...

0 comments 0
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“Modern Kindness:” by Raizy Beaton

Submitted to Contest #183

She had invested everything into this new venture. Faraji had laughed at the new laptop. ‘Modern technology.’ He had claimed just yesterday, his voice still tinged with the old accent. The sharpened pencils beckoned to her. She longed to get out into the world and see the huge expanses of exposure. To draw her world. The four walls of her apartment could not stifle her, she would not allow it. In her mind, the terrible expression on Faraji’s face stifled her as he lived in his brain and yearned in his heart. Her heart ached too but she quell...

6 comments 6
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“What I Want Today” by Michelle SHAAY

Submitted to Contest #183

The light to moderate traffic and sunshine seemed to lessen her notoriously stressful commute. In an attempt to encourage and even demand workers return to the office, Cori’s team had been assigned a difficult but necessary task. Their directive included placing WFH workers on notice about upcoming workplace changes. The changes would significantly impact the workers current schedule flexibility and require 90 percent onsite, in-person interaction with management.According to her Director, a possible hiring freeze was looming and any promoti...

4 comments 4
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“From Your Heart to Mine” by Constance Maple

Submitted to Contest #183

Why am I here?Dr. Bertrand would say it's because of the forty-five years of smoking. And that other doctor -- I can't remember her name -- would say I was an alcoholic. (What head chef doesn't drink on the job?) It wasn't until after my second heart attack that I quit both drinking and smoking, just in case.I admit I could have lost some weight, or at least stopped gaining it. But once I retired, I had all the time in the world to sit around and eat the delicious food I'd been cooking for everyone else all those years.What I want to know is...

4 comments 4
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“Rain Girl” by Elisabeth Bridges

Submitted to Contest #183

Sometimes, during these quiet days that hesitate between spring and summer, I still think of him, and wonder what would have happened if I’d stayed. Our first meeting was like something out of a movie; one of those improbable flickers of magic that remind us why life is worth living. It happened at that hour when the street lights have come to life, but the reflected sunset means it can’t properly be called dark. We were standing at a bus stop when the sky burst open in one of those sudden showers that come without warning in the autumn. S...

4 comments 4
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“Where Loves Winter” by Tatiana .Avdeeva

Submitted to Contest #183

First love             He was my first love, and I know I will never feel anything like that again. I was... 5, and he was... 5 too. In a monstrous, massive yard in the center of a metropolitan city, we were two tiny infant souls in love among a bunch of young and not-so-young kids. When he looked furtively from a far corner of the yard in my direction, intercepting his glance, I pretended not to see, not interested. "Hey, Bobby, go kiss your fiance!" the kids teased us, chicks...

2 comments 2
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“Liar, Liar, Liar” by Regulus T

Submitted to Contest #183

That was the problem, wasn’t it? The way the words spilled out of her mouth before she could pull the tight-lipped face. She’d pretend not to register what she said, that it was simply a truth she was mourning, but the boy's eyes twitched and the right corner of her lip downturned just slightly. There it was again, that weird sense of betrayal that etched its way into the formation of downturned eyebrows that shot back up before the boy could even say anything. It was all one giant problem, and every time she got on the bus, it was noticea...

1 comment 1
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“Gods of Logic and Dream” by Clover Pheasant

Submitted to Contest #183

TW: Suicide, Self-harm, Mental Health "I hate you." The words were pulled from my lips and thrown into her heart like a dagger. Then came the screams. I sat down on our old navy blue sofa, one that creaked loudly with age. There's a twinge of pain when I hear it, knowing I was the one who caused these fractures. All the years of playing hard, throwing myself onto it, and bouncing with joy. I remember rough-housing with my dad. Jumping from the couch knowing he would catch me. There is pain now, knowing that the joy I felt was selfish. ...

3 comments 3
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“Mrs Macintosh” by Kelly Sibley

Submitted to Contest #183

Old lady MacIntosh was a weird old bird who was best left alone. Just ask the neighbourhood kids.  Over the last five years, they had lost countless stray pieces of sports equipment or toys over her fence. It was your typical grumpy old lady who moves into a friendly neighbourhood and just ‘Wants to be left alone’ story… until last week. Last week changed everything.  It all started with a request from our neighbourhood watch coordinator, Jim, who had phoned me out of the blue one night. “Jack, how are you?” “Oh, hi Jim, ...

2 comments 2
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“Love Found Her. ” by Julie Grenness

Submitted to Contest #183

Lacey Moore thought, "Oh no!", as she headed to the loo again. Heaving, she realized she had the dreaded Bali belly. What had she eaten on that fateful trip? Maybe it was last night's takeaway. It all seemed like just yesterday, her holiday in the tropics. As she emerged, looking slightly green around the gills, her sister, Mariah, did a double take. 'What's wrong with you? That's the third time this morning." Lacey's pleasant Sunday morning was further shattered when Mariah asked, "Do you need a pregnancy test?" Some women have sisters. Lac...

2 comments 2
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“Who would have thought?” by Elizabeth Bankes

Submitted to Contest #183

It was 1997 and I’d just returned to Sydney from the James Joyce Summer School in Dublin. I had been inspired by the Irish culture and their use of language although reading Joyce’s works in preparation for the week of study and lectures did prove difficult. My first encounter with James Joyce was going to see Ulysses at the local cinema in my hometown of Stratford, New Zealand, back in 1968 where the audience was gender segregated. I wasn’t yet eighteen but managed to get in. Because of the furore about the book, many, including me, want...

1 comment 1
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“Kamikaze” by Blue Lantern

Submitted to Contest #183

Kamikaze I never believed in destiny or a greater purpose until I met Palmer. She possessed this… fire inside of her that I lost after Robbie died. I had lost the passion in my life– and in Jericho a life without fire, drive, or passion– it’s not quite worth living. Palmer changed that. She changed me. She was the first one I opened up to about Robbie’s death, about the tumor, and… all of the baggage that came with that.  When I told her about the life-sentence they gave me… that my time was limited, she didn’t run like the others. L...

4 comments 4
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“Falling Out” by Erika Mara

Submitted to Contest #183

Do you know what it’s like to fall out of love?   It's intriguing, to put it lightly. I recall the period of denial and pain I went through before the real break-up occurred. I kept trying to persuade myself that I was just going through a bad phase. Things that used to make my world brighter started to bother me. Since there was no longer a physical attraction between us, I was constantly there but never there.   My first love, Jack.  I can still see his face when he said he loved me, but not in the same way. I recall m...

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$250

Prize money

248

Contest entries

125

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 03, 2023 EST

Won by Laurel Hanson 🏆

Title: Of Harpers and Heroes

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!

Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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