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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

“Peanut Butter and Sugar” by Tricia King

Submitted to Contest #183

(Sensitive Content: Drug use and violence) I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes and the rage building in my chest. Like a fireball squeezing my heart until everything was blurred. My face was hot. I put my hand to my cheek and could feel a handprint welting up over my skin. I pressed my lips together and my body shuddered. I knew my brothers heard the smack of Aprils hand across my face from the living room, over their cartoons over their crunching cereal. They knew better than to move from where they were. My sister was mean. I c...

1 comment 1
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“Feathers and Fur” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #183

Feathers and FurThis is a tale,Of forbidden love,Condemned by all creatures,And doomed from above.Noah understood. It wasn’t just man that should not be alone. All of God’s creatures crave companionship. Life is constructed in pairs.The farm was a veritable smorgasbord of livestock- cows, horses, pigs, and chickens. A small army of cats patrolled the area in search of rats, mice, ground squirrels, and other undesirable forms of life. Farmer John and his wife Betsy lived in the big old house up near the road. The only lonely soul was Monty, t...

9 comments 9
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“Carl's Cuts” by Wendy Rogers

Submitted to Contest #183

“quack, quack, quack, quack….” Carl groaned and turned over, rubbing his eyes. He touched the snooze button on his phone. 5:30, he didn’t have much of a commute. The barber shop was just downstairs, but he wanted to be ready for the day. He got up slowly, steadying his feet on the floor. He walked over to the window, and moved the curtains aside, no sun today, only grey rain drops on the glass. He felt a soft, light touch on his calf. Looking down, there was Phoenix, the calico that had shown up on his doorstep over a year ago. Car...

6 comments 6
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“My Neighbor The Cat” by Denese Wright

Submitted to Contest #183

My Neighbor The Cat is a short story about a stray cat and the impact she had on the lives of two people, who were also trying to make it out of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic hardship alive and with their sanity. While leaning my head against the back of the sofa one day, a stray cat walked into my living room and meowed at me. I was unpleasantly surprised, knowing they tend to wonder into peoples kitchens and I really didn’t like cats. It was careless of me.  I usually keep the doors closed. My name is Jo-Anne, an...

6 comments 6
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“We’re just too different” by Kathy Frizzell

Submitted to Contest #183

As the darkness falls, the clouds grow lower from the sound of thunder drumming in the night air and the swift falling rain. A quiet whisper in the far distance, I saw a shimmer, what I thought was a small light of glowing fairies. In the land of Spirit Falls where I was born and raised. On this night, all curled up sitting by the fireplace listening to the sound of thunder and falling rain, just then a gust of wind chilled me through the bone as if something or someone was there! I am going to stop there and give you a little hist...

0 comments 0
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“Happy Anniversary” by Eric Barry

Submitted to Contest #183

“We’re just too different.” Daniel slips his withered hand out from underneath my own. He gives my shoulder a squeeze and groans as he picks himself up from our shared Sertapedic. He crosses the room and pauses at the door to pull his cane from around the knob. I close my eyes and smile. We’ve had this conversation before, and in the past, I may have fought to change his mind. Today, I let him pause and look back at me. “Take care of yourself, Marv.” The soft thump-thump-thud of his footsteps down the stairs disappears. The front door cre...

2 comments 2
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“Those Lightning Eyes” by Carlie Beth

Submitted to Contest #183

It’s 8:44 PM and pitch black outside. Not even the moonlight is shining through my office window tonight. The missing moon makes this room seem even darker than usual. The only light I have is coming from a lamp sitting in the corner, but it’s only bright enough to see the door and a calendar hanging on the wall. Across from the door, is me, sitting at my desk staring wide-eyed at that dangling calendar… trying to process what just happened. My managers just left my office about ten minutes ago. I'm getting transferred in a week, “...

2 comments 2
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“The Follicle Chronicles - Pt.3: Hirsute Pursuit” by Jim Firth

Submitted to Contest #183

Nothing is complicated with Mace. According to him, infiltrating Madam Scanlon’s private grounds will be as straightforward as ‘taking a dump’. Sometimes, I think we’re just too different to work together, but he has this undeniable knack for getting things done.He parks his pickup truck next to the compound boundary so we can scale the wall. ‘Mind the drop on the other side,’ he warns me. ‘And watch out for the moss.’ But I slip on the green slime, and tumble off the wall into a hedge that provides perfect camouflage. I wriggle do...

10 comments 10
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“The Zeitgeist of Big Pharma” by KT George

Submitted to Contest #183

Lollie was terrified of men starting with the OB/GYN who delivered her. Calathea was co-dependent, always needing a friend to do just about anything, even going to the bathroom. Butters, nicknamed after the South Park character, had just escaped an abusive relationship. Beau was on the autism spectrum and had ADHD. Evie had a brain tumor that caused her to have seizures. Estelle was terminally ill with a rare form of cancer. Tony was so overweight that he couldn't even get gastric bypass surgery until he lost a hundred pounds. Helen, also kn...

5 comments 5
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“Each Way the Wind Blows” by J K Sylvester

Submitted to Contest #183

The brown, large-billed bird was feeding on this morning of cruising across the shoreline, stretching his giant wingspan and decidedly displaying his dominance amongst the other shorebirds on the ground. He was a predator. He was no scavenger. He was majestic and seemed to react to the stares of importance he felt from other creatures in his environment amid the crashing waves and tides. He held his head and neck high and his keen eyes on the water where his superb eyesight provided a deep look into the mix of sediment and salty currents, al...

2 comments 2
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“The Conspiracy ” by Cody Reed

Submitted to Contest #183

 Why did it have to be today? I know Colorado’s weather is unpredictable, and it’s January, but things were fine yesterday. A warm 64 degrees with no storm in sight, and today I look at my phone and there it is. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY snow fall and low visibility in affect until 12 am midnight. Great. And where am I headed now? To the airport to catch a flight I have been planning on taking for months now.I arrive at Denver International Airport or DIA with plenty of time to get through TSA security, and cram in my lines for my up...

3 comments 3
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“When we met again ” by Eva Milana

Submitted to Contest #183

When I imagined reconnecting with my father, I had different scenarios each time. In some, I'd run up to him and squeeze him with a giant hug, ignoring the large gap of time between us. In others, I'd hold myself at a polite distance, briefly nodding a hello before walking away, carrying on with my life.  All these years, I imagined how it would be, and the kinds of things we would talk about. If we'd laugh together and be happy again. Would he regret what he's done? Would I find the courage to forgive him?  And finally, would ...

5 comments 5
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“Don't Shoot the Messenger” by Jesse Upchurch

Submitted to Contest #183

Content Warning: Physical violence, gore or abuse; Suicide or self harm Bernice could not hold in her excitement. Her shift only had a few minutes left. She could see her relief, Alex, outside smoking a cigarette. She stared past him, to the cars lining up on the highway. She might be a few minutes late, but she was finally going to meet Danny, the boy she had been talking to on Tinder for the last few weeks. What would his voice sound like? Would he look like his picture? What would he smell like? “E...

3 comments 3
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“Arrivals and Departures” by Edel McCarthy

Submitted to Contest #183

                                        Arrivals and Departures The sound of sirens was distant. Smoke billowed, thick and dense. Amid the chaos and screaming, Tess knew she was okay. She just knew it. Someone somewhere was watching over her. Within seconds of crossing the road to join the queue for taxis caught up in rush hour traffic, the glas...

4 comments 4
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“Let's Pretend We're Lovers” by Ella D'Andreano

Submitted to Contest #183

“I love you,” Allison Carter said to the girl holding a knife to her neck in the gray alleys of the subway station. Underneath the sun, the towering buildings and the gleam off the windows in the reflection of Allison’s sunglasses, there was the caricature of what she thought New York was like. People bellowed on their phones, paced past her without looking up, shouted in the corners, talked to the wall, and fell asleep on the floor.  Every time while getting on the subway, ready to act confident and careless like she’s done this her e...

2 comments 2
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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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