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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#185: Hoarding Away

Much like dragons, people love a good hoard. Whether it’s money, objects, or even people, collecting can be a hobby — or an obsession. Our collections might be a maximalist hodge-podge shoved into every nook and cranny, a meticulously organized catalog with every item neatly labeled, or they may not even be tangible at all. Junk or riches, thoughts or feelings, even if we don’t know it, we might be unconsciously clinging on to something.

This week’s prompts evoke treasure troves, keepsakes, and whatever it is that compels us to hold on tightly.

This week's prompts

Write a story about someone who doesn’t know how to let go.

Dramatic – 121 stories

Someone’s beloved collection is destroyed. How do they react?

Adults – 25 stories

Start a story with someone saying, “It’s mine, and you can’t have it!”

Dialogue – 25 stories

Write about a dragon who doesn’t know what to do with their hoard anymore.

Fantasy – 63 stories

Set all or part of your story in a jam-packed storage unit.

Mystery – 46 stories

Stories

“Interview With the Dragon” by Kathryn Minicozzi

Submitted to Contest #185

The makeup man applied a new layer of lipstick and some powder to the woman’s face while one of the tech people handed her a microphone. The two stepped away, out of range of the camera crew, leaving the woman to face the camera alone. “Good evening, everybody,” she spoke into the microphone. “My name is Gloria Smitherigh, and I am about to knock on the door of tonight’s very special interviewee, Mr. C. Robert Dudleigh. Mr. Dudleigh is the sole surviving member of the Dragon Battalion that fought, some would say, terrorized ...

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“A Dragon's Tale” by Lexi Rose

Submitted to Contest #185

It's been many years since I first settled here--I was just a hatchling, barely able to fly."Aileth, my little darling," Mother says to me as she leaves our home, which was hidden in the forest. "I have to leave. You and Mosi will stay here. Wait for me," my older brother watches as she fades into the distance--her shadow heading towards the shouting and screaming from the city."Mosi?" I ask, scared for the answer. "Is mom really coming back?" Mosi just looks at me, curling himself in the corner of the room.Mother never did come back. Mosi w...

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“The Dragon's Hoard” by 3i Writer

Submitted to Contest #185

Once upon a time, there was a man called the Phantom Thief who was notorious for stealing treasures hidden across the world. He owned an island for his hoard and summoned a mystical dragon to safeguard his treasures there. The dragon was happy to accept such a task as it loved shiny objects. Its golden scales, an extremely rare trait for a dragon, could absorb the radiation emitted from golden objects, especially coins that were made of red gold, and convert it to nutritious energy, granting it more power. It could go on without food as long...

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“Stars Not of Gold” by Cassandra Fan

Submitted to Contest #185

1000 years ago, a dragon fell from the heavens, plummeting from the stars. Caught stealing from the Dragon King and sentenced to exile, he was stripped of flight and fell to Earth, only to return once he’d repaid the price of that stolen. With his fall, the Great Mountains shattered into being, Serpent Valley between its peaks. Humanity discovered the dragon, worshiping it out of fear. Cunning, and eager to return above, he demanded an offering for his mercy. Each year, the dragon roamed the fields, collecting gold from each village he passe...

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“The Storage Unit” by David St.George

Submitted to Contest #185

Barb and Art Rogers walked towards Griffin’s Storage Unit Rentals from their car, arguing like they usually did. They had been married twelve years and although the marriage had enjoyed good spots of relative harmony, lately it seemed that one battle followed another. It was Saturday and this day began like other bad days of recent note. “We had better not be wasting our time with this, Barb,” Art said. “I can think of many more worthwhile things to do on my day off than this.” “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Art!” Barb yelled. “You know how muc...

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“ GAWM or not? ” by Mark Nicholson

Submitted to Contest #185

Harris looked around the storage unit, it was stacked floor to ceiling with all Vargas’s cast-offs. Harris was growing to hate the perpetual mocking TOCK of the cheap nasty cuckoo clock. It was one of those mass-produced souvenirs that you bought when you were in the Alps. Just a lump of pine fashioned into a faux Swiss chalet with plastic doors where a cuckoo appeared once an hour to tell you that you were an hour nearer to death. It had a cheap Chinese battery-operated motion instead of the traditional Swiss-made mechanical motion. Harris ...

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“Mr. Smith's storage unit” by Corina P

Submitted to Contest #185

Mr. Smith’s storage unit By Corina Pitt cw: foul language Mr. Smith’s storage unit rests on a quiet street in north London, just behind St Pancras. It stands between an abandoned Chinese restaurant and a non-operative costume shop, its exterior unrevealing of its purpose. I remember the first time we passed by it, the mortified look on my mom’s face as she pointed towards the dark blue door and warned me never to step foot in there. When I asked her why, she would always reply with the same mysterious tone: ‘He is a dangerous man’. G...

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“An Irresistible Offer” by Dan Coglianese

Submitted to Contest #185

Unit B212. That’s where they sent us. My mother sent me because I’m 19 years old and “have the energy”. My cousin Naomi is here for the same reason. Although she’s 20. Her mom and my mom are sisters, and apparently they have the same ideas about youth, our unlimited energy, and naiveté when it comes to free physical labor. Our great-grandmother passed away at age 95 last week. This storage unit was hers, and had to be cleaned out by the end of the month or they would lock it ...

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“Little Units of Life” by MJ Simons

Submitted to Contest #185

Impending summer has a smell. For some, it’s the briny scent of the ocean, for me it’s the chlorinated smell of a pool. When I was younger, I looked forward to swimming in the pool and eating nachos from the snack bar all summer. The summer before my freshman year in high school, there was one day when instead of swimming, my friends and I spent the day helping my brother look for some fancy baseball cards in our jam-packed storage unit. He promised to take us to the arcade and the carnival, so we readily agreed.I remember that day vivi...

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“Home staging” by J.P. Falk

Submitted to Contest #185

Claire and I stood in the middle of “the storage unit”, as Claire kept calling it. I’m not prone to phobias, but believe me, it’s damn near impossible not to feel claustrophobic, when you’re surrounded by endless rows of precariously stacked piles of heavy objects, some of them looking alarmingly sharp, most of them looking as if they may tumble down any second. Packed to the brim. You’ve guessed it: this was no ordinary storage unit. Not something built to harbour a couple of forgotten moving boxes and great-grandma’s favourite rocking chai...

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“Mr. Halpern’s Puzzle” by David B Fraser

Submitted to Contest #185

“Mr. Halpern, let go of the table.” Nessa said, trying to pull him back in his wheelchair. “My puzzle.” Pieces began to slide off as the table tipped under his grip. “Mr. Halpern, it is time for your lunch.” As more pieces slid off, Nessa stopped pulling on the wheelchair to pick them up off the floor. As she put the pieces on the table again, Mr. Halpern turned the ones over that were showing their cardboard side so they all showed their picture sides again. Nessa returne...

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“Vaudeville is Dead and Maybe Captain Billy Too” by Bob Banel

Submitted to Contest #185

Author's Note: The saga of the Good Tugboat Samson continues. Starting in Contest #180 and #184. Captain Billy Chunk and his crew face new challenges from outside and inside on the waters of Puget Sound.It was early Monday morning aboard the Good Tug Boat Samson. The crew was mustered in the Galley for a Safety Meeting. The topic of the Monthly Safety Packet was "Ladders: Step Up to Safety!". Ladders? A sense of Deja Vu washed over Captain Billy as he was certain he had heard this topic for the umpteenth time. The verbose Mister Mate Mark be...

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“CLEAR OUT” by ROB MOLAN

Submitted to Contest #185

I have to make a start today as I'm not sure how much time is left. But where to begin? I decide the bedroom should be the first destination. I can just about open the door and get in between the pile of magazines on one side and boxes on the other. I switch on the light to survey the landfill. The bed confronts me, the duvet pulled back on the side I slept on last night and an untidy pile of unused towels, pink, blue, white and all the colours in between, lying opposite. Reaching the window to open the curtains is a step too far as I will...

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“The Monkey's Fist” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #185

He knows the story of the monkey trapped by the bushman. Of course he knows that story, he knows a lot of stories. Stories are something he indulges himself in. The ebb and the flow of the words sooth him and for a while he forgets where he is. Just for a while. The words are sounds and little more. They make their music and then they are gone. He has access to stories from this room, and he has access to much more, but none of it has any substance, there is no meaning to be had. Nothing matters, none of it is real. That’s fine by him. O...

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“Collection of a Young Life” by Ana Palacio

Submitted to Contest #185

Another year had come and gone. I sobbed as I looked around the empty room. The bright pink room that was once filled to the brim with toys, books, and clothes, a perfect preservation of a 7 year old’s life, now blankly stared back at me. I turned to the corner of the room, where a bulging trash bag lay. I didn’t need to actually look, and I really couldn’t, with my vision blurred by the fat teardrops I hadn’t let fall the whole year. Yet I could imagine the contents of the trash bag: the fidget Hello Kitty...

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$250

Prize money

280

Contest entries

138

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 17, 2023 EST

Won by Lynda Williams 🏆

Title: Jesus and Jockeys

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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