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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

“Dear to My Heart” by Deni Bee

Submitted to Contest #185

Some references to war and its atrocities. Papa was a university professor before the war— before we were forced to build a bomb shelter in the woods behind our home— before that dark day, when we were forced to use it to hide from those who said they were there to protect us. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ &nbsp...

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“Boxed” by Angie Brocker

Submitted to Contest #185

Doran was a latchkey kid before it became popular, walking alone to and from school as though danger didn’t follow her everywhere. An only child, she grew accustomed to herself quickly. By the age of seven, many of her summer afternoons were spent twirling in circles until her brain became muddled with thoughts of her existence and who she truly was underneath her skin and bones. The dizzying thoughts she felt separate from her tiny body were a relief from feeling lonely. Always wanting to connect with what was inside, Doran embraced uncomfo...

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“Old Man Jenkins” by Kev Neylon

Submitted to Contest #185

Everyone knew Old Man Jenkins was a hoarder. His house had been deemed a fire hazard decades ago, piles of all sorts of everything making the inside of it like a maze, one in almost complete darkness as natural light couldn’t get in through the windows, covered as they were with boxes and piles of rubbish, and no one wanted to turn the lights on for the fear of their bare bulbs sparking a fire on one of the many piles of books, magazines, or papers. It had got so bad his wife had left him before the new millennium had started, sick of state ...

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“A Hoard without Purpose” by Maria DiFranco

Submitted to Contest #185

Gwyneth huffed as she climbed the mountain. She had no sword and no armor; both had been stolen by the dragon. Many other things had been stolen too, and not just her things. Her father’s sword, which the elves had gifted to him, disappeared one night. The minute hand of the town’s clocktower also had vanished, leaving a ragged and bent stump behind that still ticked pathetically as it counted the time. Her king’s flag had been ripped in half, the guards’ helmets taken right off their heads, and even the royal treasury had lost half its weal...

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“Daddy Was A Saver” by Nancy Malcolm

Submitted to Contest #185

Daddy Was A Saver My Daddy was a “saver.” A procurer of particulars...a frugal forager. It was probably because he was a product of the Depression, but for whatever reason, if you needed ‘it,’ he had it, at least one and an alternate. When Daddy passed away we found boxes full of souvenirs, balls of twine, ink pens, jars of nails and business cards. We found his report cards, measuring tapes, hundreds of bank statements and thousands of photographs labeled neatly into chronological albums. There were boxes, bags, and ...

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“Dragon My Heart” by Andrew Fruchtman

Submitted to Contest #185

So, it had been five hundred years, as usual, since the last meeting of the Dragoneers Club and at the most recent meeting Puff had caught some serious shade from his fellow brother and sister dragons. Sure he had been made famous in the Sixties because of that popular eponymous song, but that kid Jackie Paper had left him with a big problem and a reputation as a dysfunctional Hoarder. You see dragons were supposed to hoard gold in some form or other and all Puff had were strings, sealing wax, and other fancy stuff, none of which were g...

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“Metro Station Call” by Elaina F

Submitted to Contest #185

The groans of the trains in the metro station are rivaled only by the trill of a man speaking rapid Spanish to his wife across the tracks. The red line roars through the metro station, heading to a destination somewhere outside the city. The cement bench under me is cold. I do not mind. My remorseful suitcase sits on the bench next to me. The process of packing felt like a dissociation, someone else, a hopeful lover, folding the clothes instead of me. My phone balances in my hand, and this call has been short. A voice inside me pus...

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“Golden rain” by Jester Patatoe

Submitted to Contest #185

As the crimson sun disappears into the large dark clouds and the rain drips down on the green grass and a cave larger than the biggest mountains shows a dark shadow One with large red horns, crystal blue eyes, large red hands threatening to break the stone under and teeth that could break the finest of armor’s. As the beast steps out of the cave's shadow it reveals to be a powerful dragon with scales of crimson and wings as long as the god’s wisdom. Its powerful presence threatens to be larger than anything, as the dragon roars the eart...

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“THE ANGEL WITH FLOWERY WINGS” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #185

THE ANGEL WITH FLOWERY WINGS Richard, who had always been a framer, had begun to collect every work of painting that he happened to find or that he could afford to buy since, for almost a long time now, with the advent of contemporary art, painting seemed a forgotten practice, certainly no longer considered an art. If you continued to paint in the era of installations and video art you were at best a craftsman, certainly not an artist. But you could also be considered a troglodyte or a poor fool. Richard had always been passionate ab...

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“The Faith Of Thelma Faye” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #185

The Faith of Thelma Faye I remember feeling protected as I snuggled in the warmth of my mother's strong arms. My bed was veiled in a green canopy. She spread her warmth so wide it encompassed our whole world as we could see it. And there were a lot of us. She was like the old women who lived in a shoe. So many children... Except she knew. She sheltered and nurtured us and taught us everything she could before setting us free out into a world unknown. She taught our family history and mysteries of what could be. When gentle breezes rustled ...

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“Of Breath and Blood” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #185

Princess Hannah awakened in dim, cold light. Her head ached. Confined within rigid walls, she couldn’t move. Something smelled bad. Groping to consciousness, she sensed eyes upon her. Grotesque faces watched wherever she turned. But moving she realized they were reflections of herself. As bad as she felt, she hoped these hideous images were not true. ‘No princess could survive looking so wretched. Am I dead? If I look like that, this must be hell.’ Memories of last night’s palace ball came in fragments. The minstrel artfully played his lyr...

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“Post” by Jamie Campbell

Submitted to Contest #185

Post August 18 My dearest Cora, I don’t know how to begin. I’ve been staring at this blank page for the better part of an hour, I think. I tried everything to reach you and Rebecca before finally coming down here. I’m in the Jolesons’ old fallout shelter, under the hatch in the floor of their garage. You remember, don’t you? I suppose that if you’re reading this, you’ve reached the house and you already know all that. Please hurry. God, I pray that you’re both safe. I don’t know how I imagine this will reach you. I’m writing for the sa...

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“An Old Woman's Dilemma” by Mustang Patty

Submitted to Contest #185

Her head was spinning. How could her sons have done this? Was it because they thought she was dying? Willamena felt every bit of her sixty-nine-year-old body, but the little girl inside was hurting. Or was it rage? Memories of her recent journey to the hospital weren’t clear, but she did remember her Tuesday morning. But according to the nurse who came in to adjust her IV, it was now Friday. But though she remembered Tuesday, February 11th, it was now Friday, March 4th. The pictures on her phone made her cry. Not just a few tears fall...

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“A Thimble of Murder” by Miriam Culy

Submitted to Contest #185

Layla shoved her hands deep into her duffle coat pockets, as far away from the biting cold of the February wind as she could get them. The doughnut stand’s enticing waft of frying sugar could not overpower the burning embers that haunted her nostrils, nor could the music in her earphones drown out the crackle of the flames as they consumed each beloved possession. She could still see the empty ashtray of a room that had once been her pride and joy. Shaking her head, she glanced at her surroundings, the ones around her and not in her head, an...

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“Dagwood the Dragon” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #185

For centuries, Dagwood and his family had flown over the countryside, burning, and pillaging every village in their path. His father, Felonias, was the most feared dragon in the realm, and taught Dagwood and his siblings the ways of their ancestors. Each dragon was empowered with their own special gift. Firestorm, the eldest, could create blue flames that would incinerate anything it came in contact with. Tempest, the only female of the dragon siblings, held the power of the...

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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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