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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#191: Sakura

Spring is finally here! In Japan, the season is famously marked by the mass blooming of cherry blossoms, also known as sakura, an event so beautiful it attracts tourists from all over the world. Due to its impressive yet short-lived blooming, the flower symbolizes the fascinatingly transient nature of life — but it’s also associated with a message of renewal, and hope for the future.

To celebrate the new season, this week’s prompts are inspired by cherry blossoms and the feelings they evoke year after year 一 we hope they’ll bloom into great stories!

This week's prompts

Start your story with your character(s) going to buy some flowers.

Spring – 78 stories

Write about a character who is starting to open up to life again.

Character – 68 stories

Write a story about a character who’s late to witness a special event.

Funny – 25 stories

Make Japan (or Japanese culture) an element of your story.

Narrative – 37 stories

Write a story that includes someone saying, “I feel alive.”

Dialogue – 68 stories

Stories

“Whatever It Takes” by Linda Lovendahl

Submitted to Contest #191

Her hip-length shoulder bag bounced against my knees as she threaded her tiny self through the mouse-width space between me and the news racks jammed into the corner of the train station. Surprised, I pulled back into my seat to avoid further contact. She proceeded to shove the racks out of their parallel order along the wall far enough apart so they jutted out into the waiting room at odd angles. I inhaled. What could she be doing? I wondered. At first I accepted her hectic gestures as a match to what I assumed to be the mindless echoes o...

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“Joe's Bouquet” by Myranda Wren

Submitted to Contest #191

Before Joe turned the street corner, he heard the telltale sound of the rolling steel shutters that signaled the store was closing. Joe leaned heaving on his cane, the orthotics in the new orthopedic sneakers his wife had bought him doing more to create blisters than comfort. He stared down at the ugly orange shoes, they had been on sale and his wife just loved a sale. His wife, the flowers, he took a breath and trudged forward. Turning the corner he saw the smooth metal aluminum shutter covering the store entrance and a lock. Whoever worked...

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“Of Hasty Conclusions and the Gift of Flowers” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #191

Of Hasty Conclusions and The Gift of Flowers I was in such a bad mood on that day, for a number of reasons, some serious, some just plain foolish. I should have kept my sarcasm and nasty attitude to myself, where they belonged. But no, I had to let all the nastiness spill out. I even shocked myself somewhat, with what I said, which is saying something. If I had heard someone else saying the words that burst out of my mouth, I would most probably have though...

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“French Women Always Know What to Say” by •Bubble _ Tea •

Submitted to Contest #191

French Women Always Know What to Say I was Hemingway-crazed in those days. Freshly minted divorce decree: quit claim deed; unemployment under review, but today was a sunny day. Lifted a tulip from the tall, generous vase by the geraniums at Eglantine Fleurs. Around the corner strafed every kiosk for an English printing of Moveable Feast. La Nef des Fous was wedged onto rue Ste-Croix-de-la-Bretonnerie at the edge of the Marais, my adopted arrondissement. Little wonder every book was French; salty irony it’s a love boutiq...

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“Daisies for Delilah” by Victoria Haneveer

Submitted to Contest #191

The bell tinkled lightly as Gerry strolled into the florist. He inhaled deeply, enjoying the combination of delicate scents in the air. He looked around the small shop and saw many types of flowers – elegant lilies, beautiful roses, bright carnations, and sweet daisies were just some of the blooms on display. Every time Gerry came to this florist, he would choose something different or ask Lily, the florist, to come up with something special. This was his Friday ritual and the perfect beginning to every weekend. Delilah adored flo...

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“Flowers and Grapes Lead to a Date” by Diana Alexia

Submitted to Contest #191

...I can buy myself flowers... Jessica hummed to the latest hit by Mylie Cyrus on her headphones. It was definitely the jam and, ironically, what was playing as she browsed the flower section of her grocery store. She loved bringing home fresh flowers every week while doing her shopping. It gave her home a life that her fake plants just could not do. This week was filled with new choices as they finally entered spring after a brutal and cold winter. Today, she chose sunflowers and baby's breath to take home. Jessica was not exactly su...

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“Marked” by Glenda Toews

Submitted to Contest #191

(Warning; Adult Content. This fictional story is based on real events. The real events were difficult for this author to write and may be difficult for the reader to read.“ я куплю цветы. I’ll buy the flowers.” He cracked his gum and tucked his sunglasses into the neck of his fitted tee. He smelled good. Expensive cologne fused with aniline leather, it smelled like money, a lot of money. He knew it. He did it intentionally.He was an eight dressed up as a ten. Ten was power and power was what he inhaled. Controlled. Calculated. Clever.They ca...

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“A Reunion” by Alaina Armendariz

Submitted to Contest #191

They say when you meet the love of your life, time stops. What they don’t say, is when you meet your ex-boyfriend in the middle of a flower market while wearing day old make-up and a threadbare “Pluto revolve in peace” sweatshirt, time grinds to a halt and rewinds at rapid fire speed, drenching you in memories like a bucket of ice water. The flower market was devoid of its usual freneticism that morning, which should have been the first clue that my day was going to be anything but ordinary. ‘Leo’s Flower House’ was the most popular flower ...

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“They were just flowers. ” by Suria Sandhu

Submitted to Contest #191

I stood. Transfixed in a tormenting daze, my sunken pupils met the array of tones, laid out in rows of deepest and dimmest along the market stall. The various shades and colours rebounding amongst the delicate fabric walls, my steady gaze encapsulated within the many hues and my limbs suspended in hesitance. A feeling of inability washing over me to break the monotonous cycle of my eyes circling between my body, mind and sight. The echo of coins rattling, paper rustling, witnessing petals withering before me, flower heads which were drooping...

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“Flowers for Mom” by Diana Moor

Submitted to Contest #191

A young woman stood paused on a quiet sidewalk, eyes closed, listening to the birdsong and the breeze. Taking a deep breath, the powerful aroma of blooming flowers wrapped around her, soothing her heart. Opening her eyes, she continued walking down the street; staring ahead but her mind far away, in glimpses of a woman laughing, sitting in the sun, or stopping to smell the flowers. A couple blocks later, she found her destination: a quaint flower shop, sandwiched in between a laundromat and a tattoo parlor. Opening the door with a fai...

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“Love & Kaiju” by Ryan Does

Submitted to Contest #191

Rin will love these. Izumi breathed in the refreshing, floral scent of the fresh cut cherry blossom bouquet. The peaceful moment of smelling the flowers was broken with the sound of nearby traffic and bustling citizens moving about the busy streets of Tokyo. The heart of Japan’s largest metropolis never stopped beating; it hardly slowed down. Though drowned in noise and the clamor of the busy streets, Izumi smiled wide at the thought of the welcome he would get once he returned home with Rin’s favorite flowers. Izumi paid the vendor pr...

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“Two Strangers (On a Bench in the Rain)” by Lenore Corbeau

Submitted to Contest #191

it's raining. the rain is light and sparse, but the droplets are thick, and when they plink on the ground they splash. it's a pretty, early spring rain. puddles collect in the divots in the concrete. the streets become slick. the trees drink their fill. it's a warm rain. it's falling from a purely white sky. there are two strangers sitting on a park bench. the first raises an umbrella to shield his perfectly coiffed hair. he wears a long overcoat and a big silver watch on his left wrist. he checks the time. the other stranger is lo...

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“Under the cherry blossom” by Amy May

Submitted to Contest #191

(Sensitive content: Contains mentions of substance abuse, suicide and mental health) She will never forget the day her world changed forever. It had happened on a warm spring day as she was on her way to the hospital to pick up the methadone that stopped her from pummelling back into her painkiller addiction. She trudged along dragging her feet, too self absorbed to lift her face and look out at the beautiful nature. Her mind was filled with horror of the past 12 months. Sometimes she couldn't believe all the events that had unfolded in suc...

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“Pushover” by Ernie-Rose Wayer

Submitted to Contest #191

Family is undoubtedly the most cursed gift known to mankind. You believe this because you've constantly reminded yourself of it. Since you were a wee little child of nine, you came to believe that while the word was highly praised and revered in your society, it meant nothing but the most foolish and detrimental of bonds.You are sitting by your bedside table, your open window providing a view of cherry blossom trees, your Montblanc pen poised in your left hand. Your palms are sweaty and dripping all over your journal, but that doesn't bother...

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“The Fields of Renewal: Seeds of Change” by Noelle Wojnar

Submitted to Contest #191

**DISCLAIMER/TRIGGER WARNING: death, loss, mental health issues, alcoholism, mention of suicide, grief** There is duality in the spring. The pink bursts of the cherry blossoms are all around us, the wind becomes much kinder, warmer. The sun decides in its infinite power to embrace us yet again. The dark is kept at bay, and indecision dissolves. But, spring welcomes change, and all who know, realize that the wheel continues to turn. … I came here as a person stuck between two worlds. A part of me, still, is left in the city, alone in th...

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$250

Prize money

276

Contest entries

170

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Mar 31, 2023 EST

Won by Pari Ghodsi 🏆

Title: Lilies

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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