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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#196: In Another Life

Recently, I’ve been reflecting on the way making a single decision, big or small, can cause your life to fork off in an entirely new direction. There are the obvious crossroads, the big life choices, and then there are the tiny ones; ones we fail to notice are taking place every single day. Waiting at the crosswalk instead of jaywalking, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, spending an extra 10 minutes scrolling through social media — even these non-events can make the difference between a life-altering incident happening, or not happening.

But what if we could access those paths we didn’t take? Would we go back and choose a different route for our lives? What if we could sense those “sliding doors” moments as they happened? This week's prompts are inspired by this classic sci-fi dilemma, and by the coulda, shoulda, woulda’s we all live with every day.

This week's prompts

Write about a character unknowingly experiencing a “sliding doors” moment. Write your story in two halves; what could have been, and what actually happened.

Dramatic – 62 stories

Write a story that includes the phrase “Maybe in another life.”

Dialogue – 74 stories

You’re walking down the street, when you spot a familiar figure. It’s another you. And they’ve come from an alternate reality to warn you about something.

Thriller and Suspense – 32 stories

Write a story involving a portal into a parallel universe.

Science Fiction – 61 stories

Set your story in a world where time travel has been perfected, and people can use it to hop between alternate timelines — but at a cost.

Dystopian – 50 stories

Stories

“A long way ahead” by Henrry Peinella

Submitted to Contest #196

I will explain why I took this decision and don’t regret it. I am also going to explain how time travel works.During my entire life, I was always interested in time travel, however, I was not more than an “aficionado,” never to become a real professional. You have to be an actual genius to be taken seriously and be part of the SITTS, the biggest and only real center dedicated specifically to time travel. I was intelligent enough to know I was not intelligent enough to work there.Up until the time this idea crossed my mind for the first time,...

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“Have You Found What You’re Looking For? Is It Everything You Wanted? (Alternatively: Happy Endings Are For Losers)” by Serena Zhang

Submitted to Contest #196

Yang finds that life is not so different after time begins again, at least compared to his original timeline. He mostly wanders around counting his steps and trying to remember. He’s always trying to remember. One thing they don’t tell you about time travel is how hard it is on the human body and psyche. Yang remembers reading about a man who held the universal record for time jumps. By the time he retired, his body was riddled with all sorts of cancers, some common and treatable, others yet undiscovered by science, the cancerous cells havin...

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“Fated Rain” by Vaishnavi Katta

Submitted to Contest #196

Elliot was nervous, beyond nervous, beyond anxious. Was there even a word for how fast his heart was beating? He supposed if it existed, it could be found in a medical school textbook. With a few sprays of cologne and a little gel in his hair, he decided he was ready, or at least as ready as he could be. He clenched his fist to his chest and took a few deep breaths. This was it, a date with the girl of his dreams. Elliot met Lola in class two months ago and sat next to her every day since. It was a small discussion about the philoso...

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“A Major Decision” by Madeline Honig

Submitted to Contest #196

“I couldn't put it off any longer. I had to choose,” Victoria said into the phone. Victoria had called to tell her mother the exciting news. It took her a long time and many pros and cons lists to decide. But now she was sure, she had finally chosen a major to study in college. The decision of picking a major had been weighing on her for two years and she couldn’t put it off any longer. She took classes in as many subjects that interested her. That is how she knew she didn’t want to study Chemistry, Anthro...

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“What Could Have Been” by Amber Medina

Submitted to Contest #196

Amber wiped the tears from her face and turned the AC vent towards her. She closed her cerise, puffy eyes, rested her temple against the cool glass of the truck window, and welcomed the blast of frigid air against her torrid face. Zoe, quite astute for her 15 years, and could always tell when she'd been crying, and she did not want to talk about it yet. She hadn't been able to convince him to come back home. He hadn't come right out and admitted the affair, but she knew. She wasn't stupid. Nor was she desperate. She wasn't going to be...

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“In Another Turn” by Catherine Hudson

Submitted to Contest #196

Kali Sometimes the goddess Parvati and I argue over who has more power, she or I. Parvati, as one of the goddesses of love, of course claims that love is the most powerful of phenomenon. Particularly as it relates to motherhood since the love of motherhood embodies the power of instinct and survival as well. My argument is that as the goddess of destruction, I have more power, as love can only do so much in the face of the various destructive forces that humans seem to bring upon themselves in their ...

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“What happened to this life??????” by Deepika Gorji

Submitted to Contest #196

DEE IS FREE NO DEE IS NOT FREE Well, that's the main question, and why not since that's the main question? The dee I know is really innocent and so full of energy not sure how this fullness became so many compromised characters. Maybe because there was so much to happen. The girl who was a free bird and knew no limits trying to part the world with surprises of yes “Girls can do it” to the notion of “There is nothing I cannot do” This character and daddy's girl never knew she will ever be afraid of people and relationship. The day she finis...

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“The Rhythm of a Thousand Armies” by Mira Flowers

Submitted to Contest #196

On purple ceilings, we dance to the rhythm of a thousand armies. We twirl with the shots, stomp at the falls, and duck when the enemy advances. Smiles litter the dance floor, but the destruction is at our windows. The music cannot be heard over screams, but it is still music, still sound. Majestic balls contain blood, and power is walking on graves. The chandeliers threaten to fall with the motions. They dangle, shining, glittering, horrifying. The theme was crimson trouble. Skirts and dresses skate across the vicinity in their red glory. At...

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“Reflections in a Sliding Door” by Alison Lawrence

Submitted to Contest #196

“Hellllp! Help me!!” I screamed into the sliding door. “I don’t know what to do! Help me!” The door slid right down the wall Slipping right under my fingers I ran over to the end of the hallway and caught it just in time, my fingers grasping the door handle just in time for the wall to twist and turn but I held tightly on and fell painfully sideways against the wall as it twisted once more. I pushed with all my strength and the door slid open long enough for me to throw my whole weight toward the opening. The sl...

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“Select Your New Avatar” by Phoenix Nova

Submitted to Contest #196

Once upon a time, there was a young man named Jake. He loved playing video games. He always selected the female character as his avatar. One day Jake wasn’t watching where he was going and was hit by a car and died. To his surprise, as soon as he died, his consciousness was transported to a calm white room with ambient music playing. He was sitting at a desk with an unfamiliar computer in front of him. A female voice spoke the words “Thank you for playing. You are now dead. In case you didn’t know already...

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“Concealed ” by Kate Wright

Submitted to Contest #196

Trigger warnings: guns, poor mental health, mentions of past bullying, swearing. * People wouldn't underestimate me any more unless I wore a sign with a list of suggestions as to how they might manage the task. Part of it was how I looked, most of which I honestly couldn't help. If you googled the term "femboy" someone has probably posted my picture with it. People liked to use words like "slender" and "willowy", but my penchant for fishnets and heels quickly got me dubbed a "trap" and a "disappointment to my parents". I was conside...

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“A Cancer in Time” by Daniel James

Submitted to Contest #196

It had been a week since the incident, one day since the funeral, and my grandfather had yet to reach out. Every text and call I made to him went without response, and then today my phone finally dinged and showed his name pop up on the lock screen. He was coming over. I had considered going to his flat before hearing from him, but he had always handled grief in his own very specific way. Mom had once told me that when she was a child and she had first been diagnosed with ca...

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“Doppelganger ” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #196

There are things that really freak me out. Listening to someone tell an urban legend when I live in lower Manhattan is guaranteed to give me the willies. I live alone and so it is easy to rattle my cage, especially since I am a timid sort to begin with. My name is Alex Weedly and I am a junior executive at an imaging company known as Scott’s Solutions. I make enough to comfortably afford a loft apartment near the Chelsea Hotel. I am telling you this so you will understand my trepidation about something th...

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“Who are You” by Ralph Aldrich

Submitted to Contest #196

Melbourne O’Day doesn’t like people. He goes out of his way to avoid them. It angers him to deal with them, but he must work to pay his bills. Melbourne is the manager of a hamburger joint, and employee turnover is tremendous. Because of his nasty disposition, everyone he hires quits a few weeks later. However, because the hamburgers taste delicious, the constant flow of new employees doesn’t affect business. As a result, the spot on the wall for employee of the month is always vacant.The only woman in his...

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“A Matter of Oneself” by Quin Vinistra

Submitted to Contest #196

September winds blew through the streets, and people I knew scurried inside buildings. I merely pulled my scarf up over my mouth and shoved my hands into my pockets. The library was in sight, still open. I walked up the rugged stairs into the warm building. Pulling my hood down, I looked around for my lady. The library was the same as it has always been, with shelves stacked high and a fresh scent of paper that never wavered, even with how many stinky school kids came in. “Quin, there you are!” Ms. Cathreen Greenlands said, coming in fr...

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$250

Prize money

279

Contest entries

149

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - May 05, 2023 EST

Won by Delbert Griffith 🏆

Title: The Bullet that Esther Stopped

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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