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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

“JOURNEY TO ANOTHER TIME” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #196

Maybe in another life I can go to the past or to a different reality and see what life is like for those people. For generations I wondered about the past, about all those people who came before me, the good and the bad. I also wonder about the people who could possible live in a world that is identical to mine own. Are the people the same as the people in my world or are they different? Do we live in the same time period? The past comes alive in my head, the images of the people sit within me ready to be rediscovered. The events of the p...

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“Lou” by Cody Olson

Submitted to Contest #196

Lou won’t crack a smile for shit. We’ve been attached at the hip for twenty-plus years and I’ve seen it maybe ten times. He’s not depressed or anything, that’s just the way he’s always been. I spent some time early on trying to figure him out, but that investigative intrigue fell away quick. Lou didn’t make me guess who he was or what he was about, he showed me. See, with most people you gotta read their expressions to find out who they are and what they like. You need a sense of their emotional state, where y’all are, who else is around, ...

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“Ghosts of What If?” by Alexis Pfauser

Submitted to Contest #196

A midwest summer storm battered the small ranch house. Inside a mother held her daughter, the room barely illuminated by their small array of candles. When the lights went out the mother had stumbled through the darkness cursing herself for not replacing batteries in their emergency lighting. Her father had only reminded her several hundred times. The wind howled, shaking the walls of the house. It was an old house that settled often, and at the most inconvenient of times. Thunder struck and jolted the door from where the latch just bar...

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“Stradlater Gets His Comeuppance” by Eunice Armitage

Submitted to Contest #196

The red and white stripes of the torn circus tents swirled in the breeze like the ghastly bandages of the bloody barber’s pole. The carnival always stayed for a week after the street parade and fireworks, giving the people of the town the opportunity to add a goldfish to their family pet collection or a coconut to their fruit bowls. And giving the teenage girls enough time to fall in love with a swarthy rogue who had dirty fingernails and a twinkle in his eye. Stradlater strolled across the threadbare field, surveying the damage...

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“Moving On” by Joseph Niesen

Submitted to Contest #196

When I got to the parking lot of the Church of Christ the Conqueror thrift store, it was a mess. I must not have been the first person that Old Gary told about the donation drop. All around the bin were scattered bags leaking their wares onto the dew-damp pavement. With a half-defeated sigh, I went up and started kicking through the bags looking for whatever I could find. Old Gary hadn’t been lying. It was a big donation; however, unless I was an eight-year-old girl who was really into horses, there wasn’t much for me. Disappointed, I picked...

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“Life After the Before” by Michael Clark

Submitted to Contest #196

Have you ever wondered that if you were told something enough times that you would not just start to believe it but to live it without even noticing? The motto of our government is one that basically flips off the switch on our ideas. I had never given it much thought before today. That is, until I talked to my grandpa about it. He’s basically older than the frozen dirt. To hear my him tell it, people used to be mega-obsessed with themselves and their place in the world. He says, they used to have places “online” where they hosted their own ...

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“The Woman in the Mirror” by Elizabeth Hanlon

Submitted to Contest #196

It’s a month before Marcie and Karl’s 40th wedding anniversary, and Marcie has been planning this trip for a year. She has danced through the past 90 days with glee, like a 16-year-old with a new car. Because Marcie loves planning events, and she has worked tirelessly through every detail, and every family member’s schedule, she is confident that Mary Poppins, herself, would proclaim this itinerary “practically perfect in every way.” Marcie is getting a facetime call from her daughter Victoria. “Hello sugar!” “Hi Mom! Little Emma wants to sa...

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“Halloween in Spring!” by Julie Grenness

Submitted to Contest #196

"Ban the boring!" Jacinta told herself. She was fourteen years old. Here she was in Witchyproof. Her parents had traveled to this blazing hot region, with Jacinta's big sister, Sarah Jane. It was their annual Back to Witchyproof long weekend approaching. Jacinta's father had been raised in this sheep farming district. Once a year he leased a cabin on the verge of the Witchyproof National Park. The whole land was in the grip of a severe drought. Even showers in their holiday cabin had a timer, with a three minute limit for each person. There ...

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“A Year Abroad” by Shania Webb

Submitted to Contest #196

When the kids arrive to school that morning, some with strips of red sunburn across their noses, they excitedly jump into their allocated seats and throw their hands up. ‘Miss Greene! Look at my bracelet – it’s from Turkey!’ Charlotte screams, hopping up and down in her chair like a baby rabbit. ‘Miss Greene, I got you chocolate from Belgium, I ate one of them but-’ ‘Miss Greene-’ I clap my hands together three times. They clap back twice, the noise quickly softening as they sink into their chairs. ‘Boys and girls! I know you’re very...

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“Fall into the Sky” by Anne Reed

Submitted to Contest #196

Across the light blue carpet of the living room lay the body of a woman. A floor lamp illuminated the side of her blond head that had been repeatedly bludgeoned. Blood drenched her face and had splashed over everything: her floral nightgown, the carpet, the sofa, the lampshade, and even a few drops had reached the green curtains drawn across the sliding door. Richard Spencer stood with his back to the curtains, his chest heaving, as he surveyed his dead wife. His thin brown hair and soft, oval face were sprayed with blood, as was his...

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“I14:7 & 1TS5:18” by Ian James

Submitted to Contest #196

Sunday afternoon had arrived, providing a moment of respite for the four best friends - Kenneth, Samsul, David, and Leong - who congregated at Upperstars Restaurant. Despite the chaos of the past week and their varied careers, they always found time to reunite and catch up. "Setting up the PA System for Datuk Gerald's son's wedding was quite a hoot," Leong remarked, referring to his thriving business. David acknowledged, "Seems like your PA System business is booming.""Indeed, but there's so much to be done. May is going to be a wi...

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“Maya Polymorpheous: All that over an Oingo Boingo t-shirt” by Gary Belton

Submitted to Contest #196

For six months, the trio that sparked and fanned the flame of the “Maya Polymorphous” mythos, basked in both the finally waning limelight of their first completed foray into their anti-bullying firm, and the moderate financial prosperity that would stem from those exact exploits. The now infamous: “Aha, you just got knocked out by Maya Polymorphous, bitch!” video would go viral—netting the three teens almost ten thousand dollars apiece. That, along with Lila’s developing social-media presence and hacking skills would spearhead the teams grow...

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“The Illusion of Luxury” by Defaulty Noah

Submitted to Contest #196

My neighborhood is quite remarkable at making me feel left behind every time I look through it. Building after building covers this road in its ultimate fashion, their power for an inanimate object is surreal. Every step through here feels magical in some way; like a first walk through Disney World. Each building is practically four dimensional compared to me, so foreign, yet so beautiful. It feels as though, when I make my way through here, the sky glows in a bluer hue. How could one not feel blissful when walking through such a beautiful a...

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“Pullback” by David B Fraser

Submitted to Contest #196

Jane sipped her milkshake and crunched down some fries. Burt was all lit up. “No, you can’t go back on your own timeline.” Burt continued. “When you go back, you’re actually in an alternate timeline that’s the same. I don’t know, my dad says going back in time creates an alternate timeline each time.” “The universe keeps expanding.” Jane said. “No. That’s something else. These are infinite realities, and you can never go back to the same alternate realty twice.” &nbsp...

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“Echoes Of Time” by Kenyatta Thomas

Submitted to Contest #196

The swirling vortex of time stood before me, its mesmerizing hues beckoning like a siren's call. I hesitated, my hand trembling as I reached out to activate the time-travel device. This had become a routine, a habitual escape from my own reality. But now, doubt crept into my mind, overshadowing the allure of exploration. Had I gone too far? Had I paid a price too steep for my insatiable curiosity? My name is Jonathan Hartley, and I was once a pioneer of time travel. In a world where the concept had been perfected, I had become an explorer of...

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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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