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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#199: Strangers in the Night

I’m always surprised when I feel naturally at ease with someone new. It feels like falling in step with one another, dancing to the same track in the half-light, an imperceptible puzzle piece clicking into place. It’s both exhilarating and dizzying.

This week, I want us to spend some time thinking about that feeling, and explore those moments in our lives when we meet new people in either boring or serendipitous ways — be it making eye contact with someone on public transport, going on a first date, or meeting in a way that feels like destiny has intervened.

This week's prompts

Set your story on a warm summer evening with a full moon, when everything feels magnetic and your character’s about to meet someone important.

Romance – 75 stories

Write about a character having a spiritual experience at a concert or a nightclub.

Dramatic – 27 stories

Your protagonist walks past an intriguing stranger, then turns around to take another look at them. The stranger turns around, too. Write about what happens next.

Character – 61 stories

Write a story about someone who finds someone’s diary, and tries to reunite it with its owner. It’s up to you whether they read it or not!

Mystery – 52 stories

Write a story about a character who returns home changed by someone they met on a trip.

Summer – 41 stories

Stories

“A Simple Song Request” by Jake Fordyce

Submitted to Contest #199

My son is finally asleep. I tell my wife I’m going out to play for a while. We need the money, and I need the music to take my mind off my day. I’m already dreading getting up the next day and doing the battle all over again.“Okay, be safe. Let me know when you get there,” she says.Creeping toward the front door in the dark, I step on what feels like a caltrop.“You okay?” my wife asks, hearing me cursing under my breath.“Yeah. It’s that ninja turtle toy again. I’ve told him too many times to keep it off the floor,” I say.She says something a...

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“For Liv: Wound Bear” by Tommy Goround

Submitted to Contest #199

It's a gynecological fact that children who have just been born require a Womb Bear. This is a plush toy that has the sound of a beating heart within the plush that makes the child feel at home in their new bassinet.It's very much like taking the old water from a fish tank and mixing it with the new water that doesn't have any dookie. In this way the young fish or human baby will survive and feel loved.Well, I didn't want to pay the high price of the Womb Bear at Macy's. So I went across the street and maybe a few blocks down and picked up a...

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“The Birthday Gift” by Lynel Black

Submitted to Contest #199

When you have lived in the same house for long enough, it becomes part of you in ways that are hard to pin down. The well worn paths we take from the fridge to the lounge, the closet to the shower, my home office to my workshop. Then there are those corners that you hardly know at all. Or you know they are there, but just never think about them. Like the top shelf of that old cupboard in the basement, or the contents of the dusty boxes forgotten in the attic. The day to day shuffle around your space rarely takes you to these out of the way c...

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“SING ME A LOVE SONG” by Susan Catucci

Submitted to Contest #199

I have something no one else has. I hear music. All. The. Time. The experts call it Auditory Hallucination but, for me, it’s an internal soundtrack. It’s part of me, a living, breathing organism that is compelled to comment on everything by way of song. Everything.It began happening as I was first learning to talk. At the same time my infantile brain was putting the pieces together to connect sounds to syllables to objects, there were some additional cells working overtime to acquire an inventory that woul...

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“MD” by Derrick M Domican

Submitted to Contest #199

Somebody famous wrote 'the eyes are the window to the soul', so I suppose that’s why I caught a glimpse of a beautiful world when our hamburger-shaped In-SECTs (Independent Secure Eye Containment Transporters) brushed past each other in the highest layer of the atmosphere and my eyes met hers.I say ‘brushed past’ but it was actually more like me veering wildly off course as a result of pressing my control stick too far forward and almost careening into another drone, the one that had the initials RL glowing green on its digital display.&nbsp...

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“Annabella” by Amy B

Submitted to Contest #199

Distracted. That was the best word to describe me at this moment. Struggling. I was distracted and struggling. Searching for Gate 22 in this overcrowded, hot airport. I was already 25 minutes late thanks to my uncanny ability to set off the metal detectors every single time. Part of me thinks I should just ask to be searched. Save myself the time. Instead, here I am, distracted as I wander down Terminal A looking for Gate 22. Grasping my phone with my ticket information all pulled up. I look down for a second to make sure that the pho...

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“Tomorrow is the day after Yesterday” by Kat Alexander

Submitted to Contest #199

It shouldn’t have been a difficult decision. A no-brainer really. You kind of recognized the book itself. It was obviously a diary. One of the classic ones you could get just about anywhere. A simple baby blue, almost periwinkle color, hardcover notebook. It had two small metal plates sitting on the edge of the covers, with two small triangular pieces of metal, and one singular lock keeping the secrets the book knows away from anyone's eyes but the ones who are trusted enough to have a key. Those simple facts, that it’s locked, that you don’...

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“Bio” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #199

Bio(Trigger warning: Crude and likely offensive humor, suggestive of a sophomoric mind; think Beavis and Butthead…or worse; pre-apologies to all.)Doug- handsome, debonaire, confident, athletic, and charming; Wally- not so much.“I’m telling you, Wally, I think tonight will be your night.”“I don’t know, Dougie, I don’t feel comfortable in those situations. I never know what to say to a girl.”“That’s why you’ve got me, Wally. Let’s go.”---------- Wally and Doug sat at the bar like two kids in a candy store.“What do you think, Wally, see an...

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“She and Verity” by Charlotte Kelley

Submitted to Contest #199

This story contains depictions of violence, self-harm, suicide, and psychosis.—Verity Castillo was hers. She knew where he worked—Westlake Recording Studios in LA, or at one of his home studios in Manhattan or The Hamptons. She knew what he smelled like—Gucci’s The Alchemist’s Garden, cinnamon and Patchouli oil with rustic accents. She knew his favorite color—mauve—and his blood type—O-negative, the same as hers (what intimacy!)—and his date of birth down to the second—September 21st, 1998, at 8:13 PM London time. She was...

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“The Wildlife of LA” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #199

It was a gorgeous day to be discovered in Hollywood. The road was filled with luxury cars, the shops with glamorous, beautiful people, and the sunshine followed her like a spotlight.Maggie had on her best Spanx jumpsuit, the drawstring cinched tight, with flared pantlegs, and color coordinated Vans hightops. In mauve brown, it offset her raven black hair, and matched her eyes, sparkling under the Eric Javits wide brimmed hat. She felt good and knew she looked good. She strolled in front of shop after shop of high end retail ar...

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“Moonglow” by Connor H

Submitted to Contest #199

The warm glow of the moon illuminated the path in front of me. I normally didn’t walk outside this late at night, but I was hoping a walk could help me clear my head. Thoughts spun through my brain faster than the Gravitron at the fair had spun me earlier. It had been a fun day of rides, too much cotton candy, and laughs with friends. The heat and excitement of the day had faded into a warm, calm evening. With no beating sun or excited shouts, I had hoped the night would help calm me. But every tree I passed reminded me of the caramel appl...

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“Cosminia” by Mary Ann Ford

Submitted to Contest #199

A mix of emotions flooded William Lavenshire as he walked to what would now be his home. He had spent at least a year in Cosminia but almost no time had passed on Earth. There was happiness at the events that had happened in that world, that was almost back in time, the stress of having to keep it all to himself, and, of course, the knowledge that no one would believe him even if he did mention it.He sighed and his smile faded a little. He’d grown up over there but here he was a kid again. It was so tempting to sit down on one of the many be...

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“To the Keeper of My Thoughts” by Hayley Chau

Submitted to Contest #199

To the Keeper of my thoughts, Do you know a dragonfly is extremely unique? Their four wings, working independently from each other, allow them to fly in any direction they please. Their compound, telescopic eyes enable them to view the world in a 360 degree vision. Ironically, the only blind spot is directly behind them. Hot diggity darn, I wished me a dragonfly. I never knew words could comfort me like a cozy luxe blanket until I found your diary, secretly tucked inside a birdhouse. You see, my dad asked me to clean it out, shortly afte...

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“7 Days” by Karina Navarro

Submitted to Contest #199

Legend says that whoever can grant the wishes of the dead will be compensated with an immense treasure. What was asked from the dead is to rest in peace and have a mass for his soul to be freed. Many would see the lost soul roaming around asking to rest in peace, but no one would fulfill his wishes. But what they do not know is that not everyone can fulfill this prophecy. Only someone with a pure heart and honest intentions can enter that world to understand the prophecy and the history behind it. A prophecy between good and evil fighting fo...

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“SHOO FLY” by Timothy Rennels

Submitted to Contest #199

Shoo Fly Logan Forsyth needed a break. His wife had told him, his Doctor had told him, and even his psychiatrist had told him. The stress of the job was catching up to him, and as CEO of Forsyth Industries he could not afford to show any signs of weakness to the vultures circling his corporate headquarters. The vultures were the consortium of competitors who had rallied their forces against him. He felt the pressure of staying in business as well as the pressure of keeping over 200 employees employed. After much persuasio...

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$250

Prize money

256

Contest entries

143

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - May 26, 2023 EST

Won by Anne Delfosse 🏆

Title: Hazel

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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