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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#200: Heard it Through the Grapevine

It’s perhaps not our most virtuous impulse, but it’s a very human one. The desire to gossip, tell tales, and share stories we’ve heard about others doesn’t always win us friends, but it’s born from a real evolutionary need. Psychologists speculate that the original purpose of gossip was to keep us safe, helping our ancestors identify potential threats, build bonds, and learn what behavior was deemed acceptable or unacceptable by their peers. And, for better or worse, that habit has stuck.

Of course, gossip can (and often does) go too far. It’s up to you how it plays out in this week’s stories; will your characters face consequences for their loose lips, or will gossiping actually save the day?

This week's prompts

Write a story that includes the line “my lips are sealed.”

Adults – 96 stories

Write a story about a piece of gossip that becomes more and more distorted as it passes from person to person.

Adults – 33 stories

Your character is known as the town gossip. One day, it comes back to bite them.

Adults – 22 stories

Write a story about someone trying to track down the source of a rumor.

Adults – 35 stories

Your main character has a secret superpower; the gossip they spread always comes true.

Adults – 24 stories

Stories

“Fate with a Side of Mizu Yokan” by L.M. Huntwork

Submitted to Contest #200

He always sits on the same bench. He stays put as if his body were roots and the sun waters his soul with its rays. Every evening he stays until the sky darkens, eventually taking a stroll through town, talking to everyone in sight. All my life, I heard stories about the old man and the possible reasons behind his sudden appearance in town. My friends and I discussed the gossip surrounding him for weeks. I never believed the tall tales until today. Today, I wanted to believe. I walked along the sidewalk, watching the hues turn in the dista...

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“A Stare Away from Freedom” by Wolverine Starr

Submitted to Contest #200

Am I looking through the nightfall? I know I'd believe it. We are often inclined to test the boundaries of our freedoms, despite the ragged end it may give us. The tall corn was swaying by the extravagant carnival, a staple of beguiled beliefs. All I can see is betrayal and that there's nothing blue in hate. I will be riding through sunsets and ooze, fleeing the foggy trees, and upon the final shore I will find a brisk owl. Sitting, liquor is gone. Keep my soul in mind as I walk fallen. Early on, the sun was unquenchable and I had sympathy f...

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“The Faceless” by A Inge

Submitted to Contest #200

“My lips are sealed.” Light faded from the boy’s eyes as he came to terms with what he had to do. The body stretched before them nearly tripled his weight, but it didn’t matter. He’d disposed of bigger. He could do it. Just as long as he didn’t look at the face. As long as he didn’t give room to that lightless image. He hooked his arms under the fat corpse’s, keeping his head up. “They better be.” The muscles around the man’s mouth screwed too tight. Too tense. Too ready to order the boy’s own death. He didn’t have to say it. Romero wasn’t...

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“Wyoming Changed Everything” by Levi Michael

Submitted to Contest #200

“Djya hear about the new girl?” he whispered over my shoulder. “Huh?” I looked up from my notebook, only slightly to keep from being noticed by Mr. Hamilton. He didn’t play around when it came to class disruptions. “Uh-uh,” I answered under my breath with an almost imperceptible shake of my head as I kept a covert eye on our teacher. “Yeah, I heard she—” We both froze as Mr. Hamilton looked up from his work and leveled his gaze in our direction. My eyes shot down to my workbook. Pure reflex. I knew better than to make eye contact. Andr...

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““Red”” by Analucy Gonzalez-Lopez

Submitted to Contest #200

Thinking back on that day, I never imagined it would end this way. *** I woke up dreading the day already. My alarm didn’t go off, the wind was beating the rain into the window glass and my coffee maker was probably cold by now. It was my day off and I had it planned since last week. I’d finally wake up early for once, start off the day at the gym then cook a healthy breakfast. Power through the ...

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“TLC For The People” by PerryTheInventor !!!

Submitted to Contest #200

Bobby stepped into the elevator. A full 150 pounds lighter. He flashed the now common toothless closed mouth smile and uttered the muffled sounds suggesting “hello.” He proudly pointed to his Commitment badge on his left lapel. It said, “I can’t talkBecauseMy Lips are Sealed!Tight Lips Corp”His odd grin, bright red TLC badge, and emaciated look were all too common. Even though the hearings were about to start. He didn’t seem to care.I planned my day around the hearings. My calendar says, “Hearings 1-3.” Many of us traders blocked our ca...

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“Management Memo” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #200

It is not surprising that the best gossip is often conveyed in management memos like the one I wish to tell you all about. Headly Images is a rather over-staffed enterprise where former college art majors gather to ply their talents in graphic art projects. I, of course, use the word “talent” ever cautiously since most of the artists do not have a clear sense of what artistic actually encompasses. My name is Henry Pasternick and I work in the corner office. In viewing the pecking order of Headly Images, you will find me clinging...

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“Acceptance and High School Drama” by Madeline Honig

Submitted to Contest #200

The door slammed and Valorie saw a streak of Sarah’s brown hair wiz through the foyer and up the stairs. Two seconds later Valorie heard a door slam. Sarah must have had a bad day at school. Valorie, who was working at the dining room table, stopped clacking away at her keyboard and thought for a moment. She had interfered with Sarah’s life a few times in the past, sometimes it ended well and sometimes not so well. Now that Sarah was in highschool she didn’t know where she stood in the matter. If she should come to ...

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“The Lady Peckington Rumor” by Emily E

Submitted to Contest #200

“Samuel Sampson, Morning Gazette.” “Oh right, Lady Peckington said you may join us. It is quite a busy morning, I don’t know why she suggested it.” The butler looked irritated, as if opening a door today was more stressful than any other day. Perhaps he was right. Two women in maid uniforms ran behind him with trays of silverware. A man fell down the sweeping staircase behind him in a thundering crash. The butler barely flinched, his eyes fixated on me in annoyance. “Yes, well, she wanted to meet before the wedding, I su...

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“A boon and a bane” by Riddhi Roy

Submitted to Contest #200

I wake up to the sound of grey clouds thundering outside the stuffy room I am sharing with 50 other people. A sliver of the frowning sky is visible from the uncomfortable cot I had miraculously fallen asleep on. My head spins, and my eyes ache from the physical exhaustion I went through in the last 24 hours. I dare to look around the room with a searing back pain and purple-black bruises lining my limbs. It is 6 AM on the clock that seems to be smiling at me with two holes on the protective glass over it and two scratches joining each othe...

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“Rumored Through Richmond” by Young Akpasubi

Submitted to Contest #200

In the heart of Houston's Broadway Street lived Richmond, a peculiar 50-year-old man known for his love of spreading gossip. What made Richmond truly remarkable, however, was the uncanny nature of his rumors. Somehow, they always seemed to come true. Word traveled fast whenever Richmond began to whisper his tales, and the townsfolk would brace themselves for the inevitable realization of his words. There was an air of both curiosity and fear surrounding his gossip, for nobody quite understood how he possessed such foresight. Huddled in t...

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“Formed On Your Lips” by Nicole Jones

Submitted to Contest #200

Friday April 12th Liz fidgets with her skirt as she makes her way down the sidewalk towards Brew, a local coffee shop. She readjusts the clip in her dark brown hair wishing she had worn it down today instead. As she approaches the front door she reassess her image in the glass and sighs. Not at all satisfied, she enters the familiar establishment. She waits in line among the bustling atmosphere then places her usual order, a chai tea latte with soy milk, extra dirty, and...

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“Middle School Superhero” by Cora Anne

Submitted to Contest #200

Dakota was pretty happy being 11 years old. Her life wasn’t too exciting like some of the kids she saw walking around school with lots of friends, big laughs and important things to whisper about, but she had what she needed. Her mom and dad ran an organic vegetable farm and the whole family spent a lot of time outdoors. Her favorite after-school activity was painting little rocks with her brothers and hiding them around the farm for people to find. At school she was a gray man. She heard that term once when she was awake in bed listening to...

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“It's Good to be in Control” by Dory Ruth Oda

Submitted to Contest #200

It’s Good to be in ControlAt precisely 12:08 p.m. on the Saturday before the Indy 500 Race, May, 2023:Dr. Manut Singh and her husband, Rohan, accompanied by three boys, Mustafa age 10, Rahul age 6, and Manish age 5, are seated at a booth in the restaurant near the window.Ellie MacDonald holds the door open for her sister, Fawn Ashcroft, when Ellie says, “You go ahead and put our name in. I brought something for you, but I left it in the car. I’ll be right back.”Pilot-for-hire, Solomon Aries, shakes the hand of his Brazilian client, Silas Hav...

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“on the Mother” by Gideon McDonald

Submitted to Contest #200

on the Mother Irish catholic; dirt-poor, bloody big mob, Father (school principal) (can’t swim); smokes cigarettes at the beach, thirty-five raucous 10-year-olds wear-themselves-out in the water, sing; Crocodile Rock, laaaaa la la la la laa, stingers pulled off, sprayed with vinegar, Father, shifts house seven times, Father - waiting to hit a jackpot, gives spare change to Saint Vincent de Paul - can’t afford it, in that regional town of old farming stock, but townies, like the rest. Mother; devoted to the Father and the kids, and hardy ...

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$250

Prize money

210

Contest entries

116

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jun 02, 2023 EST

Won by Katharine Widdows 🏆

Title: Three Questions

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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