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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#212: Signed, Sealed, Delivered

I don't really exchange letters with anyone, but if I did, I'd receive them with great anticipation. There's something very unpredictable about a letter: it can provide insight into a person's most private feelings, make a public statement, or share news of events big and small, from historic events to everyday gossip. You just never know until you open it.

This week's prompts are inspired by all things epistolary.

This week's prompts

Write a story in the form of a letter, or multiple letters back and forth.

Short Story – 147 stories

Write an epistolary story set during a major historical event. The event may be the subject of the letters directly, or be referenced in the background.

Historical Fiction – 30 stories

Write a story about a pair of pen pals.

Character – 26 stories

A mysterious letter is delivered to your character's home. It's not addressed to them, but they can't resist peeking...

Mystery – 64 stories

Set your story in a post office.

Fiction – 36 stories

Stories

“Dear Father” by Annette Coulter

Submitted to Contest #212

23 August 2023Dear Father,I really wish we had been able to get to know one another better…. Of course that was impossible because you died when I was eleven. Do you realise that we were very glad that you did not return home…. After your accident we didn’t even know you were in hospital… Well, of course, Mother must’ve known… but we children had no idea.From my current life perspective I can honestly say that I had no idea where you were for those six months in late 1959 and early 1960.I did not know that you had fallen out o...

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“Love, Ezra ” by Emma Chavez

Submitted to Contest #212

This story is about the act of stalking. Nothing graphic or violent happens! Thank you for reading! June 25th Dear Ezra, First- I’m so sorry it has taken me so long to write to you again. I promise I didn’t forget about you. I’ve been so busy and things have been so crazy. I made sure I had time to write to you today though. It’s important. I put the date at the top. Do you remember what day that is? It’s our three-year “anniversary.” I put it in quotes because our relationship is based on nothing but these letters. The other day I...

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“Do You Remember? and I Miss You.” by Cierra Lynn

Submitted to Contest #212

Dear Sarah M., I don't find this world too amusing anymore. This morning I awoke to thoughts of grandeur snuffed by circumstance and cat hair up my nose. We used to be children. Do you remember that? Not long ago we were both just tots falling down playing tag and getting grass stains on our knees. Now I'm on the cusp of adultness, but I'm not adapting as I should. I find myself crying in the bathroom at work. And then disassociate from reality when I get to the car on the drive home, unsure completely of how I got there. I feel the empty su...

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“Goodbye, My Narcissist ” by Destiny Lilû

Submitted to Contest #212

Three years seems to have flown by far rather quickly, wouldn't you say? It seems three years ago we fell madly in love, eating pizza and getting wasted after a joy ride to Erieau Beach. It seems three years ago we first learned what love was after we almost lost it all. Three years ago when we first made each other promises or even breathed a genuine I love you. It was three years ago, that I never once fathomed we would be here, in this very situation and that it would be with you. The truth is, if I knew now what I knew three years ago......

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“A letter from the marked one.” by Janina Kaho

Submitted to Contest #212

Coast of Finland. 1798. My sunshine, my Tilda, My sincerest wish is that this letter finds you safe and well at Whitefire Isle. The risk of returning to Engberg's orphanage is one I might never take, even though it fills me with regret. I still wanted you to know what happened to me and that at least for now I am safe. I have yet to figure out who in the orphanage knew what I was and how the Witchhammer had heard about me residing there. And why now? The main intention of this letter is to thank you, Tilda. On the night,...

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“The garden of our Valentine” by Danitza Eterovic

Submitted to Contest #212

Santiago, 14 February My dear Butterfly,We knew it was true love when that ladybug reached our holding hands the day we first met. It happened when the sun was shining in the highest of the sky. I had already studied for my Bar exam, so I was eager to enjoy the little spare time I could afford. You were finishing college too, do you remember? Who would predict that the end of our professional education would concur with our relationship bursting like the Big Bang?I remember those October evenings when eating our ice-creams ghosts in the...

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“Secret Letter” by Mira Hikari

Submitted to Contest #212

Aprilis 10th, 2155 45 District B, Centrum, Domesticus Dear Chloe, If you're reading this, it only means one thing. I'm dead. My death might resemble an accident or suicide. I'm writing this to tell you it most probably isn't. I don't know where to begin. I feel so bad hiding all this from you. I wish I could have told you the truth from the start. I can't imagine how you would feel when you discover all this after I'm gone. I carry this heavy burden on my chest everyday. Evey conversation we have. Everytime I look in your eye...

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“Dear Vincent” by Billie JP

Submitted to Contest #212

[Warnings: Implied substance abused, implied violence, implied child abandonment, death] Dear Vincent, I can’t help you. It took me years to come to come to grips with the cold hard truth that, as much as it pains me, I cannot help you. I have tried, and tried, and tried, but it has gotten us nowhere. It’s like we’re both out at sea, treading water, and I’m throwing you every single life preserver I find, but you keep throwing them away. So I’m done. But you know that, don’t you? You’ve known that since the last time I spoke with you...

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“!LetGo” by Ashley Farr

Submitted to Contest #212

April 4, 2023Ms. Amanda Watson451 Mercy AveVineland, New Jersey 08332Dear Ms. Amanda Watson, Our deepest condolences on your recent loss. Jessie was a kind, caring soul, and he will be greatly missed. Your son’s legacy will live on in the hearts of all who knew him. We are !LetGo, a service dedicated to helping families and friends as they transition through the loss of a loved one. Studies show that 98% of bereaved individuals who participate in grief therapy exercises experience longer term peace and acceptance after unexpected l...

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“Forget This Letter” by Christopher B.

Submitted to Contest #212

You shouldn’t read this. But if you’ve gotten this far it’s already too late for that. It knows you’re there. God I’m sorry. This is plan B, it’s desperate and selfish and probably pointless. But I don’t want to be nothing, less than nothing, whatever it is that looks at nothing and thinks that’s too much. I’m not trying to be funny; I just don’t know a word that does what I need it too. Maybe it ate that first. It eats things and ideas, information in all its forms, it takes them out, out of, this. But the damage they did, the things they t...

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“Longing for Home” by Megan Pollander

Submitted to Contest #212

Dearest Mother, My heart yearns to be in your presence, to feel the warmth of your embrace and to hear the solace of your kind words. The time I have spent in this medical encampment has been far too brief, and yet it seems as though I have witnessed and lived through more trials than any soul should endure in a single lifetime. The battle that rages here surpasses any I have ever witnessed. Its relentless fury knows no bounds, and the anguished cries of the fallen permeate the very air we breathe. Our valiant and youthful soldiers, unwa...

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“The Never-Ending Battle” by Doreen M Atkinson

Submitted to Contest #212

Battle of the Somme, 1916 Dear Mary, It’s cold and damp here today. I’m chilled and shivering. I’m dreaming of my favorite chair and a steaming, hot cup of coffee. The comforts of home are foremost in my mind. How I long to hold you and the children in my arms. Thinking and dreaming about all of you keeps me sane. I don’t know how I could survive without these special times. I can close my eyes and see the children playing in the garden or playing in the snow, and our precious little dog, Snappy, chasing around with a favorite toy. How the...

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“DREAMING OF YOU: LETTERS TO MY SOLDIER” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #212

58 years ago, on the 19th of August was the worst day of my life. My best friend, my soulmate went missing in the jungles of Vietnam. In the years that followed, the war continued. Many more soldiers went missing. Many more families were destroyed like mine. I never gave up hope. Eight years it took for my love to be found and to come home. During those eight years, I written a series of letters to Brian that I want to share with you. Bear with me because these letters will bring back so many memories for me and the tears. The first lett...

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“TANGLED WEBS” by Charles Corkery

Submitted to Contest #212

TANGLED WEBS “Ella, you cannot be serious. This is insane!” Maureen, Ella’s best friend, banged on the bathroom door where her boon companion had locked herself in. “I can’t do it. I can’t. Just leave me alone”. “Sweetheart, honey, this is it. This is everything you’d hoped for. You can’t just get cold feet now”. Maureen could hear Ella sobbing hysterically behind the locked door and tried desperately to think of how she could resolve this stand off, deciding, after a few moments, that, probably, continuing...

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“The Balmoria Pen Pals” by John-Paul Cote

Submitted to Contest #212

The Balmoria never had any glory days. It was a tenement building that was barely maintained enough to keep the building inspectors at bay. A few dollars here and there also helped. The brick exterior was as much of a sign of the years she had seen as the blinking neon bulbs from the ‘20s for the old girl. Fire had hit it more than once in its hundred-year history. Plywood and faux wood paneling covered the damage. Otherwise, it just meant that the rent would be that much cheaper for the next tenant....

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$250

Prize money

303

Contest entries

129

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 25, 2023 EST

Won by Wendy M 🏆

Title: The Last Of The Bright Young Things

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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