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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 – 65 stories

Set your story in a post office.

Fiction – 36 stories

Stories

“The Rendezvous ” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #212

The rain orchestrates its own symphony as it drops on Wesley’s umbrella and the variety of objects one might find lining a city sidewalk on their way home. A healthy middle-aged man, with chiseled features and light grey eyes that look black because they set deep in his brow; broad and tall with a lengthy stride, shortens his steps and takes his time to enjoy the weather that few appreciate. Just the night prior, he had spent the evening on the porch watching the lightning flash and tear the sky asunder, something he has always found beautif...

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“Spread your panda wings and fly” by Jr Wolfgang

Submitted to Contest #212

Hi buddy,It's hard for me to feel like I'm doing this for me, which is the supposed purpose. The reason may be my subconscious not feeling like the deserving one.Summer 2015, we got in the big argument that one night; I let you stay at my house because my mom and step-dad were in New Orleans.I felt you were possessed by a demon of addiction and sucking the life from anyone you could.What our friend Nick said to you when we I brought you to his house; regarding your selfishness and the extraordinary desire to lie, cheat, and steal in order to...

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“Heroism, Hope and Litigation” by Cecilia Englishby

Submitted to Contest #212

Within the gloomily dated confines of her childhood home, Jessica sat cross-legged on the floor, sorting the final pieces of paperwork left over in her father’s study. Mostly it was just notes on his favorite subjects and hobbies, whatever they were at the time. It all seemed rather useless to her personally, but she still diligently created folders for each subject and filed them alphabetically into waiting boxes for storage. Edward Jonas Maylin had passed away rather suddenly four months earlier. The funeral was held three days later. He...

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“Fragments” by Vivacity Rex

Submitted to Contest #212

***Trigger Warning: This story contains themes and descriptions of murder and violence that may be distressing for some readers.*** On Tuesday, Kade walked into his job at the local post office. The job suited him; it fit his personality. He stayed in the back sorting mail and occasionally got packages for the front clerk girl. Today, he planned to do extra cleaning around the back room. So he came in a little early. He wanted to prove to his boss that he was good at this job. Passing the clerk girl, Brandi, today, she gave...

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“Operation: Jager Hunt” by Rudy Senecal

Submitted to Contest #212

The air parade that seems to happen every night at this point continues until it drowns out all other sounds. The letter is on the table next to her. For a moment, Eve wonders if she should read it. She sips the tea clasped in her hands and looks at the flag outside her window. Its black, red, and white colors flutter in the soft winter breeze. She looks to the bedroom door across the hall, her husband is most likely sound asleep by now. January 3rd, 1941 To, Ms. Eve Claude In German-Occupied Paris Let me first start by writi...

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“Post Office at the End of the World” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #212

Zip Code 99999 belongs to a post office that most people don’t even know exists. There is a seventh dimension quality to this place even Rod Serling wasn’t aware of, but it is real. It is not the Dead Letter office or the final destination of letters sent by children to Santa Claus at Christmas time. While it is not a vortex or some other alternate reality, the Post Office at the End of the World is exactly what it says it is and its chief purpose is to connect people who have long been disconnected for whatever reason.&nbs...

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“Correspondence Between Above and Below” by Emanuel Diaz

Submitted to Contest #212

[Sender's Address] Hell's Abyss 666 Brimstone Avenue Pandemonium, Inferno [Date] [Date doesn't matter in the depths of eternity] [Recipient's Address] Heavenly Heights 777 Celestial Lane Paradise, Eternity My Dearest Brother Michael, I pen these words from the darkest depths of our eternal chasm, where the fires of rebellion still flicker in my heart. Though I dwell in the abyss, my thoughts ascend to the heavens, where you, the favored son of the Almighty, stand as a paragon of virtue and grace. How fitting it is that this letter sh...

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“You Have Won” by Ralph Aldrich

Submitted to Contest #212

It’s been a month since the cell phone incident, and Oscar and Dolores have returned to their usual selves. That is to say, she nags him, and he ignores her. Oscar is sitting in his favorite overstuffed easy chair when he sits straight up and looks toward the front window. He begins slipping on his slippers and gets out of the chair. Dolores’s head snaps up. “Where are you going?” “The mailman just came. I’m going out to get the mail.” “Dressed like that!” “Slippers? You’re going out just wearing slippers!” ...

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“Letters of joy from girl and boy” by Rebecca Detti

Submitted to Contest #212

They continue their dreams,But shall wake soon and hope for letters,And none will hear the postman's knockWithout a quickening of the heart.For who can bear to feel himself forgotten?W.H.Auden, Night MailFlat 20, Via Francesco Crispi, Marsala16 November 1999To my gorgeous Tom Cruise- lookalike boyfriend,I wish I could I could call you and speak to you now. It feels so strange not knowing where you are but hope you are safe and are enjoying your adventure. What an adventure! When you told me you and Ben had planned to cycle down the West Coas...

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“Dear Mr. Misner” by Olivia Lake

Submitted to Contest #212

January 17, 1979 Dear Mr. Misner, I am writing to you after I heard the news of your sentencing. Reportings about you have reached Burlington, Texas all the way from Orlando. I have been following your trial on the radio and in the newspapers, and I believe I know more about you than about the President in the White House. The thought of you sitting alone in prison and awaiting your sentence pressed me to write. I hope you have a pleasant day. Cordially, Linda Longstreet February 9, 1979 Dear Miss Longstreet, Your letter was a ...

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“Sea salt” by William Vickers

Submitted to Contest #212

I had most definitely not been out, and I hadn’t ordered anything. Yet I found myself in the line at the post office with the “you were out” note in hand. And when I finally had the package I decided to open it straight away. I decided to open the package still in the post office, and its contents took my breath away. The magnifying glass’s bright orange handle and green rim were worn and faded, but it was the same one I had when I was a kid. Why would anyone post this to me? Why was it even still around? My childhood memory of this object w...

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“The Epistle of Paul to the Present Church” by Ian McKerracher

Submitted to Contest #212

The Epistle of Paul to the Present Church Chapter 1 1. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle by the will of God and separated according to the effective working of His power amongst the Gentiles 2. scattered throughout the world, to bear witness of the grace and love of the Father revealed in Jesus Christ, His Son, 3. To the present Church, beloved by God and called into fellowship with Him and each other for the eternal purpos...

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“Ouroboros” by Jeff Veyera

Submitted to Contest #212

It was an envelope. A white envelope which felt oddly heavy as Neve Temple ran her fingers over its edges as she contemplated what to do with it. The oddly-flourished iridescent green lettering had her address on it all right, but the name of the addressee---one Gyles Mayhew---didn’t live here. She could ...

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“Signed, Sealed, Delivered...and Destroyed(?!)” by Gabriel Perez

Submitted to Contest #212

Dear Hal,Your message in the space bottle was received. We here on the planet Kabangers are overjoyed. We have speculated for centuries the existence of other life in the cosmos, and now we are holding in our hands the proof that we have always longed for and desired. In our great wisdom, we have decided to communicate with you in the same way you have reached out to us. Therefore, we are sending this message back to you in the same space bottle that you so graciously sent our way. We hope that is to your li...

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“Pickles” by Yvonne Scott

Submitted to Contest #212

It’s Labor Day afternoon, 2020. I take my seat in the tight semi-circle of my two cousins and their kids outlining the cluttered work area in the middle of my uncle and aunt’s small living room. My uncle fumbles or maybe trembles, I can’t tell, as he searches among his precarious stacks of papers, books, and magazines arrayed on tables behind him. His angular bowed body and sagging skin retain only the faintest whisper of the once vibrant, husky, tall man with a ready wit and scholar’s mind I’ve always admired. He deftly slides a finger into...

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$250

Prize money

304

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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