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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#214: The Fall of Summer

For both kids and adults, summer is a time for dreams, freedom, and a break from routine. The scorching summer months offer new beginnings, new experiences, vacations in exotic places (real or backyard imaginings), new friendships, and perhaps even new romance. It’s when memories are created, and when ‘growing up’ happens.

Except there’s never enough time. The days fly by, the memories stack up, and pretty soon Fall’s got a stranglehold. To celebrate the last throes of the season, this week’s prompts encourage you to delve into your memories of the summer we’ve just had, and of summers long past.

This week's prompts

Set your story on the eve of the first day back at school.

Kids – 34 stories

What was meant to be a great bonding vacation turns sour when an uninvited guest tags along.

Summer – 43 stories

Now, as an adult, your character looks back on this summer as the summer when they grew up.

Character – 41 stories

Each year, your character's family goes on the most exotic vacations. Finally they discover why — their family are assassins.

Funny – 36 stories

It’s the last evening of your vacation and you’re watching the sunset with your friends/partner/family, wishing summer would never end. But just as the sun dips below the horizon, you notice it returning in reverse.

Science Fiction – 49 stories

Stories

“First Day Back” by Jonathan Page

Submitted to Contest #214

The rush of air smashed into John’s face as he balanced on the handlebars of the camp counselor’s bicycle, and with each bump on the hot asphalt, John’s bottom bounced into the air and lost contact with the thin handlebar that he clung to for dear life. Jim, the camp counselor, laughed. “Serves you right for not having a bike of your own—just one day of camp left—it isn’t too late to take a spill, weirdo.”John was looking forward to his first day of middle school the next day. It would be his first day at a new school, and his...

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“Three Camels For Your Daughter” by Hannah Lynn

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #214

“Two camels for your daughter?”Lost in thought, or maybe just trying to stay alive in the sizzling heat, I didn’t pay much attention until my dad replied, “Two camels?”“Three camels for your daughter.” This time a statement rather than a question.What is going on here?“Hun, what do you think?” He asked and all eyes turned to his wife sitting coolly sipping an iced tea. “That’s my daughter,” she said, not missing a beat. “She is not for sale.”“You heard the boss.”The stranger walked away, and my parents continued their mea...

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“All In A Name” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #214

All in a NameAnakin paced back and forth along the wide veranda with his thumbs hooked in his suspenders. The early evening air smelled sweet from the magnolia blooms dropping from the trees. A peach pie cooling on a nearby window sill promised sweet desserts. The sun hung lazily close to the western horizon painting the humid sky purple and pink. But all this escaped his mind.He swept his straw hat off his head and ruffled his dark hair to disperse the band around his bowl cut. Tucking his hat under his arm, he dug in a pocket producing the...

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“The Escapist” by Dorian Edgerly

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #214

The sun was going down on the last official night of summer, and if I could have, I would have frozen that moment in time forever. I would have let the sun hang eternally over the horizon, painting the ocean and the earth in stunning gold and orange, warming my face and hers despite the breeze that said fall was coming. I would have let it sit there in that spot, unmoving, never giving way to night or coming back again to announce the arrival of the following day, if it meant this summer didn't have to end. Lina...

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“Crazy Cate” by Nina H

Submitted to Contest #214

I never asked to be paired with Cate. The community center randomly threw us together with no apparent reasoning, other than we were around the same age. When my mom suggested I get a job with the Township that summer, I groaned and watched my days of reading outside in the grass under a tree evaporate like a puddle on a sunny day. “You’ll have plenty of time to read and be lazy until school starts again. I think you’ll like it,” she prodded. “Fine. I’ll apply, but if I DON’T get it, I can’t say I’ll be sorry,” I told her as I...

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“Captain Dave’s Folly” by Jonathan Page

Submitted to Contest #214

Stepping onto a gorgeous baby blue Eastbay 44 at the Liberty Landing Marina with “It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere” by Jimmy Buffet playing, our spirits were high. The sun loomed large in a cloudless sky and shone like a new penny. The marina docks were full of boaters arriving, departing, tending their boats, and having cookouts on the dock—all telling one another what they were up to and well satisfied with their exploits. There was a slow and steady breeze over the Hudson River. It was a perfect August afternoon.As we boarded,...

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“Dixon Street” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #214

If it was a Wednesday, we’d get pizza after midnight. Grandpa Ed would wake me up from my spot on the couch. The television would be playing reruns of a show from the 1950’s about a talking cat or a horse that solves crime. The black and white would cross my face, and I’d fear for a moment that the world had lost its color. Then, warmth. I’d be scooped up into arms that smelled like tweed and Aramis. I’d pretend to still be asleep, but I don’t know why. I don’t know why that was my favorite thing to do. Fight going to bed only to continue ...

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“Greatest Enemy ” by Livana Teagan

Submitted to Contest #214

Have you ever wanted to press the bottom of your shoe into someone’s jugular? Perhaps, that’s a bit too violent. What I mean is, have you ever wanted to tie someone to a chair and then leave them on the sidewalk outside of a tall building? Then gently, of course, topple a large dresser out the window eight stories above them? I can’t say this is something I’ve fantasized about. It’s only that his head would look so good with his face plastered on the concrete. “Father, I thought this trip was for you and me. Why is that t...

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“The Mentor” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #214

The MentorOff-key crooning…“The green leaves of summer are starting to fall, and those…’’“Enough with all the melancholy end-of-summer stuff, Sawyer!”“How about something a little more upbeat like a little ‘Summer Nights’ from Grease, Jesse?”“Oh my God, no. If I hear about Sandy and Danny one more time I’m going to toss my cookies. You need to move on. Summer’s over. We had a good run, but school starts tomorrow.”“Yeah, I know, but I sure am going to miss those lazy, laid-back days of summer, sleepin’ in, sittin’ on the porch sipping my lemo...

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“Divorcing Sky from Ocean” by Éan Bird

Submitted to Contest #214

“You have five hours.”“That is all?” she blanched, squinting up from haunches, brushing her hands to remove clumps of wet sand. The broad figure above her stood in silhouette against August’s aggressive, equatorial sun.“Five.” The figure shifted to cast a relief of shadow across her shoulders, then turned and tromped toward the dotted line of pool beds and volleyball nets along the resort’s edge. The broad figure stumbled and pitched in various directions. She relished its clumsy feet struggling against the fluidity of dry sand.“Five,” ...

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“A Catalyst for Change” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #214

“Oh, where is mom,” Sarah asked behind clenched teeth.“I don’t know, baby. Maybe she’s stuck in traffic.”“Shut up! I wasn’t talking to you.”Sarah crawled out of bed and started shuffling across the hospital room floor, belly in hand. She was doing her breathing just like the leman's teacher showed us, hee hee hoo, hee hee hoo! “Is there something I can do to help.”“Shh! I do not want to hear your voice,” she growled.I watched Sarah as she paced the room, her little fanny hanging out the gown, all sense of decency out the window. She was so c...

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“Warped” by Khadija S. Mohammad

Submitted to Contest #214

The sun was cold. Katrina was watching the sun set peacefully, but just as it disappeared over the horizon, it slowly come up again. Cold. It was black, giving off no light, no warmth, as bleak and dull as the surface of Mars. Katrina blinked hard until dark spots appeared in front of her eyes, but the view didn't change. She shivered and stared. The sun rose again gradually, then sunk below the opposite horizon. Without light, she could look at it directly, with no more harm done than if it had been the moon. Without light, it could be ...

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“Good Night Sun: A Mike Dodge Mystery” by Martin Ross

Submitted to Contest #214

“Oh my God, just look at that sunset!”Mike stirred, swallowed a sigh with a residual essence of his morning chorizo, and lowered his Kindle.Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye. While he’d read the thing a dozen times over the past 40 years, Mike’d downloaded it that morning after listening to some $300 haircut with a New York honk mangle a cordial “muy bien” into a preening “muy bueno” to the inscrutable delight of the lobby breakfast host. Mike understood maybe one word of the host’s sardonic response to a server before he spotted the tubby ...

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“I Prefer a Regular Joe.” by Rachael Parks

Submitted to Contest #214

As soon as we locked eyes, I knew there was going to be a problem. Who do you think would be the very worst person to run into on your honeymoon? What about your ex boyfriend? Yea, you would think that. But what about your ex-boyfriend who you almost married? Mhm. Mhm. That would be bad. But how about your ex-boyfriend who you almost married…who has super-powers? Bad right? But Imagine this: On your honeymoon, running into your ex boyfriend who you almost married, who has super powers and is from another planet. It was a long t...

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““Twilight’s Tango: The Unforgettable Sunset,”” by Gary Fondaumiere

Submitted to Contest #214

The final evening of our vacation on the tranquil beach, where the setting sun made me ache for summer to last forever, Beside me, my friends and I sat on a weathered wooden bench, our toes buried in the cool sand, watching the fiery orb’s descent. We were a tight-knit group, bound by years of collective experience and an endless supply of laughter. This trip has granted us a much-needed respite from the pressures of our daily lives. Like a dancer ending a lovely performance, the sunset symbolizes the passing of time and bidding farewell...

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$250

Prize money

203

Contest entries

94

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 08, 2023 EST

Won by Emily Holding 🏆

Title: Departed, Return

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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