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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#220: Out of Place

The air’s beginning to chill and goosebumps are rising on your skin like mushrooms on a log. With Halloween not far off, everything’s beginning to feel a little… strange. It’s got me thinking about all things odd, and one of the most unsettling sensations of all — noticing something that’s out of place.

From things that shouldn’t be where they are, to protagonists far from home, this week’s prompts explore the bizarre, and the uncanny feeling of things being where they don’t belong.

This week's prompts

Start your story with a character walking through a desert landscape, when they stumble across something unexpected. “That shouldn’t be there,” they muse.

Dialogue – 50 stories

You arrive at a destination you promised an old friend you’d visit after they passed, only to find them there too.

Mystery – 65 stories

As a child you’re helping your grandparent bake. When you’re sent to the pantry to fetch an ingredient, you discover something odd.

Mystery – 41 stories

Begin your story with a protagonist taking shelter under a bridge during a thunderstorm. An animal scurries past which shouldn’t exist. Against their better judgment, they decide to follow it out.

Fantasy – 50 stories

You’re awakened from your nap by someone asking, “Are you hungry?”. You fell asleep somewhere else entirely.

Mystery – 45 stories

Stories

“Struffoli and Magic” by Laura Eliz

Submitted to Contest #220

The recipe for struffoli reads as such:400 g (3 cups) of flour3 medium eggs80 g (1/3 cup) of unsalted butter40 g (2 3/4 tablespoons) of granulated sugar2 tablespoons of anise liquorzest of 1 orange1/2 teaspoon of baking powder or baking soda1/4 teaspoon of salt600 ml (2 1/2 cups) of vegetable oil for frying250 g (3/4 cup) of Wildflower honeyTo garnish: slivered almonds andsprinkles“Nonna”, I said to my great grandmother. “Grandma doesn’t put liquor in her struffoli”.“Laura, my secret ingredient is a latin american liquor and that’s why ...

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“'Come Back!' Cried the Little Old Woman” by Sarah Duffey

Submitted to Contest #220

About fifteen Novembers ago, my mom told me during the long ride to grandma's, “People grieve in different ways.” Gray haze veiled the road and icy rain, dinged on the windshield like BB pellets.“Grieve?”Later that afternoon, I danced a metal cookie cutter around the kitchen table while my grandma dumped a heap of brown sugar into a mixing bowl. It looked a little like a sandcastle.“Run, run, as fast as you can, you can’t catch me I’m the Gingerbread Man!” I sang between pursed lips like a ventriloquist.“Remember to keep a good eye on them o...

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“A Stormy Night” by Matthew Foster

Submitted to Contest #220

"Go see the sights, they told me. You just have to see the bridge, they said." Jessie had been coerced by his peers at the work convention to go see the famous bridge from that one movie. Turned out there was no movie, the bridge was a dump, and the second he got there a thunderstorm started. Jessie looked up at the only thing between him and the rain. “Some beauty this turned out to be.” His black suit was drenched, adding an extra ten pounds to his thin frame. His briefcase was soaked, but he didn’t care. He hated coming to these w...

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“Strange awakenings ” by Eddie McKenzie

Submitted to Contest #220

“Are you hungry?” the voice asked, soft as the Spring breeze, but unlike the springtime breezes, the voice instilled upon me nothing less than an icy dread that chilled me to my very core. I had hoped to feign my continued slumber for a while yet, long enough to discern what truly was reality and not just the lingering fantastical afterimages of a dream I had yet to fully awaken. But I had never been an actor, and now I can be quite certain that my treacherously quickening breath had been more than enough to alert whatsoever shared my s...

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“A Tale of Hocus Pocus!” by Julie Grenness

Submitted to Contest #220

"Are you hungry?" Ruth heard. She muttered a response, inaudibly. Mysteriously, she had gone to sleep last night in her own bed in her own humble pad. Crying herself to sleep, she had been broken-hearted. Ruth had phoned her big sister, the well-respected senior witching in her family. Ruth had told big sissie her tale of woe. The debonair Old Wizard Blizzard had dumped her, ghosted her, and traded her in for firm young flesh. Humiliating. In the dark reaches of last night, her older sister, Prunella Positive Prue, had mumbled her own sweari...

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“The Maid of Honor” by Alicia Small-Conaty

Submitted to Contest #220

I could feel the warm caress of sunlight trailing from my fingers to my shoulder as I stretched and turned over. My eyes were still closed, one hand scratching my scalp as a yawn erupted from my throat in response to my body’s awakening. I didn’t want to open my eyes. That would mean the end of my nap and the end of my escape. I didn’t know how long I had been away, but if the sun was out, I probably missed the rest of the debauchery of the wedding after-party. My best friend, Cassie, had finally met her match and traversed down the aisle to...

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“A Fork in the Road ” by Sofia Nesta

Submitted to Contest #220

TW: Anorexia Nervosa “Are you hungry?” Out of the giant fluffy cloud where I had just gotten the chance to lay my head on, I’m transported into a dark abyss. Waves of color path my vision, as I flow through a whirlwind of tunnels and into the great unknown. A bundle of assorted polygons begin to fill my line of vision as I keep treading forward into a desert path, wondering where my thoughts will take me next. I can begin to make out the outline of a figure standing directly over me: one circle for a head protruding several s...

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“Chocolate Chip Cookie” by Pebble K

Submitted to Contest #220

“Are you hungry?” A whisper asks me. I do not wake up. The room I am in is dark and shadowed, and the only source of light comes from a small blue fish tank across from me. It is one of those rectangular ones, with one seagull within it. It smiles at me as I got off the floor. In front of the cage is a single cookie. I take the cookie. I am not particularly hungry, but it seems the right thing to do at the moment. The seagull watches me with orange eyes. The cookie doesn’t feel like anything. I can see it in my hand, but I can not fe...

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“Pieces” by Jarrel Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #220

I can remember vividly Isaac Torres and my house on fire. His face was blue. Everything was blue. It was after 6pm and the sun was taking off with all the day’s vibrant hues. There was a stark emptiness in Isaac’s expression, but I can’t seem to picture that particular detail, like a jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces, even though you know what it’s supposed to be based on the cover of the box it comes in. His smile, though, I can recall at will; the smile of a welcoming presence, of a confidant without having to work for the distinctio...

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“The Guardian of the Silver Spheres” by Gail Ormsby

Submitted to Contest #220

The heat of the desert sun beat down on Sarah's head as she walked across the barren landscape. She had been walking for hours, and her feet were starting to ache. Sarah was beginning to lose hope. She had been lost in the desert for days and had no idea where she was going. Suddenly, her foot caught on something in the sand and tripped over an object. Sarah fell to the ground, and her hand landed on a smooth, metallic object. She picked it up and examined it. It was a small, silver sphere about the size of her fist. "That shouldn't be here,...

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“Remnant of the Serene Days” by Christa Dor

Submitted to Contest #220

Cold.Even as the rays of sun rake my bare arm.Cold.My inflamed pores squeeze out chubby beads of sweat on my damp clothes. They trickle down and die once they come in contact with the scorching sand of the desert.I don't belong in this infinite sea of faded gold. I have been dumped here hours ago, maybe days even. Time is such a useless resource when your system whines for shade and alkaline liquid. And then, my senses blaze into life when my eyes fall upon it. In the distance I see it— a glimmer of rich colors spread upon a soft fabric defy...

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“One Last Plot in Skeleton Town” by Jackson Bruce

Submitted to Contest #220

She was Reagan Fitcher from Copperhead Creek. She was born in 2004, on February 7th. This much the woman knew, having read it off her driver’s license in the flickering headlights of her car. She couldn’t say where she was, nor could she say where she was going. Neither of these ignorances were as troubling as the fact she couldn’t remember precisely who she was, passed Reagan Fitcher from Copperhead Creek. She had no other hints as to her identity - only her wallet, a ring of unlabeled keys, and a cellphone shattered beyond use. Two things ...

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“Counting Tadpoles” by Jeannie Donnelly

Submitted to Contest #220

We were ten, maybe 12 years old when Richie Galanter and I finished a hot game of street handball. August in New Jersey was a sweltering oven and we were both dripping in sweat. “Wanna go to the creek?” Richie asked as he bounced the pink handball on the sidewalk. “We could count the tadpoles.” The creek was in the woods behind the school. It wasn’t deep enough to swim in but we could take off our sneakers and...

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“From Eulogy to Reunion” by Marcia Graham-Moore

Submitted to Contest #220

From Eulogy to Reunion It was a day like any other, and but was the beginning of a friendship that would last a lifetime. His name was James, and we were both young men with our entire lives ahead of us. The lakeside cabin was a place away from the noise of the world. I had been going there for years and it always looked the same. It had to belong to someone, but it was always unlocked and clean, considering I saw no one there. I could hike through the woods near to my house and when I was younger, I pretended it was meant for me. Jame...

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“THE PROMISE” by Andrew Hixson

Submitted to Contest #220

THE PROMISE I kept my promise but couldn’t help but feel uncertain about it. The train I was on had a peculiar schedule. It would stop twice daily, waiting for the tide to go out. The overall journey accounted for each delay, which lasted 90 minutes. It was frustrating to have these delays, but I remained steadfast in keeping my promise. “Have you ever been to Seamer Island?” Tom had croaked, his weakened voice barely audible. The cancer had ravaged his body, causing him to lose weight rapidly. Yet, despite his frailty, the glint in his blu...

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$250

Prize money

251

Contest entries

129

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Oct 20, 2023 EST

Won by D. Grimes 🏆

Title: Fae Touched

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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