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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#232: Polar Night & Northern Lights

Winter solstice has come and gone here in the northern hemisphere and we’re slowly heading towards brighter days. Above the arctic circle, however, inhabitants will have to wait a bit longer to see the sun. There, polar night — where the sun doesn’t rise for months — still keeps its grip. Inhospitable as this may seem, entire communities have adapted to the long night, and the northern lights playing across the sky provide a reminder that light will eventually return.

This week's prompts are inspired by polar nights, human resilience, and, most of all, the glimmers of hope that make it all worthwhile.

This week's prompts

Set your story during polar night.

Winter – 37 stories

Write a story set in a world with a dying sun, or where light is a scarce resource.

Science Fiction – 65 stories

Write a story about someone witnessing — or trying to witness — a celestial phenomenon.

Adventure – 38 stories

Write a story about someone who has been tasked to keep a flame burning, surrounded by total darkness.

Character – 84 stories

Write a story about someone looking for a sign in a dark sky.

Angst – 56 stories

Stories

“Beyond the Flame” by Rachel Smith

Submitted to Contest #232

It had been this way for as long as Azuse could remember. Fuel the fire, collect resources, survive. This was all that he knew how to do. The flame was held within a great stone basin, in the middle of what Azuse called, ‘The Known’. The basin was around one and half feet high, one foot wide, and made of a dark grey granite. It was extraordinarily heavy, more so than it should have been given its dimensions - only once had Azuse tried to lift it in a moment of frustration, to no avail. ‘Flame is life, darkness is death’, read the inscrip...

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“Two little blue lines.” by Laura Haffenden

Submitted to Contest #232

sensitive topic - baby loss The first sign came to her in the clouds. She laid in the hospital bed bereft with grief as she recovered from her miscarriage. She stared out the window rather than look back into the rest of the hospital ward at the other mothers with the same grief stricken faces, and there in the clouds was a baby, the outline of a baby like you would see in an ultrasound scan picture. The moment she saw it a wave of peace came across her, she knew her baby was safe somewhere beyond here. She was filled with hope that a lo...

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“Eight Ball” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #232

Marta ventures tentatively out into the oppressive darkness of the permanent deep grey of a deathly night. She is swaddled in layers of clothing over which she has wrapped and tied strips of blanket. Despite these precautions, she shivers with the cold, leans into it and hugs herself for comfort against the ever present elemental force of the unnatural Winter. She does not move far from her sanctuary. There is no point, and she cannot afford to waste anything, including her energy. She pauses as though considering her next action, th...

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“The Ecstasy of Ice” by Dana Rodney

Submitted to Contest #232

The Ecstasy of Ice Nanuk shuffled away as the chopper’s blades receded. When she was a safe distance away, she slowed to a walk, swaying her powerful head and keeping her nose to the ground. She smelled things before she saw them. She could smell a seal on the ice from twenty miles away. She had the keenest nose of any creature on earth but she was far from the fastest; running any farther than a few hundred yards overheated her. Four inches of blubber and a dense double coat made the icy Beaufort Sea her bathtub, but her core temperature ...

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“Let me tell ya ‘bout Cold” by John Howard Hatfield

Submitted to Contest #232

Let me tell ya ‘bout Cold Cold! You’re cold? Ya think this is cold? Let me tell ya ‘bout cold! So you think you know cold; well you don’t come close. I’m gonna tell you the facts ‘bout cold. As one might think, there are several kinds or degrees of cold: there’s cold, there’s colder, and then there’s COLD. But there is a degree of cold that goes where no other cold has been. I have seen, felt and survived it, I want you to know. Survived them all at one time or another. So just hang in there and I’ll tell you all ya need to know. ...

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“The Hermit” by May Cutler

Submitted to Contest #232

The Hermit looked up at the encompassing black and felt the dread sinking to the pit of their stomach. The empty sky was an omen. A warning of consequences if the flame was never reignited. Fate rested on the Hermit’s shoulders and nothing could have prepared them for the long cold journey into the dark for the sake of the light. “We would not survive the winter without new light.” A young woman and her child fanned their last embers. “Thank you for your sacrifice, Sir.” The mother offered her scarf, with tears in her eyes. T...

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“SAI” by River Brawn

Submitted to Contest #232

My mother and father came from a time when light illuminated the world. Now there is only this one light. They came from a time where people were common, now they are few. The remaining have been made to walk alone in the dark, with no more than dinosaur bones to light the way.I have been made steward of this final light, sent out in hopes of finding another. Truly, I hope to accomplish this, for the light has grown dim as of late. The light that cast back the shadows was once bright enough to have lit the path. But now it merely lights my f...

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“In Hope Of Light” by Sierra Brockenbrough

Submitted to Contest #232

The time of the event was hard to ignore for a lot of people. Most people who came before us don't remember when the sun shone in the sky or how it felt. On the day of Pre-Flash Week, a bang came out of nowhere and wiped out an entire civilization. Years later, it happened again. People who survived the flash called it Post-Flash Week. It was the day when light was scarce. When we find light, we harvest it before it burns out. Photos are reaped into jars or lamps that are sealed tightly and shipped out to towns and cities. I work with a larg...

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“Special Delivery” by Mia Hammond

Submitted to Contest #232

We were entering hyperspace when we got a ping to our dashboard: “Greetings. Your next delivery will be on the planet Kalgon. When you arrive, enter the Visitor’s Center to pick up the package and await further instruction.”We landed our ship at the given coordinates and looked out at the desolate landscape.“Who could we possibly be delivering to out here? I don’t see a soul,” said my partner Adam, eyes darting around.I shrugged. The Visitor’s Center sat atop a large boulder, the only structure that could be seen for miles. “W...

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“The Lightbringer” by Simon Pacis

Submitted to Contest #232

He looked down at his hands, which were quickly turning a bright shade of orange. He tried to calm himself, just like mother had taught. Open your pores slowly, let them remain for some seconds, then close them slowly. Repeat. Open, wait, close. Repeat. It worked. His typical shade of turquoise was returning. Very slightly relieved, he looked up at the podium again, his main eyes fixed on the Luminarch, who was staring right back at him. “Doruek,” said the Luminarch, “please approach.” With trembling steps, Doruek walked to the front, stoppi...

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“Child of First Light” by Vaishnavi Katta

Submitted to Contest #232

“What’s wrong?” the wind whispered as it touched Ilara’s flushed cheeks. She covered them with her hands as the wind continued to chatter, blowing harder at the patch of bare skin between her pants and socks. She pulled up her socks and pulled her knees into her chest, shielding as much of her skin away from the wind as possible. Still, it spoke. “Would you like another message from the heavens?” the wind laughed as it slipped through her sealed knees and puffed onto her face. “No, no more messages. Why speak now of all times....

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“All the heat of the sun” by Vivacity Rex

Submitted to Contest #232

****Content Warning: This story contains sensitive themes, including emotional distress, self-harm, and the exploration of loss. Reader discretion is advised.**** The sun and its warmth have long abandoned this world. Leaving the moon and its cool light as its only illumination. We used to fear that without the sun, life on Earth would fade away. But that was not the case. We evolved. Everything evolved – everything changed. We sleep when the moon starts to settle over the horizon. When it leaves us in complete and utter da...

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“They Came From Nowhere” by Mika Corcoran

Submitted to Contest #232

Warmth. Something that many should feel in their lifetimes. Seeing the sun on a bright, shiny day. Frolicking in the sand box as a child. Digging up mysteries that other children had left behind. A memory that Jackson Ohinno would remember vividly. He remembered the day he discovered a rare action figure left in the sand showing to his mother the treasure some poor kid left behind. Brightly grinning from ear to ear at this discovery. And of course, his mother let him keep it since no one came for it. A vice that many would kill for ...

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“The Land Of The Dying Sun” by Joana Silva

Submitted to Contest #232

*Contains violence and strong language*It had been eleven years since the Light-beings, the Hikarijin, arrived on Earth and the skies turned dim, casting an eerie shadow over the world. The once vibrant sunlight became a distant memory. Nobody knew what planet they came from; if they even have a home planet; or if they are a nomad species who travel from star system to star system to extract energy from the stars that sustain the locals existence. They silenced Earth’s leaders or anyone who tried to war with them. The Hikarijin held the worl...

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“Miracia” by Kai Moon

Submitted to Contest #232

Sage walked and walked. He kept on walking, against the cold, against the blizzard. The footprints he left in the snow were soon covered up, and he could hear no sound except for his own. There was no sign of life around, not even a single plant or tree. It was as if he had come to a deserted place. The ruins of an apocalypse, perhaps. But he had to continue walking. His journey was his only purpose of living. He exhaled a series of white breaths, his body shivering to retain at least a little bit of heat. He was struggling to keep h...

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$250

Prize money

280

Contest entries

106

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 12, 2024 EST

Won by Jonathan Page 🏆

Title: The Lantern of Kaamos

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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