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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

“The Last Voyage” by Paul Littler

Submitted to Contest #232

Please be aware, this story contains adult themes. Constance at her table, stared out of the window of the ship, the wake the only thing visible in the darkness. Lost in thought, she listened with half an ear to the conversation at the table next to hers. “Here’s to us! Tom and Jack” said one of the men. His partner was clearly not as keen on yet another toast, the fourth Constanc...

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“As Light Replaced Darkness” by Johanna Parry

Submitted to Contest #232

"Time to rise and shine" Jenna said to herself as she threw her covers back. She grabbed her pants from the floor and pulled them up her long legs. The air felt cold. Colder than usual. She poured herself a glass of water. Her stomach felt strange. Something was off. Glancing around her small trailer she tried to comprehend the body weirdness she was experiencing. The subtle anxiety grew. Jenna threw open the thin aluminum door. As her feet touched ground, her knees bent. Like a hunting cat she crouched, splaying her hands wide like antenna ...

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“Midday Darkness” by Audrey Atkins

Submitted to Contest #232

My fingers were sore from my tight grip on the pen. The clipboard balanced on my forearm was filled with blanks. They were blanks I needed to fill in to move forward. Simple blanks usually weren’t important, but these were the most important ones I’d filled in in my life. They would determine my career, my life. They would determine whether I’d get to do what I had always dreamed of…or not. I double checked that my name—Stella Aster—was correct on the top of my paper and the date was also correct. Then I stared up at the sky, my trained eye...

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“Saudade” by PJ Town

Submitted to Contest #232

Curtis says it’s his family he misses the most; he has a young wife and two daughters. He speaks fondly of them during those interminable nights when neither of us can sleep because of Blake’s shouting or screaming. At those times, I imagine smothering Blake with a pillow, and I might actually go through with it if he were in the same cell as us.I like to hear Curtis speak; he tells a good tale, pacing events, building up suspense, even if the story is only about picnics or trips to the seaside. But it’s when he’s describing those family exc...

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“One Pale Ribbon” by Amalee Bowen

Submitted to Contest #232

My cheek is cold where it presses against the glass of the car window. I huddle deeper into my winter coat, trying to keep warm, but I keep my eyes trained on the night sky. I know that the northern lights are not like meteorites, where if you blink you’ll miss them. But I watch for the aurora the same way, regardless. We’ve already failed to see the northern lights seven times. It’s always the same. Every night I check the NOAA’s Space Weather Forecast, hoping that the green band will revolve around the globe and expand enough to cover...

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“Darkness” by Leah Dewey

Submitted to Contest #232

The silence was deafening. I couldn’t remember the last time I had heard another human voice. I watched the crackling fire before me. It moved in a repetitive fashion and seemed always as bored as I felt. I threw on a few more logs to keep the fire raging but it still seemed dwarfed in the surrounding darkness. I had long since ran out of ideas or things to keep me moving. My mind felt dull and I knew I had already thought all things worth thinking. I was certain they had long since forgotten about me. I was certain that several gene...

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“Burning Bright” by Meredith Tarbox

Submitted to Contest #232

There are things that move within the Darkness. Whether those things are alive is a mystery, of course–the rumor only speaks of the never-ending Hunger of such things. Always shifting, always moving. The Darkness was always present, always aware…and always drawing closer. The Darkness was only ever kept away by the presence of the Fire.The Fire began as a source of warmth; a night-time balm against the cold. It began as a source of Light, in a way–but had never been meant to keep the Darkness at bay…at least, not on its own. T...

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“Susan’s Home” by Damilola Iyiola

Submitted to Contest #232

I discreetly wipe the tears from my eyes with my left hand, keeping my right hand tightly fisted against my mouth so that the noise desperately trying to escape will not. I do not want Susan to hear or see the tears. She is already dealing with a whole lot; my emotions will not help. But she must have noticed because her breathe goes deeper as she stretches her hands towards me. I notice this immediately and reach out my right hand to hers. I will not cry because I do not want her to be sad. ‘Don’t hold it in, I don’t want you to,’ Susan s...

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“Stranded in the Northern Night” by Sarah L.

Submitted to Contest #232

Darkness sat impenetrable on every side, creeping ever closer each time Riki nodded off. Hours ago she had used the little energy she possessed to ignite a fire in her palm. Just as the sun had started to go down she gathered what kindling she could find, though it was chilled through with cold dew from the snow. Power and energy tugged in her gut as she focused herself on the flame. It took every bit of focus to keep the flames alight. Riki was cold and tired, after the attack on her ship. She was separat...

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“Wick Aflame” by David Winfield

Submitted to Contest #232

AmbushThe massive hand-hewn spear whistled through the forest in search of its target. With a sickening thud, the jagged steel tip tore through the chain-mail armor, gouging and ripping as it pinned its victim to a damp cedar tree trunk. Embúr, the wood elf, let out a cry of pain as he grabbed the violently vibrating shaft and tried to stop it from moving. His face was a mask of distressing agony as he bit his lip to muffle the sound, not wanting his attackers to find his exact location. He focused and centered his mind, ignoring the gushing...

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“Maldomir's Flame” by Matthew Gordon

Submitted to Contest #232

Maldomir stands tall, gazing into his fate. The dancing orange and yellow flames stare back, burning in a large bowl. Long have they been lit, for how many years, Maldomir can not say. Tasked with defending them, he has remained at their side for all that time. They will remain lit, until he draws his last breath. Compelled by the ancient magics, his will is not his own. A punishment for a life of crime. Damned to a black void, filled only with incompetent beasts and his protected flame for company....

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“The Star Gazer” by A.J. Williams

Submitted to Contest #232

Spring of 2047 (35 A.E.) Near Denver, Free Republic of Colorado Thomas Newbury peered through the pre-Event telescope, his gaze fixed on the celestial canvas above. His routine pursuit involved scouring the heavens for a new comet, not merely for the thrill of discovery but as a means to eke out a meager living in this post-apocalyptic world. The solar flare storm that ravaged Earth's communications and electricity on December 21st, 2012, had plunged humanity into a stark and unforgiving reality. Yet, in the midst of desolation, Thomas f...

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“Show me who you are” by Maybri Boyle

Submitted to Contest #232

Is there such a thing as a god? If there is, I would like to see him in the flesh. I would ask him why he claims to have died for our sins when sinners still roam without constraints, why he promised to heal all sickness when sickness takes rest inside us, and why we have to die to reach heaven and not be placed there with great comfort and gentleness. I believe this god to be cruel and resentful, jealous of the lives we live, as he sits on his high horse, wishing he were immortal. Hell is where we now reside.I snap out of my contemplations,...

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“The Truth is Out There” by Eric Reid

Submitted to Contest #232

Ben eased himself slowly into the folding chair. It was stiff from the cold. Leaning back he gazed up at the night sky. It was a clear winter night. Not one cloud in the sky, allowing for a spectacular view of stars and planets. Ben brought up his camera and snapped a couple of pictures. He then set the camera down on the table beside him and poured himself a cup of hot chocolate from his thermos. After blowing on it he took a sip. He then breathed a relaxing sigh and continued to gaze in wonderment at the cosmic array before him. ...

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“Optimistic and Hope” by Valerie Aulerich

Submitted to Contest #232

Sometimes you have to write what you really want to see. It is not a matter of slumbering or being inattentive. It is what you may ask of the universe. The birds of the air have already given me signs. However sometimes a feather is not enough. I mean don’t get me wrong, those signs have led me down a very divine passage. While I was unsure many times in my life a sign was always sent unexpectedly. An assortment of colors in ivory whites, light grays and obsidian blacks. Those feathers helped clear my self doubt. However now this may be sh...

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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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