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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

“Lightning Thief” by Fi Brie

Submitted to Contest #232

1023 P.N 21:00 I failed. I failed Her. And now I am running, chest heaving, stumbling over peaked dunes, kicking up the red dirt on Surface Hill, aware of the shouts and pounding feet behind me. My heavy sack bangs against my legs and I consider tossing it into a crate, but the precious cargo within will take me an eternity to gain back. I have a lengthy run ahead - over a mile, across unstable Surface terrain, down sandy banks, through my hole in the boundary fence back into the Depths, then along backstreets until I reach my ...

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“All the Stars Went Out” by Allan Bernal

Submitted to Contest #232

You never told me what to do if all the stars disappeared from the sky. You were the one who first took me camping, promising I’d love it as long as we were together. “We can’t see the stars clearly from the city, Paloma – remember I said that the night we met?” So we went, and despite the mosquitos and the damp mud and the loud campers drinking beer nearby, it was beautiful. “If we’re ever apart, just come back out here and look at the stars. We’ll be looking at the same sky no matter where we are.” It wasn’t the most original sentiment...

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“The Light in Burning Eggs” by Jacqari Hill

Submitted to Contest #232

She contemplated going back to sleep. She should have. The smell of something burning is what made her toss the covers back and hop out of the bed. “Mom?” Someone was cooking. Her dad didn’t cook, so it had to be her mom. As the smell of smoke became stronger, she lowered her mouth into the crook of her elbow and coughed up a lung. As she rounded the corner, the unmistakable cloud of smoke wafted up from the kitchen. Waving smoke out of the way, she went to see what it possibly could be, and she was greeted with a pan on th...

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“Outbreak on TRAPPIST-1e” by Sara Thomas

Submitted to Contest #232

Aquarius Constellation: TRAPPIST-1 - Red Dwarf. Spectral class M8.0±0.5.TRAPPIST-1e – Exoplanet.40 years after the crash landing of the Res Obscura. Crew: 22,300. Survivors: 20,987.*** Zora was already starting to regret her actions. She marched quickly down the semi-dark corridor. Thin tubes of dull blue light pulsed in the floor and the ceiling.Zora’s hand brushed periodically over her pocket. Still there. The relief was short lived and moments later the urge to check again was overwhelming. The thud, thud of her boots and the swish o...

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“The Flame's Guardian” by Maddy Jensen

Submitted to Contest #232

It was cold. So cold I could feel my fingers and toes turning purple. My body felt sluggish and my brain was clouded. They told me it would be easy. That I would be safe. They lied. I had believed them so easily and they crushed my trust beneath their heels. I opened my eyes to total darkness. There was no light and there hasn't been since I was left here. I was so tired of the cold and dark but I was not allowed to leave. I was put here to guard the Flame of the Hearth. A burning flame that held no warmth. A flame that was...

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“Phoenix Feather” by Maria DiFranco

Submitted to Contest #232

"Just remember," the wizard said, his fingers burning with a warm fire, "no matter how much the darkness may try, it cannot put out a light." "But other things can," Teo said. His hands were smaller than his mentor's, and he cupped them together to receive the wizard's light. His mentor smiled. The fire lit up his teeth and dark eyes. "But we can stop other things," he said. He lowered his hand, dropping the magical fire into his apprentice's palms. Teo gasped at the heat, then laughed. "We cannot stop darkness," said his mentor, "but it can...

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“Forever Ochre” by Tim Dudenhoefer

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #232

To be honest, I feel a little hornswoggled. That’s a great word, isn’t it? Roll it around in your mouth a little bit, “Hornswoggled.” It’s a mouthful and sounds lovely, so impressive and playful. It simply means hoaxed. And if you think about it, the word lives up to itself. It’s a game of a word, sounding cute and fun, that you can use to trick someone into doing things. Pretty sneaky, if you ask me. Anyhow, paint me hornswoggled. I took the job—well, l was talked into taking it—by my very persuasive agent, Stella. “Girl, it will be gre...

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“Peter the Polar Bear” by Janet Severn

Submitted to Contest #232

Chloe the Polar Bear and Monk the Polar Bear were walking on the ice by the water. They were holding hands. There were 37 bears in their grade at school, and Chloe was the first female to lose her virginity. Some of the bears were saying mean things about her. But she didn't care much. In a way, for her it was a badge of pride. She did not love Monk. And some females might say his face was a little odd. But he had a heavy snout, and most of the male bears were a little afraid of him. He was 1100 pounds. He and Chloe had done it about 50 time...

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“Spaces Between Where We Are Sure” by Morgan Aloia

Submitted to Contest #232

Sylber saw the shape of a whisper, rippling out across endless disjointed space, and it drew him to fixation.He was sitting, now, days later, searching in his way staying perfectly still. The passage of time seemed suspended as he delved into the intricate patterns of the starlit tapestry adorning the ceiling above him. Erudite symbols intertwined, capturing the essence of all that had ever been seen. Each symbol was a gateway to knowledge, a testament to the countless explorations undertaken by the scholars of the Athalial League. The livin...

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“Enkindled” by J.B. Redel

Submitted to Contest #232

The gate is weakening.Hush. He still has time.He hears us now. See how he flinches?Yes, but he has time still. Have patience. Eldric paused in his task, allowing his trembling hands to set the fist-sized lump of wood on top of the pile of completed figurines. Creating the small talismans was usually easy and required little to no thought. For some reason, he couldn’t figure out how to finish his most recent creation. The voices were only making it more difficult. Out of habit alone, he glanced toward the eastern wall of the cavern ...

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“Descent of a Flame” by Connla Mullan

Submitted to Contest #232

I have been tasked to make the pilgrimage from Drummanor peak to the depths of the Killnirin forest with little more than a satchel with some provisions, my cloak, clothes and my lantern. The monks of the peak have warned me of the dangers within the forest, not just of beast or man but of the mind. Within this cursed place of whispers and shadow, colossal trees intertwine their branches, creating a dense canopy that casts an impenetrable shadow below. In this land of perpetual twilight I must keep my wits about me, remain true to my goal an...

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“An Easy Game ” by Zinat Abdullah

Submitted to Contest #232

12 people stood on the flanks of the cobblestones. Each on their own marble altar. All except one stood on their grave. The one who would walk, maybe hobble, or possibly stumble out of the door and embrace the natural light that the sun gave, bask in its warmth, and smile to its delight. Each one hoped that they would be the one and only person who would walk out alive. As the stone altars lowered, Catalina’s heart started off to the pace of the marching band, the beats becoming faster and faster, her heart almost shattering as t...

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“The Sunpeople” by Hannah Lynn

Submitted to Contest #232

“Come on, let’s get these lines pulled.”Brady checked his watch. “You still want to get this delivery done today?”“I do. They’re waiting for us, and I don’t want to disappoint them. I feel sorry for them in a way.”“Who? The sunpeople? Or the staff having to deal with them?”She sighed. It was a conversation that would no doubt turn into a debate, and she was in no mood. It was almost 10:30 and they only had ninety minutes before the sun came up and her to do list was longer than she would have liked. Sh...

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“The Torch of Man” by Nicholas Thomas

Submitted to Contest #232

A barren landscape stretches for miles ahead; an unforgiving desert which was teeming with life a mere decade ago. This phenomenon had been spreading across the globe at a frightening pace as the atmosphere itself dissipated into the cosmos around them. What is left of the human race now lives in dark bunkers deep below the surface as they breathe synthetic oxygen and consume vegetation that was grown in a lab, but it is becoming increasingly aware among the people that their supplies wil...

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“Light in Time of Darkness” by Chris Pye

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #232

Here's a word: Entoptic. It means that what you are seeing is entirely within your nervous system, your brain. It's not 'out there'. You've experienced it: Before you go to sleep; when the curtains are drawn and the lights out, and the room is totally dark. Stare into that darkness and watch the brilliant spots and sparkles wandering in the air. Only, they aren't in the air. Now rub your eyes and watch the fireworks; the streaks of blues and bursts of orange. The scintillating world that isn't there. Now imagine you're in a cave, a rea...

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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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