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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#234: Time Out

Often, it feels like there aren’t enough hours in a day. We juggle dozens of warring obligations — work, home, friends, family — alongside our own wants and needs. At one time, you might back out of a friend’s birthday to visit an ailing family member. But at another, you’ll go to an important work conference rather than visiting your mother across the country. You never know how much time you have — to make your career, to follow your dreams, to spend with your family. It’s an uncertainty we all learn how to live with, one way or another.

In the spirit of this uncertainty, this week’s prompts focus on time. Who has it and who doesn’t, and who is trying to carve it out, minute by minute.

This week's prompts

Write a story about someone whose time is running out.

Angst – 112 stories

Write a story about someone who wishes they could turn back time.

Character – 70 stories

Write about someone taking advantage of some unexpected free time.

Fluff – 31 stories

Start or end your story with someone saying, “We have all the time in the world.”

Dialogue – 71 stories

Set your story in a place that’s frozen in time — literally or metaphorically.

Narrative – 56 stories

Stories

“Your flames left me frozen.” by TyJheir Shipman

Submitted to Contest #234

"If Time never halts, it remains eternally frozen. Yet, if it persists unceasingly, discerning its moments of stillness becomes a puzzle.In the realm I inhabit, shaped yet not crafted by my hand, future and past are illusions, nonexistent. This timeless expanse, paradoxically, began and will inevitably cease just to do it again.Here, the end precedes birth, and in its shadow, we exist. In this eternal twilight, the end looms, always out of reach, yet inescapable. Before our last breath, a new genesis murmurs. In this endless dawn, we live, p...

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“True To Form” by Marc Wilks

Submitted to Contest #234

I never thought that I would be back in this town. But here I am, driving down the main street of Billings, Georgia, heading to the same bar we snuck into in high school. I could close my eyes and not miss one turn or stop light. That is how much this town has not changed. The same people are walking the same streets, working the same jobs, and discussing the same things. Don't get me wrong, it’s not all bad. Billings is a small town, but lakes and forests surround it. If you are the outdoor type, this place has plenty to offer. Billings is...

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“The White Plantation Dream” by Denise A Nisbet (Wallis)

Submitted to Contest #234

The White Plantation Dream The white pioneer episode in Papua was brief [and] will soon have disappeared completely … Hardly a structure will be left standing or an original planter’s name remembered. … Their white history will recede into memory…. And among living Australians too the ‘Papuan planter’ experience will soon be extinguished. These outcomes could not have been known in advance of course, however inevitable they seem now in retrospect (Lewis 1996)[1]. I made the adventurous move to live in the Territory of Papua New Guinea ...

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“It was D!” by Ms Fox

Submitted to Contest #234

A Dondle McGrewfin fealt uneasy about Clara's situation.B The author used juxtaposition to emphasize the importance of humility.C Clara is a wombat.D Clara wanted to show off her talents.“I don’t know!” The question in question is, of course, asking what is the best description for the scene in which Clara wet her bed. If only Tanya could remember what juxtaposition meant! She figured she would guess ‘B’ anyway because the rest of the answers didn’t require learning any hard words and it was definitely not D. Then again, Clara certainly coul...

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“Frozen in Snow” by Sapo Higueras

Submitted to Contest #234

The footprints in the ground are the most noticeable part of it all. Being in a snowy wasteland, every step is imprinted on the ground. No matter how much time passes, the snow never covers them. Every step over the years from my cabin, the forest, and the fishing hole are all on the ground. The trails make it easy to know where I’ve gone but also are a horrible reminder. A reminder of how alone I truly am here. I don’t remember how I got here, although I don’t remember much in general. Waking up alone in the cabin for the first time w...

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“Oh, What I'd Do If I Had More Time With You” by Azia Bounds

Submitted to Contest #234

With the turn of a key, the roar of the engine went silent. The soft snores from the back passenger seats of the car fill the void. Cassandra smiled gently at her children, from her place in the front passenger seat. A boy and girl slept head-to-head sprawled on the center console wrapped in towels. Brown curly hair mingled together, on the warm spring day. “That waterpark really tired them out, huh.” “Yeah,” said the man, ...

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“Morning Glow” by Rebecca Sophia

Submitted to Contest #234

The wind beats at a young woman’s skirt as she looks towards the dark horizon. The air whipping around her smells fresh and sharp Where are you? What are you doing? Her mind screams at her to answer, but she can barely herself think over the deafening crash of the waves beneath, and the answers to her question feel locked away behind the door of a heavy safe. The cold coastal air nips her as her black skirt flutters around her. How’d you get here? She’s out of breath, her short pumps are muddied as the heels sink into the ground. Why were yo...

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“Folly Dogs” by Andre Carter

Submitted to Contest #234

The driver honked, irritably, his shout and squealing tires sending a shrill arpeggio into the cold, listless air. Gesturing apologetic, Lev hastened through the intersection with renewed purpose, unable to un-equate this near miss to his life trajectory, similarly on a collision course with some unforeseen catastrophe. He continued on, his rapid steps and fixed gaze of one trying to outpace their thoughts. Wind bit at his nose and ears but he barely registered the discomfort, mind elsewhere, mired in despairing fog. The weight of missed opp...

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“Extinction is Assured” by Jeffery Alvey

Submitted to Contest #234

Extinction is Assured Supernova 1. I open my bloodshot eyes to witness a red sky. My eyes are irritated from a lack of sleep. I’m a terrestrial being marooned upon a seemingly panthalassic planet. I find myself on an island only a couple of meters wide. There is nothing upon this bit of ground, with my empty messenger bag turned rations bag being the only exception. No stones, no flora, though I feel epiphytic in purpose. I see no visible signs of life—extant or otherwise. Maybe there are organisms in the depths of the calm, mirror-...

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“Shangri La!” by Christina Schepker-Pikul

Submitted to Contest #234

"I bought us tickets to Hippie Fest," my best friend told me with excitement over the phone."To what?" I replied with confusion."Hippie Fest... you know... Shangri La!"I was confused by this, and wondered why I had been her person of choice for this adventure.We had been best friends since Junior High. We had experienced all of life's highs and lows together from our preteen years through our early thirties. We had gone through some breaks in our friendship, but always found our way back to each other, and our comfortable friendship.She had ...

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“1,440” by Sam Blair

Submitted to Contest #234

“Babe, I have to go… He is my dad and it’s not looking good,” said an exasperated Tim Barron Jr. to his wife. “I know you have to go, but it’s not convenient is all I’m saying,” said his wife. “The end of our life is never convenient for those that have to live without us.” “I know” she said in a sympathetic tone. “Besides, this time is different. I have received multiple calls and I have missed the last three scheduled visits. I have to go.” “Well, travel safe and let me know when you get there.” “I will,” he said then kissed his...

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“Self Exit” by Stephen Mccluer

Submitted to Contest #234

“Another year,” BJ thought. “Another probing of this organ and that appendage . . . and my brain. Hello. Are you still in there? Yep, still here, but for what purpose it’s hard to say.” The doctor always asks the same question. “How are you feeling?” The answer is always the same. “Fine.” Then the probing and the prodding, followed by a list of questions, most of which were answered on the form filled out during the hour’s wait in the lobby . . . if he would only read it. No new allergies, no unusual heart beats or shallow breathing or b...

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“Beyond Time’s Embrace” by Keke Peek

Submitted to Contest #234

As the serene days of my childhood faded away, the winds of transformation commenced their journey through Atlas and myself, the inseparable duo. However, my experience was distinct. I never suffered from any illness during my childhood or even teen years. My immune system stood as the strongest among my family members, Nevertheless, a few days ago, I unexpectedly began to feel bouts of nausea, which soon escalated to the point of me vomiting blood. Despite my growing concern, I choose to keep this distressing matter to myself, refraining fr...

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“Final Jeopardy” by Mia Hammond

Submitted to Contest #234

We come back from the commercial break and I’m ready to answer this final question. I’m feeling confident. I’ve done really well so far, but I’m still a little bit behind Carol from Cincinnati. If only I hadn’t gotten the question about the Byzantine Empire wrong during Double Jeopardy, then I’d be ahead. That was especially unfortunate since I’m a history teacher, but I’ll chalk it up to nerves. Anyway, I know I can make it up here in the final. I’m deciding to go big or go home and bet it all because the category is board games and I feel ...

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“Unneeded” by Christina Nordlander

Submitted to Contest #234

While I was serving my fourth month, I got marched to the infirmary for a check-up and blood samples, too close to the last one. I didn’t think much of it – that’s not true. Like with everything else that broke the pattern during my sentence, I tried to find foreshadowing in it, some hope of reduced time, or some threat. I couldn’t think of a reason, so the thoughts stopped there. The next evening, I sat in the common room with a car magazine, in an attempt to keep my brain sharp. The common room had the same configuration as the waiting-ro...

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$250

Prize money

340

Contest entries

132

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 26, 2024 EST

Won by David Pampu 🏆

Title: 6:47 PST

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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