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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

“Ticker and the Reset” by Donnadeen Kao

Submitted to Contest #234

Ticker spent half her life trying to decide what decision would be best, and half her life wishing she had chosen differently. This was the time for her to reflect on most of those decisions. She sighed as she started on this road of self-reflection. She thought about when she was really young. The kids in her class weren’t bad kids, but they did seem to look for trouble. Trouble without being caught, that is. Ticker always felt like she was on the outside looking in. They seemed so very cool to her, always...

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“Death Row” by S.d. Schwarz

Submitted to Contest #234

Jeffrey Lockwood. Jeff. My man. Best man who was my Best Man for mine and Rita’s wedding. Mr. Lockwood: wealthy-ass motherfucker who drove a run-down SUV. DJ Lock: best underground DJ in lame ass Utah who simultaneously coded in the basement of his standard two-bedroom townhome. The man who made me famous. The man who got my name--first AND last--out across the whole state (maybe the whole US). Gotta love him.I’m sorry, Jeff. You deserved better.The day I met Jeff, I was ditching PE Sophomore year of high school to get high in the handicappe...

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“Old House” by Marie Maher

Submitted to Contest #234

I gazed up at the old house, which lay mellow in the morning sunlight, its ancient walls covered with ivy, and I wished with all my heart that I could turn back time. From far overhead came the raucous cries of the sea-gulls as they circled in their endless quest for food, while in the background was the ever present surge of the sea, and I remembered. At the landing window I looked out and sighed with pleasure. It was going to be another beautiful day. The sun, already high in the sky, shone down on the streets which were thronged with tou...

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“Love has no bounds but the bounds of time ” by Mercy Cooper

Submitted to Contest #234

Love has no bounds but the bounds of time  By Mercy Cooper There absolutely cannot be enough time in a night. Who said that a day should be 24 hours? Who decided that a ball should only last till morning? He looks absolutely stunning tonight and what do I look like? The man I’m here with says I look beautiful but I doubt my real love would think that. He cares more about what’s inside..at least I hear that he does.  The prince smiles and I want very badly to run up to him and kiss him–of course I restrain myself. Yes my dear, m...

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“The last stop” by Laura Haffenden

Submitted to Contest #234

Nigel, in his blue corduroy trousers and grey waterproof, climbed aboard the 214b from Coventry central. The warm air of the buses heating a welcome reprieve from the chilled October morning. “All day ticket please” The young bus driver granted his wish and the ticket was printed out for him. He perused the available seats and chose one half way back. Not too close to the front, not too close to the back with a lovely view of the City hustle and bustle. It was Nigel’s intention to ride the bus all the way to the end of the line and then all ...

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“Evelyn's Echo” by Timothy Reilly Musick

Submitted to Contest #234

I haven't felt the wind brush against me in seven years. No push of a person's arm as they tilt their body to move past mine. I haven't heard a chirp from a bird or the train that decides to blow its horn past my apartment at three in the morning in seven years. Seven years since my daughter's laughter. Her giggles, which used to fill the evenings with joy as I watched her favorite shows, have faded into a haunting silence. The warmth of her presence, the light of her smile, echoes now in a world where only I exist. Seven years since the n...

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“Just Another Day” by Nicholas Thomas

Submitted to Contest #234

…She literally just said that. I wasn’t too sure what to make of this. I looked at my sister, dumbstruck and my left eyebrow raised curiously.I stopped mid-pour with the box of cereal. My toast had just popped out of the toaster. I set the cereal box down on the table and stood back up. I stared at her wildly as she sat in her seat at the table, tapping away at her phone as if she hadn’t said anything. I looked over at her phone and saw her scrolling through Instagram; there was a post of her friend, Kelsey, from school, after she’d taken a ...

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“Neon Burnout” by Hadley Thompson

Submitted to Contest #234

Still and humming, the world moves slower here. People talk to not be heard and listen to find there’s nothing to hear. Even the kitchen is tired, too heavy eyed to clatter plates together, whirl machines, or break glasses. There aren’t many orders anyway. My back hurts from standing behind the long counter, wrapping around me and my coworkers like a restrictor, but one of the night, alike all the other people in it’s apathy for the fast pace of time. Somehow even the neon of signs of one liners and brand names are faded to a more average co...

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“Can't Go Back” by Helen Waterman

Submitted to Contest #234

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” My brother kept completely still, staring into his phone like it was his very lifeline.  “No. It’s okay, just go without me.” He turned away from me, signaling that he was done with the conversation. With a sigh, I closed his door behind me, walking downstairs to see if Mom was ready to leave yet. When she saw me return to the kitchen without Tyler, her face fell and she shook her head.  “Well, we can’t make him go.” “He should go, mom. If he doesn’t say his last goodbyes, he’s goin...

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“Until Midnight ” by Katie DeMerchant

Submitted to Contest #234

It wasn’t exactly like waking up from sleep. There was the taste of dirt and something musty in my mouth. It took a long time for me to understand where or what I was. There was the smell of something chemical and it made my nose wrinkle. My eyelids felt stuck and my mouth was as if it had been sealed shut. Something in my throat burned and my chest itched. I ran my hands over the white buttoned blouse and ankle-length grey skirt. My feet ached as I realized they had been crammed into a pair of shoes that was a size too small. Slowly memorie...

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“Mother of All Evil” by Caroline Pinsonat

Submitted to Contest #234

I hated him from the first second I laid eyes on him.  Thirteen hours of grueling labor and nine months of pregnancy and this was my prize. A shrieking, ugly, detestable baby. The greatest, most unbearable pain of my life was all for this? If I could turn back the clock and stop this pregnancy, I would in a heartbeat. I lay crumpled on the hospital bed, feeling relieved that it was over but at the same time, a dense sense of dread bearing down on me. Dread for the next eighteen years that I have to sacrifice for this creature. T...

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“Adult Lullaby” by Christine Johnson

Submitted to Contest #234

Cate had tried this combination at least a dozen times before. Warm bath, bottle three-quarters filled with formula, and the donkey and the cow book read twice, the first time with animal sounds and the second time only reading the words all with the hope to lull Jana, her eight-month-old daughter, into a sleepy trance. When Jana’s eyes would close and remain closed for more than a minute to ensure the slumber spell had taken full effect, Cate would lay Jana down in her crib and creep out on tip toes only to hear Jana’s screams befor...

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“One Last Strike” by Ansley Scott

Submitted to Contest #234

“We have all the time in the world,” Harris says.  He looks down at his hands, at how his fingers still tremble and pulse, as if he still sees the power he unleashed only moments ago from those very palms. His mouth is slightly gaped and his bottom lip shimmers with the redness of a split lip. Besides that small cut, he’s completely untouched. Even his hair remains styled and pushed back, the gel only giving way to a few strands of hair that curl just above his right eye.  Kinser watches him. Her stomach turns. There are bodies s...

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“Pretty in Blush” by Kiera Hillaire

Submitted to Contest #234

It’s her last day so she wants to make the most of it. “What else can I see? Where else can I go?” She could go anywhere and see anything she wanted, the sky was the limit. She looked at everything in curiosity, festivity, and silence so as not to disturb the beauty of it all. She dared not to touch anything as she feared how fragile everything was. She ate everything with her eyes and imagination. She closes her eyes and smiles. She takes a deep breath, breathing in all the excitement, scents, and all the wonders of the world that hid in th...

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“Corner of my eye” by Eva Greatorex

Submitted to Contest #234

Crouching against the edge of the moonlit barn I took a deep breath of the crisp night air, letting the cold sear my lungs. I never usually slept well, my mind always jolted me awake with the same cruel, twisted memory from that day.I shivered and cast the thought aside. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes I tilted my head upwards. Moonlight bathed my face as I rose and strode back inside. Today would be my day, it had to be. Grabbing my satchel and lacing my boots I roused Hector. ‘Come on boy’ I murmured ‘If we leave now we’ll get a head s...

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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!

Prompts | Many Hands | 2024-09

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