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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#238: Aposiopesis

An ancient figure of speech, literally meaning “becoming silent,” aposiopesisis a very fancy word for a very common predicament. Aposiopesis occurs when a sentence breaks off and is left unfinished, suggesting the speaker is too overwhelmed to go on. Think “I’m so angry, I could —”, “You don’t think they…?”, or “I just thought…”

This week’s prompts are inspired by unfinished utterances, communication catastrophes, and those times when you just can’t quite...

This week's prompts

Start or finish your story with a speaker unable to finish their sentence, perhaps overcome by emotion.

Angst – 92 stories

Write a story in which a conversation takes place where the true subject is only implied.

Dialogue – 40 stories

Write a story including the line “I can’t say it.”

Dialogue – 58 stories

Write a story in which an important message is cut off, leaving characters to wonder or puzzle out what was left unsaid.

Mystery – 48 stories

Set your story at a silent retreat.

Angst – 44 stories

Stories

“Remnants ” by Isabella Zeman

Submitted to Contest #238

The boat scuffed the sandbar, ripples coiling under the moonlight. “This is it?” I asked as I took in the island in front of us. “This is it,” my best friend, Hesperos, confirmed, his golden hair appearing silvery in the darkness. “The cavern is up the mountain pass, we’ll have to walk a bit.” I dropped the anchor into the sapphire ocean as Hesperos jumped the short distance from the small boat to the sand below. I followed him, landing in the shallows of the beach, water reaching my ankles. This island was one of countless...

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“Inner Peace” by Hannah Floyd

Submitted to Contest #238

Shanti was sitting cross-legged on a wall. She had just finished a 1-hour period of meditation, and her legs had completely gone to sleep. She carefully moved her feet, one at a time, down to the ground, and sat there, readjusting to the world. Everything looked different. Before sitting down to meditate, she hadn’t actually been looking. Now, because she had un-hooked her thinking mind, she could take in her surroundings all at once. The flowers were brighter. A cat moved cautiously behind the bushes, stalking its prey. She caught its...

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“Obsessions” by Cheyenne Spicer

Submitted to Contest #238

This story contains mentions of self harm and mental health issues."Why doesn't..." Jessica sat on the edge of a twin bed in a college dorm with tears rolling down her cheeks.I met Jessica in 6th grade, we were 11. I remember sitting next to her in science class and I used all my 11 yr old charisma to make her my friend instantly.She seemed to like me and the feeling was mutual, she was really funny and easy to talk to. She wasn't as immature as all the other kids I hung out with. But soon I realized that Jessica had some real issues.She too...

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“Fuck You” by Jla Starr Johnson

Submitted to Contest #238

“Psssssttt. How many bad words do you know?” Izaak’s six-year-old voice whispers during reading time. “You don’t have to say it out loud. Just show, with your fingers,” he points to his left hand.Mom wouldn’t approve of this conversation. But, I set my book aside and form a fist anyway. I start to count. Our restrained giggles grow and the reactions on our faces become sillier with the more fingers I put up. “Twelve?!” Izaak gasps. His jaw sinks and he glares in amazement. “How many do you know?” he swivels his ...

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“Murder on My Mind” by Leah J. Simmons

Submitted to Contest #238

I have one goal, one purpose, one destiny. Someone has to die. And it’s going to happen today.Events of the past several days have stirred a slumbering malevolence in my soul that I never knew was there. Now, my inner Eldrich Horror has awakened and it desperately needs to feed. Through forced illumination and reflection, my undeniable path is now crystal clear to me. I’m going to kill someone. I’m just not sure who yet. There are so many options, so many unsuspecting tar...

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“The Broadcast” by Breanna Dawn

Submitted to Contest #238

I stared out the window as we turned onto the main road of our small, boring town. Above, the clouds stretched across the sky as a dark gray blanket. It casted a gloomy haze over the decrepit buildings passing by in a blur outside the window. Before getting into the car I noted the that the air smelled heavy of un-shed rain. I heard my mom mutter under her breath, “I’ve never seen town this empty before.” Her eyebrows pulling together in confused concern. “Maybe it’s because of the storm?” I asked unsure looking f...

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“The Silent Treatment” by PJ Town

Submitted to Contest #238

(contains some sexual references and swearing)There he is, having a whale of a time, and me here, miserable as sin. Course, I can’t tell him anything; they’d be down on me like a ton of bricks if I as much as opened my mouth.The thing that really galls me, really gets my goat, really pisses me off – hmmm, my collection of ways to describe how totally hacked off I am is certainly coming along … and there’s another one! – is that this was all his idea.“Let’s get away for the weekend!” he said, and it was the first time he’d been spontaneous si...

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“Sometimes You Just Gotta Make Your Own Rules” by Barbara Nosek

Submitted to Contest #238

Language, plus implied violence, physical abuse and substance abuse“But wouldn’t this be very dangerous if . . .”“Yes, Chrissy, it could go bad, disastrously bad. But I have to do this.”“This is really scary, Alex. I’m going to be so worried about you.”“Well, we just have to hope the plan on paper holds true for the plan in action.”“Believe me, I’ll be hoping that with all my heart until your mission is over.”* * *Born and raised in this city, and yet in all my 43 years I’d never set foot in this part of town. Even law enforcement didn’t wan...

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“Therapy Session” by Sofia Fleming

Submitted to Contest #238

“What’s troubling you?”“I…I had a panic attack earlier today. Because…of something really fucking stupid…” I bitterly laugh. “Of course, it’s fucking stupid. It’s me.”“What was it, if you don’t mind me asking?”“No. You should ask. It’s the only way I’ll force myself to spit it out. It…” I inhale deeply through my nose. “Lipstick. Someone was wearing dark red lipstick, and it reminded me of…my-” I have to force myself to finish the sentence. “…my mother…”I pause for a moment that seems to stretch forever. The pressure of further elaboration w...

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“Silent War” by MJ Andres

Submitted to Contest #238

The book bag hanging off my shoulder felt heavier than it had when I first tossed it on.It only had the few essentials I needed to survive.But after hiking up a mountain for three miles I was sure even the hair tightly wound in a ponytail on my head was to heavy for me to be lugging around.My legs wobble as they finally straighten, the ground beneath my sneakers leveling. Sweat beads down the side of my neck, trickling a cool path over my skin as it slips inside my t-shirt.I take in the little rest area. The map had been straight forward eno...

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“THIS IS NOT A TEST” by Michael Nohe

Submitted to Contest #238

THIS IS NOT A TEST"If you're turning on that television, I won't be happy," Simone shouted. She knew that was precisely what Bart was doing. She was in the kitchen of their open-concept main floor, preparing drinks for dinner. "C'mon, hon. It's a playoff game, and the guys want to see what's happening. I told you this might be a problem when you scheduled this dinner for eight o'clock on Sunday." Bart had warned her that the Falcons and Bucs would be playing an important game on Sunday evening, as the winner would represe...

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“The Evil Eye” by N HW

Submitted to Contest #238

Sweat trickled down the length of Anna’s spine. She mentally followed the single bead, gliding down, until it met the base of her back, joining the pool that had already been soaking into the waistband of her yoga pants for hours. Two hours and 43 minutes to be exact. That’s how long Anna had been sitting crossed legged on the floor. The cloying scent of incense filled the small room, the smokey streams visible in the shafts of sunlight streaming through the windows. As instructed, she was desperately trying to access that ‘peaceful corner o...

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“It Burns From Within” by Edd Baker

Submitted to Contest #238

CW: Strong violence and gore, as well as some sexual themesThe rain had lessened somewhat, the heavy battering akin to the beating of war drums now but a gentle chatter. This was a blessing for First lieutenant Wright, not because his clothes would not get further soaked, his unform already drenched as if recently baptized, but because his line of vision was now clearer, and the less muddy the already dewy ground became, the better for travel. He looked up at the full moon, the light peeking through the thick canopy through whatever cracks a...

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“100% (Part 2)” by Khadija S. Mohammad

Submitted to Contest #238

The park was quiet, with only one or two people passing Lana on occasion as she sat on a small wooden bench and re-read her favourite book for the fifteenth time. Sometimes she looked up as something in the book made her want to stop and think, idly staring without seeing at the gravel path, dewy grass or sparsely-grown birch trees in front of her. The only sound came from the courting song thrushes singing their sweet tunes high up in the branches of the trees, and the soft thump of footsteps of people enjoying a leisurely walk in the thoug...

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“The man in the window ” by Taya Baguley

Submitted to Contest #238

The suffocating grip of fear had become a constant companion. My face curls downwards so much that I can feel my upside-down smile tugging at my facial muscles. My body feels hard to control, my arms dangle at my sides like I'm holding heavy rocks and I find my legs hard to lift when I walk. Every day, I feel different to everyone else. It is a hard feeling to describe, I don’t feel sad, I just feel completely and utterly hollow. As I walk through the streets I wonder if people can see it, see that I don’t look like everyone else, look like ...

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$250

Prize money

282

Contest entries

98

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 23, 2024 EST

Won by Weronika L 🏆

Title: Five Turns of the Hourglass

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.

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