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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#259: The Elephant in the Room

Once in a while, we all have to calculate what is and isn't worth saying. Whether it's admitting our feelings to a crush, acknowledging the brewing tension in a friendship, or speaking up in the face of injustice, we sometimes have to carefully decide what to speak up about, and what is better left unsaid.

This week's prompts are about moments just like these, when the metaphorical "elephant in the room" becomes unbearably large, and we must choose whether to speak our minds, or to leave well enough alone...

This week's prompts

Write a story about two people who aren't admitting their true feelings for one another, despite it being obvious to outsiders.

Romance – 57 stories

Place your characters in a tough situation, where nobody wants to acknowledge the reality of what's happening.

Angst – 83 stories

Write a story that includes the line, "Is nobody going to say it?".

Dialogue – 83 stories

In a small town, a powerful family have a dark secret that nobody wants to discuss. One day, an outsider arrives, who's not happy to simply drop it.

Mystery – 47 stories

Set your story in a world where conversation about one particular topic is banned — but there are ways to get around the rule.

Dystopian – 25 stories

Stories

“This Race is a Zoo” by Jason Newman

Submitted to Contest #259

The rain had been falling for days, turning the Seattle Zoo into a blur of gray and sorrow. A flamboyant Eagle perched on a not-so-high branch in her enclosure, her multi-colored feathers ruffled as she stared at the world outside. The patter of rain against the glass was a constant reminder of the storm brewing within her, and the zoo.Alex is a transgender eagle that spent the first half of her eagle life as male fertilizing eggs of 12 different baby mamas’ producing 50 baby eaglets. She never actually went thru with the procedure and her b...

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“Underneath” by Esther Aardsma

Submitted to Contest #259

((Sensitive content: abortion, church trauma, PTSD, intrusive suicidal thoughts))I gingerly transferred another hot-pink-frosted cupcake from the box I was holding onto the tiered glass stand in front of me, holding my breath as my shaking hands threatened to smush the fragile frosting against the neighboring cupcakes.“And when you’re done with the desserts, you can do the confetti—it’s in my blue bag underneath the gift table.” Mom’s black heels clicked out a staccato rhythm on the polished hardwood as she bustled about the large church mee...

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“The Air Up There” by Matt Craig

Submitted to Contest #259

The hum of the airplane engines was a constant, almost soothing backdrop to the otherwise tense atmosphere inside the cabin. I sat in my cramped seat, the seatbelt sign still illuminated above, signaling that we were in for a rough ride. The air was thick with anticipation, and something else—something I couldn't quite place. I glanced around at my fellow passengers. The elderly woman across the aisle clutched her knitting needles with white-knuckled intensity, her eyes darting nervously. Her hands trembled slightly as she tried to focus on ...

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“When Silence Speaks Volumes” by Sophie Goldstein

Submitted to Contest #259

When I get home, Kayla is sitting on the couch biting her fingernails and staring out into space. I pause at the doorway and watch her.I have only seen her bite her nails twice since I’ve known her.Once when her mother died.The second time was when her father died.I walk into the living room and she turns her head towards me.“Hi,” I say.“Hey,” she responds.She’s looking at me with narrowed eyes.I decide to give her time to tell me what she wants to say and go to the kitchen to start putting the groceries I've bought in the fridge.“You want t...

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“The Shape of a Home” by Hwee Shin Hau

Submitted to Contest #259

Content warning: This story contains depictions of death, illness, and injury. It could have been anyone’s. The poor thing was a mess after the car was through with it, not that I got a good look. I was never the sort that hungered for morbidity. * “Was it her?” Julia’s holding onto a stack of posters. She’d printed them at school yesterday, and wanted to put them up around town. She said that people ought to know we were offering a fifty dollar reward for information on Fifi. “Probably wasn’t. Looked too young from what I coul...

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“Beyond the Dome” by Anne Athena Dura

Submitted to Contest #259

I explore the camp for the first time. I distribute water to refugees from a large trolley. Nathan hands them soup. Seconds are permitted, as confirmed by the guards, and Nathan is generous. Tents are everywhere. I didn’t know we had so many mattresses in Commonplace for the injured and sick people. I briefly wonder if they brought their own, but it’s unlikely when fleeing a war. A voice inside my head says they could have. Children play tag fearlessly between the tents. They wear basic cotton garments. Same here. All individuals have short ...

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“Goners” by Maisey Mansson

Submitted to Contest #259

Avi tracks the blazing stars in the sky with his eyes. He has no cares for the celestial phenomena the deep night holds. He is searching for one thing. Movement. A plane. Avi has done this for thirty-six nights. He has been here for thirty-seven days, and he only knows this because of the marks Lonnie has carved into a nearby tree. He used to carry hope in his heart, but that optimism has since dispersed into anger. He imagines each of the still stars bursting into flames. It calms him. He sees no purpose in their existence. They’re too far ...

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“Toxic?” by Diane Nelson

Submitted to Contest #259

As we all stood there in silence watching Patsy make a complete fool of herself, I couldn’t help but utter, Is anyone going to say it?This was the tenth time! No to be exact, this was the thirteenth time that Patsy, the hopeless romantic told us that she was leaving Massachusetts because she finally found her Mr. Right!Patsy, a 20 year old, tall and lanky woman with short mousy brown hair and dark brown eyes had told us this before. Patsy wasn’t unattractive and we felt that she could get any man if she didn’t appear so desperate.We all grew...

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“Faux Pas” by Cedric Herman

Submitted to Contest #259

You’re sitting on a linen sofa, looking at a painting on the wall that depicts a young boy with blond, curly hair dressed in his Sunday’s best, posing against a doorframe. His face is turned to show its left half. Surrounding you are cherry wood cupboards and stands with 19th-century lamps, windows clothed in floral curtains, an electric chandelier overhead, and to your side, a tall mirror on top of the crested hearth. Voices buzz from the adjoining room, but you’ve sequestered yourself alone in here because you wanted...

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“A Perfect Getaway” by Linda Olson

Submitted to Contest #259

The road was spacious, and busy, and forking gradually away from the interstate toward the neighboring hills. Max dug diligently under both sides of the front seat, while Kathy struggled to keep up to speed limit each time Max bumped her leg. A truck honked and veered around them. Max bumped her leg again. “Forget the map. I'll look it up again for...

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“The Moral of the Story - A Short Story by Blu J. Meadow” by J DG

Submitted to Contest #259

The Moral of the StoryA Short Story by Blu J. Meadow "You're limping a bit more today, Maggie. Knee bothering you again?" "Not feelin' on top of the world for sure." I nod and stretch a smile as he hands me the key to my regular locker. "My arthritic knee tells me a change is coming in the weather, and a not-so-pleasant change at that," I add just before I shuffle off. Despite my aching knee, I lug all one-hundred sixty pounds of myself across the room and stash my gear in the corner storage unit. After coming to the gym for as long as I ...

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“To Reap a Whirlwind” by Ava Wolfe

Submitted to Contest #259

*SENSITIVE CONTENT WARNING:*- Mention of immoral medical experimentation To Reap a Whirlwind: The teacher wanted us to “create an advanced presentation of any kind of our admired governmental system and how it provides for us.” I decided to take advantage of the vagueness of the assignment to make my class question whether our lives under our government were so great after all. When it was my turn to present, I laid out the pieces of my presentation; a (clean) hamster ball, a miniature desk fan, a bag of dirt, and a needleless syringe. La...

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“THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM” by Glenna Agnew

Submitted to Contest #259

The Elephant in the Room The elephant in the room was large and somber. It stood amongst them breathing heavily, stomping its feet from time to time, yet no one chose to look it in the eye. Eduardo wiped his brow with his red handkerchief. He was hungry; he was weak, but his faith was strong and his belief in his family and his country was solid. He lived each day, each hour, each minute with hope. He firmly believed that if you had no hope, you had nothing. and Edwardo had spent most of his lifetime with nothing. He had determined the day ...

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“The Guest Room” by NS Emba

Submitted to Contest #259

Grace sighed as she picked up Emmett’s candy wrappers and popcorn crumbs littering the sofa. Wisps of hair escaped her tidy bun as she aggressively fluffed the cushions, unsuccessfully attempting to reshape the indentations that had accumulated from hours - maybe years in aggregate - of cradling his body. She wondered whether they had always had such different standards of living. The couple now had little left in common but their love for their children, Gwen and Margaret. But even in that, the fissures were evident. Grace...

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“Not so perfect.” by Christine LW

Submitted to Contest #259

Miram and her husband Basz short for Basil. Held the most articulate dinner parties. Where to be known in the village of Knowel you attended one of their super rich dinner parties at least twice a year. Or monthly if you were game? In with the circle of people who attended these parties. Had moving to Knowel a picturesque village on the outskirts of the M25 been a mistake? Her husband Jamie had thought of a better life style and gold clipped clients. When they had first moved to Knowel, Marigold had felt out off her depth. Although her h...

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$250

Prize money

295

Contest entries

143

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 19, 2024 EST

Won by Christine Foy Jackson 🏆

Title: Getting Better

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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