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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

“What Happened to Tommy?” by Anna Creel

Submitted to Contest #259

The Johnson family; how would I describe them? Well, in 3 words actually; mysterious, rich, and famous. A reporter named Donna Cross, obsessed with finding the truth about what really happened to the youngest member, came from the next town over. She introduced herself to the Johnsons. The family consisted of 6 people. Sarah; the mother. Joseph; the father. Then there are the kids; Janice, Stephanie, Harry, John.There used to be 7 members, but the youngest member mysteriously disappeared.Tommy was just 4 years old when he went missing. After...

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“Commune” by Alex McColm

Submitted to Contest #259

Sheets of rain streaked across the windscreen as Robbie Smith weaved through the winding country roads at a speed less than safe for his continued wellbeing. In his desperation he figured he needed a two or three hour head start on the police in order to avoid apprehension. He was well known in and around Inverness - petty theft , burglary , minor assault - mostly but he needed to escape the trap and armed robbery was a major step up for the delinquent. What did he have to stay for anyway? His dad disappeared a long time ago , mum chain...

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“Unearthed” by Andrea Krist

Submitted to Contest #259

Valli deposited the bag of refuse in the bin then closed the lid. A second later she could hear the motor whir as the garbage was whisked away. It tumbled down a series of chutes that led to the collection site outside of the habitat her family lived in. Every complex within the protective dome operated the same way making things simple and easy--a stark contrast from the way things had been before. Even from their seventh story apartment window, Valli could not see over the wall that separated the dumpsite from the habitable space. Clean a...

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“You haven't aged a day!” by Daniel P

Submitted to Contest #259

Asher let out a familiar sigh, admitting she was cutting it close enough. The last 20 minutes in bed had been a routine escape, indulging in memories of what life used to mean for her. It was soothing yet artificial. This morning's escape was a simple but effective one, an early morning walk with her dog Norman. The fact that she sometimes treated that as a trivial errand brought up tight feelings of painful regret. What she would give for this simple pleasure that was now a world away…literally. It's not that she cared about running l...

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“A Case of the Mondays” by Ian Patterson

Submitted to Contest #259

Coming back from the weekends was when it was the worst. The beauty of two days spent under a boundless sky, to then be replaced by yellow lights, stained ceiling tiles, and the dull clicking of keyboards. Not that I did much on those days, sometimes I just stared at that infinite expanse from my window and counted the minutes until my temporary freedom was over. Or, if I felt productive, I did all the household things I didn’t have time for during the week. I hear feet approaching my gray cubicle across the thin, beige office carpet, and br...

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“Don't trigger the boats” by Shahnaz T.M

Submitted to Contest #259

Everyone knew who Farid Tarini was. A mysterious 41-year-old who had arrived out of nowhere, seemingly sent from the heavens to deliver them from the disease of war, famine, and hardship. Every man, woman, child, and dog knew of this fresh-faced stranger who had saved them from an early extinction. Everyone also knew that he was a robot. But we didn't talk about that. It was the elephant in the room. Except the elephants had gone extinct too. We didn't talk about that either. In a world where death had become commonplace, conversation ...

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“You've got me dead wrong” by Jasmine Johnstone

Submitted to Contest #259

Mrs Blumley’s hair is sitting nicely; a white, face framing coif of candy floss. She’s looking a bit pale though and she wouldn’t be happy with me if I didn’t get it just so.‘I’m just going to put a little bit more blush on,’ I tell her, humming as I dab some more of the pink cream along her cheek bones.She doesn’t smile. Her jaw is wired, and her lips are sewn shut after all, but I get the impression she’d approve. Nothing too over the top, the family have opted for a classy, blue three-piece ensemble, complete with pearl drop earrings. I g...

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“Never Too Late” by Joanna Beckman

Submitted to Contest #259

Rick was 8 years old when we met. He was in my Cub Scout den with my two sons. His parents were the first friends I made when I moved into a home across the street, and they soon became my second family. His dad was a 'Southern Gentleman' who went into the military and came home with a lovely French woman; a more perfect couple you've never met. Rick’s mom was my idol…so smart. There was nothing she couldn’t do by herself when her husband traveled. But she was a helpless kitten when he was home. Hubby, totally unaware of her kind deception, ...

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“Make It So” by Fred Bickham

Submitted to Contest #259

It was a simple enough proposition. Draw a curve whose end-points of birth and death stood for the only certainties in this crazy life, with whatever got thrown in between just random variables in probability space. Real world, it resembled a quivering tightrope strung between two platforms, those offering the only true vantage points from which to view the insanity of what lay ahead or behind.Foley now turned and looked behind him and wondered if there had even been a tightrope, if he’d actually been walking on air the whole time. It appear...

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“A Wish in the Dark” by Amberly Campbell

Submitted to Contest #259

Ember’s father had always taken her out to see the stars as a little girl. He’d point out constellations and planets and tell stories as if he’d been to them. Maybe he had; she wouldn’t know. But she did know that he loved her as if she were as important to him as all the planets and stars in the universe. Love like that was a treasure, but every treasure runs out. Ember’s brightest light went out the day cancer knocked on his door for the final time. From that day on, every time she saw a shooting star, she wished that she would feel love j...

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“The Summer Stare” by Flora Amantis

Submitted to Contest #259

“Hey Cassie!” Sophie, a 14 year old, nice brunette girl said, greeting her best friend as she pulled up a chair at their table in the camp’s large cabin like mess hall. “Hey,” Cassie, a 15 year old, dirty blond bookworm, replied. “Wanna try some archery after lunch? Or maybe horse back riding?” “You can, I’m planing on heading back to the cabin to read.” “Come on Cassie! Don’t be a wet blanket,” Zack, a tall 15 teen old boy, with messy hair, said teasingly, surprising both girls as he walked up behind them with his friends. “I’m not a wet bl...

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“A Four Letter Word” by Indigo Simmons

Submitted to Contest #259

Everyone could see it.The forlorn glances from Ryker. Or the lingering touches Penelope left on the young man’s hands. And even the way the two twenty-three year-olds sat extremely close to each other when the friend group got together, but for some reason, neither Ryker nor Penelope could see how much the other was in love with them.Well, that wasn’t the case for everyone else who observed the two.Ella, Penny’s best friend, was the first to notice the tension between them, and then Ryker’s best friend, Alek, picked up on their friends’ feel...

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“Picture Perfect ” by Aless Delgado-Piercy

Submitted to Contest #259

A house but not a home, it never will beFull of people, but not a real familyIn the eye of the beholder, it’s perfect right?But, behind closed doors they don’t seeWe are all sinners of God whether in hell or heaven--------------------------------------------------------------- The Johnsons. Four placemats. Four chairs. Four knives and forks. Four; the perfect American family. A picturesque house of suburban bliss, adorned with decorations of amber and chestnut. The kitchen alive, bustling in preparation for Thanksgiving. Equipped with ...

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“The Maharaja, the Elephant and the Prime Minister” by Rebecca Hurst

Submitted to Contest #259

The Maharajah of Phutim, whose name was Dorji, surveyed his small kingdom from the east-facing balcony of his palace. He had been educated in the finest of England’s schools and spoke the language with the clarity and diction of a statesman whom people remember long after they are dead. His voice was deep and commanding, and his charisma was such that even the snow pigeons and the fulvour whistling-ducks dipped their heads in respect as they flew over his majesty’s dominions and balconies. He was the sixtieth son of the last M...

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“The elephant” by Stefania Katz

Submitted to Contest #259

A mansion with a couple of elders, their daughter was studying abroad. It was a young couple with three kids, two boys and a little girl. They all used the comfort of her continued success and always doing whatever she dreamed of, as she was extraordinarily gifted. In their failure, they were all blaming her, and in her failure, they were always taking the piece and saying: "It's ok, we will marry you with some stupid guy!" and others like: "You will marry a billionaire and make him a millionaire!" They got married. That alters the family fo...

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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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