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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

“The Beasts That Hide Inside” by Deekshita Dirisinala

Submitted to Contest #259

As the sun dipped low behind the jagged peaks, casting long shadows across the snow-covered forest floor, and I prowled through the dense underbrush, eyes yellow and bright. My senses were alive with the thrill of the hunt, the scent of pine needles and damp earth filling my nostrils.Hunger gnawed at my belly, a monster clawing up my throat.I smirked, hunting was best when ravenousness was present, it made the world seem beneath me.I growled softly.It always was beneath me, but when my hunger was prominent it seemed even more so.I tracked th...

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“Remembering Mary” by Madeline Honig

Submitted to Contest #259

The air was crisp and clean as Ally stepped out of the driver's side of the silver Honda Accord she had been driving for over four hours. She pulled the wool black peacoat around her a little tighter and glanced around where she had parked. The road she stood on was rocky, the concrete probably poured many decades ago when they extended this cemetery. For as far as Ally could see, there was grass with the occasional stone protruding from the grass, but she knew with logic that there were plenty of tombstones laying flat. Fa...

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“Up, Down, All Around ” by M B

Submitted to Contest #259

Grisha’s alchemy shop was bustling with activity, and not just from the various beasts that walked in to buy ingredients or seek aid from the blind hyena shaman and her apprentices: An odd group had currently taken up residence in the backrooms of her shop. The most noticeable one - a large reptiloid with dark scales, long horns and piercing yellow eyes - sat upon a cushion too small for his frame. His arms were folded as he spoke to a female meerkat who was transcribing everything he said to her leatherbound notebook. “So you and this...

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“Shutterbug Shutdown” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #259

On a boring Saturday morning on the outskirts of my home turf in Berlin, Md. I took a hike along a deserted road next to one of the many cornfields in the area. A large chicken-raising operation long ago had dominated the community for many years, but now only abandoned grow-out houses dotted the landscape. This seemed like the ideal place to search for historical treasures that might help me discover a forgotten link to our town’s past that could provide the ...

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“When Night Falls” by Cassin Villa-Lobos

Submitted to Contest #259

The Merrill House at the end of the lane has always been a problem to the townsfolk of Willow Haven. The town is small, and it rains the majority of the time. Perfect for bundling up in your favorite sweater while you visit the coffee shop. The Merrill house has been an eyesore. It is a dilapidated house that has never been kept up, because people refuse to be caught on the property. Why? That is a great question, and I am here to find the answers.My name is Kit Harland. I am a journalist for the New York Times. I also just happen to be a na...

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“The Vossmonds” by Olivia Knox

Submitted to Contest #259

“Are you ready to live forever?” When I was a child, my brother died. It was swift and violent, leaving no chance for final words. He lit up my world like no other and I would do anything to bring him back. But since his spirit floats unknown in the Underworld, I will do the next best thing: Make sure his fate can never befall me. The wind whistles against my heavy coat as I approach the expansive manor bathed in silver light. “Open the door. The God of War has sent his servant.” It’s only a moment before the towering entrance swings open t...

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“A Town Better Forgotten” by Esme Bonner

Submitted to Contest #259

In 1847 a man named Peter Malone left Ireland for America. He was a hard worker, a good man by all counts. Like many in Ireland, his family had once been part of a healthy, functioning community. Then the English came. When he left, his town was on the brink of decimation, and his family was reduced to just three members. Him, a man fleeing; his sister, a woman planted like an oak; and his nephew, a child half-orphaned by the greedy fists of English soldiers. Peter’s family had magic in their blood. His great-great-great-something grandmothe...

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“The Freedom Initiative” by William Siebold

Submitted to Contest #259

Lenore Lamore, of the Lemming Lamores, regarded the frumpy bespectacled gentleman before her with an imposing, regal stare. She did not appear favorably impressed. “I am delighted to oversee this critical research, to help us better understand the strengths and weaknesses of our democratic systems,” said Dr. Duglen Tribbens, Co-founder of the Tribbens-Dufort Research Group. He bowed stiffly, spoke formally. “Indeed,” said Lenore. Her expression suggested an unwelcome odor. “I will unveil the Freedom Initiative at a press conference in…...

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“The Ambrasio Hotel” by William Michaud

Submitted to Contest #259

There weren’t two ways to go about it. Sophie had to make a decision. She had arrived in town yesterday afternoon. She was on her way to a scientific convention, when her car had decided to give up. It was an old red car, gifted to her by her dad. He had used it for years as a detective, and she had kept driving it despite all its rumbling and fits of nerves. It was almost a human being at this point. But she couldn’t stop herself from giving it another chance each time. She was so attached to her little red queen, especially since her...

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“What Happened in Birding” by Martha Boucher

Submitted to Contest #259

*Note: this story includes the mention of the death of a child. It was a craggy walk up to the front door and Leon had only ever talked to one of the Rutherfords. He stepped through the front gate, fumbling with the armful of packages and left his little white truck behind, making the long journey up towards the house. The early spring chill crept up his neck as the pea blossom vines tracing his walk shivered in the air. The Rutherford’s place was always covered in vines. A knock at the door and it was, of course, Sarah who answered - ...

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“Entertaining Strangers” by Benjamin Boxer

Submitted to Contest #259

Apparently, you don’t have to be very different to be entirely too different in the town of Great Falls. “We don’t get a lot of Catholics around here,” the preacher said when we met in his office. “Not with a capital ‘C’ anyway. The local preacher was a jovial man, and I do mean THE local preacher. Most of t...

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“The Future is Numb” by Meghan Gattignolo

Submitted to Contest #259

As she left her house for work, Emily checked her makeup, checked that her wrist device was charged, and one last time checked in the mirror that her hair looked hot. It did. Outside, Emily put her hand up and twisted her wrist. A small cab rolled up all the way to her door. She got in. “How are you today, Tony?” “Eh. Same as yesterday.” “Anything special planned…. You know, for tonight?” “Maybe. Wife hasn’t decided yet.” “Understandable.” The car stopped. “Well, it’s been swell, Em.” Emi...

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“Spiked It!” by Donald Mazzella

Submitted to Contest #259

World War II and two broken legs were the reasons James Jameson, at 26, was the night editor of the Plainfield Courier News. The draft before Pearl Harbor and the rush of volunteers after the disaster meant earlier promotional opportunities for those still in civilian life.His permanent limp spared him military service when he graduated from Princeton in June 1944. Not the case with his father or brother. The former dusted off his World War I uniform and was now in France with General Patton. His brother flew P51s in the ...

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“Boone” by H.e. Ross

Submitted to Contest #259

Sound, in the true desert, is a force that catches you unawares always. In the bleakness of sand and scrub a shack adjoins a small house with two horses tied to a hitching post leaning their heads down standing aside the wall trying to stay in the shade and out of the hot mid afternoon sun. Inside, through a still, blanketed doorway and thick adobe walls is a dark room, cool by desert standards. There is a bar of thick oak planks atop a row of barrels. In front of the bar are two white cowboys in leather chaps and worn suit coats....

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“Alex and Jared ” by Iris Griffin

Submitted to Contest #259

When Jared Hayes was born on an early February morning in 2003 - Alex Hayes became a brother. His first thought about Jared – and babies as a whole population, was that they looked weird, and too squishy to be real. Second, he decided Jared should never feel alone in the dark, at least not on his watch. …. When Jared was 8, Alex made him take the training wheels off his bike. He wanted to teach him how to ride like a teenager, a pro. After a few false starts, Jared made enough progress to carve nebulous, timid paths into the...

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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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