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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#260: A Twist in the Tale

Has a friend ever recommended a book or a movie with the line, "The twist is amazing"? I usually hate when they do that. Even if they don't spill the beans on what the plot twist is, just knowing there is one can spoil the fun. I won't be able to resist trying to pre-empt the plot, and guess what that it might be — but a truly great twist is always rewarding, whether you expect it or not.

Here's a twist I'm sure you saw coming: this week's contest is all about them. Your readers will know there's one on the horizon. Can you still manage to surprise us?

🥇 Winner

“You” by Elizabeth Hoban

🏆 Winner of Contest #260

We were death partners before we were friends. The day we met some 30 years ago, I was so pregnant with my first child, I resembled an over-stuffed sausage about to burst its casing. I’d forsaken style weeks earlier when my shoes no longer fit. I couldn’t even reach around my massive torso to shave my legs; limbs sporting enough hair to scrape clean a barbecue grill. You, on the other hand, had just wrapped-up an open-house and strode across my threshold for the first time, like a seasoned runway model. I’ll never forget your chic...

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“Halloween Traditions” by Nicholas Thomas

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #260

“I bet you half a bag of candy I can do it again this year,” Levi boasted. Levi is my best friend; we’ve been best friends since our first year in elementary school, and we’re in sixth grade now. Since the third grade, it’s been our tradition to go out together for trick-or-treating on Halloween. No parents, no other friends, just the two of us, and Levi always finds a way to surprise me each year. &nb...

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“The Lighthouse Keeper” by Elton James

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #260

A Lighthouse On a small island in a large ocean, morning mist rolls down the slope of a single hill which emerges from the rocky beach. Atop the hill is a lighthouse, dutifully warning passing ships of dangers lurking beneath the waves. This lighthouse has no human keeper, but it is not uninhabited. Robot comes to life in the morning. That is how Robot thinks of it. Robot does not wake up in the morning, ease into his day with a coffee. Robot does not sit at a computer to check headlines. Robot does not require any further stimulus than his ...

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“The Reaper” by Alice Cook

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #260

Sebastian hated the forest. Something fell into his hair from a branch above, and he leaned over and frantically shook it out. No. Hate wasn’t a strong enough word. He loathed the forest. Even his love for his little girl might not be enough to keep him there much longer. “Rufus!” Stupid dog. “Come here, you mangy mutt.”He should have bought her that hamster last year when she’d asked for it. Hamsters didn’t run off into dark, dank forests right before the game came on. And hamsters were interchangeable enough that if one did, he could ...

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“O Mother, Please Send My Father Across” by Anshu Yadav

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #260

It was all a dream, Murli’s breath like rotten fish on top of her tongue, the balled-up grey dead mass of it settled at the back of her throat like stale phlegm, his beedi stained tongue wriggling around on top of her tongue, his hand under her blouse, fumbling, scratching, his nails yellow and black and green the sight of which made her vomit, his puss-filled-bandaged hand on top of her breast, the nail digging into her nipple, the dirt in his nails mixing with her blood, in her blood, the blood cool in the thick heat of the dark room, swee...

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“Easy Money” by Eddie Whitlock

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #260

Easy MoneyPart I: Steve Debbie said that it was lucky for us, that the weather would make for fewer people on the roads, less chance we’d be seen. Twenty-five freaking degrees? I do not like the cold. This will be the first time I’ve ever done anything with Randy. This thing was his idea, I think, but it was Debbie that brought me into it. There’s six thousand dollars to be had and it sounds like no problem having it – if you don’t mind robbing some old lady, which I don’t. This weather is awful, though. They’re always predicting snow, but w...

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This week's prompts

Write a story with a big twist.

Dramatic – 189 stories

Write a story in which a character learns something unexpected about someone they thought they knew well.

Mystery – 63 stories

Write a story about someone who realises the story of their life has been pre-determined — until they decide to divert from the expected path.

Character – 31 stories

Write a story that includes the line, "I didn't see that one coming."

Dialogue – 41 stories

Write a story using the most clichéd twist of all; it was all a dream.

Narrative – 105 stories

Stories

“You” by Elizabeth Hoban

🏆 Winner of Contest #260

We were death partners before we were friends. The day we met some 30 years ago, I was so pregnant with my first child, I resembled an over-stuffed sausage about to burst its casing. I’d forsaken style weeks earlier when my shoes no longer fit. I couldn’t even reach around my massive torso to shave my legs; limbs sporting enough hair to scrape clean a barbecue grill. You, on the other hand, had just wrapped-up an open-house and strode across my threshold for the first time, like a seasoned runway model. I’ll never forget your chic...

111 comments 111

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“The Round Genie From Behind The Moon Village ” by Lena Solomon

Submitted to Contest #260

“The moon, look at the moon” cried the little, round genie, ignoring the fact that there was no-one around to hear him. His real name was Pampabald, but his parents and friends called him Billy, for short. “I must be traveling downwards,” he thought, as he was drifting across the Universe, led sometimes by the solar winds and some other times by magnetosonic waves. The little genie had no e-watch or compass, and for a while felt rather confused, trying to figure out if he was going South, East or West (somehow, ...

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“Vital Signs” by Howard Halsall

Submitted to Contest #260

Leicester was the first city in Britain to go into lockdown due to its high infection rate, and the social restrictions remained for eleven months. However, despite the growing number of bodies waiting to be interred, the authorities relaxed the strict rules at Christmastime to allow family gatherings. After three days of merrymaking, the city’s population returned to a state of suspended animation and awaited a miracle.* * *There was a nip in the air and a dusting of hoarfrost on the asphalt outside the Newbury and Cookson Funeral Home. Yes...

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“Chez Moi” by Alexis Araneta

Submitted to Contest #260

3 May 2024Mon très cher ange Jeremy,Well, first of all, oh my goodness! It’s happening!Next week, I will be picking you up at the Gare du Nord. Then, in a month’s time, you and I will be marching to city hall --- 11 a.m., on the dot, precise as a timetable – so the mayor could officially wed us. (I know. It’s not very romantic, but yes, that’s the way things are done chez moi.). Of course, just a fortnight after, I can finally walk down a tulip-lined aisle towards your joyfully tearful hazel eyes at the ceremony we’ve planned to the minutest...

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“Morpheus and the Dreamers” by RJ Holmquist

Submitted to Contest #260

“You take the blue pill... the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill... you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” — Laurence Fishburne, The Matrix***“Row, row, row, your boat…” Morpheus, the god of dreams, hummed absently as he puttered around his Mount Olympus penthouse. It was one of those tunes that got stuck in his head when he was thinking about nothing, but he didn’t mind, it was a tune with a good message after all. A knock sounded on his f...

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“You Kick Really Hard For A Girl” by Daniel Rogers

Submitted to Contest #260

"They're coming!" Flimlet yelled.The forest came alive, with magical tree trunks rushing toward the north watchtower. Bells sounded. Women screamed, and children cried. The war they'd been expecting arrived.Selwyn and Jorton soldiers quickly assembled, forming a defensive line. The trunkers slammed into them with devastating effect, knocking many soldiers unconscious. Lady Nimmo and Oakaford gathered as many stumpers as possible and joined the fight. Trunkers hammered into stumpers, and stumpers banged into trunkers. The sound of magical tre...

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“Halloween Traditions” by Nicholas Thomas

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #260

“I bet you half a bag of candy I can do it again this year,” Levi boasted. Levi is my best friend; we’ve been best friends since our first year in elementary school, and we’re in sixth grade now. Since the third grade, it’s been our tradition to go out together for trick-or-treating on Halloween. No parents, no other friends, just the two of us, and Levi always finds a way to surprise me each year. &nb...

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“Pablo's Wisdom” by Trudy Jas

Submitted to Contest #260

It caught her eye, winked at her, made her fall in love. She just had to add it to her collection. Right there, on the modest table, among all the other market stands was the vase. A beautiful, ethereal pale green jade vase. She stopped, carefully, almost reverently lifted it off the table, felt its weight, held it up to the light and knew it was hers. Exploring, traveling, learning about cultures different from her own, attempting to master at least a few words of the language, as well as seeing the sights, comparing architectural styles an...

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“Interrupted” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #260

InterruptedHer eyes popped open. Someone had their lips on her mouth. Kissing her. Oka-ay. Kissing... She let her eyes drift shut to enjoy the sensation. It must be her mate. What? Wait. No! It can't be...She had the overwhelming need to cough. She couldn't help it. She coughed. Turned her head to the side and coughed and… Ew. That had to be a turn off! She spewed out even more. Poor fellow trying his best to make passionate love to her coming in again to close his mouth around hers just got spit on instead.He turned her towards him and patt...

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“A Fortunate Woman” by Hannah Lynn

Submitted to Contest #260

“I thought it would be bigger,” the voice rang out from the crowd. “Not good enough for you, dear?” I held in my laughter as I snuck a look at my husband to see if he heard the back and forth as well. His twinkling eyes told me he had. “Some people are never happy,” he whispered in my ear. “I’m happy. Very happy.” I looked around the square hardly believing my eyes. Always number one on my bucket list was the trip to Italy. So often had I spoken about it that I had channeled the voice of Charlie Brown’s teacher “whomp, ...

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“The Lighthouse Keeper” by Elton James

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #260

A Lighthouse On a small island in a large ocean, morning mist rolls down the slope of a single hill which emerges from the rocky beach. Atop the hill is a lighthouse, dutifully warning passing ships of dangers lurking beneath the waves. This lighthouse has no human keeper, but it is not uninhabited. Robot comes to life in the morning. That is how Robot thinks of it. Robot does not wake up in the morning, ease into his day with a coffee. Robot does not sit at a computer to check headlines. Robot does not require any further stimulus than his ...

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“Tail In A Twist” by Helen A Smith

Submitted to Contest #260

TW: Mentions a knife.Wouldn’t it be lovely to have a dog that didn’t poop, dig up your garden, bark for no reason, or embarrass you by searching through the entire contents of your friends’ shopping bags whenever they visited?**When Fred entered Margi’s life, he was like a rainbow emerging from a cloud, bringing joy and colour and dispersing all the grey.Margi was determined to get it right when it came to looking after him. Mindful of the fact that he wasn’t an ordinary dog, she knew she’d be fine unless she got dementia or some other debil...

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“Just one more minute, please!” by Trudy Jas

Submitted to Contest #260

Just one more minute, please!Friday nights have always been special.Back when, those evenings were full of fun and games. You were an expert at Monopoly, usually taking all your parents’ and brothers’ money. Sometimes the evening was spent peeking between your fingers while being half scared, half thrilled by blobs from outer space. Staying up way past your bedtime, begging for five more minutes, one more story, one more hand of cards. Sometimes the pleas were heard, other times not.Later Fridays meant a movie with your friends and a curfew ...

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“Rewritten” by Martha Kowalski

Submitted to Contest #260

I can’t sleep tonight. Tossing and turning out of my half-dream, I eventually become aware that Dimitri’s not beside me. I sigh: I told him to try to get some sleep. Then again, I can’t really blame him. Kicking my feet into slippers in the dark, I fumble downstairs. I find him sitting at the kitchen table in the dark: eyes closed, chin propped up in his hands, face buried under flat bangs that drape limply over his cheekbones. “H...

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“Catherine Street” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #260

Oh, it’s such a nice house. It’s been a nice house ever since we moved in. I fought it at first, you know. I was going to be a city girl. I wasn’t going to wind up on some island never leaving unless I had to. Raising kids who turned out to be surfers or fisherman or anything else I thought an island created. I moved here, because Lee wanted to move here. He got a job at the hotel, and he thought we’d like a life by the water. Where I saw isolation, he saw liberation. Freedom from the rest of the world. Water on all sides. If there was crime...

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$250

Prize money

429

Contest entries

131

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 26, 2024 EST

Won by Elizabeth Hoban 🏆

Title: You

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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