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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?

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

“Taken In One Minute” by Linda Lovendahl

Submitted to Contest #260

Anita stopped at the red light a couple feet ahead of the white line that separated the drive and walk space. Behind her right ear she heard what sounded like a car door opening and closing. She waited until the vehicle came up to the line and looked curiously over her shoulder at the driver.It was a white compact with open windows. Smiling at her with perfect white teeth was a man wearing a low crowned cowboy hat above penetrating blue eyes. There were tuning pegs on the guitar neck that sat on the floor of the passenger seat. His radio pla...

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“Haunting Eyes” by Christine Hamilton

Submitted to Contest #260

Content warning: Contains topic of grief and personal loss.Can your eyes deceive you? Can a glance send you down the path to madness? Emily passed the bag of beauty products to her client as she left the salon. The sound of the doorbells chiming as the door closed was Emily’s cue to collapse into her seat. What a morning. Taking a deep breath, she dropped her head onto the desk, resting her eyes.A break that didn’t last long as the phone rang in her ear. She picked up the handset and stared at the crowd passing ...

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“Casanova's Fling....” by Julie Grenness

Submitted to Contest #260

Ashley checked her makeup and stunning blonde hair, smiling at her reflection in anticipation of the summer days and nights ahead. Her teen sweetheart was coming home for his holidays from that final year at college. Ashley had her expectations of Calhan, the tall blond sporting hero.Ashley and Calhan had been titled "The Twins." At the time, they dressed in similar clothes, laughed at the same jokes, kissed together, had explored their earlier fumbles together. They were expected to marry when Calhan graduated as an architect, when he retur...

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“Searching for the Moon” by Chandra Trochesset

Submitted to Contest #260

Searching for the Moon Ratna wiped some dust off the photo album. The faux leather was graying in certain areas because of its age and chipped along the edges. She remembered the day her grandmother brought it over. “I got two of these, red one for me, and this wood color for you, Rina.” Her grandma put the photo album on the dining table as she talked to her daughter. “Wow, how did you make this fit in your bag, Ma? I mean, this is not just big, but it is also heavy.” Ratna remembered the way her mom held the photo album, feeling its wei...

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“A Promise Sewn, A Promise Hewn” by Jesse Michael Berryman

Submitted to Contest #260

Bleen was a city plagued by Leviathan attacks. It fell to the Star-Shapers to tip the scales back in the favor of humanity, as they could command plasma and light from their stars, and could with a glance beguile the creatures that too called Malstray home. The city’s walls were vulnerable, stuck in a constant cycle of rebuilding its fallen sections, leaving the people within vulnerable as well. Star-Shaper Elder Hewview led three of his brightest pupils toward a nearby river called Metal Tear. Mot, Viprite, and Kartha...

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“The Haunting of BlackRock Hill” by Scott Taylor

Submitted to Contest #260

BlackRock Hill mansion had been the source of ghost stories for years. Lady Vanhorn decided to take her Halloween party up a notch this year. Her excessive self-obsession had no limits, causing even the Broadway crew to grow weary of her constant craving for praise. It seemed the locals were becoming bored and not offering her the praise she thought she deserved. This party must make the tabloids, but how, she wondered. It took several weeks of dedicated production work to create the flawless stunt. A staged death, a potential homicide wit...

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“The Scandalous Expulsion of Jason Palmer” by Alex Solomon

Submitted to Contest #260

The Scandalous Expulsion of Jason Palmer Disciplinary Meeting for Jason Palmer with Principle Rebecca Reynolds. Reynolds: Good morning, Jason. Jason: Why am I here?! Reynolds: There's no need to be rude. Jason: Why don't you talk to Jenna? This is all her fault! Reynolds: Jenna is in the hospital ... Jason: Serves her right. Reynolds: That's a terrible thing to say! Jason: Whatever. Reynolds: All of this because of the embarrassment paper? Jason: Yes... Reynolds: Well, before I m...

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“Annie and Tara” by Sarah A

Submitted to Contest #260

The dim hospital corridor was long and seemed to have no end. She walked down the halls hopelessness engulfing her. Looking through the hazy windows, she peered into the lost souls along the path. Each patient had a different reason for being there, yet, they all knew they were in the one hospital department that was impossible to leave alive. After what felt like an eternity, she arrived at her destination. Gripping her purse from sliding off her shoulder, she collected her thoughts. She cleared her throat pulling the bright yel...

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“The Truth About Adrian Henson ” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #260

The Office of Special Investigations or OSI showed up at my office one day asking me what I knew about Sergeant Adrian Henson. The officer flashed a badge identifying him as an OSI agent. “What association do you have with this individual?” He asked me and my blood ran cold. “I don’t know him very well.” I lied suddenly feeling as if the weight of the world had landed on my chest. “How long have you been enlisted in the Air Force?” He asked, opening a spiral notebook. “Three years.” I answered after swallowing hard.&n...

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“The Lounge” by Taylor Petska

Submitted to Contest #260

It was all just a dream.Or so I thought.I had fallen asleep thinking about her. That woman from the library. The one wearing a sleek black dress, her blonde hair curled in thick waves falling just to her shoulders. She glanced my direction as she entered, as if her sole purpose of this visit was to find me. My eyes peered over the top of my heavy laptop where I sat, the cursor bobbing on the screen anticipating my next move. Taunting me in my peripheral as my focus was now set on this mysterious person across the room. She sauntere...

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“Memories & Time; Love Doesn't Have a Face” by Stephen Laviera

Submitted to Contest #260

As dinner service winded down. Rocco got the attention of his Sous Chef working grill. A modern early twenties white boy. “John, I'm stepping off to do inventory, then prolly dip out. Food for thought though real quick. Point of contact is working, yes? Tonight was seamless. Every night should run this smooth.” John turned from the grill. Tonging twin filets medium rare. Placing them on a sizzler. Then tossing it into the window.“I agree Chef, your system has worked and it prove...

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“A 2024 JATAKA TALE” by Antoine Polgar

Submitted to Contest #260

A 2024 Jataka Taleby Antoine J PolgarIn a town in Southern Vermont, a homeless wanderer and sometimes beggar, known only to town residents as Carlos, died suddenly on the bridge over the Saxton River with his faithful dog Prentice beside him. Prentice was usually comfortably ensconced on a pillow in a basket next to Carlos with a water bowl. When Carlos moved around town, Prentice preceded him on a leash attached to a shopping cart borrowed from the local supermarket that contained all of Carlos’ possessions. The bridge over the Saxton River...

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“And Never To Return” by Gregg Voss

Submitted to Contest #260

Sensitive content: Religio-horror.The plated sterling silver cross glinted in the jaundiced full-moon light that crept through the Venetian blinds. A tornado whirl of Thomas Merton books and a paisley comforter and black-leather slip-ons and a colorful tapestry from Lascaux, along with dozens of other items, commenced with a throaty roar in Monsignor Padraig O’Shea’s grand two-bedroom, one-bath rectory apartment, grand for a priest of notoriety. He was alone, and yet he was not...

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“Tina's Knitting” by Andre B. Corbin

Submitted to Contest #260

Tina’s eyes popped wide as the door to her room, with a hushed carpet-drag, opened barely enough to let the subdued illumination from the hallway and a figure slip in. The light was quickly gone with the soft muffled snick of the door shutting with the barely heard careful working of the handle being slowly released, but Tina’s visitor was still there – in the room. Lying in her bed, she could hear him breathing slowly and deeply. Just as she was. Both sharing together the air and the anticipated moment, but only one surviving the night.* * ...

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“Risen” by Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #260

My name is Leo, and I am thirteen. I live with my parents, my sister, my little brother, and our two dogs. Our days were always ordinary and boring until my mother decided to leave the house one month ago for ten days. Dad never told us where she was and tried to keep the calm around the house, but when she finally returned, she told us three things that would help us to understand. The first was that she needed some alone time from everyone; the second was that she had broken up with her mother; the third was that her deceased father, the g...

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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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