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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#273: Locked Away

Don’t forget to use the hashtag #ReedsySecrets to share your stories (and potentially be featured on our social accounts)!

Ah, secrets. What is it about the unknown that’s so alluring? Do you relish the implicit power of knowing confidential information? Do you love the feeling of connection and exclusivity that being told a secret brings? Or do you enjoy dissecting other people in your head after you’ve discovered their deepest, darkest secrets?

This week, let’s write some stories that unravel long-buried truths — and maybe even a character’s entire life in the process.

This week's prompts

Write a story in the form of diary/journal entries about a secret or confession.

Short Story – 68 stories

Begin your story with someone either being followed or following someone else.

Dramatic – 52 stories

Write a story with the line “Don’t tell anyone.”

Angst – 80 stories

Your character is invited to a secret meeting. Who invited them, and what do they encounter?

Short Story – 40 stories

Write a story that hides something from the reader until the end.

Dramatic – 113 stories

Stories

“Skeletons in Both Closets” by James Barrett

Submitted to Contest #273

It was a hot summer night several years ago in Fort Lee, New Jersey. If you’ve never been there, it’s a town straight out of The Sopranos. I remember it like it was yesterday. I had too many beers. I shouldn’t have been driving. That’s not an excuse, just an explanation. Ralphie shouldn’t have challenged me in the first place, but he did. I was running my mouth about my new Mustang, and I guess it rubbed Ralphie the wrong way. Ralphie said his three-year-old Corvette StingRay would blow the doors off my new Mustang. As usual, Callahan’s park...

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“At Last” by K FS

Submitted to Contest #273

“It smells like my grandmother in here.” Lydia gave the perfume bottle a quick sniff before replacing it amongst the collections of antique glassware cluttering the top of an art deco vanity.Caro giggled at her friend’s observation. The old thrift store was stuffed full of either trash or treasure depending on your outlook.Caro chose to see treasure.She perused the shelves, shifting through the various housewares. It was like browsing through the decades. Here was the scared tin cookware from the 40s beside the varies useless kitchenware of ...

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“You and Me, Park?” by Aubre Boose

Submitted to Contest #273

His mother gifted him recess at the park for the first time in weeks. He hadn’t been getting good grades to convince her he needed any gratification until today’s math test. But finally, the boring days of no phone paid off with a “B.” It couldn’t have been a more perfect day to play with new friends and run in the hot grass while the wind blew him around like a dandelion. When he got there, he immediately began a game of tag with three other kids. “Be careful you don’t fall!” his mom yelled.He heard her fair and square, but he couldn’t...

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“Stolen ” by Raquel Mora

Submitted to Contest #273

You can live your entire life with someone, but the moment you know they might leave you forever, that is when you take the time to memorize their face. I love my father and he is the only parent I have ever known. How could I ever forget his face? And yet I am trying to memorize the lines around his eyes. They should be much more pronounced for a man his age, but I know that we are not 'normal'. Father does things he should not be able to, but here in the bayou, it is expected and everyone knows better than to bring attention to it, le...

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“You Shall Go Into That Closet, And Take Off All Your Clothes” by Tucker Sloan

Submitted to Contest #273

You Shall Go into That Closet, and Take Off All Your ClothesBy: Tucker Bradley SloanTRIGGER WARNING: Strong sexual content and dialogue, language, bizarre behavior, brutal and sexual violence, gore. As we approached, I recognized the castle from an old book. It was Sayemontess. It was real. So, whatever challenge may lie ahead, it was all set up by Dominic. I had received his childishly written invitation. All his I’s were dotted with circles. His driver had nice music. I would never forget the following lyric:“And the time will be our time....

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“Harold and The Final Frontier” by Tamara Yewchuk

Submitted to Contest #273

Opening his eyes, Harold is surprised to be alive. It's November 11th an auspicious day for his generation. He did his duty, for his country, but also for the promise of adventure and glory. And for all his glory and PTSD he now rots away in this elder care facility in the Midwest. He misses the ocean. He is surprised not only to reach his 92nd birthday but to have lived without anyone guessing his secret. If his wife knew she never said or let on. She complained about his smoking and his silent moods but was a loving, caring partner. ...

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“Hive” by Brandon Rich

Submitted to Contest #273

The door on the street didn't look like any of the others, but it also didn't have any traits that signified it was special. Actually, it looked shabby. A tall, wood planked portal, peeling. A shaft stuck out a few inches from the center, a round ball at the end. When I reached my hand out to grip it, I had the thought that it wouldn't be the kind that turned. Instantly, the voice in my earbud, more high tech than the door it had led me to, confirmed this thought.It doesn't open, She said. But they will know. Her voice...

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“Bump” by Lynda Smith Hoggan

Submitted to Contest #273

CW: Contains themes of sexual violence, assault, and psychological distress. As she lay awake at 1:00, and 2:00, and 3:00 a.m., a breeze ruffled the leaves of the grapefruit tree outside her bedroom window. At least she hoped it was a breeze. It made pretty patterns on the curtains that she thought—prayed—were completely closed. So that no one could peer in and see her lying in bed. So that he couldn’t see her. Because if it wasn’t a breeze, it might be him. The man she’d been reading about, the...

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$250

Prize money

353

Contest entries

162

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Oct 25, 2024 EST

Won by Asia W 🏆

Title: Venus Buried

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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