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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#288: A Perfect Storm

Whenever I look out my window these days, it always seems like the weather won’t get any better. Blustery winds, heavy rain, thick fog, the occasional snowfall… When the temperature has dropped this low, the last thing I want to do is step into the freezing outdoors. But during the moments when I can stay home and wrap myself up in a warm, thick blanket, there’s nothing better than reading a book or working on a story as the sound of rain keeps me company…

This week’s prompts are inspired by chilly weather. Whether it’s the haunting stillness of a snowy evening, the whisper of wind through ancient willows, or the gentle pitter-patter of perpetual rainfall, let the cold seep into your writing, and see where it takes you.

This week's prompts

Start or end your story with a breeze brushing against someone’s skin.

Short Story – 70 stories

Set your story during — or just before — a storm.

Dramatic – 144 stories

Write a story where the weather mirrors a character’s emotions.

Dramatic – 61 stories

Start or end your story with someone standing in the rain.

Dramatic – 93 stories

Set your story in a place where the weather never changes.

Short Story – 48 stories

Stories

“,,,on a Snowy Evening” by Julia Quay

Submitted to Contest #288

…on a Snowy Evening Another snowflake lands in my eye. I put my head back down and step up my gait to a trot. I’ve made this trip so many times, I’m confident of my surefootedness, even as my hooves disappear in the fresh snowfall.But Bob has other plans. “Woah there, Coleridge,” he says with a pull on the reins. To my annoyance, he brings me to a complete stop. No explanation and no movement from his seat on the wagon behind me. More snowflakes, big as pillow down, land in my eyes. I knicker in frustratio...

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“Serendipity in the Rain” by Noel Guru

Submitted to Contest #288

10:01 p.m.Isle of WightThe corner café that serves coffee, juices, milkshakes, and some light bites was run by a skeletal crew – the young chef Leon (also the owner) and a very pregnant waitress, Alice, who serves the tables and occasionally makes the milkshakes. It sat facing the ocean right next to the beautiful and ancient Shanklin Chine. This wooded coastal ravine is filled with waterfalls and lush vegetation, attracting many tourists daily. And this thankfully helps the little café to find its customers even though it has been choked by...

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“Event of the Century” by Chris Cancilla

Submitted to Contest #288

Matilda Baker sat in her living room reading. She loved to read. But her eye started hurting a bit. She closed her book, marking it with the $20 she used to reward the completion of a book with dinner. Standing, she almost fell. She was a little off balance for some reason. She sat back on the comfy chair and closed her eyes momentarily. She had to be somewhere in a few hours, a charity event for the library. Thirty minutes later, she opened her eyes. She felt like she just jumped forward in time. Did she fall asleep? No, she does remember t...

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“Dolly and Linda” by Suzanne Cushman

Submitted to Contest #288

Dolly and Linda I am not a sheep person, but I love my friend Linda and she loves her sheep Dolly, so I feel a connection when I see one. Small flocks of twenty-five or fifty sheep find plenty to eat on the grassy, boulder-studded hills near our home in the country. Baby lambs alternate between grazing and playing hide-and-seek around the outcroppings of moss covered rocks and old oak trees. Soon after the new lambs appear in the spring, bright yellow mustard shoots up, blanketing the low hills along Highway 1 from Petaluma to the c...

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“A Poem I Wrote From The Branches Of A Cottonwood Tree” by Raye McLaughlin

Submitted to Contest #288

I want to share a poem I wrote about the wind, but since Reedsy requires at least 1,000 words to publish something, I am offering you the story of how the poem came to pass. If you are interested in my silly ramblings about the wind and trees and how much I love being outside in the place I live, you are welcome to continue reading. Otherwise, I will not be insulted if you skip to the poem at the end of this work. Summer in my home is enchanting. The winters are cold and exhausting here- and seem to drag longer than their allotted season...

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“Ana” by Elisabeth Mendoza

Submitted to Contest #288

The letter arrived after Michael had already left. It was just as well, for if he had stayed a little longer, he would have discovered it and tossed it in the trash, muttering—as he often did—about how careless people could be with addresses. I would have defended them, saying people are too busy to double-check such things, and he would have given me that playful look of his, followed by, “what do you know about a busy life? You haven’t worked a day in your life, my love. And I’ll make sure it stays that way.” He would have winked, one of t...

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“Unusual” by Colin Wadeson

Submitted to Contest #288

*mild adult humor / societal ignorance of mental illness (allegory)*It was unusual.That was the word my inner voice chose when I saw him. Weird, unsettling—perhaps even frightening—might've been better choices. In fact, I was surprised that my inner voice had served up a relatively moderate word from such a wide thesauric range: uncanny, creepy, disturbing... dangerous? But here we were with unusual... It was unusual that a man should be standing in the rain in the middle of the road at five-thirty in the morning, his head cocked back, mouth...

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“Yearning for the Snow” by Sean Hanson

Submitted to Contest #288

Another day of mild breeze and steady sunshine. For his entire life, 14 year-old Esteban had been trapped in his home village on the southern coast of South America. The rain never fell, the temperature never dropped, and snow was but a fantasy told to children. Esteban loved his town but the monotony of it all left him yearning for more. Day after day he found himself spending more time alone on his roof, staring towards the distant mountains to the north; the snowcaps visible in the distance were the base for his daydreams. An athletic you...

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“Caught a Light Breeze” by J Christian Connett

Submitted to Contest #288

Caught a Light Sneeze The café doors swung open with a quiet chime, and Damian stepped inside, the hum of conversation folding around him. The air smelled of roasted coffee, cinnamon, and something warm—something familiar, yet changed. It had been months since he had last walked into this space with the weight of something unresolved pressing into his chest. Months since he had stood outside in the rain, watching Lila through the window, uncertain of where he belonged. Now, the world had shifted once again. He adjusted the guitar case slung...

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“The Rain's Embrace - A Tale of Reflection and Renewal” by Andrew Hixson

Submitted to Contest #288

The Rain's Embrace A Tale of Reflection and RenewalThe rain poured relentlessly, casting a shroud of darkness over the night. Amelia stood solitary amid the downpour, her face uplifted towards the heavens, allowing the rain to cascade upon her. As the droplets mingled with her tears, a purifying sensation enveloped her. The cleansing rain washed away her sorrow, leaving behind a glimmer of hope and a sense of rejuvenation. With closed eyes, Amelia savoured the crisp fragrance of the rain, each breath filling her lungs with its invigorating a...

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“Sentinel” by Jonathan Baldie

Submitted to Contest #288

The thing about breaking in was that it wasn't really about the physical act at all. Polly knew this as she stood in the rain at 3 AM, water streaming down her face, staring up at Professor Yip's building. Breaking in was about understanding systems. It was about seeing the gaps between what should be secure and what actually was secure. Most people thought buildings were fortresses. Polly knew better. Buildings were more like wooden fences - full of knots that could be pushed out to make holes.She pulled her hood tighter and walked toward t...

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“Seth” by Alice Stein

Submitted to Contest #288

She picked up a pebble and it felt as cold as the wind brushing her skin. Its icyness soothed her palms, sore from rowing. Sara had rowed to the center of the bay for the third day straight, but still had no courage to plunge in. It wasn’t the cold that scared her, but the pain of being completely wrapped up by the lion mane jellyfish and, ultimately, the fear that she might be losing her mind.Sara placed the black pebble back on the sand. It had all started two weeks earlier. Her life felt stale and she missed the time when she believed in ...

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“The night the sky fell” by Stacey Metcalfe

Submitted to Contest #288

Do you remember the asteroid shower? It was absolutely breathtaking but never did get a mention from astronomers and weather experts alike. It was much darker than expected and eerily quiet allowing perhaps too much space for usually submissive thoughts to come to the forefront of one's mind with a bitter scream when one really needs them to be compressed and know their place. It was the time of year when revelations are made and people tend to have clarity as to how the year ahead will pan out now New Year's resolutions had long been forgot...

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“The Secret History of Water” by Rich Graces

Submitted to Contest #288

The absence of daylight in the surrounding area betrayed the fact that it was actually noon. Darkness enshrouded the sun, blocking its rays from shining through.A slowly advancing horde paused and hovered, awaiting their orders. But none came. The wind blew steadily from behind, pushing them onward, so they continued.Although the Zerem were as numerous as the sands on the seashore, without their commander leading them, they felt as if they were wandering aimlessly, unsure of where to go next.Suddenly, a thunderous rumble filled the sky, echo...

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“Cornish Weekend” by Avril Armstrong

Submitted to Contest #288

Cornish Weekend 1480 words excl. title Ah! Peace! The breeze on my cheeks. The wind singing in the cords, the rush of the updraught, the buoyancy of the thermals over the cliffs. Just me. Alone. Alone up here. Swinging free. Solitude. Nothing better than solitude. Selfish? Maybe - but why? Nothing wrong with enjoying your own company. Absolute advantage on a desert island. OK then, I'm selfish. But isn't everybody? Perhaps that was why it all had all gone wrong with Rebecca. Rick pushed the thought away, checked his position and pulled a...

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$250

Prize money

416

Contest entries

164

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 07, 2025 EST

Won by Christina Marie 🏆

Title: Motherhood

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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