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#297 Tick-Tock

Many of you have probably noticed the clocks changing, marking the start of daylight savings — an annual practice that brings both disorientation and renewal. While we lose an hour of sleep, we also gain longer days filled with more and more light.

This week, let’s write some stories inspired by time and its unpredictable nature. What do we do when time stands still, or when we’re suddenly faced with how quickly it passes?

This week's prompts

Write a story with a number or time in the title.

Short Story – 99 stories

Set your story just before midnight or dawn.

Short Story – 72 stories

Write a story where someone must make a split-second decision.

Dramatic – 39 stories

Set your story over the course of a few minutes.

Short Story – 64 stories

Write a story that includes the line “What time is it?”

Dialogue – 71 stories

Stories

Six hours

Arch R

Submitted to Contest #297

TW: substance abuseThese days Ashu recounts his life to himself like a countdown. But the closer it gets to one, the ombre of his memories fade to white. Six hours ago, he went for a quick walk to get some fresh air. Five… he ended up at the liquor store in between Wang Noodles and Charcoal Kabob, picking up four airplane bottles of Smirnoff by the register after avoiding the larger gleaming bottles. Four…while he was still sitting on the curb outside, the cashier joined him for a smoke break and shared a bottle of rum. Three…he walked anoth...

5 likes

Three breaths

Submitted to Contest #297

One... two, three. Again. One, two, three. Fuck no. Breathe. One, two, thr— A knock on the door. “Julien?” Julien froze. Eventually, he managed to meet his own gaze in the mirror. Empty. That’s how they’d describe it, like his soul had abandoned him. The bags under his eyes had bags of their own. “Just a second!” he yelled, hoping she could hear him. He quickly rinsed his hands and stared at the blood slowly oozing down the sink. One last look. Breathe. Compose yourself. He dried his hands and clumsily wrapped his worn, faded bandage arou...

5 likes

Munich 1920

Brian Bogoly

Submitted to Contest #297

Munich 1920 by Brian Bogoly I didn't fully comprehend the inner workings of Charles' time machine. I wasn't a scientist, after all. Yet, I eagerly volunteered for the mission that ignited his desire to create such a contraption. The concept he called "reverse entropy" was the foundation for his time machine to function. And so, I found myself lying down inside the machine, which resembled more of a mechanical coffin than anything else. As the lid closed, the sound of whirring gears filled the air, followed by a resounding thump that reverber...

5 likes

Five More Minutes

Joyce Schook

Submitted to Contest #297

I don't dream about you anymore. I used to every single night. The house was too dark when I would wake but was impossible to fall back to sleep. There's a gaping hole inside my heart. Its been there since the day you went away.***July 17th is still the hardest day of the year for me. And as it draws near again, I try to imagine another year without you. So much has changed. Your Dad and I are no longer together. He couldn't bear to see me suffer from the unimageable grief of losing you. He moved out a few months after your accident, leaving...

5 likes

The Little Girl with 12 Fingers & 12 Toes

Submitted to Contest #297

The young girl eventually turned 13. She was now a little older but still a ravishing beauty—with her long, curly black hair, skin as white as snow, and eyes as green as emeralds. Everything about her was just remarkable and flawless, except for her 12 fingers and 12 toes. Despite this anomaly, she was now a lot more confident in herself than she had ever been. She had made many new friends along the way over the years… But once in a while, she was often reminded of her abnormality when others made fun of her. And in one particular instance...

5 likes

Twenty-Nine Minutes of Terror

John Britto

Submitted to Contest #297

Twenty-Nine Minutes of Terror 5:33 PM: Nine-year-old Alison McDermont danced around the small kitchen in her family’s duplex on Pinetree Lane as she hummed, She Loves You, by the Beatles in anticipation of her parents’ arrival home from work. She had just finished setting the dining room table and eagerly looked forward to the lemon pie her mother had promised for dessert. “Muffin? Where are you?” she shouted. She glanced around the kitchen looking for her cat. From the corner of her eye, she saw a ball of orange fur race around the refriger...

5 likes

You Die Two Times

Adam German

Submitted to Contest #297

“What year is it?”The panel in front of Paul hummed before it answered in a friendly female voice “2507.”Paul took a deep breath. I slept for almost five hundred years. “Why have you woken me up?”“Your conviction has been overturned.” replied the female voice. “You need to make a choice between three options; live out your estimated remaining natural life, live forever, or expire now with your name cleared of wrongdoing."Paul was silent as he looked around the room.There were things he recognized, like a flag hanging above the panel but with...

5 likes

WHEN THE DAWN BREAKS AND THE SUN RISES: 5 MINUTES IS FOREVER

Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #297

Time passes slowly when you stare into the eyes of your one true love but in fact you only have minutes to spend with her. The minutes go by fast. You want more time. The fates of time are against you. Time is your enemy. I count down the minutes, the hours until I see my love. The dawn is breaking and soon the sun will rise. The forest is where my love lives. She will become human only to turn into a wolf. A few minutes is not enough time. I want to hold her not pet her. I want to look into her eyes as I tell her I love her. I want to talk ...

5 likes

23:57:06 - A few minutes before the End - Story of the race of the minutes and my inner voices

Guady Serrano-Diez

Submitted to Contest #297

I can’t believe the time is almost up. Just a few minutes and everything is going to be over. Here it comes, midnight is lost and I have to rush to get to bed and close my eyes prior to midnight! And if I manage to accomplish that everything will be OK. If I pass the time awake just one minute after the day is over it would be like entering a new dimension and all that happened during the day will be erased, everything! Absolutely everything! And everyone…since the boy riding a bike this morning delivering papers until the love of my life wh...

5 likes

11:11

Astrid Meléndez

Submitted to Contest #297

Liliana knew it was stupid. She did. Really. Still, every time the clock stroke 11:11, she couldn’t help closing her eyes and wishing to whichever greater force took pity on her that for once she would experience the love she so craved. Every dandelion, eyelash, birthday candle and penny had been wasted on the dream of a love that had overlooked her. And every 11:11 she would wish again. Maybe it was immaturity. Stubborn as ever, she refused to give up hope. Holding on to the childhood fantasy that her first love was a meet cute away. He cou...

5 likes

"It's Time: 0600"

Submitted to Contest #297

Prompt: Write a story with a number or time in the title.Prompt: Set you story before midnight or dawn. “It’s Time: 0600” The day looked dreary and cold even as the sun had just lifted above the horizon. The thick air turned the sunlight into straw-colored clouds as I looked out my window from my bed. The weather outside really does not matter anymore as I have little energy to do anything now. My breathing has been erratic even with all the gadgetry and tubes running into me. I spend my days now lying in this bed at the rehabilitation cen...

5 likes

5 Years or 3 Minutes

Liz Klein

Submitted to Contest #297

The rain had begun again, soft as breath – just a hush against the windows, the kind of weather that made you forget what season it was – forcing you to look outside to the trees to see if there were leaves, or buds, or naked branches.She stood in her kitchen, one hand still resting on the edge of the counter, as if she hadn’t moved since he left. He had been gone exactly three minutes. Maybe four. The sound of the door clicking shut still hung in the air like the tail-end of a song she didn’t like anymore, played too much and too often.The ...

5 likes

A Dance to Remember

Liza Clarke

Submitted to Contest #297

Nick stood on the rooftop, staring out at the city, hearing the nearby parties going on. He could hear people the next building over cheering on the upcoming countdown. It was almost midnight, almost time. His heart was pounding, his palms sweaty as he gripped the rail, waiting. He waited all year for this night, every year. No one else knew or would understand why he was so happy to wait. The clocks began to ring out midnight, the new year, and he smiled. Anticipation built as he turned to watch, the air beginning to shimmer, shifting. It ...

5 likes

Celia investigates a secret staircase behind a secret bookcase

Ken Davey

Submitted to Contest #297

Celia quietly closed her hotel bedroom door behind her and crept the few steps along the corridor to the bookcase. She listened, but all was quiet. Celia moved the wall lamp to the right, and the secret bookcase clicked open. Once inside, she closed the bookcase door. It was close to midnight when Celia began to ascend the creaky, wooden staircase, her trusty keyring torch cutting a narrow beam through the thick, oppressive darkness. The surrounding air was musty and still. The light from her torch bounced off the walls, highlighting specks ...

5 likes

Before the Cock Crows

Marie Decius

Submitted to Contest #297

The sky held its breath like a mother standing at the edge of her child’s silence. Darkness still laid heavy on the mountain, wet with night sweat and unshed rain. The stars above had not blinked in hours, and the trees, old as revolution, listened. They always did.Sanité Bélair sat in the dirt outside the sleeping camp, her legs folded beneath her like roots. Her hands moved slow and sure, threading a bone needle with red cloth pulled from the hem of her old headwrap. That thread had seen weddings and burials, promises and betrayals. And no...

5 likes

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Contest #298

This contest has ended. Thank you for your submissions.

$250

Prize money

345

Entries

156

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Apr 11, 2025 EST

Won by Mack Gage 🏆

Title: A Quiet Way To Spend Ten Years

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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