#39: Earth to Writers

This was a big week for celebrations. Wednesday was World Earth Day and yesterday was World Book Day.

But to us voracious readers, doesn't every day feel like Book Day? So for this week's prompts, we're giving a big shout-out to the little blue dot in space we all call home.

(And if you'd like to combine your World and Book Day celebrations, here's a sci-fi reading list that's out of this world.)

This week's prompts

One day, the sun rose in the west and set in the east.

Fantasy – 72 stories

Write about a person experiencing the 'overview effect' (a feeling astronauts report having when they first view Earth from outer space).

Science Fiction – 48 stories

Write a story about a Google Street View driver.

Adventure – 39 stories

Write a story that begins and ends with someone looking up at the stars.

Teens – 388 stories

Two people who thought they were the last people left on Earth end up meeting by chance.

Science Fiction – 147 stories

Stories

“Vega, A Story Of A Star” by Jan Querubin

Submitted to Contest #39

The stars were mocking her. There they were, twinkling their brightness every night for people to stare in awe, when the truth is that they’ve been dead for ages. Not Vega though. That’s her name, Vega- like the star much larger than the sun. And like some stars, Vega is dead. And unlike them, unseen.A ghost would be how living people call the likes of her. They were either seeking for revenge or just there to mess around. Scary or friendly- no scratch that, just scary. One would hope not to cross paths with them. As if they wouldn’t be some...

13 comments 13

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“The Machine” by Michael Loss

Submitted to Contest #39

Crash!He woke with a start and sat up. It was still dark outside.Normal.He looked to his side to find his wife still sleeping.Also normal.He listened attentively, not moving a muscle. Silence. He relaxed and let out a tired sigh and slowly got his legs out from under the sheets, careful not to wake Mary.Suddenly, a sound coming from downstairs made him freeze—a sound like broken glass shards scraping the porcelain. He looked at his bedside clock: 5:30AM.Not normal.He leaped off the bed, bolted out of the room and down the stairs. H...

19 comments 19

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“Crimson Eye” by Manan Suraiya

Submitted to Contest #39

Carl woke up, his sleep plagued by a terrifying dream. He sat in his bed and shook his head. He looked out of the window. The sky was dark, save for a glowing red halo. His heart started pounding in his chest, as he ran out into the living room of his apartment, calling for his mother.She was sprawled on the sofa. Dead.Carl screamed, running out of his house to fetch help. He reached the door of his next door neighbour, and started ringing the bell urgently.No response.A cold chill crept up Carl’s body, and he stared at the door with wide, f...

29 comments 29

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“Until you can see me” by Huma Fatima

Submitted to Contest #39

Unexpectedly someone without life, still manages to live on in my dispassionate heart and shine even in the absence of light, as bright as the stars tonight. As I stare at the glimmering stars through the vandalized window of my room, I wonder how the slightest of her memory can arouse in me, an unusual feeling of despair and force me to cry as foolishly as I can, in this significant moment. Later when I will recover from these hysterical fits, I will surely laugh at my helplessness, but for now I cannot bring myself to pick up the gun and c...

11 comments 11

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“From The Last To The First” by Artemisia Pearl

Submitted to Contest #39

Ediva Fighting for a life. A will to live in this vast, wide empty world. After the apocalypse, I haven’t seen a single soul. They were either taken prisoner by an alien and sent to another planet, or they were killed. When It is a dog eat dog world, you have to be the champion at hide and seek. And I was. I hid and nobody found me. I would’ve thought that more people would try to hide. Or even fight. But no. Nobody saw it coming. I killed a few of the aliens. Saved a few lives. But they were already condemned to die, with the newly found, ...

8 comments 8

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“The Hands of Death” by Lynn Penny

Submitted to Contest #39

Everything is always changing. Whether you like it or not, it is going to change. The Mortals who watch the stars during their moment with them may say that they will always be there, but the stars must die. Everything dies in the end.Life and Death have been watching the stars for as long as they have been there. Life admires the beauty they behold and the joy they bring to their mortal watchers, but Death cannot do the same. The stars suffer the same destiny the mortals do, for they live a wondrous life but must find their end in a burning...

8 comments 8

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“Opposite Day” by Ivy Spade

Submitted to Contest #39

“The sun is rising in the west today,” I said to my Mom. She looked out the window. It was about 5:55 am. The sun started rising from the west. “I knew it!” I said to myself. “Oh, it is, Luna,” mom looked from the window to me. I pushed my glasses up higher on my nose. “I wonder why,” my mom said. I looked at her green eyes through my glasses. Just like mine. I sighed, “Mom, it's Opposite Day.” She looked at me with disbelief and fear. “W-what?” she stammered. “Opposite Day,” I repeated. “A-ah,” She ...

14 comments 14

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“The East and The West ” by Crystal Lewis

Submitted to Contest #39

6:15amI woke up earlier than usual, which was strange as I had no work today. The sun was just beginning to rise, the predawn gloom softening from dark to soft pink and light blue hues. The air was cool and calm and the trees rustled peacefully in the slight breeze. Life seemed to have awarded me with an early start today so I rose, stretched my aging muscles and bones and put on some green tea. My house was, as always, immaculate, but I still found things to fuss over. I carefully, minutely shifted the cherry blossom tapestry on my wal...

4 comments 4

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“Us And The Stars Forever” by Anastasia Foxx

Submitted to Contest #39

The first memory of us that I can think of was my 10th birthday, when I showed you and Tess how to stargaze.I remember that we laid together on the damp grass, listening to the cicadas chirp as they always did in July.“Can I ask you guys a question?” I had said quietly, not wanting to ruin the magic of the moment.You had merely smirked, “You just did.”Tess glared at you, but I laughed anyway. We all knew that you couldn’t help your snarky humor.Tess, always the mom of the group, had squeezed my hand gently, “You can tell us anything Hadley.”...

8 comments 8

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“Star-gazing” by Charm Elizabeth Merchant

Submitted to Contest #39

“You’re quiet. What are you thinking about?”Andy and I lay on the grass, holding hands, as we gazed up at this dark, vast canopy sprinkled with millions of diamond lights. So mesmerized was I by the sight of it, my voice took on a dreamy tone when I answered him.“I was thinking back to when we first met.”“I remember it very well,” Andy...

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“This Was Living” by Natasha Arnold

Submitted to Contest #39

The day I was diagnosed with cancer was the first day of the rest of my life. Ironic how I say that, only having eight months to live.“It’s terminal,” each of my doctors said with little regard. I’m fairly certain one of them chuckled. The doctors strongly advised that chemo might have prolonged my life a bit more. My life would consist of countless blasts of radiation and violent episodes of sickness rushing through my veins, ripping my insides out from within. Towards my latter days, I would be cooped up in a hospice while on oxygen, my or...

8 comments 8

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“Angels of the Ocean” by Zea Bowman

Submitted to Contest #39

The eerie darkness of that night would never escape my memory. I clearly remember the pitch-black curtain draped over the sky, and the twisted, warped shapes that the stars made against the blackness. The milky speckles twirled and danced along the sky in various patterns, tugging at the corners of my lips in a way that almost made me smile. It was hard to shove aside the worries corrupting my mind, but eventually, I stopped walking over the soft sand below my feet and just... stopped thinking. Nothing from my life could touch me. Not a sing...

7 comments 7

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“Stars” by Crystal Lewis

Submitted to Contest #39

Every summer since I turned twelve, my grandfather and I would get a giant picnic blanket and lay it down in the paddock furthest from his farmhouse and, on the clearest of nights, we would turn our gaze to the stars above.I was a true city boy, born and raised, but there was always something special about my grandfather’s farm. For some reason it held a magic in it, a wildness that, as a young boy, I craved. On one such, cool, clear night, we lay down and gazed above. The sight I saw dazzled me. “Are those really the stars?” I asked my gran...

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“Cancer” by Anushka Binoy

Submitted to Contest #39

The flecks of white in the sky shone like tiny beacons of hope - that was something I really needed now. Hope. It has been 42 days. 42 days since I’ve lain in this hospital bed, gazing at the same stars every night. And if you asked me what plans I had for my future, I would say, to lie in this hospital bed and look at the stars. That’s the thing about cancer. It brings your life to a screeching halt. In fact, you stop having a life. I gave up the day I was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer.I still remember that day. I entered the hospital ...

15 comments 15

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“The Human within the N'Chusa” by Peace Nakiyemba

Submitted to Contest #39

The stars blinked at him as though trying to reveal a secret. Morse code, he thought? But he had never ever bothered to learn it. Maybe there is another human, or humans, out there in space trying to find their way home back to earth. And they just want to know if earth is still habitable.He had never been much of a star gazer but it takes confinement to prompt you into new interests. Now he knew which stars were prone to miss attendance some days...at least the ones he could see from the small barred window.The thought that kept him aw...

11 comments 11

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$50

Prize money

694

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - May 01, 2020 EST

Won by Masha Kurbatova 🏆

Title: sole mate

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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#39: Earth to Writers

This week's prompts

One day, the sun rose in the west and set in the east.

Write about a person experiencing the 'overview effect' (a feeling astronauts report having when they first view Earth from outer space).

Write a story about a Google Street View driver.

Write a story that begins and ends with someone looking up at the stars.

Two people who thought they were the last people left on Earth end up meeting by chance.

Stories