#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

“The Last Companion” by Saranglogy R

Submitted to Contest #39

He was roaming around the streets by looking at the places which were once beautiful. It had been years since he had met someone. He was waiting for his days to come. But to his luck, there was no one except him on this earth.Or so he thought.All the species went extinct on the earth, by leaving out only him.The buildings, theatre, malls, houses, empty plots which humans bought were useful for no one. They all gone dead without enjoying those. But he did, he knew it was not his property neither anyone's. He didn't know which country it was n...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Starry Love” by Neha Dubhashi

Submitted to Contest #39

There are two lovers in the wind: one whose hair shimmers like spun gold, and the other, whose beauty is less vibrant. The other has a more subtle type of beauty. Her skin sings with starlight promises, with a softer, more mysterious lilt than her lover. Her lover is more outgoing, more passionate. But she is more loyal. More kind. For the fiercest power lies in being gentle. The lovers leave the other for several hours. The vibrant girl smiles, saying her time away does not seem as long as it is. In fact, she enjoys her work as much as her ...

7 comments 7

Read story

“Time Paradox” by Bruno Lowagie

Submitted to Contest #39

“When am I?” was the first thing I said when I got out of the pod.I knew where I was. I was in the same room where I had been on June 10, 2020, the day I would travel to the future. If all went well, a team of scientists would be awaiting my arrival on June 10, 2050, thirty years in the future.“Something must have gone wrong,” I told myself; there was no one else to talk to.Water was dripping from the ceiling and there was a funky smell in the room. I tried a switch, but the light didn’t turn on. Apparently, there was no electricity. Fortuna...

14 comments 14

Read story

“Solo Flight” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #39

So far as Jenna could remember, nobody had said, “You must be mad,” or “You’re joking!” – or at least, not to her face, when she had announced that she was going to take flying lessons and hoped to gain her private pilot’s license. But nor had anyone told her she was a natural and they weren’t remotely surprised and it was a wonder she hadn’t done it before. Her older sister Kaye had pointed out, in the way older sisters do, even when both sisters are in their fifties, that Jenna had needed three attempts to pass her driving test (...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Prophecy of Old” by Neha Dubhashi

Submitted to Contest #39

The rope chafed against Ezette’s hands as she slid down, leaving poppy-red and bone-white marks across her palms. She wasn’t holding the rough rope correctly, immersed in a particularly wonderful daydream involving lemoncream pastries and blackberry cider. The ground rushed up to meet her feet. She landed a bit sloppily, her knees buckling under her. Dark obsidian spires towered over them, holding the cavern aloft. A dim sconce sputtered to life. Ruelle’s face was surrounded by an orange glow. At the end of the cavern lay a dark mantle ...

5 comments 5

Read story

“The Day When the West was East” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #39

No one noticed. It didn’t even make the news, but when I woke up that morning, the world as we knew it had changed and nothing would ever be the same. Consistency and routine have been the mainstays of our understanding of the universe, but when there is a change, even a slight variation, what is and what was becomes an uncross-able border. Sunrise on that May morning did not seem to be such a big deal. The summer was on its way melting the past weeks of winter away in one warming breeze. The homeostasis of our commun...

4 comments 4

Read story

“Telling The Sun Goodnight” by Kali Bennett

Submitted to Contest #39

As I stepped foot on that dirty old bus I noticed something. Something different. Something totally unusual. But no one else seemed to care. “You’re not listening to me!” I said angrily into the phone. “What is there to listen to? The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, you’re going crazy.” “No, I’m not! Look out your window, please for me Keeks.” “I am looking out my window, the sun is rising- in the east!” She says sighing. “No, it’s not!” “Look I got to go, we’ll talk when you get to school.” “Okay.” I sigh. I was very concerne...

6 comments 6

Read story

“The man who did nothing but smile” by Dustin Softman

Submitted to Contest #39

The man who did nothing but smile beamed. There was no reason not to. He stuck his tongue between his teeth, crinkled his nose and pulled his face up into something not unlike the knot at the heart of a bow. Ribbons of leathery face skin were neatly drawn up around his eyes and then folded themselves back down to rest upon hardened cheeks as he threw back his head to gaze upon a starlit sky. The moon rained down upon the oval. Prostrate, arms and legs wide as could be, square in the middle of the field, the man l...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Under the Night Sky” by Ujiro Asagbra

Submitted to Contest #39

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Trevor turned away from the stars to look at the lady lying beside her. He couldn’t believe how beautiful she was even lying there next to him under the beautiful night sky.“It sure is” Fey shivered and drew close to him trying to get some warmth from his body. He took off the jacket he had on and helped her put it on. He was left with just a thin polo, but he didn’t mind. He would dive into the chilly ocean naked if it made her happy.“Better?”“Yes, thank you”He felt her inhale deeply. Home. She was home. ...

2 comments 2

Read story

“The World was Wide Enough ” by Megan DeRouin

Submitted to Contest #39

The World was Wide Enough “I should have killed you when I had the chance!” I shouted thrashing violently, trying without success to free myself from the net I was tangled in. He just regarded me with eyes as cold as steel, his face half covered in a faded blue scarf betrayed no emotion. “There is no room for should here.” His voice was muffled, but I could see the fire dance in his eyes. “You second guess yourself and you die.” Great advice genius. I had not survived the...

1 comment 1

Read story

“A Heart of Stardust” by Charlotte Fell-James

Submitted to Contest #39

The young mother hummed as she rocked her child to sleep. From the window of her small hospital room, she could see the mass of star in the black expanse. She watched as one whizzed and danced across the sky, life so bright and fickle. “Nova Aurora,” She sounded softly, gazing at the heavens, “Bright and beautiful, just like my baby, my bright star light. Hush my darling, momma will always love you.” Tears began to slip down her cheeks, the thought of losing her beloved baby heart-wrenching, the thought of keeping her just as much so. A hars...

6 comments 6

Read story

“When The World Caves In” by Georgia Perlah

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #39

I’m on my back. The unseasonably cool August grass tickles the back of my neck. But it is not unpleasant. I wish I could describe the feeling, the infiniteness of the stars staring down at me as I, a fraction of a grain of sand, a microcosm in the universe, am gazing up into the midnight sky. I point out The Big Dipper, to no one in particular, it is just a comfort to know that it is always in the sky, as I am always on the ground. Somebody once told me that they think of me when they see The Big Dipper and now I can’t help but to give the l...

3 comments 3

Read story

“The Big Picture” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #39

The Big Picture Walter was a good photographer, one of the best in the business even if he did say so himself. He said that his ‘great gift’ was the ability to see what others could not, and then capture that vision so that others could share in his ‘genius’. His ‘great flaw’, not that he would ever admit to it, was his overpowering competitiveness, especially as it rose to the dizzying heights of arrogance. That was especially true in his relationship to his brother Elliot, who was also a photographer, and who also worke...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Going Beyond the Stars.” by Len Mooring

Submitted to Contest #39

“Daddy, what are those lights in the sky?”“They’re called stars, Teddy.”“What are stars, daddy?”“Well, there is a big black curtain up there and behind it is a ginormous light. The curtain is very old and starting to get holes in it, so you can now see the light behind it shining through.”“Why did someone put the curtain up, daddy, wouldn’t it be nice to have light all of the time?”“If there was light all of the time, son, you would have difficulty getting to sleep at night.”This explanation satisfied the five-year-old Teddy, but it also spa...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Timemachine Meeting” by NANDINI MUJUMDAR

Submitted to Contest #39

He wondered gazing up at stars, the night sky clear in Timbavati white lions reserve, "Why do people prefer city neon lights to such beautiful natural light"? With a wild life research doctorate, he was always engaged in remote natural spaces. No city professional,media personnel would like to join in with his project,leaving aside the amount offered by the natural environment media channel. He will have to get it done as usual by a local as usual. Gazing at the evening star she wasn't sure why she was sitting in this garden o...

1 comment 1

Read story

Load more stories

$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!

Menu

CONNECT

BLOG

APPS

TOOLS

ABOUT

#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.