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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#50: A Moment Like This

Throughout this contest, we’ve read wonderful entries that provide sweeping overviews of characters' lives (such as "The Tree"), as well as submissions that offer glimpses into distinct life-phases (like "Time Bomb"). We’ve also been captured by stories book-ended by the start and end of one particular moment in time: such as "The Price of a Nice Guy" (a woman gets a flat tire and parks on the side of the road), "Who Speaks to Death" (a story told through a single text conversation), and "To You" (a 50th birthday party).

In the spirit of those last three examples, this week's prompts challenge you to embrace the short story's ability to really dive into and explore one single scene.

This week's prompts

Write a story about a proposal.

Valentine's Day – 211 stories

Write a story about an argument that seems to be about one thing, but is actually about another.

Dialogue – 121 stories

Write a story about a person experiencing pre-performance jitters.

High School – 162 stories

Write a story told entirely through one chase scene.

Thriller and Suspense – 143 stories

Write a story about a summer afternoon spent in a treehouse.

Summer – 303 stories

Stories

“Mysterious Love.” by Len Mooring

Submitted to Contest #50

He gazed in a baffled way at a couple tenderly kissing and stroking each other and supposed that this is what is known as love. Even as a child, he had never felt an attraction for anyone to want to do this, not even to his mother. For his mother, he felt a need for protection at times, but not a fondling or a desire to cuddle. 'Possibly,' he thought, 'It was as well. If he was to contribute to the continual replenishment of the species, he suspected it would be a rather austere and calculated union. However, he could do it.' He knew he woul...

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“Sisters” by Regina Morrison

Submitted to Contest #50

I was laying on my bed when she stormed into our room. The door slammed shut. The door frame trembled. I was reading Jane Eyre. Regina’s small shadow fell over me like an ominous cloud. I went on reading. Jane Eyre was an interesting character; quiet, subdued, almost a complete walkover if not for a spine-like determination to stick to her principles. I turned the page. In the room’s stillness, the page sounded like the white-crested waves crashing in on themselves. Jane was leaving Thornfield Hall after discovering Mr Rochester’s se...

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“The giant Banyan.” by Utkarsh Srivastava

Submitted to Contest #50

Sun went down the horizon, dusk was falling rapidly like his mommy was calling. A cold breeze was a relaxation after sweating the entire day. Alexa came running to me; a lively and cheerful girl just surpassed the eighteen. We met after ten years; she bought along with her - a burst of sunshine after sunset. Suddenly, the wind felt it was coming from Antarctica, and the Moon was smiling on my surprised face. I could barely speak; her sudden arrival filled a flurry of excitement within me and left me utterly bereft of speech. That evening wo...

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“Metastatic Love” by Nithan S

Submitted to Contest #50

Waking up from a silent harmonious sleep is a boon for many. Vikram pulled himself together and sat on his bed upright, stretching his arms and back. In his two years of medical service, he realised that waking up the next day alive, after a long night sleep is marvel. As an oncologist, he has attended numerous cases where the soul would leave the body without much of a warning. With that in his mind, he gently closed his eyes and thanked silently to the Almighty for letting him witness another day. Soon he came out from an energetic showe...

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“A Moment Like This” by Stephanie Viljoen

Submitted to Contest #50

Where were you? I’ve called you about a thousand times, dinner is getting cold!Sorry Hun, I was in the garage, looking at the bat.What! Where’s the bat?It’s hanging in the garage, I’ve just told you!Why didn’t you get rid of it?Are you crazy! I love bats. I will never get rid of them! How could you even expect that of me?I am so disgusted!What are you talking about?I never thought that you are the type of person who would love bats!Well, then I’m starting to wonder if you ever really knew me at all!I guess I didn’t! I am so shocked! When wer...

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“Imperfectly Perfect” by Aubrey Maria ✌

Submitted to Contest #50

The dream proposal was supposed to be perfect. At least, that’s what Disney princess movies told me. But the day came when I would find out for myself what it was really like. Most young starry eyed girls dreamt of Prince Charming ready to carry off the lady of his choosing, but real life didn’t always go as planned. The unexpected was the expected in the real world. The moment came when I thought he would pose the question in the cold winter evening in December. The moon was full and the stars shined brightly. For once, my hands weren’t swe...

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“Dying to perform ” by Bee Kagz

Submitted to Contest #50

I take a Xanax then another. First with a gulp of water that makes an impression on my Adam’s apple then with liquor. I squint my eyes and contort my face as my throat burns with the fire of undiluted spirits then I curl up in the position of the unborn on the chaos on my linen. I can hear my thunder heart beat in my head. It’s too loud, I need it to stop. How do I quiet my brains? I start thinking of how I’ll fail, how they will not see me. How they will see my translucence, laugh at my wetness and feed on my fear. I can’t do it, It’s impos...

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“ Grand Piano” by M. Michielsen

Submitted to Contest #50

Every little boy we pass is him. It’s the reason I didn’t want to come. This trip was your idea and I couldn’t tell you why I hated it, so here we are. Seagulls squawk in the distance. I love that sound and you know it. My therapist says that seeing him still alive is part of the process. It’s difficult to accept. The flashes in the corner of my eye stop my heart with their insistence that —it’s him, this time it really is!— I want to enjoy their sweet faces the way I did before, when happy children made me smile, even if they wer...

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“The Misfit's Society” by Zion Hintay

Submitted to Contest #50

Chessa was on her scooter. Making her way to Andrik's house. The thud, thud of wheels hitting the creases of the pavement slightly shaking her handle bars as she went along at a steady pace.She was late for the club meeting again. She was always late. She had asthma and allergies and summer and spring made her want to stay home. She didn't like the heat or the sun much either. They made fun of her at school for all these things."Ginger Essa Snaps" or "Gessa" for short. She hated the name. Just because ...

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“In Which Rudolf Chooses to Die” by Genevieve Taylor

Submitted to Contest #50

The table is long and laden with ornate silver platters of food. There are oysters nestled in beds of gleaming ice, warm loaves of fragrant herb bread, and plates of dainty bacon-wrapped dates. Tall, thin candles flicker between the dishes. A towering croquembouche looms in the center of the table, threads of golden caramel gleaming in the candlelight. No one is eating. The guests seated around the table, all dressed in heavy, richly colored velvets, watch the man at the head. He stands on his chair, hands on his hips, chin tip...

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“The Threat” by Parvathy Sabapathy

Submitted to Contest #50

I cursed my fate for the zillionth time as I looked at the 10 by 10 room that my family called home. At every nook and corner of the small room was scattered the meagre belongings of our household. I had learnt to control my bowel and bladder movements to sync with the length of the queue outside the rows of public toilets adjoining the slum.My parents worked hard to educate me. They tried everything possible within their means to keep me in school. They couldn't afford the fees of even a modest private school and I therefore went to the loc...

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“The never-ending chase” by Riddhi Barua

Submitted to Contest #50

Rishi is very tired,his leg give up but he has to keep on running but it was not like this,he was living a normal and peaceful life but things changed when Suresh came in his life. The police were chasing him while running, he remembered how Suresh's betraying made him a robber,a serial killer and a wanted criminal. It was November 2000 when Mr.Johnny Sexine the code name of Suresh made a plan to rob the forbidden gem "The Diamond Ruby" from King Alexander Sumnesh II,King Alexander's nephew's Sons's Son's son. The ornament was very preci...

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“Ashes to Ashes. Dust to Lust.” by Eric Deitch

Submitted to Contest #50

Ah, the fire. The fire was the blasting cap to my marriage (I shall get to that a little bit later). I met her at a party in Doha, Qatar, and we became fast friends. We had texted each other, as we all do these days. A week later we met once at my apartment. I made her supper (I’m a great cook; writing a cookbook now) and we watched a movie on my LCD video projector. It’s like being in a small theatre all alone. I already owned it, but was trying to impress her. Our romance grew, and we started seeing more of each other. Talking every day,...

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“Forgotten Celery” by Ashley Beeby

Submitted to Contest #50

Annabelle had just turned on the light over the stove and activated the overhead vent when the front door could be heard closing. It was a normal event so Annabelle continued moving through the kitchen casually. She pulled out vegetables out from a mountain in the fridge to create a smaller mountain on the bench, but there was a sudden stiffness in her narrow shoulders. David kicked off his shoes in the front room, both hands carrying shopping bags. He barely lifted his feet as he walked, yet took great care to still move silently through th...

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“The Camelot Proposal” by Sue Marsh

Submitted to Contest #50

The Camelot Proposal Suzanne Marsh The old man stared silently at the castle, it was his dream. His Cumberland Spaniel, walked freely over the grounds. The old man begins his story of how he made his dream come true, the happiness and the heart break of building his castle. He continued to stare at the stone castle as he began: “I began this project over sixty years ago. I purchased the land for four hundred and fifty dollars, I was fifteen at the time. It began with the idea of a cottage but it grew into a life long project. My dad and mo...

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$50

Prize money

940

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 17, 2020 EST

Won by Emily Hemmings 🏆

Title: Life in the Trees

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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