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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

“THE LONGEST WAIT” by PAMELA ABWAO

Submitted to Contest #50

THE LONGEST WAIT Angela looked at her watch. It was almost noon. "My God! It is still noon. What has happened to the earth’s revolution? Things are at a standstill “She talked to herself. She moved out of her room and moved towards the restaurant. It was almost full. The waitress noticed her and directed her to a seat next to a square faced man. He didn't take any notice of her...

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“The Nervous Banyan tree” by Sreedevi Mahapatra

Submitted to Contest #50

Thabir was nervous like a little mouse hiding behind the cupboard to escape at the first opportunity of the prying eyes. Thabir’s problem was that he was asked by his teacher to meet him in the staff room during tea break. “What did I do now? Only last week I was spanked for breaking three pencils of the skinny pencil thin fellow Phanish. Well ! it was not my fault. He called me names, teased me for stammering in the class and all others joined him. And now what! Is the revenge not over yet”, thought poor Thabir, an orphan taken care by his ...

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“The Purple Bumper Pursuit” by Brittany Gillen

Submitted to Contest #50

The chase started because Milo was deaf. Teddy and Milo were listening to music in Teddy’s bedroom on his MP3 player, and they were in the middle of an argument over the volume level. Milo wanted to turn it up to eleven, and Teddy kept trying to convince him that if they didn’t turn it down his mom would come in and take it away. As predicted, Teddy’s mom opened his door and pointed to the player in Teddy’s hand. “Too loud boys,” she yelled. “You couldn’t even hear me knocking on the door!”...

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“Golden” by Quill Porter

Submitted to Contest #50

Grey eyes looked longingly through the large stained glass. There stood a hand mannequin, elegantly posing and advertising a golden glittering ring. It was the late evening in December nineteen, Della stood in front of the jewelry store with freezing hands cupped to her face. Her tattered brown trench coat billowed as the cold breeze blew. Inside, she wore a simple green button-up shirt and blue jeans. Her brown boots dug into the snow piling up on the sidewalk. Della rubbed her bare hands as she continued to stare. Peop...

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“Walk This Path With Me” by Nanci Arvizu

Submitted to Contest #50

It was the end of summer when we met. Right about the time the heat of the monsoon snaps and lets a taste of coolness in for a few hours in the early morning and you’re lucky enough to catch it and be reminded, oh yeah, that’s why I live in the desert. Because when it’s not like living in an oven, it’s perfect.I’d been watching him online, the video introduction to his upcoming virtual art show being held by a local museum I’d recently joined, wanting to immerse myself in my creative community.Something about his notebooks spoke to me. From ...

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“e Chase” by Blane Britt

Submitted to Contest #50

The first movie I ever saw on the big screen was the movie starring Steve McQueen at the Drive-in theater Bullitt in 1968. Even though my father was so much as a cheapskate and him being a miserly stingy person especially who thrived upon to avoid paying a fair share of costs or expenses even for his 11 children more than the Walton family on popcorn or soda’s from the snack place who would not have considered being absolutely poor even under United States standards. Even when I decided to live in the poorest city in the world Kins...

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“The Commercial” by Ella Kinnett

Submitted to Contest #50

I have always wanted to... more like needed to be an actress. Whether it be in a play, movie or even just a small commercial. I had to. There was no doubt that acting was my thing, even though I had never done it before (unless you count being in the comfort of my own home and only in front of my family). I enjoyed working backstage while the older students at my school would put on brilliant performances like Mcbeth and Hamlet. As I would watch every musical that I could strain my eyes to see, I would ache to be on the stage acting along wi...

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“Wendigo” by Lee Ferrell

Submitted to Contest #50

No one will ever be the same after what happened. The eventide they left us in the silva was the night I will remember forever. It was frigid that night in January when they rounded up our horde of twelve in our loungewear and then proceeded to blind us with silk ties and bond our hands and feet with rope. I sat next to Jack and held his hand as the cart recoiled. I also recall the orange-haired girl with her older brother Michael. The two of them were not that far away because I could smell the toilet water he called cologne. There was a ...

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“Last Adventure at Fox Bear Castle” by Whitney Trang

Submitted to Contest #50

Dad told Rowan that moving to a new house was a chance for them to make new memories, without being surrounded by the pain of the old ones. But Rowan wanted to see Fox Bear Castle before they left. His parents needed a few hours to finish up the last of the packing and agreed he could spend them at Fox Bear Castle. Rowan headed out to the woods that surrounded the property. He didn’t have to trek far until he reached Fox Bear Castle. It stood several feet up in the air supported by strong trees on all sides. A set of stai...

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“Her Side of the Ring” by Christine Johnson

Submitted to Contest #50

I thought she would have proposed last week. Her family threw a seventy-fifth birthday party for her uncle. Over hundred in attendance. Everyone was there, including my parents. Loriann excels at working the crowd, not afraid of being the center of attention. I was positive she would propose on the lawn in front of the tent-covered dance floor as darkness rose. After I said yes, we would be welcomed with clap-like-you-mean-it applause and dance to a slow country twang under the twinkling lights strewn on the metal...

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“Hunted” by LeighAnne Ferreol

Submitted to Contest #50

Deer sniffed the air timidly. He didn’t sense any predators. Slowly, he emerged from the forest, still glancing around cautiously. After a moment he felt safe enough to lower his head and chew on the tender grass of the field. The air was crisp, Deer used his hoof to brush away some of the dead leaves that covered the grass. Winter would be here soon. He and his herd would have to find warmer shelter. Deer was thinking about places in the forest that could shelter them when he heard a twig snap near the treeline. He whipped his head around ...

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“CHASE THE SUN” by Richard Granvold

Submitted to Contest #50

I was hot as I ran down into the valley in the morning of the melting sun. The good valley ran from east to west. A spirit raced before the wind caught up with me, raced through me, and caused me to shiver. It was not the golden wind of the sun, but the silver wind of the moon I feared. I came down a road, rutted from the spring rains, running past shacks and chapel-yard cemetery. A nun bowed in prayer. A peasant shoveled new earth. “It is a hard clay and a cold ground,” he said. “She was a hard woman, but had a warm hea...

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“Palace in the Sky” by Jennifer Lynn

Submitted to Contest #50

After spending twenty-five years here in the family home, it was just about time to leave for good. The walls barren of all the old family photos, now carefully packed and in the moving truck. All furniture gone, either donated to charity, or also in the truck. For our last “official” dinner last night, we had take-away from the Chinese place up the street as all the dishes were packed or donated as well. Same with all the rest of the stuff I had accumulated in the two and a half decades under this roof. I complete one fina...

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“My Dream Girl Is A Ghost” by Emmanuel Owusu Ansah

Submitted to Contest #50

It was that day, when I ran into you at the book store. Your hair curled as the wind blew, covering half of your dazzling face. I could only manage to catch a glimpse of your sexy lip and eye ball; That had seemed to set ablaze; ones that seemed to harbor so much more. Your back, so much neatly crafted, which I think only Odomankoma, the best Artisan could leave such an artistic mark. Your side view portrayed the artistic impression of a perfectly molded clay pot, a shape like that of the coca cola bottle. Your hips jingled as you calmly cat...

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“A Moment Like This” by Aisha Makama

Submitted to Contest #50

“Please, just tell me babe,” I plead with David as we come to a stop at a red light. But he only turns around and smirks at me then looks back onto the road. David had been my boyfriend since middle school. It all started as a joke. We were getting teased about liking each other in class because we always did things together. We were just friend at the time though, but nobody believed us. I started to develop feeling for him in the ninth grade, but we started to grow distant from each other at th...

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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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