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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

“Long Past Dawn” by Advik Godbole

Submitted to Contest #50

It was a cold night, I was frantically rehearsing my lines for my play. It was William Shakespeare's "Othello". I played the role of Iago. He was the main antagonist of the play. I had really tried to get into his character in the last few days. I researched everything that people did in Shakespeare's era. I even took an online course in Elizabethan English. I sat by the lit fireplace in my house, basking in its warmth. The play was the very next day and I was very nervous. I kept getting stuck in the fifth act of the play. I would be ...

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“All over again” by Stella Elewa

Submitted to Contest #50

“I’m done.” She said, dramatically throwing her hands in the air for emphasis. “I’m done, Kasyn. I’ve had enough. It will simply not work after this point. We have reached that stage we both dreaded. No Kasyn, won’t work. Don’t give me that puppy dog face, please. I’m done.” He looked at her waning self, curled into a ball at the corner of the room, softly sobbing to herself. It had begun well, their love story that is. Sudden, like a breath of fresh air to his suffocated, fed up nostrils. He knew she was the one, even before she began talki...

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“Three Little Letters” by Mitra S

Submitted to Contest #50

How long does it take for an average person to answer a question? You wonder as the sound waves crash into your eardrums and the electrical signals travel to your brain, materializing the question into reality. This question requires a quick response. If you pretend to get emotional and shed a few tears, you can buy more time, a few more seconds perhaps. You need to think before giving him an answer. There is so much going through your mind, like why are you sad and exhausted when you should be deliriously happy? You look around the room a...

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“For The Moments I Spent With You” by Yaki Lim

Submitted to Contest #50

The gentle breeze swept across my face as I took a moment to gaze out the window to the sunset before returning to the novel. The romance genre of the novel complimented perfectly with the warm rays of sun and blush-red and orange that bounced around the small room. They quickly reminded me of the person I always think about when I'm in the treehouse... it was you. I managed to get myself to read a few more pages until I reached the end of the chapter of this novel. I quickly skimmed through the chapter where problems between the character...

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“Beloved” by Ellen D

Submitted to Contest #50

Oliver almost backed out of dinner that night, but James had been unusually forceful and insistent upon his presence. Of course, Oliver relented. They both knew he couldn’t deny James anything for long anyway; it was at the very core of their relationship.It had been a particularly hot day in July, but the evening was pleasant. A slight breeze had set in and the sun painted the sky in ethereal hues of orange and red. A few fragile clouds dotted the horizon, but none dared threaten the city below with rain. The restaurant was beautiful, ...

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“A Magnificent Murder” by Josephine Andersen

Submitted to Contest #50

1 A Magnificent Murder Anna should have known from the start that Frank was not to be trusted. She had been taken in initially, by his diffident manner. It was only much later that she had found out that he had had ulterior motives in applying for the job, that of assistant in the Gallery library and that he had lied about his qualifications. He was a mature student from Library School and he was looking for an environment that would offer him support in both his fields of interests, art and librarianship. He inte...

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“The Engagement on Butterfly Beach” by Meena Zulmai

Submitted to Contest #50

“What if I fall?” I whined, stretching my arms out and grabbing at the air in front of me, desperately searching for something to hold onto. “Don’t worry baby, I got you. You’ll be able to see in just a minute,” Mark replied as he held onto my waist to lead me in the right direction. He adjusted the blindfold made out of a black bandana that was covering my eyes. “If this is some kind of haunted house or a prank of some sort, I will hurt you so bad and you are going to regre-” I was interrupted mid-threat with a soft, tender kiss. I...

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“the manager” by Philip Ebuluofor

Submitted to Contest #50

THE MANAGER Emenike lived with his family in the village of okpu. they were family of six ,father ,mother, two sisters and two brothers. The parents were relatively educated to compare with other families around them. When Emenike was in primary three, he was sent to Port Harcourt to live with a wealthy family from their village to complete his education for his parents could no longer afford his school fees. PORT HARCOURT CITY Emenike entered into the services of the wealthy man at the age of eight and his duties includes help...

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“The Rookie” by Veronica H.

Submitted to Contest #50

Today was the day Michelle would earn her Final Certification. The twenty-one year old college graduate was no longer a trainee. Today, she would handle her first real client on the job. After today, there would be no more run thoughts, roleplaying, shadowing others. Her training would be done if she managed to not bungle this first solo assignment. She would be official.The restaurant she sat in was busy. Dozens of late brunchers occupied the place, their mimosa-fueled conversations filling the spaces between tables and booths with the...

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“a promise times more” by Reana W.

Submitted to Contest #50

My fingers trembled as I accepted the call. “Hello?” I said shakily into the phone. “Aiden?” I called out adjusting my voice, as I prayed for him not to question. Crossing my fingers and pleading for him to mishear my quaver. But it never really helped, because he always asked. And if it wasn’t loud, then it was quiet in his silence. Making every year the same excruciating moment of pain, webbing out from my annual lie. Because the mind has a funny way of making sure we nev...

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“The Outsiders, The Bully and The Treehouse” by Joan Kearney

Submitted to Contest #50

As soon as I noticed that Will and I walked the same way home from school, I knew I had to know more about him. We were just eight and I was the new girl in the third grade at Saint Michael’s. I spent that first day just observing the other kids who were mostly friendly except when they teased and bullied William Murphy.William was a small kid with reddish brown hair that was always a mess. He kept to himself and was almost always reading. I felt like an outsider myself too. I wasn't just a quiet girl that looked pretty much the same as ever...

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“The Summer In A Tree House” by Ashley Smith

Submitted to Contest #50

Whack! The colorful round object had a lasting impact on my skull. I turned to see Chloe, Joey, and my parents’ mouth hanging. As I stepped on the freshly mowed grass of our summer house, a large wooden space caught my eye. I slowly moved towards it to see that it was a treehouse. One that I have never seen before. “ Stop!” My neighbor exclaimed as I drew closer to the treehouse. The exclamation took me by surprise, but I shrugged it off and walked back into the house. My boring afternoon was spent having meaningless conversations wit...

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“Light Bulb” by LeighAnne Ferreol

Submitted to Contest #50

Jenny felt around in the darkness, looking for the bathroom switch. Her fingers finally brushed against it. Click. The room stayed dark. She tried again. Click. Nothing. Click. Click. “You’re gonna break that thing if you keep flipping it like that,” Greg commented. “It would have to work first before I could break it, Greg,” she snapped. “I told you, the switch is fine. I just need to replace the light bulb,” he sighed. “Then why don’t you change the light bulb, Greg?!” She asked angrily. “Hey, calm your ass down. I’ll get to it...

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“The Drive To The Unknown ” by Meera Dandekar

Submitted to Contest #50

The car slowed down inches away from my feet and the passenger door was kept open for me to jump in. I leapt into the reclined seat and the door closed itself as we took a hasty turn. I readjusted the seat to make me seem more alert and fastened the seat belt before I rammed through the windshield ahead. “Get your phone out and call Cole and Fisher. Give them the same instructions that I told you. We don’t have time to stop.” Neil did not flinch as he shifted the gears to the highest one. I felt the car vibrating more than necessary ...

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“The Wishful Curse” by R. E. Dressler

Submitted to Contest #50

I slapped down another pair of jacks onto the musty wooden floorboards once again. A cool autumn breeze whizzed through my oversized hoodie like spears, causing my skin to prickle. “And another win for the third time,” I boasted to my best friend, Brady. He stared at the two playing cards, baffled. After a moment, he frisbeed the remaining cards within his hands across the dusty ground towards me. Another gust of wind suddenly howled through the cracks of the boards, nearly picking up one of the staggered cards along in its fury. Slamming do...

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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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