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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

“Summer Wonders” by Ashwin Noveau

Submitted to Contest #50

Maybe it was the way the sun reflected in the water or the way it shined through the leaves, but that old summer afternoon, when you could just feel the heat in your lungs leave you while the sunset approached. That summer afternoon she just knew. Maybe it's to say she knew for a while. Nobody wanted to know before, least of all her. But in that moment, surrounded by her childhood haven. There was no need in denying it The faint laughter of the children could be heard as it was carried in the wind and it only made her sadder. As if sh...

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“That’s the Life ” by Tabetha Paulsen

Submitted to Contest #50

It was a sunny summer morning when Jenna woke up to the squirrels lurking into the Tree-house windows. She wiped her eyes with her hands and stretched in the rays of the morning sun. Saying good morning to the birds and also the other wildlife rustling in the dense woods that Jenna now calls home. Jenna realized that moving from her small studio flat; located in Central South America, to the large Treehouse her grandfather built for her to be closer to family. She realized she no longer has to be worried about the hustle and bustle of City l...

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“She walks the Earth, He walks the Heavens” by Spirited Wings

Submitted to Contest #50

Wavering leaves, stuck tightly to the interweaving branches of the majestic tree, shiver in the icy breeze that dances through my hiding place. There’s a slight burnt smell: bitter and smoky. Through the half-open roof of the structure, golden rays glow warmly, dappling the floor with splashes of heat. Dots of dried glue feel rubbery and leave a clay-like substance on my feet. I trace the designs on the wooden paneled ceiling with a finger.It slaloms on the back of a pearly-scaled dragon, follows the yellow brick road and joins Alice down a ...

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“The Tardis ” by Beth Lawrence

Submitted to Contest #50

Every time Harry came here, the experience was the same. He’d climb his way up the wooden slats, paying careful attention to every grip and hand hold. Despite having done this countless times, the experience brought him immeasurable joy. How blessed he was, to have been born into this family. To have inherited such a undeniably amazing retreat. If people only knew.The boys at school didn’t know. They wouldn’t care. Harry was just the odd one, and always would be. It didn’t matter that he was intelligent, thoughtful, caring and grateful. They...

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“A perfect afternoon” by Emma Taylor

Submitted to Contest #50

“What if I tie a rope around a branch and then around my neck?” The curve of Joe’s lip points upwards, but his eyes are vacant, hazy and lost. “I would never get over it.” I tilt my head back and fight away the tears. Joe moves over to me and pulls me into his chest. He kisses the top of my head and rubs his left cheek over my mane. “I will never leave you.” He whispers, running his fingers down my arm. I take his hand, and we wander into the only place we are free. Fragrances of minty grass and damp earth flow freely through our noses, ...

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“Her” by A.d Bunni

Submitted to Contest #50

-Her-The warm afternoon sun filters through the honey tinted leaves of the large oak tree. A late summer breeze drifts through the windows of the tree house, a slightly chilly gust, reminding me and her that these warm summer days would soon come to an end. I rest my head in her lap and she runs her fingers through my hair. Her dark hair occasionally falls onto my head and we would both laugh as she playfully brushes it away from my face. Her hand is in mine and I trace patterns on her palm. She smells like lavender and honey and coffee and ...

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“The Dimness of the Night” by Sofia Gasque

Submitted to Contest #50

“You thought I wouldn’t come.” The air blew through the wooden planks, creeping up Blake’s neck. It was a late summer afternoon. The sun was setting so that only the sharpness of her jaw and her nose were visible, surrounded by long shadows. There was a silence that penetrated her ears. Her eyes closed as she hugged her knees against her chest. She rocked back and forth with the wooden floor cracking louder and louder. Tears rolled down her cheeks but only a slight glimmer could be seen in the dim light. “Blake,” He said, “You heard ...

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“That's how it started ! ” by Anuja Thatte

Submitted to Contest #50

She woke up with a blurry vision and noticed that it was Saturday. It took her less than a minute to register that, this was it. This was the day when she finally gets to meet him. She still had to make a decision. She thought of the day when he had proposed to her and had asked her to be his wife. They were on a date at her favourite restaurant. The restaurant was awfully quiet. He had booked the whole place for that night. He had made sure that the whole place was decorated with lilies and had a wedding theme. The manager of the restaurant...

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“Lost” by R K

Submitted to Contest #50

***** The most instrumental day of my life--but not as planned… ***** ...And as I knelt, pulling the ring out of my pocket, her jaw fell open and tears glistened in her eyes. “Angelica, I have a…” At that moment, four heavily armed men in black pulled up in a sleek car, jumped out wielding guns, and marched up to me. “Ellis Jackson?” a husky voice called from the group. “Can’t you see you’re interrupting something?” I responded, seething with anger. Barely controlling my flaring temper, I waited for the man to attempt to justify th...

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“Say Yes” by Sonja Kreps

Submitted to Contest #50

Everything had been planned down to the last detail, but even so, he felt his nerves starting to get the best of him. Louise wouldn’t say no, right? He had gotten her favorite flowers and arranged them in a vase, but also purchased a bouquet for her as well. Sunflowers, because they represented the first summer they spent together as they began to fall in love. The bright yellow leaves framing the bounty of seeds in the middle circling around and around like eternity. The mood was further set with music playing in the backgro...

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“A way to love” by Sarah Kennedy

Submitted to Contest #50

I opened my green eyes with the thought of only one thing! Brushing the hair out of my eyes I glanced over at matt and watched for a minute while he slept. Today was the day I'd go to my boss and ask for vacation time off. I had worked for Michael Miller for five years and I had not requested time off. So I was due a break from work and the everyday requirements of the responsibilities I had at Miller Law. I didn't plan to do much else, until my love woke beside me and reaching around me to hold me close. Then my morning plans changed. Inst...

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“Simply Simple” by Emily Reed

Submitted to Contest #50

In one hour, I will be proposing to the love of my life. We've been together for eleven years in counting. We've been talking about our future together since we started dating. She and I were young and in love, I was terrified it wasn't going to last. The thought of her leaving me like every single one of my girlfriends had before loomed over my head. She stuck by my side through thick and thin, and eventually, the thought of her leaving disappeared. I never knew someone could love another so much. Emily, though, she's one of a kind....

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“Office Romance” by Mildred Achoch

Submitted to Contest #50

She is applying black nail polish on his manicured nails. That nail polish company pays him a ridiculous amount of money every time he posts a picture of his fingers caressing piano keys, nails the colour of the black keys. “Yoko Ono.” He smiles. “That was different.” “How so?” “I think the Beatles would have eventually broken up even without Yoko in the picture.’ She ponders over that for a moment, decides that he is right. “What about Abba?” “First of all, they were not a rock band.” “Then how do you expl...

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“Over a Silver Table” by Arik Cohen

Submitted to Contest #50

“I have a proposal for you,” she stated with all the personality of a beige Toyota Camry. One of the good Camrys of coure, an LE with six cylinders. But even a six-cylinder Camry LE won’t be confused with a Mustang. Definitely not by Richard, the man she was talking to. Richard didn't know much, but he knew cars. He could even tell you what the 6th cylinder does. Most people had trouble explaining cylinders one through five. Richard lifted his head up from the silver table he had been sitting at for the last three hours. He still didn’t know...

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“The proposal” by Victoria Retana

Submitted to Contest #50

A lot can happen in a lifetime... You can get into the college of your dreams or you can find your true calling, but for Carson's, that wasn't the case. He wanted something more out of life something that would mean the world to him, he wanted passion, adventure, and even a little danger. He then realized he didn't want something he wanted someone he wanted to find that one person who he could share all his secrets with and not be worried if they would tell others, he wanted to find the one person to spend the rest of his life with. So every...

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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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