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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

“Swaying” by Bethann Mahler

Submitted to Contest #50

The floor was hard, wooden and full of imperfections. The windows were windows only in the fact that they were openings in a wall allowing you to look out or in. No glass, curtains or coverings of any kind were there. No way to keep the rain out, the leaves out or the animals out. I use to go there daily, enjoying the comfort and protection of those walls. That was before. I use to bring my food there and enjoy it in the coolness of the fall. Hiding from the cold winter, I would roll up among the rugs in the corner. The spring allowed me to ...

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“That afternoon” by Nola Nelson

Submitted to Contest #50

Rosalind It was a normal afternoon for everyone else; we played and laughed, we decorated our clubhouse (an aged creaky wood treehouse my dad built for my fifth birthday) with anything we could find laying around. We carried my cat Gary around and ran around the block. Then ate popsicles in the blazing sun. But for me it was different. Suddenly my head felt weird, kind of foggy but there was a tingling sensation as well. It made me feel warm and dizzy. I started slowly losing my breath. As I ran to the restroom saying I had to pee, my head s...

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“The escape” by Jadyn C

Submitted to Contest #50

Nowadays it seems like every teen is trying to escape reality. Most teens do drugs but not Alison. Alison is a sophomore in highschool and has experienced her first out of body experience. Alison grew up with a very neglectful ,verbally abusive mother who suffered from very bad childhood trauma herself. This affected Alison physically, mentally,and emotionally. In school Alison would always get made fun of because she didn't look like most girls. She was scared to talk, overweight ,and walked with her shoulders shrugged while looking at the ...

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“Jacob's Ladder” by Heather Wightman

Submitted to Contest #50

She climbed up the tall oak tree, the branches catching her dress and the old wise bark scratching her worn, rough knees. With each pull, there was a small grunt of determination followed by a sigh of release in each rest."thirty-five, ugh, aahh, thirty-six ugh, aahh". In twelve seconds, she knew she would be there. She had climbed the tree enough times now to determine the exact time and energy needed to reach her leafy retreat.There she was, clambering up the shaky ladder; designed in a dream and created with bike chains, padlocks, and leg...

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“Tea Time” by Rachel Ruppert

Submitted to Contest #50

Babs sat in her favorite rocker on the back porch of the old house, drinking sweet tea. Her grandson had just rebuilt the deck and it didn’t creek as loudly as the old porch. She closed her eyes and smiled, remembering the sound. Babs and Tom had all kinds of plans for updating the house when Mama had passed it on to her after they’d gotten married. But between raising two very active twins and working full time jobs, she and Tom had found little time to even think about new cabinets or open concept kitchens and such. They could barely kee...

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“THE TREEHOUSE” by Rhonda Hyder

Submitted to Contest #50

Late that morning, Nellie had been woken from a very deep slumber by the crystal clear sound of a male voice. “Hello?” was all that she heard. It sounded as if the young man was already inside her home. The bedroom door was open onto the living room, but the other door leading to the rest of the house was shut tight. The voice was so close that Nellie felt compelled to respond in order to avoid the vision of this unknown man appearing in the doorway to her bedroom. With an identical query in her voice, Nellie called ...

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“The Treehouse” by Jacques Humanité

Submitted to Contest #50

Time had passed, yet some things stood still.The living room brought a mix of nostalgia and dread as he laid his eyes upon the stained carpet, worn sofas and little television in the corner with its bent antenna.Clothing that had once belonged to him, little blue and white, led in a trail to the equally little shirts and skirts lying in a heap by the coffee table. Crowned atop it was but another thing that had loved her, and was punished for it.Jake knelt and grabbed the teddy bear. He swallowed hard as his fingers brushed against the pink, ...

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“Tree House Afternoon” by Ann Rapp

Submitted to Contest #50

Tree House afternoon Chapter One “Maeve, Maeve, wait for me!” the strident voice startled me as I walked away from the supermarket to my car. It was Cynthia Bradley, my neighbor. “Hello Cynthia, I didn’t see you in there, how are you?” “Fine, fine, but I haven’t seen you for a while. You look tired … everything OK?” Cynthia was a nice enough woman, but she was the queen of local gossips and I’m ashamed to say I often avoided her. She didn’t work outside the home, but spent a lot of time in her beloved garden, from where she watched eve...

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“Simpler Times” by Teresita Dominoski

Submitted to Contest #50

She easily swung up the tree and slid through the small door. She didn’t know how much longer she would be able to fit through the opening. Heck, would there be a time she couldn’t climb a tree? She hoped not. Now that she was in, Daisy retrieved the square pillow from it‘s box and gave it a few whacks to remove any dust and check for bugs. With that done, she laid back and stared through open slats that made the roof. The slats were made of steel and were anchored in firmly to the frame. Her dad didn’t want any branches breaking through. S...

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“My Own Little Treehouse” by Nina M

Submitted to Contest #50

“…Seven, eight, nine, ten! Ready or not, here I come!” Her voice echoes from the side opposite from where I am. I try to stay as quiet and as still as I possibly can. The little area makes it easy for her to spot me in no time. “You always hide in that spot! There are other places, you know,” she says, adding yet another line to her side of the mini chalkboard we use to keep score. Five to one. We decide to take a break, sitting in our favorite spot overlooking the neighborhood. The sun is up, and I feel the cool wind all around me. It’s ...

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“Cloud Watching” by Anastasia Marchese

Submitted to Contest #50

I am not sure how long I have been up here lying on my back and looking up at the clouds as they pass through the blue of morning, the leaves overhead dappled with shade from the leaves above them. I came up here looking for something that my son lost. He was looking for it and blaming his brother for losing it and I thought I might find it here in their treehouse. I don’t usually come up here. I am uncomfortable with heights and climbing up the ladder stresses my knees. Plus this place isn’t meant for me. It was designed for little boys, no...

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“A Girl's Sanctuary” by Bethany Holley

Submitted to Contest #50

She propelled herself up the ladder, with her breath racing as each foot cascaded over the steps. She was not scared of falling even at such a rapid pace. Her lanky legs should have tripped instead of contorting and attaching to the rungs, but she had traversed this path to her treehouse more times than she had ridden a bike, so the movements were instinctual. As she plunged through the trap door, she inhaled a deep breath and took in all the familiar smells of her sanctuary. A brief calm passed over her before she slammed the door closed an...

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“Summer of 86'” by Sarah Sumner

Submitted to Contest #50

The time was about 3 o'clock and it was a hot summer afternoon. The year was 1986 and was going to be the best summer yet in Wilmington, NC! Rebekah and Amanda were going to meet Blair at her treehouse. They were going to talk about drama, makeup, and tell fun stories! Amanda was the first to arrive wearing a long purple dress with white; green feathers and a black belt. Her blonde hair fell so perfectly on her shoulders and her light blue eyes covered in purple sparkly eyeshadow. When Amanda got there she laid a pink blanket with oran...

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“The Tree House” by Aishani Gupta

Submitted to Contest #50

I still can't process what happened there. All I know is, I learned a lot about the world and the consciousness beyond our vision and logic in those few weeks. *** Summer holidays had started a few days ago. My dad, my dad's friend, and I had undertaken a project. We were building a treehouse. We looked at our hard work proudly after it was done, and me and my friend decided to move in there. *** Fast-forward a few weeks, we had moved in with all essentials that a pair of treehousers n...

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“The Hidden Veil” by Anaya Dennis

Submitted to Contest #50

“What part of the spirit world did you bring me to this time?” Vie asked. “The past,” Sherry smiled. The twelve year old spirit skipped towards the staggering treehouse, making her golden locks bounce up and down with her lively aura. Vie’s eyes widened as she gazed upon the momentous house encapsulated within the tree. The summer sun brightened the colorfully lavish bronze paint on the outside and the dark bark of the tree contrasted beautifully. The windows were so crystal clear that Vie was able to spot the many cha...

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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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