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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

“Settle” by LeighAnne Ferreol

Submitted to Contest #50

Liam stared down at his spaghetti. He shoved the noodles around with his fork. They were good enough, he just didn’t have much of an appetite. He knew the reason why. “Is it okay?” Danny asked. Liam looked up at him and forced a smile. “It’s great, Babe. I’m just not very hungry.” “Are you sick?” Danny said, leaning across the table to feel Liam’s forehead. Liam brushed his hand away gently. “No, no. I’m just not very hungry. I promise.” Danny still seemed a little worried, but he nodded and went back to eating. Liam looked down at his ...

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“One Bad Turn Deserves Another” by Hyginus Syxtus

Submitted to Contest #50

It is already evening, and Kingsley has not seen Matthew. He has never been this late to an event most, especially like this one. Matthew purposely didn't show up on time because if it were Kingsley, he wouldn't be on time. It is Kingsley's birthday and the guests are already arriving whereas he has not seen Matthew who promised to be the master of the ceremony. The worst part is that his number is not reachable. The only option is to send someone to go to his house and know if everything is alright.As Kingsley is busy looking for the person...

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“He Loves Me” by Breona Willis

Submitted to Contest #50

Marisol had known Ezio pretty much since they were babies. They grew up together, fell in love with each other. High School sweethearts. Different colleges didn't stop them from pursuing one another. After college, they reunited and moved in together. Marisol had one day mused a "screw you" to the traditional ways of the marriage proposal, and took matters into her own hands. But she had to have it planned out. And so she waited. A month to be exact. She wanted to be ready. She thought of all the reasons she loved this man: he showed her his...

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“I propose.....” by Sambulo Kunene

Submitted to Contest #50

I walked barefoot not recognizing who I was. I lived in a small apartment in the corner of Rose Avenue and Greenville Road. A famous road where one morning we all woke up and found a dead body sprawled on the middle of the road. We all were in shock and we did not know whose body it was. Guilty or not guilty, we walked over the small crowd which had gathered around our street trying to put the pieces of the the mystrey together. He was not a homeless lost soul. He was not too old or malnourished. He looked like he belonged to someone. I had ...

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“New Year's Proposal” by Taylor Crosby

Submitted to Contest #50

I took a sip from the crimson liquid and sighed happily. Though the metallic taste did take a bit getting used to, this stuff was definitely something to die for. I set my glass down and glanced at the television. The reporter was babbling on and on about some celebrity performance, something I couldn’t care less about. What I was interested in was the tiny box in the lower left corner of the screen--the countdown until the New Year. There were just five minutes left. I turned to the right, where Drew sat, currently unconscious. Not f...

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“The Eastern Knoll” by Scott Doran

Submitted to Contest #50

Everything about me has been defined by two marriage proposals.The latter of the two was to Marjorie Kent, née Waldron with whom I have trudged through fifty-eight years of a shared life of mediocrity, banality, predictability and relentless disappointment. Together, we have raised four tolerable though unexceptional children (Theodore, Thomas, James, and Vanessa) who have in their trifling ways provided minimal gaps in the inexorable trivialities and monotony of our family’s existence together. Some of them have been p...

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“Who gets the girl.” by Thorum Valdy

Submitted to Contest #50

The glaring midnight lights of the surrounding city had strained every last star from the night sky. Flashing signs and light shows filled the streets amongst the black sheet above that encompassed the city. The blinding scorn of the LED lamps that littered the streets penetrated through the cheap beige window shades where three decades worth of stains had been silhouetted. Tight and filled with the recognizable stench of degeneracy and regret, the two men stood in angry disposition from one another in the darkness of the unlit hotel room, t...

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“All You Own” by Juniper T

Submitted to Contest #50

“You’re being so stupid!” “Don’t call me that!” “What? Stupid?” “Ugh! Don’t make me do this!” “But you’re the one who’s already doing everything wrong! You’re a stupid man!” “Shut up!” “Wait, what are you doing?” “I’m…not…STUPID!” The beer bottle flung out of my hand and struck her on the shoulder, glass shards sticking out of her skin. With a paralyzed mind, I watched her fall back and hit the side of her hip against the counter, dropping to the tiled floor instantly. My lungs felt like they were pounded empty. I crossed my eyes, unable to ...

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“In the Closet” by Glen Benison

Submitted to Contest #50

by Glen Benison Leona couldn’t bear to look at the top, left-hand shelf of her closet. Not anymore. When she first bought the sexy garments, she was all excited, certain that her plan would resurrect her stale marriage. Surely, such a romantic enticement would arouse her Joe. She tucked away her new purchase onto the top shelf of her closet and...

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“Just Dishes” by Jake Kempster Male

Submitted to Contest #50

I don’t know how this started. I don’t even know when it’s going to end. But I know who started it, and it definitely wasn’t me. It was my illustrious, saint of a roommate, Maximus Walter Bennett. Or Max, to his friends. But in this argument? I’m using all three names. “So, are you going to do the dishes?” Those were the words that started a cacophony that slowly descended into the screaming match that’s probably keeping all of our neighbours awake. I feel sorry for poor, sweet, old Ms Rosie next door. Hopefully she has her hearing aid t...

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“True color of life” by Ameen I

Submitted to Contest #50

The fleeting colors of the dusk began to fade away. The glowing sun slowly started dipping below the horizon. Sam and Dan sat in their usual spot to have their evening drink in the balcony. Sam, a charming young man with dark eyes and a broad face. And, Dan rough guy with brown eyes, long nose, and round face. They are friends working in the same company but in different sectors. One cannot miss that stunning view of the sunset from that spot. Mr.John, their neighbor was returning from his walk, he looks younger than his age wi...

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“The Descent of Gracie Gray” by Hannah Carter

Submitted to Contest #50

Trigger warning: depictions of self-harm and attempted suicide There was about to be a rocket launch inside the living room of my tiny apartment. Breathe in. Breathe out. Be a good wife. No regrets. “Answer the question. Why. Are. You. Going?” I licked my teeth to keep from spewing out anything else that might throw gasoline on the fire. I am a good wife. I am not a wife-zilla. Don’t slip up. Just breathe. &n...

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“Minowa” by Reese Barwick

Submitted to Contest #50

“Okay, be honest with me, which color do you think works best?” “I don’t know,” she grumbles, not even looking at the swatches in my hand. All my life I’ve had this idea of how perfect everything would be after we left mom. Needless to say, this isn’t what I was expecting. “Minowa can you at least pretend to care about this?” She mumbles something angrily under her breath and lays down on her bed. “I’ll take that as a yes!” I say with fake enthusiasm. Minowa is the kind of person who you’ve gotta be upbeat around. Otherwise, you’l...

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“Breathe In, Breathe Out” by Vanessa Raffaele

Submitted to Contest #50

Deep breath in, deep breath out. I lay on the floor, eyes closed, music blasting in my ears. I’ve always used music as an escape. The same thing that moves me, awakens me and makes me feel alive, is the thing that centers me and puts me at ease. I bop my ankles to the beat, my head nodding along as I feel the white cord graze my neck and fall by my shoulder connecting to the phone that rests besides me. I imagine myself at a concert, hopping around, fists pounding in the air as incredible colorful sounds are emitted by the instruments for me...

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“Waiting” by Matthew Turner

Submitted to Contest #50

On the other side of that curtain the whole world was waiting. Her whole life had been on the stage but she still got nervous before a show. It was inevitable. And while it used to annoy her, she had accepted that the nervousness was the electricity that kept her on her toes. It kept her from getting comfortable. When you got comfortable you might get lazy and when you got lazy you got boring. Nobody paid to see boring. She made her way off stage and down the small hallway to her dressing room. It was painfully small with a large lighted m...

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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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