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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

“A HURDLE RACE” by Maitreyee Joshi

Submitted to Contest #50

You are very focused on your job ahead and you start from the house. You feel very positive. You have to be always positive because you are training to be a Psychologist. The rental contract for your flat is going to end this month, and also the money that your father lent you is on the brink of getting over. You just wish to finish the exam and go back for a while and find some temporary job in your hometown to keep you afloat until the result of your masters in Psychology. You take a deep breath and climb down the stairs and hop into your ...

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“By The Safety of The Wings” by Chloe Chai

Submitted to Contest #50

Humans have coined the term “wings” for the sides of the stage. I've always questioned why. Why use a word that already has so many other definitions, to represent something completely different. But is it all that different? With what seemed like a million butterflies in my stomach, fluttering around aimlessly, I might just about understand why they were called “wings”. 'I've done this an uncountable amount of times.' This sentence was playing itself endlessly over and over again in my head. But something about this time just feels diff...

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“Born a star” by Zuko Sanders

Submitted to Contest #50

Bruce sat petrified as his mother Amaya typed in his name under the words talent show auditions. He was in second grade and about to do a Freddie Mercury impression in front of his whole entire grade! Would they think he was crazy? Would he loose all his friends? He was so nervous! He got up from the couch where he was sitting. His mom looked strait up into his big brown eyes and said “Is everything all right Bruce”? Bruce looked down at his mom’s caring eyes. “Uh, yeah mama everything is fine, can I just go outside to practice my act, after...

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“NONYE'S PARANOIA” by Candida Emmanuel

Submitted to Contest #50

NONYE’S PARANOIA Nonye turned and woke up with a start, shivering and soaked in sweat. She was panting and looked around wildly. There was nothing different. She was all alone in her room. Everywhere else was quiet except for the ticking of the clock and the barking of some dogs in the distant night. She fell back on the bed and wiped her brow, then heaved a sigh of relief. So it was all a dream. Sixteen-year old Nonye had been having nightmares since she was chosen to represent her school in the regional singing contest. Nonye was...

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“Music Above the Water” by Luis Nobody

Submitted to Contest #50

I shouldn’t be here. I want to be here. My mind’s bouncing back and forth, and I want to stop worrying or thinking at all, so I look at the sheet music again. For a moment or two, all I can see are white dashes and black curly blurs. Then, it comes into focus. I feel my chest rising and pounding rhythmically, almost like my body was following the tempo of the music. It didn’t stop the pressure in my head, but it was enough for me to focus. The blurs became words, and I could make out the small tic-tac-toe games and random letter “b”s sprink...

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“A Shattering Premiere” by Philip Baker

Submitted to Contest #50

The corridor seemed long and dark at its end. The fat red carpets with the windowless walls would make it seem suffocating and stifling, more like the entrance to a big underground cave than anything else. If it wasn't for the occasional candle lamps appearing every ten steps or so, it would be a rather bleak and dismal place. Yet, besides the simplicity of it, everything seemed rather carefully chosen, from the yellow warm light diffusing through the room like little suns to the iron props in the walls supporting the lamps, with the curling...

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“Respect the Gong Sound Effects” by Raymond Bouchard

Submitted to Contest #50

Peri crouched with her head between her knees like a crazy person, like it wasn't Seth who was actually going to deliver the presentation on the Indus Valley civilization and she only swiping through the slides."You're crazy," Seth stated matter-of-factly.Peri unleashed a prolonged and guttural whine as she was wont to do, and blabbered, "You're going to screw up, screw up badly. Oh, it was my fault, I shouldn't have encouraged you, oh God, oh Lord-"Seth interrupted, lips pressed tightly together, "Right. Because you're the only one out of u...

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“I'm Sorry, Water?” by Saul Peeters

Submitted to Contest #50

“I’m sorry,” Jessica Truelove said, to the girl who shot by without stopping. “I’m sorry,” she tried again, but the man didn’t break stride. “Hello,” Jessica said, changing tactic, to no avail. “Could I please have a glass of water?” she whispered to no one in particular. Maybe if the air knew she desperately wanted some water it would appear. Like all these people it would jump forth from nooks and crannies, from behind curtains and closed doors. The people kept appearing, but not a glass of water came. The producer, as the girl had introd...

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“Breathe” by Amy Veltman

Submitted to Contest #50

Breathe in. It is almost time for the show to start. The house lights shine the way as ushers guide the final audience members into their seats. The thick, velvet curtain is down, shielding the spectators and performers from each other, making it difficult to guess how many listeners are in attendance. The air is filled with the rise and fall of murmured conversations charged with eager excitement. There are over fifty musicians, including yourself, involved in the show so hopefully there are at least that many spectators attending tonight; ...

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“Wrong detour” by Dewni De Silva

Submitted to Contest #50

Paulo Miguel When I plunged down the road, I made a foolish decision. To my right was a detour that reflected immediate safety. Turning, I realized the cul-de-sac was almost impossible to escape from. I halted, with one knee almost bent, scarped and looked as if I’ve dragged my self across a half-finished wooden floor. I panted with one hand on my hip, contemplating on how to climb this brick wall. I ran backwards and fling my leg to a side to get a firm grip on the wall. The redness of the brick almost camouflaged my knee that screamed at ...

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“Whispers of Fate” by Olumisin Tolulope Tinuoye

Submitted to Contest #50

Sam has only one immediate goal and is to outrun whoever her stalker is. She kept running barefooted, holding her bulging midsection. The thorns and blades of the shrubs, piercing and cutting the skin on her face as she ran, she felt the trickle of blood and salty sweat running down from her forehead down her nose to her open mouth as she ran gasping for breath, she has never experienced fear so potent that she could feel its bile taste at the back of her throat. She ran not just for her own life but for the pulsating heart inside her, ...

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“Shifting Gears” by Claire Broschinsky

Submitted to Contest #50

The familiar burn creeps into my quads but I keep pedaling. I shift gears on the uphill and glance over my shoulder, smirking as he noticeably slows in his pursuit. His on-road mountain bike is heavier steel or aluminum where mine is a carbon-framed beauty my parents bought me after my second mini-triathlon. When the road levels off again I stand straight-legged on one pedal and the other to stretch. This gives him just enough time to catch up so I sit and start pedaling again. ”Surrender?” I call over my shoulder. “Never,” he pants and lurc...

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“Cat and mouse” by Marcie C

Submitted to Contest #50

Cat and Mouse The green eyes of the cat glimmered in the kitchen. Her fur was almost completely black, with tiny, dainty white socks on three feet, and an oval white patch on her stomach. She blended into the shadow of the fridge, the only light in the room coming from the flashing digital numbers of the oven clock, the eerie glow matching her eyes perfectly. She answered to Tidge, although her full name was Tidgy-Cat McPusspuss. She had started her life as a stray, and was appreciative of everything her humans had given her, so accepted her...

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“The Commute” by W.S. Clyffesend

Submitted to Contest #50

Is he looking at me? My eyes try to watch anything else. Signboards, other passengers, my reflection. Yet my attention was always brought back to the man standing skittishly at the back of the carriage. I’m imagining things, I must be. Maybe he’s just zoning out and his eyes just happen to be rested on me? If you’re a fellow non-license holder, you’ll know that in the morning the subway can be packed. And not everyone has remembered to bathe. He looks ill, maybe he’s just really trying to focus on something else to avoid the ...

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“Asking for It” by Lisa Hines

Submitted to Contest #50

Trigger warning: depictions of stalking and sexual assault When they found her overturned cart, its contents burst open and seeping across the asphalt, one wheel was still spinning. It squeaked into the air like a wounded animal until a hand reached over and stilled it. The absence of its cry felt like pressure, a riddle pausing for an answer, the connections right there underneath all this confusion. Someone, later no one would remember who, pointed to the small red hatchback just across the lot. The dome...

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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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