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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#53: Dog Days of Summer

"The dog days of summer" conjure images of dogs laying around, panting from the sweltering heat of mid to late summer.

But the saying itself stems from the ancient Romans who associated these hot and humid days with Sirius, the brightest star in the Canis Major constellation (or 'Large Dog' constellation). Sirius is so bright, the ancient Romans believed it contributed additional heat to the Sun, causing July and August temperatures to soar.

As we are currently in the midst of them, it only felt fitting for this week's prompts are inspired by the dog days summer (or diēs caniculārēs in Latin)!

p.s. — On August 12th, bestselling novelists Caroline Leavitt and Gina Sorell are hosting a free webinar on creating believable characters. RSVP here!

This week's prompts

Write about a few people spending a long-overdue weekend away at a cottage.

Summer – 124 stories

Write a story that begins with someone's popsicle melting.

Summer – 259 stories

Write a story about a teenager spending their final days at home before going away to college.

High School – 118 stories

Write a story about summer love — the quarantine edition.

Romance – 131 stories

Write a story about another day in a heatwave.

Summer – 178 stories

Stories

“Consequences” by Catherine Stevens

Submitted to Contest #53

The fires from outside light up the cave we hide in. It’s the only place that the heat is bearable. The earth has changed so much in the last five years. I hadn’t noticed the world changing till after the mass disappearances. Perhaps if I hadn’t been so self involved I would have but, I cared for no one besides myself. I cut anyone who dared to tell me I was doing wrong from my life that included my family. I think of them now, wondering if they’re still alive. If I can believe the W.H.O, they estimate over thre...

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“Julie” by Tvisha Yerra

Submitted to Contest #53

Somewhere in 2020… I don’t care about dates anymore.I don’t want to fall asleep, Julie. I don’t want to go. I don’t want to go.Not in this heat. Way too hot.I wanted something cooler. Something around 98° Fahrenheit.That’s the perfect temperature.The temperature of blood.I’ve been thinking of our future because I’ll never see those days. I don’t know why this happened… But I probably deserved it.I tried to do my best after that, but you know I’m not perfect. I’ve been treating the nurses well. Well, trying to.I don’t know if they like me, I ...

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“The Day They Came” by Conan Helsley

Submitted to Contest #53

The sun was high and bright the day they came. I was sitting on the front porch trying to catch a breeze. We had awakened to a power outage, only to realize that it stretched for blocks in all directions. Nancy was making tea, to use up our ice supply before it melted and to cool us down a bit at the same time. I could hear her in there singing, some Taylor Swift song I would never know the words to. I may be biased, but I much preferred them from my wife's lips. Nancy was the queen of theater in our high school days, and if s...

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“Number Theory” by Nandan Prasad

Submitted to Contest #53

“… with the temperatures hitting a record 42 degrees Celsius,” the reporter on TV said “and that is a staggering one degree more than yesterday. Up now, we have meteorologist Dr. Neena Gupta to…”“Goddamn it, Vijay, are you listening to me?” The lawyer banged his fist on the table. I looked up. “Hm?”The lawyer sat back in his chair. “I can’t. I just can’t take this anymore.”I smiled wanly.“Listen,” The lawyer sounded angry. “I’m trying my best to save your life. So, you better goddamn listen to me.”I sighed. “I’m sorry, go on. I’ll list...

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“Poor is just a matter of perception” by Catherine Stevens

Submitted to Contest #53

Ozarks, 1929.Watermelon juice runs down my chin blending with the sweat that is pouring off of me. It is really hot today but I don’t mind. I try to eat all my frozen treat before it melts in the summer heat. Watermelon popsickles are one of my favorite things; I only get them on special occasions and today is one of those days. Mrs. Ford came to our little rural church to invite all the mountain children to her house for a summer party. Mrs. Ford doesn’t go to our church but she said she was doing God's work by giving to...

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“Your Favorite Second Option!” by 𝔘𝔤𝔬𝔠𝔥𝔦 𝔑.

Submitted to Contest #53

My Popsicle melts and I let it..I don't care. I watch as another drip of the purple flavored falls twice this time in two places. My anger seems to grow with that. "Gah!" I yell throwing the Popsicle far far away. A couple looks at me like I'm crazy. "What?!" I scream. "Oh what I look crazy to you? Well keep walking sugar plums!" "Come on honey lets go.." the guy says directing the girl away. "Don't make me come over there! Cause best believe I will!" I yell at them when they keep side eyeing me. I stuff my hands in my pockets and walk the ...

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“Another Day at the Park” by Cal Carson

Submitted to Contest #53

Shana stared at the popsicle melting in her hand.The sun was beating down hard and was uncomfortably hot against her neck and arms. Sweat dripped down her armpits and the back of her tank top. It was a creamy strawberry flavor and was a soft champagne shade of pink that reminded her of the pastel shades of the buildings at home. She loved strawberry. But she didn’t want her stepdad getting the satisfaction of watching her enjoy it. So she just sat on the fountain watching it melt in the sweltering heat. She was...

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“My Life Without You ” by Elaina Goodnough

Submitted to Contest #53

Dear Mom, This is my final day under Your and Dad's roof. I spent fifteen years here, not to mention three years in that old farm house in Yakima. My first memory is jumping into your arms off of a dock at Grandma’s house. I wouldn’t have done it if it were any other person, but I trusted you. I knew that you would catch me. I felt the salt and seaweed spray onto my chapped sunburned face, and I saw your smiling face look down on me. You seemed triumphant and calm. A couple years later you held onto my shivering hand as I stepped i...

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“Finding that Special Person” by Mustang Patty

Submitted to Contest #53

When Jessica’s alarm went off at six o’clock, she smacked the face of her phone. The noise stopped abruptly, right in the middle of Journey singing ‘Faithfully.’ Once, that song had been a favorite. It was her parents’ song, and it used to play throughout the house regularly. It wasn’t essential to get up so early. She was, after all, still technically free of any responsibilities. She rolled over and pulled the covers with her. Why did her mother insist on keeping the temperature in the house at sixty-eight degrees? She stretched under ...

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“LOST” by Bianka Nova

Submitted to Contest #53

I can't remember anything. I don't have a clue where I am or how I got here. All I can see around me is desert, an empty wasteland. My surroundings are flat, sandy, covered in dry tiny bushes which remind me of the typical prop from a western movie – the dusty tumbleweed, rolling around as if carried by the wind. These bushes, however, are firmly rooted into the ground and there is not even the tiniest hint of a whiff. There is no one here. There is nothing! It seems as if time has stopped, and I have been here for an eternity. I've just ...

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“My Day Has Come” by Kathleen March

Submitted to Contest #53

I am way past the time when there was such a thing as summer love. I mean, that’s for a girl between, say thirteen and sixteen, give or take a year on either side. When I say way past. I mean WAAAAYYYY past. However, the cause of that is not just the fact that I have added a few more years on the sixteen side.First, allow me to ruin the story by saying I don’t believe in love, at least the flowers and chocolate kind. Oh, I used to, but life has made me a whole lot smarter. It took me a while, but I finally learned my lesson. I got the messag...

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“Love in the Time of Covid” by Daniel Bussey

Submitted to Contest #53

I hardly ever heard a word out of her mouth during High School. I think you know the type. Sat in the back of the class. Kept to herself when asked anything. Never made eye-contact if she could help it. An enigma. A riddle. Emelia. That was her name. I at least remembered that much about her. Somehow, someway, we became Facebook friends. I don’t know when, to be honest. We had never actually talked as best as I could recall. Then one day it happened. Her post showed up on my feed. It was a simple enough pict...

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“Paper” by A. S.

Submitted to Contest #53

Sticky juice trickles down your knuckles, leaving trails of strawberry red in its wake. Your face is stained from the artificial sweetness of your popsicle, the sugary taste still lingers in the corners your lips and in your mouth. The stick sits in your slack hand, every last morsel of flavor pulled from the corpse of a miniature tree. You laugh a little at yourself, but it is quickly silenced. The warm summer air is as thick and golden as honey, pouring down your throat with each breath. Sweat stains your clothing, gluing your shirt to you...

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“Our Refuge” by Mustang Patty

Submitted to Contest #53

In the early spring of 2022, COVID-19 had taken away too much time, too many lives, and a quality of life I believed we’d never get back. “You know what, hon?” His eyebrow arched. My husband recognized the tone in my voice. I knew he was wondering how much work I was about to create for him. “No, but I can bet you’re going to tell me, right?” I couldn’t wait to see his face light up. “Since we can go out as long as we continue to avoid crowds, what do you say we go and open up the cabin?” Maybe this trip could restore some sense of...

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“in the air again” by Masha Kurbatova

Submitted to Contest #53

Strings of ants crawled on the walls of my seventh-grade French classroom, really a trailer. Our middle school, like most in Georgia, had little money and too many kids. When the classrooms run out of space, they put up trailers. A cluster of them parked outside the gym. It was freezing in the wintertime, scorching in the spring, with bees and hornets visiting class daily, as if we were pioneer children educated on the Western frontier. The French teacher hated children. You could see this wasn’t what she wanted in life. She snuck cigarettes...

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Ended on 23:59 - Aug 07, 2020 EST

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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.

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