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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#54: Second Chances

"Third time's the charm."

"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."

"Rome wasn't built in a day."

The English language is full of aphorisms that get at a universal truth: human beings aren't perfect, and oftentimes we need to keep trying (and trying again) in order to get something right.

This week's prompts all revolve around the theme of second chances. Whether your characters are circling back to something from their past, getting a start on something they put off for a long time, or simply in the process of learning after a swing and a miss, we're looking forward to the 'second acts' you come up with!

And speaking of layered characters, 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 a story about high school sweethearts coming across one another after many, many years apart.

Romance – 283 stories

Write a story about someone going back to school as a mature student.

High School – 88 stories

Write a story about someone looking to make amends for a mistake.

Adults – 223 stories

Write a story about someone struggling to learn a skill that in no way comes naturally to them.

Funny – 154 stories

Write a story about a TV show called "Second Chances."

Novel – 108 stories

Stories

“Second Chance” by Paul Slater

Submitted to Contest #54

I’ve not been back in Edinburgh since, and yet here she is emerging from the crowd. I blinked as I caught her eye. ‘Hello, it’s been a while.’‘Nick, is it you?’‘Sorry to disappoint.’‘Not at all. It must be over ten years.’It’s been far longer, but my lips refused to move.‘You look like your father.’ Her dimples gleamed.I grinned. She looked so much like her mother, with her sparkling eyes and seductive features. She hadn’t aged so much as matured.‘You look radiant as always.’We experienced a long period of silence that has no place in any co...

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“We Deserved A Second Chance” by Pratiksha Tripathy

Submitted to Contest #54

It was a windy day. The day he proposed to me. I was, as others in the class, completely shocked. But more importantly, I couldn't stop myself from blushing. It was like I was a part of a romantic movie which I always watch, the only difference is, I am the lead actress here. Oh, dear! I wasn't able to stop the butterflies playing inside my stomach. So many thoughts going on. I was barely concentrating on what the students around the class were talking about or whispering, aloud. Never had I experienced such a situation. I didn't know what t...

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“Seeds of Verona” by Rachel Alvarez

Submitted to Contest #54

“What do you think?” Verona couldn’t take her eyes off the image in the mirror. She was breathtaking. The ivory bodice molded to the curves of her chest and waist before tumbling like a waterfall of taffeta over her hips. The beading and lace woven across the bust gleamed in the soft light of the store. The trifold mirror before her allowed her to admire the dress from all angles. “Oh my word.” Verona’s eyes darted to the reflection of the small audience that accompanied her. Her mother, sister, and soon-to-be sister-in-law as well as...

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“Back to you.” by Monica Kay

Submitted to Contest #54

After six long years of devastating losses,I had finally decided to go back to the only place that held happy memories for me.Being back in this town gave me a feeling of nostalgia. I had always wanted to come back...If only we hadn't left in the first place,maybe my parents would still be here;among the living,but as they say,that's a story for another day.The people here were still as friendly as I remembered, the scenery was still breathtaking if not even better,but mostly;HE was here and he had crept his way into my mind everyday since I...

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“The Proposal ” by Cynthia Grove

Submitted to Contest #54

He had never really left her. He would stay in her thoughts, night and day, week after week; year after tiresome year; every birthday, every holiday, every single day of her life. He was in her mind, in her heart, in her empty soul; her empty being made up of thousands of thoughts of him. Nothing would free her, exonerate her or rescue her from the endless consummation of his presence, or from the encumbering prison in which he had sentenced her. Nothing was consummate, everything was undetermined, indefinite, unjustifiable except for the th...

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“Second Chances” by B. Velazquez

Submitted to Contest #54

What meant most, I lost years ago.The chill of the early morning fog reminds me of what’s been taken away from me and the memories hurt more than they have in a while. Visions cloud my brain and buried pain throbs inside my gut. I ache.With a tight fist at my chest, I pull the brown collar of my sweater closer around my neck. With the dew, the past arrives to haunt me and I reminisce about what was ripped, never to be restored.After his death, I found solace in our quaint, cozy town. I moved under the false pretense that I would heal but sta...

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“Chou & Ai” by Kristel Marie Aguilar

Submitted to Contest #54

“Yes, I’ll go there right away.” Mike sighed as he hung up the phone and sat down on his chair. He looked at the screen of his laptop for a moment. Its wallpaper was him and Grace, his girlfriend for six years — soon to be his fiancee, hopefully — in an amusement park. Grace was holding a teddy bear Mike won for her. He wanted to keep it for himself since he loves stuffed toys, but his girlfriend doesn’t know that, and he doesn’t plan to ever tell her. In fact, even his closest friends don’t know. Besides from his family, there’s only one pe...

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“HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEARTS COMING ACROSS ONE ANOTHER AFTER MANY MANY YEARS” by K V CHIDAMBARAM

Submitted to Contest #54

The Title High School Sweethearts coming across one another after many, many, years, has a feminine taste to it especially the term Sweethearts. To give a different flavor to this term Sweethearts needs some work to be done on it. How about the terms like Sweet buddies, Sweet mates, etc.? Do they in anyway alter the meaning. If at all it is negligible. With this kind of premise I decide to start to begin the story. Of course the broad outline of the story was in my mind but it took almost a week to decide to proceed further ...

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“Orpheus Still Sings” by Priyadarsini Ganguly

Submitted to Contest #54

Every street lamp that I pass Beats like a fatalistic drum, And through the spaces of the dark Midnight shakes the memory As a madman shakes a dead geranium. — T. S. Eliot, Rhapsody on a Windy Night. Nostalgia is a sad man’s morphine; for he holds on to it during perspiring summer nights and bone rattling winters with Time the wonder drug resetting almost every back ache, heartbreak and willful mistakes. It is rather amusing how memories play out differently as at times, one person forgets and another remembers the same things, d...

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“THEY CALL IT FATE” by Favour Ileya

Submitted to Contest #54

Work was hectic today. As I strolled back to my apartment with a bottle of Wine in one hand and pepper spray in the other hand, I couldn’t help but think that everyone forgot my birthday. Not even my best friend Perry remembers, she actually didn’t even call me throughout the day. I feel hurt.I stop in front of the building and inhale. I am going having a good time nevertheless. Nobody does it better than Netflix. Two turns in the lock and I am inside. It’s dark, so I use my mobile phone to navigate through the darkness. I set my coat on a c...

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“Inadequate Epilogues” by Calvin Belton

Submitted to Contest #54

Sometimes people will change you and then leave. It’s not cruelty, it’s nature. They’re become too linked to a person that no longer exists. Every moment you spend afterward is just part of the mourning process. Course, they're always idiots that struggle against this instinct. Because they are idiots, they don't know quite the word for themselves, but if you looked it up in the dictionary, James and David's photographs would be displayed below it. There are two fam...

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“The Interview” by Sara Darney

Submitted to Contest #54

ZacharyZachary Lan closed the magazine and tossed it with a spin across his wide desk, the pages fluttered with soft slapping sounds as it skidded to the edge and toppled off. Good riddance, he thought as the door to his office opened and Greg Landon, his Lawyer of 12 years walked in. The sheepish grin on his face told Zachary all he needed to know. "Are they ready for me?" "Understandably anxious, but ready." "And how about you?" Capable hands spread wide. "Zach, you have planned this since day one, I'm ready when you ar...

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“Temptation and Second Chances” by Cyan Villanueva

Submitted to Contest #54

“You said I have until your popsicle melts.” He says jokingly, with a hint of a sad smile.“Yeah,” She says softly, looking down at the red sticky liquid running down her hand, “I know what I said. I was joking, mostly.”They remain quiet for a few minutes, sounds of children laughing in a nearby playground and moms huddled in conversation of gossip fill their silence. It’s funny, isn’t it… The way heavy silence can fill only two peoples' world, while the rest of the world speeds on by with noise and chaos. “Maybe this wasn’t a good ...

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“The untold love comes to reality” by JERLIN FLOWER

Submitted to Contest #54

There lived a beautiful young woman named Eshona Pearl alike the princess with her family and she was the real pearl with a kind heart. From her childhood, she had a great love for gardening and planted varieties of flowering plants and veggies in her garden.Whenever a new flower blooms in her plant,she prepared candies for the entire family to share her happiness. Among all the plants, she had a great crush over cosmos which is in vibrant colours.So,she planted cosmos in different colours.She spent most of her time among the garde...

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“SECOND CHANCES BY THE SEA” by Joel Malvo

Submitted to Contest #54

There was a cool breeze blowing with a hint of rain as Rick made his way down the street towards the cafe. He had his Monday morning breakfasts here. The cafe was right by the sea and Rick enjoyed listening to the waves splash against the rocks while having his morning coffee. He entered and made his way to the counter. Rick ordered his breakfast and then started walking to the booth in the corner where he usually sat. He stopped a few booths before when he noticed something. A woman of about the same age as him was sitting in one of the...

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$50

Prize money

856

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 14, 2020 EST

Won by Mollie Rodgers 🏆

Title: Where the Water Meets the Sand

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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