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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#55: In On a Little Secret

One of The Hobbit's most memorable scenes is when Bilbo encounters Gollum in the Misty Mountains. We know Bilbo has the ring in his pocket, and that Gollum refers to the ring as his "precious." But Gollum doesn't yet realize it's missing, and Bilbo doesn't know who the ring belongs to.

This scene utilizes dramatic irony by providing readers with key information that the characters are unaware of. It creates suspense, tension, and immediately invests readers as we anxiously await the events we know will eventually unfold.

This week's prompts all revolve around the theme of secrets. We encourage you to get creative with how and when you reveal information to characters — and readers!

This week's prompts

Write a story about a meeting of a secret society.

Mystery – 155 stories

Write a story about an old family secret surfacing generations later.

Adults – 141 stories

Write a story that either starts or ends with someone asking, “Can you keep a secret?”

Kids – 421 stories

Write a story involving a conversation that’s packed with subtext; the characters aren’t quite saying what they mean.

Dialogue – 78 stories

Write a story where the readers are in on a secret that the characters are unaware of.

Novel – 101 stories

Stories

“The Deepest Secret” by Tiffy H

Submitted to Contest #55

“Ugh,” Rose groaned. “Why do I have to visit grandpa during my summer break? Going there will be so boring.” “Rose, I don’t want to hear it. You’re going to visit your grandfather for the summer and that’s final. The two of you will find something to do. Besides, it’s only for two weeks. I will pick you up in two weeks.” Her mother said before she paused to quickly glance at her child. Rose pouted while she started out of the car’s window. Her mother was driving her to her grandfather’s house. “You know you’re blessed to still have your gra...

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“Grietje's Secret” by Sue Marsh

Submitted to Contest #55

Grietje's Secret Suzanne Marsh 10 May, 1940 Rotterdam, Holland The Luftwaffe planes began flying over Rotterdam early in the morning the made a deafening roar. My parents heard through the “neighborhood grapevine”, the Germans were invading Holland. My Father Johnnes Aidenkamp, ran out the door, what he saw made him tremble. He informed my Mother Adda, that he wanted her to keep my brother Cas and I down in the cellar while Rotterdam was being bomb. He said he had a meeting to go to and would return around five o'clock. He took his b...

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“The Lady in a LBD (Little Black Dress)” by N S

Submitted to Contest #55

“Can you keep a secret?”, whispered the lady in his ears. She was dressed in a shimmering little backless black dress with high boot heels and wore rosy pink lipstick and let her short hair loose dangling over the back of her neck and pinned on the left. He had his eyes on her from the moment he saw her at the bar counter early that night. At first, it seemed to him that she was with a group of friends, but he later realized that she was by herself and just hanging around with some young boys and girls. It was Friday night and the crowd coul...

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“Secrets Inside The Box ” by 🄼🄹 🅂

Submitted to Contest #55

I climb hand over hand on the dusty rungs of the ladder, leading to the attic. Micah’s hands find my hips and he steadies me as I push the trap door open. The door creaks quietly on the hinges and hits the wooden floor. I hoist myself up into the humid air and my hair frizzes on the spot. He climbs up while I fumble in the dark for a lamp. I hear his footsteps behind me and a moment later his arms wrap around my middle. I should be used to it now. The heat of his bare forearms against my exposed stomach, but I still shiver even though it’s a...

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“Let's Play Ball!” by April Summers

Submitted to Contest #55

“Can you keep a secret?” “Nope.” … “Are you really my friend!?” “Sometimes I question that myself. In all honesty, if our mothers weren’t best of friends, I doubt I’d even associate myself with you.” “Wow! Talk about dropping the ball!” “Sorry, I really don’t get your baseball terminology Logan.” “That’s why you’re not on the friggin team!” “Correction my meat-headed friend. I chose not to run around and hit balls just to have a bunch of nobodies cheer for me.” “Gosh. How can you have such a terri...

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“Fragile Memories” by Emily K

Submitted to Contest #55

“No, no, no,” I whispered frantically as I stepped over puddles of red wine and broken glass. My bed sheets were soiled, by who-knows-what, there were half-empty cups littered throughout my house, the couches were dirty and ripped, vases left shattered and the door unlocked. “This isn’t possible,” I muttered, pressing my hand to my aching head. I remembered last night. I was here the whole time, and nothing had happened. I knew I couldn’t have slept through a party this intense, I was an extremely light sleeper. “Looks like it worked, ...

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“4 lives, action!” by ✰ Jessica ✰

Submitted to Contest #55

The cameras focused in on Mayson and Arlynn as they walked home from school. The micro-cams zoomed in close as possible. “Arlynn?” Mayson asked quietly. Arlynn looked over at him. “Yes?” She asked, her eyes glinting. This was the moment all the world had been waiting for. Mayson was about to ask Arlynn to prom. At least, thats what they all expected. This reality show was pretty extreme, so who knew what could happen. The director sent fluffy clouds across the pixelated sky to shade the two unsuspecting teens. They ha...

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“Sister...” by Chimamaka Adeniyi🙅

Submitted to Contest #55

“Issa LIE!”My sister squirmed, giggling uncontrollably as I grabbed her phone and fell onto the rug, headfirst; my large pink t-shirt folding over till it exposed the bottom of my bra and my bare feet propped on the floor so that I looked like a gymnast about to do a weird-looking somersault.Muna continued giggling; I let my feet prop my rear end higher, almost into her face, as I tried to hold her cell phone away from her.A thunderous slap echoed on the thick flesh of my large bum.“OUCH! Munachi!”We both giggled dangerously, tackling oursel...

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“The Gentle Deceit” by S. Closson

Submitted to Contest #55

“Can you keep a secret?” she asks me.For a moment I am too distracted by her beauty to reply.I am hung up in the way that the light is catching her eyes, doing so in such a way that it causes the flecks of green hiding within the hazel of her irises to gleam like little emeralds.I’m watching her elegant fingers as they trace the golden links of the ‘Together Forever’ bracelet that I’d gotten her on our anniversary earlier this year.“Uh, yeah, of course I can,” I reply awkwardly, knowing full well that I have no one to tell even if I wanted t...

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“16 December 2013” by Naomie K

Submitted to Contest #55

Rostine felt like a million dollars this morning. There was a marked bounce in her walk. Her clothes were starting to feel tight, which meant she had stopped looking emaciated. Rohan walked in. “Morning everyone” Rostine was the only one who looked up. Rohan looked sharp as always. She decided to give him 2 minutes to settle in before she went to him with her customer service query. “Hey, sorry to bother you but if we don’t do something about Mark Holdings’ bandwidth, we shall lose them.” “Sometimes a loss is not such a bad thing, e...

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“Polite Conversation” by Jane Andrews

Submitted to Contest #55

Sidney was the only one who could see the elephant in the room. All around him, people sipped wine or nibbled hors d’oeuvres, grateful for their first opportunity to mingle in a social gathering (whilst retaining a 2 metres distance from anyone else of course). Conversation ranged from the usual banalities concerning the weather (“So hot ... Marvellous for the strawberries ... Could do with a bit of rain now, though”), family life (“Of course, the kids are completely feral by now after missing so much school – every day, I feel us getting c...

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“The Guest In Room No. 301” by Parul Srivastava

Submitted to Contest #55

April 5th, 1954: “Can you keep a secret?” “Excuse me, sir?” “Mr. Fizi, I will tell you what happened last night. But before that, you will have to promise me to keep it a secret.” “Sure sir!” He then brought his face towards Mr. Fizi’s ear. Mr. Fizi’s eyes became wider as his ears absorbed the words. His face was flushed in horror. Disbelief was all over his bulky frame. *** My dear grandma had told me this story. Her husband and my grandpa, God bless his soul, was an engineer who worked with the railways. Traveling to differen...

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“THE SECRET BEHIND THE NAME” by Devanshi Garg

Submitted to Contest #55

He was walking towards Stratford school, San Francisco when someone from behind shouted, "Dhruv" and on turning back he saw it was his best friend 'Max'. Talking together, they again started walking towards the school. On entering the school grounds someone again shouted his name but he didn't turn back for he very well knew the possessor of that sneering voice. It was his least favourite person, Alex Goyle with his pale and pointed face. Alex and Dhruv had been enemies ever since they had met on their first day of school. Although both of...

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“The Initiation” by Jane Andrews

Submitted to Contest #55

Dolores Clayberg taps quietly on the unassuming front door, hoping that she hasn’t been followed. Seconds later, the door inches open and a voice whispers “Password?” “Gucci.” It’s a ridiculous password, but some of the others had insisted they needed a link with their everyday selves and so this simple five-letter word has become their entry ticket to a sleazy world where they indulge in their most shameful pleasure away from the judgemental gaze of anyone else who knows them. Dolores struggles now to remember which one of her fellow secr...

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“The Butterfly's Gilded Cage ” by Ananya Bhalla

Submitted to Contest #55

Thomas rested his aching head against his palms, willing the headache to go away. It was only three a.m. in the morning and he already knew that it would be one of those increasingly frequent bad days. A cup of coffee that he’d brewed for himself lay abandoned beside an assortment of white pills on his kitchen counter. Thomas knew those medications wouldn’t work, tried to convince his wife of that, but she never budged. And in a way, it gave him comfort. Taking pills let him pretend that he was in control of his body and mind. But the fantas...

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$50

Prize money

896

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 21, 2020 EST

Won by B Easton 🏆

Title: Secrets for the Living

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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