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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

“A Source of Suffering” by Hakin Edward

Submitted to Contest #55

First of all, I’d like to inform you that his wife is not at home. “Morning, love, I’ll get your breakfast done”, Carl said to the empty bed as soon as he jumped from it. It’s already been 2 years since the accident, and I’m starting to pity him. You see, sometimes people cannot accept reality, so they change their surroundings and turn it into their ideal world. Of course, that happened before, every creation since humanity was caused by someone who did not like what they saw when not dreaming. Every medicine, ideology, revolution. It’s ...

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“The Entertaining Society: Grand Plan” by Ronica Gapu

Submitted to Contest #55

"Josh, you better get off that TV!" Mom yelled, in her usual forced British accent.She was giving this new job thing her all.She had been freshly shipped to Britain by the company she worked for. For my mom, this was all too exciting. I, on the other hand, was trying to fit in. It wasn't easy, being the only African kid. So I began spending my afternoons, in front of a screen. "Okay, bye Oscar," she chirped, exiting. My mom was a beautiful young lady, with kinky long black hair often tied in a bun. She wasn't much of a hard worker ...

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“The Dark Chamber” by Trinity Womack

Submitted to Contest #55

He was here. Finally. The years he had spent searching for this group had finally yielded some results. At least he hoped it would. So far, all he had garnered was the fact that this group operated in the dark and were very secretive about their identities. He adjusted the blindfold that had been placed over his eyes upon his entrance and stumbled over a step. The people leading him gripped his arms tightly, making him wonder if this was a trap. But it was too late now to do anything abou...

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“Minutes to Midnight ” by Paul H

Submitted to Contest #55

Official Minutes of the Cult of Korbosh, Swallower of Suns and Devourer of Light. Autumn 2019AttendeesBrian (President)Susan (Treasurer)Alan (Vice President)Katie (Inhuman Resources)These minutes have been deemed as accurate and official. All Hail Korbosh, the absence of hateful brightness.I - AttendanceBrian: Okay everyone. It’s good to see you all again.Alan: We haven’t taken attendance yet Brian.B: There are four of us Alan, it’s obvious everyone’s here.A: I appreciate that Brian but bylaws are bylaws; you wouldn’t want to invite the wrat...

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“88 Keys” by Linda Rossi

Submitted to Contest #55

My great-grandmother loved playing that old grand piano. Every night after dinner and on Sunday afternoons, she and my great-grandfather could be heard playing and singing cheery songs from the old country and even some of the newest tunes from this country. There wasn’t anything great-grandma couldn’t play. Every time we would visit, the sounds of laughter and loud off-key singing from all of us could be heard filling the overheated living areas of great-grandma’s basement apartment. &nbs...

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“Take Two” by PK Spice

Submitted to Contest #55

When you die, your life doesn’t flash before your eyes, but it does happen just before you are born. The path you’re meant to follow, in all its glory, is laid out before you. The one, true plan for a life that will bring you happiness, fulfillment, and love. The trick is to make the unborn child remember it. But what if you could take it a step further? What if you could make the baby remember other things too? Like which stocks or real estate to buy and when to sell them. Which horse, sports team, or boxer to bet on. How to not only e...

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“The Secret of the past” by Gie Garcia

Submitted to Contest #55

Hi.I'm Momo. I'm 18 years old and I don't have my parents anymore and you might wonder why I'm dragging my huge luggage with me. Well, my story starts back in the city I previously lived in. My parents past away because of a car accident back in when I was still a child so my grandmother on my mother's side was the one who took custody of me. But just a few days ago my grandmother died because of a heart attack. I was super sad since grandma was my mom, dad, sister, and my best friend. She raised me with all the love and care that she could ...

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“Summer Vacation Secrets” by Esther Andrews

Submitted to Contest #55

That summer started out like every summer that came before it – swim lessons and bible school, followed by the obligatory three-week long August road-trip to visit our relatives in the mid-west. Those summer vacations always involved lots of sleepover parties with cousins, playing with new litters of kittens or piglets, helping with cows at milking time, riding tire swings, ping-pong matches, having ice cream sundaes for dinner and going to the movies. Our aunts, uncles and cousins were infinitely more interesting to me and my siblings tha...

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“Susan the spy” by Praire Rose

Submitted to Contest #55

Can you keep a secret? Well I hope you do. Susan is a spy… not any spy, the neighborhoods spy. And the best part, no one knows. Susan jumped up at the sound of her bedroom door being knocked on. “Coming” says Susan as she closes her notebook and goes to the door. Before she can open the door, Kai rushes in the room. “I could have been getting dressed in here” says Susan huffing. She starts writing in her notebook: Kai’s done it again I need to tell him to stay out of my room unless it is an emergency. Also, I have missed him dearly, glad he ...

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“My Little Secret” by James Offenha

Submitted to Contest #55

I found my PDA, it was in the attic in a chest without a lock. So, I plugged it in and waited. When the bar got past 80 percent, I logged in and went to a website where I could meet a date. Someone who wants to settle down, get married, have some babies, the usual. So, I went to a dating website where the website had me fill out a survey: How old are you? Well, 4 times 7 is 28 so I write, “28” Do you smoke? No Do you drink? Yes How...

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“The Death Of Lewie” by R. Cai

Submitted to Contest #55

"My dog died.”Will sat down with us. His face was ashen. He had dark circles under his swollen eyes. He was crying the whole night.“Lewie died?”He nodded numbly. “Yeah. He died.”The four of us sat around a round table. Me, Oliver, Kate and Will.“I’m sorry.”We all knew how much that dog meant to Will. After his parents’ divorce, it never left his side.Personally, I don’t understand this sort of attachment to a mutt, but oh well, it’s not my mutt.“How did it happen?”I surveyed their expressions. It’s an activity that I enjoy. Trying to figure ...

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“The Masterpiece ” by Saanvi Mitra

Submitted to Contest #55

“Can you keep a secret?” asked the man leaning towards the little boy who barely came up to his waist. “Yes” he answered without hesitation. “I have already created the masterpiece” The boy gave a little giggle as if not believing a word but he nodded anyways. Malay Babu sat in his reclining arm chair in his small cramped verandah of his even more cramped apartment as he looked down on the bustling streets of VIP road. The street down below separated his apartment from the marketplace. Busy from morning till night, it was a combination of ...

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“Into the Inside” by Robyn Jipp

Submitted to Contest #55

"Hey Gina, can you keep a secret?"Ariel is standing directly behind me while I check the dates on the milk jugs in the refrigerator, her voice a conspiratorial whisper."What kind of secret?" I inquire, turning around to face her. I hope my tone doesn't sound as suspicious as I'm afraid it does. It's not that I don't trust Ariel. I just don't know her that well. In the two weeks we've worked together she seems to have taken more of a liking to me than to the rest of the employees, but at this point our relationship has not yet progressed from...

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“Alice in Wonderland” by C. M

Submitted to Contest #55

TIME PERIOD: 1865TW: Violence, bloodAN: Please read the comment below after reading this story. It might shed Alice's story in a completely different light ;)I despised them.Those white walls made the corridor I walked through every single day. They made up the whole asylum. Some of them bolstered so we wouldn't hurt ourselves. The halls in the living room and dining room being the only exceptions.Sure, they were white, but at least they were made from bricks.I tried suggesting painting them blue or green, but nobody listened. I was crazy. E...

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“Do You Believe In Magic?” by Katharine Tierney

Submitted to Contest #55

Gerald wiped his sweaty forehead and took a long pull at his water bottle. Glancing at his watch he groaned. Ten minutes to six, and they still had half of the big truck full of furniture to unload. Pulling out his cellphone, he shot out a quick text to his wife to go ahead to his brother's house...he would meet her there when he finished the job. And to please wish Dad a happy birthday for him...Gerald hoped he would still be awake when he arrived at Blake's, but at seventy five he would likely have dozed off. Gerald didn't think that they ...

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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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