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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 Letter ” by Bailee Smith-Garcia

Submitted to Contest #55

The sewing needle slipped out of its package and jammed into my index finger. Three tiny droplets of blood fell onto the dirty wooden floor. “Son of a bitch,” I hissed, wiping the remaining blood on my jeans. “Ay, I’m telling!” Javier, my twin brother, shouted from across the room. Even in the poorly lit room, it was easy to make out his light blue button-down shirt and jeans. He combined his dirty blond hair down just the way mom liked it. “You’re such a momma’s boy. You’re the reason we’re up here in the first...

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“Can you keep a secret” by 𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖎 ✦

Submitted to Contest #55

"Can you keep a secret?"Your obvious answer would have been "Yes" if you were some delusional psychopath who could actually fit people's problems into his or her brain, trust me, I find people with that ability hella weird and I'm not going back on my word.But if you were me... What would you have said? Well, that's because you're not me, and you're not god damn close t...

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“lemonade” by Alexandria Pierce

Submitted to Contest #55

Can you keep a secret about my entire life basically Once upon a time there lived a witch whose life seemed entirely normal. One day she found something among her normal trade route: the sun goes down. Before school on friday she walked into a cold and slightly dark cave illuminated by an extremely bright flashlight. She skaled a tall height in the cave and on a cave illuminated with unknown bioluminescent crystals on a table. A fossiel of lemonade before the human race is known to exist. This is just the beginning this was when magic got re...

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“The Circle of Betrayal” by Egypt Belle

Submitted to Contest #55

The Circle of Betrayal “Calvin, what are you doing here? I thought I told you I never wanted to see you again!” “Denise chill, I am not here to cause any problems, I am here on business.” Calvin was a lawyer and traveled frequently. He was originally from Delaware but 40% of his meetings were in Philadelphia. A sigh of relief left Denise’s body. “Can I get an iced cappuccino please?” The Starbucks employee turned and started to make Denise’s cappuccino. “How have things been?” “Why do you care?” Denise blurted. “Believe it or not I ...

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“The Diner of Secrets” by Paula Dennison

Submitted to Contest #55

The crystal pure sun radiated through the plate glass windows of Dale's Diner as Deana for the upteenth time it seemed wiped the faded laminate counter. Her turquoise uniform was faded as well. Dale the owner was proud when he gave the waitresses their uniforms some years ago when he remodeled the diner in the tropical colors of peach and turquoise. Perfect for a Florida diner at that time. Deana never cared for the color of her uniform as it did not go well with her slightly olive skin tone. He had palm trees painted on the walls too that ...

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“Most Reliable Confidant” by Joel Suarez

Submitted to Contest #55

Another night, and I'm in what is to be my sanctuary. It's not mine really. It's my friend's house. I'm fortunate to have some space here. I guess you might consider it to be a mansion, typical dark brown wooden furniture fills the rooms, giving it that classic "old money" look. Dim lights, timeless paintings, and vintage statues are all but necessary. But I like that. Maybe it's because I look like I belong. After all, always having a brown coat and a pale white face, one might say I'm the gatekeeper here. I usually do a 360 to make sure th...

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“The wise Mrs. Thompson” by JR Soko

Submitted to Contest #55

"Can you keep a secret? I need your help with something" Katie asked Jenna eagerly. She circled Jenna, like she was trying to catch and trap her."No"!!! she said, not even looking up at Katie, staying completely focused on her book. She's been mad at Katie ever since she set her favorite sweater on fire, accidentally, which sort of caused a small fire in the house, accidentally, for which their dad blamed Jenna, who took the blame. Quietly.It was quiet alright. She has not uttered a word to Katie in over two weeks. It was like ghost town. Th...

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“Things we do for love” by Carolyn Sternes

Submitted to Contest #55

I feel a tremble race down my spine and internally scold myself at the idea of having even a flash of excitement. I stare at the window on the little white stick and pray for those two little pink lines to appear. I know that staring at it won’t make it happen any faster. I put it down next to the basin and take a breath and step away. “Please,” I whisper. “Please let this be the one.” I thought about the cute pregnancy shirts I had in one of my online shopping carts but had not been able to check out yet. I pace the few short steps from on...

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“The Last Hurrah” by James Shortridge

Submitted to Contest #55

From the moment he lowered his cup of coffee to the table, the noise in the packed roadside diner slowed until it was completely silent. Seconds of anticipation felt like minutes as Andy, the man sitting across from Douglas, folded his hands in front of him and took a deep breath.“Can you keep a secret?” he asked.Douglas, fork hovering over his breakfast scramble, set the utensil against the table and nodded.“Now we get to it,” he replied. “Didn’t take as long as I was expecting.”“What do you mean?”Douglas shrugged.“You invite me on th...

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“I had better things to think about than my life.” by Alexa K

Submitted to Contest #55

"Can you keep a secret." Jessica snatches my phone from my grasp. "Depends." I snap angrily. "Can you?" Jessica asks gravely. " Can I have my phone back?" She glares at me. " Fine, yeah, I can keep a secret. I mean it's not like you've kept a secret like I am actually a wizard that is going to a wizarding school and I have to defeat a dude that is nose-less." I giggle but Jessica is still glaring me down. I suppress the rest of my giggles and look at her. " Look at my hands." I look at the palm of her hand and a blue light glows out of her h...

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“Ember Ten ” by Alida Askill

Submitted to Contest #55

Can you keep a secret? I'll tell you what exactly happened to me, on the worst day of my life. But only if you can keep a secret. The day started like any other. I slowly crawled out of my twin bed, didn't even think about making it, pulled on a nice tank top and a gray pair of shorts. I had a go pee real bad but my sister was in the bathroom. I'll just wait. I walked across my bedroom and got the pair of socks that I wore yesterday. They have ankle socks and have Pirates of the Caribbean on them. That's my favorite series. ...

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“Secrets” by Monica Chaddick

Submitted to Contest #55

"Can you keep a secret?" my sister asked, barging into my room without knocking. This was typical of Mary. Both the barging in and the question. Mary always had some wild secret that she wanted to share, but didn't want anyone else to share. She had all of these secrets because she was something of a snoop, which was why I didn't want her barging into my room. Mary was ten years old, and I was thirteen and valued my privacy. Mom and Dad had talked to Mary about not knocking, but apparently it hadn't sunken in, because her she was. ...

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“Guidance Counselor ” by Justin Marquez

Submitted to Contest #55

“Can you keep a secret?” The man in the black suit asked as he leaned over the empty seat between himself and the old man. “What?” Jerry asked, leaning in closer. “I’m supposed to blow up this train but I’m not sure I can go through with it.” Jerry checked his hearing-aid, assuming he’d misheard the stranger, “Pardon me? Can you repeat that?” The man poked his head above the top of their white polkadot chairs and scanned the cabin like a prairie dog. With a plop he dropped back down and whispered almost inaudibly quiet: “I’m supposed ...

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“Our Own Moments ” by Nic Siemer

Submitted to Contest #55

“Can you keep a secret?” I jump, the instant presence of another knocking all thoughts straight out of my mind. I’m left staring down at a half written word, a half written story. “Damn it, J, can’t you save your outbursts for some other time? Maybe for when I’m not in the middle of concocting the soon-to-be biggest plot twist of all time?” I drop the pen with a sigh and sip from my cooling mug of coffee as he slides into the chair across from me. “Sorry, babe. It wasn’t clear what you were up to.” My eyes roll as he waves over the...

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“I saw it” by Quizana Sang

Submitted to Contest #55

I was reaching for the honey syrup bottle above the cupboard. It was a quiet day night at the coffee shop. Some customers here some customers there but no one is close enough that they can hear their neighboring table talking about their day. It almost 5:00 AM in the morning and my shift is about to end. I was excited because i can finally lay down on my bed sleeping for the rest of the day. Tomorrow is a holiday hence why. And, I can spend the day with my cats. Ha! I wish! Tomorrow i have tons of homework to pass because my school teac...

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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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