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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 Dark Cup of Coffee” by Tanmay Godiwala

Submitted to Contest #55

Dates stress me more than anything in this world. I think the whole procedure to date and know the other person is just tiring that yields no fruitful outcome. As per my estimation, half of the people who “date” want their sex life active. And some try to find the true meaning of love which I think is funny. I am Sandeep Firdosh and apparently, I’m 37. We can agree that I have witnessed more people, compared to those who have just finished college, succeed, and fail when it comes to dating and everything related to it. What is dating to you?...

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“Can you keep a secret?” by Maria Campos

Submitted to Contest #55

Can you keep a secret? Can you keep it in? Will you be able to comprehend what I'm about to reveal? Can you shut your mouth, as I just shut the door To prevent the whispers from leaving us at all. Will you keep it in, even if it is too much? Even if the things I tell you blow away your mind? Even when the words I tell you bump around your head? Even if they scratch and beg you to be heard. Be warned and beware, because this secret will try to get its way. It will beg and scream, and trash and screech, until you begin to doubt why you agr...

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“Teleportation” by Jovana Smiljanic

Submitted to Contest #55

"Can you keep a secret?" Asked the young man who had just landed, or rather fell from somewhere right on the bench next to Phoebe. It would be fine if he just fell, but it is certainly not okay for him to ask me such an ordinary and everyday question after such an incredibly unusual event. She thought, still staring silently at the young man who had just fallen from somewhere on the bench next to her. After a few more strange and surprisingly long moments, she widened her eyes when she realized that the red-haired weirdo sitting next to her ...

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“Sush!” by HL Love

Submitted to Contest #55

“Can you keep a secret?! And not like last time, Sara.” I angrily shook my head at my closest and oldest friend. We met in kindergarten. “This is really, really important and I want to share it with you, but not if you will tell anyone. And that means your boyfriend, too, Sara.” I say, trying not to sound as judgmental as I felt. I was still debating with myself whether I would even tell her, but of course now that I’ve mentioned something she won’t leave it alone. I love Sara, but she can be an overwhelming presence and has a bulldog resist...

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“Schoolhouse of Cards ” by Dana Schellings

Submitted to Contest #55

Mr. Clark heard the final bell ring one floor above him and checked his watch. Three seconds later the room’s walls and ceiling vibrated as hundreds of feet stampeded through the corridors, shaking loose bits of grime that had accumulated over the last seventy-one years. He silently watched the little hand make its way around the face as the noise grew dimmer, lapsing into compete silence at one minute twenty-two seconds. Thirty-nine seconds after that, eighth graders Heather and Joshua arrived for the club meeting. No pleasantries w...

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“Keep It Between Us” by Rac Relix

Submitted to Contest #55

“Can you keep a secret?”I never really gave much thought to the weight of that question. At least not until the moment it was thrown directly at me.It was my childhood friend of twelve years, Trisha, who suddenly sprung those words at me during the day of our grade school graduation.I remember it as clearly as the sky was that day.She looked at me with honest eyes that seemed to scream out, “Please say yes!”.So naturally, I said yes.It almost felt like it was more of a reflex than a genuine response on my part. Because honestly, I don’t thin...

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“Honesty in Secret” by Glennj Russell

Submitted to Contest #55

One Saturday, Daddy took me to the bar-be-que joint with him. “Dirk Wilson’s Bar-B-Que” it said on the big chimney for the bar-be-que pit. The “Dirk” part wasn’t really Daddy’s name. His real name was Thomas. The whole name of the place came from puttin’ Daddy’s last name with the first name of the partner he had when he had his first bar-be-que joint. Daddy said it had gone bankrupt when his partner ran off and left town with a waitress and took all the money with him. I don’t remember what Daddy said Dirk’s last name was. But I sure ...

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“A CONVERSATION WITH SUBTEXTS OF CHARACTERS THAT ARE NOT SAYING WHAT THEY MEAN” by K V CHIDAMBARAM

Submitted to Contest #55

A CONVERSATION WITH SUBTEXTS OF CHARACTERS THAT ARE NOT SAYING WHAT THEY MEAN Hiralal and Hari, students of Postgraduation moved to the quiet part of the canteen after an exhaustive lecture in a Linguistics class. It was a very interesting class on Semantics. The professor had discussed at great length Semiotics, Syntax and Semantics. He cited numerous examples which gave an insight into the terms like ambiguity, allegory, connotation, denotation and so on. Some of the examples were very humorous and some of the others were serious, but so...

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“A Movie With Shannon” by Maureen Rostad

Submitted to Contest #55

“I’m starving,” John said. He put his suit jacket on the back of the wing chair. A damp breeze fluttered through the door. “What’s for dinner?” “I didn’t make anything,” Linda replied. She paused her Netflix show and put down a bag of chips. One of the actors was frozen in a grimace. She glanced at her watch. 8:13. “Since I didn’t know what time you’d be home.” “I see.” He rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt. She hated it when he rolled his sleeves like that. Linda noticed one of th...

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“Can You Keep A Secret?” by Elen Robshaw

Submitted to Contest #55

Can you keep a secret? Most people would answer yes to that without any hesitation. A knee-jerk response to the sliver of curiosity that sparks when the question is asked. Having information that you shouldn’t is electrifying, the thrill rushes through your veins and excites ever nerve ending possible. It is almost equal to a private dinner with a mighty monarch that you can never speak of to anyone. But the word yes is easily said, easily broken and very easily regretted. All is well, the dreadful se...

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“Break it” by Marie May

Submitted to Contest #55

Everyone was enjoying the humid filled room that protected them from the pelting rain during the Winter School day. The fluffy warmth complemented the heartfelt feelings that everyone felt amongst their own personal friend groups. Each cluster within the four corners, spreading around their own giggles, food aromas, and signature phrases. One group, the one closest to the heaters, the one created by the elders of the school. The graduates. One group was louder than the others, having more fun than the others, and enjoyed the fluffy warmth...

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“Gold & Scarlet ” by James McInroy

Submitted to Contest #55

The two men are in the small house. One of them is slumped against the wall. He can’t move much. The one that stands has a black beard that has been stained with blood and puss. He holds a bloody axe in his right hand. His chest is heaving. It is the slumped man’s blood and puss that is in his beard. The sun is setting. The orange glow is bitter as it yawns through the old house. It is cut to shreds by windowpanes and door frames. “Hey,” says the one on the floor, “I got some cigarettes I’ve been saving for this shit. Still got your light...

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“ Aglio e Olio” by Aditya Jain

Submitted to Contest #55

Anthony had forgotten to take off his block shoes when he entered the apartment, and now he hadn’t observed the track of brown sludge he had brought in with the raging storm outside. He dropped his wet, soaking leather briefcase on the brown sofa and something about the way he did it meant that he wasn’t used to doing it. His office attire still stuck to him like an external skin; except he had taken off the jacket and hung it on the double door refrigerator and had immediately got to preparing to cook. The apartment was on the lower east ...

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“Sunday lunch” by Vincent Guillemin

Submitted to Contest #55

Trigger warnings: homophobia, racism, slurs I’m a ghost. One minute , I was on my bike and the next thing you know, I’m out there, out of my body. No limbs, not really flying around, just here, moving about unimpeded. Just myself… if I may say so, a spirit. Ethereal, elusive, visiting. “I’m hungry”. Mom sighs. She can see Grandpa in the reflection of the small window above the sink. The swishing water from the faucets mingles with the patter of the TV.I am running late again, she knows it. “What’s that lil’ fag doing?” G...

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“She's a Ghost. ” by Susie L

Submitted to Contest #55

“I can’t believe these people believe they exist.” A woman sits down on a city park bench, watching people as they walked down the street. They were too busy with themselves to see a person staring at them intensely. “I am the only real one here, everyone else is just a fictional speck in this world.” She thought to herself as she, as she watched an incredibly attractive man in a suit walk down the crowded sidewalk. She stared at the man’s face, and found that it was perfectly chiseled, and had the aura of a man with confidence. Th...

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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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