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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 heron cries ” by Mary Rothery

Submitted to Contest #55

The window was as large as any you have seen. It stretched out across the entirety of the living room wall, opening the room up to the wilderness of the highlands. The water spread out beneath, a mirror of grey glass, birds soaring above and within. A lone grey heron, in his feathers the depths of the sky, stood on the near edge of the water. Solitary and still. Her eyes moved across the scene in front of her. It changes constantly. She would say, her favourite feature of the view. Like the muddied peat of the swelling hills beyond, he...

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“You can't pick your relatives.” by Catherine Stevens

Submitted to Contest #55

Who is this angry man in front of me? He's not the same man who left to see his father a week ago. This man is tense and moody. Not cheerful and upbeat. I think back to the night before he left, we were so happy.I lean back against Keith’s chest. His chin settles on top of my head and his arms wrap around me. I am a tall, big boned woman, at 5’10” and 142lbs. But in Keith’s arms I feel tiny and fragile. He is very tall; he stands 6’6”. I don’t know what he weighs but I can tell you its pure muscle, and in a month it ...

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“Can you keep a secret ..... ” by Palak Shah

Submitted to Contest #55

“Can you keep a secret?” Asked Natalie. “Of course” I replied. “Will you promise not to tell anyone” she asked. “YES!” I all but shouted. I really wanted to know this secret. We knew everything about each other like the back of our hand. The reason: Natalie is my best friend. Our mums were best friends in college which automatically made us besties. Darting her eyes around like a maniac, she scanned the whole room to make sure that Jessica wasn’t there. “Do you remember the dress that Jessica got me for my birthday” she question...

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“His Helpers” by Mustang Patty

Submitted to Contest #55

The angels, Ralph and Ed, hovered above the little cottage at the edge of the woods. God sent them out when He knew it was time. He loved all people, as only God can, and though it didn’t seem possible, everyone was special in His eyes. So, when He knew one His followers were about to encounter a problem, He sent help. Ralph and Ed were Angels of the Realm, and they had wings and some power to intervene on behalf of their charge. Though they’d gotten into some trouble in the past, both angels were Godly in nature. This meant that they di...

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“Demonic intervention ” by Shreya S

Submitted to Contest #55

Jaila was, on all accounts, a sensible person. She didn’t believe in nonsense fairy tales and otherworldly beings. There was a time when she believed in Santa Klaus and wrote letters to him asking for a new bicycle or notebook, and nodded her head at his efficiency in getting them, but even when she got to know that it was but a ploy to make children behave, she merely appraised its effectiveness and continued writing the letters- only directed to her parents this time. Indeed, Jaila didn’t think there was anything in this world that...

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“The Secret That Broke” by Saron Mengistu

Submitted to Contest #55

Can you keep a secret?That sounds simple. Like you’re going to be dished out a nice scoop of gossip. It sounds interesting, intriguing, beguiling. Yet, still comes the pain. The struggle. The tears. All because of a secret. A secret that broke me. *It was a long, long tiring day. My back and head and neck all ache because of the strain. From the morning rush hour to volunteer work at PetLife to running the soup kitchen at a charity event to the constant hustle of the never-ending workload, with upcoming meetings, events, and projects on ever...

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“Three Can Keep A Secret Or All of Them are Dead” by Ash Brinton

Submitted to Contest #55

Ashley paused on the steps of the mansion, her fist raised to knock on the large door. One knock, and her brother would open the door. Her brother whom she hadn’t seen in three years, since the day he chose to live with his father instead of their mother, since the day he had been disowned. One knock and they would be together again. This wasn’t allowed. She knew it wasn’t allowed. She wasn’t allowed to contact anyone outside of her immediate family, and he wasn’t family. Not anymore. But he had been the one who had found her, noticed her s...

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“Her Guardian Angel” by Melissa Hassan

Submitted to Contest #55

“Mary listen to me, it's too dangerous for you to stay in that house!” the voice on the other end of the line said.“What are you talking about Colin?” Mary asked confused.“It's your stepmother. I have reason to believe that she may have been involved in your father's death.”“Are you saying that my father didn't drown?” she inquired puzzled.“Look, I can't go into details over the phone. Meet me later tonight at the bar and I will explain everything. Just get yourself out of there fast!” The line went dead.“Colin?......Colin? Are you ther...

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“The Fortune” by 💛🧡Lizzie Parker🌻🍊

Submitted to Contest #55

Alice dug through an old chest and coughed as a cloud of dust rose from within. Her LOADED great grandfather passed away a month ago and she had been tasked with cleaning out his mansion, with help of course. No one else in her family had been interested in driving three hours to clean an old house for the weekend. Alice had been worried she would have to do it herself but James, Quinn, and Sarah came to her rescue. The house had five stories and a lot of rooms. Quinn would have come up with some e...

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“Freckles” by Regina Perry

Submitted to Contest #55

Lianna lay on a large rock, enjoying the sensation of warm sun on her closed eyelids and wet skin. Blue-green water the exact shade of her shimmering scales danced against the nearby shores, though there was little wind. The day was hot and still above the waves, just the way Lianna liked it.Lianna was just beginning to drowse off when she felt a shadow over her, blocking out the sun. She opened her eyes to see what the problem was.“There you are, Lianna!” It was Narina, Lianna’s friend. Narina wore a short, pale yellow sundress that contras...

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“Rerun” by Kira Krieger

Submitted to Contest #55

“Can you keep a secret?” Jessica asked, rocking in a chair with a book in her hands. She sat in a bedroom. Her back was to a wall of shelves and a built-in desk. A turned-off light with a ceiling fan whirled some of the Nevadan summer heat away. The morning sun cast shadows of the semi-opened curtains on the carpet floor. “It matters,” Steven answered. He laid on the bed with his head at the foot. A book of his own was leaning against the footboard. “What kind of answer is that?” She jumped to the edge of the chair. “It means what it mea...

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“Life As A Telenovela” by Bianka Nova

Submitted to Contest #55

The room was quiet. I could hear a dog barking in the distance, the neighborhood kids playing on the street, the leaves of the big beech tree in my front yard rustling against the glass windows, animated by the playful breeze that had decided to grace us with its presence on this hot October day. All familiar sounds that used to bring me so much joy just until a month ago. It was my house, my living-room, the life that I – that we – had built in the past twenty years, yet I wished I could run as far away from it as possible. I was ashamed. I...

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“The truth ” by Anja Z

Submitted to Contest #55

Can you keep a secret? I know you can’t always, but just this once can you keep this secret for me. Years have passed and I just need an outlet an outlet for someone to hear the truth without any lies coating my words. You see this isn’t easy for me to tell you, but I need to otherwise I will go insane, insane with guilt, insane with bottled up emotions, and the irony is… it’s not really my secret to tell. Yet it bugs me. So I repeat again can you keep a secret? No matter… I will tell you anyways for the time are ticki...

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“What We Must Not Tell Uncle Chris” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #55

Author’s Note. I apologise to those who wince at a Christmas story in summer, but it came to me the minute I saw the prompt, so I hope I’m forgiven! “Can you keep a secret?” It was the question all of us children at Trefoil Farm, my big brother Callum, my little sister Janice, and me, Susie, the one in the middle were all asked when the appropriate time came. It was not a general or generic question, and not a theoretical one. It concerned one specific secret. It was what we must not tell ...

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“The Hitman's Dinner Date ” by Saad Masud

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #55

The weather channel was wrong the night Spencer and Rodney were set to have dinner together. As a man in a rather large overcoat approached the Wok n’ Roll, overcast winds threatened to tear down the delicate neon sign of the fast-casual Chinese joint. Technically at this point, the restaurant was only sometimes Wok n’ Roll because of the flickering sign making it infamous among the local crowd as ok Roll. The man came up to the door of the restaurant with both hands tightly holding onto three salt shakers in his pockets to keep them from ra...

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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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