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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 Resistance” by Juliet Martin

Submitted to Contest #55

The sun is yellow, there are people everywhere, and we are hidden in plain sight. I eye my comrades guardedly. Once again, several of us have found ourselves gathered at the usual place at the same time, seemingly by chance. I am too aware of how little we understand of the patterns of the world to believe that this was not somehow arranged. Myself, I am not clear about how I came to arrive at this part of the park today, but I am in no doubt that this is a meeting of our secret society. Smeed, my most familiar ally, pats the ground around...

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“Better Late Than Never” by Kingshuk Kundu

Submitted to Contest #55

“Well, she sure is punctual.” he said sarcastically, trying to remain patient. Having finished his third cup of coffee, he looked at his watch. 11:30 am, it showed. He thought of giving her a call, but just as he picked up his phone, there she was at the door, entering the cafe with her frizzy hair covering her eyes. Looking at this, he forgot about the one hour she kept him waiting, and went ahead to help her.“Here, let me help you with the books.” he offered.“Thank you so much Peter, and I am so sorry for being late. You have no idea what ...

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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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“Jobs” by Tvisha Yerra

Submitted to Contest #55

“Can you keep a secret?” I trace the tip of my finger on the lip of the wineglass. “No,” My sister smiles and leans back into her chair. “I thought you knew me well enough, Ky.” “Ah… I don’t know about that.” I get up and walk around her hallway, which is huge. The world’s richest person isn’t bound to have a normal hallway, are they? The world’s biggest thief. At least that’s what I’m supposed to find out. “Ky, wait for me!” I pause, letting Kris catch up to me. “How have you been?” “What do ...

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“Chartreuse” by Rigby Glass

Submitted to Contest #55

“You should definitely wear the red dress. Sexy.” “Sexy?” I mumble, confused. My best friend holds the dress up. “Red is notoriously romantic,” Cassidy explains. “Perfect for a date.” “Right,” I just nod and take the dress from her. Cassidy and I have been friends for twenty-something years, and no one probably knows me better. Which always makes what’s about to happen absolutely hilarious to me. It takes three seconds for her doe eyes to widen, two more seconds for her hand to fly to her mouth, and a fifth of a second for the horrifi...

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“Secret between the two!” by Shikshya Paudel

Submitted to Contest #55

"Ahh! I'm late again." screamed Harry from the bathroom. Harry was so late that he skipped his breakfast and rushed into the car and started driving to his office. The car was given by the office to him for his comfort. He loved the car so much that he always cleaned it. The very day, there was a special programme that he had to attend exactly at 10a.m. It was already 8:30a.m. and he had to reach the office and then drive to attend the programme. He reached his office within 30 minutes and soon the work in his office was finished. The time w...

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“One Body for you, One Body for me” by Adah M.M

Submitted to Contest #55

With intensity, he furiously tries to scrub the blood off his hands. His mind was already in a state of overdrive, desperately trying to sort what was real and what was fake and who was responsible for killing Rachel. Was it him or her ? **********"One body for you and one for me, I take the leg and you take the head,Blood will flow, the flow is blood,One body for you and one for me" a little voice sang.For twenty hours, he had been awake. Today was an important day, he couldn't let nightmares disrupt his da...

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“The Time Keepers” by Courtney Haynes

Submitted to Contest #55

“Now, sir. You have to understand our predicament,” the elderly English gentleman says to Wenton as he sits in the middle of their living room, a crowd of fiends surrounding him, observing him as if he were a specimen.Wenton is immediately regretting listening to the anonymous tip. That a journalistic treat (far greater than taking pictures of battleships on some tropic isle) awaited him at some quaint suburban house in Massachusetts.This motley crew of misfits is no treat. A wild-haired, wild-eyed ginger named Holden, danger seeping from hi...

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“What Lovely Antibodies You Have, My Dear” by Joshua Scott Hotchkin Wordpress.dungherder.com

Submitted to Contest #55

5/27/2019 Dear Mr. Edmunds, I recently signed up online through a prison pen pal agency, and was given your name and address as a potential match, as determined by scores indicating mutual temperament and personal interests. I hope that over time we can find common ground and become friends and confidantes. In the meantime I will allow you to respond, so as to indicate the nature and depth of the pen pal relationship you are seeking. I look forward to hearing back from you soon. Authentically, Jayden Dickinson <-/(*)\-> 6/2...

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“North Dakota Grannies Knitting Circle” by Sjan Evardsson

Submitted to Contest #55

Six elderly women, all carrying large knitting bags, five walking and wearing pink parkas, the last in line pushing a wheelchair with the sixth in a blue parka, filed out of the Senior Center restaurant. They passed by the tax preparer’s office and turned into the closed quilting store beside it. The store was closed, but open for them every other Sunday. As they entered they removed their parkas and hung them on hooks by the door. Alinta went first, revealing a shock of white hair, and rich, red-brown skin, heavily creased by years and sun...

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“Unintended Pretence ” by Black Rose

Submitted to Contest #55

Alice and I had been best friends since we were little kids. Our mothers met in college, so our friendship was basically an automatic one. We grew up doing most things together. From sleepovers, to taking our baths together, and even sharing the same underwear. We used to tell each other the littlest of secrets too. Though just a week apart, we shared the same birth month and year, with me being the older one. Neighbors and almost everyone at school thought we were twins except the ones who knew our last names. The truth is, anyone would hav...

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“Revelation” by Nandan Prasad

Submitted to Contest #55

“Can you keep a secret?”The question came from Greed. Greed was an odd-looking creature, with a bulbous, green body and two very white eyes. The pupils were mere slits, and almost invisible at first glance.The creature next to it, Sloth, was a similarly bulbous creature but with slightly larger pupils. It nodded “What is it?”Greed looked around furtively. It leaned close to Sloth and whispered, “I sabotaged Envy’s books before the test. Half the answers it marked are probably wrong.” It ended off with a snicker. Sloth only nodded.“Who do you...

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“How (not) to commit a murder” by Goblin King

Submitted to Contest #55

Now, I know what you’re thinking, “How to commit a murder? Why would I ever want to do that?”, To that I say this: I don’t know. People have different reasons for doing similar things that can seem crazy to others, and this is no exception. I won’t sit here trying to justify the act. I can’t. Neither can you. Despite any rationale you can think up, no explanation will ever be satisfactory to the point that you don’t see yourself as a monster for considering doing it.The road that lies before you is nothing more than a dirt path, covered...

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“The Graystockings” by Kathleen March

Submitted to Contest #55

Dear Readers: Please note that this is a limited glance into the inner workings of a group that for the most part has chosen to remain secret. They do not have evil intentions, but they do have a mission which should become clearer as the characteristics of the group are revealed. We need to take this gradually, because, let’s face it, the group means well. It’s just that sometimes the means do not outweigh the end. It may be possible to intervene, if more radical elements take over, but we must proceed with caution. If we do...

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“The Youngest of a Generation” by Lily Kingston

Submitted to Contest #55

All adults do is file taxes, complain that eating hot chip upsets their stomachs, and lie.Take today for example. Mom and Dad told me we were going to have fun today as we got into the car.They lied.So I stayed in the car, tightly gripping onto my seatbelt because for once it was actually useful—it kept Mom and Dad from forcefully scooping me up and taking me into Great Aunt Margaret’s mansion.Yeah, that Great Aunt Margaret. The one I was named after. The one that’s like a hundred years old.P.S., that’s why we’re at her mansion, for her hund...

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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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