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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#57: Legacies

Everybody hopes they’ll be remembered. It’s a big part of why writers write, artists paint, and singers sing. It drives some to rise to great heights in politics or business. It’s part of why people have children.

But whether you hope to build a legacy through words, kind deeds, grand ambition, or a strong familial line, the truth is, we don’t always know how history will look back on us. All we can do is put our best selves forward, and hope that our integrity and values will resonate long after we’re gone.

This week’s prompts invite you to delve into people’s hopes for the future — and the legacies that may or may not be what they dreamed of.

This week's prompts

Write a humorous story about the descendant of someone remembered for an insignificant act.

Funny – 73 stories

Write a story about someone who’s famous for something they never actually did.

Character – 119 stories

Write a story about someone breaking a long family tradition.

Angst – 170 stories

Write a story about someone who travels to the future, and isn’t happy about how they’ve been remembered.

Science Fiction – 131 stories

Write a story that starts with someone writing their will — one they know people won’t like.

Dramatic – 183 stories

Stories

“An Unintended Consequence” by Harken Void

Submitted to Contest #57

If there ever was a man born with the perfect brain, then Hitoshi Handa had to be the one blessed with such a gift. A renowned scientist, humanitarian, environmentalist, multiple-times Nobel prize winner, author of many books, global speaker, and catalyst for meaningful changes in the world, Hitoshi put his brain to good use. Some said he was the gift of God himself, sent to Earth in the time of need to solve problems no one dared tackle. Others said he was a genius reborn, a culmination of the great minds from the past, such as Einstein, Ne...

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“As Average as Lazurite” by Victoria Haneveer

Submitted to Contest #57

I pick up the expensive, surprisingly heavy fountain pen, remove the cap and hold it poised over my freshly printed will. My lawyer just left.This is no cheap pen. It belongs to my father, and he doesn’t yet know I swiped it. I admire the highly polished, wafer-thin lapis lazuli barrel and the delicate gold vermeil cap coating the sterling silver underneath. It looks too elegant to be between my clumsy un-manicured fingers.Did you know that lapis lazuli is technically a rock not a mineral? I don’t care what it is really. I love the bright bl...

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“The Pickle and the Bubble Machine” by Jill Davies

Submitted to Contest #57

You probably recognize me. If you don’t recognize my face, then you’ll definitely recognize my name, Ted Gaskins. I created of the Air Bubbler and won the Nobel Prize for doing it. I was Time’s most influential person two years in a row. You know me and you know my product. But I have to tell you something, it’s all a lie. The Air Bubbler has been touted as the biggest achievement in climate stabilization in all of human history, but it doesn’t do what everyone says it does. That activated charcoal complex that coats the bubble? Sure, it ...

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“Willing to die” by Hakin Edward

Submitted to Contest #57

The following document is the will of a murdered man. “My name is Ness Veingyari Third and, within the limits of these sheets, I shall determine what will be of my 27 billion dollars wealth. But first, permit me to tell the story of an old man who discovered the secret of life. It’s the usual, I was born on a farm, black and bastard son of the land’s lord and one of the servants. Since I could use my hands, they were not used to play nor learn violin, as I always heard his true son do from within their house; it was used to milk animals,...

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“The Rare personalities ” by S. Asad

Submitted to Contest #57

I ducked down to grab my pen, which I dropped while thinking so hard. It kind of scratched my brain, and left it rough, that I am officially ordered to write something for the people.Most of the people from the population of Andtius already knew what will be the upshots of enforcing the students together with the amalgamation of different aged groups, to join the library, étude de livre, when they didn't want to go.I highly disgusted the idea of letting our country, be the competent one in front of the world but who cares about my thoughts? ...

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“For the Birds” by Lynn Smith

Submitted to Contest #57

FOR THE BIRDS 2020 Smith, Lynn Rilean “They, my parents, did what?” I asked. We do so solemnly swear this Last Will and Testament leaves everything we have to the birds. Mind spinning. This can’t be happening. It’s a joke right? I thought for a moment that maybe they were filming a new episode of punk’d or impractical jokers. I was the star of the show. Being an only child has its pros and cons. That’s where I come in. Me. I’m the only child. I spent years overlooking that my parent’s bought love and that my needs were typically met ...

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“Jacob's Entitlement” by David Dicaire

Submitted to Contest #57

Jacob’s Entitlement I, Theodore James McQuinn III, in sound mind and body, do hereby leave all of my worldly possessions to my dear nephew Jacob Michael Jones. He is entitled to all of my monetary assets, land holdings and each and every type of collection. Theodore took a deep breath. He looked out the window and watched a leaf fall down innocently to its death. He put aside the computer and a wave of emotions swept through him. First there was laughter. Just wait until Heather finds out everything is going t...

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“The Golden Box” by Aaliyah Gaffey

Submitted to Contest #57

The dark-haired man sat across the chimney, gazing at the embers in the fireplace. How has time passed so quickly? he wondered. At the ripe age of eighty-two, he had survived the odds of living longer than his parents did. Recently, his only living sister had been urging him to set up a will, something that he absolutely detested. "Now why would I do that? I have nothing to give away and nobody to receive anything." His sister simply shrugged and claimed that it was the traditional thing to do. Even if his sister was somewhat reasonable fo...

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“Alley, the Un-Werewolf” by Jeni Conrad

Submitted to Contest #57

“By the great moon, you’re her, aren’t you?” a voice purred at Alley, breaking up her brooding glare out the rainy window from her restaurant seat next to the window.With a sigh, Alley turned to look at her accuser. It was a younger pup, maybe in his late forties, and he was attractive with starry eyes and broad shoulders for days. But, then again, all the male werewolves seemed to be attractive. “Whoever you think I am, it’s not me.”“No, way. It’s totally you, Alley, the werewolf who has somehow been able to fight the moon’s curse. I’d reco...

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“The brilliance of a thousand breaths” by Skye May

Submitted to Contest #57

I feel heavy, as if I am walking with concrete caked onto my shoes. I look down and see the opaqueness of my being. My hands are fading, and I can't hear myself breathe. I close my eyes and count.... one...two...three. I open my eyes, and I see a dusky sunset off to the right. To the left there is a clift that reaches out so far to the depths of a great plain, that I wonder how I can reach the bottom. I am not aware of who I am, where I am or how I came to be in this odd place. I suddenly feel the rush of wind that sweeps me off of my heavy ...

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“The Gift in Disguise” by Emma Knights

Submitted to Contest #57

“Oh! I hadn’t thought about who to leave things to in my Will. Everything just goes to my children” It wasn’t meant as a hurtful statement but hurt it does. I never planned to be alone with no children, no part of me to live on beyond my lifetime. The branch that I sat upon on the family tree would hold me and nobody else. It was a little depressing when I thought of my nieces and nephews drawing their family trees in the future. I would hope that one might have some compassion for my empty branch. Maybe they will add my dog on the branch ...

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“Credit card ” by Sandra Claros

Submitted to Contest #57

- And at the end of the year, we take some days off during this high season, dear, as we have to rest from this kind of life we live, you know, we are always working and working every single day – the grandma was saying to her new maid, a black young woman that was always chewing gum - I see – snatching a pink bubble on her face - You deserve a little trip – chewing. Where are you planning to go this year ? - We always ho to the beach, because it is so hot that days. And the kids love the water...

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“NO PARKING ZONE” by Madhuleka Iyer

Submitted to Contest #57

Jessica made her way down the porch of her newly bought house in Manhattan. It was the perfect house, with the perfect view. Whenever she saw the place, she knew she had made it, she had bought her dream house. She had succeeded in life. The only problem with her little paradise was that there was no real place to park her car. The gardener had cleaned the backyard and planted new saplings of tomato plants. She walked over to the plants and saw the little leaves swaying to the music of the wind. “Love to dance huh?” said Jessica, to th...

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“The Root of All Evil (Part 1)” by Grace Jarvis

Submitted to Contest #57

“Dear whomever it may concern,” the words are written flawlessly on the white paper. “My end is near, and I have given a lot of thought to this. As many people know, I am a billionaire. My family has not stopped bugging me about my will. I could not decide which family member would inherit my money or any of my other belongings. That is why I have decided to leave everything to whoever finds this letter. The reader of this letter will be a curious young soul. All I ask from whoever finds this - do not be selfish. You are one of a kind. Do no...

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“The Chaos of One Key ” by Charlotte Pafk

Submitted to Contest #57

My fingers curl around the pen painfully, the joints popping as I write. Despite the discomfort, I am the happiest I have ever been in a while. I’m ecstatic, actually. Not many people can say that when they’re writing their own will while resting on their deathbed. A cough wracks through my body and I pull my hand away from the paper before I make any unwanted marks. Through the sound of my coughing, I hear the telltale tap, tap, tap of Jeremy’s polished cordovan shoes upon the marble floors outside my door. “Sir, are you-”, J...

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$50

Prize money

676

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 04, 2020 EST

Won by Iona Cottle 🏆

Title: Et Tu?

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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