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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

“Infidelity ” by Matt Render

Submitted to Contest #57

Nothing was as sweet as infidelity. When James had met Marina, he knew she was in love with someone else. That was just part of what made their Romance so exhilarating to him. Here, in Marina, James had found not just an attractive woman; one who sexually enticed him-- but, he had also found in her a story; a personal victory which sent him a rush of blood— the self aggrandizement of being chosen, and the adolescent thrill arising from the two of them betraying their mates for one another. James...

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“How I Became Famous” by Lisa Carpenter

Submitted to Contest #57

How I Became FamousMorton steered his car around the winding road that leads him home. The 25-year-old car was held together with hope, a prayer, and a great deal of duct tape. Knowing that his turning signal only worked when it was so inclined, he flicked the lever in the upright position but the windshield wipers were engaged instead. The driver speeding on his bumper behind him grew impatient as Morton’s brake lights came on as he maneuvered his jalopy in between the narrow opening of two trees flanking the driveway. As exp...

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“The King of Paper Clips” by Matthew Eubanks

Submitted to Contest #57

There was only one man who ever challenged Johan Vaaler, inventor of the paperclip, for greatness in the mind of the people of Norway. This is the story of the downfall of that man. No day in Norway is like Paper Clip Day, May 29th, and no man like Johan Valer. The Clipper, some called him, like a sailor on the sea. Johan Vaaler. The name rolled off the tongue of the sailing Norwegians who, before him, had given their honest honorifics to proud men of the sea. Their sleepy village had drawn in fish and whale oil for centuries, and very littl...

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“The Crown” by Nayeli Aguilar

Submitted to Contest #57

King Henry the Fifth was nothing like his namesakes. He was bold, independent, and absolutely mad.Or at least that's what the people were told.See, King Henry the First had been a boring man. Nothing significant happened during his rule. All he was remembered for was being the first. His son, King Henry the Second, was a bit more interesting.During his lifetime, he managed to have six wives. All of them eventually left him. However, near the end of his life, he found his true love. She was a friend of his since childhood, but he had never ha...

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“Sarah” by S Smith

Submitted to Contest #57

Sometimes a story does not start. Sometimes it was always there, like the hope that you’re born with, the traditions you’re born into. Sadly, hope will die easier for some people more than others. Tradition can be harder to break. Sarah came from a perfect family. They’d always excelled at everything, whether it was finishing a project first or beating everyone else in an election for mayor. Ah, yes… mayor. Her father was the mayor for as long as he could be. And her grandfather. And every other great- som...

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“The Lament” by Mario Cavett

Submitted to Contest #57

How much could one of my stature be worth? My Father was a chimney sweep. My Mother was a chimney sweep their Parents were covered in soot until their dying day. My fate could only be that of a loathsome toad crawling upon the earth searching for devices, to subside the feeling of his apparent failures. They say that one’s past is the voice of future events. Could my fate be that of a monster looking upon a mountain filled with waving ancestry covered in fine black powder? How much must a man suffer to break traditions of poverty second gues...

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“MODERN CASSY” by Merina Ainomugisha

Submitted to Contest #57

Cassy was from the Kampire family and in her family, there was a long known family tradition which was that whenever a girl from the family wanted to get married, she would have to spend the night before her wedding day in her parents' home as it would be marked as the very last time she stayed there as a single lady. Ms. Cassy Kampire was going to get married to Dr. Peace Paul Akani. She was the only daughter of her parents', Mr. Jonathan Kampire and Mrs. Cathy Kampire. She had one brother who was Jessy Kampire and she was older than him. H...

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“Football First” by Wendy Cohen

Submitted to Contest #57

CJ Garnett had long since given up on the game. Even the fans were morosely quiet: 42-7 with three minutes to go. They had come to watch what should have been a close match. Instead they were watching a routing. Garnett imagined fans across the country gathered in front of their televisions feeling gypped out of a good game. God, what a jerk Cummings was. Resentment flared leaving the taste of bile. It was a shame coach had been forced into putting Cummings in when their first-string quarterback, golden-boy Dillard, had blown out his one goo...

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“For Love” by Sam W

Submitted to Contest #57

My family has, for at least ten generations, directly, indirectly and invariably, always married for love.But now that I’m walking up to the altar, none of those lovely people bothered to show.So it’s seventeen-year-old Henry’s arm that I lean on as I walk in time to the hymn towards Mr. Daniel Grün, his affluent older cousin. My fiancé of about three or four weeks.Yikes.I have to admit: right now, in this ridiculous dress and killer heels, in front of all these people, it does seem like a terrible idea. That’s what my mam told me: when you ...

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“Through Her Love Poems” by Warrior C

Submitted to Contest #57

It was too painful for her to just having a long stare from her window, seeing nothing but the clouds in the horizon, amazingly admiring the beauty of the sky. She was thinking on how she could go to Visita Iglesia ( a traditional church visit during Maunday Thursday in the Philippines) and could see her most loved man if the virus was still giving chaos to people's lives?It was a busy morning of community enhanced quarantine in her place. Maris was cooking breakfast while asking her Dad who was very busy reading news on his laptop- if ...

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“The Open Mind” by Sword Moonblood

Submitted to Contest #57

Joshua was sitting in the mahogany chair set apart in the dark library, in front of him. A fire blazed igniting the room in a dreary light. He sat in wait with the lonely howling of the wind, and the pounding of the rain. "Tick, tock, tick, tock," said the grandfather clock as the chimes rang for twelve o'clock. He heard a noise coming from the western door below the haunted picture of his great-great-grandfather, Fergad the Fourth. He always hated that picture. For he was the one that started it. He was the one who made hi...

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“The Way the Sea Looks at Me” by Aditya Jain

Submitted to Contest #57

I curled my toes toes in the cold, monsoon fed seawater as my feet waddled gently against the rising tide. The sun was about to set through the violet water into the ominous deeps of the Andaman Sea, crashing down below drowned land bridges and coral reefs, facing whales that covered the moon and the stars, and finding its warmth dilated from the luminosity of the squids and other aquatic life. There were grey clouds trailing the wind in the sky, crossing countries and borders, fishing villages and old uninhabited settlements in the Andama...

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“Crossing the Horizon” by Khagesh Mahanta

Submitted to Contest #57

“It’s OK, brother” I gently hugged the palms of his hands with those of mine. With the hand gloves, it was difficult to guess the actual feelings. But, I could see that Rick was gazing at me with the teary eyes of regrets. He wanted to express his gratitude, by all sincere means and said “A big Sorry again; but, I promise that I will never repeat such an act, in my life.” I forgave him despite of his thievery of valuables from the Arcadia Children Foundation. Actually, I decided to forgive him not because of the fact that I sponsored his bad...

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“Are you Real?” by Art⋲mis Xx

Submitted to Contest #57

The whir of machines drowned out when Kaleina felt her mind bend into impossible shapes and her body contort as they whipped her through time and space. The pain and pressure built up in her chest until she felt as if she would snap. But as she opened her eyes, all the agony had faded away. But it was almost immediately replaced by a heavy aching in her chest. Her golden-brown eyes flit across the empty streets which were abandoned. Blown to pieces and burned to the ground. But why? She found a poster of her face, Prisoner 567, cracked and d...

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“In 50 years...” by Deepika Viswanath

Submitted to Contest #57

Time travel is not real. At least that's what people tell me. I'm not one to believe in deep theories or go into long discussions into what our world will look like in the future. I am all about living life in the moment. But sometimes when I looked in the mirror, I wondered how I'd be like, 50 years from now. I'd be around 70 or so. Most importantly, I would like to know, how I would be remembered by those who know me. Would I be remembered for being a good person, or for being someone who took life for granted? I had no idea why I was t...

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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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