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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

“A Stubborn Mary and A Beautiful Lilly” by Sarah Dell

Submitted to Contest #57

As the oldest brother, Mike knew he had to right the wrong done to their mother. He took a deep breath as he rolled up the cord to the vacuum, an activity which had become a frequent necessity over the past few days. Did he want this? No. Mike understood that he was doing this for the family. Sometimes, you gotta take one for the team. He has a lot of experience cleaning up the messes of his younger brothers, but this time he wasn’t sure he would be able to help. Did Cole not understand the tragedy he was bringing the family? The brothers ha...

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“A Baptism of Choice” by Galileo Henneman

Submitted to Contest #57

I had never paid attention to the church’s name. I never remembered the faces I saw or who people said they were when Mom introduced them to me. I couldn’t remember a single detail about the whole thing except for a cardinal’s nest on the roof. The only thing I could remember about the place was the bright red bird. Its crimson feathers looked so gorgeous standing out against the black roof. At least, it looked gorgeous from what I could remember. My family had a tradition, being of strong Christian beliefs, Baptism was normal. Yet, ...

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“But I Don't Like Coffee or Tea” by Bunni Reed

Submitted to Contest #57

But I Don't Like Coffee or Tea Story By Jai Herz, Written By Bunni Reed My family has a long-standing history of being coffee drinkers or tea drinkers. My Mom drinks both with delight. Best gifts for her are a new blend of coffee or a box of exotic herbal teas. I cannot stand either beverage. Hot chocolate is a Yes from me, but no whipped cream on top. I actually feel ill when I smell freshly-brewed coffee. Tea just smells weird. I do like Coke. Ginger Ale is another choice, but lately I have begun to prefer watered-down Gatorade. I pref...

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“This Story Starts With A Death” by Jada Leung

Submitted to Contest #57

There are no tears for the man in the casket. He lies in the dirt, swathed in velvet drapes. Lies with his eyes closed and his arms crossed, with his lips barely parted in what could be the brink of a laugh or a cry. Around him, twelve people stand in rows. Their heads are tilted to the soil, bowed to the earth. Everything returns to earth, one way or another. And no one knows this better than these twelve, standing around their fallen soldier. There they linger, looking on at the dirt as if maybe there was a solution to… to... Because none ...

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“Ris a la Mande” by Josephine Andersen

Submitted to Contest #57

Ris a la MandeThis was the first Christmas when she would be doing things differently. Lorna sighed and thought how difficult it would be, to break it to her mother. Nikolai had been very firm , “Tell your mother that I want a different kind of Christmas this year and don’t let her bully you. You are too soft with her , always giving in to her every wish and whim.” Things had been difficult between them the past year or two. The marrying of two cultures was not always a picnic. Most of their quarrels stemmed from their different wa...

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“love knows no rules ” by AMER ACIL

Submitted to Contest #57

When i saw her at the first time i forgot everything , every issue and anxious breath i ever took and got lost into her wet black hair with the rain waiting for the bus with a broken umbrella and a book completly ruined from the rain in a dramatic stormy day , i felt like the time stopped for a while and the only think that was running on my mind is that she is forbiden for me and she would be for generations because of our wierd family tradition that i don't know yet my position at , but when the time came back i realised that every rule ha...

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“Not This One” by Matthew Turner

Submitted to Contest #57

The day had come and Jenna could tell. Mark was a mess. He wasn’t actively acting like it but she knew it was bugging him, sitting on his shoulders and no matter what she told him to dissuade him or convince him otherwise the idea was planted firmly in his head and he walked through the day like he was crossing a minefield. It was their tenth anniversary but Mark had been dreading it since they got married. Mark’s parents had split on the night of their tenth anniversary. Both sets of his grandparents had split up on the night of their ten...

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“Love Letter to a Tree” by Elizabeth Louis

Submitted to Contest #57

Standing tall, limbs so high off the ground, impossible to see from below, a legion of Sequoias are poised in eternal solute. Their rust-red skin is rough-yet soft, living- yet still, and incomprehensibly soothing in a way that takes me back. Closing my eyes, I can almost hear a song, soft vibrations, earth-deep. How many millenia have they bared witness to? Floods, earthquakes, fires, births, deaths- how many souls have they shared the earth with? If you had a face, you would have clear, hazel green eyes, sharp with knowledge and gra...

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“The Foolish Painting” by Ellie Villaseñor

Submitted to Contest #57

She was painting in her room when suddenly, she heard a knock on her door. When she opened it, she wasn’t surprise to see it was her mother. Her mother took one glance around the room and threw a bunch of matchsticks on her bed and left without saying another word.She was always used to this.But this time, instead of hiding it under her bed, she used it for burning all of the law and medicine books her parents gave her as birthday and Christmas presents. Why, she thought as she stifled her tears, why did I have to be born in a fam...

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“Moment of truth” by Munyaradzi Goredema

Submitted to Contest #57

Sweating, nervous and part unsure of himself, Mike hung up the phone. The specter of being disowned hung over him like a dark cloud. He was left to wonder if his mother meant it or not. Hysterical she might have been, but she did not normally mince her words. And no matter how deep her love for her first born, her one and only son-he knew she meant every word she said. Before it became the sole mission of his life, creative art was a mere past-time. Paintings, sculptures and drawings had been objects to admire, rather than the personal ob...

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“Song of the Nightingale ” by Cynthia Grove

Submitted to Contest #57

Tonight would change Emily’s life forever. It was the annual Harvest Ball and tonight was to be the announcement of the engagement of Emily Edwin and Charles Dawson. This engagement had been arranged practically and harmoniously between both families since Emily and Charles had been children. It was the epitome of compliance, societal demands and regeneration of the family hierarchy for both of Chesire's most respected and admired families. The prestige of belonging to this nobility was envied and desired.The sky blue silk and lace gown was ...

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“Dinner Time” by Christine Hungerford

Submitted to Contest #57

The late teenage girl sat there, staring at the plate of stringed beans, mashed potatoes and serenaded T-bone steak still sizzling a little from the broiler pan hissing from the kitchen’s stovetop a few feet away. “Why are you staring at your food?” Her mother piped up, her wrist on the wooden table’s edge and poised to move so her fork would steal some lettuce leaves from her plate. “Because, Mom, I don’t want it.” The daughter sounded more like she was just slipping that out to answer because she really had something els...

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“Destined flame ” by Jasmine K

Submitted to Contest #57

“It’s almost time for the Orland’s winter ball isn’t it Dante?” Despite her bright tone, there was no warmth in his mother’s words and her dull, brown eyes were void of emotion, as usual. Turning away from her empty eyes, he faced his father, the lanky man looking unbothered in his cushioned black armchair. Seeing the light from the fireplace land on his father’s side profile, Dante couldn’t help but notice how similar they were, from his stark black hair to his reddish-brown terracotta skin and even the golden brown of his eyes. The more he...

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“The Future of Alyson Rope ” by Alina Gober

Submitted to Contest #57

04-23-20 Dear diary, This is my first journal entry. I’m kind of nervous honestly. But anyways, this journal is about my coming up experience. My names Alyson, Alyson Rope. I work at a BioLab in Kentucky. We are currently working on a time machine. We’ve been working on it for going on seven years now. We plan on trying it out in a week. Me being the test subject. Its currently 2020, in a week I will be going to the year 2500, hopefully. I’m kind of nervous about it. I’m not sure if there’s going to be anything on earth anymore, or maybe we...

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“Her Place in Time” by Dana Te

Submitted to Contest #57

Time travelling was not as fun as the movies made it out to be. Selene Wesley could only see white as her ears rang, her head feeling like it's about to explode. The floor beneath her seemed to wobble even as she stood still. She would've fallen over if her hand did not reach something stable to hold herself steady. The world before her only came into focus after what felt like twenty minutes. It was a horrible feeling Selene didn’t wanted to experience again(though it would be inevitable for the way home).Once she finally found her bearings...

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$50

Prize money

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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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