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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

“Bok the Carrier” by Jose Antonio

Submitted to Contest #57

Thrum shouldered the Capricorn galaxy. Syl and Myr, partners who were fused under a red star, jointly shouldered the Pandora galaxy. Even Min, the smallest, shouldered the cotton galaxy. We are Carriers, and we hold heavenly bodies against the continuously pulling mantle of the universe. There is a certain pride in doing your task well and none is more proud than Bok. Bok carries the heaviest galaxy, the Milky Way. It holds millions and millions of heavenly bodies. It is known for the bright creamy white swirl in its center. Everything w...

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“A lot of pain” by Raihan Siddik

Submitted to Contest #57

Trigger warning: suicide Susmita Shah is a Brahman Hindu lady. Her family members are acute in their religious beliefs. She is reading Humanity in a college. Today is her first day in her college. To everyone this day comes with new experiences but to Susmita it comes with not only experiences but also emotions. This emotion is captured between two people. In word which is called love. They fall in love at their first sight. But their love is different from others. Susmita loved a Muslim person named Abdullah. They loved each other bu...

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“In A Name.” by Raquel Archer

Submitted to Contest #57

“Honestly, child. When are you going to name your baby?” The lady queried with a pointed stare as she cradled the newborn in her decrepit hold. “Time is running out.”An irritated sigh passed through the nose of the only other occupant on the front porch.“We’ve talked about this, Gran.” The new mother lightly bounced her leg to busy herself while the elder regarded the infant. “We’re still deciding.”“You’ve had nine months to come up with something, and an additional two weeks have passed. If you need help all you need is to ask.” The elder s...

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“The Blessing” by Natalie Johnson

Submitted to Contest #57

The lake shimmered and sparkled, the moonlight dancing across its inky surface. The breeze was soft and cool and it caused the leaves to rustle quietly. The night felt magical, filled with limitless possibilities. Elyan sat on the grassy bank that surrounded the lake, running his fingers through the frigid water. He felt his fingertips turn blue, yet he continued to hold them beneath the surface. He liked the pain. He understood it. This pain was physical. It was temporary. He could remove his fingers from the lake whenever he chose, and the...

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“Traditions for Granted” by Angela Doverspike

Submitted to Contest #57

Rose’s crooked, brittle hands worked tirelessly as she sliced and diced. Her swollen finger joints ached. Her elbows ached. Her back ached. Her knees, ankles, and feet. Everything ached. There wasn’t a joint space in her body that wasn’t stiff. Cartilage had long since worn away. Bone grinding with bone. Of all days, today had to be the worst. Tomorrow wouldn’t be much better. Tomorrow was Thanksgiving. Yet she’d still give thanks to the Lord above for her life, as painful and lonely as it may be. However brief a time, her old, tiny hou...

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“Grandma Martha” by Jae Kim

Submitted to Contest #57

Peeking from behind cream colored curtains, I watched as my parents’ sedan pulled into the driveway. It was misty out, a faint trace of orange dusting the horizon. But no matter the time or weather, it was important that they made it out here tonight. To my relief, they didn’t look mad. Mom was even holding Tupperware full of spaghetti in her arms like a football player. She matched my stare from the window and rolled her eyes. Then, she gestured to my father who was taking out a large black duffle from the backseat. “I don’t think this ...

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“A Psycopath's Legacy” by Jmen Seso

Submitted to Contest #57

Metal scrapes against metal, sharpening my father’s favorite knives. His sickening grin curves upwards in delight as he watches another horrific torture event. “Son, this shall become your future. Your mother’s and my blood run through your veins,” he told me with his deep voice. A voice that when a person stays alone in the night streets. A terrifying laugh that echoes across a deserted alleyway and makes goosebumps rise and chill their blood. I watch the scene in front of us. A man who hasn't paid his debt now sat beaten unconscious by m...

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“Bad Turkey” by Jessica Bell

Submitted to Contest #57

Every year it is the same stupid thing. Being a teenage boy in a happy-go-lucky family that goes ga ga for the holidays really sucks. Most of my time I want to be left alone with my video games, but once again it is that time of year. Mom is decorating the house, dad went and got a real Christmas tree, my sister is decorating the tree and here I am waiting for it to be over. What’s worse is that we have this super annoying aunt, who thinks that she can cook like a master chef and she always insists on cooking a turkey for Christmas. The bad ...

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“Tradition Be Damned” by Arya Greenwood

Submitted to Contest #57

“Three hundred men twenty miles outside the gates, and my scouts have seen nothing of this?” The colonel shook his head, dull-brown wisps of hair falling over his brow. He threw me a look of skepticism over the large oak table between us. “You know that I trust your abilities, Miss Tate, but surely this information is just another bit of farce to confuse the spies that might be listening.” Spies such as I, I presumed. I gave the colonel a severe look. “I beg your pardon, sir, but I got the captain drunk myself and am quite sure he could not ...

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“Bat soup” by Enita Ebiyamu

Submitted to Contest #57

"crazy cooks" was the name of the smallest restaurant in the town. There was a man who always wore a hat and neck tie standing in front of it looking for customers. Everyone hated their menu. 'we need a secret ingredient' Said his wife who was always in the kitchen to his three daughters who were the waitresses. Yes, it was a family business. They looked everywhere for things the humanity never tested.. they invented meals and gave them funny names and before they knew it, people started to flock to the little space until it flooded. One day...

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“A Rusty Plaque ” by Samuel Cooley

Submitted to Contest #57

In memory of Phillip Robertson. Soldier, explorer, friend. Phillip Robertson didn’t know how long he had spent standing within the graveyard of his hometown, staring at the rusted plaque at the foot of an oak tree. The sun had risen from its slumber, traveled past the sky, and was now settling against the hills to rest before it made the journey all over again. The sun’s journey was constant, never straying from the path destiny had decided. &nbsp...

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“The Crime Lord's Legacy of Lies” by Elena Welsh

Submitted to Contest #57

Calen was having a rotten day. Granted it had started off well, with him stumbling across a portal into the future. The portal hosted endless possibilities for him and his gang, possibilities that hadn’t had any time yet to come to fruition because he had been severely distracted by one crucial aspect of the future. His reputation. Calen Garesh was the most feared and revered gang leader in the smoking, cobbled cesspit that was London in the early twentieth century. His gnarled fingers of influence reached out and entwined themselves i...

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“President Crohn” by Josh Colgan

Submitted to Contest #57

President Alex Crohn sank into the plush cushions of his limousine. The Pennsylvania countryside rushed past the window. Grey from an early winter, a river choked with grime down the middle, the ravaged landscape reeled under the onslaught of climate change. On the road to Philadelphia, the presidential motorcade made its way into a city with a shrunken population. Many had heard the call to war. They neared the University of Pennsylvania, his Alma Mater, for the special tech demo. Crohn reached for the window control. Agent Menendez leane...

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“When is Your Destination?” by Matthew Ward

Submitted to Contest #57

My great uncle walked this earth for ninety-five years. Well … he walked this earth for a couple of years. He sat around for the rest. And that’s my point exactly. That’s how we remember him, my siblings and I. If he’d known we’d remember him like that, maybe he’d have done things a little differently. It seems to me that no matter where you go when you clock off, memories are what you leave behind. They’re your physical legacy—your this-world immortality. They’re what linger, for better or worse—for walking or sitting, in my great uncle’s ...

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“The First of Many” by Kat S

Submitted to Contest #57

"Give it up for Ellias Verone!!" The crowd goes wild, clapping, cheering, crying. From behind a towering, black curtain, a speck appears on the stage. Rows of people stretch on and on, all staring at the massive monitors, broadcasting the tall, dark and handsome figure for all to see. His stoic expression cracking slightly as he fights off the wave of emotions... Excitement, confidence, honor and... Uncertainty. "Thank you, thank you all. It means so much for me to be here, on the global stage... Ushering in a new time... The time of 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.

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