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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

“Saving Giles” by Steve Alink

Submitted to Contest #57

The attention exhausted Didier Doman beyond his normal fatigue. Jason was back in his town were he had been bourn and raised. Les Ormes 12 in Clelles. A village name that nobody knew, a street that even the other inhabitants of Clelles tried to forget it existed. He had played with his brother around the gloomy farm. His mother always busy trying to keep it clean, but it was way too much for her. Didier’s father rented himself to the farmers in the neighbourhoods. He brought home a little money that allowed them to live for another day or tw...

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“From Hatred to Thespian ” by Yuki LangShan

Submitted to Contest #57

" _-Some one who hates something, Eventually does it by desire-_" Maybel Twining is a lazy adult who never thought of doing anything by her desire. Her only goal in life was to be a comic artist and her hate for actors around the world was so much that she never talked or even saw them on TV. She was obsessed by Anime shows and books. Maybel didn't liked any other things except books or anime so, when she told her parents that she wants to be a comic artist, they told her that she is br...

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“Bedrock” by Philip Baker

Submitted to Contest #57

On September 1st, 2011, my little brother Joshua was saved by certain death. We still commemorate this day every year and will continue to do so for as long as we live. A special request from our father to remember and appreciate the luck and privilege of life itself. You see our father...is a very particular kind of man. A retired military man, with the number of medallions and awards that would make the president blush. You could fill a whole wall with them assuming you were looking for a way to decorate your house. Or maybe plaster them a...

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“The Painter” by Prasanth P

Submitted to Contest #57

Dad, "I didn't do anything," cried 10-year-old Robie. William glanced at Robin with a suspicious look. Robin, his 12-year-old brother, smiled sarcastically and said, Ok dad, I will take the blame of stealing the money from your purse, don't hurt him. William stood silent for some time and then walked out shouting, next time I won't spare you both. Robie then rushed to his mother Mary and cried, Brother took the money from dad and he is framing me. His mother who was busy cooking ignored his words and asked him to go and study. &n...

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“Neds Flying Lie” by Addison Smits

Submitted to Contest #57

It was about eleven at night when the Mills family heard a loud bang that came from the kitchen. Diana got out of bed to see what was going on. When she turned the corner to the kitchen, she saw her younger brother, Quinn, sitting at the table. His brown hair was covering his face, which was on the counter. His hands were in fists sitting on the table beside his head. He was breathing hard and fast. She didn't even need to ask to know he was frustrated. She decided to get them both some water, and went to the fridge to get some. On the...

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“Hide and Seek” by Jayashree Konar

Submitted to Contest #57

Cling... Cling...Cling...The doorbell is ringing for so long. It's mid July in India and raining heavily. Sam is getting impatient and a bit anxious as well. What is Anu doing inside the lonely home in this afternoon? She never takes a day time nap. Cable connection for internet and television is out-of-order for last two days. In fact Sam went to lodge a complaint in this regard.- Please wait for a second, I'm just coming.Anu's voice assured Sam.- Oh! You are back?Anu opened the door with an innocen...

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“Love to the Minutest Detail” by Irene Ikeadigh

Submitted to Contest #57

Uloma took a deep breath as the sand on the shores touch her bare feet. The sound of croaking toads is heard from a distant direction. The waves are turbulent tonight. What a time to visit the beach! Cold air is beginning to distil the noise of the ocean. It gets colder by the minute as dusk sets in. Uloma and Henri planned meeting here to discuss for the umpteenth time their blossoming relationship. Our first day remains fresh in my memory Uloma thinks aloud. It was a bright April afternoon; it has just stopped raining and people...

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“Hollywood dreaming” by Jose Gonzalez

Submitted to Contest #57

Write a story about someone breaking a long family tradition John delray wanted to be a star. Typical youth lured by hollywood he thought it was all champagne and women. Caviar and parties with a- list stars. Rubbing shoulders with Tom Hanks, bill Murray. Going on dates with whitney Cummings, Margot robbie. Parapazzi. Blinded by the neon lights he wanted to be a star. Ask him how he was going to make it? He would draw a blank. Like it was going to magically appear. He was a social media star. On instagram on tik tok he had views and follower...

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“A Day Of Dishonor” by Lauren Troy

Submitted to Contest #57

The bells sounded in the distance, the loud metal clang echoed through the town like a bomb on a battlefield. Those bells were not played as they usually were, normally it is to signify the beginning of a time of worship to the Gods, to give thanks for their blessings. I always adored the sound of the bells, they were beautiful and always brought such joy to my ears as I listened to that sweet music, now I wanted to rip them out of the high tower they play from and silence them for good. Instead of the joy, they have always preached, it’s ec...

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“The Chosen Path” by Charles Wasilausky

Submitted to Contest #57

"What am I going to do," Aaron muttered to himself. He knew his family would not be happy about him choosing to become a teacher, especially since his parents, grandparents, and siblings all went into the police force. Aaron knew that if he said something, his parents would not be happy about it. "How will I tell them," he muttered. He was only twenty two and knew that law enforcement was not the right career path for himself at any point in time. "Tell us what, Dear," Aaron's mother asked as she and her husband entered the house, tired from...

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“The Range” by Silver Fish

Submitted to Contest #57

Our backs were hot from the heat of the sun, our clothes sticking annoyingly to our slimy skin. We walked in a horizontal three feet apart; five of us holding screwdrivers and shovels and tramping through the hot, stinking mud. It was the Fourth of July, and we could hear the carnival music from next door. We could smell the funnel cakes and the hot dogs and could see the lights on the top of the Ferris wheel glinting in the sun. “Why the hell do we keep putting up with this shit every year?” Ralph muttered over his full lip. He spat a blac...

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“Breaking the Baby Mill” by Megan Snyder

Submitted to Contest #57

My family has a saying that has long held true: “The first baby can come at any time, but any subsequent babies take 9 months.” My great-grandparents (on my mom’s side) followed that tradition, as did every one of my grandparents’ siblings. My grandparents, however, broke that tradition, and their children and grandchildren have all followed in their footsteps. My great-great aunt married someone (while probably pregnant) who had gotten other ladies pregnant and escaped to Canada. Another great-great aunt scandalously got married lat...

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“Breaking Away Into Purpose” by Lacy Pierce

Submitted to Contest #57

My family has had a tradition of all of the women getting married at 20 since we can remember. I’m almost 20 and I don’t even have a boyfriend. I don’t think I even want to get married at all! I just want to travel the world and get paid to do it. Mother applauds me and secretly encourages me. But since I’m a girl, Dad just wants-more like expects- me to stay in this dump of a town, get married and have at least two kids. He doesn’t even care that I probably wouldn’t make a good mom. He just cares about keeping up the “moral stan...

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“A Grim Future” by The Last Unicorn

Submitted to Contest #57

“Do you want to be like your Nana Pachita? Ha?” “She fell in love with some farmer boy and ran off with him when she was just sixteen” “Do you want to be like her, ha? If so, then get out of this house immediately. Get out!” I was fuming mad when I caught my daughter texting some unknown number. Again. She’s had countless text mates. I tried my best to discourage her from talking to unknown men, yet she won’t listen to me. I just don’t want my daughter to end up like my mother. By the time that I was six, my father left us for some other wo...

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“OOPS!” by LuAnn Williamson

Submitted to Contest #57

OOPS! By LuAnn Williamson “It worked!” Doctor Peter Parkinson mumbled quietly to himself. He took a moment to congratulate himself that the time machine that he’d been working on, along with many of colleagues, seemed to be functional. He looked around at the space that had been, well, continued to be in the past, the University Park. But instead of the well mowed lawns and groomed flower beds, there lay bits of construction rubble and weeds peeking out from aro...

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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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