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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#68: Meet in the Middle

If there’s one thing we know, it’s that the internet loves to argue. Perhaps one of the stranger fights I’ve seen is what constitutes a “sandwich” — you’d think the definition would be universal… and you’d be very wrong.

But whether you classify hot dogs, pitas, and burritos as sandwiches or not, one thing we can agree on is this: no matter how similar the components, there’s endless variety to be found when you combine the ingredients in different ways.

With that in mind, this week we’re celebrating the infinite diversity of fillings. To do so, we’re going to provide you with the beginning and ending of your story — and it will be up to you to fill these two slices of literary bread with whatever you can imagine!

This week's prompts

Start your story with two characters watching a sunrise and end it with one of them seeing the moon reflecting off a lake.

Adults – 301 stories

Start your story with someone admitting a secret and end it with someone telling a lie.

Dramatic – 180 stories

Start your story with someone robbing a bank and end it with two people driving on an interstate.

Dramatic – 86 stories

Start your story with the line, “This was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives,” and end it with, “By then it was too late.”

Sad – 132 stories

Start your story with the line, “It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same,” and end it with, “[…] and that was all that mattered.”

Adults – 178 stories

Stories

“The Plum She Never Tasted ” by Natosha Beighley

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she had last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. She had moved away and moved around and grown up and returned back to her original birthplace. She hated this place for so many reasons and swore she would never return. Yet here she was trying to find out where it all began. Everything and everyone had changed so much, including her, but the fruit stand still stood in the same place as it had all those years ago. In the late 1980's, there was a small shopping mall across the street, but that wa...

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“Memory of a..........” by Joe Swanson

Submitted to Contest #68

Memory of a… It had been twenty-four years since she last saw the place, and it hadn’t changed at all. Her mind crawling back, in search of memories. Her initial feeling leaving her in search of…what? She reminded herself, that that time had gone. It seemed so long ago since they’d left, and yet, only yesterday. The bird bath remained in the center of the rose garden where she had placed it, an anniversary gift from him. She could see her face reflected in the mirrored water. She noticed the changes, the facial line...

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“Suicide "Not the end ... the beginning of the end"” by Er. SIJO JOHN

Submitted to Contest #68

SUICIDE "Not the end ... the beginning of the end" Suicide is not the end., Yes suicide is not the end of a problem, it can be the beginning of the destruction of those who depend on you or those close to you. What causes a man to commit suicide (a)? Everyone's mental state and everything that happens around them makes them decide to commit suicide. Everyone in this world thinks that he has to fulfill his desires to live. Imagine how much pain he would have had if he had decided not to take his own life. It is not yet clear who created ma...

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“To Do One's Duty” by Brian Perez

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she'd last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. Untouched and untrammeled by the vicissitudes of time. She stared disbelievingly at the heliotropes and thaumaturgic flywheels of the conveyance. She went into the captain's quarters and found the maps, the logbook, even the captain's heavy drome-hide leather coat was still hanging on the wooden wall peg. The windows were just as clean as she remembered. She moved to the bowsprit and saw the figurehead of ...

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“A brush with sanity” by Sterling Kirkland

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same, terrifying. To anyone who hadn’t been locked inside the walls of Angel Hills, the hospital appeared as serene as any other private medical facility. While the passing public marveled over the sculpted hedges and manicured lawns, she knew they contained plenty of secrets. The lush green lawn hid a variety of sensors which ensured the guards could monitor every patient when they were outside, without the need for physical patrols. The sc...

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“Memories” by Courtney Cloud

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. The same green shutters. The same paint peeling off the walls. The same look of peril that always haunted her old foster home, Sunny Days. That was the name of the home that brought Gina some of the worst days of her life. “Gina, are you okay? I told you we didn’t have to stop by here just because you were invited.” “I know. I wanted to stop by though. I need to get over my fears and finally leave this place beh...

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“Our Final Dreams” by Jon Turner

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty four years since she`d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same, when did you last see her Daniel, as Daniel stepped back looking up at the house where he once lived with Charlotte his head slowly turned and now facing John he relied "I`d say a good 18 months" and slowly Daniel turned his head and looked at the house again and the memories that stilled in his eyes of what had been such a dear place in his heart. Daniel slowly walked backwards to purely get in all the warmth that surrounded his heart when gazin...

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“Lessons From Home” by Roland Bridge

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-fours years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. How could that be? How could it look the same when viewed by eyes that had surely changed. In the years since she’d been here, she had grown. Grown up, grown tired, grown away from what she thought she would be. Coming here may have been a mistake. Without ever really thinking about it, a part of her had felt that seeing the old house would validate what her life had become. The opposite was true. It was ...

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“...and that was all that mattered” by Lisa Wentworth

Submitted to Contest #68

Start your story with the line, “It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same,” and end it with, “[…] and that was all that mattered.” It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. Being a small-town American girl was something Lillian wanted to forget. In looking around the room of this 25 year reunion, she was clearly the only one that felt that way; same couples, same hairstyles, same lives and the new breath of desperation in the air was ...

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“The dilemma of love” by Ankana Chakraborty

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been 24 years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. The sun was shining meekly and the slow breeze of evening felt fresh and the sky looked clear. She stood at the doorway for quite some time observing her surroundings. Samantha was visiting her house after 24 years. Her grandmother died last month. She could not visit back then as she had certain personal issues. Samantha, she is a successful entrepreneur and lives in another city quite far. She is a quiet and shy lady. She was never quite attached to th...

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“Incoming” by Melody Kepler

Submitted to Contest #68

It’s been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looks exactly the same. The dust has settled a little thicker, and nature has taken back its place between the foundation cracks—but underneath all that, it’s like a picture frozen in time.Anja Volkov walks down the alleyways between crumbling buildings. Rubble scattered about the pathways. This is where it all began. Training for citizenship was something she always wanted to do—at least, ever since her father told her of the freedoms the country offered in exchange for six...

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“Thank you, Mrs. Donaldson” by Lucy Newman

Submitted to Contest #68

It'd been twenty-four years since she'd last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. The massive building was constructed of an array of red and brown brick, contrasted by white, that lined the gleaming rectangular windows. The edges of the structure weren't sharp; instead, they were etched in like little staircases. It reminded her of the pin art she used to play with as a child. Her brother would make a contorted face and stick it into the pins, then chase her around with the horrifying 3D image.The entrance, a pointed archway, was...

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“The Return” by Jessica Mills

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. As she drove through town she marveled at what was before her; it was as if the town had been trapped in a time warp. Other than the trees, which had grown from newly planted saplings to large sprawling branches much of the town appeared unaffected by the passing of time. Another indication that time had passed was the obvious wear from the years to the buildings. Most had been kept up in good condition but there were a few that were showing ...

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“Memories of the past” by Randi W

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she'd last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. Ruby's eyes crinkled as she smiled fondly at the run down cabin that had been in hiding for over a decade in the middle of the woods. Ruby leaned on her cane as she slowly walked towards the cabin that had once provided her escape. She marveled over at the moss covered building, it looked as though it could collapse at any moment and yet, it looked so strong at the same time. Ruby continued to make her way over to the cabin that held so many memori...

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“Persephone's Tea Garden” by Violet Waters

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. A wrought iron table, graced by two swirled iron chairs. Even the kiss of the sunlight filtering through the flowering hedge was inarguably a mirror image of the one she’d seen years prior. However, most paintings tended to stay the same, no matter how many years they stayed in a museum, so that wasn’t of much notice. What made this painting exquisite, irreplaceable, was not just the level of details and brilliant paint colors; but the people....

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$50

Prize money

877

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Nov 20, 2020 EST

Won by FJC Montenegro 🏆

Title: Silence

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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