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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

“Longing For the Crickets” by M. Louis Lambert

Submitted to Contest #68

I had the pleasure of seeing Linda only on her birthday. I guess that day holds a special energy for those it involves. It was always a special time for both of us - right up until the day I died. As with every year, we started the day off at Lake Sterling, tucked away in a grove of pines north of Toronto where some lakes up there were as clear as glass. One could see all the way to the bottom with the right light, and, the sunrise? Oh, the sunrise reflected on the lake like God’s forge heating up to fashion a sword of unimaginable beauty.Bu...

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“Rabbit ” by Purple .

Submitted to Contest #68

Soft breeze brushes his exposed skin. The dimming light in the sky casts a warm glow across the quiet hilltop. The lake sways softly, glistening from the sun’s shine. He lets out a long sigh, feeling his shoulders relax and the tightening in his chest begin to set. He’s home now, John reminds himself. Not long after, his presence is felt, coming closer until their seated shoulder to shoulder with him. Together, they relax in the warmth of the fading sun. Their eyes are closed, bodies lax and aching muscles resting. “You came back h...

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“The Handoff” by Dave Bede

Submitted to Contest #68

It was a cheap hotel and a pair of unfamiliar beds, and I probably wouldn’t have slept very well under any circumstances anyhow. Whatever the reason, Ben and I were up in time to see the sunrise.I didn’t mind a bit. The sooner this was over, the better.While he was still in the shower I walked down the balcony to get a coffee in the hotel lobby. The sun was just peeking over the horizon and the asphalt wasn’t the blistering hot sheet it would be in an hour or so, but I wore my sandals anyway. I hadn’t seen any snakes last night but that didn...

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“The Way Of Life” by Simone Little

Submitted to Contest #68

It was just us, sitting watching the sunset. This is the story of how I lost my soulmate, the day my life felt like it was going to end. I was walking down the park with my husband, newly married, and we were watching the sunset. Talking about how beautiful our lives are if you really look at it. We arrived back at our hotel when we first laid eyes on it, a note, and not a nice looking one might I add. We walked over and started to read the smudged letters. It said “This is a ransom note, I have something you both love dearly and you wil...

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“September Sun” by Carolyn Malsawmtluangi

Submitted to Contest #68

'Why do the sun go on shining' came the melancholic voice of Skeeter Davis from Eva's phone as they were watching the sun slowing descending beneath the horizon like a tiny tennis ball. The lake sparkled like a thousand glittering golden chains and the sky painted with strokes of orange and red, smudged with light pink that contrasted with the purple-blue sky. Nature is, indeed, a very talented artist. Nate glanced at Eva and suddenly realized, for the thousandth time, how immensely beautiful she was it suddenly made him blush like a littl...

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“A tale of sunrise.” by If Veen

Submitted to Contest #68

The next morning hopped in soon than expected for 25-year-old Shawn Wilson. He wasn't able to make more of his sleep like he usually does after accomplishing a late-night project. He needed a strong coffee to get this tiredness away. His eyes incredulously rose over the alarm clock beside his table. "Shit he was going to get late again." He negatively shook his head shooing away from his sleepiness."30 minutes later"With slow steps, he made his way towards the love of his life. He remembered When he had first seen her, his breath ceased and ...

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“Luna Narcisista” by H O

Submitted to Contest #68

Here I am submerged in you, as we ogle the Sun as she uncovers her grey veil. She returns the gaze; angry, fierce, captious. A plethora of thoughts race through my mind at full pelt like water through an unlocked sluice; what would Mother think if she saw us now? How would she react? Have we initiated a Butterfly effect? We defied the order; I defied the order. I am flooded with the euphoria of being in your presence. We are in a state of tranquillity, serenity and underwhelmed by the brevity of our dance of emotions. The warm breeze ...

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“Two people watching a sunrise and one sees the moon reflecting on a lake ” by Joseph Fornabaio

Submitted to Contest #68

Two people watching a sunrise and one sees the moon reflecting on a lakeYou need to see this sunrise babe" We sat out back on the deck looking at the sunrise shining over the lake behind the cabin. Dianna looked at me, "joe I'm so glad we came up here this is beautiful," "so am I babe the last few weeks have been crazy, stressful for everybody,". It was two months since we had our run in with Diane's ex-boyfriend at work. My uncle gave me the use of his cabin upstate to g...

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“Travelling to the Sun” by Aankhi Sharma

Submitted to Contest #68

Eva gazed through the window, looking at the Sun and so did I. Sunrise was always ‘our thing’, something that we could bond upon. We would wake up at 5 am just to see the rising sun. Sunrises were something I was grateful for, it made me realize that every dark phase is accompanied by beaming positivity. It’s a cycle, maybe the cycle of life. You do not want the night to stay forever neither do you expect the day, the light, to be forever. Eva was just like a sunny day, positive and cheerful, but the only difference was this day did not come...

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“The Last Ode” by New Inspirations

Submitted to Contest #68

The sun bloomed on the horizon, stretching its golden petals outwards in to the rich blue sky as if inviting a brand new day. Above those majestic and mesmerizing mountains, kissed to their heady blush by the sun, were clouds that moved in shoals. Under the sunrise, the dew on each tea leaves sparkled like diamonds. The small branches of each tea plants spread out as if proud of the bounty they brought and the sweet aroma that they spread. Birds had started chirping amongst the Mahogany and the Sal of the mystic wild life sanctuary...

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“The fear of Tomorrow” by Nafiza Wari

Submitted to Contest #68

‘It’s not time yet, let her sleep’, Hanef whispered across the room. Astrid nodded in approval, a bright beam crossing the doleful look on her face. ‘Alright, but just 15 more minutes’. Both woke up early before dawn set in and tiptoed around the house preparing every little thing for the day. Most of the bags were packed the previous night and the few left, Astrid completed before the first of the morning light seeped in. Hanef was out finishing most of the work from the day, fetching water from downstream and filling the cattle bins. He wo...

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“The MOON and HIM” by Naba Matin

Submitted to Contest #68

I wake too early today and woke him up. we went to rooftop to see the sunrise. It was our first sunrise together as we married yesterday. It seemed like the first sunrise of my life which bring a lot of happiness in my life.Looking at the sun I told him, "see how the light of sun broke the silence of darkness and lit up its light everywhere same way you break the loneliness of my life and completed me"He said, " I love you so much Tia. I cannot describe how much I love you. You mean the whole world to me."I replied," I love you too".And he s...

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“Chasing The Moonlight” by Randomshadesofpastel _

Submitted to Contest #68

And finally the sun rose, filling the sky with shades of orange, pink, amber and rose, radiating hope, a new beginning. Another chance to live. The start of a brand new day. "Are you ready for today?," I asked her, who was still gazing at the sun with wonder struck eyes. "The sun has a special glow for it today. You see that too?" she asked me. I just smiled and nodded. We got down from the roof, as quiet as we could. I cautiously looked around to see if he was still asleep or not. Then we slipped back to our beds, waiting for the ...

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“Starts With Goodbye” by Yoana Corro

Submitted to Contest #68

As Kimberly and Natasha held hands, one’s heartbeat pounded faster than it had ever done, scaring her into thinking she might not be doing the right thing. Kimberly somberly watched the sun’s rays reflect off the lake water as it slowly rose over the horizon. She turned over to Natasha, whose eyes were directly looking at hers, imploring for a different outcome than the one she knew was on the horizon. “Say it,” she whispered, her voice quavering. Kimberly took a deep breath. It was hard to find the right words...words that would convey ...

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“moonlight” by Snjeguljica 33

Submitted to Contest #68

"Hey," Simon says softly to the boy who approaches him and kisses him on the mouth. "Hey," Alan replies after hugging him a little shyly. They hadn’t seen each other in a few days and Alan knows it wasn’t an accident. Their whole story had been mapped out from the beginning, and he used to think he was just imagining it, but now he’s sure of it. They grew up together, or rather they had known each other since they were aware of their existence. In that little alley, almost protected from the outside world, the two of them had known since t...

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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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