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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

“For Her Kids” by Peggie Larsen

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been 24 years since she had last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. When she left in 1996, she didn't care. She was done. Love would never find her again. She was 34. She was single, had two wonderful kids and a mountain of debt. She was content to keep on keeping on. She wanted nothing more than to watch her kids become decent humans. They were her reason. Nothing more, nothing less. They meant everything to her and they were why she made the decisions she made. Selfish? Perhaps. Smart? Very. So many people tried to ...

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“The Old House” by John DeSantis

Submitted to Contest #68

The Old HouseIt had been twenty-four years since he’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. He’d left the house more than two decades ago, having sold it just before he got married. The house belonged to his brother and him, and friends and relatives s had advised him to buy out his brother’s share of their inheritance, but he would always decline. “Too many memories,” he’d quip,” thanks, but I don’t want to live in a ghost house.” So they split the profits, his brother and he, and both began to embark on their new lives...

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“Happily Ever After” by A. Lauren

Submitted to Contest #68

"It had been twenty-four years since she'd last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. It was a dump, Jackie had to admit, but it was home. Or it had been..." The children sat, wide-eyed, as I read the story. Each leaned forward as if I just said the most intriguing thing they'd ever heard. I smiled as I read, adding as much expression as possible. The story began with the protagonist, Jackie, trying to fix her damaged home. Everything seemed to be going amiss until she meets James. Then, like every story, it ended with a 'happily-e...

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“The Log Cabin As I Remembered” by Janice Ishman-Murray

Submitted to Contest #68

“It had been 24 years since she’d last seen it. But the place looked exactly the same.” When I was about two, my dad began working for a lumber company, which was exciting to him, because it was a good-paying job, and being a family of five, the job came in handy. My dad had always wanted to build a home for his family. He wanted his family to have their own home, something that they could treasure for years to come. He wanted this home to be a log cabin, a real eye-catcher! With enough room to accommodate his wife, 2 boys, a girl, and himse...

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“Support” by Jamie Shields

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. The smell was different. Around ten years after Jerri’s last visit, Big Brother passed extensive anti-smoking legislation, and the act and odor generally became considered socially abhorrent. Which she was fine with. She essentially quit tobacco, depending on the legal and social context she was provided. She would mostly only think about tobacco when drinking coffee, eating steak, or when saying, “screw Big Tobacco! Screw em!” But even without tob...

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“All That Mattered” by Heather Davis

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. The hedges were different, bigger, the stone darker, but the path was still there, edging along the side of the house, between the swinging gate that hung mid-path, the one she used to run through as a child. She smiled at the memory, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. The wind had picked up, the breeze rustling the trees in the yard, whipping her dress around her bare legs. April wasn’t the warmest month, but she needed to come...

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“I Was Scared” by Azalea Young

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. Okay, maybe twenty-four years is a bit of an exaggeration, but still. A lot can change in a near ten years, but not the outside of Marco’s apartment. Bella doesn’t know why she would think it would be different, I mean, her apartment isn’t any different but...maybe the red brown brick and black metal reminds her too much of when things were different. When her and Marco were different. “C’mon you have a plan.” Bella mutters to herself, gr...

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“Closure” by Stella Pasqual

Submitted to Contest #68

It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. The blue shiplapped walls with the white trim and window frames were clean and bright as ever entering through the front door of Jane’s grandmother’s house. The kitchen was as old-fashioned as ever with the floral wall paper and gingam curtains, and still not a bit back in style. Everything about Grandma Alice’s house pulled Jane in with a comforting feeling. The smell of her grandmother was as palpable inside the house as if the old woman h...

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“Change This” by Isa Snow

Submitted to Contest #68

This was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives. Jakob’s and Ulan’s thousand year anniversary. A celebration of eternity, spent in equal bliss shared between the two. They had sat near a cliff, dangling their legs off above the rocky death that would await them below. The two had truly seen everything a human could. Now all they wished for was to spend each and every day together. Adventures in their forever had slowed and a sugary calm emerged in their lives. “To us,” Ulan spoke with his usually silvery and cheerful demeanor. Afte...

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“The Beginning of An End” by Jessica Bailey

Submitted to Contest #68

This was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives. Today should have been filled with happiness and laughter, promises and vows, nervous excitement and joyful anticipation. But now, instead of a wedding taking place, it would be a funeral. One that should never be happening in the first place. As Alexander Johnson, a twenty year old man with brown hair and hazel eyes, stared out across the mountain-side lake, he sighed heavily. The sun was setting, appearing to dip into the water slowly, creating a peaceful environment. Various shades ...

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“The man who destroyed her.” by If Veen

Submitted to Contest #68

This was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives. However, the moment 22 years old Nina Brown saw him kissing a woman in front of her eyes while a violin's soundtrack played behind them left her numb as the realization dawned upon her. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears while her throat felt extremely parched to speak. It would have felt better if Earth would swallow her at that right moment.Nina's 5 feet 4 inches body was shaking with hurt, she closed her black eyes not being able to hear the mockery in laughs of guests present t...

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“Time travel, 2080” by Noah Noahkirui66@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #68

It was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives as it was Jack’s birthday, and he was turning 18! But, of course, we all must make ends to meet. Although Janet never went anywhere in the morning, she was an early riser to wake up her sleeping son who was a heavy sleeper. “Wake up Jack,” she called hoarsely. She couldn’t go to work due to her breathing problems caused by the excessive vapor in the factory, and once they found out that she can’t work any longer, she was terminated. He looked at the time on the multipurpose screen and fou...

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“The Cuments” by Saraphin Yamba

Submitted to Contest #68

“This was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives,” Mother says over the phone. She has been on the device for the past two hours, gossiping and receiving information on today’s incident. Today was the wedding anniversary of our neighbor. We had known them for 5 years since they had first moved here. Nothing out of the ordinary surrounded them. Their twin boys, Mark and Matthew, both attended preschool with my little sister, Diane, before their sudden change to home-schooling. She often spoke of them as very quiet and uninviting of an...

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“Not my Dream Wedding ” by Sean Green

Submitted to Contest #68

Not my Dream Wedding By: Sean Green This was supposed to be the happiest day of our lives. I was looking forward to marrying the man of my dreams. It was so wonderful I just felt like this is how a princess felt like when they were getting married to their prince. I remember the day when Daniel took me to the Cincinnati Skating rink, and he got on his knee and ask me to marry him. I could not help it at first, I just did not know what to say a minute later I said yes. I had tears falling from my eyes and I was just full of joy. We went to...

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“Bullseye” by M EB

Submitted to Contest #68

This was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives. The thought replayed through her head as Helena watched the raspberry and lemon cake she and Lyle chose seven months before go hurtling through the air in a flurry of frosting across the football field to splatter against a ten foot by ten foot bright red target at the 60-yard line. “Bullseye!!” Several feet below Helena, Cameron, her Maid of Honor, howled to the empty stadium surrounding them, pumping her fists in the air and running a short, raucous victory lap...

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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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