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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 One He'll Never Forget” by I Fraser

Submitted to Contest #68

“This was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives,” Everyone dreams of having a perfect wedding. Something that they could cherish forever. So did Nathalia and Liam. They have been dating for 3 years, and are very happy together. Though before this, Liam was in another serious relationship. Her name was Jessica. She was in love with him. Liam’s family accepted her. So did most of his friends. Nathalia was a family friend. They knew each other for a long time, but Nathalia never liked Jessica. She always had a weird feeling about her. ...

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“The house” by Anthony Simmons

Submitted to Contest #68

This was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives. The house sat in the middle of no where, within the vast fields of nature. It was made from stone and wood, being large enough to house a small army. Within, the home was made of smooth marble, with line lights beaming through the floor. In the hall, photos of four adults hung on the wall. Orbs floated within the air, humming to an unknown tune. At the kitchen, the dinner table is set with a different assortment of food and a figure standing over it all. Cloaked within shadows, ...

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“Stuck in the Middle School with You” by Marda Deane

Submitted to Contest #68

This was supposed to be the happiest days of their lives. Whistlethwait Boarding School provided the finest education and luxury of any institution in the state. Each student was chosen to attend based on their familial connections and generous donations from their parents. Violet Bolen was not there as a result of her parents’ wealth however. Instead, she had tested far beyond the required lessons for a fifth grader. And as a result of her remarkable grades, the school saw fit to move her from fifth grade to seventh at the school via ...

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“A life lost forever” by Abhiraj Sengupta

Submitted to Contest #68

This was supposed to be the happiest day of their life, a boring yet adventurous one…“Ma’am, the whole tour of Humayun’s tomb will cost you only Rs.500...”…” No, thank you, we are not interested..”…”Ma’am please take this opportunity to discover the grand tomb of the Second Mughal Emperor”...After much negotiations,the price was finally set at 300..But the tourists were least interested in this deal…Even I then left the persuasion…It was 5:00 pm by then…That day, I earned a meagre amount of 350 rupees from a group of Korean tourists who were...

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“Shattered Gift” by Dozie Ethelbert

Submitted to Contest #68

This was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives; it was the day they have all dreamt of in the last five years. Late November 2012, Jane was a freshman in the university who was trying to find her way around the gigantic administrative blocks of the university with a folder having her admission documents. She looked pacified and nervous; it wasn’t really had to spot such feeling from a fresh man. They were nicknamed “October Rush”, due to their hasty nature to meet up with the clearance and join classes after their admission in Oct...

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“Requiem ” by Ana Chirila

Submitted to Contest #68

This was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives, the union of one rich gentleman and the daughter of another, aged, gentleman in need. And yet the morning of the wedding day felt much calmer than Mr. Greyheart expected. Nobody seemed to be in a rush to get the guests, if there were any but the family and the servants seemed to go on with their usual chores as if a wedding did not require anything but to move into a church and agree to be one’s most loyal house mate. If only it were so easy, he wouldn’t have come all the way to Enfiel...

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“Broken Glass ” by Brenda Lopez

Submitted to Contest #68

Broken Glass This was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives. This very day would have been a new beginning. The true meaning of life. But things do not always start and end that way. “Mom?” Aurora questioned. While starting at the rainy weather. “Yes, sweety.” “Why does it have to be this way? Could have I not been through such pain? Am I such a bur- “ “Honey, please… don’t continue… It breaks my heart you are thinking that stuff. It is never going to be your fault.” Sandra replied with tears streaming down her cheeks. “MOM BUT...

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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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