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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#73: My True Love Gave to Me

In years past, we’ve themed our seasonal prompts around a favorite Christmas movie… This year, we’re going to mix things up and base them off a Christmas song! And since this week’s contest runs through December 25th, what better song to pick than The 12 Days of Christmas?

If you need a little inspiration to get you in the holiday spirit, check out the Christmas and Holiday sections in our Stories directory to see what members of your community have come up with! With all these marvelously festive tales to choose from, we know you’ll find something to get you feeling jolly in no time.

And despite the Christmas origins, our prompts work for any holiday, so feel free to celebrate in a way that's true to you! We can't wait to see your character's traditions.

This week's prompts

Write about someone who is given a bird for the holidays but doesn’t know how to take care of it.

Holiday – 200 stories

Write about someone who gets proposed to five times on Christmas Eve.

Romance – 170 stories

Write about a drummer going to a Halloween party for musicians.

Halloween – 54 stories

Write about a young nobleman whose greatest wish is to become an Olympic long jumper.

Middle School – 20 stories

Write about a backup dancer who’s on tour and just wants some peace and quiet for the holidays.

Winter – 54 stories

Stories

“Nuts To You, Jennifer” by John Walsh

Submitted to Contest #73

On the evening of December 14, Greg rang Jennifer’s doorbell. “The company is transferring me north and I can’t take Cyril with me,” he said, thrusting a rather large cage with a sea-green cover topped with a big red bow into Jennifer’s reluctant arms. “I’d like you to have him.” He had taken off his mask and had the hangdog expression that made it hard for Jennifer to say “no” to him. He replaced his mask, shut the door, and walked away witho...

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“Cookie Bird” by Jimmy Irons

Submitted to Contest #73

"He gave you a bird?!?" Trice yelled from the kitchen. Flour accented every part of her face, arms, and blouse. She was elbow deep in a bowl of dough, making her famous chocolate chip cookies. She always made baked goods for the room-tenants on the holidays, made avoiding going home that much easier."Yeah..." I held up the small cage, "Said it would be good for me."The small bird of yellow and white hopped about on the newspaper clad bottom, chirping incessantly. It was really starting to get on my nerves. I sighed and placed the cage on the...

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“Yardstick” by Inkstained Introvert

Submitted to Contest #73

Topaz looked through the peephole. There was no one there, despite the door having been knocked on seconds earlier. He pushed open the door--and pushed something over. Down the steps of his front porch rolled a little wire cage with something small and green inside of it. It was cheeping. “Oh my God,” he muttered. “Andy! You did not!” “Mom doesn’t want it anymore!” screamed Andy’s voice from the driveway. “That’s not my problem! What the heck am I supposed to--” “I don’t know; it’s a green-cheek conure!”“What?”A pause, and then:“The green-ch...

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“5 Times Too Many!😳💍” by Jade Orien🍀

Submitted to Contest #73

I am going to tell you about a time that I London Marin got proposed 5 times in one day on Christmas Eve!The first time was during a dinner date.I have been talking to this guy named Henry for about a month.He's a great guy and all but I never could see him being more than a friend.I never brought it to his attention until he asked me to go to dinner with him on Christmas Eve.As we laugh & sip on red wine he reaches into his pocket that is on his black tuxedo & pulls out a diamond ring.With no hesitation, he blurts out "Will you marr...

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“Next Year” by Laura Wang

Submitted to Contest #73

1 I told him to save the proposal for Valentine's Day. I told him to buy me chocolate hearts and a bouquet of roses. I told him to make up a poem about how much he loved me. I told him I wanted proof of his devotion, and he gave it to me.In his poem, he said that he couldn’t wait until Valentine's Day, that he cared too much and too deeply. That, like swans, he’d die of a broken heart if I ever left him. 2I had told him a proposal was out of the question; our love was that of the body, not that of the mind. I wanted him to show me ...

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“Love at first sight” by Oke Oreoluwa

Submitted to Contest #73

Stella threw a stone in the river and got a rebuke."Don't do that! It may disrupt my wish."They were the only ones at the river bank, which was strange at this time of the year but was expected, due to the pandemic. The three girls had figured it would be a nice time to visit the much talked about Ile-Ife especially since the tour guides had no customers and could give them all the attention.Two girls looked back at Tina in confusion.Tina sighed, hoping her wish would still be valid as she explained."This, is the Osun River" she spread out h...

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“For The Night” by Josephine Aquio

Submitted to Contest #73

For the Night It was a warm night. James peeled his eyes away from the bathroom window where he could see the night sky donned with flickering little stars and a huge moon that reminded him the night was still young. He looked at his reflection in the mirror and saw the indecision in his eyes. He felt too old to go out and socialize with millenials tonight, yet he can already taste the whiskey in his mouth. He needed a drink. He closed his eyes and imagined what a bar of young people would be like now. It has been ages since he’s been to ...

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“The Band of Unknown Dreams” by Lily Harrison

Submitted to Contest #73

It was the middle of summer in Mexico City, and Seamus was in his garage cooling off after a crazy game of volleyball with his friends. He and his brother, Callum, lost against a couple of athletic guys Seamus became friends with on a trip with his colleagues to Russia. His friends’ names were Harald and Gerard. They all worked together in a small men’s retail store called Mateo’s. I know all of these guys’ names are quite odd, but they all are of Irish descent. They moved to Mexico during their early days. All of their names are their paren...

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“Little Drummer Boy” by Ruth Major

Submitted to Contest #73

The world is full of music, if you will just listen. Me and my drum just make that music more obvious. I take it everywhere, strapped to my neck. Bad dum dum, ba dum ba dum. I play listening to the sounds of the street. My family got music in the blood, I am Eddie Garfunkle and yes I am related to the one of Simon and Garfunkle. I always play my drum, when things are quiet. There's a pause and there is my drum. Some people get very annoyed with me. I just laugh and keep drumming. I was walking, and I saw a woman there who was dressed very od...

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“Dholiya’s unforgettable party” by Sreedevi Mahapatra

Submitted to Contest #73

The lone Dholiya was sitting under the shade of the old banyan tree waiting for the bus to take him to the city. Dholiya, which meant a drummer in the local dialect. He sometimes wondered what his actual name was? He didn’t remember the time when the big “dhol” or drum became a part of his life. He had this vague memory of one of his uncle playing the dhol and later he inherited both the drum, the skill and also the name. It was now more than two decades that he was the professional drummer and most sought after arti...

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“DOWN BEAT” by Andrew Grell

Submitted to Contest #73

DOWN BEAT By Andrew Grell “Tell me again why my baby shower is at Don’t Tell Momma,” a very pregnant—37 and a half weeks— Lisa Carpenter ordered her husband, Clave. “I was looking forward to having it in the gazebo at my grandparents place. But. You know. Sadly.” Clave wiped away a tear from his beloved’s eye, shed because of the plague death of Grandma Rose, her favorite relative. “Most of the other places are shut down. Ya know, I don’t think I’ve ever been here in the daytime. Momma has enough room to be so...

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“Party of Icons” by Keith B.

Submitted to Contest #73

“Is Leslie in there?” “No, she said she’s running late.” “Not surprise.” “You want to go in now?” “Not really. There’s plenty of cars here.” “Yeah, but how many are here for our party?” Alonzo questions. “True. I don’t understand why they decided to use a hotel. Club would’ve been better.” “Yeah, but that was Mr. Rose decision.” “You called it our party.” “What’s that?” Tony looks at Alonzo in the passenger’s seat and repeats, “Seconds ago you said it’s our party.” “It is, right?” Tony looks down and smirks. “Mr. Rose has invited every ban...

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“I'm Just a High School Student” by David Dicaire

Submitted to Contest #73

I’m Just a High School Student Patty Johnson was incredibly nervous. She twirled a drum stick as she walked down the sidewalk. There was a spare one in the back left pocket. “I can do this. I can really do this.” A woman pushing a stroller looked at her funny and Patty just kept walking. The big house on the corner was where all the musicians hung out. Most of them were college students working on their music degrees. Every weekend and sometimes during the week, there was a major jam. There were guitarists a...

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“A Mark Made” by Brianna A.

Submitted to Contest #73

“You don’t understand!” Prince Leo, third son and fifth child of King Arlon and Queen Ellia, fumed. Hands clenched at his side, he shot the tall man standing beside him a withering glare, the type royals had mastered centuries ago as they looked down on those of a lower social status. “I have to get this right!” he continued, beginning to pace frantically, his tennis shoes scuffing the chalk-drawn starting line. “I’m destined for this life!” Standing at the starting line, staring down the long dirt path that had been cleared for th...

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“Troubled Soul” by Gudy Remo

Submitted to Contest #73

The Beginning: His things were packed and he was ready to see the world. Justin Smith got his passport, airline ticket and the money to spend. Within few hours, he'll be at the airport and would soon board the plane that would send him to Hawaii. For more than 2 years, Justin waited for this moment, to prepare his journey and finally he was ready. Why was he leaving New York City for now? Well, it's the sea. This time, Justin would dance with the waves with no choreography but complete freedom. The sound of the waves on...

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$50

Prize money

498

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 25, 2020 EST

Won by Shawn Forno 🏆

Title: Burt Brain

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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