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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#79: The Family You Choose

They say blood is thicker than water — but is it always?

The truth is that not all families offer healthy relationships to each other, and sometimes the harsh act of cutting them out of your life may be the best course of action. Fortunately, we can still meet people who love us no matter what and become our new families. Not to mention adoptions, blended families, and all the wonderful ways people connect with and support each other, regardless of whether they share any DNA. It's fair to say that family is a lot more than blood!

This week, we’re going to turn family life upside down and examine all the ways that family succeeds — and fails — for our characters.

This week's prompts

Write about someone who decides it’s time to cut ties with a family member.

Sad – 260 stories

Your main character is approached by their long-estranged parent who wants to reconnect. How do they react?

Dramatic – 193 stories

Write about someone who discovers the only family member they have left has just betrayed them.

Sad – 160 stories

Write about two characters who’ve gone through something so intense they now feel like family.

Adults – 190 stories

Write about a “found family” who are finally able to get together again after a long time apart.

Fluff – 100 stories

Stories

“Dear Lee. ” by Jo S.

Submitted to Contest #79

Dear Lee. There are things I never said to you that I hope you know. When we hugged and said goodbye, I looked into your eyes for the last time. They are the same as they were when you were born. Darting and naïve, but confident. With a look, I told you everything I ever wanted to say to you. You nodded. Did you understand me? I'll never know. When you were born, the nurses gave you to me and looked at each other with a smug, knowing smile. One of them winked at me before she left the room. I think her name tag said 'Amanda'. Later,...

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“Walking away” by Abigail Green

Submitted to Contest #79

+ The room was black. I extended a hand for the switch, but the light didn’t come on. Tears poured down my eyes and the fear formed into panic when I realized I wasn’t in my bedroom . I stood only to fall back down. My breath got shorter and shorter while I curled into a ball in the corner. Taking in the surroundings in series of quick glances, I seemed to be in every teenage girl's dream room. There was a bed with white covers full of pillows and a light pink throw, white led lights and greenery climbed up the walls. On the far end of the r...

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“Drip.....Drip.....Snip” by Ms. Smith

Submitted to Contest #79

Phone is ringing…. Chasity fumbles around in the dark for the phone wanting to avoid turning on the lamp. She sucks her teeth as it rings for the fourth time before she slams her left hand on it and pick it up. “Hello” Chasity says in a sleepy voice as she looks at the alarm clock that reads 3:30.M. “This better be important because you have interrupted my dream!” “D-don’t hang up” says a man in a low voice into the phone. “C. Puff is that you?” Chasity reached over to the ot...

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“SECRETS” by Aletta Julia Smith

Submitted to Contest #79

Carla is on her way to the front door but stops when Julia speaks to her. ‘Where are you off to, Carla?’ ‘I’m going to the shops to buy everything I need to start my scrapbook.’ Julia raises her eyebrows and says, ‘You should be studying. Now is not the time to start scrapbooking.’ ‘I didn’t ask for your opinion or advice and I certainly don’t need your permission.’ ‘My word, you are defensive.’ ‘No one can blame me since you are forever questioning me.’ Julia rolls her eyes and says, ‘And I suppose Mommy will foot the bill as u...

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“The wedding” by Arynn Diaz

Submitted to Contest #79

The guests were gathered outside the huts, the birds chirping happily and the air filled with merriment. It was as if I was experiencing an out of body adventure. I could feel everything happening around me, the ululations, the jovial laughter the dancing and the merriment. I’d watched a lot of movies where the hero who had died would watch as people fussed and cried over their bloodied body. I could see how they where there, but also not there. I felt exactly the same way. Everyone seemed to be jovial while my world was...

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“BETRAYED” by Uchenna MIcheal

Submitted to Contest #79

I looked at the bib I'm holding and a tear dropped from my eyes. A wave of agony swept through my body and I felt my heart breaking all over again. She was so soft, so tiny and so innocent. She was beautiful and she was mine but they.... My thoughts were interrupted by the door being closed softly behind me. I smoothed over the bib and placed it gently in the suitcase. It was the only reminder I have of her, my daughter. "Are you still leaving?" My mother asked me softly. I nodded. "But..." "Don't say anything. Just don't. You have sai...

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“Emptied Heart” by Mia Mathew

Submitted to Contest #79

The open auditorium was filled with a fully seated audience captivated by the sound flowing from the raised platform. It was from a melody being produced from the melancholy dance of the bow and string held by a pair of skilled diligent hands. Once the performance was over, a pause hung in the air, waiting for the last note to float and dissolve, where a loud rumble of clap and cheers followed. While her deeply immersed shut eyes opened, Marie smiled at the cheering crowd and wiped the bead of sweat on her neck, waving her hands in a fanning...

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“Forgiving the Outline of a Man” by Daniel Brown

Submitted to Contest #79

The sun-soaked evergreen of Dora Park darkens in the presence of this mold of bearded flesh in nicotine cologne, cross-body bag, unkempt business casual clothes, wan smile. Yellowed teeth and four-dollar cigarette breath greet me before anything else. Claims he's my father. I scoff toward the trees as a group of scattered wise oaks bend over to hear us. My dad is an outline of a man, I deadpan. A silhouette of boozy nights and casual trysts with countless women. His lanky chest caves, glassy eyes the color of rain clouds sink into thei...

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“Patterns In The Rain” by Douglas Baker

Submitted to Contest #79

“Strangely, the sea doesn’t get tedious to look at. Wave tracks converge and criss-cross in patterns that have never happened before and will never happen again.” Sebastian Junger, The Perfect Storm. The March rain has all but stopped, and my wipers intermittently push water across the windshield. A rainy night on a busy road, cars sometimes toss up sheets of water that sparkle beneath the streetlights I pull into the Applebee’s parking lot, pass the bright red, orange, and green neon sign and, because the dinner crowd h...

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“Mother” by Tracey Carvill

Submitted to Contest #79

I was nine years old when I lost my mother. It was the 70s, and we lived in a big industrial town. Jobs were hard to come by, and my father had been out of the picture since before I was born. Mum worked odd jobs where she could to make ends meet. Sometimes she had to leave me on my own at the weekends once I was old enough to look after myself. I didn’t mind too much – I became quite self-sufficient early on, out of necessity more than anything – but I loved Mum fiercely, and always looked forward to her coming home again. Our evenings to...

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“Casey the Crook” by Amanda Kelly

Submitted to Contest #79

Casey knocked on my door around 10:30. I never ever expected my fleeting mother to come to my doorstep with a smile nonetheless. I was in bed with my wife, Marisa. We were watching “Bones”, my favorite TV show. It always made me happy when the bad guy was finally caught. Then, a brisk knock on the door reverberated in my ears. I turned to Marisa. “Are we...expecting someone?” I asked. She shook her head, a...

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“The Letter” by Linda Brodsky

Submitted to Contest #79

“I got a letter from my mother today, an actual letter that came in an envelope with a stamp. The mailman left in my box with the gas bill and a sale paper from Stop N Go.” “Did you open the letter and read it?” “Not yet.” “Why not?” “I knew I was going to see you today and I thought reading the letter would be hard. I thought…that is, I was wondering if…I mean…” “Would you like to open the letter and read it now, while you’re here with me?” “I gu...

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“The Gift” by David Francis

Submitted to Contest #79

Dark pendulous clouds, pregnant with impending rain, further blackened the sky above me, obscuring the star filled sky. Chill air whipping past me, icy fingers clawing their way through the old cracked leather of my jacket.Not for the first time I found myself wondering what the hell I was doing riding down the A30 in the middle of the night heading towards Land's End. The ancient vee-twin heart of the beast I was astride purred beneath me, testament to the years of care my dad had lavished upon it, a motorcycle of unrevealed and mysterious ...

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“Unknown Number” by Sage Henry

Submitted to Contest #79

Unknown Number October 28, 2018 12:36pm Unknown Number: Happy Birthday, Danny! I can’t believe you’re 18 already! How did you grow up so fast? Let Your old man know how you’re doing every Now and then why dont ya? November 15, 2018 15:17pm Unknown Number Hey Buddy, I haven’t heard from you in a while. Hope you had a good birthday. Call me when you Get this-really need to talk to you. . . December 2, 2018 20:56pm Unknown Number Still giving me the silent treatment? It’s been ages. You’re an adult now, you need to l...

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“Divided” by VinceiyVenus Claridad

Submitted to Contest #79

Divided My life was going smooth. IT was a life of insouciance, nothing to perturb that harmony. That was, days ago. I’m the strong and intrepid man God shaped me. I’m fully grown. But right now, I am struck by an awful realization that I’m not intrepid- at all. I’m too yellow-bellied to face my past, I’m too feeble to live with it. With God, nothing’s impossible, in His own time. I’ll learn to live with it. Maybe now’s the perfect time to learn to accept the past, and stop shooing it away and use it as a stepping stone for a future with God...

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$50

Prize money

905

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 05, 2021 EST

Won by Reha A 🏆

Title: Puzzle Pieces

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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