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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

“Puzzle Pieces” by Donna Chisum

Submitted to Contest #79

PUZZLE PIECES Imagine living most of your life not knowing where your siblings were or what happened to them, living with a tiny hole in your heart and sadness you could never quite shake. Imagine the grief you never had words to explain, coming from a loss you never understood. I feel like it’s in vogue these days to say someone’s story is “theirs to tell,” but I believe that if their story intersects with my story on any level, it’s also my story to tell. Not that I would reveal their secrets or use their stories as weapon...

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“Bonds that Never Cease to Exist” by Reamae Jorolan

Submitted to Contest #79

On the day of September 12, 1994 when Rico, Randy’s brother, went missing without any trace. Their whole family was devastated when they learned that Rico went lost. They searched him everywhere but they didn’t found him. Their mother and father didn’t miss a day to find him but then again they failed. They asked every possible person who can take him in but still they didn’t get any clue where to find him. Randy who knew why his brother fled didn’t utter any words in their parents. Randy can’t blame Rico for his decisions because their par...

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“Joanne” by Colleen Caruso

Submitted to Contest #79

The blistering heat created subtle waves across the fields for as far as I could see. As I waited in the beating sun, I saw Little Orphan Annie dancing across the waves, Sandy in tow. Instead of the dog, I had a worn, brown suitcase at my side, containing whatever would fit from my room at Miss Eleanor’s House for Girls. I was standing at the bus stop a mile and a half down the road, which was more or less a weathered sign on a pole that the driver of the 152 knew to slow down for when they saw a person standing idle. The f...

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“Oh, Brother!” by Jessica Morgan

Submitted to Contest #79

My phone buzzed. A text message from my brother. Hmm. That’s odd. We really don’t talk much unless it’s something really REALLY important. I have some news. Call me when you can. Blah. It’s really REALLY important. I replied. K. I’m at work and I still have a few more clients to see. Then I’ll call you. As if this year hasn’t been hard enough! I don’t know how much more I can possibly take. I finished up with my last client and escorted her out the door, my stomach churning and my mind racing at the t...

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“HAPPY PLACE” by Dolapo Omoleme

Submitted to Contest #79

The ache that had clawed its way up from his legs to his waist started to reach for his shoulders as the ocean of repurposed cartons came into view. He tightened his grip on the nylon bag and picked up the pace as his final destination came into view, and so did the others in his group. He remembered it like it had happened the previous day. He remembered the long days they spent planning the trip. He remembered the skepticism he and the group shared about the prospects of the trip being successful. He remembered his worries about the effe...

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“Found Family” by Terri Ragsdale

Submitted to Contest #79

Found Family My beloved sister My sister, Mary Venus, and I were born in a small jungle village in Tampico-Alto Veracruz, Mexico. In 1941, World War II broke out. My father, a doctor with his small clinic, was doing humanitarian work medically helping ...

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“RE-UNITED AGAIN” by Charlotte Geldenhuys

Submitted to Contest #79

I was 12 years of age and it was the year 1982. She was eight years of age. I grew up in Goodwood and she grew up in Lansdowne. I have a younger brother. Sally has an older sister and two older brothers. Cousins growing up in different suburbs in the Western Cape, South Africa. We used to get together at our grandparents’ house over the very special times of the year, particularly over Easter and Christmas. We were a large family. My grandparents had a son and four daughters. The son had four children. The oldest ...

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“She-Who-Brought-Fire” by Julia Corliss

Submitted to Contest #79

Tabby lifted her head as the dawn light rose above the horizon. She couldn’t hear any sounds except those of morning birds and frogs, so she knew some sort of water source was nearby. She could distinctly smell the smokey remains of fire drifting in the air and wondered what had burned. She couldn’t remember what had happened. It was as if she was coming anew into the world. She felt her body and realized that her body was sound. Nothing broken, and that was a good thing to know. Thirst was driving her to rise and seek water, so she pushed h...

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“ONLY CLEMENTINA IS MISSING” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #79

ONLY CLEMENTINA IS MISSING The light of the evening enters the room through the wide window, like a gray veil which spreads over everything. Yet a short time has passed since from the same window she could see the burning sky of the sunset. Anne is sitting near the window, as if she wanted to be enveloped by the evening which is falling, by the light more and more gray, increasingly darkening , and as she wanted be wrapped by the play of the shadows , which slip on the walls of the room, on the pieces of the furnit...

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“Cheers” by Elizabeth Durusau

Submitted to Contest #79

"Liz, I've been trying to get a hold of you," said Todd on the other end of my phone. "What's up?" I said. I was distracted. I didn't know why he called. I was dealing with a project that was stressing me out. "Josh is dead." I dropped the pen in my hand. "What?" "I'm so sorry darlin'. He's gone." I closed my eyes. No. Please no. "Do I even need to ask what happened?" I didn't. I knew I didn't. But I knew I should ask. "I'm not sure exactly what happened, but I'm sure I'm thinking the same thing as you." Last time I saw Josh h...

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“Who Do You Believe?” by Kayla Roberts

Submitted to Contest #79

Who do you believe? Who do you believe when both parties, who are supposed to love you and take care of you, are telling completely opposite stories? Who do you believe when both sides say the other is the devil? Who do you believe when they’ve both lied to you before, you’re just not sure how much? Who do you believe when your father has been in and out of your life, but he says it’s because of your mother? Who do you believe when your mother says that he’s lying, and she has never tried to keep the two o...

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“One Word” by Michael Amadon

Submitted to Contest #79

Story features heavy implications of past abuse. Oftentimes, good advice is easier said than done. You know that you should rinse your dishes after you’re done with them, but sometimes it’s far more convenient to leave them in the sink to “soak.” You’re more than aware that it’s already eight in the morning and that if you want to have a productive day, you really should get up, but those five more minutes of sleep are practically begging you to let your head fall back down into your soft, comfortable pillow. Things like that, though, are ...

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“Patrick” by Jon Wisdom

Submitted to Contest #79

I didn’t think it would happen like this. Me, just sitting here, staring at her laying in the bed. The fluorescent lights of the hospital room making my eyes twitch after three days of just... sitting here. I was hesitant to come in the first place. I didn’t understand why Lexi, my oldest sister didn’t come; she was clearly mom’s favorite, not that that really meant a whole lot. I have no idea what this woman did to Luke. He always seemed to be mom’s pride and joy but he too was nowhere to be found. I couldn’t have expected Brian to come,...

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“Brothers” by Kieran Fletcher

Submitted to Contest #79

Sean woke early, it was Saturday morning and there was no college today, freedom in the form of escape and Sean loved that. No conforming to classroom standards and etiquette. The day was his to spend with his brother indulging their joint love of the outdoors. He hoped the weather would be nice and the birds singing outside indicated it very well could be. Sean got out of bed and checked the weather on his phone, the weather gods had come to the party it was clear, sunny, and warm all day. He gave a silent thanks to whoever or whatever cons...

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“Home Truth” by Marija Brincat

Submitted to Contest #79

Through the murky glass of the kitchen door, I watch Alice pottering about. God, she so reminds me of my mam. Her appearance, her long, dark hair. Her way of listening, really listening. Her smile is just like my mam’s, I swear. The same crinkling round her eyes, the same kindness. I miss my mam, even though it’s been years now. The way Alice reminds me of her, it makes me miss her more. Alice pushes open the kitchen door with her foot, and comes out carrying glasses and plates. Tucked between the plates and her chest, are two ...

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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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