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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

“"Happy Family"” by Chiagozie Okoye

Submitted to Contest #79

I was awake long before I opened my eyes. I lay on my back, my head resting on a plush pillow and facing a window, the sunlight red against my eyelids. There was some warmth from the burning orb on my dark face. There should have been an overwhelming sensation of pain, but I felt nothing. My movements were restricted. I listened intently to my surroundings. The beeping of medical machinery was audible. There were hushed voices outside of my room. Finally, realizing there was nothing to fear, I opened my eyes. A mistake. Seated in fr...

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“Why Now?” by Toni-Jovanka Glenn

Submitted to Contest #79

The chime of my phone stirred me from sleep. I narrowed my eyes, trying to dilute daylight as I scanned the room. I recalled my night before…and the guy. He was gone. My sleep haze lifted, my heavy lids gained vigour. With a wide grin, I plucked my phone off the night table. “Hey,” the text read? Hey? It wasn’t a “hey” kind of night. It was an “I hope you slept well and I want to see you again,” kind of night. At least, it was for me. I think. I read the three letters over and over trying to decipher the meaning concealed by those three lett...

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“Nothing Like Family” by Michael Sadler

Submitted to Contest #79

I know they say there’s nothing like Family, but anyone who says that clearly has never met my Father. He hadn’t spoken to me nor my brother in years. I’d like nothing more than to just pretend that he didn’t exist. Unfortunately, in life we rarely get what we want. I guess it would only be fair if I started a little earlier. It was about two weeks ago when I had to pick up my brother on his last day of high school. I was mentally preparing myself because I just couldn’t believe that the time had finally come for my little sprout to finally ...

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“Moving on” by Lisa Greghi

Submitted to Contest #79

"Move, move!" screamed Henry at the top of his lungs, inside the supermarket. With age, he had become bored of people, thinking that everyone looked alike and had no personality. He had not always been rude, but loneliness had condemned him to become the worst version of himself. At sixty-three he was not very old, but loss had drained his motivation to live, he barely survived. Existence for Henry was made of frozen ready-meals, loads of boiled cabbage stench that soaked his clothes, and dust, that he didn’t care to wipe away. His apartment...

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“Peter, Paul, and Mary” by Catty Elder

Submitted to Contest #79

Some days you just want to crawl into bed and shut out the world. Paul longed to walk away from the small ceremony and hide under the covers with his hangover, but no, he was stuck here at least until he’d delivered his stepmother’s eulogy. It was a short speech, with little information about her early years, as Paul had never really been interested in her life before she married his father, Peter. He didn’t know, or care, about Mary’s childhood. She was the woman who swept in and married his dad the year after his mother...

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“A walk in the park. ” by S. Lothcraft

Submitted to Contest #79

He raised his head to the infinite grey above him, as though trying to take in one last breath before he drowned in the well of emotions that was slowly consuming him. When did it go wrong? When did I become so broken? Today felt weird. Feeling devastated from all of the fights and misunderstandings and hostility, Alan grabbed his jacket and left the house in the early morning. It was already clear that everything was falling apart. He felt desperate, and he hurt. Pushing life’s responsibilities aside, he just wanted to get away, eve...

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“Remembering before deciding” by Michelle Odimgbe

Submitted to Contest #79

A year ago, I was made to make the decision that will change my future, that will determine love between hatred. My story started ten years ago. I grew up with parts of my life jumbled up everywhere, from parts of it on the streets to parts in Calfornia to Temple, Texas to Hattiesburg, Mississippi to Danville, Illinois to bad houses to Boston then finally to Kent. I was born with the worst parents in the world, my father abused my mother and they were both drunkards. They would go out dealing, leaving three years old me in a shed. I remember...

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“A Secret Place” by Izzy Bavaro

Submitted to Contest #79

The Charleston family comes from very old money. They have dirtied their hands with destruction of lands and communities over the last hundred—or take a few decades. Jane wanted nothing to do with the family business, in fact she hated the way everyone made her dress, feel, and act. When she was young, she was not allowed to play with the other children her age unless her parents had business with theirs. Jane had a daily schedule that her parents held her to while growing up. Unable to establish connections with the people around her, and a...

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“When She Came Back.” by Ella Rawdon

Submitted to Contest #79

December 22nd I woke up to the usual sounds of the home. Bethany was crying because she wanted her daddy. Michelle was staring out the window again because her mom had promised she would be back on December 20th. All of us, except Michelle, knew she wasn't coming back. I was used to the crying and the anger. My dad was never around, and I never understood why. When I was 5, my mom decided she wasn't mother material. She said she just needed a break and wanted me to stay at the hotel for the night. I soon realized the "hotel" was actuall...

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“The Heart of Avalon” by Emmeline Stirling

Submitted to Contest #79

I can’t thank my Dad enough for raising me in Avalon. It’s one of the greatest places in California, and I’d argue, in America. It’s small, quaint, and everyone knows everyone. Your business is his business is Avalon’s business, and we all breathe as one, and you feel it as soon as you set foot here. You’re not one person in Avalon, you are a piece of here. We are the heart, pumping and working to keep it alive. The people here are one. That’s why I know that on my eighteenth birthday, when I got the letter addressed to me from Joan Young, w...

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“Re-Connecting the Pieces” by Pandora Anderson

Submitted to Contest #79

Ray pulled his glasses from his face and bent over to rub and brush out the wood shavings from the neat groove he made. He blew and brushed at it again. As he was sliding the glasses back into place, his door opened. He held back a sigh, turning to see who it was as he pulled his glasses off. “Raven!” It was his twin sister, Rosa, and she was waving something excitedly in the air. Paper. He was starting to wonder what was on it, then realized that that was why she was in there in the first place. “Raven!” She repeated, her wide grin was infe...

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“The Investment” by Natalie Day

Submitted to Contest #79

Frustration runs through my fingers because my damn key just will not fit in the damn lock. All I want is to tell Isabella all about how Jacob Bennett is the worst person I have ever met but my hands are too fidgety to open a door, apparently. I know she will tell me I’m being dramatic, but I just cannot care right now because this stupid key is supposed to fit and my bag is way too heavy on my shoulder. After what seems like ages but was probably about 20 seconds, I enter the flat and immediately let out a sigh of relief while I lock the do...

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“Do I want to know you?” by Madalyn Youngbauer

Submitted to Contest #79

I think I don't want to go to school today. I don't want to see that look. That look of disbelief. That look of confusion. Then, that look of understanding. That horrifying look. I've seen that look a lot in my life. Every time I go to a new school. Everyday, on the first day, when my teacher asks, "Why did you switch schools?" Such an innocent question. Such a personal answer. I've tried to lie, tried to say "I wanted to take Spanish" or "You have a better sports team" But I've seen so much lying. I don't want to become a liar. So instead...

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“Chosen Destiny ” by Hungara Gamelia

Submitted to Contest #79

Lionel couldn’t remember the last time he had wanted to commit murder this badly. Wait, scratch that, he could. Last week on Tuesday, when Sharon from accounting had watched anime on a sketchy website and given every computer in the office a virus. Before that, it had been when he discovered Wal-Mart was out of his favorite dish soap.But, it hadn’t been this tempting in a long time. There, standing by his car outside Sam’s club, wearing a leather jacket and a sword, was his mom.Oh joy.He considered waiting inside until she left, maybe t...

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“School of Thought” by Troy Lane

Submitted to Contest #79

Mary rushed inside the house, locked the door behind her and shuffled slowly to the kitchen. The kitchen, that’s where it was, waiting for her. She was in no hurry to get there plus she was out of breath. Her brisk walk truly was a workout. Going for a walk was supposed to make one feel better, not so in this case. Entering the kitchen, her eyes fixed on the letter resting on the bench by the sink, it was from her mother. Daring not go any closer she parked herself at the dining table and stared at the envelope. Her name in beautiful cursive...

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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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