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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

“The Lies We Tell” by Anna Mosqueda

Submitted to Contest #79

He lifts the weathered ladder-back chair, holding it aloft shakily as he makes his slow way across the road to the bridge. I follow behind him cautiously, ready to catch him if he falls. Once we make it we sit on the edge of the bridge, our bare legs swinging over the dark water. I know this will be one of the last times I spend with Archie. I can just see it in the way he walks, talks, and even breathes. It pains me to sit across from him at the dinner table, to watch his pale hands shakily bring his fork to his mouth. Tears spring to my ey...

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“New England Months & Years” by Calvin Spears

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #79

13 For exactly the opposite of what I thought I would be lying across cream carpet with––carpet thick enough to bury toes in––I looked to her. Smells resembled the inactivity of rubber storage containers and Christmas decorations wrapped in trash bags. Smells of patchouli candles that Mom burned only around the holidays in an effort to remember her 1950s childhood, smells of the comforter’s fabric softener, smells of perfume tray that had been gifted from some great-aunt, lying as a carcass on the furniture with blac...

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“Tinkerers” by David G.

Submitted to Contest #79

I talked to my Paw today. He was in an old General Electric refrigerator at the bottom of the abandoned quarry. It was just about perfect – the refrigerator. Not too banged up. Good quality rolled steel and aluminum door and frame. It was exactly what I needed to contain the signal. I’m lucky to have found it, especially this long after the Great Reset.The quarry is just a couple miles up the road. The forest has grown around it, the quarry, and the service trail is mostly gone, cover'd in weeds and mulberry trees and the like. You gotta' kn...

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“Silver Linings” by Kylie Wallis

Submitted to Contest #79

The day Raven Mackenzie graduated, she spotted a familiar face in the crowd. She had not seen her father Travis, since she was about ten. He and her mother Carly got divorced a few years before that. Raven once spent every weekend with him, but there just wasn't the same kind of closeness they used to share. In the end, the two of them lost contact with each other. She didn't even know where he was anymore.Carly eventually met someone new. He and Raven got along really well. Noah had a daughter of his own, who wasn't living with him. Alyssa ...

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“Find and Seek” by Kathleen March

Submitted to Contest #79

I am unhappy, but I know I must find a way to pull myself out of this vortex that is trying to pull me beneath its surface, trying to help me forget this longing for those I care about the most. Yes, I am fully aware that this sounds like a Harlequin Romance or maybe a psycho thriller, and nothing could be further from the way I usually react to difficult moments.This time my reaction is different. The dark is real and deep. I am determined to survive and will find a way to scrabble back to the top. No, I am not going to use sappy, roma...

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“It's Not About the Bread” by Kate Le Roux

Submitted to Contest #79

Shandar woke to the sound of Turi yelling. He lay still for a moment, his eyes closed, listening to the loud clanging and thumping that he guessed was the sound of his friend throwing things around the campsite in a temper. “Stupid … blasted … pot!” he heard, as he sat up stiffly inside the tent. “Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why can't I remember?” He crawled out of the warm cocoon of his blanket, lifting the flap to see Turi kicking a tree with all his might, his stumpy boots on the ends of his short legs pummeling the trunk so hard that he was...

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“Little Robin” by Arwen Dove

Submitted to Contest #79

The sun shone brilliantly through the thread-bare branches of the swaying trees. Robins chirped at a rapid pace, trying to keep in tune with the immensence song of the Swallows. It was a constant battle. Robins had been at war with Swallows since time began. Finally a little Robin, who had been standing his distance for a while, sang out. For a moment all that could be heard was silence, then the outranges racket of the applauding Robins.All Swallows were now cowering under the friendly stare of the singing star.No b...

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“Rescue Mission (Origins, Part 4)” by Kate Ulrich

Submitted to Contest #79

(Part of a series; for better understanding, I recommend reading the other ones first) “Stop freaking out,” Ali says, peering out the front window. “Easy for you to say,” I mutter. “It’s not, actually. At least you can defend yourself with more than Brandon’s baseball bat.” Alex’s phone call echoes in my head. I’m in trouble, she’d told me. But I managed to communicate with a friend. He’ll be there soon. Okay? Her voice wobbled on the next sentence. Don’t worry about me. That really just cemented my worry. Alex, our caretaker, our ...

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“Mother” by Laura B

Submitted to Contest #79

Don't try to please me; there is nothing you can do that will be good enough. Buy me groceries and fail to get the things I enjoy most. Take me to town to get my own groceries and refuse to pay for them. I’ll ask for advice and you’ll offer your best words, but when things go wrong it can’t possibly be my fault. Visit me more! I'll tell you how much I look forward to your visits and then I'll count the moments until you leave. I'll tell you how proud I am of you and when your brother calls, he'll know in how many ways you failed me. Recomm...

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“It All Started With A Call” by Mazie Gray

Submitted to Contest #79

Author’s Note: I like this plotline, but I’m not sure if it has enough action or not. Let me know in a comment, please. Also, this is my second story. So, go me, I guess. :D Anyways, I hope that you all enjoy it! “Mom!” Asher, my son, calls. “I’m busy!” I yelled back. “Dad!” I smirk, pleased with myself. My kids have learned that when I say that I’m busy, I’m genuinely busy with my drawing. You see, I am a freelance animator. It’s an exciting job, and I get to work from home. My kids like to “help”, but we all know how that goes. So, I hav...

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“The Letter” by Nyla N

Submitted to Contest #79

Disclaimer: This story is inspired by real-life experiences.I feel my jaw crack, pain beyond belief, blood rushing to the surface of my skin; collapsing to the ground, hands throbbing with pain as they catch my fall, tarmac pebbles embedding themselves in me, scratches covering my knees and elbows. “Justice, Justice, Justice” Chanting reverberates between my eardrums, I start to blackout, losing all senses. I remember why I’m here and know that if I could go back, the only thing I would change, is opening that letter sooner…2 months ago...

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“Broken and Healed” by Xiao McdonaldsWorker

Submitted to Contest #79

Chapter 1 “Keefe Sencen!” I heard my dad shout. He waved my sketches in my face. “What's this? I thought I told you to study and not draw useless things!” He angrily said. “Sorry but Fos-I mean Sophie told me that I should do what I like in my life!” I said. My dad tore my drawings and threw it in the trash. “Study.” He growled. I clenched my fist. Horrid family I thought. I dug out a piece of paper in the trash and smoothened it. Foster had requested to draw her. I leaped in front of Havenfield and knocked. “Hello-oh! Hey Keefe.” Edaline le...

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“Are You There?” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #79

“Norman, are you in there?” ‘Oh for a moment of privacy. But no…’ The shards of a dream slipped through my fingers. “Of course Mother. Do you see me?” “No.” “Is the door shut?” “Yes…” “If it were open you’d be in here with me.” “Yes…” ‘How many times have we read this script?’ I thought as I sat on the edge of the tub. ‘Is there no other way?’ “I’ll be a moment…” “Yes.” I flushed the toilet so she wouldn’t pester me about what took so long. ‘The dream… I almost had it…’ Through the door, she said, “No.” “No what, M...

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“Divinities of Euphoria” by Lexy A.P.

Submitted to Contest #79

The sun was slowly advancing above the horizon as they sat on the dock. As her feet grazed the chilled water, ripples vibrated across the tarn. He grabbed her hand and weaved it throughout his. Her head rests on his shoulder as the wind blows them closer. “The clouds ruin every sunrise,” Audrey whispered. “Never a dull moment with you,” said Gavin. “I feel like everything is wrong. Like something is out of the ordinary. I can feel it. My father never really shared any problems, important or simple. I don’t want to do that.” “It wil...

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“In the Belly of the Mountain” by Tim Law

Submitted to Contest #79

Once long ago there lived two young boys. They grew up in the mountains to the north, their village surrounded by goblin tribes. All the young men in the village trained to be great warriors, some of the young women as well. As these two boys grew up they showed great prowess in the arts of strength, wrestling, fighting with sword and shooting with bow. The one known as Hawk was best at shooting while the one named Stone was best with sword. They both loved a girl named Flame who was their age, so skillful was she that both boys had been bea...

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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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