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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

“Close encounter of two of a kind” by Charles Arena

Submitted to Contest #79

Close Encounters of Two of a Kind There have been stories on a meeting of east meets west or the convergence of two sides to a political argument with divergent ideas, or comparable situations resulting in some resolution. However, what is often overlook...

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“The Elevator ” by Eric E

Submitted to Contest #79

Nick Maxwell walked into the lobby of his apartment building holding his basketball in one hand and his gym bag in the other. He had his headphones over his ears, and they were so loud that the faint pounding of some kind of hip-hop beat could be heard if you walked past him. He pressed the button for the elevator and felt a little bubble of relief inside of him, in that part of him that was still a scared little kid who had heard all of the stories at night about the guys getting jumped or the fights in the park. The light hadn't turned on ...

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“Time and Friendship” by Dominique Rocha

Submitted to Contest #79

Time and friendship They say that time heals and erases everything. I experienced situations that I thought were very remarkable and today I only have the trace of such memories. Some of these tracks make me doubt the time, others make me grateful. No, time does not erase all wounds. He passes. And sometimes we need it to process the damage. Measure trauma. Although today I am aware of its importance, I have always mocked this old saying. When I was 14, my best friend, Felipe, lost his mother. It was a heavy blow for a 15-year-old boy ...

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“Night on a porch” by Lizi Khelashvili

Submitted to Contest #79

It was cold, chilly evening.No one seemed to be in the street. Nobody except one little girl, the one, who could bear the frosty weather outside. Everybody had preferred to stay home to stay warm. In the darkness, the girl could see just few shadows passing her, the shadows which were in a hurry on their way home. She was walking with accelerated steps on the sidewalk lightened by street lamps. The road had no end. No one knew where she was going, neither did she knew. Somewhere far away, to infinity. She was slowly slowing...

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“Tobacco Road” by Melanie Walker

Submitted to Contest #79

I drive the truck of a dead man. A man I met over twenty years ago. A man that became a second father to me. One that would fish with you by dawn, and tip back the whiskey with you at dusk. That’s where I met him, actually, at Woody’s Tavern down by the swamps. I was twenty-one and barely legal. He had just moved to the area, hearing the fishing was good and he was looking for a low-key place to retire to. Maybe low-key was the soul connection I was needing, what made us fast friends. We sat at the bar that night, him crying in his beer over...

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“Forgiveness” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #79

I had no idea who it could be – someone who doesn’t realise I’m teaching, although I was told they did say it was important. At least I know it’s not about Lily as she’s in this school too. I quickly walked along the corridor passed the Principal’s office and into the foyer – the sight of the grey walls and floral carpet as enticing as ever. My feet wouldn’t move once I had rounded the corner – I tried to step back as if perhaps she would disappear if I did. I don’t know what I wanted to say but no words would come out anyway. The years hadn...

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“Vacation Reunion.” by Trixy Luwana

Submitted to Contest #79

Emily was heading back home from school. She had missed the bus. She wanted to complete her math assignment before she went home. “Emily wait” a voice called from behind.It was Lisa. Lisa was from the neighborhood but she wasn’t that close to Emily. They actually weren’t friends. Did she also miss the bus, she thought. “ Sorry to bother you but my friends actually left me, l thought we could walk home together.” She said. “ No problem “ Emily replied. The two girls kept walking but they never had any conversation. They were just smiling at e...

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“Living Memory” by Oana Tomsa

Submitted to Contest #79

There is a strange man sitting on her front steps. (Well, no – not sitting, exactly, but lounging like an entitled prince of old, dominating the imagery with a sort of studied nonchalance that infuriates her.) It irks her. Now, it must be said that Amelia Lockhart is generally a very well-behaved woman of twenty-something. She throws pleasantries and compliments around like handfuls of confetti, smiles more than she frowns, cedes her seat to grandmothers and sneaks in sweets for her client’s children. For fuck’s sake, she even makes ...

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“Mommy Dearest” by Lisa Wentworth

Submitted to Contest #79

Your main character is approached by their long-estranged parent who wants to reconnect. How do they react? Week 14 Evelyn worked for a major high-end fashion department store. In fact, she worked several jobs, to support her young children as a single mother. She studied fashion design in college, even though she already had the kids, since she had run away to get married to someone so inappropriate it would make your head spin. It certainly did her parents, particularly her mother, but in retrospect Evelyn never would have married this...

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“Not Mine” by Jillian Charlet

Submitted to Contest #79

'Why is she watching me?’ I grab my book bag from the passenger seat and place it in my lap, hugging it to my chest. I take a deep breath and close my eyes. ‘One. Two. Three. Four. Five.’ The stranger in the dark coat blinks, then looks away. The second she looks away, I take that opportunity to jump out of my car and scurry into school. Glancing over my shoulder before I walk in the building, I see that she has pulled her dark coat around her tightly and slipped on some sunglasses. She is no longer watching me, and begins to walk away...

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“Preservation of Innocence” by Cynthia Keeler

Submitted to Contest #79

“I never gave her away,” the old man says to the young man. “My invitation must have been lost in the mail.” “She never belonged to you,” the young man says. “You can’t give away what you don’t own.” The old man rolls his eyes. “You know what I mean. She never even told me she was getting married.” “I don’t know you at all,” says the young man without emotion. “How could I know what you mean?” The old man makes an effort to hide his frustration. This isn’t going the way he pictured it. “That’s right, you don’t know me. Do you...

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“Let Go” by Adnan Malik

Submitted to Contest #79

"Now tell me, how is it made?", Asked Angeli "It's good but could have been better", Replied Anushtha sarcastically. "Com'on don't tease me. I know it's made delicious and you loved it.", Said Angeli Anushtha held hands of Angeli and said, " You have magic in your hands and I loved it. Why don't you open a restaurant after completing your studies." Angeli is a college student and fabulous at cooking. She lives with her mother at her house left by her grand parents for her and her mother. Her mother Rekha, a cashier at a local bank had ...

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“SEPARATED FOREVER” by Nirmala Nababsing

Submitted to Contest #79

Your main character is approached by their long-estranged parent who wants to reconnect. How do they react? Title - Separated forever Danny remembered his childhood. He was five years old. His cousins Mila and Rik were seven and six years old. Their houses were side by side. They enjoyed playing together, climbing trees to pick mangoes, walking down the stream and running in the rain. They shared their secrets and stories candidly. At school, as soon as the headmaster rang the bell in the afternoon, Danny would rush to their meeting po...

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“My father came back” by Lizzon 2111

Submitted to Contest #79

After a while I noticed someone’s gaze on my back. From the corner of my eye, I could see the same old hooded guy I noticed at my previous stop. Was it my imagination? Normally I would have ignored him, but something about him did not strike me as a nervous fan. He felt . . . familiar. At my final stop for the day, I made sure to take a seat outside. The shop had a sleek interior design with a reminiscent sweet aroma. The owner was a nice old lady. Thankfully she did not know me. It made me feel like a normal girl for once. “Here is your...

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“Vanishing Act” by Mental Vagabond

Submitted to Contest #79

The pair occupying the table at the corner, right by the window, could hardly be more contrasting: she, no older than twenty-five, look decidedly down on her luck. He, sitting on the opposite chair, was smartly dressed, and perfectly capable of turning heads even now, at nearly sixty. Anisa had stopped caring for manners some time ago: she shoved chunk after chunk of steak into her mouth like a squirrel preparing for winter. Her father looked on with a warm smile, and kept his peace until she was finished. "How long have you been living ...

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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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