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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#80: Living History

It's an important truth that those who don’t study history are doomed to repeat it. Unfortunately, sometimes we find ourselves living through historical moments whether we’ve prepared for them or not.

This week, we’re going to examine all the ways that people live through — and shape — history. Whether that’s an important activist organizer, a daring political leader, or just someone trying to educate people on the past so they can avoid previous mistakes, history is made up the actions of each and every one of us. How will your characters change the course of their world?

This week's prompts

Write about someone who never planned to make history but is now about to deliver a speech in front of millions.

Teens – 104 stories

Write about a child witnessing a major historical event.

Dramatic – 236 stories

Start your story with someone entering a museum, and end it with them settling down to join a sit-in.

High School – 41 stories

Write about an elderly character who was part of a historic movement years ago.

Historical Fiction – 134 stories

Start your story with a major news event breaking — one that will change the world forever.

Dystopian – 156 stories

Stories

“THE SAVIOUR ” by Hanifah Kaka

Submitted to Contest #80

Ruth and Naomi were twin sisters living in Cross river state in the south eastern part of Nigeria. They had parents, but had a long time been separated from them, because of a practice which arose from a mere superstition which if hadn't existed, a lot of children would still be alive.It all began long ago. Their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Obi had been married for more than five years and never got to conceive. They sought several doctors, priests and herbalists but all were in vain. After so much praying and fasting, they managed to conceiv...

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“I Can't Escape” by 【ↇ𝔸𝕂𝕆⇝𝔹𝔼𝔸ℝ 】

Submitted to Contest #80

All of us soldiers were packed into a van, like cows in a pen. I saw the battlefield, with falling and fallen soldiers, with blood and rain carpeting the once-green field. Bullets were flying everywhere as the sound of firing and explosions rang through the battlefield. The soldiers in the front line dropped dead one after another like trees being uprooted in a massive tornado. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The smell of blood and gunpowder was fresh in the air. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn't think. My mind was in o...

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“Once upon a time, everything changed (pt.13 of Mutants versus Witches)” by Moon Lion

Submitted to Contest #80

"Good afternoon. Today I come before you to discuss the realities of the newest threat faced by this country." Philia looked up when her mother sucked in a terrified breath, clutching her hand. It bothered her, mommy took her happy medicine, but she was still sad. "Mommy, what's going on?" Philia asked, clutching at her coat. She was thirsty and bored and hungry, and she wanted to go home. Her mother stared at her in a blind panic, almost seeming to forget who the eight-year-old before her was until her vision focused. "That man is the...

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“No time like the future” by Jace A. King👑

Submitted to Contest #80

On March 3rd, 2021 the nationwide alert was heard on every T.V. screen, Radio, Phone, Tablet, Streaming service. Every electronic in the country was showing the same thing. “Disturbance, Covid-19 now known as the Zombie virus, is catching faster and faster. The world is under a complete shutdown, no human is allowed in or out of the house. I repeat Disturbance…”I turn to my brother quickly, the fear present on his face scares me more than the message itself.“What do we do?” I ask him quietly, I don’t want him to hear the fear in my voice.“Wh...

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“My Torment in the Tower” by W.W. Skybelle (Inactive)

Submitted to Contest #80

September 11th, 2001Two World Trade Center (the South Tower)New York City, New YorkI pressed my hands to the glass and gazed at the streets and people below. They seemed so tiny and insignificant. I stared at dad in amazement. ”This place is incredible! I can’t believe you work here! I can’t imagine coming here every day.”Dad smiled.“I’m glad you like this place. I knew you would.”I grinned. “Can you show me around?”Dad frowned. That was so much like him. Switching back and forth between facial expressions as easily as a person wou...

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“A Shot in the Dark ” by Nainika Gupta

Submitted to Contest #80

My friends are all gone.Naomi and Leah Baugh.The Nazis took them.And they never came back.One day we were playing marbles on the street with the other kids.The next their apartment was empty.Nobody was inside, I checked.Except for a scrap of lace on Naomi’s bed.Mama gets a scared look on her face when I mention my friends.Papa turns pale.And then they feed me some lebkuchen and put me to bed.They stay up for hours later, though, whispering to themselves.The neighbors down the hall are gone, too.They were nice to me.Mrs. Akkerman once gave me...

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“The First Sit-In” by W.W. Skybelle (Inactive)

Submitted to Contest #80

February 1st, 2019 “The New York Museum of American History.” I read the sign on the door as I walked in. The sign really was beautiful. Bold, green letters, like the sign was letting you know that this was the best museum ever, and you should never doubt it. Swirls of red, white, and blue bits of color that seemed to be splattered on the sign randomly. And that’s what made it pretty. It was splattered in the sense of a chaotic mess, but it was free and lively. Not like other museums, which was neat and perf...

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“The Lucky Ones” by Writer Maniac

Submitted to Contest #80

Mom’s hands are shaking as she dials Dad’s number. On receiving no reply, the phone slips from her hand and falls on the ground, a large crack slowly appearing on the screen. I try to see through the window that she has been deliberately covering with her body, but she blocks my view again, whatever happening outside clearly not for my eyes. That doesn’t stop me from being curious though. A loud boom shakes the floor, and I hold on to the wall as the quaking slowly subsides. Maybe it is an earthquake. That would explain the pan...

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“7 Years (ft. Luna Colon)” by User_2443 0967

Submitted to Contest #80

I did a collaboration with Luna Colon, so shout out to her! She wrote Liv's POV, and I wrote Zuri's POV. Kudos to Luna! ~LIV CAVALIER~ I glanced up from my science notes as my mom turned on the tv. The newsman comes on and starts talking about the daily announcements. I go back into my notes and don't start listening again until I hear a name that I hadn't heard in so many years. “Zuri Rivera, a coma patient of seven years, has finally woken up. Missed by her family and friends, she is now in the long and tedious stage of recover...

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“Long Live the Queen” by Writer Maniac

Submitted to Contest #80

I straighten the pastel pink skirt and blazer with shaking hands. Pacing from one end to the other, I mutter words underneath my breath, each try different from the other. The cards in my hand don’t help, as they just have a few words on them. I need to show the world that I’m different. I must not be another person who can read. I need to be someone who has a stage presence, whose every word is echoing in the audience’s ears long after the speech is done. I need to leave my mark. I wish I were trained for this kind of thing, the k...

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“The Enemy*” by . .

Submitted to Contest #80

TW: war, violence, PTSD “Run, Percy! They’re coming!” The sound of gunshots infects the air, poisoning my ears. I can feel the gas seep in through the barracks, setting my lungs aflame. There is no mercy, no prisoners. Only pain and death. Tossing my rifle over my shoulder with a grunt, I make for the next camp. You didn’t need to be in the crossfire to know what was going on outside. The Nazis had come, and they would kill us all. Running across the dense camp, pushing through screaming sergeants and fellow privates, I s...

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“The Secret ” by Asha Pillay

Submitted to Contest #80

Mary was going down the memory lane, looking at old pictures of herself when she worked as a maid, they were all black and white, nearly seventy years old and had turned yellow with age.She had turned eighty seven this month, her eyesight was good for her age and her memory still sharp.She lived alone in a small house in a dusty town near Bavaria in Germany. She was the only member of her family alive as her parents and siblings had all gone from this world ...

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“The Agony of Licinia” by . .

Submitted to Contest #80

Limestone. God, I hate limestone. The dreadful color it reflects across the street and downtown from the museum steps is enough to make you despise it forever. In fact, not even pretty-princess pink defiles my neurons as much as the color of aged limestone. That day, when my class was on a field trip at the Met, I barfed inwardly, feeling no shame in my disgust.Mr. Mercurio, his long rimmed mustache curling in the fuzzy museum light, kept asking us to come check out the ancient Rome section. Not that we hadn’t learned about it already; we’d ...

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“Let's Act Now” by ✯𝐋𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫✯

Submitted to Contest #80

Hello all! I want to thank all of you for being the best audience you can ever be. I honestly never imagined giving my story in front of so many people! I would like to start from the very beginning of my life. My name is Johanna Mary Katherine. Many people like to call Joe, Mary, or J.K. (pun intended). As a child, say about six or seven, I have always been fascinated by Earth. About evolution of the biosphere. How humans came about, how Earth formed, how animals evolved, the process of plants, photosynthesis, everything. I...

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“Onstage” by Amiable Sorceress

Submitted to Contest #80

“And if the sun were so bold as to lay down his arms and be cradled in her own, together they would cycle forever but never touch.”-Four-Part Moon CyclesShe was the one who made photocopies of flyers and carried rainbow-striped umbrellas. She played trumpet in the streets and flew like a phoenix darting over the shadows. She would toss pennies into fountains and dance in the rain. I was the one who stood back and painted on printer paper, the watercolor running arcs across the shadows. We must’ve watched it at least twenty times, restin...

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Ended on 23:59 - Feb 12, 2021 EST

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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.

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