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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#81: Candy Hearts

Ah, love. From the first spark of attraction to the soul-deep contentment of a long-established relationship, romantic love is a force that continues to mystify, enthrall, and surprise us.

And while there’s plenty to criticize about Valentine’s Day, it’s still a nice excuse for people in romantic relationships to stop and appreciate their partners for a day. Especially during lockdown, when quarters are tight and nerves are often frayed, it’s important to remember why we chose the person (or people) we coupled up with.

What better time for a writer to dive headfirst into romances? No matter how many times we tell a love story, each relationship is going to have its own unique joys and frustrations, and we want to feel them all. So feel free to let your sappy side out — this week we’re celebrating love!

This week's prompts

Write about two people reconnecting after a rough patch in their relationship.

Romance – 247 stories

Write a love story about an older couple who’ve been together since they were teenagers.

Romance – 168 stories

Write about a first date that surprises both people, but in different ways.

Romance – 161 stories

Start your story with one character setting up a romantic dinner, and end it with them looking at a framed wedding photo.

Romance – 181 stories

Write about someone asking out an old crush, only to realize their crush doesn’t remember they’ve ever met before.

Romance – 159 stories

Stories

“A suitable Partner ” by Asha Pillay

Submitted to Contest #81

Jim knew from the very beginning that he was different from the other boys of his age.As he grew up he realised he was developing emotional feelings for his boy friends than girls, and was ridiculed many a times,for his peculiar behaviour and his friends had labelled him 'Gay'Once in school the teacher found his behaviour weird and called up his mother to complain about Jim.His mother conveyed the message to his father.Jim had never seen his father in such a state before.H...

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“To build a home” by Jace A. King👑

Submitted to Contest #81

Author's Notes: If you take offense to anything said in this story I apologize in advance Gert’s POV My runt of a man ain’t able to protect us so I had to get us a worthy hunting pet. The grey and yellow beast sat on a boulder late at night, watching over the edge, scanning the area. His bright blue and grey eyes watch over the people below, as they destroy it’s land, it’s home. I loosen my grip on my spear as I watch him closely. His fur blows in the wind softly and his claws stretch out and then back in. His head cocks slightly in my dire...

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“Ryan” by ◦•●◉✿ 𝓑𝓵𝔁𝔁𝓲𝓲 ✿◉●•◦

Submitted to Contest #81

“Rina, when will you ask?” “Uh, ask what, Cynthia?” I asked dreamily. “For Ry-” “Don’t mention his name!” I hissed, getting up from my position with my face on my hands and elbows on the table. I lunged forward and smacked my hand over Cynthia’s mouth. “Mrf?” Cynthia’s voice was muffled as she spoke. “Feffe mo!” I translated that to: What? Lemme go! I slowly allowed my hand to drop to my side, as if I were talking to a giant and dangerous animal. “Why...

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“The Sun and the Moon” by 【ↇ𝔸𝕂𝕆⇝𝔹𝔼𝔸ℝ 】

Submitted to Contest #81

I lay the pink rose bud picnic blanket down, smoothing out every crease and crinkle. It has to be perfect for her- she deserves nothing less, even though I’ve rarely been able to give it to her, but today, I’m going to try. After all, she always tries for me, even after 56 years, 7 months, 2 weeks and 2 days since we were married. I smile at her, offer my hand, which she graciously accepts- thank God. I’m not sure what I would have done if she had declined. When she sat down, with the sun behind her, the wind in her hair and peacefulnes...

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“The Matchbreaker (Part Two) ” by Jubilee Forbess

Submitted to Contest #81

After school, Courtney blows off our plans for movie night for date night with Adrian. It’s not like I didn’t expect that, but it still hurts to hear her say it out loud. She’s mad at me for fighting with him, but she won’t say anything that makes him look bad. She won’t say, “Yeah, he’s rude and your snarky behavior in response was really appropriate!” I wish she remembered that time in third grade, where Adrian took his bucket of festival nacho cheese and poured it, orange and sticky and hot, on Courtney’s science fair project. I wish she ...

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“I don't think we've met (An Inner Monologue)” by ✯𝐋𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫✯

Submitted to Contest #81

I look at the mirror. I was dressed up, very neat and looking tidy, very unusual for me.But things had to change.After all, if things worked out according to my favor, then I was going to be a husband! Looking like a proper gentleman can really set the tone of today's night.But still, for some reason, I don't feel too good. I mean, anything could go wrong today. So...maybe, just maybe, sometimes I feel as if I should cancel this entire plan. Like I'm not thinking clearly, or maybe she deserves someone better, much be...

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“All the Days We Planted” by Ellie Yu

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #81

The rose falls. It pirouettes and spins through the frosty morning air like some tiny dancer cloaked in pink. Julia watches it touch the grass and settle there, almost peacefully, as if gravity is only a suggestion. She holds the rest of the bouquet closer to her chest. She wonders if this quiet graveyard should scare her, with its headstones carved from gray reaching up from the ground. Perhaps she shouldn’t be noticing the wildflowers dotting the faded green. Jade would have picked them, she thinks, and she remembers her wife skipping th...

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“Roses of Love” by Nancy Drayce

Submitted to Contest #81

"I love you, and I shall always love you."She was saying while setting up the plates over the table. Transparent, like glass, plates, adorned with white ornaments - her favourite ones. She placed one napkin beside her plate, and one beside his.Almost everything was set. The warm and sweet scent of their favourite dish - creamy shrimp risotto with mascarpone - filled the room with a mellow feeling of nostalgia. A sweaty green bottle of wine sat on the table waiting to be poured into the crystal glass she took from the wooden cabinet in the di...

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“I'll See You Next Week, Darling” by Henry Vinicio Valerio-Madriz

Submitted to Contest #81

The first beams of the rising sun guide him. Step by step he goes; walking slowly, no rush. He’s contemplating the spring greenest grass like the perfect carpet; the new shapes of the trees that invite their friends (birds and squirrels) to come back and to stay; the colors of the new flowers whose natural perfumes call colorful butterflies and fast hummingbirds to have their best banquet. His moderate walking allows him to watch everything in slow motion, to genuinely notice and appreciate this world’s details.This early morning, Carlo...

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“Maybe” by Amany Sayed

Submitted to Contest #81

No one really remembered a time when they weren’t together. No one but them.North could remember crying herself to sleep on cold nights, Everest remembered walking with his head down and earbuds in. They remembered the hushed whispers and short notes, ripped pages, and dead flowers. Flushed cheeks and rainy nights, candlelit reading sessions, and cold hands. On the contrary, everyone but them could see when they started to fall apart.When their synchronized steps fell out of beat, when they stopped holding hands and stepped on each...

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“The Matchbreaker (Part Three) ” by Jubilee Forbess

Submitted to Contest #81

I drive to school with a stomach full of toast and eggs and a mind full of unanswered questions. My grandma has been secretive about a lot of things, including the accident that killed my mother and the real reason why I came to live with them and not my father, but when it comes to her and grandpa I thought it would be a pretty open book. I mean, they’re one of the town’s original couples. Most people know the story, especially me. My grandparents met when they were sixteen. My grandma- Dina- had just moved to the town and my grandpa- Mille...

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“Grow Old Along With Me Pt. I” by Stevie B

Submitted to Contest #81

I was holding her hand when she passed. Since I’d never seen anyone die, I hadn’t been sure what to expect. Perhaps I thought her death would be preceded by a long sigh or some kind of final death rattle. Maybe I was supposed to see some aura or light emanating and escaping from the body I’d cherished all these years. She certainly wasn’t confused nor disoriented in her ending moments. The last words I heard her speak were lucid and clear, “Grow old along with me. The best is yet to be, my darling.” Next, she grew very still and quiet as her...

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“The Journey of a Snowflake” by ✧ 𝕊𝕒𝕡𝕙𝕚𝕣𝕒 𝔹𝕣𝕚𝕒𝕣𝕤𝕠𝕟 ✧

Submitted to Contest #81

Gwen was a snowflake. She drifted towards the ground and rested lightly on a pile of fellow snowflakes. She slowly melded with the others until they were indistinguishable from one another, a single unit of snow. People were like snowflakes. In the younger days, people feel special and unique. But as they grow older, they realize they are precisely the same as everyone else. At least, Gwen felt that way. She was the kind of person who always went unnoticed. She a background dancer, she was the extra character in a movie, always play...

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“Chicken Cacciatore with a Side of Memory” by Amanda Fox

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #81

I run my hand along the scalloped edge of the table we shared for so many years. I remember setting it for the two of us almost every night, sometimes for something fancy and romantic, other times for a simple sandwich and potato chips. There are so many memories of us at this table. It’s strange to think that I’m setting it now for someone else. I set the silverware first, and I try to remember the proper place settings. Those were so important to your family, especially your mother. You came from such a differen...

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“Post-It Notes” by Benji Bobo ©

Submitted to Contest #81

I still remember all the foolish things I had done when I was younger. And if I forget, I can always go back to my room and look at the wall I covered in small pieces of square paper with an untidy scrawl. When I was fifteen, the age I was when I went to high school, I had spent most of the summer break hogging the family computer to myself and searching things up like, how to be funny, or how to be cool, or how to look handsome. After nine hours of research a day this is all I found: Being cool allows you to make friends Don’t be stupid ...

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$50

Prize money

916

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 19, 2021 EST

Won by Molly Quinnell 🏆

Title: Golden Cheekbones and the Rising Sun

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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