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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

“How I Met My Doom” by Orenda .

Submitted to Contest #81

She was rich, and I was a tramp, like in any cliche romance movie where the main character with reputation and a fat bank account had a love interest who was a complete loner, or a discard, like an 80s radio. Even an old radio could be given another chance, though. Let’s not forget that this movie ran in the theatres with a percentage of fifty from Rotten Tomatoes. This movie was a compilation of our life together and the title was — Around Her Mood Swings in 80 Days. It was one heck of a binge worthy movie, defeating the incredible mov...

137 comments 137

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“A Spoonful of Sugar” by Scout Tahoe

Submitted to Contest #81

Sugar chooses a new pronoun every day. It drove their ex boyfriend crazy, that and the way they only watched dystopian psychological horrors on a grayscale screen and supplied too much commentary, so he, and anyone else who was watching, knew exactly what was going to happen. But everyone has their flaws. For example, Ian—their ex—rented out his driveway. He still does. The current rate is five dollars an hour in cash only, with friend and family discounts of 20%. People have to schedule ahead of time but if they pay a few dollars extra...

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“The story of an old couple” by Sudhanshu Shekhar

Submitted to Contest #81

1.Christmas gift to a boy and girlOnce upon a time there was a boy whose age was 14 years old. His name was Timba and his sister name was Drikshika. She was elder than the boy Timba. It was the time of Christmas Eve. Everyone were enjoying the festive season. All the people of Tale city were celebrating the Christmas Eve silently and lovingly. So the father and mother of Timba and Drikshika was happy and it came the Santa Claus on the occasion of Christmas Eve. Santa gave many gifts to Timba and...

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“Viral stories” by Radhika Diksha

Submitted to Contest #81

I know it’s a stupid decision, yet I took it. Why do I always do things, which embarrass me in the end? Sitting on the sidewalk, seeing faces that are strange to me, is my favorite pastime. On top it’s the Valentine season, young love blossoming, couples rolling their tongues into each other, making fake promises. I adore this drama, also I used to be part of this whole brainwashing stunt some years ago, but right now, I am single ready to mingle. First, I needed a stable job, and money to pay my rent and bills. The pandemic ruined...

139 comments 139

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“Blind Dates and Crystal Balls” by Coira MacHaffie

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #81

The problem with being the most powerful witch in the city, and possibly the most powerful witch in the world, was that it made the already-complicated process of dating that much harder. Every man Cassandra went out with was either terrified of how powerful she was or only interested in her because of how powerful she was. It was exhausting. So when Jenna proposed her ridiculous plan for a blind date, Cassandra was just worn down enough to offer only a token protest. “Look, I know it sounds a little crazy,” Jenna said. “A little?” Cassand...

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“Beyond the Shadows (Ivy's POV)” by Marissa Reilly

Submitted to Contest #81

*Ivy’s Note* This is a collab with Nainika Gupta, an OUTSTANDING author, friend, and the best know-it-all I’ve ever known. (That’s a compliment.) As Nainika mentioned, we decided on JFK’s assassination. And as Nainika also mentioned, she has taken the assassin’s POV (link below), and I have taken the doctor’s POV. Enjoy! P.S. If you don’t know who Nainika is, then shame on you! JK, but here’s her profile page link so you can follow her!https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing prompts/contests/80/submissions/54448/P.P.S. This was suppose...

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“red lipstick day” by Amany Sayed

Submitted to Contest #81

Blue eyes, blue as the sea Blue eyes that can’t even see “How’s the sky looking?”Liraz puffed the smoke from her mouth and looked up, taking in the colors and stars.“It’s a good night. Color’s a dark, midnight blue.”“How blue?”“Remember the one blanket we used to have? Same blue, but imagine it speckled with stars.”Her lipstick was dark, dark red, and the cigar in her hand was almost out. She took a breath of night air before taking another inhale of ashes and smoke, letting her lungs blacken little by little.Crying tears of silver and ...

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“Love Remains” by Daniel R. Hayes

Submitted to Contest #81

The stars were shining bright in the night sky as Henry and Edith Wilson shared a cup of tea on their back porch. Their hearts were filled with joy as they watched their ten year old Granddaughter run around the yard trying to catch lighting bugs with an old mason jar. Their old farmhouse home on Rosemary Lane was the envy of the neighborhood with perfectly trimmed grass, flower beds that looked like a blessing from Heaven, and a big beautiful oak tree that stood in the middle of their backyard. Jenny was visiting for the weekend while her ...

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“RACHEL AND MICHAEL” by Amel Parvez

Submitted to Contest #81

The windows were rattling, the curtains were hovering, and the fierce screeching sound of wind and the colliding of the raging clouds increased the tautness in the atmosphere. The rain got brutal and the thunderstorm aggressive, but it was nothing compared to the storm that was brewing inside Rachel.Rachel was sitting on the couch, her hands covering her ears. Her blond hair was messed up. She was staring vacantly in the air, incapable of thinking of anyone else other than Mike. She couldn’t get him out of her mind. She didn’t know how she a...

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“The Girl Who Cried Woof” by Carol Johnson

Submitted to Contest #81

"Call me crazy, but I just had an encounter with a werewolf." "Huh? You can't be serious, Val." "Au contraire, Redd. I am dead-serious," Val grinned, looking at the man sitting beside her in her favorite watering hole, Drinks by the Beach in San Francisco. He flicked a lock of flaming red hair out of his eyes, took a sip of his whiskey sour, and said, "You're on. I dare you to tell me this tale. If your story's compelling enough, I will buy the next round of drinks." "And who knows where that will lead," Val giggled. "Hmm, we'll...

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“Ghosted” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #81

Somehow, Wanda knew it was Calvert.The knocks woke her up at 3:13 in the morning. She rose from the cushioned depths of sleep. A second later, Wanda dropped back down into the magical dreamscapes. But before sleep could retake her, a second knock came.Wanda’s eyes flicked open and a gasp escaped her dry lips. The shadows of the night slunk over the rumpled duvet, dark blue and moonlit. The alien coals of the alarm clock glowed dim red in the dusk. “Wha—?”Clunk-clunk-clunk.The knock again.“Cal?”The name blurted out. Before Wanda had even thou...

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“The Meaning of Flowers” by Claire Lindsey

Submitted to Contest #81

“I think it’s funny, don’t you?”“What could possibly be funny about this conversation, Lane?”“It’s just— we’re both in the business of piecing things together,” he says, “but neither of us knows how to keep a relationship from falling apart.”I frown. “How does that have anything to do with—”“You’re breaking up with me, right?”“Well, yeah,” I stumble, struggling to control my frustration. All I wanted was a clean break. A satisfying end. And off he goes and beats me to it.“It’s fine, I guess,” he says. He watches me, his hazel eyes wide and e...

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“Daniel and Zachary” by Jasey Lovegood

Submitted to Contest #81

Daniel and ZacharyDANIEL:I stare at Zach, and my stomach does hundreds and thousands of flips. I’m one-hundred percent certain I should NOT be feeling this way. He rubs his neck, water dripping down from the side of his face. My heart flutters. Ew, that shouldn’t be allowed. Can someone’s heart even flutter? I don’t know. Either way, this is not how I imagined my lunch break would go, watching Zach win swimming races.“Daniel! Hurry up mate, we gotta head to class!” Jakob yells, “Shoot, coming!” I jog after my friends, staring at Zach’s ...

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“Front Door Blues ” by Jillian Oakes

Submitted to Contest #81

Is he going to answer the fucking door? The box of clothes in my arms grew heavier and heavier with each ring that echoed from his monotonous doorbell. This wasn’t the first time I found myself on James’s doorstep, forgotten clothes in tow, waiting for him to open the door. It was the fourth. Each time, I would message him in advance to ensure his presence, and each time, I found myself in this exact situation, more and more tempted to just leave the box and all the memories attached on his porch. But somet...

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“Corrective Experience at the GigaMart” by A.Dot Ram

Submitted to Contest #81

“You’ll never believe who I saw last night…” Jen tried to sound casual, looking down at the fork in her hand instead of at Megan across the table. “Try me.” Megan’s green eyes sparkled as she took a sip from her mimosa. “Logan Hansen!” Jen announced in a voice that disgusted her—one that carried a false note of astonishment, she thought. She’d been working on taming her incredulousness for the last fourteen hours, but talking to Megan, she could feel that note creeping back in to the story. “I went to see my niece’s play, and he wa...

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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.

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