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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#83: Tropical Getaway

Sometimes we all need a break from our current circumstances. When the world feels gray and lifeless, thoughts of warm beaches and sunny skies can sound more appealing than ever.

Travel has been hard to come by for a while now, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make an escape through our imaginations. So this week, let’s slather on the sunscreen, steal what daylight we can, and take our characters to the crystal beaches most of us can only imagine.

This week's prompts

Write about someone who goes to extreme lengths to get themselves to a tropical island.

Adventure – 91 stories

Start your story with someone emerging from the sea, and end it with them looking up at the stars.

Fantasy – 277 stories

Write about someone who’s lived on a tropical island their whole life and is leaving it for the very first time.

Dystopian – 83 stories

Write about someone who books a bargain vacation, only to be told when they arrive that they need to share a hotel suite with a stranger.

Dramatic – 148 stories

Write a fantasy story about water gods or spirits.

Fantasy – 227 stories

Stories

“Full of Sorrows” by Ishita Nigam

Submitted to Contest #83

Arshiya picked up the small teddy lying on the top of her closet. It had turned pale brown over the years. Her father had gifted it to her on her sixth birthday, about twenty years back. It was one of the few memories she had of him. It was the last happy memory she had of him. She couldn’t part with it. She couldn’t find the courage within her. She placed it in the corner of her suitcase, which was slowly getting filled with things that she would need in her new residence. She felt a presence near her. Her gaze drifted to the figur...

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“The Island” by Irela Nictari

Submitted to Contest #83

They tell stories about those who try to leave the island. Natia had grown up on those stories; her grandmother was the People’s oracle, wise woman and prophet and healer in one, and Natia had spent her childhood at her knee, listening as the older woman worked. She’d learned how to blend herbs and cure fevers, to read the stars and predict the weather, how to tell if the soil was right for the crops to grow. And, she’d learned of their past. The island (it had no name, needed none, for it was the only one for at least a day’s travel and ...

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“Another Day In Paradise ” by Andrew Fedz

Submitted to Contest #83

Logan lived in hiding on the island for his whole life.The island had always provided them with plenty of nourishment and fresh water. It seemed as if it was just another day in paradise but, on this day, the island couldn’t provide Dorothy with any compassion. She laid in a shivering and wet fever inside the sturdy, man-made wooden hut. Another night like this and Logan feared she wouldn’t make it and he would be all alone. He knew what needed to be done but didn’t know if he had the courage to do it.‘Mother, what can I do?’ Logan desperate...

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“Always my home” by Tricia Shulist

Submitted to Contest #83

Iosefina looked out across the familiar turquoise blue waters, waters that she had looked at every day of her life. The waters could be calm and soothing, as they were now. Or they could be wild and thrashing, destroying everything on it. Iosefina loved the ocean and its moods. It gave her people food, and sustained life. But it also took life away. Her husband Malo had been lost to the ocean while fishing. A storm had taken him and his two friends years ago. She sighed. Their bodies were never fo...

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“Escape From Pitcarn Island” by Sue Marsh

Submitted to Contest #83

Escape From Pitcarin Island Suzanne Marsh “Grab that damn kid and let’s get movin!” “I can not go with you! My family is here. I agreed to help you find parts of the island for whatever you were doing. I will not leave my beloved Pitcairn for you are anyone else!” “Shut your mouth boy before I shut it for you.” They shoved him toward the yacht they had arrived on two weeks earlier. It was laden with historical documents stolen from the archives of Pitcarin Island’s municipal building. The archives contained the personal history of the men of...

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“Roommate” by George Davis

Submitted to Contest #83

Roger plans to spend part of his two-week vacation on a four-day weekend, at a bargain price, stay at a tropical resort. Even with the cost of airfare, it would still be a bargain. It will also give him enough money to purchase tropical weather attire. “Where are you going?” Mother asks. Roger tells her. “How will you get there?” Father asks. &nb...

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“Lucky Number 7” by Stephanie Hower

Submitted to Contest #83

My son was born on Friday August 13th. Although I didn’t consider myself superstitious, watching the date approach on the calendar, as my wife’s pregnancy stretched past her due date, had begun to arouse anxiety. I masked this from my wife, who grew more miserable and uncomfortable by the day, hoping she didn’t share my worry over the unlucky date. On the morning her water broke, I had been home from work, not wanting to leave her side as the imminent labor hung before us like a mysterious storm we had been preparing to weather together...

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“Once More With Feeling” by Catherine MacKenzie

Submitted to Contest #83

I exited the plane with a smile a large breath of fresh air. Looking around I took notice of the blue skies, the palm trees, and the singing, colorful birds chirping on their branches. I had needed this vacation more than I ever would admit to myself, and after months of talking myself in and out of actually taking it, here I am. I had never contemplated taking a vacation on my own, having always someone to enjoy the free time with. I put those thoughts away, breathed in another big breath of island air and walked on. I boo...

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“THE MAIDEN VOYAGE” by K.K Ameyo

Submitted to Contest #83

The sun's harsh afternoon heat that scrapped their skin like glass was the least of their problems. The captain of the ship walked across the main deck, knife firmly in hand, looking over the chosen one, surrounded by his fellow crewmen. "Please, sir," he coughed, blood sputtering onto his skeletal frame," please sir, I beg you." "Nothing personal." "Sir, my wife and children are waiting for me. I promised them I'd be back! Please!" he wailed, some of the men looking away to keep away the wave of pity. "We'll help them…" "Sir, please!" "Forg...

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“The Wishing Well” by Karen Renshaw

Submitted to Contest #83

It was a sun shining day in April.My oldest son's birthday had pasted, and My youngest son's birthday was coming. Spring my favorite time of the year.Spring always offered a chance at the new. New beginnings, a fresh start to everything. The birds are slowly arriving.The air smells of a crisp freshness.The trees are awaking from their winter slumber. A new opportunity to grow a garden, spot different birds, make new friends with the animal kingdom. I love the area I live in. We are situated in a National Park. I came from a big city to this ...

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“Kilana's Disciple” by Chuck Sears

Submitted to Contest #83

“Please help us, O Kilana. They are killing us. Please, please help!” Yara knelt at the edge of the pool and prayed. She had escaped from the village when the attack occurred and found her way to the once-sacred pool. The temple building had fallen into disarray and the pool was overgrown with lilypads and weeds, but still she begged the goddess for mercy and aid. ...

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“I will be a god” by Amanda Stuntz

Submitted to Contest #83

Lana looked out over the clear blue water and smiled. Today was the day she had been training for since she was five years old. Soon that cool refreshing water would be her home, and the people of her village wouldn’t suffer at the hands of a god who cared nothing for them. If she had it her way, she would send the waters rippling through the valley and into the surrounding villages so they wouldn’t have to travel as far to collect their water. Songs about her fierce battle, bravery, and unending stamina would be sung through the halls of ...

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“A Little Bit of Light” by Nuala Roberts

Submitted to Contest #83

1931, Calypso River, Greece The sun shines through the water. Bubbles move along with the current, and I cast my eyes up to the sky. "Calypso," a voice whispers. There are places still untouched by time. Places of naiads and nymphs, places of fairy magic. My mother said the Greeks had it all right, but my sister said they had it all wrong. Still, I knew both to be true. They didn't know about my wings. When Amity Gardner was fifteen years old, she met Calypso. Calypso, or Cal, was sweetly evil, which was the only thing Amity was sure of....

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“The Sea Witch” by Daisy Ella

Submitted to Contest #83

When the sun set began to set, the shells always shimmered. Orange streams of light from far above filtered through the water and danced upon the smooth and curling structures like prisms. It gave Ursula such joy to watch the light bounce off of her beautiful collection. She felt the soft pouch around her neck and poured the contents of the treasure into her hands. The pearls in her palm shone iridescent against her lovely brown skin. Dusk was always bittersweet. Soon she would see her lover, but just as reliably as sunset came the sun wou...

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“Tears of The Great Mother of the Water and The Great Father of the Water” by April Rawlins

Submitted to Contest #83

The children are all seated around the Great Mother, as the fire crackles and burns. Stars glimmer brightly in the sky. Nearby, the rush of water from the falls roars into the vast ocean, which laps it up eagerly, then spits it back up onto the rocky shore. The wind whistles in the palm trees. The village huts are glowing softly from candle light. The pigs are all settling down in their pens for the night and snuffling. The smell of smoke from the great fire and all the home hearths fill the night air. “Tell us the story, Great Mother,” say...

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$50

Prize money

826

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Mar 05, 2021 EST

Won by Madalyn Meyers 🏆

Title: Burn Damage

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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