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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

“Rediscovery” by Sara Rotondi

Submitted to Contest #83

Being underwater always made me feel like I was floating. My hair and my limbs guided by the ripples and spread out around me. I was always at peace under the water. With my eyes closed it’s a black void where I let go of my senses. With my eyes open it’s a wide blue expanse and if I’m lucky a fish would swim by me. That’s why I came to the island. I needed to get away from the hustle of the city. It was my dream to be a big city girl but when I got there I knew it wasn’t for me. I just wasn’t the kind of person who found it easy to ada...

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“Sand and Stardust” by Risha Tevins

Submitted to Contest #83

The waves crested before him - a magnificent glittering crown of blues and greys, as well as all the colours that came in between. The sea made hardly a splash as, with a deliberate flick of the wrist spurred on by a stray thought crossing his mind, he directed the lapping, hungry water back into the sandy, grit-wrought shores of the alcove.A weary sigh stole the breath away from his lungs and for a moment, he indulged in simply letting himself be. The sun above was muffled, and the sharp cries of the parks and sea-birds were one of the few ...

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“The Cottage By the Seaside” by Emily Ku

Submitted to Contest #83

Zondra I emerge from you: the wide, vast ocean. I was searching for treasure as I always do first thing when I wake up. Like all the other times, I found nothing except the growth of my love for you. I walk back to the little cottage by the seaside. I live alone, but of course, with my single most awesome buddy, Zonya. “Zondra! Did you go searching for treasure again? You know how I feel about you doing that!” she yelled. “Yes, I did! What’s so bad about the ocean? It’s not even as terrible as you make it sound!” I yelled back...

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“Sohni” by Aisha Khan

Submitted to Contest #83

Note: This story references the Punjabi folktale of 'Sohni Mahiwal' Water was gushing from side to side. Amira flapped her arms about. She tried to scream, but the salty water was choking her. She felt it in her mouth, her nose, and her ears. It was seeping inside her little bathing suit. She wailed, but only bubbles released. She tried to stand, but her plump, tiny legs could not feel the sand. The waves were tossing and turning her about. Sohni couldn’t swim. The pot split in her hands leaving behind just soft pieces of clay pushed ab...

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“Aphrodite's Trek” by Isabelle Saadatmand

Submitted to Contest #83

I lift my head from the deep water as my soul lifts from void into existence. The water is cool, but the air is warm despite the gaze of the night. I begin towards the shore, my white gown just barely trying to pull me back with the tide. As I grow closer to the beach, I see six figures facing me from the land, causing me to stop in my tracks. Small waves lick at my legs. I feel the water begin to change direction, forcing me forward, pulling my dress closer to the coast. Wind begins to blow behind me, enco...

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“Stars as Beautiful as Him” by Nico Burris

Submitted to Contest #83

I struggle to get up from the waves as I feel like I’m drowning, but I feel strong hands around my waist lift me up. “Lad, you could have just swam up”, of course he was doing this. “Oh, really Phillip. You act as if it’s easy”, I sarcastically say as I get up to the surf, pushing him down in the process. He gets up quickly, as I lay down on the cloth we’d laid out. The sun was warm and I still had on a shirt despite being doused in seawater. I sat up quickly. “Oh my god I forgot about practice.” “Mate, that was cancelled yesterday...

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“A sea of stars” by Reginald Span

Submitted to Contest #83

Weightlessness. Melissa’s body floated in the warm shallow water of a calm sea. The waves rocked her awake as she started to focus on what was above her. The moon peeked through dark grey clouds as her vision cleared. The smell of salty sea air along with the rolling water running onto land, and then back out to her, pulling her closer. Each time the waves rocked her, more of the feeling started returning to her body. She had no idea how she got there, or what she had been doing before. There was only the feeling like she had been lowered fr...

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“The Hometown Man” by Darwin Fil Deloria

Submitted to Contest #83

The Hometown Man By DF Deloria This quite humorous incident happened about thirty years ago. An unmarried and not so well-educated man named Dexter spent most of his entire life in his little hometown Zamboanguita in the province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. He hasn't really gone to big citi...

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“A Fresh Start” by Isabelle Masters

Submitted to Contest #83

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨I am going to miss this place so much, do we have to leave Mom?Yes, sweetie, we do your Dad clearly doesn't want us here. My parents have been married for 20 years, they were high school sweethearts. Now all of that is changing because Dad has another mistress along with Mom. I'm fifteen and I have never left Saint Lucia before and I'm really nervous.Where are we moving to again, Mom? I asked.We are moving to Boston! Mom said.But I don't want to leave Mom. I said.We have had this conversation before Casey you'...

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“Serene Sky - The call of Void” by Sapir Benlulu

Submitted to Contest #83

I was born twenty years ago today, right at sunset as the ocean peaked its height. I never met my father but my mother’s stories portrayed vividly the most powerful man on the seven seas. He promised to marry my mother after they found out she was pregnant, but the trip that was meant to end with a wedding ended with imprisonment.We were abandoned here on this island with some supplies and a little boy I used to call “Sky” as a kid because he had beautiful blue eyes Peter “Sky” helped the mother with the baby, me, and survival...

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“Miss Willow ” by KENNEDY PLANT

Submitted to Contest #83

“You are going to be my wife.” Those were the words that could have ruined my life. They keep telling us that there is no way to get off of Triangle Island. That’s why I’ve lived here my whole life. But, if we truly couldn’t get off of it, how did we get here? Triangle Island sits upon the North Atlantic Ocean. Our most famous tourist attraction is the famous Bermuda Triangle, but no one expect us has been able to see it, because apparently no one knows where we are. Whenever I look out to the shining waters of the sea,...

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“Paradise with a twist” by PRINSHA POKHAREL (Student)

Submitted to Contest #83

My name is Adam, I live on an island. You probably think that I am the luckiest person. The blue ocean that sparkles, the sun that shines for hours, the sand that's warm, and the fresh warm air. The only thing is that it’s not like what you think. For people who lived here for years… let me rephrase that. For a 21 year old man who has lived in the island of Tahiti, you would know that, food and attractions like the yearly carnival are so expensive that the actual residents of Tahiti can’t actually afford it. Food is really expensive in some ...

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“Guaiya” by Ashley Slaughter

Submitted to Contest #83

The frothy comfort of the waves rolling off the reef cooled my bare feet as my eyes careened to the horizon. The familiar vastness of the Pacific Ocean stared back at me, its numerous tiny crests twinkling in the sun. “Hanna,” I heard my husband call out. “Are you ready?” No, I sighed to myself. I’ll never quite be ready. His voice grew closer, and I heard his feet sliding in the sand. “The kids are all strapped in and ready to go.” Without tearing my eyes away from the water, I reached my hand behind me, searching for him. “Stand with ...

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“A Big Oops” by Jelia Howard

Submitted to Contest #83

Mary had worked everyday for the past seventeen years — including Sundays — to be where she is now. When she announced her two week long vacation the staff couldn‘t believe their ears. Everyone started whispering, trying to guess what made the CEO finally take a break. Did someone die? Maybe a significant other convinced her she should? No, everyone in her family was in perfect health, and her marital status remained the same: married to work.That’s how she liked it, though. Her life being private and no one questioning her. It had taken her...

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“Room 222” by Joe Swanson

Submitted to Contest #83

“Yes, my name is Bipkin. I believe I have a reservation for five nights… well, actually seven nights, but the travel agency is paying for the last two nights, so... I’d asked for a ground floor room because of my leg. Fell on the way to the travel agency, you know ice, that kind of thing. Stupid really, but then there isn’t much choice unless you plan on spending six months a year inside. Which we do anyway, but we don’t talk about it, and we don’t like it, but you know…” “Why yes, you’ll be in 222. It is not on...

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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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