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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#84: A Year In

As we start March again, it’s impossible not to think about what was going on in the world this time last year. For many of us, it was the beginning of lockdown and a radical shift in the way we were suddenly living our lives. Working from home, remote learning, and social distancing were totally unfamiliar concepts — but oh, we were about to become well acquainted.

This milestone has been hard on a lot of people, but as writers it often helps to use our work to address what’s stressing us out. So this week, let’s not shy away from the sadness, frustration, or fear this anniversary brings up, but instead use it to fuel our creative efforts — and hopefully find some healing along the way.

🥇 Winner

“How the Fish Survive” by Evelyn Kill

🏆 Winner of Contest #84

The light that fills the room feels cold and blue, tinted by the shades across the window. This window faces south, so the light trickles in slowly and at first I can ignore it, but eventually I must open my eyes to this underwater light and take a deep breath in. I used to get up so early. Some days I would go outside and watch the sunrise, warming my hands with a mug of herbal tea. The world was quiet, but not still. I admired the people moving about the streets, getting an early start. We had something in common, they and I. We a...

103 comments 103

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“Escape from Confinement” by Philip Clayberg

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #84

“Just this morning we have received even more reports of looting as well as groups of vigilantes taking over urban streets in every major city in the country. Additional National Guard units have been called up by the President to deal with these problems as well as provide additional security outside the White House and at the US Capitol Building. Casualties just from last night's fighting were well over a thousand and are only expected to get worse in the days ahead.“The head of CDC has reported that we have reached an acceptable plateau a...

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“Rodney” by Scott Skinner

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #84

The wrinkles that outlined Elder Selby’s face became more prominent after his divorce. A year ago, he would have told himself that the lines were part of the aging process, which wasn’t entirely inaccurate but didn’t explain the reason for acceleration. He was thirty-eight but looked much older. The shadowed lines on his face were the divorce, and everything in his life that was then and that came before. Stamped upon him were wrinkles like fault lines tracing back to his failed pursuit of happiness. The lines hinted at all of his losses, li...

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“Tears are Ticklish” by Nina Thompson

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #84

Tears are ticklish. In the vague, unsatisfying way that a self-inflicted feather can be. I cry quietly, no sound escaping my mouth, occasionally feeling myself shake. I am rocking on a boat setting sail for no place in particular. I am lying in a bed of moss in a hazy forest. I am nursing a cup of tea, bathed in the soft early morning light of my future apartment. I am anywhere but here, my boxy safe haven, suddenly not so safe. Or is it still safe? Is it me who is unsafe? I’m the one leaving, toppling the raft, spilling the cup of cham...

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“Today, Yesterday or Tomorrow” by Alana Avellino

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #84

I woke up this morning to the sound of someone's dog barking, the same sound I heard yesterday or was that the day before? I Lay there, staring at the ceiling, counting one, two, three...throw back the covers and roll out of bed. Groaning, my body sulks its way to the washroom, wanting to avoid my reflection but it’s there, the same as every day staring back at me with sallow eyes and pale skin. I pause for a moment and wonder when will it change? When will it be different? Scoop the coffee, pour the water, listen to the hum of the mac...

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“The Judgmental Ceiling Fan” by Pasupu .

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #84

Humans have always been judgmental beings. That is why they have assigned me the role of a ceiling fan. My only job is to look down on people because I cannot control the speed at which I turn. It is all in their hands. Those knob heads control me with a knob. And for the past ten years, I have been judging them as the ceiling fan of the Government Utility Bill Payment Office. Last March, I heaved a sigh of relief. For some reason, they were shutting down the world. This meant that the household ceiling fans had to work overt...

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“The Old Normal” by H Bolton

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #84

The boardroom was the country club’s underused dining hall, with the tables pushed into one long, larger shape. The little tables coming together to become a single, theoretically better one - that was probably a good metaphor for the eight people sitting around it: the homeowners’ association. Their job was to better the neighborhood, to think as a joint mind, to solve the problems of dropping property values. Marty liked to call them superheroes of lawn-height. Jim said if the group had done anything, they had done too much. What the neigh...

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“Diana” by Kai R.

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #84

Waking up used to be a treat, having a big bed used to be my favorite thing about my bedroom. The vaulted ceilings, and spacious rooms used to be pleasing to look at it, and made my home feel safe. Now, staring up at those vaulted ceilings only made me feel alone, and that loneliness made me feel suffocated. I felt dead, and maybe I was. Maybe this was some purgatory I was stuck in, maybe the disease had gotten me and I had died without even realizing it. It was more likely that the purgatory was in my head, where I was trapped while my body...

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This week's prompts

Write a story that spans exactly a year and takes place in a single room.

Winter – 210 stories

Write about someone who grew up in a bunker, and lockdown life is all they’ve ever known.

Sad – 82 stories

Set your story in a post-pandemic world, where the effects are still felt even as your character attempts to move on.

Narrative – 115 stories

Write about someone who’s trying to accomplish a task that used to be easy but is now made complicated by a pandemic.

Narrative – 80 stories

Start your story with a character struggling to remember the date, because every day is like the last one.

Dark – 177 stories

Stories

“How the Fish Survive” by Evelyn Kill

🏆 Winner of Contest #84

The light that fills the room feels cold and blue, tinted by the shades across the window. This window faces south, so the light trickles in slowly and at first I can ignore it, but eventually I must open my eyes to this underwater light and take a deep breath in. I used to get up so early. Some days I would go outside and watch the sunrise, warming my hands with a mug of herbal tea. The world was quiet, but not still. I admired the people moving about the streets, getting an early start. We had something in common, they and I. We a...

103 comments 103

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“The Longing” by Zilla Babbitt

Submitted to Contest #84

Summer, 1961 My older sister moved back home after a month with a new accent and a listless gaze. She went away to forge new life for herself in Chicago when she was fifteen and returned without hope, her expression drawn and sad, her wallet full but her face empty. After she got back I’d wake up sometimes at night, from the heat, and her bed would be empty. She and I didn’t go to school anymore, not for years. The superintendents didn’t think it was worth climbing the hill to check on us kids. It is hard to climb a thorny hill and co...

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“My Father” by Writer Maniac

Submitted to Contest #84

TW: parental abuse, self harm, suicidal ideation, murder March 6, 2020 Today will be my first diary entry. But it certainly won’t be my last. I hope that when I die, when all that’s left of me is a cold body, that you will find this book, and you won’t let the memory of me die. If you decide to do that, rest assured that I will haunt your memory forever. Yes, Father, I am talking to you. I am sure that a play of fates will ensure that you will be the one to find my body in the end. That is what you deserve,...

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“Keep Holding On” by Writer Maniac

Submitted to Contest #84

My hand reaches for the mask that still conveniently lies on the counter right next to the door.I soon change its route, my hand instead pushing the door open and I walk outside.Taking a breath of fresh air without a layer of plastic filtering it is a feeling I never thought I needed to experience.But it is the most wonderful feeling in the world.I walk on the sidewalk, the cars rushing past me and pushing the smell of petrol and other unidentifiable things into my nose.I only smile as though I know something everyone else doesn’t and pull u...

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“Tea Taster ” by Palak Shah

Submitted to Contest #84

She couldn’t do it anymore, she couldn’t drink them, rate them or comment on them. She couldn’t go to their cafes; she couldn’t have biscuits with them and she couldn’t do her job. Why? Because of this imprudent pandemic As her arm wheeled back, she ran forward and threw the rock as far as possible. Gliding across the bed, the rock skids forward and gets pulled down by his friends into the foam laced waters. No amount of throwing could diminish the pain felt by Emily Gilmore; the overwhelming emotion was excruciating but essential. Her hea...

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“Reasons to Stay Alive” by Nainika Gupta

Submitted to Contest #84

He first saw her when he was getting ice cream. She was wearing a blue polka dot dress. His ice cream fell out of his hands. She was the only one who did not laugh at him. He saw her again when he was walking in the park. She was walking with her friends. He gaped at her beauty, both inside and out. She smiled back at the handsome man looking at her. He mustered up the courage to ask her out a few weeks later. She shyly accepted. He took her to the movies and then to the a...

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“Silver Lemonade ” by Maya -

Submitted to Contest #84

Author's Note: This may be bad because I wrote almost all of it at midnight. But it's the quickest I ever finished a story. Anyway, thanks for reading! Have a fantastic day!Nothing has been the same since you left. After I went through the five stages of grief, as they call them, each step blurred together by the tears, I was numb. I didn’t heal, I just got better at hiding the pain. The therapist I talk to online every week has tried to help, telling me I must learn to see the brighter aspects of my life. But I’ve found my own ways to ...

133 comments 133

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“Learning is Lifelong” by Writer Maniac

Submitted to Contest #84

“Students! Can you all hear me? Students!” I scream at the top of my lungs. Dead silence. Your internet connection is unstable. No kidding. Reconnecting… I have half a mind to close the laptop and just go back to sleep. But I turn off the Wi-Fi and turn it back on. As I join the class again, I plaster a fake smile on my face and wait for it to connect. As soon as it connects, I check whether they can hear me, and continue the lesson. I see Roger picking his nose, Charlie picking his teeth and Marlene picking at her plate...

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“Restart Button” by Cookie Carla🍪

Submitted to Contest #84

It only took ten seconds for it to sink in. I was bleeding badly from my abdomen. Where was all this blood coming from? I looked around at everyone running away from me. Where was everyone going? Help me, I'm bleeding. Buildings around me burned with hot heat. Grammy's Corner Store was being looted. People ran out with bags of food and large containers of soda pop. Two people were fighting over a Motorola, one of the ones that Grammy often had on sale. The ground was littered with shards of glass. An occasional brick was being thro...

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“Summer of Death ” by Nainika Gupta

Submitted to Contest #84

*Nainika’s Note* 50th story! Gosh, how monumental! AND, today is even more special because the 9th is my Reedsy-versary, the day way back in November when I joined! Enjoy :)Philadelphia 1793The buzzing never stops. It is a constant noise that has completely taken over the normally bustling city. The city is now a ghost town. Complete with the bodies to prove it. The buzzing is the only sound that you can hear. Apart from the cries and screams of family members as a loved one finally succumbs to the fever.And the soun...

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“The Executioner” by . .

Submitted to Contest #84

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP2AP0WvHkcJudas felt he knew everyone that came into the Mauve Room. He knew their sunken eyes, the desperate gazes as they searched in vain for a person to help them. He always found it ridiculous that they would look to an Executive for help, but they would still look at him, every time without fail. A deep red glowing band circled their necks, and he knew they had committed heinous crimes, but he couldn’t help feeling amused. They were like beggars, with all their money squandered, and he a nobleman. Even ...

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“Parables and Pink Tutus” by Amiable Sorceress

Submitted to Contest #84

~ Eventually, you’ll get tired of looking at all the crumpled paper cluttering what used to be your desk. Eventually, the coffee you made for yourself in your tiny room will run out, and you’ll get frustrated for no specific reason. Eventually, you’ll wonder what day it is, because you forgot to check your calendar and you just want an excuse to be lazy for a while. Either way, you’ll end up questioning the world and its choices—not that I’ve made any significantly better ones. The family which lived here before were all-teeth...

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“existential crises ” by . .

Submitted to Contest #84

** 40TH STORY**Song I listened to while writing this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW9Fzwuf43c"Last stop, Market Street." I walk to the edge of the train when the doors open. My feet move forward but my mind needs to catch up. I shake the fog from my head and move forward. People crowd the subway station. There's a staircase marked "E" over to the left. I duck through the people running to catch the train. Moisture gathered in the corner of my right eye. It had been bothering me for five days now. Ever since... wait... five days ago. So t...

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“The Copper Rose” by Nainika Gupta

Submitted to Contest #84

*Nainika’s Note* An ode to the seasons, this one is. And in Yoda speak I will, until out of my brain, thoughts of the Mandalorian make their way. An autumn baby I am and exists, favoritism does. Jumbled, this story is, strange it is indeed, but enjoy, this story, enjoy. :) In the spring, the flowers push their way through the thawing soil, greeting the sun for the first time all winter. Springtime never waits for the perfect ice-free day yet pushes forth at the first chance for the warming light of day. Here we are with the wildflowe...

100 comments 100

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“Dreams of Reality” by 𝙰𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚢𝚜𝚝 ~

Submitted to Contest #84

“Okay people, time for attendance!”I jerked awake in my chair, causing the wheels to scratch my hardwood floor.“Jerry?”“Here!”I rubbed my eyes with my hands, realizing that I was in a Google Meet in the worst time of the day.Morning.“Kiana?”“Present!”I shook my body and released all the jittery thoughts bouncing around in my brain, and promised myself I would remember to do what I was supposed to do.What day was it?April 8, the computer read.“Farissa?”“Here,” I groggily squeaked out, turning my camera on just in time to see my teacher grin b...

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$50

Prize money

664

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Mar 12, 2021 EST

Won by Evelyn Kill 🏆

Title: How the Fish Survive

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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