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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#86: Springtime Flowers

March 21st may be considered the first day of Spring by many, but Mother Nature doesn't always agree. Depending on where you live, the daffodils could be showing their sunny faces or still hibernating under frozen soil.

For me, it’s usually a mix. Here you can be wearing shorts one day and shoveling snow the next, but one thing is consistent: as soon as the weather warms up, I’m bursting outside to gulp down that fresh air and watch the world come back to life. This week, regardless of what the weather actually holds, let’s celebrate the season of rebirth and renewal. After all, in our imaginations the sun can always be shining and the birds can always be chirping!

🥇 Winner

“Flowering Walrus” by Scott Skinner

🏆 Winner of Contest #86

My wife chopped off the stems of these innocent white roses about two weeks ago. She put the dozen of them in her favorite glass vase and filled it up. She hasn’t changed the water once, and now it’s murky and growing algae. It looks like the Heather Farm pond that turned green that one year, except it’s not green. It’s just super dirty looking. She thinks flowers are pretty. Apparently, it doesn’t matter if they’re dead or alive; she just has to have them in the house.She made me go to the store and buy baby’s breath the other day. Helluva ...

183 comments 183

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“The Forest’s Heart” by Claire Lindsey

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #86

She took her first breath in a grove of towering aspen trees, under the shadow of a hummingbird’s wing. Her mother was the melody of the mountain stream and her father was the glitter of sunlight through the coin-shaped leaves. The forest cared for her, swaddled her in wildflowers and sustained her with birdsong. When she cried, the butterflies kissed her cheeks and dried her tears. She grew strong and fast, and in only a few years she was taller than the saplings that sprouted on the day of her birth.When the nights were cold, she slep...

108 comments 108

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“Only a Change of Scenery (A Neo Kosmo Story)” by Josh C

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #86

Jenna opened her eyes to a small blurry, display blinking in front of her. Cold air swirled around her face and rays of red light jumped through licks of mist in the claustrophobic cryo-pod. The frigid air stung her nostrils and caused shudders along her body. Each twitch of a muscle added a new sensation as another synapse connected, her body slowly coming back online after 500 years of deep, dreamless, cryogenic sleep. Memories of the last few moments flooded back. The chills as the temperature plummeted, her heart desperately trying to ...

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“The Eyes In The Forest” by Iona Cottle

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #86

The forest was bright and warm, the sunlight dappled across the leaf-covered ground in a way that evoked images of autumn holiday brochures and children laughing. There was a slight breeze rustling the upper branches, but down at ground level all it did was bring the warmth of the sun in from out in the meadows all around. For everyone not working, it was a weekend to head out and make the most of the last of summer, before the cold settled in. It was, I thought, a terrible place for a murder scene. “All right Andrews?” my boss asked as ...

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“Groundhog Day” by Amy Donahue

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #86

I smile when I see the slough of fresh earth, tossed down the bank, and the clear dark circle above it. Our groundhog dug out last night, or maybe this morning, but not yesterday, when the smallest of openings was still visible if you knew where to look. Asleep for months with no day or night, only the rhythm of the slowest possible heartbeat. Today was the day, to come back into the world. The woods are still a sparse a collage of browns against the damp, gray sky. And then, there it is! It's leaner than in the fall, but still wide and ro...

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This week's prompts

Set your story at a park during a spring festival.

Spring – 82 stories

Write about a character coming out of a long hibernation (either literal or metaphorical).

Spring – 158 stories

Write a fairy tale about someone who can communicate with woodland creatures.

Kids – 168 stories

Start your story with one character pointing out the first sign of spring to another.

Spring – 107 stories

Write a story where flowers play a central role.

Spring – 278 stories

Stories

“Flowering Walrus” by Scott Skinner

🏆 Winner of Contest #86

My wife chopped off the stems of these innocent white roses about two weeks ago. She put the dozen of them in her favorite glass vase and filled it up. She hasn’t changed the water once, and now it’s murky and growing algae. It looks like the Heather Farm pond that turned green that one year, except it’s not green. It’s just super dirty looking. She thinks flowers are pretty. Apparently, it doesn’t matter if they’re dead or alive; she just has to have them in the house.She made me go to the store and buy baby’s breath the other day. Helluva ...

183 comments 183

Read story

“The Forest’s Heart” by Claire Lindsey

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #86

She took her first breath in a grove of towering aspen trees, under the shadow of a hummingbird’s wing. Her mother was the melody of the mountain stream and her father was the glitter of sunlight through the coin-shaped leaves. The forest cared for her, swaddled her in wildflowers and sustained her with birdsong. When she cried, the butterflies kissed her cheeks and dried her tears. She grew strong and fast, and in only a few years she was taller than the saplings that sprouted on the day of her birth.When the nights were cold, she slep...

108 comments 108

Read story

“The Garden” by Zilla Babbitt

Submitted to Contest #86

Springtime in the garden always began when the pink azaleas started to bud. Dad would find them while checking the garden fence for rabbit tunnels and come inside with an armful of the tiny blossoms, ready to trim and slip into a Mason jar. The first year it happened, he came inside, his face flushed with excitement, a single pink bud the size of a fingernail pinned between his dirt-crusted fingers. Look, the azaleas are flowering, he told the both of us. Springtime. In the summers, but mostly in the spring, in the heat of the day when ...

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“Forget-Me-Not” by Writer Maniac

Submitted to Contest #86

He didn’t come outside yesterday. He didn’t wear his rubber-soled shoes and ridiculously large coat. He didn’t push his feet into the soil, savouring the satisfying squelch. He didn’t pick out the flowers that he liked the most and leave them on my front porch. The marigolds were crying. Their petals dripped of their loneliness and neglect, wanting his gentle touch and instead having to find it in each other. My hand had lingered in the air next to my doorknob, not finding the courage to go over there and give them some company. I didn’t ...

160 comments 160

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“Madness Among the Flowers” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

Submitted to Contest #86

“So what do you do when your personal values clash with those of your family, your friends, your loved ones, your society?”The classroom went silent. Expected. I gave the prerequisite wait time—counting the slow seconds needed for my high school seniors to digest my salient query. Their pensive expressions belied the fact that they were just digesting lunch. How can anyone teach a class immediately after lunch? They just want to go to sleep. I want to go to sleep. “Think about it. You have a different worldview, different...

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“Orchids” by Nora Ouardi

Submitted to Contest #86

Authors Note: Hey guys! I hope you'll enjoy this story. It's honestly kind of messy and unorganized, giving I wrote it in like 2 hours, but yea! I just got diagnosed with covid, so life sucks but enough of the sob story. So, without further-ado:He gave me flowers.Purple orchids, to be specific.They were my favorite.They reminded me of my mother, who died a year ago.Purple orchids represented admiration.I had that for him.Did he have admiration for me?If he did, I don't think he knew it.Soon, those beautiful orchids will be torn up.Ripped, th...

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“Smile Again” by Writer Maniac

Submitted to Contest #86

Once upon a time, in a land not unlike every other land, in a house not unlike every other house, there lived a young lad named Patrick.He lived with his ailing father and his wiry framed mother. He was closest to his father; Papa’s gentle authority having taught him so much and made up most of who he was.His father used to call him to his bedside every night and hold his small hands in his large cold ones. He used to make light conversation, and Patrick always held his breath, because he knew what was coming.“When I’m gone,” he would start....

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“The Hidden Fairy” by Nainika Gupta

Submitted to Contest #86

“Parisa!” Jimmy yelled, running up the hill. The woman who had his attention was sitting at the top of a tree stump. She was wearing a light green shirt made from what appeared to be grass stalks but were probably just fabric, and blue pants more vibrant than the sky. Her arms and legs were crossed, and her face was turned up toward the sun. Once he reached her, panting, she cracked one eye open and looked at him with curiosity. “Yes?” She asked. He sat down in front of her and looked up with eagerness. “The others are coming. We’r...

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“Serendipity” by Scout Tahoe

Submitted to Contest #86

The field is wet. Irrigation seeps through my cleats and into my socks. My legs are sore from countless Youtube workouts. (They claim to give you abs. I am living proof that those instructor ladies get liposuctions every month or so.) Besides, I tried to keep up lacrosse by practicing. Throwing, catching, cradling. But at some point, there’s no point. Hector has already started practice. I’m half an hour late and the girls are still doing warmups. They’ve already got their protection goggles on. Their feet slip along the grass when they...

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“Bare Necessities ” by Nainika Gupta

Submitted to Contest #86

*Nainika’s Note* Well, I don't know what this is. I tried a perspective I have never tried before, and I am not sure how well it worked, so let me know what you think! The bear yawned and stretched, her mouth gaping wide to show her long canines. A long-honed instinct had woken her up for the first nudge of spring, and she had awoken to the sweet smell of flowers pushing through the frozen earth. All through the winter, the bear had slept on, her metabolism ticking over just enough to keep her alive. Periodically she rose in a sleepy tr...

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“Keep your head up” by Ari Berri

Submitted to Contest #86

“Elliot...” I turn to my boyfriend, Jace. He’s on my bed, and was reading a book, but looking at me now. His blond hair falls in his face, and he blows it back. “Yes?” “Are you really going to do this?” I huff. “Yes.” “Okay...but there will probably be kids there.” “Even better!” I declare. “They need to be educated anyway. Now tell me, how do I look?” “Good.” He says. I sigh as he goes back to his book. I’m going for spectacular. I’m wearing a floor length dress. The top part is white, and the skirt slowly fades to green. The sleeves are go...

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“Burn the Night ” by Nainika Gupta

Submitted to Contest #86

“Aha, there’s a robin. I’ve won. It’s officially the start of spring.” Asmodeus crowed, pointing out the red-chested bird hopping on a branch of the tree over us. I harrumphed, crossing my arms, and sat back from my careful robin-sighting. “So?” I asked, subtly craning my neck to see the bird hopping onto the park bench next to us. The comfort of the black bench, warm from the slow steading sun, was a place to absorb the beauty of the park. The beauty of a joyful community at play. He poked me, and I squirmed away. “I won the ...

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“Cherry Blossoms” by 𝔼𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 ✳🏳️‍🌈

Submitted to Contest #86

If you think I don't see you, you must be crazy. You're mingling in with the cherry blossoms like light through a window, refracting. You're the first sign of spring. It's like I know you. Every day, I glance out the window at 1:30 and see you there, running into the horizon. Is it part of a class? Or something else? "Pay attention, Kalmin," Mr. Gentry slaps a ruler across my desk with a despicable screech. I stare as it bounces back and forth. Right, left... right- "You don't come to my class to sleep!" He turns back to his desk, where an a...

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“Never Let Go” by Kanika G

Submitted to Contest #86

Trigger warning: Sexual assault, description of violence Violet My hands caress the soft, moist grass that moves under my fingers like a living, pulsating creature, wet in patches from the morning drizzle. A strikingly blue butterfly takes off from the nearby daffodils and finds a perch on his shoulder. I look into his blue eyes, properly for the first time, and will him to stay still. While I stare at the butterfly flickering on his white T-shirt, I feel the warmth of his unwavering gaze on my face. A gentle breeze begins to blow, tousl...

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“Flowers for Rose ” by Holly Fister

Submitted to Contest #86

It’s eerie how time slows down during calamity, allowing your eyes to widen while your lungs forget their need for air, and then suddenly it spits you out in a new life, scarred and reeling. What do you hold on to?Friday, September 24, 2021 4:47p.m.The bus smelled stale and years of grime clung to the walls, but it could have been a prom night limo based on the way we were carrying on. Finally mask free, delirious from hormones and the intoxicating joy of skipping a whole day of school for a French play, we reveled in the moment. The bus dri...

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$50

Prize money

797

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Mar 26, 2021 EST

Won by Scott Skinner 🏆

Title: Flowering Walrus

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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