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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!

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

“When Flowers Bloom.” by Lilliana Sheldon

Submitted to Contest #86

I dream that one day the world will be different than it is now. My mind spins through pictures of soft airy skies and plush fields of grass. I am in a dress, twirling aimlessly with a smile of fulfillment on my face. I have never been happier. The wind and I are one. Constantly in sync with one another. I learn to follow the wind; to go where it leads me. I am not alone in my dream. I am surrounded by people. Everyone is unique in their own way, but not one is more beautiful than the other. Each one of us knows our own beauty. We spen...

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“Durinda and the Lucky Hex” by Melanie Emm.

Submitted to Contest #86

Once upon a time, in the village of Mold-Upon-Turnip, there lived an unremarkable girl called Durinda. Her hair wasn’t ebony or chestnut, gold or russet, but a dull shade of blond that someone had once likened to “possum fuzz.” Her skin didn’t shimmer or grow tawny in the summer sun, but was a sickly pale that barely freckled. And her eyes? They were green, but so is grass, and so are leaves. In Mold-Upon-Turnip there was a cruel woman who held more wealth than God, and possessed less sense than a child, Princess Jet. She called hers...

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“A Bearly Bearable Spring Equinox” by Charlie Murphy

Submitted to Contest #86

Bright yellow light streamed through my eyelids. I groaned and tossed around. "Just five more minutes, baby,” I told my totally hot wife.“But, my buns are getting cold!”“OK, I’m comin’,” I said.“You know how to treat me right."“Yeah, I do, baby!” I said and I opened my eyes and stared into the bright blue sky.“Spring!” I said, stood up, and sprinted out of my dark den. I romped around the meadow and smelled the flowers.BUZZ!I looked and jumped back as a bee flew around.“Sorry little dude!”“S’alright,” he said&nb...

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“The little story teller” by Leslie Strom

Submitted to Contest #86

The little story teller The apartment building that I live in overlooks a big beautiful green space and beyond that is a River, it is the most beautiful area that I have ever lived. My favourite place to sit is on my balcony that overlooks this beautiful scenery. Every morning I have my cup of tea, something caught my eye this morning and watched this little girl walk out with her mom to place a blanket on the grass with several stuffed animals. The mother walked away to let her daughter play. On the first floor of our apartments the fir...

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“Leaving” by Hope Eure

Submitted to Contest #86

The day had come. She knew it would. It had all led up to this moment. She should have known. But love makes a wise man dumb, an artist blind, a faithful man sin. Love. Is that what it was? Or was it all a facade? Was it just a prison presenting itself as love? The memories flooded her, pushed her down under the currents of her emotions. Like a surfer sucked under a wave, she felt her spirit suffocating, churning in the tides, unable to catch her breath. Slowly drowning, fading away. She revisited every moment, every detail that they had sha...

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“Vincent and Aart” by Maria Pecora-Miller

Submitted to Contest #86

For seven years, exactly one hour before the start of his shift, Aart de Boer quietly walked into the Van Gogh Museum's self-portrait room. His bloodshot eyes, the aftermath of another restless night's sleep, inspected the walls punctuated with Van Gogh's most celebrated works. Aart's favorite piece changed at least once a month and at times with his mood. For the last few weeks, he stopped by Self-Portrait and tried to find something new about it every morning. A few days ago, he came across small fern-colored brushstrokes peppering Vincen...

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“Maytime” by Aburrow Marsh

Submitted to Contest #86

Spring Has Sprung!Jay West chuckled, reading the sign. Yes, spring had sprung, alright. He felt it everywhere he looked. Fruit trees were blossoming, pollen drifted in thick yellow sheets, bees buzzed, and the sun felt warmer than it had in months. He could scarcely recall the foot-deep snow that had fallen four weeks ago, such was nature's transformation. He strolled into the Kroger store on Main Street feeling reborn -- or about to be.Cynthia had texted him only an hour ago, making a suggestion that caused something else to spring. He had ...

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“Numb” by Ashley 💜

Submitted to Contest #86

The numbness surrounds me like a blanket, but this blanket is not comforting. On the contrary, this blanket restricts my every movement, my every thought. No, this is not a blanket, this is a straight jacket. I can feel myself ebbing away, losing the strength to fight the tight grip of depression. A sudden sadness envelops me: will I ever be free of this? It is immediately flushed away by the tiredness that takes its place. I'm tired of being tired.I look at my computer screen and try to focus on the words swarming across the screen, I'm rea...

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“Apocalypse Man Rising” by David Moyer

Submitted to Contest #86

Author's Note: This is the second installment of my "Apocalypse Man" story, it starts where the first chapter left off. The first chapter is also posted here on Reedsy during contest # 82 (https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/contests/82/submissions/56228/) and I highly recommend that you read that one first before starting this one. But it's your call. Alright then, here we go... I blink my eyes a few times, letting them adjust to the brightness around me. I’m not entirely sure when was the last time...

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“AFTER MISFORTUNE STRUCK” by Sivaram Govindaraj

Submitted to Contest #86

I was back home after 24 months. I liked the feeling of being free and at home. My son had picked me up at the appointed hour which was 3 PM. I surveyed my garden. The plants were in good shape. A gardener saluted me and I acknowledged. He was new. The old fellow must have quit I thought. I knew an honest couple had taken care of my house in my absence. I got a phone call which my son passed on to me as I had as yet no phone of my own. It was the head of a religious organisation which I had sustained during my years in power. I thanked the c...

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“NEW WORLD” by Deryus Snow

Submitted to Contest #86

DEVIL'S WIND: THE GREAT HAMATHANIt came without our knowledge, deadlier and scarier. So they kept us.They said we were the hope to humanity's curse. For a hundred years we stayed hibernated after the Devil's wind attacked.The devil's wind came along with creatures unknown by the men of science. So ancient lore whispered that they kept us here for the future.The whole of room Africa shrouded in Mist and hunted by devil creatures.For a hundred years the mist reigned along with the creatures and they won us.We lost to them, humanity's greatest...

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“Out” by Sandra Claros

Submitted to Contest #86

I tossed my cigarette butt into a pool of water that had formed right at my feet. - Yes, I said, the rain has already passed away and I think it would better go to that cave behind those two trees, over there. And so, I lifted the two days of laziness, crabapples and one-eye-opened naps. I looked at the sky turning blue and at the few drops of rain that slipped between the leaves and the iridescent sap of the tree. That intensity did not last long, because at that very moment I heard the branch...

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“Rebels and roses” by Sando .

Submitted to Contest #86

Northern French coast, 1942Hélène put on her best fake smile as the German officer approached the tobacco stand.‘Leutnant Dorn, n'est-ce pas?’ she said from behind the counter. Although she hated the way the Nazis were running roughshod over her beloved fishing town of Boulogne-sur-Mer, it paid to be polite and remember the names of the big cheeses in the occupying force. Surprise spread across Dorn’s craggy face. ‘Richtig. I’m flattered you have learnt my name.’ He threw her a stiff smile. ‘And you are Hélène, correct? How could I...

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“Chloe and the Mysterious Allergies” by Gwen Anderson

Submitted to Contest #86

The sticky smell of lemon rind and tart raspberries trapped in every corner of the town can only mean one thing: spring is coming. But while the promise of this season is typically composed of year old jean shorts and children frolicking in newly born fields of sweet grass, in Larson, Massachusetts, it only means that our dark gray skies turn into a slightly lighter dark gray, and those of us who once lived anywhere else in the world long for the refreshing sight of blooming daffodils and exploding pink ...

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“She Wished She Could Tell Her” by ∙𝕒𝕦𝕕𝕣𝕖𝕪 𝕡∙

Submitted to Contest #86

“Look! See?” My older sister’s delicate fingers point to the ground. “I don’t see anything.” She points at the snow. I look closer. “I still don’t see it.” I say, crossing my arms. “Look! Don’t you see? The little sprout of green breaking the snow?” Finally, I see it. There, a small blade of grass, lodged between the bright white snow. “This?” It’s a bit, well, underwhelming. How could a tiny sprig of grass be the start of spring? “Yes,” she says confidently. I can tell I have a bewildered look on my face,...

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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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