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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

“Flowers of Hell” by Marin Arvin

Submitted to Contest #86

The dawn of spring was like coming up for a breath of fresh air after nearly drowning in a sea of darkness. Winter was cruel, killing all things beautiful and lively. So when the time came, Persephone ran through the frosted meadows, and in her path bloomed a trail of flowers of all colors. Wherever she went, life flourished. She was bright and beautiful and loved the springtide. One brisk afternoon, when the sun was shining high in the sky and the grass swayed softly with the winds sent by Aeolus, Persephone ran through the meadows. Her go...

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“X-RE” by 𝒮𝓊𝓂𝓂𝑒𝓇 𝓑𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓸𝓷

Submitted to Contest #86

She felt sick, spinning around in her Venus Raider. It was 3908, in human years, but in Saturn years, it was 239, and it was 7654 in Jupiter years. She groped for the safety bar the scientists had placed for cases like this, when the gravity was off. "Walker. Come here", she said through her suit's speakers. Syma wondered into the pod room, all most lazily. "What?", she replied. "Did Phase Four work?" "I don't know. I said I'll tell you when I find out." Kaylee finally grabbed the safety bar, and looked out into space, annoyed. They...

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“Be My Eyes Young One.” by Debbie Teague

Submitted to Contest #86

Two people sat underneath an old oak tree in the early spring. The older one wrapped with a lap blanket and prayer shawl to keep away the chill; the younger one in a hooded cloak over a simple robe. They talked of the colors of a bed of tulips next to the benches. After a time, the older one said: “I need you to take a journey young one. Do you recall the first path we walked when you became my student?” “Yes, Master Reeves. Garden of the Gods, it was summer.” The old man smiled and spoke. “Yes, that’s the place....

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“Why is the Squirrel the Favorite Animal of the Grassland? ” by Deepika Viswanath

Submitted to Contest #86

The tiny squirrel made his way around the grass, nibbling at each end, pausing every now and then to look up. It was brown in color, with streaks of white fur. He then made his way to a part of the grass that was dry. There were a few chestnuts in that space. Swiftly, he picked one up. His puffy cheeks bit the chestnut as he held it in his paws.When he was done, the squirrel ran towards a garden which was next to the patch of grass.The garden had a single rose budding from its stem. It was planted in the ground. It was unique as it was...

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“Who Dreams of Cut Flowers? ” by Daniel Brown

Submitted to Contest #86

“Who dreams of cut flowers?” It felt like an idiot question that deserved an idiot answer. And at a time where the moon was especially bright, where its glow turned the usually dark diner into a paper lantern, Rainbow and I appeared particularly idiotic. Alone in a diner, charred fries, two greasy, untouched burgers and warm, denim-clad bodies who blabbered about dreams of cut flowers. “I dream about different ones on different nights.” I started, like the engines of cars that zoomed past. “Like last night, I dreamt of a ro...

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“Hanahaki” by Désirée Iaiza

Submitted to Contest #86

Is it really hard to love someone? She had never thought about it, till that day. That group project was the last thing she wanted to do until she saw that pretty face of his. He wasn't the popular guy, it was the opposite. So when he got paired up with her, the loved and famous Anya, and two of her close friends, he felt like he could internally explode at any moment. For her, that was the first time she saw him. Being the cool girl she was, limited the number of people she could meet or remember. But on that day, she wondered how come she ...

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“Good Fences and Good Neighbors” by Susan Joy Clark

Submitted to Contest #86

Monday, one week before the judging for the Annual Honeyville Community Garden Competition“Seamus! Seamus, get out of my garden!” I took chase after my neighbor's wheaten terrier who was now racing in circles around my bird and butterfly sanctuary. With each rotation, he chased away another goldfinch and another butterfly. It was a futile exercise, running in circles after a beast that was more agile than a ninja and faster than the Roadrunner escaping Wile E. Coyote. Suddenly, my foot slipped, and I did a full face plant in the grass, still...

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“Purple Joy” by Andrea Couture

Submitted to Contest #86

Henry ran to put on his sneakers while exclaiming, “The sun is out! It’s like summer!” His little gray and yellow Velcro shoes waited patiently by the door to enjoy another adventure. Henry pushed his little feet with mismatched socks into the shoes and said, “Look Mom! I can do it! They are on the right feet!” I glanced down and smiled, “They are! Great job. Let’s go!” As I grabbed my red vest and slipped my arms through it, Henry was already pushing the door to the garage open and running ahead. I followed him out the door at a much slower...

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“A Day Well Spent” by Jill Davies

Submitted to Contest #86

Jean squinted against the sun as she made the final descent on the westward trail. The last time she checked her watch it was 11 hours and 56 minutes since she’d stepped out of the vehicle at the top of the mountain while whispers of dawn stretched out over the still-frozen mountain tops. “I love you,” she said, giving John a quick kiss on his unshaven check. Opened the back door as quietly as possible to let RICE escape and whisper a kiss onto Ella’s head. Back then the day was fresh with possibilities, and every single one of them promised...

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“SPRING TIME” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #86

SPRING TIME Every year when it was spring again, and you felt spring in the air, in the wind, you saw it in the light, for her it was time to adventure, her heart beating tightly, in the ditches between lawn and lawn, looking for those jonquils so rare, which standing upright with their sober , solid, enchanting appearance (look) among needles and weeds. They, with their glazed appearance that made you think they were ceramic flowers, yet with their unmistakable perfume, even if barely perceptible, a bitter sweet scent wh...

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“Daffodils” by Jordan Goodyear

Submitted to Contest #86

Spring always has the connotation of new beginnings, and the sickeningly feeling that you should stop feeling sorry for yourself as you once did during those lonely winter nights… whether you like it or not. They tell you to be happy and productive “‘cause the sun is out” and “the flowers are a-blooming” and that “nature is waking up, you should be happy”, again and again and again. Once you get bombarded enough that you are insecure enough to listen, you start doing those things. You deep clean your apartment even though you found ...

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“What is best for you” by Sam Ackman

Submitted to Contest #86

A door closed and Ash looked up at the long haired Oliver who just walked in. “Hey Oli, you have rounds tonight don’t you? I really need to get out and stretch my legs.” Oliver hung up his sweater and although not facing him, Ash could feel the eye roll. “Why are you so obsessed with going out there? You’re the only one who likes going out and who refuses to use drones for your rounds.” “So what you’re saying is ‘Yes, I do have rounds and would love to let you go in my stead my dear Ash’ right?” Ash said with a face growing...

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“Flowery Language” by A Mehendale

Submitted to Contest #86

It’s a small lecture theatre, dimly lit. Dr Romano is a brilliant speaker, knowledgeable and engaging and just the slightest bit condescending - the just slightly pompous tone of someone who is the most expert in her field and knows it. She’s talking through some drawings right now, a collection of Da Vinci’s anatomical sketches. It’s fascinating, and the papers are incredible, and Antiope knows that she’s privileged to be here and she should be on the edge of her seat.And she would be, except she can’t. Stop. Sneezing. It’s infuriating...

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“Kalopsia ” by Hungara Gamelia

Submitted to Contest #86

The liquid glass fell like stars from orbit, shining an eerie red while burning its way through the atmosphere. Cooling just before reaching the surface and for one brief moment, turning clear and reflecting the light of the iridescent moon of Kalamtron like prisms and shining out like an aurora borealis. Then the solid hardened glass would slam into the ground and shatter into a hundred thousand shards, sounding like mirrors being broken, over and over again.Then when the blue sun of Galestrom rose, the splinters of the clear bubbled substa...

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“Corn Dogs: Based on a True Story” by Wren Robinson

Submitted to Contest #86

The mouth-watering aroma of deep fry mingled with the pollen and fragrance of blooming Georgia wildflowers. The sunshine reflected off a young man’s gas station sunglasses as he breathed in the fresh air and listened to the rabble of festival goers around him. Travis walked alongside his family and high school sweetheart past the food stands and carnival games, but he noticed that one particular stand was gathering substantially more attention than the rest. “What’s going on up there?” His mom asked, gesturing to the food stand. ...

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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.

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