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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#89: The More Things Change...

If there’s one constant in life, it’s change. You can plan all you want, but as we all know, life is often surprising. The only way to keep up is to remain flexible and open to new choices.

This is my final Friday here at Reedsy, and so in the spirit of moving forward, this week’s prompts are all about changes. I want to thank this wonderful community for all your creativity and enthusiasm — it’s been an honor getting to write these prompts for you every week and see the dazzling, beautiful, and unique stories you create from them.

But Reedsy Prompts is much larger than one person, and as the saying goes, the show must go on! Next week you’ll be meeting your new Prompts host, Laura, and I’m very excited to see what you all achieve together.

This week's prompts

Write a story that spans a month during which everything changes.

Sad – 131 stories

Start your story with a character taking a leap of faith.

Middle School – 151 stories

Write a story where one person is trying to say goodbye but keeps getting interrupted.

Middle School – 154 stories

Write about someone who is always looking toward the future.

Adventure – 77 stories

Start your story with an ending and work backward toward the beginning.

Fiction – 201 stories

Stories

“This is all so out of control!” by Moon Lion

Submitted to Contest #89

Warning: Violence"So, this is it," I said, incapable of hiding my smile. I turned to look at Elena, wondering why the hell she looked so nonchalant.I was finally doing it, leaving. But I expected some tears. Where's the love, the affection? The tearful promises, however false they may be? Elena nodded, looking around the entrance of the airport, hands in her pockets. Also, I knew the hit out on my life was fake, but what was with the lack of any and all concern? I narrowed my eyes at her, trying a different tack. "Aren't you gonna miss me at...

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“Beneath A Lazarus Moon” by Stevie B

Submitted to Contest #89

Full disclosure: Paul Jones Palin was no longer the voice of a generation. His death assumed to have happened on August 31, 2010, had people talking all around the world because of its questionable nature. It wasn’t until September of 2017 that he was then declared dead in absentia. By that time everyone had not only stopped talking about P. J. Palin, they’d also pretty much forgotten all about him. And so it goes, my children, and so it goes. That’s why it came as quite a surprise to most that after several undocumented reported sightings...

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“Trials of Death” by Nainika Gupta

Submitted to Contest #89

*Nainika’s Note* I watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade yesterday (again) and, I wrote this sort of based on that. Enjoy! “Trust yourself.” Julia urged. I looked down again at the chasm that seemed bottomless and separated me from the hiding place of the “From Hell” letter, something I have worked my whole life trying to find. It was Jack the Ripper’s badly-spelled note that he may have sent to London police in 1888. Arriving in a box that also contained half a human kidney, it’s considered to possibly be the only authentic communica...

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“The Traveling Rock” by Carrie O'Keefe

Submitted to Contest #89

You hold me in your hand glaring and about to throw me. I may be a small pebble but I was once big. Some people think that small things are really annoying. Me, I think it might be an easier way to move around. I didn’t mean to hurt your foot, I just needed a ride to explore. I like to move around and see different things. I used to think staying in one spot was the thing to do but now I want to know what all there is out there. My only problem is that everywhere I go I leave a piece of me behind.Before I was in your hand getting ready to be...

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“A Horse Named Lionheart” by Nainika Gupta

Submitted to Contest #89

The summer air tasted sweeter than it did four years ago. Somehow without all the pain, misery, death, and destruction coloring the air, the entire world feels lighter. Freer. If I closed my eyes, I could still feel the barbed wire cutting into my chest and hind legs. I can still feel the warm hands of the two boys who cut me free and then walked me back across the swath of earth they called No Man’s Land. But all that is in the past now. My days are no longer filled with the sheer terror of war but rather with my sweet Leo’s sure brus...

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“a lucky break” by KED KED

Submitted to Contest #89

As Audrey ambled down the side streets on her way to pick up her desperately required morning Chai, she closed her eyes and tilted her head up to meet the sun. It had been days and days of rain. Of clouds and thunder and fog and mist. Now, as she soaked in those brilliant rays, she could feel her soul lift. Like a flower converting the radiant energy of the sun into useful chemical energy, her step quickened, and her smile grew. Today HAS to be the day, she willed, sending her affirmation out into the universe. ...

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“Palindrome” by Michael Boquet

Submitted to Contest #89

THIS...is the END...of the UNIVERSEEndless nothingnessUtter silenceComplete, all-encompassing blacknessEons pass. They are mere moments to the cosmosA dazzling flashAtoms vibrate in time to the rhythm of the universeMolecules form, linked by unbreakable bondsStars blaze, sending rays outward, illuminating the vacuumArranged together, the stars shine within their galaxies, forming the teeth in broken smilesInnumerable galaxies, each with their own precious planetary systemsYOU ARE HEREThe Orion Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy within the Virgo Sup...

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“chuleta gets chopped ” by Jubilee Forbess

Submitted to Contest #89

“I don’t care what she said, I care what she did to our family.” “She didn’t do anything to this family, Chuleta, that was you. You’re the one who tore it apart, rib by rib and slice by slice. You took up your fork and smashed it down flat against our skulls. What choice do you think we had? Answer me that, and then I’ll believe it’s her fault.” “I’ll kill her.” “You wouldn’t.” “Yes, I would. And you know what, I’ll kill you too. I’m gonna kill everyone in this place, and I’m gonna smile while I do it. You hear me? You ...

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“Justice In A Whiskey” by Radhika Diksha

Submitted to Contest #89

March 21, 1957There is blood on the bed. His stomach ripped open, his left eye mutilated, and the side table is lying near the door frame. His wife is bawling her eyes out, and there is a half-empty bottle of whiskey under the bed. The cut on his body shows that he was attacked by a knife, and the incision is so clean almost as if the murderer is an anatomy genius. The mouth of the body is gaping open, and his neck has purple splotches. My friend who is an investigator clicks photos from all angles. With each flash of the...

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“The Lost Smile” by Daniel R. Hayes

Submitted to Contest #89

At Mel’s Diner, Adam Mason sat alone contemplating a once in a lifetime tragedy. Going out into the world was his way of taking a leap of faith. In the crystal shards of sunlight shining through the window, he caught a glimpse of himself and quickly turned away. It was the first time in years that he had seen his reflection. Sure, he would look in the mirror to comb his brown hair and to make himself look presentable, but he didn’t really look at himself. Reaching down, he took another sip of his black coffee and listened to al...

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“The Cowboy” by Christina Marie

Submitted to Contest #89

Death searched the desert, a moonlit shadow stalking sand and shrub.The Cowboy’s horse whickered softly at Death’s approach, but remained faithful and did not run.“It’s a cool night,” Death called from just beyond the ring of flickering light that warmed the Cowboy’s tired hands.“It’s about time,” the Cowboy replied, welcoming Death to his fire. He did not stir from where he lounged back against his saddle bags, left leg stretched long, right knee propped up, dusty hat lowered over his eyes.Death was polite and settled down in easy quiet; th...

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“Ripples and Raindrops” by Claire Lindsey

Submitted to Contest #89

“It’s okay, baby. I’ll catch you,” he says. I can barely hear him over the echo of laughter, the patter of wet feet on cement. The sun hangs, bright and burning, in the chlorine-scented air. I pick at the pink frills of my bathing suit, readjust my purple goggles. One of the big kids runs by the lifeguard’s chair and leaps, leaving a splash and a sharp whistle in his wake. “You can do it,” Dad coaxes, in the same voice he uses to calm a panicked animal. “Jump.”My heart pounds. I’m afraid, not of the water itself or even that he wil...

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“The Wrong Swipe Right” by Courtney C

Submitted to Contest #89

Horror dawned in her eyes as she saw that he was not, in fact, her Tinder date's roommate. In fact, there was no real date, just a fake profile he'd made after hacking her account and tailoring his catfish version to her type. Horror turned to unadulterated panic, complete with hyperventilating, when no Daniel showed, and she realized that he had locked the door behind her from the inside. He advanced on her with a slow and unhurried gait.She threw her weight against the door once, then again, but it had been triple locked, the only keys cur...

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“bye bye buddy ” by Jubilee Forbess

Submitted to Contest #89

Goodbyes were never meant to be easy, but this one in particular is the worst one you’ve had yet. All morning long, you’ve been tapping your feet, dragging your hands, drinking too much milk and sipping it from your broken wine glasses because, after all, the rest of the dishes are sitting in a sticky pile by your sink. You can’t get up and get going but you know that if you don’t leave the house now, the heavy setting is going to choke you out and, as much as it’s hard in the moment, you like breathing. You want to be able to move on, even ...

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“Broken” by Daniel R. Hayes

Submitted to Contest #89

My name is Ben Anderson and I’ve always wanted to be a father. My wife’s name is Lisa, and after a few years of trying we finally got lucky. Our soon-to-be-born baby is due this month. Lisa wants the gender to be a secret and that’s fine by me. Just the thought of being a father makes me the happiest sap on God’s green earth. I work at Wilson’s Lumber Mill, but it’s not my final resting place. Oh no sir...I have big plans to open my own pet shop down the road. I want to give my wife and child a life that they can be proud of. It ...

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$50

Prize money

718

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Apr 16, 2021 EST

Won by Shea West 🏆

Title: Strong Exhale

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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