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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#90: Down to Earth

On April 22nd 1970, the first Earth Day was celebrated in the US. More than 50 years later, this annual event unites millions across the globe, as we turn our attention towards climate action and building a safer home for ourselves and all life on Earth.

Earth Day provides an opportunity for each of us to reflect on our relationship with the planet — and what better way to do that than by writing about it? Whether you follow in the footsteps of the Romantics, who believed in the rehabilitating powers of nature, or the SFF giants whose dystopian novels have long forewarned the demise of Earth Prime, let’s join in the spirit of Earth Day and get closer to nature with this week’s prompts!

This week's prompts

Write a story that weaves together multiple lives through their connection to a particular tree.

Spring – 246 stories

Write a story in which an endangered species (of plant or animal) plays a central role.

Middle School – 94 stories

Set your story in a world living with the consequences of a climate apocalypse.

Science Fiction – 133 stories

Write about a community that worships Mother Nature.

Summer – 82 stories

Start your story with someone sitting on a crowded train and end it with them looking out over beautiful natural scenery.

Spring – 258 stories

Stories

“Destination Mind” by Patrick Druid

Submitted to Contest #90

Panting for breath, I ran through to double doors of the city L train just before they closed and a grabbed on to the nearest handle available and held on to it as the engine cranked to life and I, along with the rest of the passengers on this sort of grungy conveyance with half broken seats and musty windows felt the ourselves swaying backwards as the the train lurched forward. "Excuse me" I mumbled to the gentleman to my left after I bumped into him. The other man grunted from underneath his small tweed hat which he had pulled downwards,...

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“The Reunion ” by Aditi S.K

Submitted to Contest #90

My head drops and my glasses slide off my nose. I start sliding down and I can feel my legs stretching forward. My neck hurts but I know its not because of this position. Hours of studying, and tutoring is the reason for the constant soreness in my neck. I feel a cold hand on my back and I suddenly jerk up. The hand withdraws quickly, as if scared by my sudden movement. A pair of twinkling eyes meet mine. Next to me, an old Chinese woman, wearing a red sweater is holding a cane for support. I can feel the heaviness in the air. T...

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“THE BUCKET LIST” by Chaitra Barli

Submitted to Contest #90

“hello, hello yes mom I caught the train” “Mom I already had the reservation , I don’t need to search for a seat.” “yes, I will call you when I reach .” akash hung up his phone. But he found it filled with people sitting even on them. when he looked around he confirmed that train is packed even in reservation compartment. He looks exhausted , it is middle of summer and Indian summers are too much heat. “I should quickly get to my seat”, he thought to himself. when he found it he saw a middle aged woman sitting there with a little boy. On one...

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“Thunderstorming Picnic” by Mila Van Niekerk

Submitted to Contest #90

Thunderstorms are actually pretty cool, as long as they stay a safe distance of one hundred kilometres away from me, Darren Barlow thought as thunder rumbled in the distance. He was sitting in one of the small, cramped carriages of the five-p.m. train. Squashed to his right was an old lady knitting a sweater and to his left a redhead girl in an incredibly elaborate black prom dress and a sour expression, who looked like the type of person to flip over the coffee table after losing a game of monopoly.If there had been a table in the carriage ...

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“An Adventure” by Carol Keefer

Submitted to Contest #90

A light glimmers on the leaves, casting shadows on the lush lawns as I seek my adventure, traveling across this great land. I capriciously took the quickest and nearest seat to the front on the overcrowded train ride. “All aboard,” the conductor bellowed, ambling down the aisle, beads of sweat on his brow with nimble fingers punch star shapes validating our tickets. A disingenuous dark-hair woman sat next to me, apologetic about her large overstuff carpetbag seated on the floor between us.She continued to chat as the active bu...

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“Ragged bark” by Maryam Qureshi

Submitted to Contest #90

My ragged bark streaked with tears, with ashes, and with paint.Long ago, the paint came first.It happened when the woman came to paint me. Not to paint on me, but to make a portrait of me. Or at least, I think that's what she was doing. The blonde sat opposite me, looking up every half a minute, earnestly scrutinising me, focusing on every detail. It made me feel a bit shy, but I quite liked it.She frequently came to the forest to paint. Sometimes it was the sunset, or the sunrise, or the night sky, or an animal, or the little creek with cry...

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“Roots” by J C

Submitted to Contest #90

On august the 25th 1999, for the first time in my life I have witnessed the last leaf fall down from a tree, as I looked up above me, I noticed big, white and wide branches springing over my head, completely naked, suggesting an arrival of colder days ahead of us.Some of the happiest memories I have are attached to that mighty oak, it beared witness to an undying love I pledged to my late wife, it saw many beautiful moments between two souls, that were looking for an escape from this troubled world. Back than I never thought that I would spe...

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“How Wonderful Indeed.” by Love Yourself

Submitted to Contest #90

The artist stood painting a scenery and decided to use the tree that stuck out like a sore thumb for his painting. How wonderful. The lines of the brushes softly added colour to the canvas. He continued painting and added in the couple under the tree into his painting, the soft breeze brushing against the painters face made him feel calm and relaxed. Oh how wonderful. There it was. The reason for his suffering. That annoying Tree. The begining of his so called love started here, the...

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“They Called Her Tilly” by MARK TRIMBOLI

Submitted to Contest #90

They Called Her 'Tilly' And the wind, always the wind, its whispered secrets forever shape the sheoak's nod and sway. Old Guyani sits cross-legged beneath the ancient tree, listening. At her feet is a cairn of limestone. The rocks, once gathered with care, now lie tumbled, lichen-flecked; a pile in disarray. Her dark eyes are closed against the harsh light. She breathes in deep the sea-tang that drifts in over the dunes, the sea waits. Faces fill her mind; they appear and dissolve as in a dreaming of long ago. Old bones creak, her head dr...

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“But have you ever had a tree hug you?” by Leah VanHoose

Submitted to Contest #90

It stood so gracefully in that open field. Its majestic branches looking like they were reaching for a hug from Meredith. That tree was her favorite. It was magical. Every day Meredith looked at it through the dirty bus window on her way to school. She'd always picture herself getting married underneath it and living in the old farmhouse that was near it. In one month they were moving. Dad got a new job. Moving to a new town. It was on the other side of the planet, as far as Meredith was concerned. She'd asked her mom to bring her to the tr...

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“Hidden” by Lilia May

Submitted to Contest #90

A tree, by itself, wasn’t an unusual sight. A tree, in the middle of the second story bedroom of a Los Angeles apartment, however, was a curiosity. The trunk of the tree wandered somewhere behind the building itself, but at a certain point it simply crossed into the bedroom, wholly unbothered by the apartment’s occupants. There were a lot of rumors about how the tree had become a part of the house, but the truth was that it had been built so long ago that nobody really remembered any kind of reasonable explanation. Paola Herrera, who was ol...

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“The old Sycamore Tree” by Madison Moore

Submitted to Contest #90

Chapter 1 The beginning of the end She had made a poor job of hiding the damage. What would father say? He had planted the sycamore about 3 months ago. It was only up to her hip. It was still a sapling. It would take about 3 more months to get to this height again. Why had she been so careless? She had been running around with the old family dog and ran straight into the sapling trampling it over. What was she to do? If father was to find out she was surely going to get punished. Since there is n...

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“Sanctuary Tree” by Kenneth Diao

Submitted to Contest #90

It was a hot day. The sun beat down, frying my scalp and burning my skin. Sweat stung my eyes. My tongue was dry as dust. I despaired. I can’t keep going, I thought. I felt the despair tangle with the irritation and resentment building in my gut. Why did it have to be so hot? Why today? Why now? I just wanted to curl up and die. No, that wouldn’t do. But what else was there to do? Keep wandering until I died? That’d be real fun. Go back? No. There was no going back. Keep wandering it is, I thought. I shuffled forward. One step. Then another....

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“The Argument” by Joe Swanson

Submitted to Contest #90

It began as most disagreements do. A misunderstanding of ones intentions, a word taking on a meaning not associated with an action, stupidity. We all are capable of mistakes that find their way into a realm of interpretation. A time, a place, a venue that cajoles the worst from us. Later we stop and consider how it happened, why, but move on only after reassuring ourselves it will never happen again. And then it does. Sometimes the impetus is too little or too much of a boost to ones ego to be of significance, someti...

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“Churuli” by Lakshmy Das

Submitted to Contest #90

“Time is relative,” remarked Churuli. She isn't a physicist. In fact, Churuli has never been to school. She hasn’t heard of Einstein. Come to think of it, not even about the Mahatma. Her theory of time came from the tree. She used to say that it spoke to her when they were alone. She lived near the Banyan tree for years, making it her home while protecting it with her subtle presence. Both the tree and the woman stood as the centre of our small community. The banyan was old and like the earth upon which it thrived; it was home to many. From ...

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$50

Prize money

813

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Apr 23, 2021 EST

Won by Nina Chyll 🏆

Title: The Tree Surgeon's Dictionary

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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