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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#92: Chiaroscuro

A meteor's dazzling burst of light, a sky faintly illuminated by a crescent moon, or a sidewalk lined by long afternoon shadows, the world is infinitely more interesting for chiaroscuro — the contrast of light and shade. More than that, the binary between light and darkness is one that holds great symbolic power (think yin and yang, Nyx and Erebus, good and evil).

With that in mind, this week’s prompts invite you to reflect on the way light influences a story’s setting, plot, or even its characters. Whether darkness means comfort and privacy or creepy echoing corridors, and whether light reminds you of clarity and safety or of blistering intensity, I’ve chosen prompts that give you freedom of interpretation. Happy writing!

This week's prompts

Write a story that begins in the light and ends in darkness, or the other way around.

Horror – 383 stories

End your story with a truth coming to light.

Horror – 184 stories

Set your story in a countryside house that’s filled with shadows.

Horror – 170 stories

Write about a character who thinks they have a sun allergy.

Summer – 117 stories

Write a story set in a city where the power suddenly goes out, leaving everyone in darkness.

Horror – 187 stories

Stories

“Love in the Darkness” by Katie Ingold

Submitted to Contest #92

***Warning: Some adult content***The whisper of skin against silk, a quiet gasp, a soft sigh. I listened for what I couldn’t see. Darkness surrounded me. A familiar friend—one who visited me often. The one I looked forward to as the blackness covered me. The one whose silky touch was nothing but a figment of my imagination. Or so they said.Every day, I watched the clock tick the seconds away. I willed the sun to move faster across the sky and lower behind the edges of the landscape. Waited for the last ray to wink out of existence and hide u...

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“Leave A Light On” by Zoey Hailey

Submitted to Contest #92

*Zoey’s Note* Hey guys! So for this week’s Reedsy, I’m going to be discussing a topic that may be a little bit darker for most of you: depression. I’ve been coping with serious mental illnesses like depression, anxiety, social anxiety, and trauma since fourth grade, and I feel like I just need to spread awareness. This story is meant to help others who feel like they have nothing to live for and no one to turn to to assure them that they are not alone; no one is. At least one person is experiencing something similar t...

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“Sixth Sense” by Mystic Darling

Submitted to Contest #92

*Disclaimer: No small children were harmed in the making of this story* I have always been afraid of the dark. Which makes the lights going out about 10 times scarier. And in the subway of all places at that. And then there’s my special ability. Yeahhhh, I’m not a normal 15 year old, I can sense a person’s deepest darkest secrets. Sounds like fun doesn’t it? WRONG! Oh, you should hear about half of the shit I have been put through over this. I mean it was SO delightful to find out my dad was cheating on my mom with her sister when I was 1...

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“Solar Urticaria” by A.J. Constantino

Submitted to Contest #92

Dylan’s log Day 1: It is with great sadness and reluctance that I begin this log to document a life that is both cursed and tragic at once. You see, I have been diagnosed with an illness that I, until recently, believed to be merely hypothetical. A thought experiment that I had devised in order to remain absent from a monotonous and fruitless pedagogical endeavour has unfortunately been actualized. I began this day, however unfortunately, besmirching my own name with a fabrication. A fabrication that had been immaculately devise...

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“WHAT SHE DARED TO FIND” by Tamara Kenosi

Submitted to Contest #92

“What I take and giveth to those who lack the power to express their needs is not crime but freedom to set the world straight.” Edwin Case’s Law of Gratuity (A quote By Tamara Kenosi)Rhyme Taylor sat in her office going through a case report. She had been assigned to take over a case after the Central Mattson Police failed to identify a source that was turning the entire government upside down. The president of Botswana made a special request to the director of Lane Federal Bureau Investigation team to assign Rhyme on the case. She was well ...

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“A Choice” by Amanda Kelly

Submitted to Contest #92

My mind was dark. I wouldn’t open my eyes.I couldn’t. Not after her death. I was all alone. ***Days passed. My muscles ached from little movement. But my mind wouldn’t stop moving. Replaying the same thing, over and over. Her last breath in the hospital bed, as cancer won over her body. Her grip loosening on my hand as God stole her away. It was like my mind was purposely being cruel by pressing the replay button on the worst moment in my life. I couldn’t keep living. Not without her. I had no purpose. What was the ...

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“Pitch Black” by Kirrtanaa Thanesh

Submitted to Contest #92

Charcoal City was a city like no other. What made it different from others was the sky. Every night, instead of the usual dark blue sky others would have, the sky in Charcoal City would be black. Not just any black, pitch black. Light was an important source for the city. Joey and his little sister Ellie lived in a normal house with their parents and their grandmother. Ellie was much loved by everyone as she was a sweet, kind little girl. One day, Joey’s parents needed to attend a conference meeting at...

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“The lunar eclipse” by Santina Forlenza-Pihuličova

Submitted to Contest #92

In a world where light was powered by the Sun and stored by the Moon, a lunar eclipse was the blackout. * The right night to catch the wild animal had come. The Shaman told them. “Why?” One of the hunters asked. “Because Silver Ball is full. Look how perfectly round it is! Look how it floats in the blue-dark waters above your head,” the Shaman said. “You will see, when its silver claws will stretch on the wild animal; you will catch it, wherever it will try to hide,” he added rubbing his hands greedily. The hunters moved among low bushes and...

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“Gray Matters” by Mark Wilson

Submitted to Contest #92

It seemed as if he’d been waiting forever already, and it had only been a little over an hour. It was 10:47pm according to the dim red glow of the digital clock radio on the nightstand. His hands were shaking like a leaf and his eyes were burning red with wretched tears, dilated and blurred at the pale-yellow disheveled light that lunged at him, as he blindly felt along the wall to find the small switch; it was surreal, as if he were walking through a waterfall of dancing shadow. As he reached for the sink to steady himself, h...

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“Hidden in Plain Sight ” by Somtoochukwu Benedict Ezioha

Submitted to Contest #92

Your alarm pinged, jolting you from your wonderful sex-induced sleep. You searched blindly with your arms, hoping to switch off the insistent piece of technology without fully waking up; but it was as if you were playing hide-and-seek with your phone—it was nowhere near. Your partner on the other side of the bed stirred and grumbled about the disturbing sound. Then your left hand located the phone under the foam. You brought it close to your face and mistakenly snoozed the alarm. Then you noticed the message notification. You opened it, and...

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“Exchanges With Mina” by Sharmila Shankarkumar

Submitted to Contest #92

Three days into the blackout it was pitch dark inside and outside. I was contemplating my next move.It had been 6 years, 3 months, 4 days and 7 hours since I'd last left the apartment. I lived there, all day, all night, every day of the week, every week of the year. It’s a nice enough apartment. It’s right on sixth avenue and I don’t have a set of eyes right across the street, peering in at me. There's no rear window situation. There’s a little distance between us, because of the triangular park they built on the street below a long tim...

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“Why Your Dog Is Better Than You” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #92

I do not understand the humans. Let me explain: I am “Rex” to my human, but “Steven” to my friends. I have had my human for over three years and it is a pleasant relationship, as long as I can understand the things that we are both supposed to do. I chase out the birds and squirrels, guard the space when the human is out, and make sure that this space is safe. Yes, make it safe, and keep it safe. And this is why I am still confused. One day, in the middle of an evening, when fewer squirrels were about and I had not much to do except wai...

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“Out of Darkness” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #92

Bing and Wing first met in the waiting room of the Vision Center. They each happened to have an appointment. A great friendship began that day.Bing heard her talking with her driver. He recognized her voice.“Excuse me, aren’t you Wing?”She turned to the sound. “Yes. Who are you?”“Your voice is familiar. You read at the Poetry Jam, last month. I’d know your voice anywhere. I love your poetry.”She paused and said, “You sound familiar too. Do I know you? Are you a singer?”“I sing. Yes.”She smiled. He heard it in her voice. “Will you sing for me...

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“Dawn of the Dark” by Ash W

Submitted to Contest #92

When you read a story, you probably expect some type of happy ending. Some ending where the girl finally gets the guy she’s been crushing on for ages or the superhero family saves the world from a threat that people didn’t even know existed. Some story where against all odds, the underdog ball team wins because they learn how to shoot with math and angles and had team spirit because that’s somehow enough to be the best. Some bullshit ending that doesn’t really make sense, but nobody cares because it just fits so perfect and makes you ...

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“Oscar and Pa” by Niveeidha Palani

Submitted to Contest #92

Author's Note: This was inspired a little by a story that I had read earlier. It was so heart-wrenching and so touching, I felt I needed to write something like it.This was based on a true story."Pa!" Oscar cried, jumping on his lap, and giggling.Pa swirled him up into the air and kissed the top of his nose. "My little Ossie, how was school, eh?"Oscar's eyes lightened up like glowing fireflies as he recited a tale about his poem in class and how his teacher had praised him profusely.Pa's lips broke into a wide grin and his eyes shone with pr...

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$50

Prize money

1051

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - May 07, 2021 EST

Won by Nina Chyll 🏆

Title: On the Origin of Shadows

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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