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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#97: Window of Opportunity

Windows let us see and be seen. These openings to the outside world (or the indoors world, depending on where you’re standing) have been so important in connecting our individual isolations during the pandemic. And beyond their presence in our daily lives, windows frequently feature in art and cinema: from Edward Hopper’s famous paintings of nightly urban scenes to films like The Woman in the Window or The Neighbors’ Window, glimpses into the lives of others have always been a source of wonder and curiosity.

Speaking of which, wonder and curiosity are promising feelings to tap into when you're responding to this week’s prompts. Apart from the literal gazing in and out of windows, you can also pass through magic ones, or develop a story around a window-related event. And if you happen to passionately loathe windows, I’ve got a metaphorical one for you to get creative with. Have fun!

This week's prompts

Start your story with a character looking out of a window in the middle of the night.

Horror – 340 stories

Write a story in which a window is broken or found broken.

Dark – 142 stories

Write a story that involves a magic window — or a window like no other.

Fantasy – 154 stories

Start your story with an unexpected knock on a window.

Dark – 138 stories

Set your story within a window of opportunity, when a character finally has the chance to do something.

Middle School – 144 stories

Stories

“Shards” by Kayley Dickins

Submitted to Contest #97

He had, admittedly, seen glass break many times before; soapy hands dropping glasses on the floor, test tubes in a science lab filled with rowdy children, and naturally windows being broken. Sometimes by bullets, sometimes by bodies, sometimes by bomb blasts. But there was something about watching it happen again this time that caught his breath. It might have been the sunlight, or it might have just been the angle at which he was standing. He couldn’t decide, he rather suspected it was just a combination of the two. It struck him as...

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“The experience” by Beth Murray

Submitted to Contest #97

"Okay the window is off the track Antonia, do you know how to fix that?" asked his mother; Hattie. "Yes mam, I thought you had grocery shopping to do?" said Antonia. "Oh yes, but I have to mop this floor, dust the living room, and mend your Father's church suit first." That seemed like a wonderful opportunity for Antonia to pitch in and help his mother. "That's ok Mom, you take the kids with you to the grocery store, and I got all this." Hattie accepted, she knew her son very well. Responsibility, sufficiency, and accomplishments were his ni...

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“One Step” by Kat Sencen

Submitted to Contest #97

Trigger warning: Suicide I get out of bed and peek outside the attic window, gazing out at the forest around me. The mossy trees rise high in the sky. The ferns spring up out of the dirt. The road weaves its way through it all. If I look hard, I can see the lake, though it’s not much in the darkness. Just a big empty clearing. I open the window, so I can hear the sounds. An owl hooting, a cricket chirping. Something growling, far away. Tonight is my last night to ever look out at this forest, hear it’s whispers. I tiptoe across my room, av...

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“She's Out!!” by Jools .

Submitted to Contest #97

As far as the neighbours knew she could be dead. Ten years she had been in that room and no one had ever questioned it. Why had no one ever wondered was she under the shed dead. Was she really that unmissed by society that no one cared at all?I know she thought I will creep out at night when everyone is asleep and go wild in the street, rob the bakery, swing my knickers in the air and leave my mark on the landscape.Tonight was the night, it was a school night so the kids were in bed and her husband who now slept downstairs (so she wouldn’t b...

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“Corey's Pieces ” by Marianna Mills

Submitted to Contest #97

"Ouch, darn, I'd better clean this mess up. Someone must havetried to break in here." Grundging out the words to himself, as he entered the old abandoned house on THAT day.....it was his divorce date. Two years passed now. She wanted him to sell the place, so she could pay for her lifestyle, which was modest but comfortable. Corey managed to work as a mechanic, long arduous hours, but it paid well enough. Myrna worked at the department store, managing the kids clothing section, a job she loathed but....whatever, she was good enough, she lo...

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“Broken Artwork, and Chocolate Chip Cookies” by London Finley

Submitted to Contest #97

Noah stared at the glass that now covered the canvas. Six hours of work ruined, his bedroom window now broken, glass is everywhere. Noah ran a hand through his hair. He would have to start his painting all over again as glass fragments stuck to the wet paint. But for now, one question rang through his mind. What broke the window? His eyes scanned through the room before landing on a tennis ball. Noah immediately knew who broke it. Jonathan. And just as his boyfriend's name popped in Noah’s mind, this door to his ...

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“The woman in the window” by Maria Johnson

Submitted to Contest #97

She’d always liked the house, from as far back as she could recall. End of terrace, with it’s own little front garden, that housed an array of rose bushes that smelled divine to the passer by. It’s location good, set opposite the park, and on quiet road, that saw little passing traffic.It had first caught her attention, upon one of the first solo walks home from school, after moving up into the juniors. It had been one of those glorious Indian summer September afternoons, when she had paused to look longingly at the park, drawn by the sounds...

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“The Prophecy” by Babika Goel

Submitted to Contest #97

Ahmed noticed her pleasant expressions fade as she pointed outdoors into the absolute darkness “Can you see the flickering candle flames in the cemetery?” she questioned, her brownish-black eyes losing their sparkle. "Never has there been so many."She was lying in her bed, surrounded by life-saving equipment, on the seventh floor of Al-Zabeera hospital, in the heart of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital city, pointing to the public cemetery, at the far end that served as a burial ground for both royals and commoners.Ahmed walked up towards her a...

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“The Air is Cooler at Night” by Renee Langille

Submitted to Contest #97

Sirens blared. Horns honked. Somewhere in the distance another boom sounded and a billowing cloud of smoke and fire rose. John held his hands behind him as he stared out the full length window. The night was blacker then usual. Perhaps that was due to half the city being plunged into a blackout. “The air is cooler at night, don’t you find sir?” Malcolm spoke behind him. John refrained from tightening his grip on his left hand. Small talk annoyed him at the best of times and these were not the best of times. He watched the latest plume of smo...

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“"Thomas Received"” by ✨Maddy Gunn✨

Submitted to Contest #97

"Thomas Received" "You will never, EVER amount to anything, YOU HEAR ME?" The cruel words of his Lady Lane's voice replayed over in Thomas's mind, he clenched his fist trying to drown them out. Thomas stood looking out of one of the Servant's quarter's windows, the day was bright, his clock read exactly 6:00 am, it was already begging to become sunny. The clock chimed. Thomas sighed. "Well, here we go!" he muttered to himself as he changed out of his bedclothes and into his butler uniform. The bells started ringing, in all of t...

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“Look around, it’s hidden in plain sight” by Chacha Jaramillo

Submitted to Contest #97

✍️REEDSY 🔆🔅 The sound of a passing car and the screeching sound of tires called my attention. Maybe another crazy speedy driver street racing down to the beach walk. It’s sunny and many sunbathers are congregating down at the beach. An everyday scene for sunny beach days down Marbella Beach. Couldn’t take the opportunity to join all these exhilarating feelings that everyone’s getting when going to Daytona Bech, the smell the burning tires and the sounds of pneumatic drill unscrewing bolts to take out and put back and exchange tir...

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“Abraxas” by Mike Garrigan

Submitted to Contest #97

The sun had not yet roared into the sky. A Mapleton City Police cruiser rushed along on Chisholm Chapel Road. Sarge drove. Denny rode shotgun. Sarge smoothed his thick mustache with his thumb. Denny reached around his side to itch his back fat. The sun began to push reds and oranges through the blue morning horizon. “She didn’t see who broke it?” Denny asked.“Didn’t say. She was pretty upset,” Sarge said.Sunlight began to creep over the trees. Sarge and Denny put on aviators, almost simultaneously. A beam of light hit a nick on the...

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“Who's There?” by Sarah Bird

Submitted to Contest #97

It happened on day ninety-three. Seven days before we were due to return to Earth. I suppose Fate is out there somewhere laughing at the irony of it all, but I haven’t managed a smile since it happened. It’s only been a day, but it feels like a lifetime. Like a gaping hole has opened up in my chest and is hollowing me out. The habitat AI’s soft computerised voice prompted me to complete the routine tasks, otherwise I might not have bothered at all. Once I was finished the AI suggested I rest, and that was when my thoughts finally caught up w...

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“The Optimistic One” by Shaquita B.

Submitted to Contest #97

The heel of my boot tapped rhythmically under the coffee table as my knees bounced up and down. The shot of espresso seemed to be working its magic through my limbs. I eagerly watched the people passing by the window with the collar of their coats turned up. Not too strange for early November. I had to have watched about 25 people walk by. None were him. I checked my phone once again. He was ten minutes late. I sighed. Hopefully, he wouldn’t stand me up like he did last night....

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“The window to death” by Prathna Kukreja

Submitted to Contest #97

Patricka had hust moved towards the countryside to her new home with her parents and one elder brother. She was a timid type of girl, always day dreaming about her passion-Dance. She was loving her new house, actually you can say it was a mansion beautifully decorated. Her favourite place was the window of her room. She had just got a beautiful mushroom shaped night-lamp for her study table which she had just placed near her window. She sat there and imagined herself dancing to the hip-hop tunes. She also was a great artist, as in sketching ...

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$50

Prize money

921

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jun 11, 2021 EST

Won by Claire Lindsey 🏆

Title: In situ

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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