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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

“Pressure Release” by Ian Mitchell

Submitted to Contest #97

Charlie woke up with a start. She sat up on the couch and looked at the kitchen, the source of the sound. “Holy crap!” she shouted. The kitchen was covered in lemon basil chicken. And glass. “Wha-?” she asked, trying to figure out the source of the glass. Oh, right, the window. The pressure cooker’s lid had gone clear through the window, shattering it all over her kitchen and dining room. And probably the street below. She really hoped that no one had been under that. And a morbid part of her won...

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“317” by Winston Smith

Submitted to Contest #97

Three knocks hit the cell window. Officer Young jumped to his feet, sending his folding chair clattering to the floor behind him. He scrambled to retrieve his rifle and gripped the barrel in two, white-knuckled fists. “The hell?” he whispered to himself. For the first time in six years, Officer Young stood at attention. He stared down the length of the hallway, refusing to believe that the knock came from his prisoner. Inmate 317 had been in solitary longer than Young had been an officer. And 317 never made a noise. There it came again. ...

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“Dumpster Drivers ” by Meta M Griffin

Submitted to Contest #97

Dumpster DriversPatsy peeked out her blinds and grabbed her notebook. She watched the dumpster every night to make sure that people from other neighborhoods weren’t using the dumpsters. There had not been enough room in the dumpster for all the residents of the condo community to put their trash. And there were various and sundry rumors about strangers using the dumpster and or walking through the neighborhood at night. Patsy was determined to catch someone. She felt a rush of adrenalin when she saw a gray car pull up. So...

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“Through the Open Window” by LM Konkel-Dixon

Submitted to Contest #97

The windows appeared before them out of thin air, hovering before them until they seemed to stretch before their eyes. The effect is akin to staring up at a mountain in a dream. The higher you look, the higher they stretch, distorting at the edges, becoming unreal, menacing things. If the mountains were to float closer and closer until landing right in front of you. Thick carvings along the frames depict scenes that seem to shift while you study them, blue on the left window, amber on the right. A small plaque set in a raised stone directly ...

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“A Room With A Doom” by Michael Hayes

Submitted to Contest #97

Remote. It housed a secret. The house was the most isolated the couple could find to rent. Nestled amidst the north Pennines hills, the medium sized cottage enjoyed picturesque views of the surrounding countryside. The couple, both in their early thirties, were greeted by Mr Jackson, the landlord, who looked as though he was in his sixties; proceeded to show the couple around. Mr Jackson Turned to Carl and asked, “Mr Rhodes, what do you do for a living?” “I’m the Senior Cashier for a bank,” Carl replied. “And Mrs Rhodes?” “Miss Porter. He wo...

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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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“The Windows To The Soul” by Katharine Widdows

Submitted to Contest #97

(Trigger warning: alcoholism, car crash, murder.).............................................................................................The stooping woman brushed a few wild white hairs from her wrinkled face and fought to contain them behind one arm of her heavy spectacles. She gestured unsteadily towards a set of bottles and whiskey glasses on a table in a dark corner of the room.‘Can I offer you a drink?’Ben cleared his throat and looked away.‘Some people find it helps.’ She said, shuffling towards the liquor and offering a thin smi...

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“The Celebrity” by Madhuri Banerjee

Submitted to Contest #97

It’s the second lockdown of the pandemic and here I am all alone just staring out of a window hoping to catch the blood moon that everyone’s been talking about on social media today. As luck would have it I am surrounded by buildings and people in small apartments going about their daily business. A couple work out on their terrace at dusk. Some teenagers gather together in another building to smoke. An old man sits in his hammock till midnight, and then heads to sleep. I stay awake later than that most nights. I used to have a job that ha...

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“A Story From The Eighties” by John Walsh

Submitted to Contest #97

Janice was startled when she heard the rap on the window. She wasn’t supposed to sleep while working as a watch person at the poultry barn but she may have dozed off. She was sitting in the employee lounge of Sunup Poultry, Inc. Old man Petrie, the owner, threatened to dock the pay of anyone who called the place a “chicken factory” but that was what it was. It supplied the maximum amount of meat and eggs at the cheapest possible cost. ...

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“Ave Maria” by Leeav Quaoar

Submitted to Contest #97

I tapped my fingers on the table rhythmically.Did I have to put the adverb “rhythmically,” so that you can understand what I’m doing?Maybe. Because if I only said: “I tapped my fingers on the table,” then you’d literally imagine fingers tapping on the table, but not necessarily rhythmic.Hmm.I stopped tapping. I began drumming. Same words, different meaning.I looked at my laptop, glossed by the window’s reflection.When I was tapping my fingers, I also had my hand resting on my cheeks.The typical bored expression.Head slightly tilted, eyes dro...

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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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“Sticks and Stones” by Sloane Sanders

Submitted to Contest #97

“Hey honey, would you be able to run into town to grab some chicken, steak, and beer for tonight? Ben called to his wife Hannah, who was just getting in from her jog with their dog Tex. “Yeah sure,” she said “Do you want me to make anything else? I can make that macaroni salad and a dessert of some kind… maybe my Oreo fluff?” She grabbed a pen off the counter and started writing a list. &nb...

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“The Other Side of the Window” by Katie Ingold

Submitted to Contest #97

**CW: Mentions of torture and anxiety** Darkness always hid from the light. The luminescence chased the shadows away where they remained hidden, waiting for an unsuspecting person to stumble into the blackness. Or they waited for the light to retreat so they could slither along once again to cover the beauty. As I stared out the window into the night, I wished the light would chase away my shadows. Shadows I held deep within. Shadows that caused an ache so painful it hurt to breathe sometimes. Shadows where I discovered the truth concealed...

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“THE WINDOW'S EYE” by Sudeep RANA

Submitted to Contest #97

THE WINDOW’S EYE “What is that interminable blue line called”- told by an undisclosed rough voice with stupendous astonishment being immersed in it of a 24 years old boy with a shake- stubborn mitt pointing towards the infinity. A staggering tone surpassed the bumpy voice in a fraction of seconds and uttered gleefully- “it is the sky”. Then again ruthlessly that unwanted voice is saying –“how big it is!” It is covering an exaggeratedly large number of houses.” Again that happy voice whispered –“Yes it is so”. But that dulcet conversati...

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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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$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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