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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#99: Summer Solstice

In the Northern Hemisphere, June 21st is the ‘summer solstice’ — the longest day of the calendar year and, in astronomical terms, the beginning of summer. In my part of the world, this season evokes a plethora of scenes: sunbathing on river banks, al fresco dining with friends, and trips to the seaside, all punctuated by the heady scents of summertime — potent florals, sunscreen and food sizzling on the grill.

The solstice celebration has its roots in ancient Paganism — where people would gather at sites like Stonehenge and wear protective garlands of herbs and flowers to ward off the evil spirits who, according to Pagan folklore, walk the earth more freely at this time. From a spiritual standpoint, the solstice is all about embracing the sun and its awesome power. Whether you love basking in the sun or prefer to stay inside with the curtains drawn, I thought this week's prompts could be a way for us Reedsians to mark the advent of summer too. Happy writing!

This week's prompts

Begin your story with somebody watching the sunrise, or sunset.

Fluff – 275 stories

Write about the longest day of the year, or a day that never seems to end.

Summer – 99 stories

End your story with somebody stepping out into the sunshine.

Summer – 211 stories

Write a story about somebody reminiscing on an event that happened many summers ago.

Summer – 217 stories

Write a story about characters going on a summer road trip.

Summer – 104 stories

Stories

“Final Beats of a Lonely Heart” by MJ Aria

Submitted to Contest #99

Tick, tick, tick. The grandfather clock in the corner measured the final beats of a lonely heart. A wrinkled man rocked in the wooden chair, waiting in horror as the beats became wilder and more erratic. How many seconds left? Looking out the window, the sun upon his face, he watched as the world passed by, leaving him behind. Long ago he had forgotten his name, as there was no one to call him by it. No reason to remember it, really. Tick. How many seconds left? He watched as a woman scurried past his dilapidated fence. He watched a grou...

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“Looking for Sunshine ” by Esther Nichole

Submitted to Contest #99

This is the story of how type-A control freak, Alaina Cooper met her lifelong best friend in the very excitable, unruly, and excentric, Cherry Carter. The summer sun was just lowering itself behind the old Levittown-styled houses of Park Creek. The pinkish-orange sky painted a beautiful backdrop for the dull neighborhood. The Cooper’s lived in one of these bland houses, 3 bedrooms and 2 and a half baths with no standout features, but tonight this house stood out. Every night that the Cooper parents weren’t home you could always tell. The...

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“In These Moments, We: Walk Here” by Kees Chan

Submitted to Contest #99

The light belonged to those who could return to their happiness. Huin nodded at this new fact as she slid between the buildings. The cement felt cool under her feet, and the shadows of the apartments and the office complex together kept the sun away. Or maybe the sun didn’t want to shine here. Well, it wasn’t Huin’s business as to where the sun wanted to shine. Taking the next right, she really ought to have been focused on her next hit, but her mind strayed back to that woman she saw on the sidewalk. At her ears, small versions of lemonade ...

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“A Breath of Fresh Air ” by Molly Scully

Submitted to Contest #99

“Higgins, you’re going to be on corridor four. Don’t worry, the ones down there aren’t too crazy. Corridor three is the one to watch out for though, so you might hear some screams. Schwartzman, you’re on two. Everybody else, business as usual. Any questions?” Higgins opened his mouth to ask the first of a dozen questions when Stevens slammed the clipboard back on the counter and said, “Good!” before he turned around and walked back to his office. “Hey, don’t sweat it, man. Corridor four is an easy one.” Higgins looked over to...

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“July” by Amanda Cleary

Submitted to Contest #99

Another sleepless night. I’ve become accustomed to the mood swings and baggy eyes that accompany daily reports and hollow hopes. As much as I can, anyway. “Mommy?” I lurch out of my chair, hastily shuffling across the tiled floor. In seconds, I’m at her bedside. “I’m here, Gracie. I’m here.” She looks up at me with her doughy green eyes, the ones that used to shimmer the reflection of the sun but now only reflect the sterile headlights of a hospital room. “Mommy,” she repeats, her frail hand reaching for me. I grip it tightly. “Can ...

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“Cumbria Express” by Dillon Trinh

Submitted to Contest #99

A railway can be well known for anything, but the passenger trains are what makes a railway, a railway, and the locomotive that is pulled in front of it. Lowca is a 0-4-2st built-in 1864 by Fletcher Jennings, his tiny railway, name after his town, has a passenger service, he was in charge of this train, and he loves it, he’s a shy locomotive and doesn’t talk a lot, but he works hard for his job, to make passengers happy. Lowca woke up on a Sunday morning, it was another day to carry passengers. His twins, Moresby and Penrith were already a...

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“Woodstock Festival - Summer of '69” by Victoria MacDonald

Submitted to Contest #99

It was the summer of ’69. I wore beads and bell-bottoms, oozed love and peace with a pasted-on smile, and chanted, “Far out…Groovy” at every opportunity. My boyfriend George was “jazzed” about an “outta sight” concert called The Woodstock Festival. “Let’s split this scene and go! It’ll be unreal! We can’t miss it!” I hid my anxiety about leaving the comforts of home. “Far out,” I smiled.So George persuaded his buddy, Ray to be our driver. We packed camping gear, canned food, and, most important, our stockpile of grass, hash, and LSD.&nb...

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“Remembering Grandma's words ” by Grace Kelley

Submitted to Contest #99

Honestly meeting that girl, Cianna after getting beaten to a pulp was a surprise, because she didn't just leave me to rot, but she did remind me of what my grandma had said so many summer nights ago, my grandma was known for being a tad crazy before she passed, but I remember the last thing she had told me. It had been a cool summer night with lightning bugs filling the sky, we had lemonade and cookies and I had been perfectly content with my life, with my future when my grandma called me over. I walked over and sat close to her. She looke...

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“buster, come here boy” by Aiden Solomon

Submitted to Contest #99

The early morning harbored the same color that I’m feeling today – blue. I closed the car door. Buster wagged his tail patiently waiting for me on the passenger seat. Me and Buster walked down the beach. Perched on my shoulder is a tote bag with a blanket to lay down on. There was no sun yet, I arrived at the perfect time. His calloused hand caressed my shoulders. The breeze balanced the pricking heat of the sun. My fingers traced a heart on the grains of the sand. “Look.” I spoke. A giggle burst through his mouth. I felt the vibra...

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“More than a feeling” by Richard Hawkins

Submitted to Contest #99

I have a belief that music contains it own place in each persons life. I am not a musician. I can not sing. Never the less music has a place in my heart. I have worship with it and came closer to a unseen God that any other time. I have mourn losses with it. Learn to heal with it. I was not able to understand someone point of view I could ask them to tell me what music they like and find my way into the windows of there soul. I am a healer and this is my story.A very long time ago there was a person who show me how to heal.This lady was the ...

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“Green Eyes and Freckles” by Maria Mendoza

Submitted to Contest #99

There had been a time when life had been simpler. Perhaps it still was , but somehow in adulthood people made it difficult and complicated. These were the Lisa's thoughts as she drove back home from the office. It hadn't been that long since she had started her journey in the workforce, and yet, everyday she wondered if she had let go of her childhood to fast. Of course, she counted herself lucky. Too many people had to grow up too fast, faced real hardships that made them mature quicker than many of their classmates. This hadn't been he...

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“The tree house was collapsing” by Karen Dunlop

Submitted to Contest #99

Mama said her life has been filled with sadness. When Grammy and gramps got divorced she thought she had done something wrong. Later on she learned that some things in life just don’t go well together and that her parents were one of those things. Lately mama has been sadder than usual, crying all the time and sometimes for no reason at all. Daddy says it’s something that happens to women when they get older, something to do with hormones. I hope I never get hormones when I get older. Lenny (short for Lenard) and me are almost ten years ...

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“Lily, Jay's Beloved” by Poweful Music

Submitted to Contest #99

Lily had just turned seventy, or so she thought. The last time she was asked her age was way back in the early 2000s when Katrina and Rita struck. This was when she and Jay her beloved were trying to get pregnant fruitlessly. She had had many doctor visits, where her age, weight and height were measured, before she finally threw in the towel. The dyad had contemplated adoption but for some reason they concluded against it. For ages it had just been the two of them. Both of them were orphans and the only people they could dare to call fa...

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“Home Again” by Bryanna Martinez

Submitted to Contest #99

"I can make a u-turn and not go back to the house and just sell it, no strings attached. That's it." Andy Channing parked her SUV containing some moving boxes and her loyal Pit Bull, Milo. She hadn't stepped foot at the Channing Manor in Oregon in a few years. After graduating high school and then moving to Baltimore for college at the University of Maryland, things have been different for Andy. She lost contact with her dad, Ralph, and his new wife, Zora since it was just awkward without her mom after she passed. Ralph and...

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“Summer in Kuta” by David Nesbit

Submitted to Contest #99

“Stop it, will you?” Jay chided his son, good-naturedly. “You’re making too much noise, Zak. Daddy’s trying to do some work”. Jason’s curly-haired, freckled son paused momentarily from the game of ‘Trucks and Lorries’ he was planning on the living room floor and grinned impishly at his dad. He knew his daddy was not angry with him - not really. He knew he was the apple of his daddy’s eye. Jossie, Jason’s wife and Zak’s mum, also smiled. Looking at the raucous yet familiar domestic scene, as usual, she felt blessed. She knew their family ...

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$50

Prize money

909

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jun 25, 2021 EST

Won by Tom Vandel 🏆

Title: The Men and the Lake

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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