Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog

Menu

✕
CONNECT
Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites
BLOG
Success Stories
APPS
TOOLS
Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships
ABOUT
About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story about two characters whose paths briefly cross, but are actually going in opposite directions — whether literally or figuratively.

Posted in Dramatic on Jan 27, 2023

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 93 stories

“One Night” by Keith Maynard Jr

Submitted to Contest #183

Amidst the cold night Laurel travels with only the stars in the sky as company. She can't wait to reach the next city. All around is just barren land with a few struggling vegetation.  Due to unforeseen circumstances Laurel travels by horse but only two types of persons would do so. Primitives, i.e. those who can't adhere to modern society or someone who's confident in their ability. Laurel breathes a sigh of relief as she sees the next town, Old’s Ville. Now she can have a drink, a shower and a good night’s sleep. The town has the ...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Never Have I Ever” by Jeanne Kiesinger

Submitted to Contest #183

Never have I ever. Not yet, anyway. My last twenty years have been lived inside a cloak of matronly invisibility. This is a common complaint among women nearing our seventies. We have become see-through. We are no longer considered women. No one thinks of us as desirable or attractive, except our dear husbands. That should be enough to satisfy our self-confidence, right?One would think so. However, I recently returned to a local fitness center that I had previously signed up to just before the pandemic swept us all home to gain weight and be...

0 comments 0
Read story

“War and Peace 1920” by Valerie Church

Submitted to Contest #183

WAR AND PEACE, 1920 William awoke to the sharp clatter of breaking glass. Second time this week, he thought as he surveyed the window opposite his bed, visible as a grey square against the blackness of his room, as February inched reluctantly towards the equinox. Light enough now for him to put a match to the small candle that was his only source of illumination. But he would wait, he was not in a hurry. Another few minutes and there would be enough daylight to locate a dustpan and brush, sweep up the debris scattered over the floor of the ...

2 comments 2
Read story

“In the Shadow of the Beast” by Shannon Broughton

Submitted to Contest #183

This story contains references to domestic abuse and violence though not in graphic detail as well as symptoms of PTSD. Please be mindful if these subjects are a trigger for you.Thunder clapped overhead as though Zeus himself was preparing to wage war upon the land. The rain beat against the apartment window which already shook in its place from the raging winds. Lightening flashed blinding her for a moment then leaving little blobs of color floating in her eyes when she could see again. The lights flickered again, taunting or promising wors...

3 comments 3
Read story

“The Path” by Paige Barrera

Submitted to Contest #183

The room was cold. I stared down at my own face, seeing the y-shaped incision that the coroner had left across my chest. I’m not sure why I was worried about the coroner’s cut on my body, it wasn’t worse than the gunshot wound to my head that had ended my life. I vaguely thought that they both would leave horrible scars, but then I remembered: I'm dead. And the room I was standing in was a morgue. And none of that mattered to me anymore. I tried to remember my last moments before I was unceremoniously shuffled from the mortal coil, but all ...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Simulation: CHOICE. ” by Jaye Hunter

Submitted to Contest #183

Content Warning: This work contains direct mentions and depictions of suicidal ideation and detailed suicide planning. Simulation: CHOICE. You are playing as: |________ Mode: [_] Simple .............[X] Average .............[_] Difficult You are equipped: [X] Well Your circumstances are: [X] Stable Your emotions are: [X] Manageable .....................................[X] Predictable .....................................[X] Rational Objective: [_] Sloth  ....................[_]...

1 comment 1
Read story

“House of the Moon” by Cajek Veilwinter

Submitted to Contest #183

I woke up with a vicious hangover. Vulane’s ‘Nightlife’ district was not a place for casual tourists... or detectives. Bleary-eyed, I looked around my temporary lodgings. I grabbed my tail: yup, still there. I must’ve barely made it through the door last night. It was still raining as I looked through the misty window. The street below was filled with performers, families, pickpockets, and - somewhere - a heinous villain. I could hear the sound of drums, fiddles, and laughter from what seemed like every direction: including from within m...

6 comments 6
Read story

“Boats that pass in the night” by M B

Submitted to Contest #183

He stumbled through the fog, still dressed in the clothes he had been wearing since he started the journey, still burned and bloody from being on a sinking ship.  He kept walking through the fog, feet padding against stone. When the trek would end he could not say, but he knew he couldn’t stop. There was nothing for him here, and nothing to return to in the opposite direction.  Perhaps he would wander on and on endlessly. Was that what it truly meant to be dead? He had to be dead: There was no way he survived the sinking. He kn...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Sonic Boom” by Arvin Tavakkoli

Submitted to Contest #183

The first time I saw her was also my last time. It was at a vinyl store, the Sonic Boom, in downtown Toronto by Chinatown. She looked at me, I looked away, she was still looking, and that’s about it.  When I entered the store I knew what I was looking for. I came all the way from North York for a white square with a match stick at the centre. When I left the store I had lost something, something I never knew I had before.  I arrived at the store, the weather was brisk cold and the warm decoration on the showcase was inviting. Whe...

3 comments 3
Read story

“Two Paths That Briefly Cross” by Darene Staniszewski

Submitted to Contest #183

Once upon a time, in a bustling city, there lived two people named Sarah and Jack. Sarah was a successful businesswoman who worked long hours at a high-end marketing firm. She was driven, determined, and always striving to be the best. On the other hand, Jack was a struggling musician who played his guitar on street corners for spare change. He was carefree, creative, and lived life on his own terms. One day, their paths briefly crossed on a crowded sidewalk. Sarah was rushing to an important meeting, her eyes glued to her phone as she deftl...

1 comment 1
Read story

“SAND IN THE WIND” by David, Ray Israel

Submitted to Contest #183

      “I am an old man who has seen his years I have lived well. I have a beautiful family of five kids and a wonderful wife. I have been walking around with a set of memories that only my wife knows about. I feel, I need to let out what happened to me. I no longer can stay silent about this. I have not told anyone due to the fact I was once a political leader of this wonderful state. One cannot tell people about such things that I am about to discuss. This would have been a definite carrier ender in politics. I...

4 comments 4
Read story

“Watercolor Destiny” by Gigi Parker

Submitted to Contest #183

           Fin shook off his umbrella and stepped onto the bus. A quick look around showed him the rain had made the bus a bit overcrowded.  Well then he thought, guess I'm not sitting alone today.        He took a seat next to a young man about his age who was listening to headphones staring out at the rain. The man looked at him briefly, moving his bag slightly to make a little more room for him. Fin nodded slightly as thanks. The bus soon came ...

1 comment 1
Read story

“The Deer” by Ben Lages

Submitted to Contest #183

      Content Warning: This story contains physical violence and briefly alludes to mental health problems. Renee Waverly was born to the Creek City Reaper on a rainy May afternoon in 1968. While her mother, June, lay unconscious in her bed, which was now stained at least five different shades of red, he stood just outside the nursery, staring in at his newborn daughter without a sound. His face was utterly flat, and he stood so still that he was less a man and more a fixture among the many others which line...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Joy and Sorrow” by Kristine Bone

Submitted to Contest #183

Joy and Sorrow The young woman across the aisle from me on this fast-moving locomotive was pale and appeared sorrowful. Her long, black dress and tearful eyes reminded me of a lost puppy, unable to find its home, whimpering and pathetic. I desired to ask her if I could be of assistance in some way - that worrisome was her appearance. Although I should have chosen to mind my own business, I could not help but notice the tears she occasionally dabbed from her pale cheeks, the sniffles that came before she withdrew the delicate handkerchief an...

0 comments 0
Read story

“When Life's Direction is Determined by Others” by JOHN SIKO

Submitted to Contest #183

In the back of the duce and a half, mud-covered truck sat twelve members of Able company of the Third Infantry Division. They are tired, dirty, hungry, and need a shower. One of the tired and dirty GIs is Stanley Dombrowski, a draftee from the south side of Chicago. This group is returning from a ten-day skirmish with Charlie in a delta rice patty. Stan is not only returning from the battle but is returning from his yearlong tour of duty in Nam. He had just survived the last of what had been many such battles in the past year. Lying in leech...

1 comment 1
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about someone who is cursed to always say the opposite of what they mean.

Dialogue – 26 stories

Write a story about two opposites finding themselves surprisingly attracted to one another.

Romance – 48 stories

Write about a character who uses sarcasm as a defense mechanism.

Character – 15 stories

Write a story that includes the line “We’re just too different.”

Angst – 67 stories

Contest #183

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Opposite Day

$250

Prize money

249

Contest entries

125

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 03, 2023 EST

Won by Laurel Hanson 🏆

Title: Of Harpers and Heroes

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

NEW VIDEO COURSE 🎉

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢