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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a short story that takes place in a quaint, idyllic, English village.

Posted in General on Feb 14, 2020

Submissions are closed!

Sorry, we are no longer accepting submissions. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

✍️ 34 stories

“Seaglass” by Natalie Frank

That time of my life feels slimy and dank. My father belongs to the dredges of my memory where he sits, weaving a sturdy net with leather hands as I remember him. His boats leave a trail of shimmery black oil, the raw color of the sky on days of tormenting, angry waves and storms.  The fish my father brought in were always cold and tasted of the sea, no matter how thoroughly my mother cleaned them o...

53 likes 25 comments 25 WINNER 🏆
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“Upper Morecambe’s Science Fiction Festival All-Ages Costume Contest” by Marte Van der linden

According to a particular genre of movies - the kind involving copious explosions and bad guys with no shooting skills - a visiting UFO should fly past the pyramids of Giza and Stonehenge before landing in either downtown Manhattan or a cornfield with a scarecrow and a creaky windmill. The movies got it wrong. The first UFO to visit Earth actually landed on the outskirts of the village of Upper Morecambe, Gloucestershire, England, where it parked itself neatly behind Miss Peabody’s honeysuckle-covered cottage. The little white fence that ...

6 likes 6 comments 6
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“Moments After” by Abigail Airuedomwinya

Ms. Cobyswort was eating her breakfast late one morning when her servant ran in with a paper from yesterday's grocery theft. He was breathing hard as he pushed the paper towards his mistress, hoping she would understand him sooner. But the frown that creased her forehead told him she was just as oblivious of the truth as he was the night before.He looked at the table of freshly baked bread and jam and omelet and her usual cup of coffee, which he'd served only minutes before and smiled shyly. His mistress shrugged off the interrupti...

5 likes 2 comments 2
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“Mawson's Will” by Zilla Babbitt

Old man Mawson was a timeworn, craggy giant of a man who was older than the hills and who had been the second man to settle in this part of the country.The first man to settle was his brother, who reportedly was murdered by Mawson because he chopped down a large red oak tree on Mawson’s land seventy years ago.Mawson had huge beady eyes and ears that stuck straight out, reaching farther than his flyaway hair did. Mawson had been in the military and had...

4 likes 0 comments 0
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“Family Tree” by Bruno Lowagie

My grandmother, the mother of my father, used to be the most beautiful girl in the village. Every boy was jealous when she chose my grandfather as her boyfriend. He was an outsider to them because he had gone to college in the city.There was even more envy when the young couple married. They bought themselves a Ford Mustang for the occasion —an American car that clashed with everything the British countryside stood for. The villagers frowned upon the newlyweds, but the couple didn’t care about what other people thought of them. The...

3 likes 2 comments 2
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“The Sanford Parva Mystery” by Brian Guyll

You've probably never heard of Sandford Parva, a small village in Dorset on a quiet road five miles away from the hustle and bustle of urban life. Its tree lined avenue, verdant village green complete with pond and wildlife creates the perfect picture postcard of an idyllic village in the west country. Naturally, the inhabitants of Sandford Magna, a couple of miles to the north, dispute such a claim, based mainly on the fact that their spreading chestnut tree is much bigger and fifty years older. However, Parvians quickly point to th...

3 likes 2 comments 2
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“The Planted Pot Murders” by Cheryl Fulton

Stella Stanhope rode her bike habitually into town like she did everyday. As she glided along the narrow, barely paved road with the same scenery no matter which way she looked. Green fields as far as the eyes could see, and sheep, lots of sheep. Some might think pretty, and it was, but so boring. Nothing ever exciting happened in Hambleden, it did at one time, but not lately. Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang, Band of Brothers, and my favorite Sleepy Hollow, among others were filmed here. They even used our church for a scene in the Agatha...

3 likes 2 comments 2
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“A Faithful Bet” by Iona Cottle

Another Sunday, and a beautiful one at that. It was one of those days that made believing in God so very easy. When the wind was warm and soft, and the sun was high and there was nothing urgent that needed doing that day. A pleasant hush lay over the village like a favourite blanket. It was only the start of summer, so the trees were still a vibrant green from the spring rains and the children hadn’t worn out their parents’ nerves yet. A Sunday that people dreamed off, the Sunday that everyone imagined when they were asked ‘What’s your p...

3 likes 0 comments 0
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“In a village . . . ” by Lisa Weissel

Nothing ever takes place in a village. Or so many would think.  This was the phrase that came to mind most readily when Miss Eugenia Sprout thought fondly of her home, in a small village in the English countryside.  Miss Sprout was getting on in years, almost seventy four if you could believe it, and enjoyed pottering in her garden, weather permitting. This allowed her untold opportunities for observing her neighbours and the comings and goings at the Vicarage, which sat opposite h...

2 likes 1 comment 1
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“Murdering Abroad” by Robyn Welborne

Here, nestled in the Westmeiser Valley, sat the quaint little village of Dorchester, England. A shy and cozy little place with an average population. It was a fair day with a bright blue sky with scattered clouds. The sun took its place over the horizon. It was the beginning of a new dawn and a joyful start to their annual village fete. The village roared to life as the people hopped out of their beds to get the day under way. The Baker, as usual, stirring up the coals inside the brick stove to wa...

2 likes 0 comments 0
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“The Jewelry Shop” by Kelsey Hooper

The warm sun washes over my skin as I step out of my house. The clear sky is a welcome sight  compared to the storms that have plagued the village for a few days now. In other words, it's the perfect weather to go shopping.    I skip to the marketplace, hopping over puddles as I go. As I approach, the air becomes sweeter, and I salivate at the smell of cotton candy. M...

2 likes 2 comments 2
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“Following the Birds” by Cory Pines

Piper stared out the window, staring at a small blue jay soar around the sky. I sat down next to her, but she didn’t acknowledge my presence. I didn’t mind it though. I was fine with just sitting next to her, watching her marvel at the sight of the bird. “Jackson, do you want to fly away?” Piper asked, apparently she did realize I was there. I was a little shocked, normally when she ...

2 likes 0 comments 0
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“Nice And Easy Does It” by Sonia Dixon

Coome was a quaint, idyllic, English village which had become incorporated in 1849, 2 years before the Great Exhibition in London. Agnes at 81 years old had lived and worked there all her life. After her husband's death, her son, John, had decided to leave home to pastures new. Agnes watched her son, John, tentatively. He had always seemed too busy to visit before. Now he was especially attentive since her collapse with a suspected heart attack.The residents of Coome elected B.S Fields (John's friend), as their first Village...

1 like 2 comments 2
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“Love quest” by Mahnoor Fatima

The other end of the scale was peculiar. From spending every second of my life behind closed doors, safely confined in my own little bubble, this was a refreshing alteration. Every single person here held a promising smile as if betrayal wasn't in their vocabulary. Right off the bet, this made my purpose here far easier. Still, I couldn't lay back and let life take matters into its own hands. I had to be the one to find her. To find the one. As royalty, it was absurdly impossible for me to place my trust in just any...

1 like 2 comments 2
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“The Gate” by Felicity Edwards

She hobbled along, clinging to her stick, intent on seeing where she placed each step. To a casual observer, this grey-haired old lady was a harmless old biddy stopping to chat with anyone who crossed her path. A dog walker on the opposite side of the road called out, “Hello Miss Curtis, what are you doing out in this awful weather?”“Same as you, out for a walk.”“But I have to take Milo for his constitution come rain or sun, you don’t have any reason to brave this wind and rain you?”By now the dog and his c...

1 like 2 comments 2
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Contest #27

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Ended on 23:59 - Feb 07, 2020 EST

Won by Natalie Frank 🏆

Title: Seaglass

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