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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story about a very skilled pickpocket. 

Posted in General on Dec 11, 2019

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.

✍️ 71 stories

“Picked The Wrong Pocket” by Marcellus Smith

It used to be his profession until he spent some time in prison. That was years ago, now he had a good job, wife and two kids. Frankie Valoucci was a changed man, except he loved the skill he practiced for years, slipping a wallet out of a man’s pocket or woman’s purse. Some never noticed until they tried to retrieve it and found it missing. It had been years since he exercised his skills except to play with his kids putting things in their pockets or taking stuff out without their knowledge. His wife Doris frowned on even...

6 likes 3 comments 3
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“There One Moment… Gone the Next” by Sydney Mari

“Rita!” I scowl, grabbing my little sister’s arm which is elbow-deep in a fat lady’s purse.  The lady looks down at Rita with disgust, “Get your little rat’s hand out of my purse.” she growls, and swats at my sister’s curly-brunette hair.  “Yes, miss, sorry miss.” I apologize quickly, dragging Rita towards ...

5 likes 4 comments 4
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“The Cabbage Walked Among the Stars” by Zilla Babbitt

A young man, dressed in slim black, sat at the coffee shop on the corner of the street. The clouds cast a gray unhappy pallor over his face, and when the rain began pouring down the young man’s face was pulled into a frown.His coffee was just a cold brew, nothing unusual, nothing of note. His brown hair was combed messily, his watch face small and unremarkable. His shoes were from the downtown cheap shoe store, his clothing from the town markets, his wallet no fatter than the averag...

5 likes 0 comments 0
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“Melody of the Hunt” by Maddie Logemann

Quiver and hunting bow were his most prized possessions, one slung over his shoulder, the other held tight with stained wood smooth under calloused fingertips. An arrow nocked in careful decision, he stalked silent through the lush forest growth. It was with a thrill in his blood, a trapped butterfly pulse beating beneath his skin, that he tracked the snapped ferns. The white catches of fur, the spare spottings of blood, they led him after the frenzied hare with an arrow sh...

4 likes 2 comments 2
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“Strange Encounter” by Candace Lott

A red haired woman, peeked out the window before she stepped out of the Italian Coffee & Pastries Carriage. She pushed her face against the window, leaving a smudge from pressing her oval-shaped face against it, then her breath fogged up the window. She stood watching as it began to sprinkle outside, gray clouds touching in closer. Then the sound of thunder screeched, similar to someone beating on a drum.Just as the red head escaped out of the Italian Coffee & Pastries Carriage, a tall man, with broad shoulders, and long fi...

3 likes 1 comment 1
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“Wyatt Wyndham” by Noah david Perry

Wyatt Wyndham is not a lad you’d be quick to bring home to ma’ and pa’, and he most certainly is not the type to bring you home to his, that is, if he had either a place or parents to bring you home to at all. His parents left, or rather, he left his parents, a few years ago now, and since then, he’s never looked back, at least not in that same figurative sense, for, as his current occupation demands, looking sideways, up, down, around, and especially back, is a necessity. But, more on that later, let us first, unlike Wyatt, look...

2 likes 0 comments 0
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“An Everyday Hero ” by Natalie Rice

The train comes rumbling to an abrupt stop. My head jerks slightly forward. I open my eyes, realizing I have managed to nod off again on my morning commute to the city.Looking at me you couldn't tell. Talking to me it wouldn't have dawned on you. But try and spend more than a few hours of quality time with me and I will rock your world. (Sometimes literally.)The local newspapers have called me a Modern Day Robin Hood. But I'm much more humble than that and, honest...

2 likes 0 comments 0
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“Pickpocket” by Quinn Collins

A pickpocket stole my truths from my back pocket. Now, only lies slip through my teeth. I can say my name and personal facts, but I can’t talk about memories. They become twisted and wildly untrue. When I say these things, it doesn’t even feel like I’m lying. The strangest thing about this, everyone believes the lies. No questions asked. I could make up the most unbelievable, fictional story and...

2 likes 2 comments 2
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“IDK” by Eden Aiono

Happily skipping along, Daya twirled around as she jumped into the air, causing her to bump into a middle-aged man."I'm so sorry sir!" She exclaimed and kept walking. Smirking, the sly 14-year-old pulled the gold-plated watch out of her pocket. Scanning the lakeside, Daya saw a bunch of skaters, hanging around a park bench and giggled about the little thought she just had.Ducking into a public toilet, she emerged as a completely different person. Her brown wig was nowhere in sight and her long, luscious black hair swayed aro...

2 likes 1 comment 1
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“Stealing in the Square” by Charlotte Bunker

The gray clouds hung low over the city of London. The cold, dull streets were filled with people bustling around in and out of shops. Jack watched as hats flew up into the gray sky like dancers twirling threw the air when a sudden and strong gust of wind blew past. Jack shivered and walked on through the square. In the midst of the hustle and bustle stood a rich looking man. The man stared down at a piece of parchment in his gloved hands, most likely, Jack thought, a newspaper. Jack continued thinking, the fool, he thought, standing aroun...

2 likes 1 comment 1
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Similar prompts

More fantastic prompts from Contest #18.

Write a story about a character who buys a secondhand coat and then discovers something in the pocket.

General – 107 stories

Your fingers tensed around the object in your pocket, ready to pull it out at a moment's notice.

General – 46 stories

Write a story about someone cleaning out their attic. They find an old piece of clothing, and inside of its pocket is an old keepsake.

General – 58 stories

"It was just here!" you shout, frantically searching your pockets for the missing thing.

General – 32 stories

Contest #18

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This week's theme: Pocketful of Sunshine

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Ended on 23:59 - Dec 06, 2019 EST

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