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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story about someone who finds life meaning in an unexpected place.

Posted in General on Dec 13, 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.

✍️ 36 stories

“Wall and Plaster” by Juliet Martin

Eventually, my bookshelf got so heavy that it fell from the wall in the middle of the night. The crash jolted me awake. I jerked upright, my eyes straining wide against the dark before I realised what it was. Even then, my heartbeat clattered around the room for a few more moments before reason managed to tame it. I didn’t know what to do: it was the middle of the night and there were books all over the floor.In the morning, I realised with a kind of morbid awe that the shelf had to...

13 likes 3 comments 3
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“My Father Fought Dragons, and I Do Dishes” by Adriana Maxwell

She had only agreed to the cat, and that quite reluctantly. She was fond of cats in general, particularly her Siamese, Mojo, after he passed the frantic kitten stage. But this cat-Nal or something-that was a completely different issue. She was cross and ugly, a scraggly orange mess. It was rather a surprise she hadn’t been euthanized already.But the boy had asked so nicely. And she was retired so it wasn’t that much work. By the second day, she was chewing her tongue in frustration. Nali ha...

10 likes 1 comment 1
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“How to Build a Boat” by Joshua Insole

1I knew I was in for a spot of bother when the plane’s left wing exploded. There had been a violent shudder, an audible churning sound (krr-rrr, krr-rrr, krrrrr), then a few seconds of respite… and then KA-BOOM!I remember looking out of the passenger window just as the thing blew up; first a few licks of orange flames were spat out of the spinning engine, and then there was a blinding detonation of dark r...

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“Unwanted Guests” by Keturah Tea

The last has now arrived. All seven suitors that are aiming for the hand of the girl who is now my daughter. She’s so young. Too young, as young as I was when I was first wed to a man twice my years. He hadn’t been a disagreeable husband, but our marriage hadn’t been as long as I had imagined. Now here I stand, the last night of mourning for the passing of my second husband, the king. A man I could have grown to love if we’d had the time. Time. There never seems to have enough. If we’d been able to produce a son, the...

4 likes 1 comment 1
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“PROFESSOR, IN THE FACE OF DEATH” by Mohammad Hadi

A shred of pain was jutting out, but I managed to tuck it in below my shirt collar. I had put on a coat, fit enough to conceal my emaciated body. I clench my hands hard against each other, so the white of my hands would not show too much. My smart mind decrees a laughter, but it withers away before it reaches my lips. Some even dread touching me, because death is hard to touch, and I reek of death. I wonder whether this is the picture to survive me or just a frame that is going to be latched onto my center. I take a closer look at the wal...

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“Trapped” by Charu Vashishtha

I was my usual self that day. Silly, goofy and terribly stressed out.There was an urgent project delivery to be carried out that next day and I had to complete my bit by the 'End of the day'.Just as I was struggling hard to meet deadlines, I received call from one of the most important ladies of my life.My lifeline and yet the bane of my existence.My maid.And I rushed back home. I rushed home from work because my maid said that she would visit my place little earlier than usual. You se...

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“Unexpected Knowledge” by Marcellus Smith

“No, it’s not me. I’m tired of you blaming everyone and everything for what’s not going right in your life,” screamed Peggy as she went into the bedroom and slammed the door. He heard a click of the deadbolt lock. A moment of quiet and then, “You’re the one always telling me what’s right when I’m just a pawn,” Robbie yelled through the door. Then he paused, didn’t hear a sound from the room. “Fine, cut me off. That’s how you solve all our problems, just slamming a door on it all. I’m going for a walk.” With that, Robbie sto...

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“THE MYSTIC CAT” by Yogesh Mohla

The crackle of piston blades sent shivers into the pilot’s body. The plane nose-dived into the wild woods of Andaman Island, ripping away the starboard door, altimeter dial spinning crazily, dropping below 6,000 feet. The skydivers on board toppled, crashing into the pilot’s seat.“Thirty seconds to crash!” Harry shouted as he pulled back the joystick- But it was dead.“All skydivers jump on the count of three!” Sejal yelled as she adjusted her parachute strap. “You guys better land on trees than crash with the aeroplane…...

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“HENPECK” by Warren Woods

The alarm went off and would have woken him had he not already been awake. He found himself fully rested by the time it rang. From where he laid he could still see the horizontal lines of street light askew on the wall next to the bed. It was hardly dusk yet and half of the world was still asleep. With his left hand he tossed the blanket aside and slid his legs to the edge of the bed as he sat upright. After a brief moment of thoughtlessness he recounted his drea...

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“Shame or Sacrifice ” by Kevin Barkman

The damp air sagged and settled over the cold ground leaving droplets of water tracing lines on every surface. Every breath coated the inside of my mouth and lungs with fresh tasting dew. The streetlights looked hazy and distant through the damp air. The sun still clung to the dark in the distant east, and the city hadn’t thought to wake up yet. I stood with my back to the wind, taking a deep breaths and watching my breath freeze and drift with the breeze. The cold snuck past my Carharts and through my Cat jacket, hoodie,...

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Contest #5

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This week's theme: Ernest Hemingway

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Ended on 23:59 - Sep 06, 2019 EST

Won by Yves. ♙ 🏆

Title: World Got Smaller

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