Write about someone who’s trying to accomplish a task that used to be easy but is now made complicated by a pandemic.

Posted in Narrative on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 80 stories

“How the Fish Survive” by Evelyn Kill

🏆 Winner of Contest #84

The light that fills the room feels cold and blue, tinted by the shades across the window. This window faces south, so the light trickles in slowly and at first I can ignore it, but eventually I must open my eyes to this underwater light and take a deep breath in. I used to get up so early. Some days I would go outside and watch the sunrise, warming my hands with a mug of herbal tea. The world was quiet, but not still. I admired the people moving about the streets, getting an early start. We had something in common, they and I. We a...

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“Tea Taster ” by Palak Shah

Submitted to Contest #84

She couldn’t do it anymore, she couldn’t drink them, rate them or comment on them. She couldn’t go to their cafes; she couldn’t have biscuits with them and she couldn’t do her job. Why? Because of this imprudent pandemic As her arm wheeled back, she ran forward and threw the rock as far as possible. Gliding across the bed, the rock skids forward and gets pulled down by his friends into the foam laced waters. No amount of throwing could diminish the pain felt by Emily Gilmore; the overwhelming emotion was excruciating but essential. Her hea...

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“Learning is Lifelong” by Writer Maniac

Submitted to Contest #84

“Students! Can you all hear me? Students!” I scream at the top of my lungs. Dead silence. Your internet connection is unstable. No kidding. Reconnecting… I have half a mind to close the laptop and just go back to sleep. But I turn off the Wi-Fi and turn it back on. As I join the class again, I plaster a fake smile on my face and wait for it to connect. As soon as it connects, I check whether they can hear me, and continue the lesson. I see Roger picking his nose, Charlie picking his teeth and Marlene picking at her plate...

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“Summer of Death ” by Nainika Gupta

Submitted to Contest #84

*Nainika’s Note* 50th story! Gosh, how monumental! AND, today is even more special because the 9th is my Reedsy-versary, the day way back in November when I joined! Enjoy :)Philadelphia 1793The buzzing never stops. It is a constant noise that has completely taken over the normally bustling city. The city is now a ghost town. Complete with the bodies to prove it. The buzzing is the only sound that you can hear. Apart from the cries and screams of family members as a loved one finally succumbs to the fever.And the soun...

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“Happy” by Amany Sayed

Submitted to Contest #84

“Just because I am smiling doesn’t mean I am happy. Because it takes just one smile to hide a million tears.” Unknown I hate the car. I always get so dizzy, and to top it all off, it’s freezing, but my little brother has insisted on opening the window. I’m sitting in the back, right behind him, so the cold air directly hits me as we ride along the freeway, at sixty-something miles per hour.I should’ve bought gloves. Should’ve worn a jacket. Shoulda, woulda, coulda. It’s not like we were in a hurry or anything. My shoes were ju...

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“The Questions with No Answers” by Kanika G

Submitted to Contest #84

Robb couldn’t recall a time in his pre-pandemic life when he’d known the specifics of the menstrual cycle of a potential partner before their first meeting. Partner, he corrected himself. There was nothing ‘potential’ about Sarah, the twenty-five-year-old brunette who would move into his apartment that evening. For the seventh time that day, Robb opened the wardrobe in the guest bedroom and ran his finger...

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“Mommy Comes First” by Zahra Daya

Submitted to Contest #84

Shrieks pierce the morning silence, slicing me out of my tranquil dreams and leaving me disoriented in my dimly-lit room. The dream had been good; I remember the warm sand beneath my feet and the cool breeze playing on my face and lifting my hair in its wake. And most of all, the complete silence that had allowed for my thoughts to flow. My reverie is short-lived though as the shrieks perpetuate, forcing me to roll out of bed and drag my feet down the stairs. They feel like pieces of heavy lead stuck to the bottom of my legs and seem to ha...

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“The Reluctant Vampiress ” by Daniel R. Hayes

Submitted to Contest #84

I open my eyes slowly as the distant horizon swallows the sun. I give myself a moment to shake the grogginess from my brain. I don’t need an alarm clock to wake me up. I have an obnoxious neighbor who binge watches Law & Order every evening at six like clockwork. Oh well, another sleepless day and I couldn’t feel happier. I mean who doesn’t like the task of staying out all night searching for their next meal, right? I know I do, and I kinda have to or I’ll die. It’s like a sacred code or something. Like a zombie digging its way ou...

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“Rodney” by Scott Skinner

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #84

The wrinkles that outlined Elder Selby’s face became more prominent after his divorce. A year ago, he would have told himself that the lines were part of the aging process, which wasn’t entirely inaccurate but didn’t explain the reason for acceleration. He was thirty-eight but looked much older. The shadowed lines on his face were the divorce, and everything in his life that was then and that came before. Stamped upon him were wrinkles like fault lines tracing back to his failed pursuit of happiness. The lines hinted at all of his losses, li...

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“Safer Inside” by Shannon Ruane

Submitted to Contest #84

Safer Inside.Under the cover of night, Kiki quickly raided her closet until she found her favorite black athletic wear. A flashlight designed to be strapped to the wrist rather than held was just another favorite work out accessory. “Oh no! Where's my mask,” she initially panicked feeling around in the dark. “Thank goodness, I thought I lost you dear pal.” Considering her health mask a 'pal' was just another sign life was turning for the worst. Kiki was not going to rob a bank, instead she was going out for another late-night jog.She locked ...

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“The Story which is Not a Story” by Arwen Dove

Submitted to Contest #84

NOTE:This is not a story.A story is a collection of words and phrases that come from a certain part of your brain called an imagination, though it seems not everyone has an imagination. Take Mr Whitfield for example; he is a mean and bossy maths teacher who NEVER laughs, and therefore has no imagination.A story needs imagination to be a story, but this is not a story.To be clear, everything mentioned in this collection of words and phrases is true.Just as true as seeing fairy in your garden w...

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“Discard” by Jay DMer

Submitted to Contest #84

Shoutout to Val for collabing with me and giving me the character idea. She hasn't posted much but check here out. She needs encouragement from you amazing Reedsy members. https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing prompts/author/dbfb44/***Everything used to be great. Amazing, even. Now? I hate it. Absolutely hate it. I used to have friends- I wouldn’t really talk to them, but they thought I was their friends, so basically I used to have people that looked up to me. I used to be able to ride, Luna, to school and back. I used to be able to go e...

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“Perry & Izzy” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #84

Perry nodded at Izzy, who looked about as ragged as he felt.He waved her down, sucked in a breath and joined her. They clustered together over a cafe table to the side of the hubbub. The throngs swarmed back and forth across the plaza. Fragments of conversation bounced through the air. “Hey, Iz.” Perry nodded. “How’s it going?”Izzy raised her eyebrows, face ashen. She blew air out of her mouth, cheeks puffed out. “Terrible, Per. I can’t even do my job as I normally did.” She shook her head. “Life’s awful now.”“Tell me about it.”“I mean—” Izz...

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“Covid 19” by Alonzriah'a Washington

Submitted to Contest #84

OVERVIEW Given limited supplies of vaccines, antiviral drugs, and ventilators, non-pharmaceutical interventions are likely to dominate the public health response to any pandemic, at least in the near term. The six papers that make up this chapter describe scientific approaches to maximizing the benefits of quarantine and other nonpharmaceutical strategies for containing infectious disease as well as the legal and ethical considerations that should be taken into account when adopting such strategies. The authors of the first three papers rais...

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“The Kissing Booth” by Adam Schwartz

Submitted to Contest #84

The kissing booth loomed in the shadows at the back of the warehouse, a Pepto-Bismol pink eyesore covered in cherry red hearts and comically oversized lips. Eddie maneuvered his way towards it through a jumble of jutting metal struts and black rubber cables. He held an inventory list loosely in one hand, frowning in thought, as he climbed over and through the disassembled rides. Cardboard boxes filled with costumes, prizes, and decorations were stacked haphazardly along the concrete walls. He surveyed the bone...

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Ended on 23:59 - Mar 12, 2021 EST

Won by Evelyn Kill 🏆

Title: How the Fish Survive

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Write about someone who’s trying to accomplish a task that used to be easy but is now made complicated by a pandemic.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 80 stories

“How the Fish Survive” by Evelyn Kill

“Tea Taster ” by Palak Shah

“Learning is Lifelong” by Writer Maniac

“Summer of Death ” by Nainika Gupta

“Happy” by Amany Sayed

“The Questions with No Answers” by Kanika G

“Mommy Comes First” by Zahra Daya

“The Reluctant Vampiress ” by Daniel R. Hayes

“Rodney” by Scott Skinner

“Safer Inside” by Shannon Ruane

“The Story which is Not a Story” by Arwen Dove

“Discard” by Jay DMer

“Perry & Izzy” by Joshua G. J. Insole

“Covid 19” by Alonzriah'a Washington

“The Kissing Booth” by Adam Schwartz

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story that spans exactly a year and takes place in a single room.

Write about someone who grew up in a bunker, and lockdown life is all they’ve ever known.

Set your story in a post-pandemic world, where the effects are still felt even as your character attempts to move on.

Start your story with a character struggling to remember the date, because every day is like the last one.

Contest #84

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

664

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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