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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story about waiting — but don't reveal what's being waited for until the very end.

Posted in Nonfiction on Oct 26, 2022

Submissions are closed

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✍️ 323 stories

“All the Prisms of Planning” by Sara C.

Submitted to Contest #49

The Uppers put in a lot of effort to make us feel at ease here in this waiting room. Given the environment, it makes sense. Superficially, the walls were peaceful pastel colors – pale mint green, thin sky blue, sunset cloud peach - with tall, crystal clear windows. In reality, this large, open room depicted various landscapes, each one tailored to our individual tastes for maximum relaxation. The ambient sounds sent into the room and your seating matched this. If you pictured the white sand and teal waters of a tropical beach, you might h...

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“Acoustic darkness” by Elvis Savir

Submitted to Contest #49

While Diego waited, his anatomy insistently pumped memories through his veins that continually and aggressively impacted his heart and brain. He was nostalgic, lost in the deathly white of the room's walls as an incandescent light fiercely illuminated the waiting room. Every time he heard a sound across the aisle, he sat up in the seat waiting for someone to approach the room and provide an answer, although that answer could only come from the lips of one person and he was no longer present.The hands of the clock, which rang sharply from the...

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“Freaky Sequel” by Gilbert Were

Submitted to Contest #49

The wrought iron double gate slanted to an opposite direction, apparently in motion to rest on the ground at a long glance. It had an atypical rusted padlock which seemed to have camped on it for decades. The top antique hinge on the left side appeared to have lost its grip, but the gate still formed an immovable barrier to the premise within. On the right side, from the base of the gate’s frame to just below the lower hinge was a granite erection with number 267 pasted on it.  “Not a million years close to last occupied” Sam concluded ...

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“Under the Shade” by Saad Masud

Submitted to Contest #49

Every morning or afternoon or night at this point feels the same when I wake up sitting under the shade of a large oak tree waiting for something — I don’t know what — while the invasive sounds that threaten the gentle sway of the dandelions change the direction of the breeze with echoing vibrations and I wonder if anyone else can hear them but I don’t think so because I’m the only one here. All different kinds of blue, red, and green birds fly overhead but they still look like members of one flock and in the distance they fly over a valley ...

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“Mother’s Disguise ” by Lily Lucero

Submitted to Contest #49

Mother was good at keeping things inside; I hadn’t noticed until the last couple of months, when her mouth always remained slightly curved up, and her hands always rested calmly on her lap, as if in a collected embrace. She was a master of disguise, and could make us children feel like fools for ever assuming she was anything short of joyous.      “How are you feeling, Ma?” My little brother Jackson asked over breakfast--he was the polite sort, the kind of boy you want around when you're sick.    &nbsp...

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“The Waiting” by Kristy Reynolds

Submitted to Contest #49

Anna sat down in the seat, suddenly remembering just how hard and uncomfortable they were. Glancing around the room she noticed a woman in the corner, busy reading a magazine. Across from her sat a couple, the woman leaning back, looking out the window to her right, arms folded across her chest. The man at her left sat forward with his elbows on his needs, staring absentmindedly at the floor. The two were obviously struggling with each other in some way.  She set her purse in the chair next to her, hearing the soft swoosh of the door ...

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“Not In A Million Years” by Denise Brackett

Submitted to Contest #49

Not in a million years, would I have thought I’d be in this position.  Oh my God, am I even ready for this? I’m hyperventilating, I can’t breathe; the sooner this over the better. I can’t handle this wait. Okay, maybe I’m overthinking it, or maybe it’s not really happening to me. Oh, I know, it’s a dream, one of those really real dreams, yeah. Ok, so I’ll breathe, in and out, in and out. It’s not working. I’ll change my position-no- but I can’t it’s just not possible at this time.  God, I’m perspiring, drops of sweat are ...

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“The Queen of the Night” by Cynthia Cronan

Submitted to Contest #49

REEDSY.COM  10JUL2020 Writing prompt #49 Write a story about waiting — but don't reveal what's being waited for until the very end Queen of the Night    clcronan2020 Some myths and legends show themselves only when the time is right. The Queen is just such a legend. She is both a wonder and a tease. She lives for the game, and only for the game. The legends that try to describe her are too varied to offer any clarity, but it is just that ethereal quality that creates her power of seduction. The Paiute tribe say that wh...

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“Of Waiting and Changes ” by Kylie White

Submitted to Contest #49

Trains always seemed to fascinate me. How they came to the public out of nowhere and kept getting grander and grander until their magnificence became something expected, and it was rare someone stood back to admire them the way I did.  My toes rested on the yellow edge as I waited for the locomotive to come zooming through it’s tunnel. I didn’t check the time or route, but when the beast crawled through the cavern and blew down the cave until settling to a stop, I stepped on without hesitation. The seats were stained with the day and...

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“Redemption ” by Erika MacNeil

Submitted to Contest #49

REDEMPTION          Click. Pause. “It’s time.” Sigh. “Let’s go.” Not yet. Metal scrapes on concrete, chains biting fresh wounds in my ankles. My head nods, heavy with the sleep I stole before sunrise. I blink, chapped lips pursed against crooked teeth. I take a breath, my lungs ballooning inside my ribcage, the skin stretched taut across my bones. “Get up.” I turn my head, my pupils meeting yours like magnetic poles.  Gulp. A bead of salty sweat rolls into your too tight collar.  Grima...

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“Conjuring Companions” by Ahmad Rai

Submitted to Contest #49

The green fields seemed like a carpet and the wind was fresh, you could feel the freshness in the air. The driver suddenly pressed the brakes really hard and the jerk from the seat belt made him un-recline his seat. He looked at the reason as to why they had stopped, it was just some kid with his flock of goats and sheep that were crossing the road, as he got out of the jeep his shoes landed in the mud and got all messy instantly, this diverted his attention and he forgot about the seat belt or the jerk, cursing his luck he sat on a stone ne...

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“At the Other Side of the Window” by Mister Lizzy

Submitted to Contest #49

SQUEEEEAA! The plush frog toy is squeezed between two small hands, sweaty and weak, as they apply a futile pressure against the furry object. The car stereo kept on playing music with words he is either too young to understand or to know. He tuned out the noise, too busy staring at the cloudless afternoon sky. The little boy pressed his chubby cheek against the heated window and sighed. With his naive imagination keeping him occupied to remain patient, he tried to mold the boundless blue into different forms. "An ocean." But in the ...

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“The Next Step” by Becs G

Submitted to Contest #49

Opening her eyes, Kara stares at their dark bedroom. Beside her, Dylan’s soft breathing, finally slowed into a rhythmic slumber, continues steadily. Normally, the sound is enough to pull her into sleep, but not tonight. No matter what she does, she can’t settle. Her mind continues to race, anticipation bubbling in her veins.   Looking over at Dylan, she fights off the urge to brush her hand across his cheek, knowing that it will wake him up. It’s been a long emotional day; he should get some sleep. They both should, but it doe...

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“Butter Days” by Courtney Langevin

Submitted to Contest #49

It is a classic sweltering hot afternoon in Florida. I have only been out of the air conditioning for three minutes and I already feel the sweat on my brow and, frankly, everywhere else. But as I sit and wait, I wonder if the sweat is all due to the Florida weather. My hands are shaking and I can’t stop my leg from bouncing like a basketball.  Nerves. Yet I don’t dwell on my nerves or what is causing them. I don’t dwell on the minutes passing by as I wait. I go back to a place only my mind’s eye can see. Way back to a time where cell ph...

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“Not Her Happily Ever After” by Mandi Maitlen

Submitted to Contest #49

The sun hung low in the sky signaling the close to another beautiful summer day. The day had been a humid one but perfect nonetheless. The smell of cut grass still clung thick in the air, from several of the homes nearby, tinged with a hint of backyard bonfires. Saturdays in August were very seldom lazy. Families trying to squeeze out every drop of summer before frost settled over the city once more. "Higher!" A gleeful girl exclaimed from the toddler swing. The rocking motion causing the entire set to sway. Blonde curls danced around the ...

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