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Set your story on a warm summer evening with a full moon, when everything feels magnetic and your character’s about to meet someone important.

Posted in Romance on May 19, 2023

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✍️ 74 stories

Hazel

Winner of Contest #199 🏆

You know how when a dog is at the end of their life, its owner will give them a perfect day before taking them to be put down? Like, take them to the dog park, the beach and let them eat a McDonald’s hamburger? Well, July 14th was the day I designated to do that for myself.I was twenty-two, so I conjured up a list of twenty-two nice things to do for myself on my last day. Most of the listed items involved indulging in food, but there were a few I was more excited about- especially the grand finale, which was sneaking into a concert of some s...

226 likes 76 comments 76
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Cut and Run

Submitted to Contest #199

"Reckon I'll fold," Adelaide sighed, puffing one last breath out of her cigar before she stamped it out on the card table, leaving her hand behind, and stood to head toward the ladies washrooms. She could feel the eyes of all of the men at the card table watch her walk as she left, their gazes crawling along the curvatures of her body in her jeans. Luckily, the walk was short, and she escaped them as she swung the wooden washroom door open with one hand.The entire saloon was quiet, nothing but the sound of the workers playing their late nigh...

33 likes 15 comments 15
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Strings of Solace

Submitted to Contest #199

The moon was high over her, seemingly taunting her. It illuminated the entire sky in a way that made it almost seem human, like it had emotions and feelings and memories, and she wondered if the moon was sad or happy or angry or indifferent. She sat on a park bench; it was approaching midnight and there were few stars in the sky that could be seen through the light pollution of the city. Beside her sat her violin in a black case. The trees seemed to shake and come to a rest as if taking their seats. She looked around and saw nobody. She was...

32 likes 24 comments 24
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SING ME A LOVE SONG

Submitted to Contest #199

I have something no one else has.  I hear music. All. The. Time. The experts call it Auditory Hallucination but, for me, it’s an internal soundtrack. It’s part of me, a living, breathing organism that is compelled to comment on everything by way of song. Everything.It began happening as I was first learning to talk. At the same time my infantile brain was putting the pieces together to connect sounds to syllables to objects, there were some additional cells working overtime to acquire an inventory that woul...

19 likes 19 comments 19
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Bio

Submitted to Contest #199

Bio(Trigger warning: Crude and likely offensive humor, suggestive of a sophomoric mind; think Beavis and Butthead…or worse; pre-apologies to all.)Doug- handsome, debonaire, confident, athletic, and charming; Wally- not so much.“I’m telling you, Wally, I think tonight will be your night.”“I don’t know, Dougie, I don’t feel comfortable in those situations. I never know what to say to a girl.”“That’s why you’ve got me, Wally. Let’s go.”---------- Wally and Doug sat at the bar like two kids in a candy store.“What do you think, Wally, see an...

17 likes 12 comments 12
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Moonglow

Submitted to Contest #199

The warm glow of the moon illuminated the path in front of me. I normally didn’t walk outside this late at night, but I was hoping a walk could help me clear my head. Thoughts spun through my brain faster than the Gravitron at the fair had spun me earlier. It had been a fun day of rides, too much cotton candy, and laughs with friends. The heat and excitement of the day had faded into a warm, calm evening. With no beating sun or excited shouts, I had hoped the night would help calm me. But every tree I passed reminded me of the caramel appl...

16 likes 10 comments 10
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The Ritual

Submitted to Contest #199

The kettle whistles pulling me out of my almost meditative reading. I rise out of my oversized chair left to me by my father and walk to my kitchen to make my grandma’s recipe for “nerve soothing” tea. Between you and me it’s just green tea with a splash of honey Jack Daniels. In any case, no matter what the materials magic happens in your heart, I believe that my grandma’s unique recipe is in fact, nerve soothing. I settle back in my oversized chair and begin to think about how I’ve been feeling off for weeks now. I thought that maybe takin...

15 likes 6 comments 6
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Very Good

Submitted to Contest #199

The party is loud, and full of people. Noise and people - neither among my favorite things.Yet another person opens the door to come in. They have flung the door wide, gesticulating enormously and bleating out a Fonzish greeting: “Ayyyy!”As several others cheer in reply, I take the opportunity to slink outside into the relative darkness. The world smells of dirt, grass, and the radiating heat of the bark of the douglas firs nearby. And as I hurry out, a quick whip of warm breeze carries the scents of the lake to me as well: dancing bugs, hid...

15 likes 11 comments 11
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Refugees

Submitted to Contest #199

 I still remember drywall snapping in the shape of my body. There's a crumbling crisp note followed by soft whispers of dust snowing down. It almost twinkled in my ear as she berated me, blaming me for the busted wall she'd thrown me into. People said it's strange that's what I remember about being a kid, but therapists found it pretty banal. We'll fixate on anything to deflect trauma as much as possible.Connecticut is a shit place to fall in love with. Ignore the inhumane cost of living and you've still got weather as stable as our mot...

15 likes 7 comments 7
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The Insomniac - Part 2

Submitted to Contest #199

Every night it’s the same thing. I go to bed exhausted but toss and turn all night long. It feels like my eyes are burning out of my head but have forgotten how to close. My legs are fidgety and jumpy.  Maybe I’ll sleep a little by daybreak, but this is usually filled with nightmares, so I wake up unrefreshed.It all started after the car accident. I hit a small child that had run out into traffic between two parked cars. He was running away from his friends. I slammed on my brakes immediately, but it a...

14 likes 5 comments 5
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Falling in Love

Submitted to Contest #199

***Author’s note*** this story can be read as a stand-alone, but it is part of my Falling series. A combination of fire and alcohol had warmed Jenny flushing her face. She took another sip of her hard lemonade and threw a penny into the fire. Hints of blue-green flame danced with the orange and red hues.  “Jenny!” Aurora chided. “We’re not children, and besides, this isn’t a wishing well.” “What difference does it make, Aurora? It’s one cent. It’s cheap entertainment if you ask me.” Evelyn said. ...

14 likes 18 comments 18
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Heart Attack at Camp Chapawonga

Submitted to Contest #199

I slap my thigh in a futile attempt to murder a mosquito. It survives and moves on to suck the blood of another unsuspecting camper. Chatty teens line the hand-carved—so they say—wooden benches that face the lake. Everyone nervously introduces themselves to each other in this first hour of the first day of our high school summer camp. The two campers on either side of me have their backs to me, finding intrigue elsewhere, I guess. For the first time ever in my life, I envy the buzzcut on the guy sitting next to me, as I peel my thick black...

13 likes 9 comments 9
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Take It Off

Submitted to Contest #199

                                            One Hot Night     Carolyn Wellsley Bochar was the  richest  woman  on the Cap d’ Azure. She was able to lay claim to the title thanks to the genius and wealth of her late husband Norman who knew a great deal about fine wine, valuable re...

12 likes 2 comments 2
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Tides of Forever

Submitted to Contest #199

Luna stood barefoot on the deserted beach boardwalk, her heart heavy with grief and longing. It was a quiet summer night, the air was warm, and the gentle lapping of the waves against the shore was the only sound breaking the silence. Above her, the full moon glowed brightly, casting an ethereal light upon the dark waters. She had come to this place, her lover’s favorite spot, with a desperate plea in her heart. Luna believed in the ancient tales of the Goddess of the Sea, a deity worshiped in her village that was revered and respected. The...

12 likes 10 comments 10
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The History of the Night

Submitted to Contest #199

Edmund was not his real name. The lone man in a brown double breasted suit leaned against the railing as the ship cut its way through the night. There was laughter and light coming from the ballroom above, but Edmund simply ignored it. He arched his neck to observe the full yellow moon in the sky, throwing its light carelessly onto the shimmering sea. It was a warm summer evening, but still he shuddered.  He examined his ticket again, recalled what his contact whispered seductively over the phone:  “Nine o’clock.”  ...

12 likes 5 comments 5
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