Write a story set in a world with a dying sun, or where light is a scarce resource.

Posted in Science Fiction on Jan 5, 2024

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✍️ 65 stories

“LET THERE BE LIGHT” by Veronique Racine

Submitted to Contest #232

They said we had enough light for another billion years. Yeah, what did they know? Science was finding all the answers, trust in science. But they didn’t know squat. They were blind, deaf and dumb, trying to make us believe they were enlightened.That they had seen the light. How beautifully ironic. They spouted off a million theories, why the Sun was becoming red, why the heat was going, why the star that had seen us grow from protozoaic goo to arrogant bipeds was snuffing itself out. They had theories, not solutions. No ...

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“The Jar” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #232

When you’re young, you hear many stories and you are gifted quotes and maxims aplenty. Few of them stick, and even those that do stick, only hold on by the skin of their teeth or by their cracked and raggedy fingernails. If you’re lucky, you’ll remember them when it counts, but mostly they’ll come to haunt you with their meaning after the fact, and you’ll wonder just how much you have forgotten and how different things might have been… If only you’d known. My Uncle Freddie told me a story once. Now I think on it, he probably told me the ...

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“The Day the Sun Sank” by Maisey Mansson

Submitted to Contest #232

The Day the Sun Sank They were on top of the world. An hour before the final sunset, the entire town was begrudgingly on the move. With pockets and packs stuffed with comforting personal treasures, children wrapped in their favorite blankies, family members carrying pictures of those passed, and with some lifting lanterns to the slowly darkening sky, they made their way up the trail. The procession was orderly, eerily tranquire. The walk was a long time coming. The days were growing progressively shorter and the nights longer. It was a ...

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“Reality” by Sherri Moorer

Submitted to Contest #232

“Are you sure about this?” Kyra fiddled with the drone. “Of course I am. Don’t you want to see the sun? To see blue skies and green trees? To see life?” Bryn gently touched Kyra’s chin and tilted her face up, staring deep into her eyes. “What if the histories are true? What if there’s nothing to see but scorched earth and barrenness? Or worse yet, darkness?” She smiled. “There’s only one way to find out.” Bryn turned to the large, iron door splotched with rust. As he suspected, it was sealed shut. He would have thought it was from four...

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“It Blocked the Light” by Tawny Molina

Submitted to Contest #232

You know there is something really weird about the Sun suddenly vanishing. I’m not talking about having a cloud roll in and cause the sunlight to fade for a few moments. I mean having not only the blue sky blocked but also the clouds. It happened I swear. I was going for a walk and suddenly something blocked everything above my neighborhood. I want to say it happened sometime around the first day of winter. Winter solstice? I dunno I never really keep track of these things. I only remembered this year because of what happened. It was...

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“Crashing Sun” by Allan Bernal

Submitted to Contest #232

“What’s going to happen when the sun falls out of the sky Mommy?” Olivia asked as she walked hand in hand with her mother down a cotton candy pink road. “Don’t think about that sweetie,” her mother replied calmly, eyes straight forward but still smiling. “Now didn’t you say you wanted to find a unicorn today?” Olivia’s eyes went wide with excitement as she jumped up. “Yes! Do you think I could ride one too?”...

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“Ghosted” by Alex's Bermudez

Submitted to Contest #232

“Every singer's heart has an angel, waiting for the doubt, to transform its light into their alter ego.” -Fred!!!!!! It’s not the first time, it’s not the second I’ve heard that voice before. Almost always in the deepest and darker hours of the night. I haven’t noticed it, but, b… But it usually comes when things are tense, or when I’m being challenged or about to give up. I don’t know where it comes from. I don’t know who programmed it, but it looks like it’s not comfortable watching me in pain or crying. I could swear I felt ...

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“The End of Light” by Christina Reynolds

Submitted to Contest #232

As a child, you told your mom that you were afraid of ghosts, but you are pretty sure she knew you were lying. It wasn't ghosts that you feared as a child—it was the dark and the unknown terrors it concealed. You don't remember what she said to you that night, but you’ll never forget what your mother did. In the electrical socket beside your bed, she plugged a little night light, just bright enough to scare away your fears or any ghosts that wanted to do you harm. You think about your childhood more often than you used to. Yo...

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“Dying Sun” by Kayla Anderson

Submitted to Contest #232

The world lay cloaked in a perpetual twilight, its landscape etched in shades of gray and somber indigo. The sun, once a fiery orb that danced across the sky with a brilliance that could blind, now hung low and listless—a pale imitation of its former glory. Its light was a mere whisper, gasping against the encroaching darkness that sought to swallow what little remained of the day. "Another day, another ration," muttered Apollo Winters under her breath, the words hanging in the frigid air like a personal mantra. Her voice was as raspy and m...

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“In the Land of the Blind” by Chip Kirkpatrick

Submitted to Contest #232

IN THE LAND OF THE BLIND TAP! Tap-Tap! Tap! “In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is King!” That proverb, written in 1500 by Erasmus, keeps running through my mind. I don’t have one good eye, but two very poor eyes. I’ve suffered with near-sightedness, cataracts and macular degeneration for all of my life! For decades my vision has been somewhere between being almost able to drive a car and needing a dog and white cane! Tap! Tap! I can’t resist smiling. Once I was a freak. The kid and later the man with all of the vision ...

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“The Land Of The Dying Sun” by Joana Silva

Submitted to Contest #232

*Contains violence and strong language*It had been eleven years since the Light-beings, the Hikarijin, arrived on Earth and the skies turned dim, casting an eerie shadow over the world. The once vibrant sunlight became a distant memory. Nobody knew what planet they came from; if they even have a home planet; or if they are a nomad species who travel from star system to star system to extract energy from the stars that sustain the locals existence. They silenced Earth’s leaders or anyone who tried to war with them. The Hikarijin held the worl...

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“In Hope Of Light” by Sierra Brockenbrough

Submitted to Contest #232

The time of the event was hard to ignore for a lot of people. Most people who came before us don't remember when the sun shone in the sky or how it felt. On the day of Pre-Flash Week, a bang came out of nowhere and wiped out an entire civilization. Years later, it happened again. People who survived the flash called it Post-Flash Week. It was the day when light was scarce. When we find light, we harvest it before it burns out. Photos are reaped into jars or lamps that are sealed tightly and shipped out to towns and cities. I work with a larg...

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“Special Delivery” by Mia Hammond

Submitted to Contest #232

We were entering hyperspace when we got a ping to our dashboard: “Greetings. Your next delivery will be on the planet Kalgon. When you arrive, enter the Visitor’s Center to pick up the package and await further instruction.”We landed our ship at the given coordinates and looked out at the desolate landscape.“Who could we possibly be delivering to out here? I don’t see a soul,” said my partner Adam, eyes darting around.I shrugged. The Visitor’s Center sat atop a large boulder, the only structure that could be seen for miles. “W...

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“The Lightbringer” by Simon Pacis

Submitted to Contest #232

He looked down at his hands, which were quickly turning a bright shade of orange. He tried to calm himself, just like mother had taught. Open your pores slowly, let them remain for some seconds, then close them slowly. Repeat. Open, wait, close. Repeat. It worked. His typical shade of turquoise was returning. Very slightly relieved, he looked up at the podium again, his main eyes fixed on the Luminarch, who was staring right back at him. “Doruek,” said the Luminarch, “please approach.” With trembling steps, Doruek walked to the front, stoppi...

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“Child of First Light” by Vaishnavi Katta

Submitted to Contest #232

“What’s wrong?” the wind whispered as it touched Ilara’s flushed cheeks. She covered them with her hands as the wind continued to chatter, blowing harder at the patch of bare skin between her pants and socks. She pulled up her socks and pulled her knees into her chest, shielding as much of her skin away from the wind as possible. Still, it spoke. “Would you like another message from the heavens?” the wind laughed as it slipped through her sealed knees and puffed onto her face. “No, no more messages. Why speak now of all times....

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Write a story set in a world with a dying sun, or where light is a scarce resource.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 65 stories

“LET THERE BE LIGHT” by Veronique Racine

“The Jar” by Jed Cope

“The Day the Sun Sank” by Maisey Mansson

“Reality” by Sherri Moorer

“It Blocked the Light” by Tawny Molina

“Crashing Sun” by Allan Bernal

“Ghosted” by Alex's Bermudez

“The End of Light” by Christina Reynolds

“Dying Sun” by Kayla Anderson

“In the Land of the Blind” by Chip Kirkpatrick

“The Land Of The Dying Sun” by Joana Silva

“In Hope Of Light” by Sierra Brockenbrough

“Special Delivery” by Mia Hammond

“The Lightbringer” by Simon Pacis

“Child of First Light” by Vaishnavi Katta

🌟 Similar prompts

Set your story during polar night.

Write a story about someone witnessing — or trying to witness — a celestial phenomenon.

Write a story about someone who has been tasked to keep a flame burning, surrounded by total darkness.

Write a story about someone looking for a sign in a dark sky.

Contest #232

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

280

Contest entries

106

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: