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#253 Slow Down

As the weather heats up, so do our calendars. After the long winter months of social hibernation and rained-off outings come the months of non-stop activity in the sun. Barbecues, beach days, and vacays await — and while all this fun is great, if you're anything like me, you may also find it a touchoverwhelming. Combine this frenzy of socialising with the 24/7 world we now live in, and the demands of work and family, and suddenly you're struggling to catch a moment's peace, even when you're supposed to be relaxing.


This week's prompts invite you to take a pause and reflect before we head into the busy summer season. Whether your characters are looking for an escape from their fast-paced lives, or just want to hold onto a particular moment in time, let's pump the breaks and slow down for a while.

🥇 Winner

One thousand and three wishes

Winner of Weekly Contest #253 🏆

One thousand and three wishes He found it on his way to work. He liked to visit the old antique store before getting sucked into the whirlwind of unnecessary emails, long meetings and pointless discussions. The lamp looked weird and useless, yet he was drawn to it. He threw it in his bag with other pieces that had caught his eye, fought for a better price and won, and left the shop happy. Well, not really. Satisfied is a better word for it. He hadn’t felt happy in a long time.The day went by acceptably fast, considering the fact th...

99 likes 109 comments 109
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⭐️ Shortlisted

Taxi

Shortlisted for Contest #253 ⭐️

"Please do not enter the vehicle." "Excuse me?" A bolt of lightning shot through Shannon's heart as she climbed into the autonomous taxi and closed the door. Immediately the locks triggered and she felt a cold sweat explode onto her forehead. The taxi's smooth, friendly computer generated voice fired up again with the tenderness of a new mother. "What is your name?" it asked. "Shannon." She said it with the rising tone of a question while she pulled at the disabled door handle. Her heart began pounding wildly in her tightening chest. "What's...

50 likes 50 comments 50
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Patchwork

Shortlisted for Contest #253 ⭐️

In my mind, I have lived one hundred different lives. I don’t quite know why that is occurring to me now, but as I reach for my lighter I can hear and see those words very clearly. I have lived one hundred different lives. My lighter is bright yellow, I probably stole it from someone at some point, I would never willingly buy something this color. The cigarette is hanging from my lips, my throat already burns more than it should, but I want to enjoy this view for a while longer before I start my car and this gives me an excuse to stay a litt...

30 likes 15 comments 15
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Never counted on wishes (breaks a man to see what he misses)

Shortlisted for Contest #253 ⭐️

“I wish we could stay here forever.” Of course, everyone says that their first year of university. The excitement, the freedom of being away from home, the longing for an impermanent state to be permanent - that wish is genuine, yet rarely was it quite as potent as it was for you. You didn’t know at the time just how fleeting here would be - weeks later, you would again return to your childhood bedroom, a pandemic having closed down your new barely existent friendships, never again to be as easy to maintain as they had at that dinner table w...

21 likes 5 comments 5
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This week's prompts

Write a story about a highly-strung character learning to slow down, or someone pursuing a quieter way of life.

– 55 stories

Set your story over the course of a few minutes; no flashbacks, no flashforwards.

– 89 stories

Start your story with a character canceling their plans.

– 25 stories

Write a story that contains the line, "I wish we could stay here forever."

– 86 stories

Write about a character who has the ability to pause the passage of time.

– 67 stories

Stories

One thousand and three wishes

Winner of Weekly Contest #253 🏆

One thousand and three wishes He found it on his way to work. He liked to visit the old antique store before getting sucked into the whirlwind of unnecessary emails, long meetings and pointless discussions. The lamp looked weird and useless, yet he was drawn to it. He threw it in his bag with other pieces that had caught his eye, fought for a better price and won, and left the shop happy. Well, not really. Satisfied is a better word for it. He hadn’t felt happy in a long time.The day went by acceptably fast, considering the fact th...

99 likes 109 comments 109
Read story

Taxi

Shortlisted for Contest #253 ⭐️

"Please do not enter the vehicle." "Excuse me?" A bolt of lightning shot through Shannon's heart as she climbed into the autonomous taxi and closed the door. Immediately the locks triggered and she felt a cold sweat explode onto her forehead. The taxi's smooth, friendly computer generated voice fired up again with the tenderness of a new mother. "What is your name?" it asked. "Shannon." She said it with the rising tone of a question while she pulled at the disabled door handle. Her heart began pounding wildly in her tightening chest. "What's...

50 likes 50 comments 50
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Secrets That We Keep

Weekly Contest #253

Secrets That We Keep It was a hard life. No one said it was going to be easy. We chose it for ourselves. There was no going back. We made a commitment. Now we had to live up to it.At first it seemed surreal. We had heard about something, someone, that would someday come along and change our world. Could it be possible this was truly it? Is this what our ancestors have been foretelling and preparing us for our whole lives? Could it be happening in our lifetime? Most of our folks weren't sure either. They thought we were foolish youths simply ...

45 likes 43 comments 43
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A Legendary Love

Weekly Contest #253

“I wish we could stay here forever,” Althea said, staring into Mesa’s hazel eyes. He pulled her close and pressed his soft lips on her forehead. “It really is a beautiful place,” he said warmly. “We’ve been coming to this secret spot in the jungle for years, and every single time…you make me want to stay.” One look at Althea’s cocoa eyes, and he knew it was true. She always had a tender way with her love; it was a precious gift he would never take for granted. “You make me want to stay too, Meu Tesouro.” Althea’s nickname for Mesa meant my...

42 likes 32 comments 32
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Her Song

Weekly Contest #253

Author's Note (1) : This story uses the lyrics of Elton John's 1971 track "Your Song". I do not own the rights to this song or its lyrics. That would be him and the brilliant Bernie Taupin.“I feel my heart beat out of time,” Ryan Bernard whispered to himself whilst he blankly stared at the beat-up, black stereo system at the other end of the marketing office he worked in.He grasped at the juniper green silk tie that hung on his neck, as if his large, muscular hands were following a rhythm only he could hear. A shrill, pervasive tone rang in ...

38 likes 59 comments 59
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As Easy as Lighting Wet Wood with a Candle

Weekly Contest #253

"I won't have it," Lady Nimmo said with her hands on her hips. "There has to be another way." The mighty victor over shadow elves and dragons sought an edge in this argument but found none."But there isn't," Trungen said without emotion. "I will hammer the cork into place. You three will sail to the fleet.""I won't leave you behind, and I'm not leaving the stumpers." Battle scenes flashed through her mind. Dragons shooting fire-bolts. Stumpers on fire. A shadow elf slicing her father's face with a knife."The stumpers and I will be fine.""Wit...

35 likes 19 comments 19
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Ed Bumps

Weekly Contest #253

“Hey, Ed, could you slow down please? These country roads are lethal, you can’t see a flipping thing.”“Yeah, Edmund, headlights can barely pick out the bends before they appear on this stretch, slow it down.”“You’re going to slam us into a tree, or a herd of sheep, or a big pile of shitty manure if the smell around here is anything to go by. Put the window up, Edwin, it stinks!”“Could you all shut up? It’s fine, I do this drive all the time, you know that.”“Yep, some of us more than others. You don’t have to go so fast though. It's not like ...

35 likes 36 comments 36
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Rest for the Wicked

Weekly Contest #253

It’s taken me fifty years to appreciate being alone, but it doesn’t do to mention it in public. I was always a social drinker and never enjoyed imbibing by myself. The doctor suggested, Naltrexone, but said, ‘The best remedy is to stop drinking. Period’. ‘That’s not easy, Doc’. ‘Enjoy some quality time,’ he said. ‘Go on holiday or get a hobby.’    Alas, my hobby was the problem. They prescribed Naltrexone at the clinic, but after I got the all-clear, I ditched the last tablets. The side effects were fairly unpredicta...

33 likes 47 comments 47
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Survival and Grit at Forever Valley on the Mystical Coast

Weekly Contest #253

After rising all day during steady rain the river had jumped the banks, flowed across the valley and was now coming into Adelia's house.Adelia's breath caught and her heart pounded when she felt the surge of cold water run over her feet. Her baby was swaddled in a blanket and rested against her chest. The water came through the cabin walls and then rose to knee deep.Her husband, Sean, was miles away in the village getting supplies. When Sean took the boat with goods to trade into town, or left for part-time fishing and lumbering work, Adelia...

31 likes 19 comments 19
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Proposal

Weekly Contest #253

 “Will you marry me?”The words ring with echoes of emotion; anticipation, fear, hope. His eyes are wide open, his brow furrowed, his pearly teeth caught on his lower lip. His too-large suit has flopped open, letting his tie snake to freedom over his arm. The whole world is silent, still. Time has stopped, and I am frozen with it. My heart is fluttering in tandem with the butterflies in my stomach.Will you marry me? Will I? Should I? The lights of the restaurant are casting such strange shadows, as if the photons are as unsure how to act...

30 likes 18 comments 18
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Patchwork

Shortlisted for Contest #253 ⭐️

In my mind, I have lived one hundred different lives. I don’t quite know why that is occurring to me now, but as I reach for my lighter I can hear and see those words very clearly. I have lived one hundred different lives. My lighter is bright yellow, I probably stole it from someone at some point, I would never willingly buy something this color. The cigarette is hanging from my lips, my throat already burns more than it should, but I want to enjoy this view for a while longer before I start my car and this gives me an excuse to stay a litt...

30 likes 15 comments 15
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Nothing Happens

Weekly Contest #253

The title tells you all you need to know: nothing happens. You could walk on by and continue with your day, and the world would keep on turning, indifferent. It doesn't matter whether you read this or not; in the grand scheme of things, nothing happens. We agreed to meet at that café in Hamburg, a place suspended in time, where minutes stretch and contract as if obeying a different logic. I sit down and check my watch.6:23. The hands, like faithful messengers of time, announce the hour with a solemnity that seems to mock my waiting.6:24. I w...

29 likes 38 comments 38
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BOOOOMMM!!

Weekly Contest #253

“Let’s bang out these deliveries as quickly as possible so we can get home and eat.” “Yeah, I’m starving. Imagine if we order this exact meal for ourselves tonight?” I looked at my husband, hoping that he would agree. “Spend our profits? No way.” “Yeah, you’re right.” I fought to hide my disappointment as my hunger pains mixed with the growing fatigue.  “It’ll be worth it, you’ll see. Just another few deliveries and we hit our goal for the day.” He smiled at me, trying to keep my spirits up. We stopped for ...

29 likes 26 comments 26
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I Wish I Could But I Can't

Weekly Contest #253

Nobody has ever been more disappointed. I’ve been looking forward to this for weeks, Jean. Weeks. You know I love a children’s dance recital. If I could go to them every weekend, I would. When I look at the calendar, and I don’t see a children’s dance recital penciled in on either Saturday or Sunday, I just about burst into tears. The thought of not getting to spend three-to-five hours in a cramped, hot auditorium sitting on a folding chair watching a bunch of eight-year-olds attempt to do ballet fills my spirit with joy. I cannot believe I ...

27 likes 11 comments 11
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Stillwater

Weekly Contest #253

I believe reality is relative, especially when what you see from behind a screen is designed, produced, and created by someone else. Our visitors come searching for the real world, a place where the sun shines, and they can touch the reality around them. We were going to give it to him, though he won't like what he’s going to get. Sally and I sat in our usual spot, the weight of the slow summer afternoon heavy on our shoulders, almost forgetting we had a job to do, when he finally stepped off the train.  Lo...

25 likes 26 comments 26
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