June 9 – June 22
In 2025, Microzine will share various door prompts, and it’s up to you to decide what (or who) is behind them. Perhaps a beast waiting for you? A family having a squabble? Lovers taking advantage of being alone? A knight suiting up for his next battle? An old woman waiting for a visit…from you…? A room of missing treasure finally discovered?
The possibilities of what, or who, one might find behind a closed door are endless. Step right up. Knock and enter. If you dare.
THE CHALLENGE
Using the above image as a prompt, write a story selecting one of the following stipulations:
Must be exactly 6-words, 25-words, 50-words, or 100-words in length. Title is never counted towards word count OR
a StoryStack that follows the rules outlined here:
NOTE: Put your story title & word count in brackets first, followed by your story.
Ex. [Story Title, 100]
An added element to this challenge is the deadline. Any story put in the comments AFTER the date listed below will not be considered for digital/print issues.
DEADLINE: June 22, 2025
DIGITAL/PRINT ISSUE OPPORTUNITY
Only stories shared in the comments section will be considered for digital and print issues. Stories only shared in Substack Notes will not be considered. If you put your story up on your own publication it will not disqualify it from consideration.
Good luck!
Love this one, Erica, and here’s my 6-word-story contribution:
The door closed; her rage opened.
Behind Closed Doors (331 words)
A Story Stack: THE SEPARATION METHOD
Rattling Doors (6 words)
The closet doors rattled rather curiously
A Hiding Spot (25 words)
Simone’s eyes carefully searched her closet for the work that was completed. If she didn’t know where the safe was she would have missed it.
The Search (50 words)
Terence wandered around the first floor. “I know you are here somewhere. I am going to find you.”
Terence climbed the stairs and began searching the upper floor. “Come out , come out wherever you are,” he said. Opening the closet door he shouted, “There you are.” His son giggled loudly.
Shifting Eyes (100 words)
The eyes shifted from one slat to another, carefully watching the woman as she wandered about the bedroom tidying up. Jean changed the sheets and rearranged the pillows. She shifted the dirty clothes from the hamper to the basket and exited the room.
The eyes darted back and forth in their attempts to follow Jean. Realizing that she wasn’t coming back for a while they settled on the inside of the door where they inspected the walls around the closet.
The eyes narrowed when Jean flicked on the lights and opened the closet door.
“There you are,” she purred quietly.
Behind Closed Doors (150 words)
“Burp. Gurgle. Swish. Thump, Thump, Thump.” The noises behind the closed door were some of the usual noises Muriel heard when doing the laundry, She paused because it seemed that one was missing. She took a step backwards when the rumble of the spinning dryer caught her attention.
“Whew,” she thought. “It still works.”
Behind the doors the dryer complained quietly. “You didn’t have to nudge me so hard.”
The washer barked. “You weren’t living up to your part of the deal. We make noise. Their lives go on. We sit quietly until they go out and then we partee hardy.”
“I know,” intoned the dryer. “I am still hung over from last week.”
“You hit the bleach pretty hard that night,” replied the washer. “If it wasn’t for the hot water tank you would be far worse.”
“I have to thank him for saving my life,” sighed the dryer.