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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write about a character who develops a special ritual to cope with something.

Posted in Angst on Jun 30, 2023

Submissions are closed

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✍️ 90 stories

“Thr Art of the Dragoon” by Will Oyowe

Submitted to Contest #205

Dzeliera and I first met Lideria at the Dragoon Academy's military induction in town. Lideria guided us outside, with Dzeliera, my fellow graduate, smoking and me self-consciously talking to other admired on-lookers as if I was afraid my idleness would make the others find me out. Lideria, we learned, besides being one of the best dragon commanders of her generation, was also a professional artist and kept many different papers in a special tattered pouch slung over her shoulder. She chatted while smoking her pipe and quickly took a liking t...

5 comments 5
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“Coping Mechanism of the Common Man” by Esperanza Gant

Submitted to Contest #205

Coping Mechanism for the Common Man Tick. Tick. Tick. The clock on Aaron’s bedside table was the only sound filling his dead apartment. Aaron lay motionless in his bed, staring up at his ceiling. The sunrise peeked through his curtains turning his whitewashed walls blue. Brrring. Brrring.  Aaron turned his alarm off on the second ring.  “Three…four…five…six…” At seven he rose from his bed. By nine, the covers had been replaced as if he had never slept in them. It was exactly ten steps to the bathroom. Aaron couldn’t hear ...

3 comments 3
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“Clockwork” by Jordan Armstrong

Submitted to Contest #205

There’s a small joy in waking up before the alarm rings. The transition from dream to reality becomes soft, and special; waking from a dream without violence almost feels like a holiday. I smelled the sea air coming in through the western window, motivating my eyes to open, albeit with some early morning difficulty. Our home wasn’t large- upstairs master and guest bedrooms, downstairs kitchen, dining/living room- but it was beachfront property, worth every penny. I took a deep breath, enjoying the smells of the ocean- for a moment, I caugh...

2 comments 2
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“Sixteen Candles” by Patricia C

Submitted to Contest #205

*Trigger warning: This story contains a description of a car accident and time spent in the hospital.* Elsie rolled into the kitchen in her hot pink wheelchair before the sun came up for the day. She turned on the coffee maker and let out a big yawn. No one else in her house was awake yet, but that was what she had hoped for when she set her alarm last night. She wanted a few quiet minutes to reflect on both her past and present. Elsie's pink wheelchair stood out in her mom's beige kitchen like a piece of candy in an otherwise dull displ...

4 comments 4
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“Where the waves sing” by A M

Submitted to Contest #205

Sarika hurried through the streets of New Orleans to the old abandoned factory on the outskirts of town. She kept her head down, her face covered by her dark hair and the black hood of her hoodie. She passed closed stores and all-night diners where jazz bands played their bright spunky music.  The milky light of the full moon illuminated the path behind the factory that led to a cemetery. Her watch vibrated. 3 o’clock. She picked up her pace and slipped through the familiar hole in the mesh fence. She approached the headston...

2 comments 2
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“Five” by Glenna Agnew

Submitted to Contest #205

Five I couldn’t breathe. I felt my anxiety building. Escalating. I tried to take some cleansing breaths. Instead, I started gasping for air. This wasn’t working. Think of what your therapist told you. The little voice inside my brain urged me.  Which one? I can’t even remember his name. Focus. I can’t. Focus on your breathing. I breathed in a deep breath, held it for a moment then breathed out. I repeated it four more times. Five was the magic number. It was working. I’m not going to die. My name is Monica. Monica James. I’m a travel ...

3 comments 3
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“She Talked to God Every Morning n the Shower” by Holly Witte

Submitted to Contest #205

Prompt: Write about a character who develops a special ritual to cope with something She Talked to God Every Morning in the Shower                                                                     &nbs...

1 comment 1
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“Four Seconds” by Heidi Poole

Submitted to Contest #205

One. Two. Three. Four. Her gaze broke from the dash and rolled to the lights which flickered to green, and it was an empty mind all the way home. Have dinner. Feed Timothy. Have a shower. Brush teeth. Read a chapter. Place a kiss on the bedside photo. And turn off the lamp. As usual, she woke to the screech of her own scream, sweat draining from her armpits and back with her chest convulsing so intensely she was unable to breathe. Like clockwork her Gran walked in with a torch, the light revealing her swollen eyes and tensed body. With a ...

2 comments 2
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“Malediction” by Eva Bernal

Submitted to Contest #205

 Abbey woke the same way she had for the last five years, on her back and alone. She could see the palest of lights beginning, peeking in through the small crack between her filmy sheer curtains. Those curtains allowed her to watch the world awaken and move. She blinked her eyes rapidly, wishing for the millionth time that she could simply wipe away the tiny grains of sleep herself. She heard the soft rap on the door and Ms. Beatty peeked her head in. “Good morning Abbey,” she smiled warmly, as she did every morning, “It’s time to get u...

0 comments 0
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“An Appalachian Tale: Mars Johnston and his Bees” by Catherine Buck

Submitted to Contest #205

An Appalachian Tale: Mars Johnston and his Bees When Mars Johnston's pa died, Mars became the keeper of the family bees. The ten year old knew he had been given a great responsibility; he couldn't be slack, especially if he wanted to have food on the table for his family. As soon as the sun started going down on the first day of Daniel Johnston's death, his wife gathered up her two sons to walk down into the meadow behind their house. All three carried strips of black cloth to place around the family's hives. Once the str...

2 comments 2
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“Late of Heaven” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #205

It was a monastic start to the day for Stanley Jesseps. A cup of fresh-brewed coffee, a slice of buttered toast, a banana, and on the kitchen-table lay the small white To-Do pad that called him to action, invited him to seize pieces of the day. Sometimes he might append a new task that occurs to him during the morning’s repose, but on this Wednesday he rolled with the prior-night’s draft, prescribed moments of meaning amidst the dross of an old and bereaved man’s life. It is an orderly approach to living he thought, the cadenc...

1 comment 1
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“But He's Waiting For Me...” by Rachel Marbach

Submitted to Contest #205

       Eloise woke up to the sound of the phone. “Who on earth would be calling me at this hour?” she asked aloud, stumbling out of bed.       It was her mother, the only person who usually called at all. “I just wanted to let you know,” she said. “That we’re celebrating your sister’s birthday at La Fontaine on Saturday and, um, if you’re up to coming, it would mean a lot to us.”   “No,” Eloise said, checking the clock. “I already told you, I don’t do birthdays anymore, a...

2 comments 2
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“How To Be A Good Glass Of Red Wine” by Tessa L Watson

Submitted to Contest #205

Being a shattered glass of red wine is no easy feat. However, it's become something I've mastered over time—a skill that, quite honestly, came effortlessly to me. I didn't choose to slip from his grasp as he attempted to place me on the dinner table. I never intended to be a relentless stain on the eggshell-colored wool that adorned the dining room floor. Nor did I ask to be subjected to the insults and the careless steps of those who foolishly walked barefoot amidst the shards. I didn't aspire to be another kitchen item awaiting replacement...

7 comments 7
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“Peanut Butter Bananas” by Shaylyn Smith

Submitted to Contest #205

Every single morning, she gets up, tired as anything, and heads down the stairs to the kitchen. Before anyone else is awake, she rubs her eyes and yawns as she pours her first cup of coffee. Her mind floods with everything she must do that day. Drop Karl off at his new special school, go to work, pick up Karl from his school, take him to occupational therapy, come home, make dinner, and clean the kitchen. It is a lot to keep track of for one person but there is one thing that she must always do first. She tears a banana from the bunch and...

1 comment 1
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“Divergence in an Upsetting World” by Keelan LaForge

Submitted to Contest #205

I don’t cope well with change. OCD is my constant companion and I need to keep it happy at all times. It likes plenty of notice and routine, and predictability. I was diagnosed as a child, so it’s nothing new to me, but it becomes much more complex in the life of an adult. I had an appointment cancelled this week, and it felt like the world was ending. I’d had it booked for months. I have to schedule my appointments at regular intervals, or I toss and turn on my memory foam mattress, worrying all night long. The hairdresser doesn’t get it. S...

8 comments 8
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Contest #205

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This week's theme: Ritualistic

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Ended on 23:59 - Jul 07, 2023 EST

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Title: The Walk

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