Make your protagonist go through a rite of passage.

Posted in Character on Jun 30, 2023

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✍️ 54 stories

“The Gray Pearl Ring” by Nada Withee

Submitted to Contest #205

There was a time when my palm would hurt occasionally for no reason when I was writing. Then, I recalled, after long years, that I should find a way to tell her that her gray pearl ring is safe with me, whom she had not met before the wedding, nor after the wedding. She sat right next to me, with the second last row of guests, her hands folded, resting on a book on her lap. No one was sitting next to us, as an empty seat separated us from guests in the same row. Instinctively, as a writer, I scrutinized her. She was no more than sixteen, muc...

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“A Ritual to the God Kaal Bhairov” by MG SINGH

Submitted to Contest #205

Ronnie remembers sitting at the bar in the army club, drinking a beer with a friend. The topic turned to Hinduism and ritualism in the world. Ronnie’s friend mentions strange rituals in pristine Hinduism that defy explanation. Ronnie is looking at his friend and asks him. “What are you talking about?” “I am talking about the Aghori clan”. “I’ve Just heard the name, but I know nothing more.” “Well, this is an ancient Hindu sect that claims to follow original Vaishnavism, and they have weird rituals which give them special powers. This sect wo...

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“THE GOD OF OAHU” by Randall Caporale

Submitted to Contest #205

Unlike Adam and Eve, we left the paradise. Not a Biblical eviction, but because we couldn’t make a living. Wife Sherrie and I moved to Kauai to open a school of metaphysical instruction: classes in meditation, healing and clairvoyant development. And we were a big hit: Lots of students, always busy, plenty of cash. But after two years, we’d pretty much healed and deep-breathed our way through the entire population of 30,000 and things cooled off. We decided to leave, though weren’t quite ready to jump fully back into the ...

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“The Wolf Within” by David Mac Mahon

Submitted to Contest #205

The Wolf Within I can feel the raw energy rising inside me. It’s as if the moon is feeding me, charging me. It's powerful, relentless, addictive. I will change at midnight, and Father says I will have an uncontrollable urge to feed. That’s what we do. We feed on the weak, the vulnerable. My mum and dad couldn’t have children of their own. They adopted me after my natural parents both died in a car accident not long after I was born. At least, that’s what I have been told. I was only a few weeks old, so I have no memory of ...

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“The Placement Test” by Jocelyn Nelson

Submitted to Contest #205

It was Placement Day, and the uncertainty of what that meant twisted Vierra’s gut. One look at her terrified expression in the mirror, and she quickly turned away from it without fixing her braided hair and yellow dress. Vierra, like every other 16-year-old taking the Placement test, had no idea how they would be tested. Discussion of the Placement after you went through it was strictly prohibited, making it the best-kept secret in all of Elemcast. Vierra walked out of her childhood bedroom, down the familiar hall of yellow and grey with the...

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“The Nail” by Gregor Varga

Submitted to Contest #205

A large two-winged door with round windows opens and a man walks through it. He is wearing a green surgical hat and a mask over his face. Only the eyes remain visible to us. Those heavy, tired, black eyes. A green robe floats behind him wrapping around the entire hallway as it seems. He looks like a superhero. Or a villain. It all depends on what he has to say to us. I made my peace with it that he's the villain. Those eyes cannot in any way bring good news. It was around two o'clock after midnight. Almost half an hour as I started jab...

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“DEATH” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #205

DEATH Kate was nine years old when her great-grandfather, who had spent the last years of his life with them, died. Great-grandfather Orlando was ninety-two and he had been very strict. He had often reproached her for her disobedience and had often repeated to her that she was rude. And when he said it he made a disgusted face and said:” Ah, those! They allow you everything” referring to her parents. The great-grandfather had died after a few days of illness during which everyone knew he was going to die. Kate had never seen a dead before...

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“The Cave” by Kaelyn Style

Submitted to Contest #205

On the eve of her eleventh birthday, Fox Trep gave her family dog to the local kennel. Her father had never loved anyone more than he cherished that dog. He petted it every night on the couch. He walked it three times a day. He even gave it more fresh meat than he gave his own family. He spent so much money on that dog. And Fox gave it away. She snuck out past midnight and ran down the street. She remembered the dog squirming against her chest. At the shelter she claimed that her family was running out of money. Lie. They took Ku...

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“Bani's Tree” by Sandhya Ramachandran

Submitted to Contest #205

Code 278.43A. That’s where ‘Lady Grace’ was, right behind the stunted tree that hit the ceiling and hid an owl in its hollow. In a ladylike fashion, Bani hopped on the plastic rocks to cross the fake river in the middle of the library. So as to not catch a whiff of stubbed cigarettes hidden in pockets of grey-lipped men in the room, Bani held her breath as she performed the difficult crossing manoeuvre. Despite her greatest efforts, Bani never made it across to the other side. Later, on the flight, she reasoned that she was stopped so that...

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Make your protagonist go through a rite of passage.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 54 stories

“The Gray Pearl Ring” by Nada Withee

“A Ritual to the God Kaal Bhairov” by MG SINGH

“THE GOD OF OAHU” by Randall Caporale

“The Wolf Within” by David Mac Mahon

“The Placement Test” by Jocelyn Nelson

“The Nail” by Gregor Varga

“DEATH” by Mara Masolini

“The Cave” by Kaelyn Style

“Bani's Tree” by Sandhya Ramachandran

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story during a full moon night.

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

Make a character perform a ceremony to set something or someone free.

Write about a character who breaks free from a tradition to create a new one.

Contest #205

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

305

Contest entries

129

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: