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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#116: Permission vs Forgiveness

As the old saying goes, “It’s easier to ask forgiveness than to get permission.” It’s not a policy to adopt too often (if you want to keep your friends, that is). But there will probably be times when — whether out of expedience, impulsivity, or sheer laziness — you throw caution to the wind.

Whether your characters are seeking another’s blessing or begging their pardon, this week’s prompts focus on the complex dynamics between permission and forgiveness.

This week's prompts

Write about a character breaking a rule, but for good reason.

Teens – 38 stories

Write about a character seeking forgiveness for something that happened in the past.

Angst – 67 stories

Start your story with someone being forbidden from doing something.

Dark – 44 stories

Write about a character who is being asked for their blessing, but is reluctant to give it.

Angst – 14 stories

Write a story that centers around a parking permit.

Fluff – 11 stories

Stories

“Hank” by Anna Kratki

Submitted to Contest #116

“Frequenting the alter won’t get you a by.” I frown and focused on the floor. Eva always makes this difficult, every single year. “You know what sorry means?” My heart does a number, a fast dance down to my stomach. “You know what it means, do you?” My mouth wobbles like a goldfish, like my goldfish, Hank. Me, 83, alone and the cat already gone. Hank and I lived together like two hamsters on opposite sides of a wheel: seamlessly, that is, until one of us runs too fast and we both fall off the whole thing. “You don’t,” she says. M...

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“See” by M. B. Portnoy

Submitted to Contest #116

“You see? You’ll never be able to see me. Not really.” She gave a chuckle, his blood on her arm mixing with her own, the coppery tag the predominant smell permeating the air.“Let me help you.” He reaches out his hand, stretching it out to hers. “Let me pull you up like you once did for me. You don’t have to be like this.”She grasps his hand, dangling solely from his grip off the edge. “Like what? Like a villain?”“Destructive. Self-destructive. Irrational. Hair-trigger temper. Violent.”She gave him a deadpan look, piercing through her veneer ...

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“Loch of the Island” by Ryan Smith

Submitted to Contest #116

Driving through the lush pine forest along what felt like a back road really did feel heavenly. The bright sunlight shining through the trees, the occasional view of a great mountain to his right, crossing rivers with mossy stones breaking up the calm clear water, seeing hikers and cyclists everywhere, exploring the beautiful countryside in their brightly coloured clothing. But Harry knew he couldn’t enjoy the surroundings, he wasn’t here for a holiday, he was here for something else. Getting closer to the Loch, he saw a great lake with larg...

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“A Church for the Holidays” by Elizabeth McInnis

Submitted to Contest #116

He finishes reading the passage and we look up at each other. The circular seating arrangement makes it difficult to keep from staring at the person directly across for me: a twenty-year-old man named Curtis who I have already deduced is too young for me to date. I hate that I keep track in my head of who I could date and who I couldn’t. “So, what do we think of that passage? Any first impressions?” Tom asks. He’s the leader of the Bible study, although he’s already admitted t...

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“Ink's Sorrow” by Carson Johnson

Submitted to Contest #116

Ink’s Sorrow October 21st, 2021. Month 12 Week 52 Day 365 9:37 AM “Claire, today is the day… I heard you’re getting that promotion at the diner you’ve been trying at?! Head chef! Congratulations! You really do” No, he shook his head as he made a line through the word, “did deserve it. I bet ya Shawn Sean wasn’t too happy to hear that. He’d been cooking there for a few years and you surpassed him in three months! Your dad called yesterday just to check on how things were going with school and the new move. He’s He was really proud of y...

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“The best revenge is to be unlike your enemy” by Gigi L' Amoroso

Submitted to Contest #116

Content warning: Coarse language and sexual suggestion “Come on, man, why don’t you want to come out with us?!?” My friend Antonio said from the bar stool with his Cuba libre in his hand. “Look, Pardeep isn’t here, there’s no point in me going out to the club.” I became an official couple with my co-worker Pardeep on this trip in Varadero after a roller coaster of “situationship” for several months. Pardeep took a flight in the morning because her brother, Akshay, had developed a severe reaction to a mosquito bite. He was annoying ...

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“Confessions Between Dark Figures” by Christopher Cayen-Cyr

Submitted to Contest #116

“Forgive me father, for I have sinned.” “What sin is this, my child?” “I’m afraid I can’t tell you.” This was my first time in twenty years inside a confessional booth. I had no idea who sat in the darkness on the other side of the metal grate, and the idea of speaking about my woes to a pure stranger made my skin crawl. Yet, here I was, a woman in her seventies, desperate to heal myself. “Why is it you can’t tell me?” the dark figure replied. “Have you hurt someone?” “No,” I hastily replied, horrified at the thought of being confu...

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“The Taste” by Ann Yuan

Submitted to Contest #116

The Taste By: Ann Yuan Twenty years later, when Jodi saw Venessa walk into her Café at Hampton plaza, she swore that a trace of bittersweetness, the taste of almond or walnut, welled up in her mouth. “Hi, congratulations on your grand opening!” Venessa said. She wore a cute black wool coat, immaculate make-ups, honey hue hair in delicate waves flew down to her shoulders. She took an inspecting glance over the dining area, then came up with an approving grin on the corner of her lips. High-spirited, amiable yet fastidious, trying to be perfec...

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“Hunt for Forgiveness” by M. Suvarian

Submitted to Contest #116

“I need none of your wisdom this night, Gwyneira.” Einar was quick to speak over the scraping of the front door dragging against cold stone, granting a prowling lioness entrance into her den. The fact that he heard the normally silent woman's arrival at all told him all he needed to know of her mood. If he did not speak first, there would be no chance to say what was needed. “Nor do I need your chastisement.”“Chastisement?” She moved further into the room, light from swinging lanterns caught in a night breeze casting harsh shadows across her...

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“The Other Side of the Wall” by Sarah C.

Submitted to Contest #116

Elisia Crawley turned her gaze upward, her amber eyes searching for an end to the mountainous wall that kept the residents of Easthaven isolated from whatever lay on the other side of it. She rose on her tippy toes and craned her neck, but all she could see was miles and miles of stone crawling with ivy so green the frogs that wandered over from the nearby pond could camouflage themselves into a leafy nest and go unnoticed. “Elisia, you shouldn’t even be near the Wall,” said Norah, Elisia’s worrisome neighbor, and childhood friend wh...

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“Mother May I?” by Nancy Donovan

Submitted to Contest #116

The romantic, erotic draw to the forbidden! Temptation has consequences sometimes far beyond immediate gratification.I have always looked older than my age. It was because of my boobs. I wore a size 34 DDD by the time I was in 7th grade. Needless to say, I never had a boyfriend because I was assumed to be a "fast girl" aka slut. You know, the one that boys only touch as a dare, or lie about having a one-and-done sexcapade with just to impress their buddies.So I took it upon myself to like "older boys." The legal drinking age was 18 yrs old b...

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“Misery IV” by Lauren Elisiario

Submitted to Contest #116

“Hey Ash, can I borrow our car?” Nathan asked. “No way, your not borrowing my car again” “But mine is still in the shop, and I really need to get to Game City for the new release.” “Well, you should have thought about that before you started making out with your car still in drive and smashing into a concrete wall in the parking garage downtown,” I said as I started to remember what happened after Nathan borrowed my car last time. The parking permit for school went missing and nobody seemed to know where it went. “You seriously aren’t still...

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“Aami” by Siddhit Siddhits@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #116

Aami The dust ball flew into his face as he thought of Aami. He should not have yelled at her. A twenty-two-year-old with no mother and an out-of-luck father. All she wanted was to study further. But Pandu was out of options and more importantly, money. He cursed many things these days. A small dust ball or two in the dry, agrarian town of Palkhed1 was usually only an annoyance. But not today. He shook off the bits of desiccated hay and soil from his face. After only one step forward he fell on his knees and bawled. The October sun lashe...

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“Forbidden Woods” by Sarah Deisel

Submitted to Contest #116

Avery’s life had been filled with endless ‘do not do this’ and ‘do no do that’ ever since she could remember. Very few times could she ever recall her parents actually allowing her to do something. Most of the things she had been told she cannot do, start with the words ‘do not.’ However, there was one thing on the list that starts with ‘you are forbidden.’ It was that one thing that held her attention over all the others, that one word making all the difference. You are forbidden from stepping foot inside those woods. That one little sente...

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“BEYOND THE CLOSED DOOR” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #116

BEYOND THE CLOSED DOOR “ Oh, what a small door! What’s in there? The dollhouse, perhaps? Oh, but you’re a boy, sorry, excuse me!” Lucy had run ahead of him down the stairs and now she was standing in front of the narrow door, no more high than three feet, which was next to the cellar door. Her hand on the handle, Lucy was trying to open the little door. “ But it’s closed! It takes the key ( to open it)! Don’t you have the key?” Lucy asked him, impatiently . “ I don’t have the key” Stephan answered. “ Oh, but what is in a room wit...

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$250

Prize money

174

Contest entries

112

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Oct 22, 2021 EST

Won by Story Time 🏆

Title: Straw, Sticks, and Brick

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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