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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

“Queen Dumpling” by Chris Riffle

Submitted to Contest #116

It was very late in the night when she texted me: ‘Meet me at Queen Dumpling tomorrow night. Nine.’ It was odd seeing her text that way – proper punctuation, to the point – but then again I hadn’t gotten a text from her in two years. People change and their styles change too. I only wished that she had called. I missed her voice. I had this voicemail saved on my phone from when we were married. I listened to it on lonely, drunken nights. She’d been drinking and I was out of town, sleeping. The voicemail was mostly thoughtless rambling. She...

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“Breaking Rules Can Reap Rewards” by Julie McGue

Submitted to Contest #116

Breaking Rules Can Reap Rewards By Julie Ryan McGue I will admit to being an ardent rule-follower. Both the fear of discovery and public shaming factor into my strict adherence to regulations. Yet inwardly, I often admire and applaud the courage of rule-breakers. Occasionally, my fellow rule-followers and I step out of our comfort zones, and if we are rewarded for our bravery, the thrill is something we never forget. After my husband and I sold our downtown Chicago condo, we crammed our SUV and headed south to deposit the furnishings at our...

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“Elements of the Soul” by Caitlyn Cline

Submitted to Contest #116

“I don’t want to ever so much as see crystals around here again Lissette! You do know this is what got your mother killed, don’t you?” Aunt Ivy’s pine green eyes shift back and forth, examining Lissette’s tawny diamond shaped face. “But it’s also what made her feel alive.” Lissette responds. “I don’t understand how you so easily turned your back on our traditions all those years ago. What? Simply because you’re scared?” “Fear isn’t always a bad thing Lissette. You’re young, so you think you know everything, but you don’t. Please just stop wi...

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“The Lost Librarian ” by Hollie Isabella

Submitted to Contest #116

It all starts on a cold winters evening. Cars passing by reflect the moonlit sky. Freya Holly Marissa Nancy Samuels gazes up at the stars, her eyes shimmering with joy. She was about to live the life she always dreamed of. She rushed delightedly up the marble steps, through the gate and into the foyer of her meticulous rented London flat. It always brought her indecisive feelings living here, with the huge windows, and the intricate designs carved into the marble work, it sort of reminded her of the house she lived in as a child. Lonely. S...

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“Off the Track--of Common Sense” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #116

A misplaced boyhood adventure could have meant not only the final Summer of elementary school for myself and my best friend. It could, theoretically, have resulted in the last summer on this earth for both of us. Sure, we had bent the rules many times in the past--like the time we stole Old Man Pinto’s grapes and escaped serious injuries after scaling his fence just ahead of the guard dogs in his backyard vineyard. Seldom, however, had we actually put our lives on the li...

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“Inviolate” by Noelle C. Lee

Submitted to Contest #116

(TW-Sad, violent)“Holy crap, did you find something?” Shh…came a voice from beyond the stacks. “Sorry.” “This is crazy stuff, is it real?”I pushed myself over to see the screen of the bulky microfiche machine. Andrea was scrolling. “I think I found it.” ‘What does it say?” I gasped.Together we read an unbelievable story involving our mutual best friend. We were trying to control our excitement, our shock. We researched this on a hunch, and to see it in print, was overwhelming. The most astonishing piece of our discovery was that an insignifi...

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“Wishful Thinking” by Kari Larsen

Submitted to Contest #116

Greg and I had moved exactly one year after our daughter Esme was born to the perfect little seaside town about an hour outside of the city. Our house was a three bedroom, three bath cape style, light gray with black shutters and a beautiful magnolia tree in the backyard. The house on Birchwood Drive had everything on our check-list; a safe neighborhood, good school district, a fenced in back yard for our golden retriever Sam, low taxes, a two car garage, central air conditioning and a fireplace. I had always wanted a working fireplace. We d...

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“Moody Movies” by David Kimball

Submitted to Contest #116

“I will not drink alcohol while here as a student.” That’s easy to agree to as I don’t like the taste of alcohol. “I will not smoke while here as a student.” That’s easy, I can’t afford cigarettes. “I will not gamble. . . swear. . . play cards. . . go to movies. . . play pool. . . etc. etc. It seemed to me, a seventeen year old, that I could agree to everything on this long list of negative behavior. While other teenagers would be enjoying “free love” and unbridled pleasures of the 60’s, the only joys in life I cou...

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“Behind Closed Doors” by Jaden Phoenix

Submitted to Contest #116

“Shit,” she mumbled as she opened the door of their rugged, one-bedroom apartment. She rustled through her bag, reaching for the air horn she carried to wake her mother up from her high and drunken state. She blew it right beside her ear, “Wake the fuck up,” she said, irritation bounced around in her windpipe so vigorously it needed to be released. “Jesus Christ Madalyn,” her mother yelled, swatting her hands in the air, “I worked a long night at the Strip, can’t you give me a break?” Madalyn ignored the plea of her mother, rol...

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“Guilty As Not Charged” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #116

CW: Reference to ADHD Does every criminal know this? That her unpunished crimes bury themselves deep and gnaw at her best moments? I lower the window of the staff car in which I am driven past the impressive portico of the private school, the one from where I retired today. After serving for 25 years. In a rare gesture reserved only for the most loved teachers of the school the principal himself stands at the steps leading to the foyer along with the staff and a few senior students. A banner is propped among them that glints in the af...

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“My Last Goodbye” by Lucy Barnes

Submitted to Contest #116

CW: Death, car accident Her eyes are what I noticed first. One eye a brilliant blue and the other an emerald green. Her eyes seemed to hold a secret, twinkling as if they knew something I didn’t, waiting for me figure it out. Her smile was the same, teasing me and beckoning me to approach her. I’d never seen a woman as beautiful as her. It was love at first sight and after three years of marriage, she still looked at me with the same expression. Each morning I would turn over and get lost in those eyes, still trying to learn their great s...

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“The Capitol: Compromised” by Elizabeth Fenley

Submitted to Contest #116

“Get a message to Prodigal—Athena blackmailed. Go to ground.” ‘Moses’ ducked quickly into a copse of trees, pulling Felicia with her. “You asked me to meet to deliver a message for you? Jeopardizing all the conductors? Stupidly dangerous. Why Prodigal?” Moses hissed, her face an inch from Felicia’s. “He’s my brother.” Felicia lived and worked inside The Capitol and was an Underground Railroad conductor along the journey to the ‘Land of Canaan.’ Her brother Orion was a conductor at the last stop before Canaan. The Railroad helped people fleei...

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“Office Meeting” by Gregory Struck

Submitted to Contest #116

OFFCE MEETING “What are you doing in my office?” I started at the sound of the voice behind me. Slowly stood up from my crouch over the drawer I had opened at the bottom of the desk. I turned around. Don Irving was standing at the doorway, unshaven, hair a mess, jeans and a loose leather jacket replacing the snappy suit I was used to seeing, his right hand in the jacket pocket. Not his usual well-dressed look. He was a big man and his bulk seemed to block the pale early morning light which filtered into the room from the small reception ...

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“Destination: Trouble” by Howard Seeley

Submitted to Contest #116

I closed my eyes, as I passed through the prison gates. Fear kept them shut, not daring to discover I was only dreaming. Three years behind prison walls had diminished my world to an eight by six jail cell and an open area surrounded by towering walls. To dream something bigger was almost sacrilegious. Not until I felt the cool, fresh breeze brush across my face did I dare to open them. When I did, I found myself facing a landscape stretching for miles ahead. Green carpet laid before me, to be touched at the seams by a brilliant blue sky. ...

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“An open letter to you” by Olive Bassey

Submitted to Contest #116

I failed you as a partner. My love was not a creek, overflowing with passion, intimacy, and desire. I took you for granted when you needed me the most. I failed you as a friend. Our connection was strong and unbreakable. Yet, I ruined the bond that took years to build. Most importantly, I failed you as a human. You wanted to feel like you belong and I pushed you away like an outsider. My intentions were never to hurt you, but something was missing from our relationship. We stopped having deep conversations, and life became mundane. We went f...

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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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