#124: Seeking, Finding

Have you ever noticed how common it is for fictional characters to embark on their adventures in search of something? From an Odyssean longing for home to Hero’s-Journey-style quests, many great tales begin with the potent act of seeking.

Let these prompts guide you along your own journey of creative discovery — I’m curious to see what you find.

This week's prompts

Write a story about a character in search of something or someone.

Angst – 94 stories

Start your story with someone trying to read a map.

Fiction – 35 stories

Write a story where two characters are playing hide and seek, literally or metaphorically.

Fluff – 27 stories

End your story with someone finding themselves.

Character – 39 stories

Set your story in a labyrinth that holds a secret.

Dark – 31 stories

Stories

“Surrender” by Fatima Jawaid

Submitted to Contest #124

[CW: strong language, violence, and death]He looked happy. The worst part was it seemed to be genuine. Not that familiar, fake over-the-top happiness you always saw in Hallmark movies. Not that plaster-on-a-smile, surface level, type happiness. No, the man appeared genuinely happy; even doing something as menial as unloading groceries from the trunk of his car.The very sight of it infuriated Ayla. This man was the cause of her current predicament. You don’t get to blow up my whole existence, and walk away from it happy, she t...

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“Rhiane” by Tiffany Michelle Mullins

Submitted to Contest #124

RHIANE Hi! I’m James. A fifty-seven year old male to female transgender person from New York. Along with MDD, consisting of suicidal tendencies, life sucks. I’ve read that to have, you have to experience sorrow to receive joy. The world is do. And me. I have been told that I am suicidal, but unable to die. What a conundrum. How about a little background info. At twenty-two, I married a beautiful woman. At that age, she was with child. Kathy was eighteen then. She brought the joy of my life, Krystal. She was two. My Krystal was m...

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“True Evil” by Emily Snyder

Submitted to Contest #124

Run! My hand wraps around a flashlight as my feet begin to move. The thought came from my own mind, but the voice was not my own. My hands tremble as I fight the urge to go faster. If my history teacher is correct, these tunnels go on for miles. Can’t risk running out of steam down here. Pounding. It may be my own heart or footsteps trying to keep up, but either way, I’ve got to keep running. My feet fumble over a rock and I start to take in the situation. This place was designed to disorient direction of a competent adult. What chanc...

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“Devil in the Details” by Milea Huckeby

Submitted to Contest #124

Evelyn Pritchard had been slaying demons since she was twelve. Granted, they were in her nightmares, but nightmares can teach you things. If you’re paying attention. *** The nightmares began when she moved to Aspen Valley. In them, a demon possessed the family fireplace, and she - as the youngest child - was tasked with slaying it. She was led to the fireplace, and presented with a set of rusty gardening shears. She raised the shears and slammed them down on the hearth as if she were chopping wood. An iridescent head emerged from t...

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“i, Sixth Grader” by Luke McDermott

Submitted to Contest #124

Mr. Drubble thinks one of his sixth graders is an android but I think he’s an idiot. I looked closely at the framed picture on his desk. Two men, early thirties, embracing in front of a Christmas tree, their festive sweaters blending in with the cacophony of decorations. Golden retriever, rehearsed smiles, stiff posture, wedding rings. It was hard to say which was the middle school teacher. They were definitely nerds. Their dog doesn’t even want to be in the picture. Yeah, surely just an idiot but I shouldn’t judge. Lots of peop...

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“Tinsel” by Jeff Ventura

Submitted to Contest #124

Although it was December, he had both windows down. He tried not to think about the unusually warm weather, a week before Christmas, as a symptom of the planet's long, tortured farewell, but rather as a hint of the weekend's celebratory potential. Midlife had been marked by the predictable and planned, and so something so out of the blue — an invitation to a bayside Christmas party from a friend he hadn't seen in twenty years — seemed in mysterious agreement with a fortune cookie he opened in his hotel room the night before: "Get ready for a...

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“Gone” by Diane Tolley

Submitted to Contest #124

“Cross my palm with silver, young man and I shall tell you what I see in your future!” Gerald scratched his head and stared into the blue face. Was this a face he could trust? Should he be—as Brother Martin cautioned when he gave him the day off—cautious? “How do I know what you say is true?” The man straightened huffily and his blue skin seemed to glow. “You question the Blue Haruspex?” “Well . . . I . . .” “If I may interject.” Gerald’s friend, Frederick whispered loudly into Gerald’s ear, “You are right to question. I see not any entr...

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“Gone Too Soon” by JD Moore

Submitted to Contest #124

Tommy raised the rifle to his shoulder and quickly rounded the corner, taking a knee as he entered the hallway. His finger hovered over the trigger while he peered down the corridor through the gun’s sights, patiently waiting for any sign of movement. Through his peripherals, he counted the rooms. Three total. Two on the right at either end. One on the left in the middle. He would need to zigzag down the hallway to clear them one at a time. All three rooms had their doors shut, and Tommy couldn’t decide if he was grateful or suspicious of th...

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“Identity is Confusing and Involves Losing” by Daniel Brown

Submitted to Contest #124

“Heavenly Father, I pray that no one in this restaurant gets Covid. I pray that no one gets Covid from me. I believe me winning my battle and walking and breathing right now is a sign of good health and fortune for me and everyone. Amen” prayed Rhonda“Amen. But you didn’t have to bring up Covid, Rhonda. People are looking at us strange now.” responded Jharell.“Let them look Jharell. I am exhibiting no signs of Covid. All is well.” assured Rhonda.Jharell bore a sheepish look on his face as he turned his head to the stares of M...

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“The Strength of a Sister” by Solstice Polaris

Submitted to Contest #124

Once, long ago, the barriers between worlds were thin - like the glass of a mirror. One could simply walk from our world into another, even by mistake. Now, though, the barriers are nigh impassible. And yet, one young woman made the journey, all to save her sister. --- ☾ --- Jules took a deep breath. “I’m coming, Lissa,” she breathed and began walking. The forest was silent. Under the night's sky, all the inhabitants hid, holding their breaths in anticipation. The ancient trees loomed over her: great pines whose feathery canopies scrap...

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“Winter's Requiem” by Rose Godwyn Veil

Submitted to Contest #124

( cw; swearing )Wake up. The wind seemed to softly whisper. Wake up. It's all he can hear as his eyes slowly open. Everything is blanketed in snow and shrouded in mist, gentle flakes of snow falling with each gust of wind. But he can only hear the wind. He can't feel it, even when he holds his hand out. The snowflakes don't even land on his skin, it almost looks like it's avoiding him somehow— but the boy doesn't pay that much mind. He's too preoccupied trying to ascertain just where he was, and just who he was. So, he gets up. The...

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“Bear” by AnneMarie Miles

Submitted to Contest #124

The map was impossible to read. Even if a snow storm hadn’t covered the entire valley last night, I wasn’t sure navigating our way through it would be enough to save Bear. “What do you think, Bear? We keep heading down the mountain?” I shifted my head towards my shoulders so I could see his tired eyes. His only reply a slow blink and a wheezing exhale. I had been carrying Bear, slung across my shoulders, each pair of his legs bound in my hands on either side, for the better part of the morning, at least since the first light reached...

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“Hide and Seek” by Pamela Lockwood

Submitted to Contest #124

I curled in a ball in the corner of my bedroom. The room was dark as the night sky with a glow from the moon outside that allowed me to see the shapes of the objects in the room. I could make out my dresser which stood against the wall opposite my bed. In the dark, with me curled in the corner, it looked massive. I hoped the way it towered over the bed keeping me masked in it’s shadow I would be safe. Noises I tried to explain to myself as shuffling of feet or the moving of furniture. I could here a whisper. It was someone calling my n...

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“Have a Great Trip!” by Theresa Anna

Submitted to Contest #124

The last person Brett would have liked to go on vacation with was his wife. But, as she tended to remind him, they were reaching their twentieth anniversary and he’d had more than sufficient time to ‘pack his bags and take off without a note like a fucking coward.’ She was right, of course. Brett had not packed so much as a set of nail clippers when his wife, overshadowing the bedroom door and watching him coolly, radiating unbelievable powers of silent scorn caused him to zip up the suitcase and stow it under the bed before his insi...

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“The Secret Cave” by Rob H

Submitted to Contest #124

The Secret Cave All three of them looked at the mouth of the cave as they approached. “I don’t know,” Larry said suspiciously. “It looks pretty dark and creepy to me.” He glared into the darkness harder trying to make out anything but couldn’t see more than ten feet inside the opening. “Well, we gotta hideout somewhere,” Jack said defiantly. “We can’t go back to our houses, that’s t...

3 comments 3

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$250

Prize money

226

Contest entries

147

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 17, 2021 EST

Won by Amanda Lieser 🏆

Title: Birth Mother

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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#124: Seeking, Finding

This week's prompts

Write a story about a character in search of something or someone.

Start your story with someone trying to read a map.

Write a story where two characters are playing hide and seek, literally or metaphorically.

End your story with someone finding themselves.

Set your story in a labyrinth that holds a secret.