#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

“The Desert Labyrinth” by Essy Dean

Submitted to Contest #124

Note: This story also includes emotional abuse Marenith swirled the sword in a circle around her head. She had lived here her whole life. She had never known anything different than the walls of stone and hedges. She knew every pattern they made. She had traced them over and over and over with her eyes, with her fingers. She had made her own patterns in the dirt with her toes. Boredom often set in. Aside from the Witch, it was Marenith and the Minotaur. She didn't know if the Witch was truly a witch, but the woman who had given birth to...

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“The Labyrinth of Ketu” by Alyssa H

Submitted to Contest #124

The silence was surreal. After hours of rhythmic drums rattling her bones, heavy woodsmoke choking her lungs, and nearly fifty people passing her around like a doll, Sonia was exhausted. The ritual was finally over. Her bare feet stung as she stepped through the frosty brush. It was nearly dawn and the sun was threatening to poke its head up from beyond the mountains. She neared the entrance to Ketu, the colossal ancient labyrinth that had existed since before the oldest stories. Its craggy walls loomed before her, a gaping maw ea...

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“WHERE IS IT HIDDEN?” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #124

WHERE IS IT HIDDEN? The first thing she remembered was a long corridor, which seemed to have not end, that she found herself in front of. But she didn’t know how she got there , whether through a door, going down or up the stairs. Or whether she had been dropped into it. As time went by____and it had to have passed a long time since she was in there, even though she couldn’t say how much time had passed_____as she kept wandering through passages and underpasses, through tunnels and very strange looking doors, through ro...

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“Saints and Monsters” by Sage Rosell

Submitted to Contest #124

1820 The Pastor sits in his empty church long after all the congregation has left. It is night, and the air is cold and still as death. He wears a faded suit and hat. His hair is gray and thinning at his crown, a thick beard concealing his jaw, his face weathered and eyes red from crying. He rises from the pews and walks to the table beneath the podium. It is lined with candles. He lights them one by one, until their collective light casts dancing shadows over the bronze crucifix on the wall above him. He gazes with forlorn eyes at the fac...

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“The Stranger” by Jay Ma

Submitted to Contest #124

We used to wake up on hot summer days skin sticky, mouth parched, hair tousled with sleep. We would splash water over our dresses and head down the stairs holding our wet clothes tight against our thighs. Sometimes our mothers would catch us sneaking out and hand us the household’s dirty laundry, a reminder to not get too cute about our lives. We were down at the beach playing around, the cleaned laundry draped over branches and flapping in the wind, when a naked man emerged from behind a bush. Girls, girls, he called out to us. My frie...

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“CROSSED WIRES” by Gloria Murray

Submitted to Contest #124

1552wdct CROSSED WIRES The phone rings in Gary Schmidenbeger’s apartment. He is munching on some chips when he picks up it up.&nbs...

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“Waiting” by Troy Ricker

Submitted to Contest #124

When I was young, I was afraid. I was afraid of being anything other than silent. I hid behind my mother’s legs, behind chairs, and under tables. I would make eye contact with someone and quickly turn away to stay hidden. Everyone spoke over me, and I often let them to not draw too much attention to myself. I was afraid, and it was as simple as that. Getting older didn’t change that. My voice was required more, but it didn’t change that it was quiet. I stuttered over my words and hid in books and not...

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“Christian Louboutin and the Commuter Train to Philly” by Margery Wood

Submitted to Contest #124

The red bottom. The shiny red bottom. Karen can’t stop admiring her shoes, turning her foot this way and that, crossing and uncrossing her legs to see them glint in the glaring light of the train car. Sure they were way too expensive. But she had to. Especially after her boss, Caleb, in the Neiman Marcus shoe department, laughed when she asked him when they would go on sale. “Louboutins?” he snickered. “Honey if they went on sale they wouldn’t be Louboutins.” That nasal last syllable killed her. And Caleb wasn’t...

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“What Is In A Name?” by Jane Curtis

Submitted to Contest #124

My quiet night at home ended with an invitation to play bingo. I met 9 women named Jane. After the introductions, we all sat at the same table. We chatted about how each of them had gotten the name, Jane. It is an old name in these parts and once the vote was counted, it was unanimous; all of us really like our names. We all related stories about our names. This was mine. While I was at the orphanage, I was called Cotton-top because my hair was snow-white. My little sister, however, called me Mommy. I was five, and she was three when we we...

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“Tell Me It’s Not ” by Misty Malone

Submitted to Contest #124

As I reflect on the past remembering all the different aspects of my brothers life, I find myself overwhelmed with emotions. As I struggle to forgive myself and find some kind of peace within, my mind takes me back to that heartbreaking moment when my worst fears became a reality. That moment that tore my entire world apart. The guilt I feel for not going and finding my brother to make sure he was safe can be absolutely consuming. I had this overwhelming feeling the night before that something terrible what’s g...

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“HalloTweeny” by Deborah Nielsen

Submitted to Contest #124

Hallotweenys’ Tale Spin Shelbi sat entranced at the Dragon Fly, as it flew near and far below Destinies ear. Shelbie's eyes were then drawn to the Manor House window. Evening was fast approaching and the sky was brooding; the chill in the air fighting for dominance against the hearth fire, the hearth wasn’t winning. Shelbie's thoughts once more were drawn to Destinies ear, why did the Dragon Fly stay there as if on a leash? There are just so many places to explore Shelbi reasoned? If only I can get her attention, over here Shelbi waved, ove...

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“The Self-Service Factory” by Layal Baydoun

Submitted to Contest #124

Note that italics=flashback The wheels of the Mercedes spun to life, as Ryan drove out of the garage of his childhood home. He adjusted the mirror and stared at his dark green eyes. This was not how he had imagined his vacation would go, but family emergency rarely gave warnings. On his phone, he set a GPS course to the town of Upville. He raised his fingers to his forehead to carefully massage it. He had a headache forming from the earlier conversation with his mother. “Thank you for coming by on such short notice. I know that you...

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“Don't Talk to Strangers” by Tara James

Submitted to Contest #124

Don’t Talk to Strangers JUNE 22, 1982, Gravestown, NY Life as they knew it would cease, it would take until 4 years short of fifty to rectify his mistake. Evil, this way comes. "Slow down dumb ass!" If excited, he could not be slowed down, so Carl ran faster and grabbed his arm to halt him. "What's your hurry, ya late for a date or something?" "There's a carnival here I just know there is!" "So?" "So, we need to find it, please? That cotton candy is going to be SO good!" "What cott-" Carl sto...

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“A Sailor on the Endless Sea of Stars” by Cliff Pratt

Submitted to Contest #124

A Sailor on the Endless Sea of Stars “I was a sailor. I sailed the endless sea of stars, hopping from galaxy to galaxy, from star cluster to star cluster, from star system to star system, even from Universe to Universe, looking for that rarest of phenomena, self-organised matter. Matter with the capacity for metabolism, growth, reaction to stimuli, and reproduction. In short, life. And specifically, the type of life termed ‘intelligent’ life. The sort that creates civilizations and which builds cities and collects knowledge.” Nessa looked a...

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“What I Never Said” by Paola Villacis

Submitted to Contest #124

The book was the only thing they had left. Winnie knew that. Everyone in the family knew that. His last book, the will inside, one lucky winner. Was it a terrible way to decide who kept the family fortune? Perhaps, but everybody was too busy looking for the book to care. Winnie had checked the entire house, top to bottom. Frank had gone in his sleep, quietly and fast, no pain. His overpriced mattress probably made the trip easier. Down by her hip was a desk, the same desk they used to play hide and seek in as children, so many pict...

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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.