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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#146: Getting to Know You (And Me)

Mental Health Awareness Week may be coming to a close, but it’s always a good time to reflect and try to treat one another with a little more understanding — even when our experiences aren’t the same.

Of course, understanding others is part of the job description for writers, or else how would we create our characters? With that in mind, let’s explore what it means to build connection with others (and ourselves), and the different types of reflection that may be required along the way.

This week's prompts

Write from the point of view of a character writing a letter to their past or future self.

Character – 70 stories

Write about a character attempting to meditate or do something mindfully.

Narrative – 38 stories

Set your story in an unlikely sanctuary.

High School – 34 stories

Write about a character discovering a surprising strength in either themself or another.

Character – 56 stories

Start your story during a team building exercise.

Adults – 17 stories

Stories

“SANCTUARY ON HELL STREET” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #146

The Arizona sun completed another life creating and life ending day across the desertscape of cactus and tumbleweeds of the Old West. What had been a hot dusty passage of energy warming all in its radiative glare, made way for the setting of the solar giant - triggering the onset of an early evening chill. Days out in the desert were hot and dry. The nights, bitterly cold and treacherous. That mattered little to the young Mexican family - kneeling before several agitated men baying like dogs howling at a full moon. The goosebumps rising...

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“Hanlon's Rialto” by C.B. Tannon

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #146

Hanlon’s Rialto was a redbrick bar occupying a corner unit where the streets Nemsin and Elpis met. A flickering neon sign proudly captioned its entrance. Inside was all dim yellow lighting and old stonework walls, booths with threadworn red cushions that looked like a good smack to one would kill an asthmatic. As fine a bar as any to sit and stare and wallow. Absolutely nothing special about it, absolutely nothing to distract from the drink, which was a ten year old single malt scotch glowing gold in the bar’s sallow light. The bartenders se...

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“Whatever You Do Don't Write it Down” by Kevin Marlow

Submitted to Contest #146

CW{Strong Language, Sarcasm}Dear Kevin,It's me Kevin, your actual future self. I remember the summer you are in well. Your air conditioning was not working because the electric company turned you off due to not paying. You were admitted to the hospital due to a bizarre host of episodes that culminated in a weekend in jail and a trip in front of a judge. It doesn't seem like it now, but everything is going to be alright. Being diagnosed with schizophrenia is not a death sentence. Which brings me to the issue at hand. During counseling the nic...

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“Happily Ever After” by Sharon Hancock

Submitted to Contest #146

Warning: domestic abuse, alcoholism, violence, gore A rogue wind, cold and angry, howled the door shut behind the couple; startling a whimper from the woman. The drunken husband, Winston, scoffed and mocked his wife, Cornelia, before dumping more whisky down his gullet. He launched the empty bottle at her head, but missed and staggered into a wall. “You are pathetic.” He blew cigar smoke in her face, then doused the raging red tip on her exposed shoulder. She flinched, but old wounds reminded her no...

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“The Door” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #146

“So, is this the best you have on offer?” a sceptical voice inquires.I am jolted out of my corner, from my meditative mood. I put my pen down and smile.There is doubt in slit eyes, pursed lips and the tilt of her head.Oh! This one has high expectations.I see her eyes wandering through the world in my corner. The mountains, the rivers, the deserts. And a mixture of happy, sad and every other variation of characters going on about their lives.She shakes her head. And checks her catalogue.“It says an authentic experience,” she sounds cheated. P...

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“No More!!!” by Henry Vinicio Valerio-Madriz

Submitted to Contest #146

It has been pouring rain for hours! Men could notice it due to the large number of earthworms that has come out. Temporary gun-powered lighting allowed them to observe the little creatures. The earthworms were escaping from water; nevertheless, some of them have been swimming desperately in little puddles formed by the footprints of hundreds of boots. The puddles looked like seals stamped on letters made of the ground of mysterious maps… urgent massive letters that came but will never reach their multiple addressees. Addressees who didn...

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“Good for Something” by Mike Panasitti

Submitted to Contest #146

Christopher Allegro had been managing the Fix It Up Auto Collision Center for more than ten years. Allegro knew how to squeeze profit from spot-painting scratches and repairing dented doors, fenders, and quarter panels. Responsible for new hires, he had given Gonzalo Gutierrez, an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador, a position as an auto body technician. Gutierrez, called G.G. by close acquaintances, had only worked at Fix It Up for six months when he approached Allegro with a business proposal. In his native S...

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“Anti-Heroic” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #146

TW: Swearing, a nose bleed, puberty.The gym coach points at A Group at the other end of the sports field. “Those lucky sons of b… people. People.” Students familiar with the effects of alcohol know that coach B is recovering from a good time. “Those lucky kids have superpowers. You don’t. You can’t run fast, or fly-” Above them the bright sun says it’s tough if you don’t want to sweat, deal with it. Grass beneath is having a bad hair day and balding in places. Clouds have...

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“Octopus Game p1 - The Other Way” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #146

Jason stared at the crocodiles in the pool and felt the beads of sweat on his forehead. Traces of blood from the previous team were still lingering in the water. “Let's have a moment of mindfulness, to calm our thoughts before the game begins,” a curly haired woman said. Jason had never seen her at work before, her name tag said Alice.“How can I calm my thoughts while I’m in front of crocodiles that want to chomp on my femur for breakfast?,” Jason said.“No need to be hostile Jason.” “They are the ones that are hostile!” he said poi...

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“Ruthie Runs for President” by Cindy Strube

Submitted to Contest #146

Ruthie Runs for President Sophomore (noun): soph·o·more | \ ˈsäf-ˌmȯr, also ˈsȯf-, or ˈsä-fə-, or ˈsȯ-fə- \ Definition: a student in the second year at college or a 4-year secondary school History and Etymology: perhaps from Greek sophos wise + mōros foolish 🕗 It started as a prank. In late fall, we had nominations for spring student government. One of the “wise fools” decided to nominate Ruthie for sophomore class president of the spring semester. Ruthie. Ruthie was not one of the popular pack who...

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“We Will Survive” by Simrin Dhillon

Submitted to Contest #146

TW: mentions of death and killing zombies Dear Kayla, First off, it’s important to know that you survive. That’s right, you heard it here first (or...last?) you make it out of this hellish landscape alive. No bites, no scares, no turning points. There’s a lot that I want to tell you but I’ll have to keep it short. We’re packing up to move camp soon due to another horde that’s been spotted along the eastern wall of the sanctuary. You know how these zombies get. So inconvenient. Or maybe you don’t know....

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“Krasinsky” by Evan Kaiser

Submitted to Contest #146

Breathe. Concentrate. Inhale. Air enters the nostrils. The chest expands. Exhale. Air escapes. To the very end. All the way, to empty. Repeat the cycle. Living now. In and out. In and.... An itch. Between my right temple and eye. A curiosity to be examined. Moment to moment, it crests. Disappears. Such things always go away. Saliva below my tongue, between lip and gum. I swallow, and reset my rhythm. In, and the chest expands. Out, and I deflate. In... "Motherfucker!" Who said that? "Uhhhh." Involuntary utterance — refle...

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“Good Will at the Corner of Fifth and Broad” by Benjamin Boxer

Submitted to Contest #146

People who say ten thousand bucks isn’t life-changing money don’t know Diedre Morgan. In a time when pro ball players pay fifty to a hundred large for missing a practice or a media day, and celebs pay that much or more for a week of rehab, ten grand ain’t a Hell of a lot. But when you work two jobs not only for the money to support a drunken, shiftless, louse of a husband and a hypochondriac mother but also for the peace of mind that comes with getting out of the house, finding ten-thousand dollars in a sports coat is a life-changing maybe e...

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“Dear Future Me” by Pippin Took

Submitted to Contest #146

*A/N: I just read The Fault in Our Stars...leave me alone lol.* The day she died, I knew I was a lost soul. The moment the last breath left her body, I knew that it was going to be a long time before I loved people again. The second she left, I felt a stabbing pain in my heart, and then nothing. Absolutely nothing. *** I graduated high school with straight A's, even though I never studied for tests. Even though I spent all my after school time with her, running in grassy fields until dusk. After she was gone, I lived life in dull c...

163 comments 163

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“The Werewolf's Rose” by Mike Rigby

Submitted to Contest #146

A beast, from grace was his mind to fall, Did not see the signs; did not heed the call, A lone wolf indeed, but a heart there to give, Ugly he saw himself, so alone he did live. ‘twas a fine day that gave us the hour of luck, It began with a beauty, and the rose she would pluck... The garden was a place many visited for a tranquil escape. The high hedges and secret passages through bushes and shrubbery provided that privacy, even at its busiest time. Catherine Jenkins had spent hours upon end here, many times before. She did not have a ga...

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$250

Prize money

215

Contest entries

134

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - May 20, 2022 EST

Won by Michał Przywara 🏆

Title: 10 Days to Mindfulness

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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