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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#152: Miracles and Oracles

We have little control over what happens to us, though there’s nothing more human than trying to micro-manage what will come next. This week, I want us to think about both the expected, and the unexpected; times when life throws positive twists at us — miracles, some might call them — or times when we try to predict those turns, for better or worse.

🥇 Winner

“Foretold in Smoke” by Aeris Walker

🏆 Winner of Contest #152

Content Warning: Mild foul languageMarie S. 5/5 Stars Vivienne is incredible! My life has completely changed since my visit. It’s like a light came on and she’s somehow unlocked all this hidden potential. She’s the best, seriously just go. Call today!Bradley J. 5/5Worth every penny. Highly recommend.Kevin R. 5/5 StarsI never thought I’d come to a place like this, but when I was at an all-time low, I just needed someone to tell me if life was worth sticking around for. I wanted to know if it ever got better. Vivienne made me believe that it w...

143 comments 143

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“The Fortune Teller's Daughter” by Cecilia Maddison

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #152

*Content Warning- reference to murder*“I can see it now, how I’ve been misled, as clear as day. It’s true I killed the fortune teller’s daughter, but she made me do it.”“Is that so?”“I’m a God fearing man, sir. Ask anyone and they’ll tell you I’ve never harmed a person before. Never in my life.”“Indeed.”“Mr Hopkins, I beg you- listen to my account and make right the wrongs that have taken place. Only you can save me from the gallows. I don’t deserve to die!”“I’m here to find out the truth, Thomas. I’ll do it not for the shillings your father...

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“Tim Finnegan's Wake” by Seán McNicholl

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #152

Ah, hello there an’ welcome, ‘tis yerself? Are ye well settled there?I sincerely hope this story finds ye well. And if yer not well, then I hope it finds ye nonetheless. It’s all about a poor man Timothy Finnegan, or Tim as we all knew him. Now Tim was born a gentleman, never a nicer man could ye meet. A gentleman surely, but as poor a blighter as ever ye seen. His father was a cooper. They don’t have many coopers these days, which is a shame. For those who don’t know, a cooper is a man who makes wooden barrels. They don’...

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“Viviana” by Betty Gilgoff

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #152

Holding both of the young woman’s hands, Viviana focuses on slowing her breathing with the hope that Claire’s too will calm. She keeps her eyes closed, her head erect. She can feel Claire’s pain radiating up her arms as she breathes deeply, forcing herself to stay steady. “You’re going to be okay,” she assures Claire, “but you need somewhere you can go. You can’t continue on like this.” “But the girls?” Claire’s eyes fly open and she yanks her hands away, the heat of Viviana’s touch suddenly too much, breaking the trance. She mops ...

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This week's prompts

Write a story in which a miracle happens — or everyone thinks it did.

Middle School – 45 stories

Start your story with a character saying “I can see it now.”

Middle School – 37 stories

Write about a character whose life changes for the better.

Middle School – 47 stories

Set your story in an oracle or a fortune teller’s parlor.

Fantasy – 66 stories

Write a story about someone whose job is to make miracles happen, literally or figuratively.

Middle School – 42 stories

Stories

“Foretold in Smoke” by Aeris Walker

🏆 Winner of Contest #152

Content Warning: Mild foul languageMarie S. 5/5 Stars Vivienne is incredible! My life has completely changed since my visit. It’s like a light came on and she’s somehow unlocked all this hidden potential. She’s the best, seriously just go. Call today!Bradley J. 5/5Worth every penny. Highly recommend.Kevin R. 5/5 StarsI never thought I’d come to a place like this, but when I was at an all-time low, I just needed someone to tell me if life was worth sticking around for. I wanted to know if it ever got better. Vivienne made me believe that it w...

143 comments 143

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“A Mother's Future” by Kathleen Fine

Submitted to Contest #152

Nicola scurries down Cedar Street, glancing behind her to ensure she’s alone. If word gets back to anyone where she’s headed, especially to her Catholic mother, she’ll never hear the end of it.“Six months along after years of trying. Can you believe it?” the pregnant woman at the coffee shop had exclaimed to her friend earlier that morning. Nicola’s ears had perked up as she finished her Monday crossword puzzle and sipped the foam from the bottom of her matcha latte. She’d peered over at the expectant mother, trying not to judge her for drin...

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“The Fortune Teller's Daughter” by Cecilia Maddison

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #152

*Content Warning- reference to murder*“I can see it now, how I’ve been misled, as clear as day. It’s true I killed the fortune teller’s daughter, but she made me do it.”“Is that so?”“I’m a God fearing man, sir. Ask anyone and they’ll tell you I’ve never harmed a person before. Never in my life.”“Indeed.”“Mr Hopkins, I beg you- listen to my account and make right the wrongs that have taken place. Only you can save me from the gallows. I don’t deserve to die!”“I’m here to find out the truth, Thomas. I’ll do it not for the shillings your father...

Read story

“Tim Finnegan's Wake” by Seán McNicholl

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #152

Ah, hello there an’ welcome, ‘tis yerself? Are ye well settled there?I sincerely hope this story finds ye well. And if yer not well, then I hope it finds ye nonetheless. It’s all about a poor man Timothy Finnegan, or Tim as we all knew him. Now Tim was born a gentleman, never a nicer man could ye meet. A gentleman surely, but as poor a blighter as ever ye seen. His father was a cooper. They don’t have many coopers these days, which is a shame. For those who don’t know, a cooper is a man who makes wooden barrels. They don’...

Read story

“What Really Happened” by Zack Powell

Submitted to Contest #152

Content warning: DeathWhen you came home from Vietnam in one piece, people called it a miracle. Not that you blamed them. Growing up, you attracted bullies and beatdowns like a magnet. You were never the biggest, the toughest, the strongest. You, who could loop your middle finger and thumb around your wrist and still have room. Quite a few bets were lost the day you stepped off that plane in Los Angeles, dressed in fatigues and feeling the way you looked.The homecoming was not what you had expected.At home your mother greeted you with a batc...

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“Malefic Machinations” by Michał Przywara

Submitted to Contest #152

Juanita raised the crystal ball above her head, the bangles on both her arms tch-king, and then spiked it at the floor with a primal scream. It slammed into the scuffed linoleum with a doof, neither bouncing nor breaking. It just rolled an inch and stopped, a dead eye glaring up at her.“No!” she wailed. She tore at her bandana, at her hair. “You can’t!” Her raw voice cracked. “Not him!” She sunk to her knees, her bead necklaces clacking a riot. “Not Andrew!” She drowned her face in her hands, overtaken by airless sobbing. Through a forest of...

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“Nothing But Blue Skies” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #152

Your husband tells me you can’t sleep.I explained to him--Is his name Frank? I explained to Frank that it’s not that you’re not sleeping. It’s that you’re not sleeping well. You’re getting some sleep here and there whether you know it or not. The trouble is that it’s of no quality. Sleep is like food--there’s the good kind and the bad kind. You’re getting potato chip sleep. You need carrot stick sleep. Did you ever show your children the food pyramid when they were younger? Not that it’s any of my business what you did or didn’t show yo...

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“One of the Abandoned Boys” by Shuvayon Mukherjee

Submitted to Contest #152

[Content Warning: Claustrophobia]East Side, London, 1889.Charlie sobs into the dark. He doesn’t want to be one of the abandoned boys. When Patch got stuck, Master Smith left him in there for a week until the landlord complained. They had to break the wall with a hammer to get him out. Charlie hadn’t seen it, but the other apprentices said they found him curled up like he was asleep, but all stiff-like. Patch didn’t sweep any more after that.Charlie’s knees are level with his chin, his head presses against sweltering bricks, and the brus...

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“Do None Condemn You?” by Hannah P. Simmons

Submitted to Contest #152

Before she was killed, my mother named me Shani. It means scarlet. Aunt Miriam believed it was a last act of defiance. I would be a constant reminder to the Sanhedrin— the council of elders—that they had failed to break her. As a child, the women of the village whispered that my mother had spoken a curse over me in revenge for her death. That in giving me this name, she sealed my future just as I had sealed hers. It was my fault that she was put to death. An unmarried Jewess found with child has but one fate under the law of t...

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“This is the One: the final entry posted to ‘Dispatches From the Grave’” by Christopher Kelley

Submitted to Contest #152

Everyone uses Saltbox to buy a home, so I really didn’t have a choice.The app’s clever logo splashed on my 6-inch touchscreen then vanished, followed by some sleek Roboto-font text that congratulated me for making the decision to download.Good morning, handsome! the app lied, but I let that go. We all lie a little. Welcome to Saltbox!“Uh-huh,” I said, wondering if anyone at Saltbox actually spied for quality assurance.Would you like to find a home today?I always believed non-consensual small talk to be a criminal offense. Time is our most pr...

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“Portents of Doom” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #152

“You predicted death and you were right. Four times.” I hold her hands on her glass orb. When she tries to pull them back, I grip them tighter. “You told them to get their affairs in order. You told them to write their wills. They listened. When you had their wills out in the open, you killed them. You switched the wills. Four murders.” Her blue eyes bulge. “You’re crazy,” she says. She’s about to shout when I start to use my gift. The fortune teller is silenced when my ...

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“Viviana” by Betty Gilgoff

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #152

Holding both of the young woman’s hands, Viviana focuses on slowing her breathing with the hope that Claire’s too will calm. She keeps her eyes closed, her head erect. She can feel Claire’s pain radiating up her arms as she breathes deeply, forcing herself to stay steady. “You’re going to be okay,” she assures Claire, “but you need somewhere you can go. You can’t continue on like this.” “But the girls?” Claire’s eyes fly open and she yanks her hands away, the heat of Viviana’s touch suddenly too much, breaking the trance. She mops ...

Read story

“It Takes a Child” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #152

It Takes A Child(Reference to domestic violence) It was indeed an unusual sight, a small child walking alone on the side of a dusty county road. He appeared to have proper upbringing as he was well dressed and walked on the correct side of the road, well off onto the shoulder. The sun was still sitting low in the sky, but he was observed by many as they retrieved their morning paper, let their dog out, or watered the perennials’ spring shoots. For some, curtains were pulled aside to get a better look.The blue cap, corduroy with a small beak,...

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“When Fear takes Flight” by Rebecca Miles

Submitted to Contest #152

In the early days of our marriage, I used to buy little gifts for Rachel all the time. I wouldn’t necessarily make a big deal of it, sometimes I would just be out getting my lunch and a colourful coffee cup, one of those reusable ones, would catch my eye and I’d pick it up with hardly a second thought. Other times on my way back home, I’d stop to get a bunch of whatever blooms were in season from the stand just outside the train station. But as time went by, the small impulse buys petered out and presents seemed only to be given on the set d...

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“Resurrection” by Katy B

Submitted to Contest #152

Sonoran summers… Eight lanes of pavement boil and pop across the Mexico–United States border, and eight lanes of vehicles crawl slower than a walk, halting for several minutes at a time. Their passengers cool themselves by running the heat with the windows up. They roll them down only for vendors walking fearlessly among them, selling ice water, claiming it is clean. Shrubby trees wither tawny and crisp all through the unbearably blue-sky day. Then the sun sets without warning and it becomes almost chilly. Fires flicker beneath overturn...

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$250

Prize money

237

Contest entries

101

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 01, 2022 EST

Won by Aeris Walker 🏆

Title: Foretold in Smoke

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.

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