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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.

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

“The Heist of Tarot Bell” by Cajek Veilwinter

Submitted to Contest #152

Skilled mages know the difference between seeing the future and divination: Divination - using cards or bones or the stars or such - gives a vague answer for a question asked about some distant future. Actually seeing the future can only happen if the future is definite... which lets one see about ten or so seconds into the future: longer if one limits one’s view to the immediate region. My grandmother was a ninja - able to see her opponent’s moves a full fifteen seconds into the future if she focused. I tried my hand behind the tarot desk...

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“A Long Way Back” by Hola :D

Submitted to Contest #152

"I can see it now." I couldn't believe it. All my life I had been living a lie. I didn't want to believe the fact that all this time, all these years, I refused to understand it, I refused to process the words of my parents, the words of everyone around me. Yet, I still felt somewhat right; somewhat sure that I wasn't completely wrong after all. My imagination had tricked me. I was mad at myself. Mad at the fact that I was so ignorant and arrogant. Too lost in my own thoughts and too busy to distinguish the real from the fake. Why didn't I...

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“Just One Wish” by Prachi Shah

Submitted to Contest #152

I gulped enormous amounts of air, even though it belonged to a cave. A million fingers of musty air shaken with refreshing mold, a dash of stagnant water with twist of stale urine. It was awful, but anything that didn’t reek of oil, dust and seven centuries was fine by me. Boy it felt good to be out! “Hi!” I said, smiling at the girl holding my lamp. She was in her early twenties, her scraggly frame supporting faded blue pants and a green t-shirt that was two sizes too big. Her hair sprang in every direction and were as curly as the ancie...

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“Poppet” by James Freeh

Submitted to Contest #152

Carlos discovered the poppet under a pile of shoes in the back of his grandmother's closet. Although covered in years of dust and grime, the herbs inside gave off a mephitic odor that was amazingly pungent. At the ends of the limbs, the material used to make the doll had unraveled – the hands and feet appearing hairy and disheveled - a child’s nightmare seven inches long. He put it into his backpack and stood up, a little light-headed from the dust and smell. He heard his father calling for him to come downstairs. They’d already loade...

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“The Cole Bros the Greatest Show on Earth” by Jeremy Renbarger

Submitted to Contest #152

My family, the Renbargers, had always been cursed with bad memory. Almost to the point of feeling crazy, where me, my dad, or my grandpa would put something down and immediately look down and it wasn’t there. My grandpa said it used to happen to his dad and his grandpa. Dates, events, and facts would just completely vanish from memory. The men in the family were always faithful and kind to our significant others so the memory thing was tough for the ladies in the family but I guess bearable. Even my girlfriend gets upset at my terrible memor...

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“Negotiating” by Rose Sampley

Submitted to Contest #152

Straw pursed between her lips, Pat gingerly sipped the blended mixture of powdered nutrients, milk and chocolate ice cream. The cold liquid pooled on her tongue for a moment as she held it there, willing the muscles in her throat to swallow. Once she finally did so, pain immediately shot to her jaw, radiating from the back of her bottom left tooth. She grabbed her cheek and winced. “Still hurts to swallow, Mom?” her daughter Hillary asked, walking in the doorway of Pat’s bedroom at that moment with a tray of assorted pill bottles, tissues,...

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“The Lost Art of Listening” by Lauren Barr

Submitted to Contest #152

“Are you sure you want to go out on this trail? We’ve had trouble with bears in the past.” The girl behind the desk peered at me behind her curtain of hair. I patted my overflowing pack. “I’m all set. I hear this peak is the one to climb; the most spectacular views of the valley.” The girl paused, then leaned forward. “It is nice, but a bear attack is no joke. I can point you towards some others trails, with equally nice views. This one passes through a wildflower meadow …” I waved a hand to interrupt her as she brought out trail brochures. ...

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“Too Much TV Is Bad For Your Health” by Susan Dalziel

Submitted to Contest #152

Agatha's fingers hesitated, her hand hovering like it was trying to sense some unseen force, a vibration, maybe a temperature difference, slightly warmer, slightly cooler than it should be? She held her breath and closed her eyes allowing her senses to close ranks and focus solely on touch. Nothing.She opened her eyes and let her breath escape. There was no astral message coming through the technology in her hand, no great sign from the universe to tell her this was the right course of action. She sighed and stabbed the numbers from the...

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“Crossing the Line” by David Bryant

Submitted to Contest #152

I can see it now. Superhero goes too far. About a year ago, I moved my consciousness into a nightmare my mother was having. It was the second power I experienced. Imagine, experiencing someone's most raw subconscious attacking you and someone you care about. My mother's sleep paralysis demon was sitting on her chest, taunting her. I could never forget her beautiful brown eyes drowned out by the whites in her eyes looking at me with so much fear and hopelessness. The creatures skin sagged off of its bones. It sat on her chest leaning over he...

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“Sparks” by K.J. Dyer

Submitted to Contest #152

This story contains suggestive material and language.“I can see it now.”Carlos perched his mask on top of his head as the red faded to blue then to dark gray. The dime row bead on the metal was finally prefect. He had finally mastered the speed and feed of the material. Producing the perfect weld. Maybe even better than his brother Ricardo.Ricardo was a master welder and held the highest levels of certification. He was a respected member of the welding community and had won numerous awards. With all his achievements, he never could shake the...

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“Unlearning To Be” by Kevin Leonard

Submitted to Contest #152

“I can see it now.”The voice of the man on the radio was very familiar to the boy, even though he had never met the man. He spoke loudly, always just below a yell, and he used a lot of words that the boy didn’t understand. He spoke with an energy that made the boy feel nervous, like there lurked some danger around the next bend in the road, just out of sight. Papa seemed to like him though. He always listened to him in the car on these long rides. “I can see it. A nation of coddled, man-children. Of course, I’m not supposed to say that....

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“Hinges of Destiny ” by Theresa Fox Turner

Submitted to Contest #152

“Choices are the hinges of destiny.” PythagorasThis is a story of two women, one my mother, Cathy, and one whose name is unknown, so I will call her Mary. Dr. Rosner played a significant role in both of these women’s lives. Cathy’s story is true; however, Mary’s story is mostly speculation.1975 - Not long after she and Bill decided they were ready to become parents, Cathy felt the changes in her body. Cathy wrote in her journal, “Today is the first confirmed day. About two hours ago the doctor informed me that I’m pregnant.”1971 - A wom...

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“The Healer of Bremen Township” by Nathan Cameron

Submitted to Contest #152

1 “Who wants to see a miracle today?” The crowd, made up mostly by Bremen township locals and filled to its entirety with out-of-towners, murmurs a low clap. While folk like to talk about every Sunday being God’s day, it takes only a mildly muggy day to sap the Holy Spirit right out of them. “I said, WHO!” I give a slight pause for effect, “Wants to see a MIRACLE,” another small pause to really resurrect them this morning, “TODAY!?” The mass clamors. With the loud jeers comes a collective surge of oxytocin, producing a feeling of w...

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“The Searcher” by Dave West

Submitted to Contest #152

“I can see it now,” says the police psychologist. “His entire confession is written in the third person. It’s like he’s talking about someone else.” “Yes,” says the detective inspector. “That’s why we called you. He seems to be completely unconcerned about his own actions. But he knows the game, and it might be an attempt to claim diminished responsibility. We need you to examine him.” Howard’s confession starts when he and Chloe are neighbours in a new housing development favoured by middle-level, ambitious executives. They are in the same ...

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“"New Face"” by Robin Gadsden

Submitted to Contest #152

October 1973 When Jenny got the call, she dropped everything. She left her multi-billion-dollar company in the middle of a staff meeting when her assistant gave the message. At the other end of the line, she was neither shocked nor surprised by the news. Actually, she expected it. She called her driver and told him to start the limousine. She pulled out her mirrored compact to make sure she covered the Frankenstein monster scar above her right eye. It was both a reminder and a symbol of what she had gone through in her life. She still wanted...

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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.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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