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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#156: The Mandela Effect

Nelson Mandela was an enormously influential figure in world history: the first president of a new democratic government, South Africa’s first Black head of state, and a global icon of democracy and activism.

This week, our prompts delve into a lesser-known phenomenon that his legacy also sparked. Despite the iconic leader dying in 2013 at the age of 95, many people worldwide vividly recall news coverage announcing Mandela’s death in the 1980s. This mystery led to the coining of the term “the Mandela Effect”, or a memory that is falsely shared by multiple people.

From famous quotes that were never spoken (Vader never actually said “Luke, I am your father”), to facts we swear have changed over time (many recall being taught there were 52 US states, not 50), there are countless examples of the Mandela Effect out there. This week’s prompts explore this weird world of false memories, alternate universes, and all things strange.

This week's prompts

Write about two characters arguing over how a past event happened.

Sad – 34 stories

Write a story where a character is experiencing parallel realities.

Science Fiction – 65 stories

Write about false news coverage of an important event.

Nonfiction – 17 stories

Start your story with a character or a narrator saying, “Don’t you remember?”

Middle School – 59 stories

Write a story about a pathological liar.

Dark – 37 stories

Stories

“The Infinite Versions of You” by Emma G.

Submitted to Contest #156

Don’t you remember being nine years old, chasing each other around the playground at recess as if we were the only two kids in the schoolyard. Everyone used to tease us, saying we were boyfriend and girlfriend. They were wrong, we insisted. You and I were just friends. Best friends. Until your family moved away, and all that you left me with was a hug in the backseat of my parents’ Subaru before disappearing from my life for good.Don’t you remember when we were ten and spent our afternoons wandering through the woods behind our homes. Our ha...

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“The Traveller's Gift” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #156

Growing up, my father taught me two things.Don’t talk to strangers. And never try to turn the clock back.Yet, the precarious situation that I find myself in, demands that I do both. Or at least one of them.I stop the turban-clad man on the high street and ask “Where am I?”He is taken aback. I’m sure he doesn’t get asked this question every twilight by a proper white girl in her teens, strolling past a temple.He communicates through incoherent speech, head nods, and movement of his forearms. I catch ‘Mysore’, ‘mem sahib’, ‘danger’ and ‘go hom...

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“Choose Your Own Adventure” by Emma G.

Submitted to Contest #156

When you think about it, life is really no different than a choose your own adventure game. Sure, maybe we’re not choosing whether or not we want to travel back in time to meet the dinosaurs, but we do get to choose whether or not we want to break up with our partners, move to a different state, or have a cup of coffee in the morning.We’re presented with millions of choices everyday from the moment we take our first breath. Some decisions lead us down mundane paths while others force us into situations far more exhilarating.With every choice...

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“2072 / The Third Gender” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #156

“What is it you are missing that gets you feeling restless, for what do you yearn?” The cheerful voice on the television moved to the next public service announcement. “In 2072, every child needs a Father, a Mother and a Jander. Or a Mother, a Mother and a Jander, or…” Watching TV in her faction's break room, Ava found herself annoyed to be told that 3 people had to find each other in order to start a family. She hadn’t even managed to find one yet. Desperately, she wanted to change the channel but there weren’t many other c...

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“Truth” by Sherri Moorer

Submitted to Contest #156

Emilyn stared at the harsh green light glinting on the silver cuffs around her wrists. She knew that people sat on the other side of the mirror studying her, but what was there to see? A defeated and broken person, guilty but not of what they accused her of? One thing was for certain: she didn’t belong here. In more ways than one. The door opened. A tall, skinny man and a dark, stocky woman walked in, sitting across the table from her. The man consulted a file, then closed it and dropped it on the table in front of him. “Emilyn Miano?” ...

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“Out Of Time” by Tiana Malhotra

Submitted to Contest #156

The ocean always gave me a tranquil, soothing feeling of serenity. The glistening waves giving comfort of the infinite possibilities that stretched on as long as the ocean did. The dancing palm trees swaying to every blow of the wind as they welcomed a surge of green, amid the neverending oasis of blue. Best of all, the baking, golden sands leading a pathway to the waters like it was the heavens. Each step was ingrained with memories of the sandcastles, and picnics that had filled our childhoods. It had always been a place of comfort and hap...

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“The Liar's Bout” by Mike Panasitti

Submitted to Contest #156

Chris Gomez is not a thief—an aging auntie indulges him and obviates any temptation he may feel to shoplift. He is, however, a liar, and Foley Gaspers is tired of Gomez’ lies.“Chris, you want to get high after school?” Foley asks the compulsive fibber in second period English class.Chris’ reply is similar to those Foley has heard several times before, “Hell, yeah. I want to stay high. I smoked a joint this morning. I was so stoned I could barely ride a straight line on my way school.”Foley knows Gomez is being dishonest.&...

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“Don't Kill Me With Kindness” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #156

Hiding beneath the floor of my own home, I turn on my phone and see the smiling face of a murderous tyrant. His image shrinks to fit into the corner of the screen as the news begins. “Welcome to Freedom Press 24, your only twenty-four-hour news channel, bringing you the truth, all day, every day.” The president’s face still smiles in the corner of the screen. There were dozens of round-the-clock channels until he came to power. &...

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“Love Is a Con” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #156

TW: Swearing and sexual references. Darius Reaching across the table, Darius told the first lie of the evening to his date. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone looking as beautiful as you do now in my entire life.” In his mind, the image of a girl from his high school superimposed itself over the woman smiling in candlelight. “I love that dress,” he said, entirely indifferent to the rich blue she wore. &nbs...

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“Eduardo” by R W Mack

Submitted to Contest #156

I'll start where it's easiest: Eduardo died September 16th, 2021 at the age of thirty-nine. He's survived by his girlfriend, two daughters and a son just old enough to remember who he was. Eduardo's greatest fear was that his son wouldn't have a father figure either. I'd told him Viktor would be fine, but what did I know? I was just some scumbag salesman getting dragged behind his final grand adventure.I met Eduardo on the side of the road outside rural Ellington. I had vacation hours to use-or-lose, so I took a reviled respite in the quiet ...

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“A Fiery Tale” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #156

“They who control the narrative, control the way forward.” The Movement for Social Coercion “Camera Three, I need a close-up on the man with the horns,” demanded the Location Director from her mobile news van as she spoke through her headset. “That’s it! Get him in mid roar… beautiful! That’s our money shot.”Carol Vidmark intensely studied the six or so monitors all lit up in the back of her privately funded news van. Commanding a team of five vloggers – all broadcasting live feeds from their smartphones in the most extraordinary dome...

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“Don't You Remember? ” by Prish L

Submitted to Contest #156

This story contains descriptions of physical intimacy.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------“Don’t you remember?” I ask her. We were sitting in our favorite sunny spot on the hill, which gently sloped down beneath our bare feet. Other students milled about, going from class to class, or sat scattered on the hill around us. Arts students were munching on sandwiches or greasy but cheap hotdogs from the university cafe whilst the goths with their dark-lined eyes and pierced bodies were smoking stacks of...

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“Fabian the Fibber” by Christina Reynolds

Submitted to Contest #156

When Fabian’s father left to get a pack of cigarettes, he said he would return before sunset. He just didn’t say which one.Fabian looked out the window for many weeks, wondering why the cigarette store was so far away. But his mother didn’t miss his father, so Fabian decided he didn’t either. At school, the other 3rd graders weren’t as generous.Your dad is gone, they teased Fabian. Your dad bought a bus ticket to Milwaukee and he isn’t coming back.“My dad got a call from the President,” Fabian said, looking each one of them in the eye. “He’s...

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“The Glimpse of Falcon Heavy” by Arthur Ni

Submitted to Contest #156

On February 6th, 2018 Falcon Heavy launched into the galaxy. I’ve waited weeks to tell my story; to try and understand what exactly happened that day. I wasn’t 3 miles from the launch, I wasn’t even 50 miles away. I was over 100 miles down the coast when Falcon Heavy launched. It was by pure coincidence that I even saw it, my wife wanted to go to the beach and get some sun. We parked our car in the unusually full parking lot. Making our way up to the beach over the sandy hill, we noticed something peculiar. There were a bunch of, fully c...

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“DDoIS: Parallel Geodesic Lines intersecting at Curved Space-Time Infinity” by Rajiv Iyer

Submitted to Contest #156

“Hey there boy. Sky's the limit. Aim for the stars. You’re a blank slate. There’s infinite possibilities ahead. You can be anything you want to be. You’re not constrained by anything or anyone. You just have to put your mind to it & it will happen. I’m right there with you.” - were the exact words my father swore he said to me when I was first born & brought into this big bad world.As the years went by, he would stick with lesser versions of this message (updated on the passage of time, the law of diminishing returns, and the inevita...

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$250

Prize money

212

Contest entries

93

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 29, 2022 EST

Won by Sjan Evardsson 🏆

Title: We/I

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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