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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

“Fake News” by Mark Nero

Submitted to Contest #156

I don’t know… Sometimes, I think that the more society progresses, the further behind we actually retreat. We have so much information at our fingertips, and we have become dumber for it. Growing up in the seventies and eighties, I remember that if I needed to know something for school or whatever, I would refer to the Encyclopedia Britannica or a similar publication to get the answers… the facts. Now, I type a question into my browser or just press the mike button on my phone and within a few seconds am presented with a huge amount of ...

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“Just like High School” by L. E. Scott

Submitted to Contest #156

“Don’t you remember back before we had to wear these?” Katie pulls at the mask that’s not being worn correctly anyway. She’s got it nestled on her chin. She’ll pull it up if she sees a manager, but not until then. She’s not talking to me. No one does. That doesn’t stop me hearing what they’re saying. I can hear it all. “Not really.” Denise responds forlornly. “It seems like this virus has always been a part of our lives.” “For real. But I know you’re not being serious that you don’t remember.” I didn’t go to high school, but I imagine it’s ...

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“Does this Feel Familiar?” by Emily Pollan

Submitted to Contest #156

TW: This story has dreamcore/weirdcore imagery and ideas of transphobia in it that the character deals with. “Don’t you remember?” One of the hyper-realistic, disembodied mouths on the wall said to me in a cunning, female voice. “No,” I responded without a single thought, focusing on the creaking of the bright pink and yellow swing as I swung back and forth. I’ve been here for a long time, I refuse to remember. “We all know you’re lying,” what sounded like a hundred voices said at once. I gripped the slightly rusted chains of th...

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“Ivy Rose” by Ashley Frerichs

Submitted to Contest #156

TW: Mention of abortion. "It was the seventies!" Rose squawked, her hackles rising. All Ivy wanted was an easy answer. An easy answer to a simple question so she could finish the assignment and get back to her life. But now, Rose and Ivy glared at each other from across the kitchen table, claws out. Marilyn, not at all prepared for the role of mediator, slunk toward the archway that led away from the battleground and into the safety of the living room. "Mom!" Ivy whined. "Are you hearing this?" Rose swivelled her chair to face her dau...

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“A Short Postscript” by Maddie Logemann

Submitted to Contest #156

There is a man sitting at a small wooden table, dented and dinged, scratched free of its former polish and raised high off the ground on rather tall legs. He drinks not from a glass but an old mug that pulls vaguely at something deeper than his mind, familiar in a way he’s sure he knows the imperfect ceramic under the pad of his thumb but doesn’t remember ever owning such a piece of tableware. Whiskey, free of ice, has long since gone warm in his ever-so yet not quite familiar mug. There isn’t much to know about this man aside from th...

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“The Bridge” by Ralph Westley

Submitted to Contest #156

THE BRIDGEA soft heart may break, but a hard heart will shatter, I am holding yours in my hand. She put then pen down and pondered what she had written. Grim satisfaction welled in her own broken heart, buoyed by the sinister words. She read the words again, she crumpled the paper and through it in the bin. She leant forward and put her head in her hands. “Their hearts won’t break or shatter,” she thought “they will be glad to prune the twisted branch of the prestigious family tree.”This was Victoria Sykes, she shifted he...

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“A Few Drops Difference” by Sabrina Grace

Submitted to Contest #156

“Damn it!” Orteia muttered to herself in the quiet of her apartment. The only sound was the subtle scraping and clinking of the hangers that she quickly moved from one side to the other, trying to find the outfit she was looking for. She had been through her wardrobe twice already trying to find it, and she did not want to make that a third. As she continued to move them, looking for the outfit, she flinched as she put too much pressure on the cut she had got yesterday. It was bandaged now, but it was a deep cut to get on her hand. “Ug...

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“Shared Reality” by Ian Gonzales

Submitted to Contest #156

I’m lying in bed, staring into the eyes of the woman I love, wanting to stay there forever, but knowing that I’ll be gone soon. And I might never find my way back. I don’t know why it happens. I don’t know how long it’s been happening. But I just can’t stay fixed in reality, in the reality I want to be in. I move through space and time, or whatever, unfixed, bouncing across and between the possible realities. It happens frequently, without any warning. For the longest time, I didn’t have any hope, any reason to think I’d ever live a normal l...

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“Thanatology” by Jill Amari

Submitted to Contest #156

TW: Death The Merriam-Webster definition of thanatology is as follows: “The description or study of the phenomena of death and of psychological mechanisms for coping with them.” 2032 I wake up at 3 a.m., as is my habit. It's a cool autumn night, and a shiver goes up my spine as I pull on my sweatshirt. However, the shiver has nothing to do with the cold. I've been having the same nightmare for weeks, and it always wakes me at 3 a.m., right as I die. The story leading to my death is never the same: one night it's a terrible natural ...

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“Here Nor Now” by Blair Rincones

Submitted to Contest #156

“I won’t go back. The past is in the past. I won’t go back. The past is in the past.”It was no use. As Tobias slammed his eyes shut he felt his presence begin to slip. Warmth and tingles began to wash over him. Starting at his toes and then to his legs, the feeling rose. As the feeling hit his waist, he clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white in hopeless defiance. He was overcome now, his stomach in his throat and still he whispered, “The past is in the past.” But the sensation continued to engulf him and he continued to slip, as if fa...

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“The Napkin Flower” by Kyle Heise

Submitted to Contest #156

(contains physical violence, substance abuse and language) The road looked blurry. The two lane highway had turned to four. Back and forth Jonathan swerved behind the seat of his truck. Back and forth. Back and forth. He tipped back the rest of his Coors and tossed the can outside the window. The blowing air felt nice on his face. It pushed back his hair and gave him the scent of a summer night. Jonathan reached over to grab another beer from the case. As he reached he pulled the steering wheel with him and the truck lurched. Veeri...

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“Delightful Duo” by Alana Padilla

Submitted to Contest #156

The boy in the car looked at him as if he knew him, and he felt like he did... Jimmy had a fairly plain lifestyle. He was 27 years old and still lived with his mother, Caroline. Caroline was generationally wealthy and widowed. He tried to stay out of her way, for fear of waking the demon inside of her. She was a wretched old woman, and she deserved to be alone. She was awful. Jimmy didn’t have to work, so he didn’t. He was out running a few errands for her wretchedness, when that car passed him going toward town. When he locked eyes with tha...

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“When The Moon Fell Out Of The Sky” by Isa C

Submitted to Contest #156

{content warning: language, mild gore}A hunter lies in the grass, by the name of Akintoye. She caresses the coarse wood of her bow under her finger tips, feeling the weapon like it was her own skin. She breathes in sync with the lionesses set on their haunches beside her. Fire gleams in her eye and swells in her chest. It is no prey she is stalking, but a man by the name of Kolapo. He bears a purple cloak made of soft velvet, expensive jewelry illuminates his neck. Akintoye knows the secret to his wealth, the slaughter of legendary animals. ...

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“Confession” by Tony Wells

Submitted to Contest #156

I was hallucinating. That’s the only logical explanation for what I was seeing on the streets. Two dead bodies, one male and one female, laying in front of me, their throats slit and their eyes still wide open in fear. Where am I, anyway? My mind was a fuzzy mess of unclear thoughts and muddy memories, and it was so hard to sort through them. There was a gaping hole in it – I went to work. I came back. I found my friend, Sarah, at my house. She was holding a Ziploc bag full of a white powder. Going to the Royal Oak. Inhaling the powder w...

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“The Game Boy” by Sean Sorce

Submitted to Contest #156

"Don't you remember at all, Trevor?" asked my mother with her hands on her hips. She was directly standing in front of me and my eyesight of the television.I have been binge watching Teen Titans (the old and better one) for the past hour or two...couldn't recall, as I sat on the couch playing my Game Boy Advanced. In the handheld, I was currently playing Pokemon Emerald without a care in the world; just minding my own business as I watched the tv from time to time. A minute has passed since my mother asked me her question and I haven't ...

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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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