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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#171: Wanderlust, Wanderlost

If I can paraphrase In Search of Lost Time, Marcel Proust once said that “the real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” This idea of travel has always been popular in literature: most notably, as a way for authors to explore a character’s internal journey through their encounters with the external world. After all, our interactions with people and places are what shape our perspective on things.

Taking inspiration from the idea of the solo voyage — whether it be a big trip around the world, or simply a leisurely walk around an unfamiliar neighborhood — this week’s prompts invite you to hone in on drifting, wandering, and exploring on your own.

This week's prompts

Start your story with someone looking at a breathtaking view and getting emotional.

Dramatic – 64 stories

Write about two solo travelers who keep bumping into each other in the most unexpected of places.

Romance – 21 stories

Write about a character who is trying to leave something or someone behind — only to realize they carry it with them.

Sad – 72 stories

Write a story where someone decides to take the long way home.

Adventure – 37 stories

Your character is about to embark on the journey of a lifetime. The story takes place during a long-haul flight, with an open return-date. What happens?

Adventure – 10 stories

Stories

“The Land of Fairytales: The Tooth Fairy Gets Lost” by Melony Beard

Submitted to Contest #171

THE LAND OF FAIRYTALES THE TOOTH FAIRY GETS LOST Easton stood on a rooftop and peered at what looked like a million little lights. He scratched his head. How had he landed at the wrong house again? Father would be so disappointed in him. Easton felt like a failure. He leaned back against the chimney and studied the map Father had given him during training. Jack’s first lost tooth was due at Pearl’s Refinery by sunrise, or the magic power needed to keep the Land of Fairytales alive would disappear. This was Easton’s first assignment as a...

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“A Lovers' Dance” by Mike Panasitti

Submitted to Contest #171

Foley Gaspers has had enough. Enough of imagined lies. Enough of unsettling suspicions. His girlfriend, Amanda Yi, is late coming home again. She works twelve-hour shifts as a recreation therapist at a veteran’s hospital and her commute to and from the facility consumes an additional two hours of each day. Foley suspects Amanda is having affairs, the most impure of these being a triagonal liaison involving her cousin, Tamara, and her cousin’s infidel husband, Shayne, a district attorney for the city of Los Angeles wh...

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“Time And Again” by Sylvan Turley

Submitted to Contest #171

It took all of...oh, forty seconds, give or take, for Jen to peel herself from the security guard's stilted flirtation, tuck the bag of smoke bombs under a bench near the entrance, pull the fake watch onto her wrist, slip into a side hallway to tear off the outer skirts of her gown, trip the fire alarms, and return to the ballroom. She wove her way through the baffled partygoers in their various 21st-century ideas of "ballgowns". None cast more than a glance in her direction, most too busy cramming for the door as alarms overhead procl...

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“The Habitual Shift” by Robert T

Submitted to Contest #171

There was nothing quite like a linoleum slab freshly spritzed with liquid gold. Mr. Mirrors Multi-Surface Faux-Laquer was Shirley’s munition of choice. It was perfect - projecting an iridescent, dewy pool of anti-bacterial goodness. And when applied at the hours of dawn, the creeping lean of Pacific mist shattered the disinfectant with perfect sun. It was delicious. Or at least she thought so. A double shift from Midnight to Midday was not a coveted one. The cruncher of working at a twenty-four-hour establishment meant great exhaus...

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“Footsteps in the Snow” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #171

Footsteps in the SnowIt snowed that day. I remember walking in footsteps made by others while my thoughts still followed her away, for that was the last time I saw her. I remember hair mingled with snow, and a smile that wasn’t a smile. Every time it snows I remember walking in those footsteps.Regret is a fearsome adversary. How is it possible that one cannot outlive a mistake, bury it, escape it if even for a day? Would that God had instead taken an eye or a limb or trimmed a few years off my life. Banished from feelings of happiness, all j...

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“The Long Way Home” by Katharine Widdows

Submitted to Contest #171

TRIGGER WARNING - CHILD ABUSE - ALCOHOLISM Custody battles are hard, especially when you have no armour.Each fortnight I’d turn up on time, But be rewarded with more grief,These details the courts ignore,As they eat away my self-belief,“You should have called this morning.” Graham doesn’t ask me in.“I called last night and confirmed. You know this is my weekend.” Rain bounces off the driveway and up the backs of my jeans.“You should have called this morning.” He crosses his arms on the doorstep and fake-shivers.“You make it impossible by cha...

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“The Cottage” by KarLynn Erickson

Submitted to Contest #171

The Cottage by KarLynn Erickson This is adapted and updated from a previous submission. Christine strolled to the screen door and paused before opening it. The slight squeaking sound made the edges of her mouth curl upward into a slight smile. She carried her sad mood with her all the way from the city, but the more time she spent at the cottage the better she felt. A single tear escaped her watery eyes as she looked up. The evergreen grove stood tall at attention in perfect rows like soldiers ready to march. Bursts ...

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“The Ash-Spreading of Jaz” by Lindsay Flo

Submitted to Contest #171

From the top of the mountain, the valley below was stunning. Everything was painted fire colors, the peak of autumn arriving as predicted in the second week of October. Stella felt a lump in her throat—how appropriate that they were here on Jaz’s birthday. Stella could still hear her throaty voice, every year, reminding them that the pinnacle of fall color always fell near her birthday.Ash-spreading was a strange custom, Stella thought, glancing down at her portion of Jaz, nestled in plastic inside a tiny gift bag, purple of course. The gift...

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“The Sandwich Guy” by AnneMarie Miles

Submitted to Contest #171

Angela jolted upright, gasping for air: “Ahhh!”Next to her, her boyfriend sat peacefully, propped up with several pillows, his coffee in one hand, his book in the other. “Was it the sandwich guy again?”Still catching her breath, Angela nodded, putting a hand on her forehead to settle herself. “Yeah.”“Where were you this time?”A hand found her chest, felt her racing heart. “The pool. He was there at the edge of the pool when I surfaced.”“Hmmm, that’s new. Did he bring you a sandwich at least?" Jake, who’d hardly lifted his eyes off his book, ...

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“Going Forth” by Francois Kosie

Submitted to Contest #171

I was trying to push back my seat, but it wasn’t moving. Either it was stuck, or the person behind me was blocking it. I gave up and decided to speak to Andy right away. It couldn't wait any longer."Andy, I’m sorry, but I’m having doubts."Andy paused his in-flight movie, took out his earbuds, and slowly turned his unshaven face toward me in disbelief. "Didn't we go over this so many times before?" he said, a bit too loudly, an edge of annoyance entering his voice.I kept my voice to a whisper to avoid disturbing the other passengers. "Yes, I ...

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“Torii” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #171

If he had been able to cry without the wind creating these tears, it would be a pure moment of joy. The patch of gravel he stood on was quite wide and slippery, but he felt no fear. It was the other bodies around him that impressed him now, as did that view, and he could not move. It had taken him a long while to walk and beat the sun that touched the edge of the sky and blew away the darkness and strong shroud of clouds. There was the valley that he could see clearly now, and soon as he would make his way down the mountain. There was the pa...

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“Law of Leary” by Drew Herron

Submitted to Contest #171

I parked my car in the gravel lot and walked toward the rusty “Scenic Overlook” sign. It was the same as I remembered. Though the stone wall of cemented stones looked like erosion had taken a toll on it. I rested my arms on it and leaned my head over the edge. Waves crashed far below, losing their never-ending battle against the massive boulders off the shore. I used to look at the view every morning on my run, but that was years ago. Back before Mrs. Leary. Back when I ran for myself. Back when I wasn’t running from anything. I moved...

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“The Black Dogs Among Us” by July St John

Submitted to Contest #171

The Black Dogs Among Us By - July St. John October 7, 1829 Gloucester Police Department 10 Waters Way Gloucester, England Attn: Det. Duncansone Detective, Your presence is urgently needed. There have been two murders on Friar Isle. One, that of my father, I witnessed three days prior to this letter. The other, my sister, a little over seven years ago, for which I am responsible. I was but a boy then and though I had never harbored ill will or a harsh word toward my sister, she fell at my hand. I would rather die in a prison cell ...

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“A Ballad for Buck Dumpster” by Lonnie Russo

Submitted to Contest #171

TW: This story contains themes of grief, death, and suicide in addition to some adult language. My brother Archie and I spent exactly four summers at Camp Gopher before it closed. And I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me when it did, not really. After all, even back then, before the recession, the place stayed open only for the grace of God (and the handiwork of a few dozen do-gooders and funders). They were the kind of people who claimed to want kids like us, with no other options, to have some place to go when school wasn’t in-session.Bu...

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“Black Moss Bridge” by Annabella Bones

Submitted to Contest #171

Tommy knew they’d be waiting to jump him where Odessa Drive meets Skylark. They had told him so just after 4th period before shoving his small body into his locker and securing the padlock. Mike Tanner, Billy Langley and that tall fat kid who transferred from Spencer before summer break. The Soldier War Boys, they called themselves. They laughed to the end of the hall. Only when the echoes of their laughter faded into silence did Tommy fill his lungs with air and shout. The sound of his voice struggled to be heard beyond the suffocating meta...

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$250

Prize money

204

Contest entries

79

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Nov 11, 2022 EST

Won by Thom With An H 🏆

Title: Silence

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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