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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#172: Feel the Feels

Have you been honest about how you’re feeling lately? Our emotions can be our grounding pillars, but also lead us completely astray. With Taylor Swift’s soul-baring confessional album Midnights breaking all possible global records and the year-end nearing, I bet you’re getting into the feels 一 about different people, events, and things happening in your life. This could be one prominent emotion, or a messy amalgamation of them. To quote Taylor, you might be feeling “Happy, free, confused and lonely at the same time”.

In the spirit of Midnights and one last dose of ‘normalcy’ pre-festivities, this week’s prompts are inspired by the most complicated but wonderful thing about human beings 一 our feelings.

🥇 Winner

“Apples and Trees” by Lisa Lange

🏆 Winner of Contest #172

Mom works. She never picks me up from school, and two miles is too close for a bus pickup, which is fine by me because I like cutting through the woods. Especially on autumn days, when the air is cool, and the flies and mosquitos are gone, and basketball practice hasn’t begun. I like the quiet. I like the wordlessness of the walk. A pretty sugar maple dressed in vivid orange frills beckons me off the path. I stand to look at her. I sound like a weirdo, I know. A sixteen-year-old boy calling a sugar maple pretty. It was Dad that taught me to ...

201 comments 201

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“Honestly” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #172

“O Woman That I Used To Love, what should we get for dinner tonight?’’“Honestly, my Greatest Disappointment? I don’t care.”“You do care. You want me to suggest a place to eat so you can shoot it down. Whatever I say, you will wrinkle your little nose like I decided that we should eat out of the cat’s litter box.”“You could not be more wrong, but you usually are.” “Perhaps you could stop on the way home and pick up some takeout.”“I could, but I won’t. Our nightly conversation about dinner is the only authentic communication we will have ...

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“Civic Duty” by Michał Przywara

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #172

Moira put on her apron, signed in to her register, and prepared for the least busy day of the year. Her heart thrilled because she was finally old enough to participate in this most sacred of secular events. A moment later the doors opened and the customers started trickling in. The first one up at her counter was an old man in a parka, perpetually rubbing his hands.“Welcome to McDemocracy’s. Can I take your order?” Moira asked, beaming at him.“Yes, hello,” he said with an earnest grin. “I’m really hankering something, but I’m not sure what....

Read story

“Truth And Consequence” by Chris Campbell

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #172

“Government directive TAC-0.3.5 states that Truth is emancipating. Withheld opinions are toxic. To suppress forthright expression is a crime punishable by seventy-two hours of sensory re-education at a holding facility for candour criminals and seditious apostates.” “…What’s your point?” “Well, Freda, my love. I’m invoking The Sanctuary of Marriage Directive, that states, Truth must always be told for the cleansing of relationships.” “Husband, you wouldn’t know the truth, if it slapped a seventh sense of embedded direction into your immoral ...

Read story

“A Sober Thought” by Sunanna Bhasin

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #172

“My name is Alvaro Vasquez and I am an alcoholic.” About twenty solemn eyes were fixated on me as I forced the last hard ‘c’ out of my mouth and sat back down. A chorus of “Hi Alvaro” met my ears as my bottom met the cool metal of probably the most uncomfortable chairs I’d ever sat on. If their purpose was to get you to stay here, I’d imagine they’d have seating more pleasing to my ass. Oops, I thought. My daughter had always said I should curb my habit of swearing every couple of sentences. I had zoned out of my third Al Anon sessi...

Read story

“Resting She-Devil Face ” by Liv Chocolate

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #172

Thank heavens you’ve brushed away that nauseating carpet of dust from my face. I can finally breathe again! The only thing separating us now is the thin sheet of picture-frame glass between your gaze and my photograph. Of course, time also stands between us. An entire one-hundred-forty-eight years since my photo was taken—a stretch long enough for fashion, language, and customs to have evolved beyond my recognition. What little I understand of this modern world comes from the conversations I’ve overheard; the little bits and pieces I’ve gath...

Read story

“All He Ever Wanted” by Kiyomi Appleton Gaines

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #172

He had no emotional modulation. He just accepted and believed any thought that came into his mind, and his heart would react as if it were true. The thoughts weren’t intentional, weren’t chosen, weren’t thoughtful, but subconscious little blips that popped up and ran along animal neural circuitry long-established that said – you are under threat. He was afraid all the time, but men like him weren’t given room to be afraid, so he got angry, and tried to control and manipulate every variable to predict outcomes, to keep himself safe. Yet of co...

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This week's prompts

Set your story in a world devoid of logic, where feelings govern all decision-making.

Angst – 22 stories

Write about a character who must confess their true feelings by midnight, or risk losing it all.

Romance – 35 stories

Write about a character reminiscing over something they should have said, and how their life would be completely different had they said it.

Sad – 63 stories

Set your story in an unfiltered world, where people are always honest about how they feel.

Dystopian – 23 stories

Write a story about a character who acts like they ‘don’t have feelings’ — except they’re just putting up a facade.

Character – 45 stories

Stories

“Apples and Trees” by Lisa Lange

🏆 Winner of Contest #172

Mom works. She never picks me up from school, and two miles is too close for a bus pickup, which is fine by me because I like cutting through the woods. Especially on autumn days, when the air is cool, and the flies and mosquitos are gone, and basketball practice hasn’t begun. I like the quiet. I like the wordlessness of the walk. A pretty sugar maple dressed in vivid orange frills beckons me off the path. I stand to look at her. I sound like a weirdo, I know. A sixteen-year-old boy calling a sugar maple pretty. It was Dad that taught me to ...

201 comments 201

Read story

“Honestly” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #172

“O Woman That I Used To Love, what should we get for dinner tonight?’’“Honestly, my Greatest Disappointment? I don’t care.”“You do care. You want me to suggest a place to eat so you can shoot it down. Whatever I say, you will wrinkle your little nose like I decided that we should eat out of the cat’s litter box.”“You could not be more wrong, but you usually are.” “Perhaps you could stop on the way home and pick up some takeout.”“I could, but I won’t. Our nightly conversation about dinner is the only authentic communication we will have ...

Read story

“Kama Sutra Rock & Roll” by Stevie B

Submitted to Contest #172

In our tiny, throuple unfiltered world it’s important to be always honest about how we feel and our sexual activities. As one may well imagine, when there’re three bodies involved, the variations of sexual positions and activity are increased by a multiple. Then factor in and couple that with having two members of our throuple who possessed a treasure trove of sex toys – well then – the possibilities are nearly bottomless. Even without some hot Hindu handbook celebrating copulation, and originally written in Sanskrit, one could sincerely s...

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“Over to You” by Edward Latham

Submitted to Contest #172

Come close fellow writer. I have truths to tell and there are questions you must answer. If we aren’t honest with each other now, we might not get another chance. We have until midnight and the clock is ticking.First, I must ask you why you’re here. Why does your painstaking heart pour onto the page? Why do your fingers tap, tap, tap on keys that click and clack? What’s in it for you?This question needs consideration and I’ve sprung it upon you, so I’ll start by telling you my secret.It’s the love of language. Letters with no meaning of thei...

Read story

“Civic Duty” by Michał Przywara

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #172

Moira put on her apron, signed in to her register, and prepared for the least busy day of the year. Her heart thrilled because she was finally old enough to participate in this most sacred of secular events. A moment later the doors opened and the customers started trickling in. The first one up at her counter was an old man in a parka, perpetually rubbing his hands.“Welcome to McDemocracy’s. Can I take your order?” Moira asked, beaming at him.“Yes, hello,” he said with an earnest grin. “I’m really hankering something, but I’m not sure what....

Read story

“I'll Drive” by AnneMarie Miles

Submitted to Contest #172

TW: themes of suicide, child loss, grief, swearing.Dear Avery Family,There are no wordsHow are you?I’m sorryIt has been 1,819 days since both of our lives were shattered.This is the last letter I will ever write, and I am writing it to you.I am writing to you because I need you to know that Andrew did not kill your son.I did.I have carried this guilt around with me for nearly five years, and now with the anniversary approaching, I can feel the energy building up again. Every year I am ripped apart by grief and guilt, and this year it has fin...

Read story

“Truth And Consequence” by Chris Campbell

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #172

“Government directive TAC-0.3.5 states that Truth is emancipating. Withheld opinions are toxic. To suppress forthright expression is a crime punishable by seventy-two hours of sensory re-education at a holding facility for candour criminals and seditious apostates.” “…What’s your point?” “Well, Freda, my love. I’m invoking The Sanctuary of Marriage Directive, that states, Truth must always be told for the cleansing of relationships.” “Husband, you wouldn’t know the truth, if it slapped a seventh sense of embedded direction into your immoral ...

Read story

“Driving East in the Evening” by Rebecca Miles

Submitted to Contest #172

James was driving east, sunsetting in the rear-view mirror. The street he had driven along, every day for the last three decades, was rapidly receding, watched over by the blood-shot eye of the weary sun. Accelerating, he had the uncomfortable feeling it was staring right at him. He pulled his gaze back to the darkening road ahead, passing his old college, keeping his eyes dead ahead as he drove past the office, memories of his retirement party bursting into his mind like the streamers they had thrown, thanking him for all those years of loy...

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“Poetry for the Epilogue” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #172

Bertram Fitzgerald never found out I wrote him poetry. Across the street, Bertram would work at his typewriter. He would churn out articles all about the impending war. I pictured steam coming off the keys. Puffs of smoke wafting from the “W” and the “A” and the “R” and all the other letters that make up words like “barrage” and “tyranny.” His articles always appeared in the Gazette on Wednesday’s and Friday’s. I would be the first in line at the newsstand holding out a quarter. Sometimes I would commit his words to memory. To this day, I ...

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“Blind Date” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #172

The waitress was very fat and I did not like her hair, but she had a good attitude as she guided me to my seat. The restaurant was not full on a Friday, so I guessed that the concert next door was still on and that it would fill up with people who had terrible taste in music later (the group playing truly sucked). I knew that my name was on the reservation list, but I still had a twenty ready in case she gave me a hassle. “I am ready to pay so that you will let me sit early…and not do anything to my food.” “I understand. I was going to give ...

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“Hurry Midnight” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #172

Hurry Midnight“I agree, sir. It’s time for you to settle down. Get yourself a wife. Kids are great to have around. You’d like it.”“But believe it or not, Reggie, I’m having a little trouble landing a good wife. I don’t get it, I mean she’d get to live in the castle, never have to work a day in her life, she’d have tons of cool jewelry, and most of all, she’d get to be with me! You’d think chicks would love the idea. I have to be the best catch in the kingdom. Babes should be throwing themselves at me. What could possibly be the problem?”“Wel...

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“Cinderella – the Untold Story” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #172

“Not bad, Cindy… Actually, pretty good.” Cinderella hummed while admiring her reflection in the mirror. Preparing for the ball, she turned to see the dress from every angle. She’d filched it, piecemeal, from her stepsisters, and Eve, her stepmother. The outfit came together like something from a catalogue. She looked great. An advantage to being at everyone’s peck and scratch, free access to closets-full of rarely worn (if ever!) clothing and jewelry. ‘Eve’ was short for Evil. Her stepsisters’ names were Moonshine, and Starlight. Cinderella...

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“A Sober Thought” by Sunanna Bhasin

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #172

“My name is Alvaro Vasquez and I am an alcoholic.” About twenty solemn eyes were fixated on me as I forced the last hard ‘c’ out of my mouth and sat back down. A chorus of “Hi Alvaro” met my ears as my bottom met the cool metal of probably the most uncomfortable chairs I’d ever sat on. If their purpose was to get you to stay here, I’d imagine they’d have seating more pleasing to my ass. Oops, I thought. My daughter had always said I should curb my habit of swearing every couple of sentences. I had zoned out of my third Al Anon sessi...

Read story

“She Gave Birth To And Killed An Eternity!” by Snya Aryf

Submitted to Contest #172

She looked like serenity. Laying on the bed, her eyes locked in a breath, with a smile, she cuddled in her own sorrows, fear, and mostly love. Love that she used to and still feel for the love she did, the love she held closer and dear to her, the love she never wanted to go, the love she wanted to live, the love that left her crippling, struggling for a single breath that could liberate her. I felt like burning the world around me, escaping this body that suffocates me to my core, leaving me gasping on the floor, which felt like breaking ...

Read story

“Resting She-Devil Face ” by Liv Chocolate

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #172

Thank heavens you’ve brushed away that nauseating carpet of dust from my face. I can finally breathe again! The only thing separating us now is the thin sheet of picture-frame glass between your gaze and my photograph. Of course, time also stands between us. An entire one-hundred-forty-eight years since my photo was taken—a stretch long enough for fashion, language, and customs to have evolved beyond my recognition. What little I understand of this modern world comes from the conversations I’ve overheard; the little bits and pieces I’ve gath...

Read story

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$250

Prize money

188

Contest entries

90

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Nov 18, 2022 EST

Won by Lisa Lange 🏆

Title: Apples and Trees

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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