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#173: Giving, Receiving, and Return Receipts

Yikes! The holidays are just around the corner, which means it’s almost time for me to panic-shop for gifts. Even if you aren’t a big fan of Black Friday (when mega discounts and hard-won bargains are up for grabs) you might still be thinking about what to give to your loved ones, or what you might ask for yourself.

This week’s prompts are in the spirit of gift-giving. Whether your characters know just what to get, are scrambling for ideas at the last minute, or are the lucky (or perhaps unlucky) recipient of their own gift, it’s time to gather those wishlists and prepare for the upcoming festive season.

🥇 Winner

“How to Return a Book Titled "How to Improve Your Writing in Five Easy Steps" in Five Easy Steps” by Jacob Brown

🏆 Winner of Contest #173

It was an anxious and desperate night; my sweat fell in torrents—except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by the violent shriek of a middle-aged white woman with an unchecked ego which swept up the aisles (for it is in Walmart that our scene lies), rattling along the plastic toy displays, and fiercely agitating the volatile attitude of the underpaid sixteen-year-old who struggled against the onslaught of last-minute shoppers.There I stood, holding my unopened copy of How to Improve Your Writing in Five Easy Steps, resting on my tw...

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“The Purse” by Thom With An H

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #173

So here’s the thing, I want to tell you a story about a time capsule.Wait, that’s not entirely true. It’s really a story about two people and a time capsule. Oh, and by the way, this time capsule is also a purse.Don't worry, it will all make sense at the end. I promise.Kathleen, or Kathy for short, was so unique that even peculiar people called her quirky. She was proud of her name, although she wanted everyone to know that not all Kathys were alike. She was fond of saying that Cathys with a C were wimps. She always said this with a smile be...

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“How to Return a Half-Eaten Cheeseburger From 1997” by Liv Chocolate

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #173

2006 You’re still there, right where I left you, wrapped up in the yellow wax paper blanket that keeps you warm against the ice-cold breath of the refrigerator. Even now, I still worry about you. In those sudden frantic moments that I cannot immediately locate you, I tear apart my refrigerator, pushing aside the tubs of low-fat yogurt and bottles of diet Snapple, until I find you, my one and only cheeseburger, tucked away in some icy, back corner, breathing in whatever years, days, seconds you have left of your precious, predeterm...

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“A Handful of Herbs” by Suma Jayachandar

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #173

Every time I visit you, which is roughly once a year, I notice, the sharp edges of the glass, cemented on top of the high compound wall have become fewer and grown smoother.The iron gate, on the threshold of which we grandchildren sat on those summer evenings, as you called out to the passing ice apple vendor and peeled the juicy delicate fruits on which we pounced and suckled like piglets, could use a coat of paint.There is still that pomegranate tree with its gnarly branches, guava with its mottled leaves, and bushes of plantains with thei...

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“The Wrapping Paper Store” by Alyssa Telgenhoff

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #173

“This is the twentieth time we’ve heard All I Want For Christmas Is You,” I say to Alicia. “No, Faith, this is the billionth time we’ve heard it.” She rolls her eyes, grinning. Alicia is my favorite person to work with at The Wrapping Paper Store. I’m not kidding, that’s the store's actual name. It’s so long, it barely fits on the green sign above the front door. At TWPS we sell, surprise, wrapping paper. For any occasion, birthdays, baby showers, and weddings, but our busiest time is the holidays. Today is November 1st and i...

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“Kateryna and the Piano Man” by Wally Schmidt

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #173

TW: This story contains references to the impact of the war in Ukraine on childrenSome stories are both true and imagined, and this is one of them.Em,Our Ukrainian family finally arrived in Warsaw! A mother and her two little girls. It took them four days to get here. There were dozens of checkpoints along the way which really slowed things down. My heart breaks just hearing about it.Olena, the older girl, said “I thought I’d freeze to death sleeping in the car. We didn’t have any blankets so I put on all the clothes I had and it still wasn’...

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“ExpressLane” by Olivia Ard

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #173

It happened on Halloween. It was supposed to be my off day, but I ended up working a double shift because Tim and Nora both called out. They were the latest victims of a nasty stomach bug making the rounds at work, which we'd taken to calling the Panacea Plague.Tim and Nora were pharmacy technicians, so their calling out wouldn't normally affect me, but since the other two techs had just quit, Mike had no choice but to move Zach and Carla from cashier and photo to pharmacy, since they were the only cashiers with active tech licenses. From th...

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“Gas, Gripes and Gratefulness” by Annabella Bones

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #173

“I ain’t working Christmas Eve. I’ll walk out!” Linda took a long slow drag off her Strawberry Vanilla vape and exhaled dramatically. “Are you smoking again?” Toni asked, her voice intermittently fading, just strong enough to push through the weak signal. “Vaping,” Linda answered. “Since Jordan was diagnosed with asthma last month. I swear it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done but, what can you do?” Her lips tugged at the warm electric pen. Feet propped in a red plastic chair and eyes locked on the puddle collecting at the foot of the staff...

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“Adventures in Retail” by C. J. Peters

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #173

I clock in at 9:53 and drop into a wobbly chair in the break room (I’m not getting paid for those extra seven minutes anyway), barely suppressing a shudder at the reality of what my life will be for the next eight hours; a sales shift on a weekend during the holiday season (no such thing as "pre" anymore). The large table in the center of the room is adorned with a seasonally appropriate plastic tablecloth, but the snowman and reindeer seem to mock me, smiling and prancing about, knowing they will be safe back here all day.I check the schedu...

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This week's prompts

Coming up with a gift idea was the easy part — getting your hands on it is another thing entirely.

Adventure – 22 stories

End your story with a character receiving a deeply meaningful gift they weren’t expecting.

Adults – 66 stories

Write about a character going to great lengths to return an unwanted gift.

Funny – 22 stories

Write a story starring a store cashier, during the busy pre-holiday season.

Holiday – 27 stories

Write a story that includes the phrase “Thank you! It’s just what I wanted.”

Holiday – 31 stories

Stories

“How to Return a Book Titled "How to Improve Your Writing in Five Easy Steps" in Five Easy Steps” by Jacob Brown

🏆 Winner of Contest #173

It was an anxious and desperate night; my sweat fell in torrents—except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by the violent shriek of a middle-aged white woman with an unchecked ego which swept up the aisles (for it is in Walmart that our scene lies), rattling along the plastic toy displays, and fiercely agitating the volatile attitude of the underpaid sixteen-year-old who struggled against the onslaught of last-minute shoppers.There I stood, holding my unopened copy of How to Improve Your Writing in Five Easy Steps, resting on my tw...

107 comments 107

Read story

“The Purse” by Thom With An H

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #173

So here’s the thing, I want to tell you a story about a time capsule.Wait, that’s not entirely true. It’s really a story about two people and a time capsule. Oh, and by the way, this time capsule is also a purse.Don't worry, it will all make sense at the end. I promise.Kathleen, or Kathy for short, was so unique that even peculiar people called her quirky. She was proud of her name, although she wanted everyone to know that not all Kathys were alike. She was fond of saying that Cathys with a C were wimps. She always said this with a smile be...

Read story

“How to Return a Half-Eaten Cheeseburger From 1997” by Liv Chocolate

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #173

2006 You’re still there, right where I left you, wrapped up in the yellow wax paper blanket that keeps you warm against the ice-cold breath of the refrigerator. Even now, I still worry about you. In those sudden frantic moments that I cannot immediately locate you, I tear apart my refrigerator, pushing aside the tubs of low-fat yogurt and bottles of diet Snapple, until I find you, my one and only cheeseburger, tucked away in some icy, back corner, breathing in whatever years, days, seconds you have left of your precious, predeterm...

Read story

“A Handful of Herbs” by Suma Jayachandar

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #173

Every time I visit you, which is roughly once a year, I notice, the sharp edges of the glass, cemented on top of the high compound wall have become fewer and grown smoother.The iron gate, on the threshold of which we grandchildren sat on those summer evenings, as you called out to the passing ice apple vendor and peeled the juicy delicate fruits on which we pounced and suckled like piglets, could use a coat of paint.There is still that pomegranate tree with its gnarly branches, guava with its mottled leaves, and bushes of plantains with thei...

Read story

“The Wrapping Paper Store” by Alyssa Telgenhoff

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #173

“This is the twentieth time we’ve heard All I Want For Christmas Is You,” I say to Alicia. “No, Faith, this is the billionth time we’ve heard it.” She rolls her eyes, grinning. Alicia is my favorite person to work with at The Wrapping Paper Store. I’m not kidding, that’s the store's actual name. It’s so long, it barely fits on the green sign above the front door. At TWPS we sell, surprise, wrapping paper. For any occasion, birthdays, baby showers, and weddings, but our busiest time is the holidays. Today is November 1st and i...

Read story

“Polish Cuisine” by Michał Przywara

Submitted to Contest #173

You hand me a book I cannot read. There’s a wooden spoon on the cover, and though the language on it – your language – is impenetrable to me, I know this is a cookbook. The paper is jaundiced and brittle and the spine is bent, like yours, and loose sheets spill from between the pages like the stuffing of a disembowelled teddy bear. What could I possibly do with this book?“It belonged to my mother,” you tell me. Again. This story I know, as you’ve told it many times. It was your mother’s, and the only thing of hers you still have. The mother ...

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“A Gift from Above” by Melony Beard

Submitted to Contest #173

The strangest thing wasn’t the fact that the phone rang at midnight, but the strangest thing was that I had disconnected the home phone service a few weeks ago. The very last thing I expected on this Friday night was my disconnected house phone to ring. I jumped at the unexpected sound of the ringing phone which hung on the wall in the room next door. I know that at least briefly I must have wondered who in the world had gotten through on this line, but once the following events began to take place, I completely forgot anything that happe...

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“The Holy Grail of Christmas Presents: The Easy-Bake Oven” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #173

The Holy Grail of Christmas Presents: The Easy-Bake OvenNot all dads are made alike.- Some are organized, plan ahead, and get their Christmas shopping done in November. Some are disorganized, procrastinate, and battle the crowds on December 24th to secure the desired gifts.-Some spoil and dote on their children. Some spoil and dote on their children to the extreme.-Some give up, make adjustments, and seek alternatives. Some never give up, steadfastly refuse to alter course, and stubbornly reject options.This is the sad saga of a disorganized...

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“Alloy for Christmas” by Mackenzie Littledale

Submitted to Contest #173

It was my first time in Shawn’s apartment since he’d moved, and since our hiatus. He frequently referred to himself as “just a street kid from Miami,” so I wasn’t expecting anything elaborate in this apartment. But once I stepped into the living room with sunlight pouring in through the sliding glass doors, felt dwarfed by his flat screen TV, giggled inwardly at the tangle and stacks of tech gadgets, and took in the spaciousness, I knew he’d come a long way. His sofa was basic beige, but covered in microfiber, so it was soft and inviting. He...

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“Take the Yak” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #173

“I need a price check on this yak.” Nobody will respond to my call. I’m behind enemy lines. It’s every man for himself. Every man and/or sixteen-year-old young lady attempting to make some extra cash so she can buy her sixty-year-old neighbor’s broken-down Buick at some point in the near future. That’s how you wind up working the cash register the day before Christmas Eve at Felicity’s Department Store at a mall that only has three stores left in it other than the one you’re working in. A pretzel stand, a frozen yogurt emporium, and a pet ...

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“Kateryna and the Piano Man” by Wally Schmidt

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #173

TW: This story contains references to the impact of the war in Ukraine on childrenSome stories are both true and imagined, and this is one of them.Em,Our Ukrainian family finally arrived in Warsaw! A mother and her two little girls. It took them four days to get here. There were dozens of checkpoints along the way which really slowed things down. My heart breaks just hearing about it.Olena, the older girl, said “I thought I’d freeze to death sleeping in the car. We didn’t have any blankets so I put on all the clothes I had and it still wasn’...

Read story

“Thanksgiving Catenation” by Wendy Kaminski

Submitted to Contest #173

My left arm is sore as I pass the collection plate, because Phil playfully slugged me again… because I look like my sister.Technically, she looks like me – I’m older – though we don’t resemble as much as we did when we were younger. Back then, we were often assumed to be twins. At my mother’s church these days, though, we are rarely seen together, and so at my annual Thanksgiving visit, I often get mistaken for her, since she’s a four-times-per-year “regular.”She and Phil must have a special relationship, and he must have vision issues, beca...

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“Cassie” by Francois Kosie

Submitted to Contest #173

It’s the recommended thing to get life extension treatments, even though these days they make you sterile for some reason. Still, it’s good to always do the recommended thing because other people are doing it and living their best never-ending lives. I wonder about this as I watch my blood flow through transparent tubes, and the machinery around me carefully holds my flesh in its polished limbs of metal and plastic like a loving vampire holds a victim. I watch as the red is slowly sucked in, goes through a wondrous transformation, and is the...

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“Uncle” by AnneMarie Miles

Submitted to Contest #173

This Christmas, you are an uncle. I know you didn’t ask to take on this role – it’s kind of shitty of your sister for going on and having children without even asking you how you felt about assuming such responsibility; but once she pops them out, society says you got a new name and you can't do anything about it – so I’m going to help you out and give you some advice on how to meet your nephew and niece for the first time (because no one ever offered me any).Now, first, I want to congratulate you on managing to avoid every family holid...

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“ExpressLane” by Olivia Ard

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #173

It happened on Halloween. It was supposed to be my off day, but I ended up working a double shift because Tim and Nora both called out. They were the latest victims of a nasty stomach bug making the rounds at work, which we'd taken to calling the Panacea Plague.Tim and Nora were pharmacy technicians, so their calling out wouldn't normally affect me, but since the other two techs had just quit, Mike had no choice but to move Zach and Carla from cashier and photo to pharmacy, since they were the only cashiers with active tech licenses. From th...

Read story

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$250

Prize money

168

Contest entries

79

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Nov 25, 2022 EST

Won by Jacob Brown 🏆

Title: How to Return a Book Titled "How to Improve Your Writing in Five Easy Steps" in Five Easy Steps

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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