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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#177: Found in Translation

“Every act of communication is a miracle of translation.”

– Ken Liu, The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories

Communication is the cornerstone of all relationships. A complex combination of sounds, words, gestures, and written symbols help us navigate the world and get our intentions and feelings across. It’s remarkably efficient, but sometimes, regardless of how clearly you thinkyou’re expressing yourself, things get lost between sender and receiver.

Inspired by the act of translating thoughts and feelings into words and actions — and the things that can get lost (or found) in the process — here are this week’s prompts:

This week's prompts

Write a story about two or more characters who don't speak each other's language (literally or metaphorically), but still find a way to communicate.

Dialogue – 54 stories

Set your story in a meeting where a professional interpreter takes some liberties, with major consequences.

Funny – 12 stories

Write about someone who is slowly forgetting their mother tongue or losing their language.

Character – 22 stories

Lost in a foreign city where they don’t speak the language, your character uses a translation app to get around, but constantly runs into problems.

Adventure – 9 stories

Write a story about a character who struggles to translate their thoughts and feelings into words and action.

Angst – 53 stories

Stories

“A New Day” by Kenneth Kendall

Submitted to Contest #177

I can do it! I am in control! I am everything I believe I am! I make the decisions that determine my future! Today is the first day of the rest of my life! Chase woke up with the same affirmations playing aloud that were his lullaby just seven hours prior. And each of the night-lighted nights before. Lip syncing, hoping the confidence would somehow permeate his core, that he might one day be able to shout them from the mountain top. But today did not require climbing any mountains. Thinking back to yesterday’s session with Dr. Kelcheck,...

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“My Lille-Ulv” by LE' FROG

Submitted to Contest #177

It happened a fortnight ago, and I still hadn't told Askel, or Jane. The scars still stained my torso, and I swallowed hard as I stared at them incredulously once again through the mirror on the vanity. Just as I had been these past couple weeks. I still couldn't really, process what happened. It was all so fast, and the bites, the scratches, they healed so fast. I didn't even know what to fathom. But I gasped when I heard a knock on my bedroom door, and then a man clear their voice. "Lille-Ulv? May I come in?". I dropped my night gown, ...

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“Rule No. 3” by Lunny Muffin

Submitted to Contest #177

Ever since the accident, he has been living with his grandmother and for quite some time he could not speak. At first everyone thought it was the result of the accident but after extensive physical examinations the doctors and speech pathologist all concluded that nothing was bodily wrong. It was very strange that he could not utter a word and most of the experts were baffled. The once loud and very outspoken boy had become this way but the obvious conclusion that many accepted was he was psychologically traumatized by the tragedy. A tragedy...

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“Left Unspoken” by Christina Dearman

Submitted to Contest #177

Suzanne was never a big fan of parties, much preferring the peace of an empty room. Being alone was always easier than trying to follow multiple conversations in loud places filled with food and drink. Being alone meant that she didn’t need to think of what to say next, or navigate complex social queues. Working for the sales team of a Chicago-based manufacturer of industrial generators as a mail room clerk was supposed to be a temporary job, but after four years and multiple pay increases, she lacked the motivation to find her dream job. If...

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“The Day We Met” by Masha Kamenetskaya

Submitted to Contest #177

“If you don't get dressed immediately, we will be late,” she says. “Dress, please. Take your top.” He is not listening, he is still wearing his pajamas. He is all over the house, because that is what he does when it's about time to leave. He is driving two cars, and he also is writing a letter. “With a red pen,” he says. “A letter to you!” She is supposed to feel touched, but she doesn't. Mornings used to be slow and enjoyable. Now she regularly locks herself in a bathroom and sits there on the floor. “Put on your clothes,” she says lou...

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“Mourning Starlight” by Julia Mann

Submitted to Contest #177

In the middle of the end of hope, a man fights in a muted world of terror and grim ink. Surrounding him is nothing but frothing steel gray water that mocks and hisses in his ear and batters him again, and again, and again… but below, he sees through salt-stung eyes the mysterious blue-black depths and kicks furiously away from them. Finally, he breaks the surface, blinking water from his eyes—wait! Something new has appeared! A piece of formless white floats not three feet from his head. Desperately, he reaches an arm out to catch hold of sl...

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“A Dream Flight” by Michael Hall

Submitted to Contest #177

A dream flight. My friend Doug invited me to come stay with him in New York. Doug was an Uber driver and he promised, “I’ll show you all the sights and sounds of the Big Apple.” So I arranged to fly there. I told Doug,”I am very excited and thanks for the ...

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“Woman in Southern Sudan” by Pamela Blair

Submitted to Contest #177

WOMAN IN SOUTHERN SUDAN In July, 1971, I began an open-ended journey, with only a fixed destination, Tanzania. After my flight from California to Europe, I was determined to travel overland, by whatever means available, which included some hitching but mainly boats, rickety trains, overcrowded buses, and exhaust-spewing lorries (trucks)—either in the cab or atop the overloaded goods the lorry was carrying. I wanted to experience Africans close-up, not viewing them from a distance or even separating myself from them with a first-class tick...

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“Almost Always” by Julia Potter

Submitted to Contest #177

This was a bad idea. I knew it from the time I stepped foot out the door. I got that little feeling somewhere in between my heart and my gut that maybe, just maybe, I should not take a day trip by myself through Kyoto. But did I listen? Ha. And did I think to maybe charge my phone before leaving the home of the very kind, very understanding host family? Iie. That’s the Japanese word for “no”, although I’ve been told it doesn’t quite mean “no”, because saying no isn’t polite, or something like that. It’s also one of precisely five Japanese ph...

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“War and Peas” by Patricia Merewether

Submitted to Contest #177

Warning - war memories of violence I was grateful for my thirty-minute commute because I needed time to decompress from anger, disappointment, sadness, and rage craziness. As it turns out, I needed a longer drive. A neighbor's massive man truck filled my parking spot, and I used my one superpower of parallel parking and squeezed into the spot between his car and my elderly neighbor's. She drives twice weekly, so I know she'd be okay with it. I said a little prayer for her continued longevity. I slammed the car door on my skirt, thus r...

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“Connected by the Spider's Web” by Virtual Chesse Emporium

Submitted to Contest #177

During my latest exploration, the last thing I expected to hear was a sudden shrieking cry. The landscapes I was exploring were filled with creatures that skittered, shuffled, clicked and squirmed around. A shriek meant something entirely different and possibly more dangerous. I slid off a nearby pile of rocks, pulled out my voice recorder, and placed a hand on my blaster gun.“This is Sam, making my third audio log in the Infernal Caves on planet T-4579. I’ve been exploring the geysers and cave entrances and got caught in a geyser explosion....

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“Different Worlds” by Dezi Sequeira

Submitted to Contest #177

*Bolded is English, non-bolded is Italian. This story contains mention of suicide, bullying, mental health issues, self harm, mild mention of alcohol abuse, and mild gore if you look with a magnifying glass. If you are not comfortable with these topics, please do not proceed! --prologue-- I had moved to a new country. All my life I had lived in Italy. With all my childhood friends and family. My father had went to war, and mysteriously went 'missing.' We received a letter from him saying he never wanted to speak to any of us again. The...

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“Live and Let Live” by Sav Lightwood

Submitted to Contest #177

Merry Christmas Mother, I miss you dearly. I hope you had a wonderful bite to eat. I only wish that it wasn't too lonely for you, with both father and I away from home. I miss your all-encompassing hugs and kisses almost as much as your butterscotch pie. In my mouth is a pipe presented by the Princess Mary. In the pipe is tobacco. Of course, you say. But wait - in the pipe is German tobacco. Haha, you say, from a prisoner or found in a captured trench. Oh dear, no! From a live German solider from his very own trench. Inconceivable! You w...

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“"How Do You Say-I love You"” by Ralph Aldrich

Submitted to Contest #177

My grandfather tells me the story of how he met my grandmother. He was a buyer for a perfume manufacturer in New York City. His job was to purchase bottles from various companies around the world. It had been ten years since World War II ended, and he was about to travel to Lohr am Main in Germany to purchase bottles for a new line of perfume. But unfortunately, he does not speak German, and now his story begins… After talking with my travel agent, I hun...

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“The Port of Algeciras” by Konner Blunt

Submitted to Contest #177

The man’s face remained expressionless as he methodically scribbled a picture of a capsized boat on a napkin in front of him. Left hand scrawling, and his gloved right hand sitting motionless on the table. He pointed to his sketch. A boat on its side, lashed against the rocks. He had taken the time to sketch some items strewn across the water’s surface; bags, life vests, swimming people. Between the boat and the shore was a figure, head barely above the water, arm wrenched into jagged metal and rock. He pointed to the figure, then p...

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$250

Prize money

150

Contest entries

70

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 23, 2022 EST

Won by Laurel Hanson 🏆

Title: Colonel Mustard in the Kitchen Without a Hearing Aid

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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