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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#181: Standing Tall

The mountains are the place where many people go to seek adventure, whether that be hiking, climbing, or skiing; but they’re also where some go to find stillness, and reconnect with nature. Mountain ranges have an almost spiritual feel to them 一 they stand tall, enduring the test of time, and remind us of our scale in the universe.

In literature, mountains have often served as powerful settings, or as a metaphor for the insurmountable obstacles characters have to deal with. This week’s prompts are inspired by them:

This week's prompts

Write about someone who realizes they're on the wrong path.

Character – 69 stories

Write a story about someone who has to “move mountains” to get what they want.

Angst – 15 stories

Write about a character who’s climbing a mountain, whether internal, external, or both.

Adventure – 59 stories

Write about a character who, for whatever reason, retreats to a remote cabin.

Mystery – 62 stories

Write a story that includes someone saying, “Let’s go for a walk.”

Dialogue – 73 stories

Stories

“The Notion” by Joe Lynch

Submitted to Contest #181

The Notion.I glanced at him, careful-like. Didn’t want him to notice me noticing him. He swaggered into the kitchen, giving me that look, his brown eyes narrowing. I could feel my fingers tingle. He still had that effect on me even after all these years. I lifted my glass of Rosé wine, the cheaper kind, nothing too fancy, we didn’t do fancy too often. Kids had been away from six. I could hear him rattling the oven door, checking his food.When we met, he was a real popular guy. Had loads of girlfriends and loads of history. I Ignored it. We w...

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“Denali, A love Story” by John Anderson

Submitted to Contest #181

Denali-A love Story The day had been a slog. As we ascended off of the Kahiltna Glacier a constant 20 mph wind had been banging away at us for the better of six hours. This was day five of our climb as we moved off the top of the 11,000-foot glacier trying to reach the safety of the upper Base Camp at fourteen. (14,000 feet) The ultimate goal was to summit Denali, North Americas tallest peak. The big mountain tops out at 20,320 feet and is so massive, it can create its...

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“Tomorrow's Lament” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #181

“Jaysus died for all our sins…” Henry “Hank” Hope pondered over the words thrust at him by the short, skinny priest stood before him in front of a row of trash cans. Startlingly appearing from out of nowhere within the Bostonian alleyway that Hank was relieving himself, the small man bore a remarkable resemblance to the old Irish actor, Barry Fitzgerald – a legend of the atypical Irishman depicted in old black and white movies. A guise that was curiously disarming in its visual demeanour, but highly suspicious in its sudden out-of-the-shado...

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“Honey Caramel” by Cassandra Fan

Submitted to Contest #181

As she hiked her way higher and higher up the rocky mountainside, Caramel would periodically stop and gaze out at the incomparable view. From this height, the crowded and tumultuous city she had called home for her entire life became little more than a pebble on a hillside 100 miles away. “Like something straight from a nature documentary,” she muttered to herself, taking everything in before she turned back to continue her climb. She had left for the mountain before the sun had risen, before anyone would notice that she was gone. Put on her...

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“Monsters in the Woods” by Elijah Rose

Submitted to Contest #181

Ariché didn’t know why Daddy was in such a hurry to go to the hunting lodge. All he’d say was they needed to hide from the monsters, whom he assured her were ugly and smelly. Of course, Ariché was old enough to know there were no monsters hiding in her closet and wondered what Daddy was keeping from her. They were driving down the road going the speed limit, but they left with hardly enough time to grab an extra set of clothes and whatever canned foods were in the cupboard and Daddy wouldn’t stop to use the bathroom. Ariché fidgeted around b...

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“Speed of Sound” by S N

Submitted to Contest #181

Many lights sing, a cacophony of assaulting sound. This whole place is an assault. On ears and noses. Eyes.Good.The blare of the multi-colored lights shooting off at random is a great distraction. Seventy-year-old women and their dangling bracelets clink with the buzz of mechanical slot machines and it's enough to drive my headache to migraine land. Another reason to cry. Mid-spring in an Arizona casino and the AC is on full permafrost blast. Not the liveliest of Wednesday afternoons. It will have to do. A handful of those bracelet...

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“The Tao of Loud Sue” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #181

The spiritual seeker named Victor climbed the rocky path up the mountain. He stopped several times, doubting the directions he’d been given. He thought he’d lost his way and doubled back more than once on the ill-marked path. ‘Is it too much to expect a sign? Or an arrow? Work with me…’ Thirst nagged at him. Hours passed, without results. Entering a clearing, a thatch roofed hut came into view. A strand of smoke rose from the chimney. ‘This must be it,’ he thought. ‘Who could live so remotely? Who else would?’ Victor sought the legendary w...

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“Hero of the Appalachians” by J. Nicholas

Submitted to Contest #181

(CW: dialogue, mature themes, tobacco use, alcohol use, violence) “You sure I am safe? They are not finding me?” Elena asked in her best English, which she’d studied since age thirteen. She wiped sweat from her brow, improbable with the driver’s window open, blasting cold air through the cabin of the Ford LTD. It was the 1974 model, they said, but that year was still two months away. These men wanted to impress her, obviously. Suits, ties, shined shoes, and suppressed Uzis s...

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“The Close Warm Comfort of the Wild” by James Workman

Submitted to Contest #181

I feed the fire with small dry branches of a dead fever tree. In the darkness a freckled nightjar calls, followed by the distant cackle of spotted hyena. Rising flames cast a glow on my three captors, each nursing his own affliction.Akani mumbles and shivers in his sleep, cheeks beaded in sweat. Malaria. Vukosi squats nearby, gripping his AK-47 as flanks clench and face contorts in another spasm. Dysentery. He glares. As if I’m the cause of our predicament, not the tarp-wrapped bundle beside Nhelo. Barely a teen, Nhelo suffers only a conscie...

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“Vibrantly Shining” by Faith Richardson

Submitted to Contest #181

I’m standing at the corner where life intersects easy...NOT! God says it's supposed to be hard. So, even when I strive to live on Easy Street, life's not...easy that is. The journey is rough, but God's path is straight not smooth. He promises that! I often stand in bewilderment at how life can unexpectedly throw us off balance. Sometimes I stand there, mouth agape, frozen in puzzlement and think can this really be happening? Did I just go from polishing my diamond to faceplanting in a cow pie at the bottom of the mountain? I was so focused...

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“One Whisker” by LiV Stickmann~Pollard

Submitted to Contest #181

TW: foul language, non-P.C. labeling A weird thing’s been goin’ on with me, something I wasn’t thinkin’ would ever happen. I’ma just tell ya this straight: I’ma freak. You would never notice me, and if you did all’s you’d see’d be some too-skinny, too-tall boy (which I’m not) who has a fucked-up face. Getting not noticed is best for me, and as far as me ever getting to like myself, might as well tell me to skateboard up Mount Everest. It’s just too high, too far, and gravity sucks too hard. If you think about it, there’...

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“The Mirror in the Dining Room” by Dave Bede

Submitted to Contest #181

Jason hardly ever set foot in the dining room. Clarence wasn’t sure he’d ever seen him eat there, not in the two years and change since they’d realized their wartime dream and moved up here. That had always been just fine by Clarence, and never more so than today. Second shift had started well over an hour ago by the time Clarence arrived in the dining room with his soup and bread, and spotted those two out behind the shed. Had Jason called in sick again? Or had the fool just not noticed the time? Clarence worked the first shift at...

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“L’uomo Rotto” by Foster Powell

Submitted to Contest #181

“Hey… pass me that man.” Turk’s voice was as low as his eyes, whispering and scratching to speak. Johnny’s eyes moved slowly across the room to Turk’s. On the way, he couldn’t help but notice how slow it felt like he was moving. He could see the blur of the dark room smearing across his retinas, which curiously made him feel like he needed to slow down even more. He sensed his balance was off, so he thought it best to continue sitting. “Dude…” Turk’s voice came again. It sounded like he was down the hall. That made Johnny even more cur...

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“The Cave” by Mabel Gray

Submitted to Contest #181

Have you ever heard of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave? If you haven’t, I’ll spell it out for you in the most rudimentary way possible. You’re in the cave, meaning you only see an imitation of the truth. You are in the dark, living your life through fake shadows. If you venture outside the cave, you will be blinded by the truth, but then come to accept it. Almost everyone on this Earth is inside the cave, only the truly amazing and ethically correct will be curious enough to drag themselves out. This allegory of the cave can be used as a metaph...

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“Reflection” by MJ Simons

Submitted to Contest #181

It was cold and damp as we hiked through a rocky pass. I stepped, and a layer of hardened snow crunched and released under my weight. I could hear the huffing and puffing of my son John’s breathing as the air grew thinner the higher we went. My breath came out like smoke in front of me. We continued on the trail, almost socked in by mist as the clouds were within reach. I followed John, the more experienced hiker until I saw his gloved hand come out, signaling me to stop. There was a noise, although it was faint. We paused, both holding...

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$250

Prize money

278

Contest entries

125

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 20, 2023 EST

Won by Aeris Walker 🏆

Title: Out of Place on the Appalachian Trail

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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