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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#193: A Bear's Favor

One of the perks of being a Reedsy Prompts judge is the constant exposure to new ideas and words. While reading Olivia Lake’s story ‘Grateful Nuisance’ recently, I was introduced to a new (to me) Japanese word that instantly captured my imagination. The story explores the idea of arigata-meiwaku, a combination of arigatai (thankful), and meiwaku (nuisance). In essence, it describes the all-too-relatable phenomenon when someone insists on doing you a “favor” against your will, only to wind up causing you even more inconvenience than you started with.

In Northern Europe, this concept is often referred to as a “bear’s favor,” derived from a fable about a bear who kills his master by hitting him in the head with a boulder, when he was in fact trying to kill a fly.

I’m sure the mere mention of such a favor has already conjured some examples from your own life, and this week’s prompts draw on the idea of “bear’s favors” and half-baked acts of kindness. Is it truly always the thought that counts?

This week's prompts

Write a story inspired by the concept of arigata-meiwaku — a favor that turns out to be a nuisance for its recipient.

Funny – 53 stories

Write about somebody whose intentions are pure, but somehow always manages to do the wrong thing.

Character – 45 stories

Write a story where someone insists on giving your main character a ride to the airport, only for their car to break down.

Fluff – 26 stories

Write a fable inspired by a relatable life experience (explaining the moral before or after the story, if you’d like).

Kids – 16 stories

Write a story containing the words “it’s the thought that counts.”

Dialogue – 46 stories

Stories

“The Owls” by Irum Sarfaraz

Submitted to Contest #193

The wallpaper was expensive, as were all the other upgrades in our three-bedroom apartment in a gated community in the midst of the city–wooden floors, intricate crown molding, baseboard trims, granite tops in the kitchen and bathrooms, tall windows that added drama to the rooms, a red brick wall in the family room, and white marble tiles in the large balcony, to name a few. Adding further character and depth to an already impressive ambiance, were custom-made curtains, color coordinated with the pastel walls in every room, handmade Af...

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“A Lunar Triumph” by Brad Weatherley

Submitted to Contest #193

Nethra turned over in her bed, risen by the sound of a hermit thrush bird’s song that floated in through the hole in the side of her home, a grand oak tree. She threw her quilted blanket off of herself, sweating and chilled to the bone. The young nymph tapped a glass jar on her bedside table that swiftly illuminated with fireflies, lighting up her dwelling, so that she could put on an extra set of clothes and her shoes. It was a cold dark night, darker than usual, and the vibrations in the forest were out of tune with the creatures that live...

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“The boats can't make themsleves” by Lukasz Podgorski

Submitted to Contest #193

Stachu was a boat builder living a lonely life far away from any city, having only his dock that connected his place of living with the city's harbour by the river, and the little hut he lived in. That was the lifestyle that suited him for most of his life - until he became really old, that is. Lack of friends or family or, for that matter, anyone that could help with his heavy labour, became a real issue for the old man. He was not wealthy, so the concept of retirement was not available to him but, at the same time, he knew very well that h...

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“The Chetster” by Nick Baldino

Submitted to Contest #193

It was just an anatomy test. That’s all it was. Some tenth-grade, end of quarter, name-all-the-bones-in-the-axial-skeleton test. It took me 45 minutes to finish, and then I up and left for lunch. I was walking when I heard him running up behind me, his untied shoelaces slapping on the linoleum. I turned to see what freak was about to blow past me, but he didn’t. He slowed and started walking to my right. “Hey there, man!” he said in a pitch that sounded like synagogue Steve Buscemi. A dark black fedora covered his unkempt brown hair, and ...

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“Backhoe Blues” by Tanya Humphreys

Submitted to Contest #193

Solomon attacked the yard with an iron toothed rake, scraping and pulling at the scraggly weeds, adding them to the mountain of crap behind him. Sol fanned his reddened face with his wide brimmed fedora, leaning on the rake. His sandy brown hair bunched into damp tufts on his head, and his two-day stubble shimmered golden highlights in the early springtime sun. Sol’s tee was soaked to near see-throughness. “Hey buddy. That’s gonna take ya a week if ya keep on like that.” Sol’s next-door neighbor, Brian, was peeking over the fence between...

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“A Sasquatch Vents” by Mehkyla Gibson

Submitted to Contest #193

Hello, my name is Monster. Everyone is scared of me, and I don't know why. My real name is Sasquatch, but everyone just calls me monster. I don’t like that! I’m really nice! I don’t look so different from my fans-I like to call them that. I’m just a bit taller and hairier. I look pretty cuddly if you ask me, my hair makes me look like I’m wearing a fuzzy fur coat. It helps me a lot too! I stay warm every night, I camouflage with my surroundings very well, and I can even make my own hair styles! Anyway, I wanted to vent about my feelings ...

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“The Great Pretender” by Joe Smallwood

Submitted to Contest #193

Contains a single reference to a sexual abuse allegation. (not central to the plot)Joshua came into my class at Our Lady of Fatima in late October. He had a late start with us because at his old school, St. Michaels, kids always called him names like “brownie” and “squirt.” I had already warned my kids that I would not tolerate name calling. But the damage was already done. On his first day in grade four, Joshua would pick fights with anyone who so much as looked at him. He might have been a loving son, a wonderful brother, a fearless w...

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“Fellowshipping” by April Mattson

Submitted to Contest #193

“A Film Crew in Kichener” A documentary crew is currently filming in areas around Kichener, revealed to be in connection to events occurring six years ago, involving four former students from Northwood High School: Andrea Abramson, Phoebe Doon, Shaye Brooks, and the victim, Mabel Briggs. City officials wouldn’t confirm but ...

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“The Adventure of Hunter and Imperial” by Andrew Foster

Submitted to Contest #193

It was night out by a village in Montana. There were reports of dangerous animals stealing the sheep from the Farmers of the nearby village. Some of the people from the village had already tried to go out there themselves and deal with their creature problem only to have their screams heard later that night and then a fall of silence. So Hunter was contracted to deal with the problem. Because of his earlier track record of dealing with dangerous creatures. Hunter is out one day tracking his prey through the woods; hi...

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“I Need A Ride” by Fairouz Ouikhlfen

Submitted to Contest #193

"I GET IT YOU HATE THIS CITYYYYYYY" Jackson Ramoz wailed like Kelly Clarkson into the false microphone of the windshield right down the exit before Dulles airport. All this confidence I'd recently acquired the right to play up out of thin Wisconsin treatment air was trapped stiff and stone cold sweating through an ill-advised crimson outfit from Urban Outfitters in the back of this boy's car. Jackson was my friend, sort of. Insecure me never really knows, but confident one sees him as a first-rate guy. I'm never going to Yale, so guess which...

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“The Trip With No Destination” by AK - 07MJ 983297 Peel Virtual Elementary School

Submitted to Contest #193

Anne shivered as she raced through the torrential rain, her blazing red tresses sopping wet. It was as though all the lakes in the world had suddenly crashed down on her- and to make it worse, she was without a raincoat. Anne slowed down to get her bearings. She was walking through a sodden forest trail at dusk, attempting but almost ludicrously failing to steer clear of the infinite number of thick trunks and pointy branches of lofty, malady-brown trees. Her flashlight was out and offline Google Maps was turned on on her phone. On she ran...

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“Kindness is Free” by Someren Glen Retirement Community

Submitted to Contest #193

She clutched the steering wheel, and her knuckles paled. She could feel her pulse in her temples, and she wasn't breathing, as indicated by the vein popping in her forehead as reflected by the rearview mirror. She tried, she really tried to contain the anger and frustration that she had always felt lately. She tried soothing music, audiobooks, and a car diffuser…but the road rage always seemed to seep back in. She glanced down at her speedometer, 25 miles per hour in a 35-mile-per-hour zone. The cars in the other two lanes whizzed by so fast...

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“The Road Paved With Good Intentions” by Sara M

Submitted to Contest #193

Officer Jenkins had a look of disbelief on his face as he eyed the wreckage and all the blood. “But my intentions were good,” Karen Culpepper said to him shortly after she caused the 15 car pile-up on Interstate 24. Jenkins couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Maybe this woman was manic. Maybe she wasn’t in control of what she was saying.He was so overwhelmed by the situation, he honestly didn’t know how to feel. His intense sensations were all over the emotional spectrum, and he strugg...

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“The Art of Feigning Gratitude” by Sam Sansoucy

Submitted to Contest #193

"Happy Birthday!" Something in the way he sing-songed the greeting instantly gave me the feeling that Taylor had something up his sleeve. "Hey," I said, closing the door behind me, a little exhausted, a little excited - a weird combination, but a long day at the office throupled with a birthday dinner and that lilt in my fiancé's voice made for odd bedfellows of emotion. Taylor tucked his hair behind his ear as he leaned down to peck me on the cheek, and held out a hand to take my bag for me. "My, what chivalry!" I teased. "Only ...

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“It's The Thought That Counts” by Lydia Henshaw

Submitted to Contest #193

Sarah picked at the remains of her cold oatmeal and slugged her lukewarm coffee, half-asleep, half-dazed at the sudden turn of events and still puzzled over the handwritten note from her late grandmother. “Tell me again exactly where you found it?” Her father asked. “It was underneath the attic boards, back in the left corner.” “The attic above the third floor staircase?” “Yes, in the very back, underneath the window that looks toward Culebra Peak.” Culebra Peak, majestically seated halfway between Denver, Colorado, and Albuquer...

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$250

Prize money

186

Contest entries

115

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Apr 14, 2023 EST

Won by SCOTT GEORGE 🏆

Title: To Plant a Garden.

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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