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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

“Super Screwed” by Amy Rosenthal

Submitted to Contest #193

“Another job well done,” Luxia said sarcastically as she strode into her headquarters. Scribe just nodded, while their eyes flickered across the eight computer screens in front of them, all of which displayed the fight between Luxia and Nox from various angles, some obvious security cam footage. Luxia walked to her large desk and collapsed into the chair behind it in a puff of dust. She looked down at herself in disgust. The fight had left her coated in fallen debris powder, bystander blood, and unlucky cars’ oil drippings. She peeled...

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“That Man’s Too Ugly to Be My Child” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #193

“Maybe I should have ordered an Uber,” Andy Grech says, as the snow begins to fall harder. The stocky bass player bites his nails as he gets into a white Monte Carlo SS. “I hear these cars are really bad in the snow.” “Not if you’re an expert driver like me,” Niko Neary replies. The spiffy high school teacher fancies himself an expert on everything, including the oncoming blizzard. Zipping up his Canada Goose parka, he pulls his warm wool cap close to his ears. He views the trip as an adrenaline rush, a way to show his superiority, this t...

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“On the Run” by Anne Reed

Submitted to Contest #193

It was after midnight. Stephanie Armstrong stood on the sidewalk in front of her apartment building, an odd figure for this time of night. Her brown curls had been pulled tightly into a ponytail, her face wore light make-up, and she was dressed in a black business suit. She had a white purse slung over her shoulder, and a suitcase stood next to her. Stephanie stared intently at the entrance of the apartment complex where her ride would soon appear. Then she saw a white SUV, which came to a stop in front of her, and the driver leaned out of...

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“Returned favour” by Minja Zupanjevac

Submitted to Contest #193

London was sunny. Leaving it now, was the farthest from her mind. The aeroplane that she was petrified of, removing her from The One she finally found. Nonsense.He couldn't have been serious to drive her to the airport. Though he looked it. In his tight black jacket glistening like the skin of a stallion, his Roman soldier profile, his wild mane.... But his body still lay back in his seat, proving how he can force the gear stick and gently hold her palm with one hand. Gazing at her deeply every minute, his eyes gleaming like burning coal... ...

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“On Time” by James Fritz

Submitted to Contest #193

The contact is late. I stand outside the Bolshoi Theater. A bowl-shaped fountain shoots a jet of water into the air. The front doors look like they’re made of solid gold. Ten white columns hold up a beautiful golden awning. I pace along the walkway in front of the entrance. The flash drive in my suit pocket feels as heavy as a brick. Loaded on it are the plans for Russia’s new hypersonic missiles, the first of their kind in the world. If the FSB catches me with these plans, well… I wouldn’t put it past them to strap ...

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“Petunia's Last Stand” by Ryan B.

Submitted to Contest #193

The desert air of the outskirts of Newhurst City was still cold enough to send a chill through Eve when she stepped out of the Carrolton Hotel with her luggage.She strode purposefully between twin landscaped gardens toward the silver vehicle waiting in the drive, regarding its modest size with some annoyance. She had figured this might happen; her luggage might fit, but not comfortably. She pulled two rather ponderous suitcases behind her, along with her handbag and backpack.“Morning, Eve,” Hanson said eagerly over the sound of his door...

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“COOKIE CALAMITY” by Tim Frater

Submitted to Contest #193

COOKIE CALAMITY“You want them for this afternoon?”“If it’s not too much trouble.”“I’ll be a bit pushed for time.”“I’d really appreciate it and so would our members. To be truthful, I sort of let slip to some of them yesterday afternoon that I would ask you to bake your famous peanut cookies for our afternoon tea today and their enthusiasm for that idea was pretty overwhelming.”“Oh. How come you didn’t ’phone me yesterday?”“Yes, sorry about that. I had an emergency with one of my horses and it kind of slipped my mind.”“All right. I’ll get ont...

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“Welcome to the Funhouse!” by Austin Loudin

Submitted to Contest #193

“Ah! If it isn’t the daring and rather clumsy hero, Homerun!” A teenage girl mocked the hero below her on top of the rafters dangling her legs with a wide smirk. She has bright sharp purple eyes wearing an assortment of colored quilts tailored for jesters within the medieval era. She had afro rainbow hair and her face painted over with an absurd blinding white, roughly painted red cheeks, and overly comically black eyeliner. Their cackles echo through the halls of the funhouse just as if a pack of hyenas found something rather hilarious. She...

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“Blobfish Cannot Speak” by Benja Catton

Submitted to Contest #193

Blobfish cannot speak. They blink and wink to communicate. We humans think of Blobfish as the ugliest creatures on the planet, having dubbed them such in an internet contest years ago. They’re not quite so ugly in their native habitat: bobbing like jello salad in the muck at the bottom of the ocean. They live under extreme pressure. At those depths, they’re nearly as dishy as your ordinary fish. Nonetheless, when they’re accidentally hauled up by fishermen to our atmospheric pressure, they become the gelatinous ooze we all recognized in...

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“The wrong twin” by Eline Pols

Submitted to Contest #193

*TW: swearing, mentioned/implied; past abusive, toxic relationship/ ex boyfriend.*Caleb is minding his business, when he hears some faint yelling.One thing about Caleb? He is a sucker for drama and honestly for eavesdropping.Real-life fights are so much better than the reality tv shows his sister watches.Caleb's eavesdropping has resulted in him listening to some dramatic fights between his (step)mom and his slightly egocentric adoptive father, some spicy arguments between his sister and her friendsAnd conversations so ch...

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“The Flag Bandit” by MJ Simons

Submitted to Contest #193

"We should get pizza today," my daughter said."Okay, I did say we would have pizza yesterday," I said as I recall changing our Good Friday meal at the last minute, going with honey walnut shrimp and fried rice instead.We reached the car and backed down the driveway at a slope. Unconsciously I checked for our neighbor's cat, who sometimes sat in waiting as we moved about going to and fro."I hope you finish your driver's ed class soon. You could be driving us to get pizza instead of me," I said as I backed out of our driveway, thinking about m...

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“The Campaign Speech” by MaryJo Powrozek Rosso

Submitted to Contest #193

“Senator Bering! Thank you so much for coming to my event! It’s such an honor to have your support.” “Of course, Jessica! When I heard that you were running for the Wisconsin House Seat, I had my people on the phone right away. ‘That sweetheart was my best speechwriter!’ I told my staff. ‘We need to get her into that seat!’ I had ‘em call your campaign office right away. Took a while to hear back from them, to be honest. You might need to check and see if they’re really doing their jobs! Hohoho… If I didn’t know better, I’d say you didn’t ...

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“Skin-deep” by Corneigh Hoff

Submitted to Contest #193

Glenda Gracious was born with a severe skin condition, and even though cosmetics offered numerous ways of masking it, it was always conspicuously visible. On the left side of her face, the red, raspy skin seemed to pull down her left eye and make the corner of her mouth drop. * At school, children called her Sandpaper Girl and later, in the years of puberty, she was ignored and shunned by most boys. In her eagerness to be wanted and admired, she was perhaps too permissive to what she called the leftover boys. Just before her 17th birthday t...

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“The Devil's Pen ” by Miah Jardine

Submitted to Contest #193

Our story begins on a stormy night, with Jack settling into his seat on a plane. He had always been a nervous flyer, and the turbulence only made things worse. But he was determined to stay calm, to keep his fears in check. He thought best to distract himself with some work and took his pen and notebook out to try and turn his mind to other matters. With added frustration he noticed his pen would not work. He stabbed at the paper beneath his clenched fist cursing silently at the pen under his breath as the plane continued to be rolled and pu...

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“Onward” by Lyle Closs

Submitted to Contest #193

I sold the building business to my brother for five big ones. He’ll make that back in a few weeks. It was worth so much more, but that’s all the cash he had. I swapped motors with him. He kept the truck. I took his ‘66 Beetle. Slept on his sofa. Slept? Not much. I had packed a few changes of clothes and a few things I wanted to keep. My plastic miniature of the Thinker. The framed copy of the Constitution. Asimov’s I Robot which I still haven’t read. Ten vinyl records. One day I’ll get a record player. Tent and sleeping bag. Clim...

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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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