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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#197: Fate and Free Will

It’s an eternal question. Are our lives governed by our own actions, or subject to the powers of destiny? Religions, philosophers, writers, and everyday folk have been arguing about it for centuries, and we still don’t have a definitive answer. Stories of heroes locked into tragic fates they can’t escape make up a large portion of our oldest myths and legends. Yet modern stories tend to paint their protagonists as free will incarnate. Even so, there are still plenty that play with destiny.

This week, we want to explore the age-old conundrum of heroes. Are we in charge of our fate? Or is it all in the hands of some unknowable power laying out our path forward?

🥇 Winner

“The Fate of Customer 12” by HR Pinches

🏆 Winner of Contest #197

Normal people don’t have destinies. Of course, I never tell them that. When they come into my shop, I take their palms solemnly—after I take their payment, $25 cash or card—and stare into the blankness of their futures with undue reverence. Day after day, year after year, they come: the businessmen and the soccer moms, the mailroom clerks, dentists, and hairstylists of the world. The politicians and the theologians, too. The young and the old, the hopeful and the hopeless, the sceptics and the true believers. They all come and its...

113 comments 113

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“A Mediocre First Day in Limbo ” by Adrienne Miller

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #197

Trigger Warnings: Reference to domestic violence (not explicit), reference to eating disorder (not explicit) Ane is disappointed to open her eyes again. People who have lived a more morally righteous life are probably ecstatic to find that the promised afterlife does indeed exist. Ane, however, has spent many of her later years holding onto the hope that there might be nothing much at all after the big end and that she might be able to skip out on her share of divine judgement. That hope came in extremely handy when murdering her fir...

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“Four Fated Fortunes” by Shannon Gale

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #197

We four wandered into fortune’s path And learned how we would die.We laughed, though the wariness Never wilted in our eyes.I watched as all the others wentTheir fortunes holding true.Would knowing how your life will endInfluence all you do? An unrelenting rain slides off my umbrella as I stand at Robbie’s graveside service. It’s a hurried affair, only five mourners including myself. I have already hugged and shared words with his long-suffering mother, her dull stare trained on the glossy black coffin being lowered into the earth. I do ...

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“The Genesis Story of Adam and Steve (Oh…And a Few Descendants)” by John K Danenbarger

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #197

A newly translated story, made up by Oscar Genesis, who witnessed The Creation. Lo and behold, in all of the endless universe, God picked one of the tiniest specks of dirt in the corner of one of billions of galaxies to experiment secretly in order to look perfect in later public performances. And God called it “Earth.” After God created seven days and nights and bunches of plants and animals, He created Adam out of dust as a teeny tiny miniature image of Himself. And God was pleased. God dropped Adam into a sort of paradise ca...

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“The Tale of the Long-Lost Crown (and the Dimwit who Gave it Away)” by C. J. Peters

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #197

The god stood not before a grand throne, not in a sprawling hall of jewel-dripping nobles, not surrounded by tapestries depicting the great adventures of their chosen one. No, instead of manifesting in the castle towering over the kingdom, they instead stood in a modestly appointed home beyond the outskirts of the nearest town.They fumed at the sparsely decorated hall, the nice rug before a stone hearth, the simple dining table, fury scorching the fine wooden floor they stood upon.“Oh, do come in,” their hero said, an amused glint in his eye...

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“Yesterday I drew A Picture” by Jake Fordyce

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #197

Jones came in late and took his place at his computer. Instead of turning it on, he just sat in front of it, staring up at the ceiling with a dreamy smile on his face. “Jones,” I said, taking off my headphones. “Where were you yesterday?” “The most incredible thing has happened…” “And?” “I don’t know if it was a change in my medication or a stray cosmic ray, or maybe even God himself reached down and blessed me, but I’m free. I’m finally free.” “What’s that?” I asked. I had lost interest, put the headphones back on, and missed part of what h...

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“Sharing Shakespeare's Birthday: A Five-Paragraph Essay” by Éan Bird

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #197

Have you ever tried to write on Shakespeare’s birthday? It sucks. Do not recommend it. I’ve tried for decades. If you're wondering how one becomes called to such a task (without ever asking for the assignment), here's what happens: The stars align by order of some complicated celestial coordinates. Dates are predetermined. Circumstances overlap, and suddenly I'm unable to escape the fate of having to write on William Shakespeare's birthday. In the beginning of this preordained kismet, I vowed to compose with religious ceremony. And for the f...

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This week's prompts

Write a story about someone successfully — or unsuccessfully — escaping their fate.

Angst – 107 stories

Write about a god desperately trying to get their chosen hero to follow the path they set out for them.

Fantasy – 61 stories

Write a story that includes the phrase “I’m free!”

Dialogue – 60 stories

Write about somebody who wholeheartedly believes in fate, and views every little thing through the lens of predestiny.

Character – 22 stories

Set your story in a world where everyone’s decisions are made for them. One morning, your character wakes up, and chooses not to go to work. Wait…chooses?!

Thriller and Suspense – 18 stories

Stories

“The Fate of Customer 12” by HR Pinches

🏆 Winner of Contest #197

Normal people don’t have destinies. Of course, I never tell them that. When they come into my shop, I take their palms solemnly—after I take their payment, $25 cash or card—and stare into the blankness of their futures with undue reverence. Day after day, year after year, they come: the businessmen and the soccer moms, the mailroom clerks, dentists, and hairstylists of the world. The politicians and the theologians, too. The young and the old, the hopeful and the hopeless, the sceptics and the true believers. They all come and its...

113 comments 113

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“Faithful” by Michelle Oliver

Submitted to Contest #197

Oh, Glorious Majesty of Sacred Powers!Um, who me?Wondrous Redeemer and All-powerful Lord.Well, I wouldn’t go so far as that…Heavenly Esteemed One, whose power fills all things, whose bounty is good and whose name is to be exalted above all others.Now I just need to check, are you speaking to me…Creator of all, Knower of all that is, was and will be.…or are you speaking at me?I say, who is interrupting me in my prayers?I’m sorry, but you were talking to me.Who is this?Well now, if you’re not sure, then perhaps you had better not continue your...

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“Safe and Easy” by Michał Przywara

Submitted to Contest #197

The timer box clanked, the buzzer bzz-bzzed, and the dull yellow light turned bright green. All the cell gates retracted and the barn door trundled open, and all the cows started shuffling down the worn path to get their morning milking. All but Clarice. She scowled at her cell wall, resisting the inertia of habit, and around her roiled the ripples of gossip. What’s happening? What’s she doing? Is she ill? Is it catching? “Clarice!” Tammy, one of the youngest cows, called out. “Are you all right?” Clarice glared up at the timer box – their t...

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“The One That Got Away” by Howard Halsall

Submitted to Contest #197

During their three-year engagement, Gillian lost count of how many times Archie Abelard had kept her waiting. He’d caused them to miss endless restaurant bookings, the start of every film and party they’d ever attended, plus two holiday flights. By the end of their relationship, Gillian tired of Archie’s lousy excuses despite humouring his hilarious attempts to rescue their social life from certain calamity. # On Gillian’s wedding day, it was the roadworks on Camden Road that contributed to Archie’s late arrival. The jo...

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“Valentine” by Geir Westrul

Submitted to Contest #197

LOS ANGELES, 2079NOVEMBEROh, I could eat you up. Eat you whole. In one bite.Valentine smiles to herself, in her close-lipped way, 'pensive' they call it in the publicity sumsen. She always smiles this way. Lips closed. She has beautiful, blinding-white, even teeth, lighting up her dark blue-black features and her espresso-brown eyes, but few have ever seen this wonderful smile. Jonathan is one of them. One of the few.Standing there on the deck of the Queen Mary, the fog rolling in, Jonathan is framed against the LA night-time skyline, backli...

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“A Mediocre First Day in Limbo ” by Adrienne Miller

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #197

Trigger Warnings: Reference to domestic violence (not explicit), reference to eating disorder (not explicit) Ane is disappointed to open her eyes again. People who have lived a more morally righteous life are probably ecstatic to find that the promised afterlife does indeed exist. Ane, however, has spent many of her later years holding onto the hope that there might be nothing much at all after the big end and that she might be able to skip out on her share of divine judgement. That hope came in extremely handy when murdering her fir...

Read story

“Gods Only Know” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #197

The God of Spirits, Hangovers and Blackouts came across his champion on the winding road. The deity’s skin was the gold of good whiskey. His breath was the vapour trail of bad vodka.“Here you are, my valourous knight.” The god appeared from the nowhere of an eternal party that other gods had been wise enough to leave before the cleanup started.Baulking at the vomit reeking breath of the golden god, the gangly teen turned away and screwed up his face.“I have need of your service, dear follower.” The god, Du Raunc spoke to a patch of air float...

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“A Spool of Amber” by Hannah P. Simmons

Submitted to Contest #197

She feels his touch. He is certain of it. Though his fingertips brush the arch of her cheek with the gentleness of a moth wing, she startles. And she looks at him.No. Merely in his direction. Thanatos knows better. She can’t see him. See his black eyes that glisten with longing. See the chiseled lines of his face that ever turns in her direction. See the chest that cages a sense of both passion and despair with every pulse of deified blood. Not yet.But, for a moment, it seems her eyes somehow reach beyond her mortal perception and find ...

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“The Cannonball” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #197

They would like me to sit at the end of the barrel and wait my turn. First the elephants dance, then the clowns cast their pies, then the lions roar and the tigers hiss and only at the finale, is the fuse lit-- The Cannonball. I stagger my breathing as my body crunches up to fit inside the narrow pipe. No matter how many times I execute my stunt, the sweat still finds me in all the worst places. On the underside of my chin. The back of my ankles. In a small pool tilting upon my right ear. I tell myself that if even a molecule of my own...

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“Transparent Lives Pt 2 Mother's Prospective” by Daniel Fernandes

Submitted to Contest #197

Language Warning: Lots Of Expletives. Finally home as I put the bag down. Leave the keys hanging about 6ft off the ground. Tiffany isn't home yet from school. I would pick her up but ran out of fuel. I'll have to fill it up a different day. I wanted to grab some groceries but my client didn't pay. I'll stop by tomorrow and get a check. Cleaning houses isn't reliable anymore what can I expect. No legal papers so living is complex. My husband is working out the steps. There's never an update and I'm dying for what's next. I can't go o...

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“Sister Sister, Rat Bastards, and Fierce Ice” by Delbert Griffith

Submitted to Contest #197

I’ll just say it. I’m free. Fourteen months of eating food with sketchy provenance and enduring the company of unwonderful people has left me devoid of any fond feelings for Huntsville state prison. Also, I can now pee without an audience. It’s the little things that matter. Don’t take that the wrong way, buddy. I have thirty-seven dollars to my name, so getting a hooker was out of the question. A decent chicken-fried steak, though, was in the cards. I got to Lily’s Chicken Palace and sat down. I was soon approached by a waitress large enoug...

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“Four Fated Fortunes” by Shannon Gale

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #197

We four wandered into fortune’s path And learned how we would die.We laughed, though the wariness Never wilted in our eyes.I watched as all the others wentTheir fortunes holding true.Would knowing how your life will endInfluence all you do? An unrelenting rain slides off my umbrella as I stand at Robbie’s graveside service. It’s a hurried affair, only five mourners including myself. I have already hugged and shared words with his long-suffering mother, her dull stare trained on the glossy black coffin being lowered into the earth. I do ...

Read story

“The Genesis Story of Adam and Steve (Oh…And a Few Descendants)” by John K Danenbarger

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #197

A newly translated story, made up by Oscar Genesis, who witnessed The Creation. Lo and behold, in all of the endless universe, God picked one of the tiniest specks of dirt in the corner of one of billions of galaxies to experiment secretly in order to look perfect in later public performances. And God called it “Earth.” After God created seven days and nights and bunches of plants and animals, He created Adam out of dust as a teeny tiny miniature image of Himself. And God was pleased. God dropped Adam into a sort of paradise ca...

Read story

“GAMES THE GODS PLAY” by Susan Catucci

Submitted to Contest #197

**Warning: silly religious humor, irreverent, but turns out well*** * *Satan sat back in his chair surveying his chips. “What are we playing for this round?”“Benjamin Jones is thinking about asking Katherine Pembrook to marry him. If I win, he goes forward with the proposal and they live happily ever after. White-picket fence, two kids, dog, the works.”“And if I win, it’ll rain on their wedding day and they’ll be divorced in under a year. Trailer Park, triplets, iguana.”“Done.”It was God’s turn as dealer. In or...

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“The Uncanny Career of Harry D. Moore, Rock 'n' Roll Simulacrum” by Mike Panasitti

Submitted to Contest #197

Disclaimer: The following article exploring the imbrications of the keywords “cloning” and “celebrity” is the product of a joint venture between creators of BuchGeist, a German AI program for ghostwriting, and Beijing University’s faculties of computer science and history who are behind the ongoing development CHROnicler, a virtual historian AI construct. Any stylistic inconsistency, or errors of narration, grammar, diction, or historical accuracy are not to be attributed to Harvard University’s Professor Emeritus Hank Sterling, an...

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$250

Prize money

268

Contest entries

100

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - May 12, 2023 EST

Won by HR Pinches 🏆

Title: The Fate of Customer 12

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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