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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?

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 Gift of Lachesis” by Richard E. Gower

Submitted to Contest #197

Inspector Matt Armitage and Sergeant Des Gianetti were digging into plates of Carla’s home-made gnocchi swimming in her special pomodoro, funghi e quattro formaggi sauce, and served with fresh-from-the-oven flatbread infused with garlic, basil and oregano, accompanied by a supercharged, kitchen-blended pesto sauce on the side, when Carla made a pronouncement.They had been discussing Armitage’s recent harrowing experience when he was assaulted with a deadly weapon in front of his apartment building. He had actually taken a wound, but modestly...

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“Utopia” by Candace Amaker

Submitted to Contest #197

Noah’s grip on his baseball bat tightened as the banging on his front door continued. He knew whoever it was on the other side was trouble, and trouble was not what he needed nor wanted right now. And to think, this all started because he decided not to go to work this morning. That was the problem right there. He CHOSE not to go to work. You know that little voice in the back of your head? The one that you listen to when you are trying to make a decision. Your conscience, some may call it. But in this case, in this world many believe to be...

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“The Replacement of Human Rulers” by Edwin Smith

Submitted to Contest #197

A decade ago, the local government stopped seeing any value in humans running for political office. By then, AI had already proven itself to be much more capable leader than any person could ever be. Then came the council vote that changed everything. The machine-led government proposed that AI should be left to independently run daily administration duties without interference. Receiving near-unanimous support, most people would’ve assumed that this robotic victory was due to a convincing marketing campaign. But being a witness to this elec...

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“Desert Therapy” by Pamela Blair

Submitted to Contest #197

DESERT THERAPY Tunisia, 2005 In 2005, my partner and I spent two weeks in Tunisia. I’d traveled for a month in Tunisia over thirty years earlier, and felt confident we could figure out an interesting trip without guides and a planned itinerary. Mary Ann was wonderful with guide books, and I relied on “serendipity,” feeling that the best things came to us if we were open and aware; we didn’t have to plan them in advance. Combining our two methods, we were sure we’d be fine. Mary Ann had read of a desert oasis, or palmerie, in...

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“The Unavoidable End” by Andrew Nord

Submitted to Contest #197

Rebecca had always been fascinated by the paranormal, especially ghosts. When her grandmother passed, she inherited her old house, a place she had often visited as a child. But, little did she know that her fascination with the paranormal would become her undoing. The night before Rebecca was set to move in, she decided to spend one last visit with the spirit of her grandmother. She gathered all her paranormal equipment and started an EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) session. As she recorded, she asked the usual questions that ghost hunters...

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“Cruelty Mirrored” by Vaishnavi Katta

Submitted to Contest #197

Cruelty Mirrored Trigger Warning: Sexual and Physical Violence. They mutilated my brother soon after he was born. When he was declared a boy, my mother rolled over on her birthing bed and let the nurses take him. From there, they laid him on a table and went to work on his joints. First, his knees were dislocated, and later his hips. They then castrated him, which caused his screams to grow louder. I cried out for him, but the nurses pushed me away. “Why? Why are you doing that to a child?” I yelled, but the nurses ignored me...

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“Beyond the fields” by JJM Gudde

Submitted to Contest #197

I gently caressed the calluses in my right hand, lost in thought. The sun at its zenith, like a golden stain in a stark blue sky, scorched my tanned skin, while rivers of sweat ran down my body from head to toe, leaving me sticky and salty and stinky, and then I looked at the hoe standing before me, and then at the field beyond—to be weeded—until I laid eyes on my father, with his weathered but strong hands tightly gripping the wooden handle of his hoe and deliberately swinging and striking the soil below, sweat beads on his wrinkled face, c...

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“My Fate” by Taelor Painter

Submitted to Contest #197

Wake up. Get ready. Go to school. Get home. Do homework. Eat dinner. Go to bed. Wake up. Get ready. Go to school. Get home. Do homework. Eat dinner. Go to bed. That's my normal. My “Fate” as my little sister, Destiny would call it, or my “destiny”, either one, she uses them as intertwined meanings. And yes, she uses her own name to tell me that I don't have control of my life. She doesn't care. It's so annoying, “Destiny this” “Destiny that” of course it doesn't help that my name is Hope. Something that people directly relate to fate and des...

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“The Letter” by Vivianne Rumble

Submitted to Contest #197

The crawling echo of the television flowed through all the rooms of the house. The vintage film was playing, blue lights flickered across the walls as Aimee stared at the desk in front of her. She sat on the crimson plaid sofa, her leg shaking beneath her as she picked on a hang nail. She hadn’t checked the letter today for whatever reason, only that it felt off. The overcast sky that had lingered throughout the day had cast a shadowed hue to...

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“Barbie and Ken” by Elisabeth Oehl

Submitted to Contest #197

Driving through the rain gives me freedom. It feels as though anything could happen. As though I can just drive off into the night never to be seen again. You donn't need to have done horrible unspeakable things to want to start over: a clean fresh slate. Sometimes the most unspeakable wrong is not one ´you've commited , but one you'´ve invited steadily: with every car you bought, every pickett fence you've buit , every steady job you've taken, all the furniture, tvs and pearls you bought to keep your wife at home , because you feel youre so...

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“Maev and the Path Not Taken - Version 1” by Daniel Rosas

Submitted to Contest #197

“Why is this taking so long?”, Erylis groaned. Anker had known of an old informant he had used during his early days when he had first graduated from the Academy. So, they had come to Sirus, a neutral planet that sat in the middle of several star systems, hoping to get a lead on finding out more about this Maev so they could find her and switch places back. “Nawt that much longer yur highness,” Anker whispered back. “Yew know, the longer yur in that form the more impatient yuv been getting', yur majesty.” “I...

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“Escaping Fate” by Nancy Hibbert

Submitted to Contest #197

Kiran dreaded going to the tower. He didn’t know what to say to Fate. Had no idea how to discover the reason for her refusal. But both families, agreeing on nothing else, said he had to go. His face scrunched with reluctant thought he walked through the wide torchlit stone corridor of the Royce castle. Beneath the scent of flame and ash, a damp mildew odour clung to the thick gray stone walls that stretched high to dark cobwebbed edges. On reaching the corridor end, his thoughts were deafened by the eating and chatting of blue frocked servin...

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“The Stone of Fate” by Neeko Tucker

Submitted to Contest #197

The Stone of Fate I've never believed in fate, or never liked it. The thought of having your life planned out for you unsettles me. Especially since my whole family is pressuring me to take over our farm. However, I want to pick my path, make my own decisions, and live my own life. Nevertheless, some things do feel like they were always meant to be…. I was sitting at the coffee shop watching the mountain out the window. I don’t like coffee, but I enjoy the calm environment there. The soft music, and the few people sitting around. S...

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“Abortion Liberty” by Jackulit Mendoza

Submitted to Contest #197

I believe in Eternal God, the Eternal Father almighty who created heaven and earth. He sent He’s mediator who is His Eternal Son, our Lord, Brother, Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. He grew up and became a Roman Catholic’s High Priest. In Catholic priests they are commonly called “Father” representing Jesus Christ or Father Christ. Some people know that Jesus or Father Christ for reverence or respect acknowledging that He is indeed the High Priest. He had His twelve apostles who are also priests like Him. They went out to different nations...

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“One comet, one life. ” by Yume Polaris

Submitted to Contest #197

The gods had chosen a young mortal, Wayne, to be their great hero. But Wayne was no ordinary adolescent as he could see and hear the gods from his world. When the gods approached him, he was hesitant and refused to be their champion.The gods were desperate for him to accept his role and so they sent down a divine messenger in the form of a comet hurtling down toward Earth to try and convince him.The mythical being spoke to him of great power and glory that would come with being a hero, but Wayne was unconvinced. The entity resorted to using ...

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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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