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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#205: Ritualistic

Since time immemorial, humans have developed rituals to deal with change, and all manner of life situations. From birthdays to funerals, to holidays and weddings, to personal habits and rites of passage, these ceremonies often help us find solace, meaning, and belonging in an otherwise chaotic existence.

Rituals exist across all ages and cultures, and take all kinds of shapes and forms 一 from dancing, to praying, to performing 一 and while some have existed for centuries, new ones are created every day. In this week’s prompts, we explore this universal aspect of human culture.

Plus, in case you missed it...📚

The second issue of PROMPTED, our literary magazine, is officially out now! You can download your free copy right here.

This week's prompts

Start your story during a full moon night.

Mystery – 81 stories

Make your protagonist go through a rite of passage.

Character – 54 stories

Write about a character who develops a special ritual to cope with something.

Angst – 89 stories

Make a character perform a ceremony to set something or someone free.

Dramatic – 55 stories

Write about a character who breaks free from a tradition to create a new one.

Character – 26 stories

Stories

“Beyond the Fence” by Faiz Khwaja

Submitted to Contest #205

The tent is sometimes there and sometimes it is not. Its presence is a sure sign that a boy of 18 is about to have his Revelation. Always, it appears in the same spot. I used to frequent it as a boy, sitting on a nearby hill and watching as a boy disappeared inside. I’d wait there for hours to see him come out. Every time I was left waiting, and when the sun set I returned home wondering. It’s been years since then, but today I retrace my faded footsteps.When I left my village, the sun was beginning to rise, with birds chirping their pleasan...

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“Lucy's Birthday” by Alexandra Rose

Submitted to Contest #205

Lucy had never seen so many types of birds in one morning; at least not in the backyard garden, where she spent the beginning of each day observing the animals. She counted them one by one, skillfully identifying each bird as it pecked at the sunflower seeds she had scattered across the ground. A colorful array of goldfinches, orioles and bluebirds fluttered among the groups of red-breasted robins and black-capped chickadees. A bright red cardinal kept watch in the brush above the commotion, its crest of top-feathers rustling in the gentle b...

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“Down to the Last Drop” by Beth Peterson

Submitted to Contest #205

CW: Death, Grief, and CannibalismTo my dear Ethan,The first time I did it, I swear it was an accident.I’d just brought you home. You were so small. If I’d wrapped my arms around you any tighter, both of us would have shattered into a thousand pieces. But I didn’t care what happened to me. I had no concept of thoughts, feelings, time, space, or existence itself. All I knew was that I had you, in one way or another.The house was so quiet when we got back. I kept waiting to hear your footsteps. I held my breath in anticipation of your voice fil...

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“The Power of Faith” by Raven West

Submitted to Contest #205

Rachel should have known the marriage wouldn't last. Her and Bill had been so young and idealistic. They truly believed that love could bridge the gap between their two religions. But from the very beginning, she felt his reluctance to accept her beliefs. Even though she had said nothing when he put up the Christmas tree, Bill had been very annoyed when she lit her candles. Eventually she totally abandoned the rituals she had known so well as a child. The situation was much more difficult at work Rachel did her best to ignore the stares an...

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“Missing Pinky” by David Haviland

Submitted to Contest #205

Missing Pinky (Assignment: Write about a character who develops a special ritual to cope with something. ANGST) By David J. Haviland Copyright c 2023 by David J. Haviland Missing Pinky It happened over six months ago, yet Bob still woke up every morning wishing it wasn’t true. Hoping against hope that it was all just a bad dream. But alas this nightmare was as real as the rising Sun on a bright June day. Bob’s beloved Pinky was here no more. And the loss of his Pinky sent Bob into an emotional death spiral. Day...

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“Six thirty on the dot” by Mike Ross

Submitted to Contest #205

Six thirty on the dot. Frank Headley is trying hard to concentrate as he puts his dressing gown on and shuffles downstairs. A few days ago, he misjudged the last step, slipped and banged his head against the hallway door, a lesson learned. At the bottom of the stairs, their old grandfather clock clonks away the time, a double chime the for half hour; six thirty. For the last thirty years the clock has been a constant companion. He extracts a newspaper from the jaws of the letterbox and glances at the headlines, front and back pages, before h...

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“Always Three Taps” by Brett Wilkinson

Submitted to Contest #205

[Sensitive content: mental health, suicide, self-harm]Always three taps. Three taps on the bathroom mirror, always before 7:30 in the morning.It was what she always did. It wasn’t really Ana that did it, it was her OCD. I’d suspected it long before she ever told me about it, but she shared it with me when I proposed to her after we’d been dating six months.“Yes,” she said. “Of course, yes. But there’s something you have to know about me first.”I could still recall her telling me about it, the whole “three-thing” as she referred to it. She wa...

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“Wafting Introspection” by Eric Olson

Submitted to Contest #205

There is a certain type of peace to be found at night, when one is outdoors with only the sounds of nature. While everyone else sleeps, recharging their bodies and minds for the coming day, I sit and try to find this peace, and I contemplate how the world all fits together. On such a night as described, I find myself initiating the familiar steps of my ritual. My steps are few and the work is easy, but I follow them to the letter. There is something ceremonious about doing a thing that one does often, exactly in the way that one always does ...

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“Meditation Metamorphosis” by Sally Wirth

Submitted to Contest #205

Meditation Metamorphosis I need to stop the he’s gone, he’s gone, he’s gone mantra in my head before I go crazy. Maybe it’s too late already. They tell me this program will help if I truly work at it. Don’t know if that’s true, but, fine, I’ll try. But the truth is...

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“Good Morning” by Vikram Benipal

Submitted to Contest #205

It has been eight days, twelve hours and five minutes since Derek had received the text. He looked up from his watch, as he stood in line at Greg’s Pizzeria, the only pizza restaurant in the city of Waterloo that opened this early in the morning. The restaurant couldn’t have been larger than his college dorm room and reeked so hard of pizza he thought he could taste the grease with every breath he took. There was silence apart from an Indian soap opera playing from a cracked television, and the restless foot taps coming from Derek’s feet.&nb...

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“How to Get a New Body in Three Easy Steps” by Jack Gorzo

Submitted to Contest #205

Tina stalked the park for the person who would save her from herself. Picking out a target wasn’t simple. It had to be someone she could manipulate. Someone her age would be easiest, so between 19 and 21. Most of all she required beauty. Her target needed to have confidence baked into her bones. She needed to look in the mirror and see the best version of herself every day. There was only one person who came to mind: Minnie Carson. Minnie was one of Tina’s best friends in middle school. Some of her fondest memories were from sleepove...

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“Moving On” by Francis Groleau

Submitted to Contest #205

As I lay on the couch waiting for my Chinese food to arrive, I tried to count how many days of summer vacation I had let wither away. Every year, I wondered how I managed to finish all my report cards before the deadline. Marking essays in a tiny crowded room without AC in the end-of-June heat is no small feat on its own, but when you add an unfaithful boyfriend and a nasty breakup on top of it, it feels like an absolute tour de force. Of course, he didn’t admit cheating on me straight away. He said he couldn’t pretend anymore and th...

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“The Turning of the Bones” by Eric D.

Submitted to Contest #205

My mood had changed drastically after hearing the big news. Nothing could ever prepare you for hearing about a loved one dying, even when you know it's coming. That was the first time I saw my father cry and his lips quivered when he broke the news to me that Grandma Myra was dead. I had watched him turn from a man who'd never shared an ounce of vulnerability to a sobbing child. It scared me. I couldn't bear to watch him this way, so I ran and ran as fast as I could. In a way, I was running from the inevitable realization of death. "I c...

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“The Witch and the Madman” by Mitchell Stephens

Submitted to Contest #205

Orgoth kneels under the threshold into a bronze musk candlelight of the local inn. Filled with an assortment of farmers, merchants and vagabonds, the room was festive in nature in spite of all eyes finding to linger on Orgoth. He stood taller by any other man in the room easily by an arms reach, and bore a great beard that was graying from black, braided in trinkets wild and unkept, matching the upkeep of his fur hide over a weathered leather tunic. The only item on his person that showed any sense of caretake was his Greataxe that was tight...

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“Back to Black” by Lorelai Quinn

Submitted to Contest #205

There was a mouse in the window.The glass was coated in a thin, cracking layer of frost, abstracting the view of the little creature just enough to prompt a curious glance outside. There were often small animals creeping about, but that particular mouse, curled up against the window, was a dreadful sight. The satin curtains over the window were white as the snow. The house was gray, nearly the same shade as the sky. The lazy cat splayed on the splintered porch was brown, the trees were pale, and the sun was silver behind the clouds. The...

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$250

Prize money

305

Contest entries

129

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 07, 2023 EST

Won by Lindsay Flo 🏆

Title: The Walk

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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