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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

“Paper Planes” by Sophia Gavasheli

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #205

What is it like to fly, I wonder? The rusted metal of the bridge groans and creaks as cars hurtle over it. Standing by one of the stout lamp posts fixed to the railing, I stare at the gritty concrete, not wanting to look over the edge. The wind howls and moans under the bridge. Pedestrians rush past me, yelling into their phones and cursing as they spill coffee over their starched white shirts. Everything is moving, pushing, and pulling against the tides of life. Except for me. My skin stretches and cracks over my knuckles as ...

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“The Widow of Caer Mawnog” by Russell Mickler

Submitted to Contest #205

Dame Armaelle Jullou - mounted, field-armored - galloped into the glade, holding a swaddled infant close against her breastplate. Battle-worn and bloodied, she reined to slow the animal, steadied, then stiffly rolled her hip to dismount. Stricken with pain, Armaelle stumbled when her legs met the ground, and, glancing fearfully behind her, cradled the child’s head and trudged on. Armaelle limped into Caer Mawnog under the haunting glow of a full moon. The cemetery rested in a boscage of brooding willow trees with gnarled, reaching limbs that...

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“On a razors edge” by Kevin Logue

Submitted to Contest #205

***TRIGGER WARNING*** Details of abuse, rape and child lose.The cut-throat razor barely glistens anymore. Years of slicing, scraping and shaping have gradually worn it down. Made it obsolete. Its bluntness won't deter me though, I'll just have to cut a little harder.I turn it in my hand, a museum clerk appraising a lost relic, a murderer savouring the moment, a lover lost in loneliness. Your initials are almost worn from the walnut handle. I had it engraved specially, just for you, gold leafed, just for you. Everything just for you. Everythi...

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“The Mailbox” by Nina H

Submitted to Contest #205

She had the backbone of an earthworm. Skin as thick as a green grape on a hot summer’s day. They said “Be ready for rejection” and “Learn to accept the silence” after a submission. Well, she tried. But she sought validation like a parking garage attendant seeking the time stamp on those little tickets. From her parents, her friends, even her cat Sophocles, who learned to purr the sadness out of her while snuggling on her lap. How many times would she write rot before her big break? Would it ever come? Oh, she also had the patience of ...

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“A Prisoner's Apostasy” by Mike Panasitti

Submitted to Contest #205

Gershom Fish never imagined he’d ever respect anyone as bigoted as Leo Stolz. When he arrived to prison, Gershom made a “fight or die” decision. He was given a shank and ordered to stab a Correctional Officer that Stolz, the Aryan Apostates shot caller, did not deem sufficiently compassionate toward White inmates. In exchange for his decision, a decision motivated more by fear than by courage, Fish was not forced to renounce his Judaism, but after the bloody ritual of initiation, Gershom Fish’s name became “Gerry Ish.” To...

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“The man in the box” by Vid Weeks

Submitted to Contest #205

I saw him dead. In the hospital. “Are you a relative?” the nurse asked and I lied, “yes, I’m his Granddaughter.” The nurse asked me to wait. There was no one else waiting. The hospital smelt of sadness and less savoury things. Despite there being no sun inside everything was a bit faded. The walls, the sheets, the people. It was too hot and I could hear people coughing. I waited a long while. I was calm when someone arrived to talk to me, almost bored. In a haze I remember listening as the ‘someone,’ who wore a white coat, explained ...

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“Why Do You Write?” by Allan Bernal

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #205

So, you went and said the word you shouldn’t have as a teacher. But that was the whole point of teaching morality and ethics – to educate on discrimination. And you thought since you live further up north, there’s no way the parents and school would react as harshly as they do in Florida, right? Well, you were wrong. Doesn’t matter if the students agreed with you in class. Doesn’t matter if some of them had reve...

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“The Feast” by David Ader

Submitted to Contest #205

Leaving the market, Mabel constantly adjusted her heavy grocery bags to maintain a hold. It was a struggle, but she managed to find them a resting place against the soft protrusion of her ample belly. She also held an ear-to-ear grin anyone would see if it weren’t for those overflowing bags largely hiding her face. She was going to have a feast; crab cakes, a lobster roll, a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, chosen because of its pretty label, coleslaw, fried-up sweet potatoes, ...

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“One of Us” by Ela Mikh

Submitted to Contest #205

Monday “I don’t want to hear another word. This is not appropriate behavior for a young witch who is about to go through a Ceremony of Maturity.” “I don’t care! This is an old barbaric ritual that no one should be forced to do in today’s day and age. I’m almost fifteen! I should be able to choose what I want to do with my life. And no one told me it’s this Friday, I already have plans! I’m going to a concert.” “What do you mean you have plans? What concert? Are you going again to the human’s event? Why is this the first time I hear about it,...

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“Humbrol no.23 Duck Egg Blue” by Chris Miller

Submitted to Contest #205

A Spitfire. Possibly a Mk. V heading back to Coningsby after a display. It throbbed down the coast, low enough to be seen through the front window of the café. A brown-green dream machine. He’d slept under one for years. It dangled on fishing line, high above his bed. They'd built it together on the kitchen table. Just the two of them, when that was a good thing, before the illness killed his patience and then finished off the rest of him. They’d used pungent glue from a metal tube. It had a marker pen tang and comprehensive warning symb...

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“The Virgin Wakes” by Katharine Widdows

Submitted to Contest #205

We giggled as we ran through the gothic arch of the main doors and down the stone steps to the street. The shadow of the belfry momentarily shaded our eyes from the glare of the sinking sun. The golden rings adding new weight to our freshly encircled fingers would have glinted in the light if we hadn’t been holding hands so tightly.No confetti. No speeches. No first dance – at least not one that anyone else would watch. My dress was long and white, yes, but it had cost £30 off the rack and had barely a frill. We didn’t need frills, just each...

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“The Coin, The Fountain, and the Dream” by Chad Eastwood

Submitted to Contest #205

The shaft of the hammer in my hand was soaked in sweat. How many were there? Hundreds? Thousands.He was like a shaman, like a great religious leader. Passionate. Dangerous. Wild. True.He was in a feverous reverie. His words caught us by the back of the neck. They grabbed our souls and shook them to life. We wanted it. We needed it. We would have followed this truth anywhere.“Do you know what ritual is?” He cried out over the rain-soaked crowd.“Ritual is the physical expression of a psychological process. We act out in the world of the senses...

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“The Boba Master” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #205

Adrian dragged the last of his stuff into his freshman year dorm room. ‘First dibs on the bed…’ he thought. He arranged his luggage to unpack as needed. He left space for his roommate, whom he had not met. Adrian sat on the bed and checked his list. He had his class schedule and books, a heavy load. His counselor said to go easy first semester. Adrian wasn’t there to party. He aimed to finish in three years. Tuition paid, he hoped he saved enough to finish without loans. Once done, he’d walk unencumbered into his new career. Whatever that ...

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“The Peace Room” by James Larder

Submitted to Contest #205

‘Are you ready, Rex?’Aleka moved to the side of the white and chrome room.‘Just gimme a minute, love.’Aleka paused. Rex sighed as he took the opportunity to gather his thoughts, in privacy. How had it all come to this?No escape was possible but even if he could, escape- Why would he? Escape to what? His life was no life. It was an existence, at best- And a paltry one at that. Yet, Rex was an old man. If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t be here. That is, he was no criminal- Never had been. And he’d always done his best to be kind to others, even when t...

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“CHECK” by Dennis Haak

Submitted to Contest #205

- Trigger warning: mental health - Dan really envied people who could just grab their things and leave their house in a flash when they needed to go to work. This particular morning the thought hadn't crossed his mind yet, because things were going smoothly for once.Despite having started his closing ceremony only a minute ago, he had already finished making sure the door to his balcony and the windows of his apartment were locked. The first great disaster had been prevented: burglary. Not only that, Dan had managed to do so without feeling ...

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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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