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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

“Four to Three” by Shahzad Ahmad

Submitted to Contest #205

I screamed as furiously as the capacity of my lungs would allow but the words refused to travel the distance. My eyes, bursting with dread and horror, scanned the whereabouts of my new abode. I was hemmed in by some brownish material that felt hard and soft at the same time. I lay in a narrow, confined place that was just enough to house the length of my frame with the tip of my toe struggling to contain itself within the boundaries. A piece of white cloth was wrapped around my body and I could not breathe at all. I feared for my death out o...

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“SPEECHLESS_a walk in my shoes with AFOs_” by KANGEE GREEN

Submitted to Contest #205

tw – physical, sexual, and caregiver abuse, ableism, self-harm, and mental health....I screamed for 37 minutes this morning because I wanted to wear my Cheetah t-shirt. My aid put on my plain gray one, but I didn’t want to wear it. She didn’t see the point in changing me, even though it is my shirt and my body she is putting it on. I am 27 years old, but my aides cut my hair short so I can’t suck on and eat it and they cut my nails without asking.I screamed, but I didn’t even try to. I cannot control my body. I cannot control my mouth or my ...

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“Patience” by Gregg Voss

Submitted to Contest #205

There was no air conditioning in the Edmund School office. That was a luxury other districts could afford, like the one in Lawrence where Molly Driscoll had completed her student teaching the prior spring. No, she thought, I’m in rural Kansas, farm country, amber waves of grain, and all that. Grassroots America. Molly pondered this while using her front teeth to massage a canker sore on the tip of her tongue. The sultry early September summer air from the school office’s only open window seemingly hung over her head like a coming s...

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“The Moon Makes People Crazy” by Tom Skye

Submitted to Contest #205

The Moon Makes People CrazyI sit beneath the capital in Southwark station at approximately 10:15 pm. A full moon drenches the city above in glorious white while I make shapes in the underground shadows cast over the walls and floor around me. I am in a room on a bench by the most westerly tunnel at the far end of the track. The closed book in my hand is Bertrand Russell's, A History of Western Philosophy. It is a dense book and almost impossible to follow, but I enjoy being seen with it in my hand or on my table at Starbucks. The cover ...

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“A Study in Pigeonhood ” by Mira Sharma

Submitted to Contest #205

Martha the pigeon does not want to be free. Today is the same. I wake up, brush my teeth, sneak into Mum’s room, and begin my pigeon heist. Martha’s cage sits on the corner of Mum’s bedside table, right where most people would place a glass of water or last night’s reading material. The route is a tricky one, but I manage to slip through the maze of laundry, sail across the bed-and-dresser canal, and elude being punctured by a stray fork in under a minute. I’m steps away from Martha’s cage when the bed rustles - I freeze, heartbeat th...

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“Butterfly” by Myranda Marie

Submitted to Contest #205

No full moon tonight, no dancing naked or any other magical cliche from a pop culture movie or book series. She was serious, digging deep into her psyche for answers, or at the very least, divine guidance. Admittedly, it had been some time since she called upon her ensorcelled inheritance, but her autopilot seemed to be malfunctioning. She knew it was time to invoke celestial assistance. At one time, asking for help was as easy as making a call or getting a ride across town. She couldn’t control her spontaneous smile as she recalled...

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“A Familiar’s Disenchantment.” by Cecilia Englishby

Submitted to Contest #205

Bovi felt unsure about his next client. This was odd as he never felt unsure about anything. However; engaging a Dragon’s Familiar felt like being unfaithful. He was after all, considered a friend amongst Dragons; as much as one could be considered such a thing. He was curious though; Familiars were something of a mystery paraded in plain sight. They came in many shapes, often very exotic; and followed some Dragons in droves. Yet, for all their apparent availability, no living creature has ever been able to penetrate the inner workings of...

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“Ritual Rules” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #205

Ritual Rules I guess you could say that I am ruled by rituals. I do not change how I regularly do things, even regarding some of the smallest aspects of my life. I get up at exactly six o’clock every morning, even if I awaken a little earlier and I feel like I have to go for a pee. I mean when I really have to go pee, and I force myself to crouch in the bed until I see that the minute hand is on the twelve and the hour hand is on the six (in that order). I always put my left sock on first, my right one second. I hav...

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“How to Develop OCD” by D. Grimes

Submitted to Contest #205

There’s a broom in the corner of the kitchen with a pile of unbuttered popcorn (1) behind it, swept from where it’s spilling out of the trashcan. I’m making dinner and have already paused to wash my hands five times—they peel and ache.Every night, the same meal. Steam-in-bag zucchini noodles (2) with half a can of Hunt’s diced tomatoes (3). A few of the six foods that I can still eat.The microwave door is left propped open as I wash my hands until I can’t feel the handle stuck to my palms. I lift the faucet lever with my grimy fingers, and p...

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“The Last Letter of Genzai Toshi” by Gianluca Angelucci

Submitted to Contest #205

[I used google translate for the names of the characters, I hope that no offense is given to the Japanese people for the crude use of their language] The brush rises from the sealed envelope, leaving a black blooded wound on the paper. Soon, the tantou waiting in its sheath will do the same on his abdomen. “Dear Atarashi, my son. Every animal is born with the need to make their life as good as possible. We all strive for our survival, for our betterment and for our happiness; yet the mark of an honorable man is to extend this to the ...

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“The Bone Men's Duty” by Rachel Thompson

Submitted to Contest #205

When a body exhales its final breath its soul is dispelled, riding piggyback on the damp air. The soul is infinite but the body is only temporary. The soul thrives like a parasite on a fleshy host, it embeds itself deeply into every part. Inevitably the soul outlives its host, and time after time it is cast out into the cold, on a final breath. Each time it’s a wrench. Taking a soul from its body is like taking a newborn from the breast: it is a primitive pain. It wanders, meandering the landscape, in search of a new host. The soul always ca...

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“The Birth of Guilt” by Allan Bernal

Submitted to Contest #205

I promised Brooke I knew what I was doing. Dad and I did seances all the time growing up so I could talk to Mom. The only difference this time, besides trading my childhood kitchen table for my college dorm room, was that I’d be talking to Dad. “So we don’t need a Ouija board or something?” Brooke asked with a morbid curiosity but still unsure of doing this. “No, that’s just a toy. All we need are a few candles and a dark room on a moonless night.” That was just to keep things simple. Really, it wouldn’t work without Dad’s Necronomicon a...

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“To The Grave” by David King

Submitted to Contest #205

After forty-five minutes of standing in one spot, I placed the sunflowers at the foot of her grave. The sky had gone from a vibrant baby blue to a slowly darkening purple. The cemetery would be closing within minutes and I had to accept I couldn’t stay by her grave forever. My hands were in my pockets and my eyes stared at the floor. The pathway was covered with freshly fallen leaves. I stepped on the ones that were darker than orange, looking for a satisfying crunch under my feet. My gaze shifted to my Nikes and one of the laces that wa...

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“Fun and Games and Silly Hats” by Ben Holton

Submitted to Contest #205

Tradition gives our ancestors a vote, that is what they told us. My mother had a different saying though; tradition is following a dead dictator – surely this is the truth. The elders, those sordid tradition lovers, ritual-philes, they held our beautiful town hostage for generations. Only through strength of spirit and unrelenting perseverance did we break the shackles of oppression and free ourselves. Of course, these things that I speak of are almost fifty years old and were it not for my resolve I might have forgotten too. I see confusi...

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“Moods of the Moon” by Keelan LaForge

Submitted to Contest #205

Trigger Warning - contains mention of suicide and child loss. The moon is even moodier than me – and I’m a moody person. I always have been, like it or not. Our natural nightlight waxes and wanes and sometimes, I forget that it’s even there, but it’s always changing. I notice it most when it’s round and full, like a ball of white fury suspended in the sky. Strange things happen on a full moon – as legend tells us, but I’d never witnessed any of it until that curious night. I was outside, in the middle of a forest, camping for the first tim...

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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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