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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

“Another Normal Day” by Bruce Friedman

Submitted to Contest #205

I was just beginning to stir in my bed as beams of fresh morning sunlight streamed into the room. It was 7 o’clock and a fresh new day in June was dawning. I was happy and grateful to be alive and in good health despite some of the curve balls that Fate had thrown my way. One of which was that I suffer from chronic seasonal allergies so my windows were shut very tight and my air purifier was chugging away on the other side of the room. It’s wise to take certain precautions with your health to preserve it to its fullest. I swung my ...

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“American Rites” by Alexander Brotherton

Submitted to Contest #205

Trust me when I say that nobody would want to leave their six million dollar condo, if they had one, to catch a flight to a yearly business ritual in the midwest. My ride to the airport arrives right on time, but not early. It’s a brand new Hummer limousine like I demanded, although the exterior could use a wash and a wax. The driver welcomes me and opens the door for me, as he should. He was smiling, but I could tell that he wasn’t really happy with his job. It wasn’t so much his mouth that gave it away, but his eyes were sad. He really sho...

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“Passage” by Elizabeth John

Submitted to Contest #205

Trigger Warning: This story references female mutilation. Olivette sat and listened to her mother tell the stories. The bondo devils would come and they would celebrate, Folami would say. They would come, with their long robes adorned with strips of many colored-fabrics, and the black-wood masks atop their heads, increasing their height by at least a foot. They would dance in the dirt roads, the bondo devils, shrieking and wailing their song, as the villagers pranced behind th...

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“The Rooftop” by My Trip Around The World

Submitted to Contest #205

The Rooftop By Anthony Mendoza Duke sat on the ledge of the rooftop, 54 stories above the empty street and sleeping city below. His legs and bare feet swung left to right 600 feet above the ground. He enjoyed being high up and the quiet that came with it. He had taken someone’s life earlier. It was a matter of survival but that didn’t alleviate the guilt he felt. Up on the rooftop there was peace. He told himself what happened couldn’t be helped. Death was everywhere. It was necessary for life. Life was kill or be ki...

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“Wolf's Judgment” by Marie McLaughlin

Submitted to Contest #205

Madadh hid inside a hollowed log, waiting for the soldiers to run the other way. Madadh refused to breathe out of fear of being heard from his hiding spot. Once the soldiers were out of sight, the man silently crawled out of the log and ran away, escaping something. “Why did I have to kill that Wolf? Why couldn’t I have just tried to scare it off, or just let it have that sheep??” Madadh thought to himself. Madadh was a wealthy Shepherd in a small but prosperous kingdom. He had a loving family, a loyal hound, and a highly successful Sheep ...

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“Full Moon Child” by Kat Gruszka

Submitted to Contest #205

Things have order, sequence, and plans. Except for, maybe, this baby. I shook my head, started the car and made my way to the hospital. Planned induction, at noon, and hopefully, a baby by early morning. I was committed to the schedule. Every plan I had made for my marriage, my family, and my life had recently gone awry. But, I was determined to stay in control. Or, as in control as someone can be while very pregnant and newly divorced.Getting to the hospital was more comforting than I expected; everyone had a role, everyone had their script...

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“Jailbirds” by Hayley Chau

Submitted to Contest #205

It was October 13, I fell asleep during a full moon. Suddenly, I was soaring above an endless green forest, with the brightest hue of blue wings that shimmered in the sunlight. I flew distances, feeling free but then the moon started to align in between Earth and the Sun.From afar, I saw blue and red sirens and heard a prayer.“I need help,” the girl cried to no one and everyone. With a sound of thunder, I woke up from my dream, inside a jail cell, with a girl.“What in the world?!” I shouted. The girl groggily opened her eyes and st...

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“Breathe” by Brittany Johnston

Submitted to Contest #205

Penny closed her eyes and pressed her face to the cold windowpane, trying in vain to synchronize her breathing with the croaking frogs. The early morning lay quiet as the household slumbered. Time suspended between winter's stark weariness and spring's vibrant joy, a stark contrast to the chaos from the previous evening. She tried to forget the state of the room behind her. Boxes were scattered in the middle of the floor. They were mercilessly torn through. Papers and books were thrown in lopsided piles, their pages bent and ripped. Clothing...

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“Erie” by Naomi Passapera

Submitted to Contest #205

Erie was here even after her death. Maybe it was because I couldn't let go in the beginning. Maybe it caused her to stay horribly long. Whatever the reason, I knew that something had happened when Dad came home with a grave look on his pale, oval face, red tear streaks woven down piercing eyes."Dad?" I had said in a small voice, putting down the puzzle pieces I had a handful of in each hand. I felt sweat build up on my forehead, making my bangs stick to my head. I had smoothed them away. "What happened?"He... didn't answer. No, it was that n...

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“Kindling” by Cierra Lynn

Submitted to Contest #205

Sensitive Content Warning: Self-Harm, Substance Abuse The first thing you need to know is that there's no one around. I've been told that my disposition is that of someone who is not entirely there. Oddly, I must agree with that sentiment. It must drive people away when they look into my eyes and they can acknowledge I can hear them but it's somehow still clear I do not want to be where I am at all. I can put on the most juvenile, sunshine smile to try and ease everyone but the smart ones, the people who matter, always see right through it...

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“Sixteen Candles” by Patricia C

Submitted to Contest #205

*Trigger warning: This story contains a description of a car accident and time spent in the hospital.* Elsie rolled into the kitchen in her hot pink wheelchair before the sun came up for the day. She turned on the coffee maker and let out a big yawn. No one else in her house was awake yet, but that was what she had hoped for when she set her alarm last night. She wanted a few quiet minutes to reflect on both her past and present. Elsie's pink wheelchair stood out in her mom's beige kitchen like a piece of candy in an otherwise dull displ...

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“The Suite” by John Werner

Submitted to Contest #205

My watch vibrates an alert that I know full well is coming. I know I’m late. I know that’s a problem. My luggage had gotten lost at the airport and unfortunately, leaving it behind was not an option. Without it, all of this was for naught. I’m not sure how many parties are in line ahead of me. Maybe six? There are so many more people than I anticipated. I didn’t think this was the kind of thing to which you’d bring a plus one, or three for that matter. It seemed like there were whole families on line ahead of me.The lobby was unsettlingly de...

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“Campbell Road” by Chris Maroney

Submitted to Contest #205

Mark: “GUESS WHAT! Cold front is coming this Saturday!” Rachel: “OMG I SAW THAT! Guess what that means?!” Initiation Time!!” Mark: “I’d bet you the electric is on. You think?” Rachel: “I’d bet it is too. I saw the realtor last night; she was doing a walk-through and she tested all the lights in the rooms. Nobody is living there yet though!” Mark: “That’s literally PERFECT!” Robin: “Wdym by that, what are you talking about?” Rachel: "You aren’t getting out of this; you know what we are talking about. We told you we would complete the initiati...

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“Blemish” by Olivia Inez

Submitted to Contest #205

Her heart screams for her to stop, but she can’t. It’s too late. She knows she shouldn’t do this, that doing this will drastically change the course of her life. Her mind tells her it’s okay, throwing excuse after excuse to her, attempting to slow the pounding of her heart. She lowers herself to the ground, dirtying her once perfectly white dress. The dull hues of the forest from the morning fog make the bright crimson stand out incredibly. She finds the rose and forcefully plucks it from the earth. She brings it up to her lips, taking a dee...

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“Thr Art of the Dragoon” by Will Oyowe

Submitted to Contest #205

Dzeliera and I first met Lideria at the Dragoon Academy's military induction in town. Lideria guided us outside, with Dzeliera, my fellow graduate, smoking and me self-consciously talking to other admired on-lookers as if I was afraid my idleness would make the others find me out. Lideria, we learned, besides being one of the best dragon commanders of her generation, was also a professional artist and kept many different papers in a special tattered pouch slung over her shoulder. She chatted while smoking her pipe and quickly took a liking t...

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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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