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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#213: The Human Touch

For most people, platonic touch is a central part of being human. When words are not enough, a warm hug or a comforting hand on the shoulder can soothe, support, and create a sense of belonging. But the phrase has another meaning; adding a ‘human touch’ to your work and interactions can also be a way to show empathy and compassion without physically touching. And when that ‘human touch’ is missing from someone or something, it can start to verge on the uncanny.

This week’s prompts are centered around the concept of ‘the human touch’, both literally and figuratively — the comfort it can bring, but also that otherworldly and uneasy feeling we can get when there’s a distinct lack of it in the art and creations we encounter.

This week's prompts

Start your story with a character looking closely at something, or someone. They can't quite decide if what they're looking at is natural, or man-made.

Science Fiction – 51 stories

Start or end your story with a character receiving a hug or words of comfort.

Dramatic – 101 stories

Write a story about someone who is losing feeling in their hands and/or fingers.

Character – 46 stories

Write about someone with a Midas touch: everything they touch turns to [fill in the blank].

Character – 39 stories

Write about an AI or person trying to inject a ‘human touch’ into their work.

Science Fiction – 49 stories

Stories

“Where words end, I begin” by Luna Lorry

Submitted to Contest #213

I couldn't stop them from coming. There was no other option. I've tried and tried and tried to keep them at bay. They've always threatened to destroy me. Try as I might, they win every time. With one last shaky breath, I allow myself to cry. The tears have been pooling in my eyes for the last 10 minutes. My chest heaves up and down, up and down. I feel like the ocean, consistent ebbs and flows. I can't stop crying. I can't stop crying. I can't stop crying. How did I get to this point? There's no one to blame but myself. I find myself spirali...

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“Tell the Wolves I'm Home” by Angelina Ferraro

Submitted to Contest #213

"Why do you have to leave? Why can't the knights fight the bad guys? It's unfair!"A four-year old cried into his big brother's chest as the older brother ran his hands up and down his back to calm him."Because it's my duty as a king. I have to protect the people, if I don't the bad guys are going to hurt you." He slightly pulled back to look at Tom in the eyes."I couldn't live with myself if you got hurt. I need you to be brave. Can you do that for me?" Danel gave a sad smile to Tommy."Please?""Fine." Tommy sniffled and tried swiping his sle...

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“A Rowboat in the Clouds” by Colleen Wouters

Submitted to Contest #213

I was annoyed when he asked me to come out in the boat with him today. At first, I was adamant that I didn’t have time to sit and talk. I didn’t have the time to sit and listen to him drone on about his mother, his poor handwriting, and sometimes his father or siblings, but somehow, he convinced me. Now, after I’ve been sitting here for at least an hour, listening to his many musings about his mother, the only thing that I’ve found to console my frayed nerves are the wisps of cloud that curl around my fingertips as I dip my hand over the bo...

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“The Human Touch ⋆｡°✩” by TARA A. A

Submitted to Contest #213

It was my graduation day, a milestone that should have been solely a celebration of academic achievement, a testament to hard work. As I stood there in my cap and gown, heart pulsating with a mix of anticipation and apprehension, I had no clue that this day would unravel the very fabric of my emotions. The sun's golden fingers caressed the landscape, as my name was called, prompting a polite applause from the audience. And then, like an unexpected gust of wind, it happened. The moment that changed everything. My father, a stern man har...

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“The Embrace” by Michael Hellwig

Submitted to Contest #213

In the early 1960’s my Grandparents on my mother’s side immigrated to the United States after leaving Greece. The couple was joined by their small daughter, and the three of them settled in a small town in Maine. Why they chose that location is beyond me. For all I know they had some connections or hidden insight? But I was too young at the time to make their acquaintances before being placed in foster care. My biological father had been a resident of Baltimore City. Joining the Army to do a 4-year stint in the infantry before returning to ...

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“Unwavering Hug” by Evelina Charles

Submitted to Contest #213

At the edge of a serene pond, Lucy sat with her best friend, Sarah. The autumn leaves adorned the landscape in a magnificent array of colors – a vibrant tapestry of gold, crimson, and fiery orange that stretched as far as the eye could see. The sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled patterns on the ground, as if nature itself were orchestrating a masterpiece. It was a scene of unparalleled beauty, a fleeting moment of autumn's glory captured in a tranquil oasis. They had spent countless hours in this idyllic setting, sharing...

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“The Portrait Artist” by Steven Linebaugh

Submitted to Contest #213

We sat at a train station together. I never interacted with her but being a sketch artist, I did small sketches of her face while we waited. Every once in a while, she would look in my direction if I had spent more time staring versus sketching. which would redirect me back to sketching. Then the train came, we both embarked and my small black book was back in my pocket. A chance meeting with a woman that would change my life. It had been several weeks since our encounter when I thought I had seen her walking on the street. The memo...

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“Ribbons of Sound” by Jackie Ward

Submitted to Contest #213

Mary’s blood felt thick in its quickened course under her skin, flushing the covered pulse points brightly. Her numbed hands brushed her interlocked forearms as she stared at the projection screen. It was only a kiss. The man and the woman on the stretched black and white screen were just two actors, playing out characters that now were leading up to share a kiss, as the director so wanted. It was all make-believe, so why was she the only one uncomfortable with the stinging lightning in her veins? Mary’s friends giggled pleasurably between t...

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“My Love, Why Did You Go Away?” by Karley Greene

Submitted to Contest #213

He stared at the hot water on his hand. Burning hot water that he had spilled while pouring someone’s tea. It hurt. But it was comforting, in a way. A pain other than grief or sadness. A pain that‒“Dylan, is this done?” Dylan snapped his head up and looked at his coworker holding up the tea that Dylan had just poured. Dylan nodded and brushed his hand on his pants, wiping away the water. The wind pushed up against Dylan’s back as he began his walk home. The temperature had dropped in the past few days and he hadn’t been prepared. If he ...

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“The Starved” by A.J. M

Submitted to Contest #213

The Starved. That’s who she was, or at least, who she was meant to be. The guide from one lifetime to the next, the seer of memories, the keeper of secrets, a vessel for the Dark Goddess herself. Untouched, unloved, and yet needed. Part of the Order of the Eternal, pumping faith around the city like blood keeping a heart alive. ‘It’s a gift,’ they said. ‘A blessing.’ ‘They’ being anyone on the outside looking in. Staring up at the Order halls with its gilded walls, hallowed ground, and the power that came with it, it was easy to see why. Sel...

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“The Tempered Valkyrie” by Mohendra Shiwnarain

Submitted to Contest #213

The sound of teeth gnawing on flesh grew louder as Mikaela regained consciousness. She couldn’t move her body, her arms and legs were held tightly together. Opening her eyes, she saw a giant bat-like creature gnawing into her shoulder as blood dripped down its chin and her arms.The creature had enveloped her in its wings as it wrapped its long arms around her, binding Mikaela in one of the worst hugs she had experienced. She did not feel any pain, only the discomfort of intense pressure from the creatures' teeth against her muscles and bones...

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“A Woman Of Feeling.” by Pencil Durmush

Submitted to Contest #213

I am losing it the times I touch my hands to see how I am feeling. I am lost somewhere elsewhere in old age. I am colder than I ever been the lost lasting harm from years of suffering of suffocating and now it is in my hands. Where did my lies get me I must have told them. I told so many lines that they have come to my hands. I am not older I am still youthful I am in my sixties come on it is not that old. I go through the door come back again and rest on my hands. The pain is intense in my hands I must get up there is so much to do. I must ...

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“Talk To Me” by Diamond Star

Submitted to Contest #213

Click, click, click. Says the fluorescent light swaying precariously above me. I tear my eyes away from it, scanning the room, the afterimage still blurring my vision. The room is long and narrow. I wonder what stories the saddened walls with peeling gray paint and cracks running along them have to tell. I can’t imagine they’d be happy ones. Ssss, ssss, ssss. Says the cracked white radiator jolting slightly, filling the room with air so humid it feels as if it’s pressing against my skin, trying desperately to get in. I force myself to b...

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“First Mission” by David Willett

Submitted to Contest #213

Protocol dictates I should not have plunged elbow-deep into the unknown alien goo. To hell with protocol, the crimson, amber and turquoise swirls were hypnotic, and they beckoned me to touch. So, I dived right in, consequences be damned. 'What the hell do you think you are doing?' Came the shrill voice of Mission Supervisor Marie Anderson. 'I am not quite sure,' I replied. I was still hunched over in a cat's pose, my silver landing party uniform growing increasingly dirty from the desert sand beneath me. 'Get your arms out of there imm...

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“There was a Roach In the Peach Tree” by Theresa Coleman

Submitted to Contest #213

Trigger Warning: Death, Grief, and ColorismThe milky white mucus that would leak from her eyes had left lines carved into her face. A face I would only ever describe as hypnotically gorgeous was now contorted into a strange expression. My dull brain can’t come up with a fitting explanation for this. The only thing that comes to mind is that it was from an infection. Or perhaps the anguish of taking her final breaths. All that pain made the moisture in her body turn into an indistinguishable whiteness. It was like the clouds of her eventual r...

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$250

Prize money

286

Contest entries

124

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 01, 2023 EST

Won by Jonathan Page 🏆

Title: The Porcelain Village

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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