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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

“The Trouble with Terry” by Howard Halsall

Submitted to Contest #213

I hadn’t seen Terry for over a year when we spoke last week, and he’d suggested a night out at his darts club. Yeah, sure, I’d said. I can drive unless your car’s back on the road. Cheers, I’d appreciate it, he’d said. My motor's out for the count and my trotters are playing up. No problem, I’d said, confirming the arrangement. How does Tuesday sound? Fine by me, he said. See you at eight.#It was a shock to see Terry dragging his feet down the footpath and struggling to maintain his balance with a walking frame. With his silver hair and...

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“The Doctor” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #213

“Don’t touch me. Keep your distance.” I’ve heard that everyday now for nine months. Doesn’t make things easy when you’re the town’s GP. First it was the fires, then it was the virus, everything has turned to shit in Maui after the president was reelected. Ok, he probably has nothing to do with it, but we need to blame someone, don't we?I put on my PPE bunny suit and wait at the Kihei pier for the boat to arrive. “Second boat this month.” the Sergeant says. Locked and loaded,” I say, showing him my assault rifle and giving him a hin...

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“The Kneaded Touch” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #213

The Kneaded TouchI was thirty-nine years old when I found what I want to be when I grow up.Whereas most well-adjusted children seem to have an instinct of what they aspire to, I had no idea. In my youth the only vocations for women seemed to center around teaching, nursing or secretarial careers. None of those appealed to me particularly. Of course, there was motherhood, but that was a foregone conclusion and you had to have something else that called out to you to start out with, go to college for, or end up with after the kids were grown a...

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“TOUCH INSENSITIVE” by Sol Caine

Submitted to Contest #213

I’m losing my touch. No, it’s no joke. It started with my feet. I used to be so ticklish that I would laugh when tickling my own feet. But now, you could run a knitting needle through them and I wouldn’t flinch. It’s been a gradual process of numbness travelling through my body. The pins and needles are the first sign. Irritating and constant, I almost feel relieved when they stop - if it wasn’t for the cold hard reality that the irritation stopping was the prelude to a lack of any feeling in that area. When my private parts started to tin...

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“Faustus' Folly” by Kevin Logue

Submitted to Contest #213

Curse the lot of them! What have I ever done to deserve this?Three days hard trek up a snow packed mountain trail with naught but a two toothed yokel to guide him, and for what? Was he, Faustus Flusterbuss, not the most perfect apprentice any Mage could ask for? Had he not always seen to his duties and those of his beloved Master Arkas above all else? It had to be the fault of that blasted Ardle, and worse yet, that cherub-faced jumped-up apprentice, Jestinia. They would get their just desserts, he would make sure of it.Faustus' grip tighten...

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“No Longer a Unicorn” by Anne Shillingsburg

Submitted to Contest #213

My grandmother’s breath nearly knocked me down as I pulled her into my arms, hoping that my voice and warmth would spark recognition. It was almost a dead animal smell, a smell that sent me straight back to this moment when I caught it again in the crusted fluid that had run down my fevered son’s face when his eardrum burst: rotting bacteria left to fester in a closed a body space, a reminder of how thin the membranes are that hold us back from death. But this is not a story about the frailty of bodies.I was twenty-one. I’ll probably mention...

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“Feel This ” by Nina H

Submitted to Contest #213

Wear clean underwear! That’s what they tell you, right? Well, at least your mom does. And why? In case you get in an accident, of course! Well, I have a little secret. Lean in close…guess what? If you’re in an accident, you really don’t care what state your underwear is in. Chances are, it will all be a mess anyway. Like the rest of you. I won’t get into details, I’ll just leave it at that. The day of my accident, I’m pretty sure I showered that morning. I think. But, it was summer so I very well could have shrugged off the sho...

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“The Apple Heist” by Tom Skye

Submitted to Contest #213

Lorna led the four children across the street and into Pottery Barn like ducklings to a pond. "Right, Jonny, Amy, Cora, Corey; I just need a quick look around. I'll only be 10 minutes, 15 minutes tops. We will meet the others soon. Just hang around here and don't touch anything. I'll have my eyes on you the whole time." She gave each of the children an imperious glance and disappeared further into the shop and out of sight. Today was Jonny's 7th birthday, and his mother was taking him to Soft City with his younger sister, Amy, and the 8 ...

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“Good Mourning” by Indee Anna Prosé

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #213

“Thank you for calling Good Mourning Mortuary. My name is Arin-Inez. How may I assist you today?” The calm, comforting voice flowed through the phone like honey—so smooth and sweet, the artificially intelligent voice box proved nearly impossible to detect. Betty Masters blew her nose, wiped tears from her cheeks with trembling hands and replied, “Yes…my boyfriend just died. I’m not sure what to do.” “I am sorry for your loss,” said Arin-Inez. “May I have your name please?” “Betty—Elizabeth Masters.” “May I call you Betty?” “Yes.” “...

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“The “Hands-Off” Support Group” by Jonathan Page

Submitted to Contest #213

LALA’S FLESHY MEAT HOOKS were squishing my face, and I was assaulted by the high-pitched screech of her voice that hummed thunderous, the way we think of the Big Bang as loud. “You’re back MontyEEE! So glad to seeEEE you!” Lala’s special touch is forgetfulness, and it took a minute for me to anchor in on my name after her embrace, but nothing could make me forget that voice. Going around the church basement of the “Hands-Off” meeting, each night we met: This is Sammy; this is Herman; this is Hamilton, whose long stringy h...

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“Black Unicorn” by Kristin Johnson

Submitted to Contest #213

“Is it real?” the woman asked, looking at the shaggy black unicorn sitting outside the rusted gates. “I touched it. It’s a statue, but it’s covered in fur,” the man said. The statue was a weird touch, but then, Auroch Manor was weird despite its appearance as a respectable pre-WWI stately home with a long narrow meandering driveway. The man, Dr. Scott Packer, late thirties, pulled back overgrown shrubbery from the sign that read: “AUROCH MANOR HEALTH SPA--WHERE WELLNESS BEGINS.” Scott pulled his lab coat close around him to protect agains...

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“The Nüwa Five” by Russell Mickler

Submitted to Contest #213

Dr. Li Wei entered a featureless gray field. “Office,” he said in Mandarin. A grid materialized under his feet followed by echoes of his footfalls and cane striking the floor. Tiles emerged, followed by desks, conference tables, lab benches, sleek chairs, file cabinets, and glass partitions rose from the grid, followed by objects like computer terminals and keyboards, papers, pens, and flowers alongside pictures of friends, colleagues, and family. Wei donned a white lab coat from a free-standing rack. Wei tasted an electric tang in the back ...

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“Invasion of the Garden Gnomes” by Jonathan Page

Submitted to Contest #213

“It’s an invasion,” Ryan James screamed, flicking on the deck lights in the backyard. There were hundreds of them. Thousands. Little porcelain gnomes no bigger than subway rats. Red and green caps. Beady black eyes. Fluffy white beards. Some with wheelbarrows, some with miniature flowerpots, some with small axes or shears. Dotting the lawn like a swarm of locusts. Ryan James cracked the sliding glass door and grabbed his Red Ryder wood grain BB gun and dropped to the floor in a prone position. A...

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“ChatGRW: Generative Romance Writer” by Joshua Copus - Oxland

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #213

> Your conversation has started with boon.ai, the artificial intelligence that writes the best selling romance novels, with 231,984 books in its database. You are logged in as @Harlequin. > Admin access authorised. You can speak to boon.ai, suggest prompts and search their database. To modify and remove components of boon.ai’s behaviour, or format all collected data, please contact @developer for approval. For a list of commands, type cmd_help. “Hello, Boon.” “Hello, Harlequin! It’s lovely to meet an @administrator! How may...

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“Soul City” by Myranda Marie

Submitted to Contest #213

It was mid-November, and she remembered it was her birthday. Well, it might be, she wasn’t sure. There would be no party, no gifts, nary a celebratory gesture from anyone; after all she was alone, with one exception. She pulled the tiny satchel from under her tattered jacket and reached inside. She was sure there were a few cookies left in the package from yesterday. It wasn’t much but it would sustain them until later. She felt the sting of her tears as she fed half of a cookie to her best friend and her reason for living, Maisie. A gratefu...

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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.

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