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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

“Killer hugs” by Kimberly Walker

Submitted to Contest #213

Killer HugsIn this post-pandemic moment, I'm glad I am paralyzed. Here is why…. I'm not a germaphobe, but everyone should still live as one. Think about everything you touch in a day, week, month, or year.Hmm…Before exiting the bed in the morning, we reach for the alarm, light, or both. If you're like me, over fifty, you reach for your assistants, glasses, hearing aids, cane, or bedpost to steady yourself to your feet or push off the nightstand. Feel good about yourself if you've only done two of these things before touching the bathroom doo...

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“A Thundering Noise from Afar” by Gerald Boisvert

Submitted to Contest #213

My wife Karen and I were watching the 6:00 pm news and focused our attention on a reported tornado path just north of us that appeared to be traveling eastward across the county just north of us. Our daughter was getting ready to head up that way to see her boyfriend, and my emphatic statement to her was, “girl, you best sit your butt down and chill, cuz you ain’t goin nowhere right now til’ that dag burn twister is out of this area!” Of course, she was madder than wet kitten after a bath, but I didn’t care at that point. Kare...

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“Where Touch and Soul Meet” by David Lasaine

Submitted to Contest #213

Does one ever think of the power of touch? It is one of the senses of the human body. It’s an assumption for most that it is as basic as breathing. For some, that relationship of touch in their hands or fingers ends at those exact points. For others, those who allow the feeling to travel along the nervous system back to the neurons in the brain, face an affliction of unpredictable events. Religious institutions and spiritual traditions believe a soul exists within us. I believe it safe to say that the soul is multi-faceted, and travels in ev...

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“Orphanage kids ” by Tsion Dawit

Submitted to Contest #213

Once there were two siblings from an orphanage, but they were not normal kids.They had powers. They don't feel any pain in their hands. As they got older, they learned that they should keep their powers a secret. Then, a really nice couple came and said they wanted to adopt two kids, and they picked Daisy and Mathew. Daisy and Mathew were so happy that they finally had a real home. But soon the couple started to get meaner, and meaner. Before, they were really kind and made the kids feel welcome, but nowadays, the parents screamed at Daisy f...

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“Into The Oakwood Flesh” by Breanna Dawn

Submitted to Contest #213

Bel, short for Jezebel, was an introverted only child who preferred her own company to a crowds. As an adult she fell deeply in love with nature and you could often find her on a forest trail, hiking in her free hours. Today was no different, she blissfully hummed to herself over the singing birds and crunching leaves beneath her feet. She had walked this trail many times, so she was familiar and well conditioned for the winding trails up the mountain slope. Her friends would often ask her if her solo trips were ever fr...

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“Small Things in Life Bring Happiness” by Gerald Boisvert

Submitted to Contest #213

My grinding week in the laboratory at Elkins Precious Metals Foundry has finally come to an abrupt end. "Wow, what a long week that it has been," Mike said to Tom grabbing his coffee thermos and lunch bucket from the lockers inside the cafeteria building. They both walked out together towards the parking lot. It was 4:30 p.m. on a Friday afternoon, and all that Mike could dwell on was his upcoming weekend at the fishing lake up north in Mocapeca Mountain resort. Fishing on the boat, relaxing by the poolside and just doing anything that h...

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“The Meinus Touch” by Howard Seeley

Submitted to Contest #213

Once upon a time not so long ago, there was a king named Meinus, who ruled over a kingdom called The Land of Perfect, and it was so perfectly named. The kingdom was filled with pretty houses and scattered throughout the land, laid parks, and luscious green meadows. All the citizens of the land had everything they could desire. Two cars in the driveway, HD televisions in every room, bright, healthy children, and incomes capable of supporting their lifestyles in comfort. Everything that everyone desired was available at their fingertips. It wa...

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“They're Always Watching” by Rachael Parks

Submitted to Contest #213

What’s the stupidest super power you can think of? Go ahead, take a stab at it. No really, I insist. What was that? The ability to talk to rocks? Ha! Yea go ahead and tell a geologist or an anthropologist that you can talk to rocks.That stuff would like, turn them on. You’d spend your whole life trying to stop nerds still crashing on their mother’s couch from shoving dirty rocks in your face, begging you on their knees to bless them with its wisdom. Huh? The ability to control the minds of squirrels? But only on Tue...

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“Image and Likeness” by J. A. Greene

Submitted to Contest #213

“Who are you really?”He stared deeply into the young woman’s eyes.“Who do you think I am?” She responded with her soft, tender voice.“It doesn’t matter to me who I think you are, but it matters to everyone else.”“Why? Why is there opinion more important than yours?”Stephen crinkled his eyes in anger without breaking his sight with her.“Listen, I don’t give a rat’s ass who you are, but you entered into my dominion, and everyone here has a problem with you.”“What problem is that?”Stephen raised an eyebrow at her in disbelief of her reaction. “...

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“Keer-cheep” by Kateresa .

Submitted to Contest #213

Keer-cheep. Hoku closed her eyes, not that it mattered, and felt the hands of her braille watch. It was 6:15 in the evening. On the balcony, she heard birds calling, waves crashing on the beach, a gentle breeze cooling the heat of the afternoon, the rustle of the ohi’a lehua trees. Deep breath in, the fragrance of plumeria, and salt from the ocean. Peaceful. Lovely. Paradise. She was always listening, but now she gripped the railing of the balcony, warm from the sun, and focused. Keer-cheep. Time 6:20. Bryan would be home soon, ...

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“The Birthday Suit” by Sean McDonnell

Submitted to Contest #213

It was a plastic face; too smooth on the exterior, and too hard beneath. The familiarity was there, but something was off in ways that were difficult to make sense of. Rachel didn’t feel sad for this man because this man wasn’t real; this corporeal sham was explicitly crafted for the conspiracy. A conspiracy by whom? And to what end? Rachel did not know. But whether nefarious or in humor much darker than she could appreciate, this thing lying in a box in front of her was not her father.Her mother sobbed and moved down the line, but Rachel st...

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“The circle of wonder” by Chuy Leija

Submitted to Contest #213

In the heart of a dense, ancient forest, nestled between towering trees and a symphony of chirping birds, lived a curious young woman named Elara. She had always been fascinated by the mysteries of the natural world, spending her days exploring the woods and uncovering its hidden wonders. One crisp morning, as the first rays of sunlight filtered through the emerald canopy, Elara stumbled upon something that left her both intrigued and puzzled. Hidden beneath a veil of dew-kissed ferns, Elara's gaze fell upon a delicate structure that seemed ...

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“Swamp Gas ” by Christina Cooper

Submitted to Contest #213

“What in the world is that?” I asked as I pointed toward the sky. “What are you looking at?” He glanced up, squinting his eyes against the sun. “Whoa.” “Yeah. But what is it?” “I don’t know. I can’t tell if it’s like a weird cloud or if it’s… something else.” &nb...

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“Human Touch” by Chris Pye

Submitted to Contest #213

Human Touch by Chris Pye 'I can't resist,' I mumble though gritted teeth. 'I'm going to do it.' Carter would have tried to stop me only he's not here. He's back in London on his Tutankhamun circuit with Lord Carnarvon. Again. It's just me in this dry and musty stone chamber. My discovery this time. I'm on my hands and knees because the ancient ceiling is too low for anything more than crouching. My flashlight dances shadows over the smooth sandstone walls and stale dust motes hang suspended in its beams. On a whim, I turn ...

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“Blood and Cookies” by Cindy Strube

Submitted to Contest #213

Blood and Cookies “So what do you think?” The two Tamsins speak in unison. I’m dumbstruck, looking from one to the other like a cat tracking a laser.“Come on, which is which?”I’ve known Tamsin for years, and she’s never had a twin. But now she does. It’s thoroughly unnerving, and I don’t like it.I look at the one to my left.“What’s your name?”“Tamsin!” they both claim. And the one to my right.“Gemma!” they answer.“Here, touch us.” Each extends a hand. I close my eyes to enhance my sense of touch, and put out my own hands ...

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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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