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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

“Admiration, Found” by Brady Hicks

Submitted to Contest #213

I don’t go to many funerals. I suppose it's a blessing the need to isn't there. I don’t really know what to expect from them. I don’t know their protocols. I don’t know their traditions. I’m typically not a sad person. I prefer to stay happy and positive. I was only there supporting my brother who worked with the deceased. I understand my brother and his coworkers’ emotions. But I prefer to make conscious decisions that avoid the scenarios that lend themselves to the possibility of negative feelings. I wouldn’t want my friends, family, ...

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“I am the Brain, Hear me Roar!” by Muthukumarasamy Vinodh

Submitted to Contest #213

I am the Brain, Hear me Roar"It's okay, Martin, you tried. You can't win them all, buddy."Martin stared into the abyss as Silvio patted his back and left the changing room. Martin knew he had given his best shot, but somehow the opponent connected with that side hook to his jaw.The complete silence in the room made his thoughts run wild.He should have ducked the punch instead of blocking it with his forearm, which gave an opening for that side hook. Did Miranda see that livestream? Of course, she did. It was embarrassing to get knocked out b...

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“Sunshine” by Jaz CR

Submitted to Contest #213

*Sensitive Content depicting blood and murder* My mother hugged me as she always does before I leave. Her warm touch and the smell of her floral perfume are nostalgic, comforting. I close my eyes for a few seconds and open them as I pull away to see her kind smile. She has aged well, with only distinct laugh lines and crow’s feet to show that she is not as young as she used to be. She is wearing her favorite flowing dress, white with sunflower pattern. Summer is turning into fall quickly this year. Her sunflowers provided abundant seeds so...

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“ Never Thought It Possible” by Arlene Placer

Submitted to Contest #213

Here we are. The two of us — alone. Okay, so we aren't entirely on our own. In the kitchen is my best friend and now hooker-upper Ellie. I'm sitting in a floral-upholstered armchair while he stands by the window, his back to the room. He is holding a tumbler filled with whiskey in his right hand. A basic glass of white wine is in my left hand. He is all decked out, wearing a grey pinstriped three-piece suit with a black shirt underneath. The only casual touch he has made was to remove his tie and leave two of his shirt buttons un...

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“Little Snap Dari with a Big Heart” by Valentina Bondarenko

Submitted to Contest #213

Little Snap Dari with a Big Heart I hear the wind whistling in my ears and see the sun reflecting in my body, but then I find myself in the dust. Sneezing and coughing, I raise my head; there are trees around. "Forest," is my thought," I've been lost here." A bicyclist passes me, then one more. Where is Sue? “Hello! Hello!" I scream, but my voice is not loud. Everything around me...

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“Everything is going to be okay” by Parker Parker

Submitted to Contest #213

“I know, well I don’t know, but I know everything is going to be alright”, said the stranger as she shared a hug and rubbed my back in a circular motion. We were standing in the middle of the aisle at Target while other shoppers past by staring as if they expected me to have a mental breakdown in the store at any moment. The oddest thing was that I did not know this woman. Never meet her in my life. While standing there making a decision on the ripest bananas, she approached me wearing a long sleeved black blouse with blue flowers. ...

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“The Confession” by Mary Stanley

Submitted to Contest #213

She wanted me to hug her. And next thing I know — I swear I didn’t plan it — I’m feeling the blade cut through her T-shirt, and the skin and flesh of her back, and then slip between her ribs, and, this might sound crazy, but I could sense when the tip of the blade pierced the membrane of her heart. That satisfying tension-tension-pop you get like when a salmon egg bursts between your teeth. I held her by the shoulders so I could watch those eyes go from shocked to scared to pleading to drifting to empty. All in a few seconds. I checked in wi...

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“The war” by Rf F

Submitted to Contest #213

Henry woke at the crack of dawn, stretched and ate breakfast. His mother came to sit beside him. “so how school going?” His mother asked. “Oh the usual.” Henry said. “Tell me was there anything special?” His mother asked Henry. “Nothing” Henry said. “Really?” His Mother asked. Suddenly a siren blared a long note and an emergency notification appeared on his mother’s phone: Air raid incoming. Go to the nearest shelter. If you cannot get to one take cover under a table and stay away from the windows. “Well that’s something new.” Henry joked. “...

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“The Paradoxical Hug” by Rahemin Prasla

Submitted to Contest #213

Warning: The following story is a fictional story on the horrifying experiences of young children that take place during Human Trafficking. It contains suggestions of sexual violence, drug abuse, death, and even suicide. This story was made to remind us about what humanity needs to do to save our children. Today, I marked my 17th birthday and the day of my last breath, which I had come long for. The air reeked of urine, sweat, and blood—an odour that had become a habitual part of my life. As I awoke from my cot, my thoughts swirled, attempt...

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“Project Un: The Fall of Abal” by Samuel Bowen

Submitted to Contest #213

Abal could feel darkness. It was not an emotion nor was it truly a sensation. The lack of touch blinded Abal as his callus hands gripped the Aexian blade. He missed the cool smoothness of the grey steel. He longed for the subtlety of texture in the leather grip. Yet the darkness of his nerve calluses gave only the indication of pressure. Abal stared at his knuckles watching them go white with tension. Pressure. That was all he could feel; that feeling like the building tension in his aging bones. Abal grunted. This was the curse of Po...

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“Fido” by H.e. Ross

Submitted to Contest #213

I got Fido at the local pound, or animal rescue service, by mistake or accident. I went to get a terrier and found one but in the next cage was a almost long haired puppy cowering in the shadows of a corner. The terrier knew he had me and was jumping up and down with expectations flowing from his half mouthed tongue, so I got the puppy. Fido was beautifully thankful and I felt like a true parent maybe because of his fix on me as his leader and teacher. Our relationship was never owner/master and dog. From the first moment out of t...

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“THE SLIP OF THE HAND” by Glenna Agnew

Submitted to Contest #213

THE SLIP OF THE HAND Margaret carried her empty coffee mug over to the kitchen sink, at the last second it slipped from her hand and crashed into the bottom of the sink, shards of porcelain exploding like shrapnel. One of the shards dug into the back of her hand. She gave a sigh of frustration as she grabbed the shard and pulled it out leaving a tiny bloody trail. She stared regretfully into the sink, it was her favourite mug, isn’t that always the way she thought? It was the mug the children in her kindergarten class had designed for ...

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“A Portrait of a Son” by C. Charles

Submitted to Contest #213

The ringing phone pulled Derek from the depths of his stupor. He was on the couch with the TV blaring and an empty bottle of rye lying on the floor next to him. “Who the fuck–” he slurred as he groped for the phone on the coffee table. Every time his finger touched the wood, the tips tingled with pins and needles and bubbling fear returned to his stomach. He found his phone. “Hello?” he croaked. “Derek?” came Sally’s voice, “Where were you? I’ve been calling you.” Her voice sounded frantic. “Sorry, I was sleeping,” Derek said, “What’s ...

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“Verdant Touch” by J.B. Redel

Submitted to Contest #213

Wild and flourishing, the ivy grew rapidly, rushing along the surface of the stone wall. The creeping vines found every imperfection in the man-made surface which to use as purchase. Reaching the top and spilling over, the growth finally began to slow, eventually stopping altogether. Elara removed her hand from once was an old, rusted torch mount. Gasps from behind startled her, and she quickly turned to see a small group of women standing a few yards away. Forcing a pleasant smile, Elara bowed and moved quickly along the road and quickly ...

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“Mackus,the magic continues.......” by Bernette Magbanua

Submitted to Contest #213

From my hotel room window, I witnessed an oversized billboard being displayed at the right corner of the street together with his life-sized picture: Mackus, the great Magician of his time. I was staring the whole time when I heard someone was knocking loudly at the door with the loud sound of the door bell.ting- ting .ding- dong. I hurriedly approached the door and open it little bit just to see who’s that person at the door…In my surprise,no one was there,I stepped out and looked around.,no one was there and the lo...

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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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