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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#252: Obsession

The Netflix series Baby Reindeer, inspired by a real-life stalker story, has garnered millions of views over the past month while receiving both critical acclaim and heavy backlash. In the show, a chance encounter between a barman and a total stranger descends into a chaotic tale of stalking, destruction, and mutual obsession. Delving into themes of personal boundaries, power dynamics, identity struggles, and mental health problems, the show depicts some of the complexities and contradictions inherent in human psychology.

Inspired by Baby Reindeer, this week's prompts are an invitation to explore some of the nuances of human behavior. Whether you write a witty story, a heartwarming tale, or something tense and gripping is up to you!

🥇 Winner

“Seven Hundred and Thirty Days” by Danielle LeBlanc

🏆 Winner of Contest #252

My eyes felt like galaxies—holding the swirling glow of countless memories—as I took in our childhood home. Its siding looked like remnants of driftwood after a bonfire. I swore I smelled the smoky char of pine creep into my nostrils. It’s wild how the past stays with you like that. It can feel more visceral and real than the tangible things right in front of you. “Jesus, it feels like just yesterday.” I placed a trembling hand over my heart, struggling to steady my breath.My brother, Perry, pulled me into a tight embrace, his strength ...

139 comments 139

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“The Last Drink” by Harland Chambers

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #252

Trigger warning: contains themes of alcoholism/addiction.It’s following me again. I walk from the kitchen to the living room and hide. Jaded doesn’t even begin to describe it. I hate the world and the idea of the world. I loathe people and places and work and free time. I can’t stand Netflix bingeing or walking in the park. I don’t enjoy eating, not even Mexican food, which used to be the end of all things. As Rob Thomas would say, “My reason for reason.” No, I have one obsession. It’s with me when I wake up and carries my carcass through th...

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“The Writer’s Block” by Jim LaFleur

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #252

Jack Thompson’s fingers drummed a chaotic symphony against his cluttered desk, surrounded by the remnants of unrelenting perfectionism—crumpled paper mountains, an army of empty coffee cups, and the flickering screen of his laptop displaying the solitary bulwark of his creative struggle: one stubborn sentence. This single line of text, which he revised with the same unyielding dedication some might reserve for disarming a bomb, had been his nemesis and companion for five torturous years. “The sun erupted over the horizon like an overzealous ...

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“Cue Ball” by L Key

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #252

Content warning: self-harm, mental health, toxic relationships.HerHis head is a perfect cue ball. Round. Small. Bald. It bobs on the surface of the water, mimicking the gentle waves that swell around him. A frisbee flies and the sea spits out his body. He’s no longer a cue ball; he’s a whale breaching water, airborne and clumsy. He misses. He laughs. He slings the bit of plastic back to his sister.Before I called him ‘husband’, I loved these quirks of his; how he throws his head back when he laughs, that smiling, for him, comes so easily. Bu...

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“Moonlit Hazes” by Alessandra Reginelli

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #252

Crumpling, tearing—the sounds echo through the night as Leon discards yet another piece of paper. It's cold, and clouds hide his beloved behind their faint, shifting veils. He should thank them, since they preserve her beauty from being consumed by Leon’s avid gaze. But he longs to see her, and oh, how madly in love he is.He takes a step forward, and the oak flooring of the balcony creaks softly under his shoes. Leon rests his arms on the railing and looks up into the veiled sky. The stars shine brighter than ever, and the constellations can...

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“Legendary” by Kael Mans

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #252

TW: Themes of mental health, physical violence, and death Adina Rialto was bored. Twelve months ago, she had been the winningest fighter to come out of the Bruised Knuckles club. Now, no one would fight her. Her phone only rang when her agent had a new brand sponsorship that wanted to use her success for themselves. She’d been competitive from the moment her parents had signed her up for her first sports camp at five. They had been trying to find an outlet for her endless energy. It had kept her busy, but had also cultivated a ruthless...

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This week's prompts

Start your story with a character being followed.

Dramatic – 100 stories

Write about a character who struggles to do the right thing.

Character – 35 stories

Write a story in which one of the characters is a narcissist.

Character – 40 stories

Make a character’s obsession or addiction an important element of your story.

Dramatic – 130 stories

Write a story that includes someone saying, “Be careful what you wish for.”

Character – 55 stories

Stories

“Seven Hundred and Thirty Days” by Danielle LeBlanc

🏆 Winner of Contest #252

My eyes felt like galaxies—holding the swirling glow of countless memories—as I took in our childhood home. Its siding looked like remnants of driftwood after a bonfire. I swore I smelled the smoky char of pine creep into my nostrils. It’s wild how the past stays with you like that. It can feel more visceral and real than the tangible things right in front of you. “Jesus, it feels like just yesterday.” I placed a trembling hand over my heart, struggling to steady my breath.My brother, Perry, pulled me into a tight embrace, his strength ...

139 comments 139

Read story

“The Last Drink” by Harland Chambers

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #252

Trigger warning: contains themes of alcoholism/addiction.It’s following me again. I walk from the kitchen to the living room and hide. Jaded doesn’t even begin to describe it. I hate the world and the idea of the world. I loathe people and places and work and free time. I can’t stand Netflix bingeing or walking in the park. I don’t enjoy eating, not even Mexican food, which used to be the end of all things. As Rob Thomas would say, “My reason for reason.” No, I have one obsession. It’s with me when I wake up and carries my carcass through th...

Read story

“The Writer’s Block” by Jim LaFleur

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #252

Jack Thompson’s fingers drummed a chaotic symphony against his cluttered desk, surrounded by the remnants of unrelenting perfectionism—crumpled paper mountains, an army of empty coffee cups, and the flickering screen of his laptop displaying the solitary bulwark of his creative struggle: one stubborn sentence. This single line of text, which he revised with the same unyielding dedication some might reserve for disarming a bomb, had been his nemesis and companion for five torturous years. “The sun erupted over the horizon like an overzealous ...

Read story

“Make Things Right” by Corey Melin

Submitted to Contest #252

Trigger Warning: stalker, thoughts of suicide, and murder Susie continues walking down the dark alley, wondering if she is doing the right thing. “Should I trust my saviors?” she asks herself. For weeks, this man has been following her wherever she goes. Whatever establishment she visited; this man would be there. “Why?” she asks herself. “There is nothing special about me. I am not popular and no beauty contest winner.” But in this crazy world, you never know what is going through someone’s head. All she knows is the stalking needs to end...

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“Nightingale Court” by Howard Halsall

Submitted to Contest #252

Mrs Cockroach, my neighbour from 507 Nightingale Court, had a distinctive door-knock. It was like the first four notes of Beethoven’s fifth; three quick taps and one solid rap. I’m coming! I said, closing my laptop. Hold on, Cally! Her dishevelled straw mop and skimpy summer dress made her look like a knock-kneed scarecrow after an autumnal storm. What’s up, neighbour? I asked. There’s a taxi on its way, she said, scratching her blotchy elbow. I need help to move out o...

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“Frans and Marie” by Thom With An H

Submitted to Contest #252

The Transporter Museum, a forgotten relic, is inconveniently located on a deserted side street two turns off a dead-end alley. You might never find it, even by accident, but if you do, you’ll always remember its immaculate displays and its eccentric proprietor, Frans Messerschmitt.Every day precisely at nine, the little old man illuminated the neon sign, flipped the placard to open, and made his way behind the counter, prepared for customers who rarely came.It was already late in the day when the door opened, surprising both Frans and the vi...

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“The Nitwits Around Here are Such a Bore” by Daniel Rogers

Submitted to Contest #252

A castle keep is all that remains of an ancient crumbling castle. It overlooks a valley centered on a tiny island surrounded by dragon-infested mountains. The shadow elves brought the Eye of Duran, which they stole from King Moreland of Selwyn, to this keep for safekeeping. The shadow elves allied with the fire-bolt dragons because the Selwyn navy wouldn't have a prayer to follow. The fiery barrage from the dragons would obliterate their ships before they spotted one palm tree. A messenger dragon sent from their fleet out at sea had warned t...

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“The Purple Wave” by Alexis Araneta

Submitted to Contest #252

CW: Abuse, swearing“Oh my God! It’s happening,” Melissa Alton sputtered out in a breathless whisper, her well-modulated television journalist voice drowning in a wine-dark sea of nerves inside her. As she sat on the stool of the cedar dresser set, painted her favourite lavender, she bought from a rummage sale seven years ago, she felt her entire body tremble like a purple maple leaf in an autumn breeze.She stared at the mirror and broke into a slight, polite grin, her facial muscles tightening as it settled into the familiar quiet little smi...

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“Not Another One!” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #252

Moral: Be careful what you wish for, you may get it.“I wish I didn't have a basset hound.”“Hello, Sis. So nice of you to call. What's that about your basset hound?”“I wish I didn't have one. He is nothing but a barf-bag!”“A barf-bag? Are you talking about that adorable little floppy-eared puppy you paid a king's ransom for at a pet shop a few years back because your lonely youngest daughter looked at you with equally sad puppy-dog eyes begging you to let her take him home?”“The one and only. She was left home alone so much when her brother a...

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“Expectations.” by Hazel Ide

Submitted to Contest #252

Her tight smile never quite reached her eyes, and the irritable way in which she answered every question told me something was wrong with Tara. Staff and patients scurried in and out of the waiting room while she assisted each need with thinly veiled annoyance.On a good day, Tara's eyes were these huge, wide-set owlish things that seemed to evoke as much curiosity as wonderment. Today, the watery, unblinking tenor set a more uneasy tone. I spent the first half of my shift cataloging and dismissing all her cues, but interacting was unavo...

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“Uplifted by Voyages of Wonder on the Mystical Coast ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #252

Part I. Crossing Vast Seas to the Islands A new radiance began to grow in Arni as if he absorbed the sun sparkling on the sea.His love for the vast oceans filled him and spilled over.His inner fog cleared and a sense of wonder grew.Arni's tangled thoughts turned into a sense of inspiration and direction. These began to fill Arni and uplift him beyond his daily tasks.Arni knew what he wanted to do.The many threads of his life were becoming woven into one fabric filled with a sense of wonder. He wanted to share it.Soon he was leaving on the Ca...

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“Follow Me” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #252

Follow MeCaution: Contains passing of a pet.His eyesight was poor, his gait was labored yet he followed me. Through the flowering meadow, over the babbling stream, along the dusty country road he followed me. There was a time, (was it only last week?) he would have explored along the way. Venturing off on his own quest to examine an interesting flutter near a sweet clover or search out a foreign smell capturing his attention or take a cooling splash in the water. But today if he lingered behind he was slow to catch up, hesitated like he didn...

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“Not A Bad Man” by Michelle Oliver

Submitted to Contest #252

“Oh, for the love of…” Selina muttered the curse under her breath, biting off the profanity at the end with gritted teeth, aware of the little ears flapping on the other side of the bathroom door.“Mama!” the snot-faced, adorable terror that controlled her life hollered loudly enough that the neighbours would likely call 911.“Mama needs to pee. Give me a minute.” Ha! As if a two-year-old understood the concept of time or personal space. From the moment he toddled his first steps—actually, from the moment he could crawl—Jasper had followed Sel...

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“Vim of Verisimilitude” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #252

If Marcus Boddy knew it was going to be his last day on earth, he wouldn’t have drank so much. The dark room spun with alcohol-induced vertigo as he lay in the pillowy soft bed, enveloped in the plaid-patterned quilt. He shook his head back and forth, but the stitched, frilled edges still rubbed against his face. He grimaced, soft beds always wrecked his back. Everything was wrong, off track. He had to make a decision, but he couldn’t think straight.He fought through the fog in his head; something important happened earlier, he had a l...

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“GARY GRIMBLE AND THE DEMON'S CURSE” by Darvico Ulmeli

Submitted to Contest #252

Once upon a time, a man named Gary Grimble lived in the not-so-enchanted town of Gumbleton. Gary wasn't your typical knight in shining armor, nor was he a dashing hero with a secret identity. Nope, Gary was more like the human embodiment of a "Wet Paint" sign—easily ignored and generally avoided. He was an average, run-of-the-mill pessimist who wore his gloom like a comfortable old sweater. If there was a silver lining, Gary would find the tarnish. He believed Murphy's Law was written exclusively for him, like some twisted daily horoscope f...

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$250

Prize money

360

Contest entries

143

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - May 31, 2024 EST

Won by Danielle LeBlanc 🏆

Title: Seven Hundred and Thirty Days

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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