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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!

This week's prompts

Start your story with a character being followed.

Dramatic – 99 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 – 39 stories

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

Dramatic – 129 stories

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

Character – 55 stories

Stories

“The Remembered Commander” by Mahtan Runya

Submitted to Contest #252

The attack was sudden, devastating, and of unequaled brutality, lines upon lines of soldiers marching in neat order the perfect target for gunners hidden in trees to the right of the company, the first volley sending the troops into a panic. As their officers yelled at them to form up as still more shots rang out, hidden pits to the left of the road, and consequently now directly behind the forming lines were thrown open as more gunners opened fire on the forming ranks. The officers, many on horses and behind the lines, were the perfect targ...

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“Be Careful What You Wish For” by George Wallace

Submitted to Contest #252

The professor at my university was getting excited. One of his famous authors was writing a new book. Agatha was writing it by hand and producing a manuscript. No one knew what the story was about or anything else about it. But every time Agatha wrote a manuscript, it became a hot property. The last three manuscripts had made millions from having the book published.This time seemed no different. Agatha had been working on her book for three months. It had gradually been growing. It now contained over six hundred pages, all carefully written ...

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“Sophia's Wish” by Douglas Render

Submitted to Contest #252

SOPHIA’S WISH On a chilly autumn evening, the small town of Crooked Creek buzzed with excitement. The annual Winter Harvest Fair was in full swing, and people of all ages in this small farming community filled the town square. Each reveling in the festive atmosphere. The children’s voices could be heard screeching with joy as they rode the roller coaster, Ferris wheel, and other exciting rides. Stalls brimmed with homemade goods, apple, and cherry pies, and corn on the cob. The smell of barbecue filled the fair-goers nostrils. The scent of r...

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“Wishful Drinking: Spirits of the Bottle” by Randy Miller

Submitted to Contest #252

SAM STAGGERED IN the chilling Autumn wind, anticipating another cruel night. Holding a rolled sleeping bag, he sought refuge behind Anderson's grocery store.The pungent odor coming from the dumpster assaulted his nose as he squeezed between the wooden slats of the locked gate to the enclosure that surround the dumpster. Walking around the side he unfurled the sleeping bag behind the dumpster and crawled inside.As the sky darkened, he revisited his recent downfall, feeling betrayed by the world and his wife's anger. His drinking had not helpe...

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“The Class Capsule” by T. K. R Bennett

Submitted to Contest #252

Callous leather gloves grasp my throat, forcing me down. I grab at the wrists, but they’re strong. They drag me to the edge of the scaffolding, and with one violent shove, I fly. Wind thrusts against my body. My chest. My hair. I'm face-to-face with the theatre stage.Darkness becomes me!As my Jimmy Choo’s echo through the quad, heads slump, and tears stream. There are no inappropriate comments about my legs or breasts. All it took was for Audrey to die to tame these disassociative teens. My life could have been much simpler if I had known th...

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“Dating sucks” by Meg Lagares

Submitted to Contest #252

I knew it. There he was again. I stopped to do some window shopping and I spotted him hiding(?) a few storefronts down.. Is he looking at rings? He was stopped in front of a jewelry shop, wearing very dark glasses “looking” at the display in the window, but I noticed him glancing in my direction every so often. He’s really not very good at this stealthy stuff. Every time I look in his general direction, he tries to be engrossed in the jewels shining brightly in their cases. Today, he tried to cover his unruly blonde hair underneath a baseba...

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“Terror of the Night” by Rick Siu

Submitted to Contest #252

The hour was late, well past midnight, when she finally stepped out of the bar. The crisp night air bit at her skin, her breath visible in the faint glow of the streetlights. She cursed herself under her breath. "Stupid, I'm so stupid," she muttered, her voice barely louder than a whisper. She had meant to leave hours ago but got caught up in the evening's events. Now, with the buses no longer running, she had no choice but to walk home alone. The city felt so different at night, the familiar vibrant city streets were ...

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“Not yet, but Always” by Jennifer Buiswalelo

Submitted to Contest #252

Gray and gloomy, the day had borne the weight of ceaseless rain, leaving the streets washed and shimmering with reflected streetlights. Puddles pooled along the sidewalk, casting long, eerie glows from the occasional passing car. A gentle, cold breeze whispered through the trees, their branches rustling softly like conspiratorial whispers. The chill seeped into every corner, making the already dreary evening even more unsettling. John tightened his grip on the leash, his dog Max trotting ahead with an unusual restlessness. Max was typically ...

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“Follow the Crime” by Emma Phillips

Submitted to Contest #252

Follow The CrimeWe follow our characters Jimmy and Cash as they travel from town to town pretending to be lawn maintenance workers, but in actuality they are criminals. They were mowing grass, in a little town called South Bearlsburg. There was really nothing there, a hotel and Bettys Bar, but a few fancy houses were arranged on the outskirts of town, just far enough away for Jimmy and Cash to go unnoticed as they slipped through the neighborhood in the evenings.What they didn’t know was that the local ...

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“Seen.” by Sara Rushbury

Submitted to Contest #252

Seen. The world narrowed into a tunnel around me, like it was closing in on me. The sudden caw of a crow rattling my fraying nerves. I kept my normal pace, not slowing or speeding up even though every fibre in my body was begging me to run. I didn’t need to turn around and check because I already knew. I could feel it. It wasn’t so close that I could feel breath on the back of my neck but the sudden change of energy in the atmosphere made me instantly aware that it had seen me and was now following me. That morning as I locked the door to ...

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“The Shadow Out of Meadowvale” by Ethan Rogers

Submitted to Contest #252

The figure followed him, shadowy cloaked and shadowing his footsteps. P walked the streets of his hometown for the first time in twenty years. He saw cracks in the sidewalk, but he expected more. The image of a rotten hometown as seen on television and movies wasn’t what he was seeing now. No potholes, no thunderclouds. The cracks in the sidewalk were present, but the cracks did not create spiderwebs of shattered concrete. The sidewalk was just old. P remembered the name calling and the laughing. The bullying in movies was similar, a facsimi...

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“Shit Storm” by Kim Meyers

Submitted to Contest #252

“Fuck, I hate the athletic ones!”, Vera groans as they speedwalk up Fifth Avenue. She’s dressed in Doc Martens, denim cut offs, and a cropped white T, iced coffee in hand. Her jet black hair and full-sleeve tattoos provide an edgy aesthetic but her slight build diminishes her capacity for intimidation. “Why can’t she walk at a normal speed?” “Some people have places to go and people to see, dearest”, remarks Roman. Towering more than a foot over her, he easily keeps stride with Vera. Two siblings could not appear to be more starkly con...

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“No Escape” by Jae Po

Submitted to Contest #252

She pushed him on the swing set, his little laughter filling the air with each push. In these moments, she looked down at him and smiled. These were often Yvette’s most prized moments of the day: spending time with her 4-year-old nephew at the local park. Every workday morning, she would pick him up from her baby sister’s house, take him to the park for around a half hour, and then drop him off at daycare. She really enjoyed this rare time, uninterrupted. In between her nephew’s high-pitched laughs, she found herself looking up and around. I...

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“Was it Me?” by Sally Gee

Submitted to Contest #252

WAS IT ME ? It started off so well, so fulfilling and emblazoned with lust, adventure, and an overwhelming joy. I guess that’s how we all feel when we finally think we have found the one, our lover, our friend, yet how are we supposed to quantify love, the qualities it embodies, the feeling we are meant to experience. I have ...

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“Betrayed by Insanity” by Denise Willis

Submitted to Contest #252

Prologue I am 53 years old, and I will be 54 in November. I am the smartest, most attractive man that exists. I took a class in psychology, but I was the best mind in the class, my professor said so, and therefore I am capable of analyzing a person as well as any Psychologist. I also took Political Science and some beginning classes in law. In both cases, I mastered the classes quickly and stood out as the best in my class. Technically speaking, I am a Lawyer, a Psychologist, and the best political mind the world has seen. I coul...

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$250

Prize money

357

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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