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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

“Double-Take” by Jim Duffy

Submitted to Contest #252

Double-Take “Please welcome to the show, Mister Tom O’Halloran .......Visionary inventor of Bio-robotics!" On cue, the audience erupts into loud applause as the famous entrepreneur takes to the set, waving and smiling before settling on the sofa opposite the host, Jamie Morton. “You all know Tom – he’s one of the most famous businessmen on the planet. Some say genius and benefactor – the ‘Man of the Age’ as one newspaper called him - some say dangerous narcissist. Either way, after major challenges that would have seen ...

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“Personal Jesus” by Amy Curry

Submitted to Contest #252

Waking up again before enough sleep to comfortably start the day, I hear Toby laughing and clapping in his bedroom next to mine. It's not untypical at this unholy hour, around 5:30 AM-ish, when he usually chooses to rise. My sweet little man, oh, how his mood varies; Toby is generally happy, with big hugs, kisses, and smiles that I live for. I wouldn't dare to disrupt his schedule, though, as he may become irritable and discontent. He refuses to eat, throws objects at every glass and damageable surface, biting and clawing my wrists and thigh...

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“Havana Jack” by J.T. Monroe

Submitted to Contest #252

Chapter 1I first met Jack Dunbar in the summer of 1953. It was at a small bar in Havana, the kind of place where the walls are stained with the stories of sailors and the scent of cigars lingers like a ghost. The night was hot, the air thick with humidity and the promise of rain. I was sitting at the bar, nursing a rum and coke, when Jack swaggered in. He had the kind of presence that made everyone look up. He was tall, with dark hair slicked back, and his smile could light up a room—or so he believed.Jack took the stool next to mine, ordere...

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“A Professional Veneer” by Val Woods

Submitted to Contest #252

I took my time packing up at the end of today’s meeting. Wanted a chance to talk to Fiona alone. She’s usually the last one left in the room, clearing up the cups and gathering the confidential waste. It’s her disrespectful attitude you see. Always the same. Like today. I get there early and as usual she has already set up the coffees and is tapping away at her laptop. I ask her why the agenda was cut short and she says it’s nothing to do with her and she only types it up and sends it round. Tells me to ask Janet and turns th...

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“Escape” by Jay Dotson

Submitted to Contest #252

The library was always my favorite escape. Having spent the 3 hours of the day intermittently staring at my ceiling or scrolling through TikTok, it was clear a change of surroundings couldn’t make the morning any worse. Once I was done with bathroom hygiene and got casually (re: lazily) dressed, I headed out of the house and got on my bike. I considered leaving a note for my parents, but I figured a text would suffice. I made a mental note to send one when I got to the library. If it wasn’t too much trouble. By bike, the Valen Crawford Publi...

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“An Offal Business” by Gerald Cole

Submitted to Contest #252

How shall I kill you? Let me count the ways. I’ve thought of baking you alive, rather like my signature pig’s head en croute, but my oven couldn’t really manage all of you. Not all at once, anyway. Perhaps a bomb would be better. Faster, cleaner. But I don’t want fast. Or clean. I want slow and dirty so you get just an inkling of the pain you’ve caused me. No, agony. Pure, lacerating, mental...

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“You're Nothing Without Me” by Pietro Vaccari

Submitted to Contest #252

“And when the world burns, I’ll be there… warming my hands by the fire.” Tim spoke in a dreamy sigh, dramatically draping himself upon the silk couch like a Victorian maiden. Henry's face was stone, denying the other any satisfaction by refusing to react. In his hand, the weight heavy and familiar, was a Beaumont–Adams revolver, its muzzle trained unwaveringly at Tim's head. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. “Can’t you just imagine it, Hen?” Tim tilted his head, offering Henry a sly, knowing smile. He didn't even glanc...

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“Intergenerational” by Victoria MacDonald

Submitted to Contest #252

In 1974, I am in my twenties, and in denial of the fact that I am in the early stages of alcohol addiction. To my way of thinking, there is nothing better than a few pre-party drinks to calm the nerves before setting off for a gathering of people you haven’t seen since your boyfriend broke up with you. Especially if you are hoping the ex will be there, realize he has missed you, and beg for another chance. I knock back a one-liter bottle of vino before taking to the road for th...

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“The Definition of Insanity 3” by Antoine Bargel

Submitted to Contest #252

The Definition of Insanity 3 “Victory belongs to the most tenacious.” Roland Garros A few weeks ago, I submitted the short story below to a digital publication that provides feedback on submissions. Though stylized, it is entirely autobiographical. The Definition of Insanity 2 A few months ago, I submitted the short story below to a digital publication that provides feedback on submissions. Though stylized, it is entirely autobiographical. One might even say therapeutic, as in the wake of a major sentimental disappointment, I was t...

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“Orbison's Memories” by Kay Davies

Submitted to Contest #252

The name is Orbison. It's weird I know, but the old man was a big fan of the Big O and that's what he lumbered me with. Why he couldn't have called me Roy, I'll never know. I wouldn't call any children of mine something so daft.I wasn't always like this. Scruffy and – quite frankly – unwashed. The old lady always used to say; “don't do anything I'd be ashamed of.” Well she'd be ashamed of me now and I'll tell you why. Women.To be specific, a particular woman. Joan. She is the prettiest little thing. Long black plait that hung to her waist, w...

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“The Magnum Opus” by Moshe Davidovici

Submitted to Contest #252

“Robert, please go to sleep!” his wife pleaded with him. She pulled on his arm. It was no use; nothing she could say or do would budge him. “The doctor said it’s what you need!” “Shut up!” he fumed. He pulled his arm forcefully out of her grasp and resettled himself in his writing chair, in front of his typewriter. Those he knew had wondered why he wrote with a typewriter, but he maintained that it created the “perfect atmosphere”. For writing, he was a method actor. He paused a small while before speaking again. ‘What’s it to yo...

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“Within The Cane's Reach” by Reginald Paige

Submitted to Contest #252

1 Out in the midst of Bayou Andorra, the hooded man named Adonis beholds the shack. Shouting loons in the misty weather; echos uplift above the swampy tracks. Adonis stands still pondering if he should go back. Back to his town to heed to the warnings he heard as a child that his heart may turn to black. But what has that profited him, to himself he asks. Adonis had dreams. Dreams upon dreams that his dreams would manifest themselves. But without schemes, he was left to lean to himself for answers of how to make the dark sayings of his dream...

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“Message in a Bottle” by C.J. Carlin

Submitted to Contest #252

My prospective client, Regina St. John, was in her late forties, maybe early fifties. Her salt-and-pepper hair was drawn back into a severe bun, but there were laugh lines around her eyes and mouth. She smiled at me, but her smile was tinged with a certain sadness. “I want you to try to find my brother Mike. We had a horrible fight a couple years ago, over money, and I haven’t spoken to him since. Now both of us have inherited quite a bit from our Aunt Maude, and I want him to get his share. If we can’t find him, I get all of it, but I don’t...

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“All Hearts are Green” by Lee Youngblood

Submitted to Contest #252

“No don’t worry, we’ve got this, just get home; Missy is worried, she's called twice. I can’t cover for you anymore, Bruh. Anyway, she’s a good girl. I feel bad. She deserves better.” He didn’t mean to sound self righteous, but being sanctimonious had been assigned to him in eighth grade when he lost his sight in one eye and his baseball prospects, breaking-up a bullying session after the school’s Sadie Hawkins dance, but righteous sanctimony and pity only got him to bar manager in the towniest bar in town. No one outside cared, but the insi...

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“Virtual Reality 2056” by Ollie Batchelor

Submitted to Contest #252

I don’t often remember my dreams, but yesterday was different. Arriving home just before midnight after working a late shift, everything in the house was quiet, my wife and son already in bed. Raiding the fridge, I helped myself to a large portion of mac and cheese which I zapped in the microwave, gobbling it down like a hungry turkey. I slumped into an armchair to unwind by listening to some music. Tired and sated, I fell into a deep sleep and began to dream. I found myself at the back of a brightly lit room in which a couple of dozen peop...

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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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