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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

“Quiet World” by Grayson Chilcote

Submitted to Contest #252

“Someone’s following us.” Tanil said as he threw on his hood and unsheathed his knives. “What?!” Valla shouted, quickly turning around to see if Tanil was telling the truth. She couldn’t see anything however, as the light of the moon was covered by the chimney they hid behind. It was late in the night, and the pair of assassins were perched atop of a house, not wanting to move again till they were sure it was safe. It was Valla’s first mission, and Tanil served as her master for the night. He was assigned by the Alliance, but if she di...

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“Follow Me to Death” by Kylie Sheldon

Submitted to Contest #252

Trigger Warning: Violence, Sexual and Physical, Kidnapping, I see him following me. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see him. He’s stalking, about 6 feet behind me. I want to run, but I know he’d be able to catch me. He’s been following me for 15 minutes. I won’t call the police because I know he’ll hear me. I’m tempted to call my friends, stay on the phone with them until I’m back in our apartment, but lord knows that wouldn’t stop him. I know Lauren’s tracking my location, watching my little dot ping closer. Keeping my head trained on my...

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“A Hotel in Hannover” by Morton Newberry

Submitted to Contest #252

I think it was Oscar Wilde who wrote that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. That’s BS. Stalking is. My glance caught hers, and I turned my head as I sensed the surprise changing to puzzlement, to acknowledgment—and then again, to surprise. It is quite a specific chain of expressions. I suspected most people recognized it, but few had been on the receiving end. As the train stopped at the Hannover main station, I grabbed my suitcase and walked into the perennial gloom over Northern Germany. That faint hue that precedes the short su...

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“The Wolf and the Bear” by Danielle Martin

Submitted to Contest #252

As the girl walked, memories assaulted her. She shivered and drew her cloak closer, looking over her shoulder. She wasn’t alone this time and that was comforting at least. Last time she’d come through this forest, she had been alone. She remembered she had seen the creature staring at her through the trees. She remembered the feeling of uncertainty as she’d stopped, deciding whether to go on or turn back. She remembered her decision to go on, thinking that she would pass by in peace. After all, she’d never been bothered by on...

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“Fire and Wind” by Lauren Staehle

Submitted to Contest #252

August 16th - it’s our one year anniversary. Nate and I are sitting in a small Italian restaurant, an empty bottle of red wine between us. We’ve ordered another. It’s easier to let myself forget, to simply exist in this moment I’ve created, with the soft veil of alcohol clouding my thoughts. I feel myself slipping into the skin of the person that I’ve been waiting for all evening, like I’ve shifted into a parallel reality. This Lucy is flirtatious, care-free, basking in the candle-lit glow of a perfect romance. Nate is everything I wan...

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“Heroes and Lies” by AJ Eddy

Submitted to Contest #252

We've all heard the stories of good versus bad, right versus wrong. The Hero wins, and The Villain goes to prison. The Hero persuades the Villain to see the error of their ways and start anew. The Villain falls in love and asks the Hero to help them become a better person. The Hero, in a moment of moral ambiguity, does what they promised they never would and kills the Villain. At the academy, these scenarios were imposed on us as if they were real. Children with gifts were torn away from their families and brought to a special school. It was...

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“The Value of Desperation” by Teddy Kwan

Submitted to Contest #252

It was midday at the gladiator training camp and all the slaves were lining up to get their food. When the gong sounded to let everyone know lunch was ready a small bald slave was first in line. His name was Catabar, and he was clothed in a disgusting and smelly smock which was covered in animal filth. Catabar had spent the morning cleaning out the pig pens and stables and so even the other slaves kept their distance from him as they lined up for their food. This suited Catabar as he had been at work since before dawn and was hungry to the p...

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“First Dates” by Patricia Moffett

Submitted to Contest #252

Spoiler - There are references to the terrible incident when Heathcliff, in Wuthering Heights, demonstrates his control over Isabella by hanging her Springer Spaniel, Fanny.***I couldn’t help myself and let out a long-drawn sigh. These last two months Blanche’s monologue has been on Repeat, at least on a weekly basis. We’re at the “To my mind a man is nothing without a spice of the devil in him” part. And, like listening to the words of a repeated and irritating Christmas song in a shopping centre, I can’t help the fast-forward thinking...

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“The ethics of street photography ” by Gen T

Submitted to Contest #252

The ethics of street photography have long been questioned. I’ve often been asked at galleries, “don’t you think it’s exploitative to take pictures of someone in need?” Or, “doesn’t it make you feel yucky to build a career off of people who may be battling addiction or in the midst of a mental breakdown?” Is it not just as yucky for wildlife photographers to take a photo of the gazelle without warning it of the tiger sitting right behind it? Or the photo of a bombed child weeping as blood runs down their face? Those photos win aw...

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“Two Birds, One Sister” by Clay Huston

Submitted to Contest #252

Content warning: Some adult language“So sorry for your loss, dear.”Rude much? I’m in the middle of something. Do I know you? Oh. Cathy Talbert. Mom and dad’s neighbor. Honey, that black dress isn’t as slimming as you think it is. Aren’t you like, in your 60s? Dress your age. And size. Don't you know this room is for family? There’s even a sign. Like, why are you in here?“What’s that?” I say. So annoying.“So sorry dear. You must be inconsolable”Oh no. A hand. She’s going to touch me. How do I get her to go away? “Thanks for coming, Cathy. I’m...

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“Patience” by Allie Mae Sakry

Submitted to Contest #252

I cared. Oh, how deeply I cared for her. Yes, this was exactly what I had wanted all my life. Something to hold on to, something … worthy. Yes indeed, she was worthy of my attention. You think me insane, do you not? Well, I cannot say I am not. Though, aren’t we all? We all get obsessions, do we not? Yes, that is exactly what this was. An obsession. It was a beautiful day outside. She caught my eye. Oh, how quickly she caught my eye. She had been walking from the river with a pot and a basket back to her home. Such clarity of beauty that was...

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“Slow Down” by Jeannie Labelle -Potvin

Submitted to Contest #252

“Slow Down”byJeanne Labelle-PotvinI remember. And yet I’ve been told so often, “That’s impossible. You couldn’t remember that.” As I do my best to believe these doubtful Toms, strange things begin to percolate from somewhere deep inside the very core of my being. I watch as pictures dance before me, visions projected through my eyes onto the screen of reality. I remember.It was a long time ago. I’m peacefully asleep, wrapped snugly inside a cocoon of indescribable softness.There are pathways inside my brain that are being laid care...

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“Just a hairdresser” by Lyle Closs

Submitted to Contest #252

I know what I did was not nice. I’m a good person, but good people can be led astray. The world is awash with secrets. A married woman has sex with a visitor and her husband never knows that the resulting child is not his. A boy gets a girl pregnant but she does not tell him; she disappears and gives their child up for adoption. Now though! You take a DNA test intending to research your family history, and oh! the secrets that are revealed. It started with the small thrill of discovery. I had bought a DNA test kit for myself but not opened i...

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“Darker” by Liam Murphy

Submitted to Contest #252

Life PathsMeeting and becoming involved with Ariel Simmons was life-changing on many different levels. But let’s be straight with each other from the start: I am nobody’s idea of an innocent, nor am I a shrinking violet. Ariel lay down a cleverly hidden path for me to pursue until her dark world enveloped and subjugated mine. For the greater part of that journey, I was a more than willing supplicant before belatedly finding myself trapped in her morass too deeply and unable or unwilling to claw my way out. Ariel was twenty-seven when we firs...

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“The Baggie” by Tabatha Hartman

Submitted to Contest #252

The shower started in the bathroom.It’s off the kitchen, an odd design.Sitting at the kitchen counter, the bathroom door is 3 feet from the end of the counter. It’s just sitting there on the floor between me and the bathroom door.His backpack. He takes it to work. It holds everything he might need throughout the day; drawing pads, various drawing mediums and his laptop. And of course a hoodie. Unless it’s Friday. They dress up on Fridays at the shop, since they are casual all week. Sort of a play off what corporate America does. H...

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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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