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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#255: The Five Stages

It's a commonly held belief that, when we grieve a loss, we go through five emotional phases: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance. Science tends to disagree; there's no actual evidence that we go through these stages, or at least not in a neat, linear fashion. But despite this, the model remains a part of our popular consciousness, and is frequently referenced in art, literature, and day-to-day conversation — perhaps because the idea of having a map to our grief, a way to organize and compartmentalize our most complicated feelings, is so alluring.

This week's contest is inspired by the model, and by the feelings described within it. Your characters don't have to be grieving a loss of some kind; they may simply be navigating the challenges of life in general. Whichever route you choose, begin with one of the five stages.

This week's prompts

Write a story about a someone who's in denial.

Character – 68 stories

Write a story about anger.

Angst – 64 stories

Center your story around a character bargaining for something that's important to them.

Dramatic – 43 stories

Start your story with a character in despair.

Dark – 91 stories

Write a story about someone finding acceptance.

Character – 99 stories

Stories

“The Homecoming” by Sarah W

Submitted to Contest #255

Rex has gone to get her from the airport. I was supposed to go with him, but slept in. He left a note saying he didn’t want to wake me, but really, it was my punishment for last night. Sunlight hits the windscreen, flashing in my eyes for a moment. The winter sun hangs low in the cold blue sky, not a cloud in sight. Surely, it's a sign of the occasion: my baby girl, back home. Gosh, I haven't seen her for over three years. How will she have changed, my beautiful girl? Will Time have marked her? Will she bear traces of the life she's lived wi...

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“Anger and Disregard ” by J. C. Cole

Submitted to Contest #255

When we recall the way we felt or cared for others it doesn't always tie the knot with how we behaved at the time. Actions speak louder than words some might say. The slight look of distress on my mother’s face was a piercing indication that maybe something terrible was wrong. My father’s laughter poured down relentless waves of joy, regardless of the storm that brewed within him. A slight smile ushers pure happiness. Disgust brings nausea. A puzzled look drives us into confusion. While a pair of closed eyes can transfer calm and cool ...

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“Muddy Creek” by Tristin Downs

Submitted to Contest #255

My daddy had five bullets in his six shooter pistol until I was almost seventeen years of age. Just one bullet missing. One empty chamber. All six chambers in that gun used to be full, but ‘fore I was born my daddy had used one of them bullets on someone I’d never met. He liked to tell that story of the missing bullet. The story of a corrupt and evil sheriff in some town I couldn’t picture with a name that meant nothin to me. I wonder if that ‘old hound dog’ as my daddy called him, was really corrupt and really evil, or if he was just really...

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“Philip's Really Bad, But Useful, Day” by Rosemary Cannon

Submitted to Contest #255

Philip was angry. No one who knew him would have been surprised. Philip was often angry. Okay, he was good at his job, really creative, and so people made allowances for his temper. They had learned to keep out of his way and even grab anything precious out of his reach. Some remembered the cover artwork he had thrown from the meeting room window, when others had suggested some changes. How it had lain, forlorn, at the foot of the skyscraper, and people had side-stepped it as they made their way along Fifty-fourth street. One poor woman had ...

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“And Out Come the Wolves” by Shawn Leader

Submitted to Contest #255

Raziel looked down at the knife in his hand. It looked worn. It looked plain, an old antler jammed onto the end of that blade, another way to squeeze out every drop of blood. It looked shabby, a tool near the end of its usefulness. It looked like damnation not salvation.Raziel had lead Shing, Eyla and their two daughters out the Wolves’ village in the dark of the night. They found the small boat hidden on the beach. Raziel and Shing paddled them out past the breakers and within twenty minutes they had hoisted the small sail. By the time the ...

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“The World Looks Red” by Joey Madden

Submitted to Contest #255

[WARNING: Minor themes of Substance Abuse, Mental Health, and Thoughts of Violence] The world looks red. The ground sucks. I spit on the asphalt and rub it in with the heel of my dirtied boot. A jogger sprints by me with sweat running down his filthy brow as the stench of warm sweat assaults my olfactory senses. I turn towards him, but he is already far past me. I can't hold back this anger anymore. So long I have left it to fester inside me while I nod and smile in your face. Meanwhile, you don't know a thing about me. Nor do you care, n...

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“Living, Still?” by Ross Barker

Submitted to Contest #255

‘Still’ is a remarkably charged word in the English language. “Are you still enjoying your job?” is a question asked by your grandparents, desperate for the status quo of life to remain unchanged. “How are you still single?” is usually accompanied by a smirk and a tone of mockery, sometimes sarcasm, as your ‘friend’ secretly hopes that’s how you’ll remain forever, so that you can cry on their shoulder while they progress through the stages of their own life unrivalled. “He’s still breathing,” or “She...

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“Burn it Down, Bernadette” by Tim Dudenhoefer

Submitted to Contest #255

Bernadette was pissed.She grabbed her hair in both hands. Sweeping it back in a fluid motion, she snagged a hair tie off her wrist and bound it out of her way.In quick succession she pulled the hatch shut, adjusted her safety harness, and fired up the Flyer; its twin turbines whined and came to life. As the engines powered up, the craft gently rose a few centimeters off the roof of her complex. Her injuries still ached, but she ignored the pain. She slammed the gear retraction button, stumpy landing gear folded in under the craft. She turned...

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“You Know, Partner, I Died Before I Lived?” by Austin Loudin

Submitted to Contest #255

As smoke billowed from the pipes of a train into the air trying to block the high noon in the sky, the train began to pick up speed on the tracks causing a bellow to echo through the plains. The chugging of the wheels ramping up, the loud sounds of horns scaring everything away without a plan to stop than to crash violently. There were two women running from cart to cart. The woman in front has rose colored hair with a light brown western hat with a get-up similar to a cowboy with a light brown vest, a pair of gauntlets and tall-laced ...

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“Whispers of the Music Box” by Jeannine Grillo

Submitted to Contest #255

Wexlern pushed open the creaky wooden door of the old antique shop, a small bell tinkling above him as he stepped inside. The smell of aged wood and dust greeted him, mingling with the faint aroma of something floral, like dried lavender. He paused, letting his eyes adjust to the dim, warm light filtering through the cluttered room. Shelves and tables were crowded with artifacts from another time: ornate picture frames, delicate porcelain figurines, vintage clocks ticking softly, and countless other curiosities. He wasn't here for just any ...

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“Madam Savior” by Phoenix Mingo

Submitted to Contest #255

*Note from Author* Cult and poison references, corpse references, depiction of being dragged to 'Hell' Rules of man are flimsy and ultimately uncaring. The notion of morals are forever changing depending on who is of higher power, so it hardly ever stays in the minds of those not of our realm. For insistence, the now popular notion of a person under the arbitrary age of eighteen being unable to sell their soul as they themselves are unconsenting property. Of course, demons do not have to abide by these rules to a point. What is occurring ...

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“I Am Not A Robot” by Peter Warnock

Submitted to Contest #255

I AM NOT A ROBOTJack and Gale sat back and marvelled at the stupidity. No matter how hard they tried, the robot program wouldn’t let them speak to a human.“Try this one.” Together they had tried everything they could think of. “Human in need of human assistance!”Jack typed it in, but the same answer came back.“I’m sorry, but I’m only a robot. Please ask a question so that I may help you.” This seemed to be the only reply that was available.Jack scrolled down the page, and started counting. “That’s an even 50.&nb...

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“The Bedtime Bargain” by Darren Hansen

Submitted to Contest #255

I anxiously watched the glowing numerals on my smartwatch, waiting breathlessly for those holy numbers to appear. All around me were flying toys, high-pitched screams, and wrestling toddlers. Oh, and the strong smell of sweaty children. If you have spent enough time with kids, you know the smell I am talking about. Finally, the screen flickered and those holy numbers which were declared to our forebears by angels of heaven in years of old, bringing peace to the aged and weary, appeared. 7:30 PM. “Bedtime!” I declared (joyously, of cour...

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“The Wolf-Stag” by Cajek Veilwinter

Submitted to Contest #255

The wolf skull in the abandoned mine was sitting atop a rock. The skull itself was covered in spiderwebs and lit by the blue, bioluminescent bacteria that was hanging down in thin strands from the ceiling a few meters above it. Strangely, the wolf skull had very large antlers as well which were also dripping in cobwebs and bioluminescent bacteria. The walls of the cave were a deep, inky black: so black and smooth that it reflected the lights of the bacteria back and gave the place a neon-blue hue that permeated everything in it - including t...

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“The Deterrent of My Goodbye” by Emma Sillett

Submitted to Contest #255

My Grandma Frances once told me "God will give you signs but you have to pay attention". Her words ring in my ears every single day, not because I have faith, but because I have lost faith. As I sit achingly alone in what once was a house full of colour, my mind pulsating with endless anguish, I ask the universe, with my perished hands clasped together, why didn't you take me too?Its December 24th 1945, Christmas Eve, not that there will be even the tiniest nod to the festivities from me. I am sitting inside the remnants of our home, forgive...

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$250

Prize money

365

Contest entries

142

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jun 21, 2024 EST

Won by Phoebe Barr 🏆

Title: Some Peace and Quiet

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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