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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

“Her phantom hold” by Giorgia Saladino

Submitted to Contest #255

For three months, 15 weeks, 111 days, and all 2678 hours, my mind has not stopped thinking about her, about it. Nothing helps. Not that I’ve tried much, but the promise sold with the white pills neatly tucked in the clear plastic bag hiding in my bottom drawer was of a tranquil night of sleep. And even that hasn’t been fulfilled. It feels like throwing money down the drain. Preston promised results, and I foolishly believed him yet again, just like I believed myself when I said, "this is the last time."That’s why I’m here in bed, being mocke...

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“Of Mice and Other Mice” by Timothy R. Butcher

Submitted to Contest #255

This isn’t a story with a moral. In fact, it isn’t important that you know any of this. You might just leave worse off than you came, knowing nothing more than the face I am a pitiful, hapless person. It is an account of what happened to me yesterday at dinner. I was on a date. Like every other I can recall within the past, say, five years, it wasn’t going so well. Some nice restaurant called La Famiglia’s. Pricier than I’m comfortable with, but not so pricy I can’t pretend it isn’t a big deal when I offer to pick up the check. We...

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“Goin' Places” by Patricia Williford

Submitted to Contest #255

Goin' Places The first time I ever saw Mr. Emmett Crawford, he was hunched over a bed of red and yellow pansies, smothering them up to their necks with damp sawdust while autumn leaves covered the rest of the ground. “Morning, sir!” I hollered, “You just move in?” “Yep, just this past weekend. Pretty nice place. We moved up here to be close to my son. You lived here long?” “All my life, actually,” I sighed. “I can't imagine what it'd be like to move to a new place.”&nbsp...

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“CUTTING THE UMBILICAL HEART STRINGS” by Patricia Stankovic

Submitted to Contest #255

My son Erik hasn’t texted for a while. I’m not worried. I’ll hear something soon. He and his girlfriend, Kelly—has it already been a year?—are super busy at college. Studying, socializing, you know. There’s always something fun and interesting going on. Parties. I’m so glad I’d suggested Erik apply to schools in a warm climate. And, otherwise, he wouldn’t have met her. I smile, picturing the two of them holding hands, walking to class under the palm trees in their shorts and t-shirts. I remember those days. Exce...

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“Travel Light” by Chris Churilla

Submitted to Contest #255

“Night’s Rest,” says Millie in her dramatic narrator voice. “Founded in 1873. The last census puts it at 9,782. Its high school mascot is Percy the Fighting Knight. The town slogan is, ‘Stay one night, and you’ll never want to leave!’ “ I can hear her rolling her eyes. She says, “I’m glad Percy is a fighting knight. And here I thought they were all pacifists.” I glance in the rearview at the bundled figure in the back seat, a cell phone clutched in her mittened hand. “Someone’s in a mood today.” “No, I love going to towns where the local the...

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“Sarah's Recovery” by Thaddeus Tuffentsamer

Submitted to Contest #255

Sarah’s Recovery Sarah awoke to the left side of her face being very warm. The sun was in the right position in its morning ascent and its rays were blasting, full force through the window. She slid further to James’ side of the bed, but it didn’t help her escape its rays. She reached over to the remote on her bedside table and pointed it at the ceiling fan to get it going. Its blades began to twitch and move ever so slowly until they picked up speed.&nbs...

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“Some Sick Joke” by Kris Foster

Submitted to Contest #255

The world had just celebrated the last circle around the sun. Everyone, me included, cheering for the hope of a new year, and saying goodbye to the last one. Yet, it took one day after the new year for me to learn the harsh fact that not everyone gets the luxury of celebrating or experiencing the upcoming year. I hadn’t even gotten into my home, my haven, before my phone rang and my world crumbled around me. I could barely keep my composure as my brother's words echoed through my mind: “You need to get to the farm as soon as possible. It’s M...

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“A maze with no end” by Silva Kedmenec

Submitted to Contest #255

“What are you looking for?”“A way out.” She says continuing to move forward, stopping now and then at every new door, trying its handle, but as each stays unmoving so she walks on, always on.“You know you won't find one here. Not like this.”She lets out a frustrated sight at the words of her companion, unsure if those are words based on hopeless pessimism or justified realism, but nevertheless unwilling to admit their truth as yet a possibility. Of course there must be a way out, a person can’t find itself in a place with no entrance nor exi...

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“Mother's Favorite” by Madison Flagg

Submitted to Contest #255

Her hands were adorned with jagged, deep blue nails, their pointed tips catching in the old man’s tangles as her phone hung limply against her shoulder and ear.A lit cigarette drooped between her red lips, smoke swirled from the tip as she exhaled occasionally, sending plumes of smoke to curl toward the stained ceiling. The shop is nearly empty; a few customers are checking out, fiddling with their hair while her finished co-workers sweep their stations. Their hands grasping the scratched broom, which seems to have been at the shop long...

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“Poodle” by Richard Calver

Submitted to Contest #255

Poodle When Maurice retired, he walked and walked most days. Motion was everything. He could lose himself in the rhythm of his own footsteps, counting sometimes. He embraced the physical challenge of making himself part of not caring where he walked, so long as he was in motion, so he could feel only the physicality that these long walks engendered, the ache in the legs, the tightening of his stomach, the clean air in his lungs. He was nowhere on his walks, the place he retreated to no matter the geography. His walks often enc...

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“Take that Anger to Your Grave” by Big Pachino

Submitted to Contest #255

***Warning: This story contains themes of mental health issues, substance abuse, suicide, physical violence and gore.***Gray stones built the path running along the Foxwood cemetery in a labyrinth maze. You could get dizzy without a map. Everyone got one at the funeral. The office keeps maps handy in case you need one. But you gotta have a pamphlet to the funeral to get a map, so I'm going to have to make my way through blind.I wasn't invited, because the family blames me for mom getting sick.Let me tell you, cemeteries are all mad filthy ca...

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“The Angry Children” by Tammy Boyd

Submitted to Contest #255

I’m not sure when I realized my anger but I definitely brought it from my childhood into adulthood. The first recollection of anger was grade school, my mom drove around aimlessly not knowing where to go to stay away from our tumultuous home life. We parked at the edge of the fairgrounds to ponder our situation. As she started to drive us back home I begged her not to…please just let us sleep in the car and we’ll figure it out. Of course her answer was no, it was ridiculous for her to stay the night with 2 children in the car. I know that no...

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“Salvation” by Kumkum Singh

Submitted to Contest #255

Trigger warning: the story contains self harm, depravation and killing. SALVATION As I reflect on my past, I realize that I was once happy, despite my childhood being marked by the scars of my parents' daant (scoldings). Those harsh words, which once seemed like a reason to escape, have now become a treasured memory, a reminder of the love that lay beneath the surface. The fights between my parents, which once terrified me, are now something I yearn for desperately. I've come to understand that those arguments were the th...

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“Tyr's Lament” by Lady Senie

Submitted to Contest #255

Her name was Vanessa Williams.That was the name of the woman I was recalling while my hostess did my hair during my first gaming session so long ago. It was funny; I didn’t even remember ever spending any time in Jordan, Iowa as a child, but apparently, the best foster home I ever lived in was there. And her braiding skills had been on par with the woman I lived with during my time in Canada.Unlike the famous singer, however, this Vanessa was beaten to death one lonely Thursday night by her drunken husband who was long dead for his crime. Wh...

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“Heartless” by Jo Ryleigh

Submitted to Contest #255

Not a soul came to visit her. Not even Jason. Flashback to ten days earlier, Jess was out to breakfast with her best friend Carrie. Out of nowhere, Jess had the start of a massive migraine and began to slur her words. Carrie became petrified that Jess was having a stroke right in front of her. They alerted the server, dropped a ten-dollar bill to cover the two coffees that had been served so far and for the inconvenience and Carrie speeded Jess over to the ER. Ninety minutes into a stroke assessment, an IV line placem...

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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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