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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

“Ashwood Lane” by Joey Madden

Submitted to Contest #255

"Just bring them back to me." I plead, my hands clasped together tightly in prayer, bonded by the cohesion of sweat and the friction of skin as I tremble on my knees in the Lords Light. I know not to abuse prayer for selfish gain, but things are just really hard for me right now. I would hope that in all my time of serving the Lord, preaching his name, living by his rules, just once it could come back to me in an observable form.The rosary sits just above my bed. At this point, I know not if it guides me, or if it mocks me. The lord has alwa...

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“I Don't Like Mondays” by Thomas Wetzel

Submitted to Contest #255

CW: This story contains themes of various potentially disturbing topics."I DON'T LIKE MONDAYS"After the police came to the house that night and I went through the system and the court-mandated 5150 hold and almost 30 days in the psych ward, when I was scheduled for release within 48 hours I had to meet with yet another new psychiatrist who would be responsible for making an assessment as to whether or not I was a continuing danger to myself or others. Whether or not I could go home.I was tired. I was tired of all of it. I was tired of t...

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“It's Not Like That” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #255

Vicky was still there. That was the kicker. That was the cause of a perpetual limbo that wore a different outfit every time John blinked. So many thoughts. And they whirled around and around in his head leaving a trail of sticky candy floss in the stead of a coherent mind. It hurt. But he loved her. He loved her and that was all that mattered. John had never stopped loving Vicky. He didn’t know how. He knew all about love. After all, he’d been practicing it since he was born. He’d read about it too. There were many stories about love. And th...

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“Fairness and Freedom” by Martin Maynard

Submitted to Contest #255

Fairness and Freedom Trigger Warning: Contains acts of war. We both stand in the clearing, staring at each other. I'm struck motionless by the suddenness of seeing him in front of me. His fear-stricken eyes mirror my shock. We recognize each other immediately—not the person, but the uniform. Neither of us has our guns at the ready. I hold mine by the stock, pointing it to the ground. He grasps his, white-knuckled, pointing it to his left, his fingers nowhere near the trigger. The slightest movement by one would send the other swinging the g...

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“I Didn't Choose This and I'm Better For It” by Sarah Martyn

Submitted to Contest #255

TW: divorce, affair, mental health “You wouldn’t even care if I died!” I shouted to my husband. Should I even call him that? He was at the other woman’s house, just outside of it with me in the parking lot. He barely looked at me as I shouted like a maniac to my betraying husband. He sat in his car. All he said was “I have to go to work,” which only made me feel as though he wouldn’t care if I died. I felt like the crazy person people would call the cops on, but if only they knew how I was hurting. ***~A few weeks earlier~ The whirlwind I wa...

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“F.I.N.E.” by Cindy Thompson

Submitted to Contest #255

©TRT….FINE61624 F. I. N. E. She sat in the circle, her sunglasses and hat covering most of her face. Her makeup and outfit were impeccable. With her mind racing, she sat as still as possible using all her energy to shield any discomfort. Life has the woman taught many lessons, she whispered ‘Guard your heart!’. Something was different today. “If any of you are wearing sunglasses or hats, please remove them,” the group counselor asked before the session began. She was the sole person in the...

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“From the Depths ” by Lily Finch

Submitted to Contest #255

Annie walked as though fatigue held her hostage. With each step, she sighed at the terrible sounds of despair. Her eyes were half shut, and her body was despondent about the issues surrounding her."Why should I prepare things for others to see as they pass this place?" She said. "It always ends with the same outcome. Doesn't it?"She meandered herself toward what she thought was the river bed.The thought of thrusting her body into the river to allow the raging water to take her away with it crossed her weary mind. She knew if she knew how to ...

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“Painting Your Own Path” by Kagomé Carpenter

Submitted to Contest #255

Disclaimer: This story contains minimal references to death and substance abuse. It is always the cold winter night, when frost overtakes the town and snow buries our favorite memories. It is when the clouds dominate the sky and so our universe seems to disappear. Or is it that my family only fights on christmas then cries and pleads with one another as they leave the gathering. No, I think it is when the sun rises but no light is strong enough to break through; that is how I know that the winter has been cursed. Well I stopped going to the...

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“Flight” by Philip Vayntrub

Submitted to Contest #255

The parachute was not working. It was funny, really. Samuel was an old man now and he had no fears except this one and it had happened. He heard his hangman hum above as it abandoned him, quickly drowned out by the roaring of the wind. Was his heart beating? It was but he could not count the beats and before anything he was falling. It was the falling that had scared him. The jumping was always easy. He knew how to do it. But this was what he feared, and he cursed himself that it had happened. Seconds passed and he fell through t...

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“The Naked Truth” by Martin Maynard

Submitted to Contest #255

The Naked TruthGinny got out of her 1978 Ford Fairmont and opened the front door. As she stepped inside, the sound of classical music greeted her, its soft strains emanating from the far side of the house. The dim glow of candles flickered from the living room, casting dancing shadows on the walls. She knew exactly what that meant. She took off her coat and walked down the entry hall, removing her shoes and blouse before stepping into the living room. There, on the area rug, lay her husband, Dane, naked with his eyes closed. Ginny's nerves b...

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“Low Functioning Happiness” by Anat Kalinski

Submitted to Contest #255

Rita can’t leave her apartment. It weighs on her to the point where she can’t bear it and starts to cry. I visit her almost every day, when she’s capable of having me. Sometimes she’s too wasted from Xanax and Ketamine. Other times, she really wants me to come over but can’t bring herself to ask. She doesn’t want to burden me, but it hurts her deeply if I don’t make the effort to insert myself.I should insist on visiting her when she’s at risk, even when she says no. We both know I can turn that no into a yes, and that that’s what’s expected...

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“The Eater” by Daniel Tress

Submitted to Contest #255

A year to the day Steven left her, Kristen stood where he’d proposed when they were eighteen. An overgrown dell in the woods of Walnut Hill Park, just a few blocks from her apartment where she’d left her son Jake sleeping. The wisteria hung heavy as melancholic bells, marring the air with over-sweetness. She stood there, half wine-drunk and remembering, when she heard his voice: “Back again, huh?” Steven sat crouched in the hollow of a nearby tree, the same tree upon which he’d pressed her, kissing her, the night he’d slid a cheap ...

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“The Coach Crash” by Hazel Ma

Submitted to Contest #255

You are on a coach when the news about the crash pops up on your phone. 25 dead. 20 injured. You wonder if you could have been among the dead, or luckily, among the injured. You look outside the coach window. Pastures are gilded by the setting sun. Long shadows of cattle, sheep, and horses amble on the glowing sea of grass. The other coach crashed on a winding mountain road in the depth of night. When you visited that province a few years ago, you marveled at the lofty peaks and cascadin...

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“Recipe for Murder” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #255

In the history of humankind, murder has always been associated with jealousy, that green eyed monster. Starting with the brothers Cain killing Abel over the envy of who had God's favor, the recipe of murder has changed very little since then. Having dedicated myself to culinary mastery , I thought my envy of Evan Broche was unique in its origin, only to find that there was nothing novel in my motivation to rid myself of such a gifted rival. Pacing my twelve by twelve cell for the hundredth time, I find myself in the t...

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“The Ladies of the Warehouse” by Dave Bede

Submitted to Contest #255

“I’m glad you felt well enough to come,” Jimmy said as they stepped out into the cloudy summer heat that would never feel like Valentine’s Day to Kathy. “I’d have hated to have to look at Mrs. Blodgett laid out in there alone. What a bloody awful day for a funeral.” “Is there ever a good day to say goodbye to your true love forever?” Kathy asked. “But Valentine’s Day weekend most of all!” Jimmy replied. “All right, I know you don’t like that kind of thing as much as I do. It’s like the ladies at the warehouse all used to say, I’m a sap...

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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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