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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#96: Xenia

In Ancient Greece, it was believed that gods in disguise walked the Earth. While this might sound like fun, there’s a tiny catch: a blunder (like turning away a stranger in need of shelter) could get you into a deity’s bad books.

So what did the Greeks do? They lived by the principle of xenia: extending their hospitality to anyone and everyone without exception — in case a god was among their visitors. I make it sound like a life hack, but the Greeks approached xenia with real reverence, and the custom features in many works of the time — most notably Homer’s timeless classic, The Odyssey.

Ever since Odysseus made the journey home to Ithaca (where his unlucky wife was duty bound to entertain 108 unwanted suitors due to the sanctity of xenia), the delicate, shifting balance between stranger, guest, and friend has been a fertile source of conflict in stories. With that in mind, this week’s prompts invite you to explore the relationship between guest and host, or negotiate the path from strangers to friends. You can choose to embrace the concept of xenia, or not — I’ve left it up to you. Happy writing!

This week's prompts

Write a story about strangers becoming friends, or friends becoming strangers.

Fluff – 262 stories

Start your story with the arrival of a strange visitor in a small town.

Horror – 187 stories

Write about someone welcoming a stranger into their home.

Thriller and Suspense – 161 stories

Start your story in an empty guest room.

Horror – 150 stories

Write about a character who has to rely on the hospitality of strangers.

Fluff – 97 stories

Stories

“A Shark's Guide to True Love” by Kat Sencen

Submitted to Contest #96

If this guide has found it’s way into your hands, then it’s likely that you have come seeking help. And here’s what you must know, simplified. The movies talk about “love at first sight” the same way they talk about true love- like it’s a miracle, like you’re the luckiest person in the world to experience it, like it’s the feeling of every question in the world turning into an answer, everything in your life now making sense. And in a way, that’s true. But out of true love and love at first sight, one is a good thing. And one is just an allu...

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“Do you remember me?” by Aman Fatima

Submitted to Contest #96

I sat in the lobby surrounded by my classmates and many of the other girls whose faces I didn’t recognize. I was shaking and someone threw a blanket around me. I stared at the floor intensely so that my stare could probably crack the tiles. The police escorted her out in handcuffs; I only know this because I recognized her shoes. I couldn’t look at her, her smiling face and piercing eyes. She could have done to me what she did to her or maybe I was next. Once she was out people around me moved to make room for the police officer. She had ben...

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“Come To Visit” by Monica June

Submitted to Contest #96

No one has stayed in my house for a long time. They used to come, back then. But now no one will even call anymore. I wish they would just stay for a couple of days, then they could see how I changed up the wallpaper in all the rooms. I switched the bedsheets, too. Now each room has a different sheet on it’s bed. I did that one day, just to switch it up. I rearranged the lamps, and hung up a different picture in each room. I redesigned until I realized that I had designed them by color. There was a blue room, a purple room, a green...

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“The Dark Knight” by Kira Krieger

Submitted to Contest #96

A shadow of a figure was running in the dark. All around were tall trees, and only a small fraction of the moon’s rays got through the canopy. The ground was a black void with no difference between the dirt and the tree roots. A pack of wolves howled in the distance. With every gust of wind, the tree branches and leaves banged and rustled like a toddler playing with pots and pans. Under all of that was a low mumble, rhythmic like a drum cadence but ghostly in origin. The figure trips. "Eli?" The scene quakes. “Eli!” The moon disappeare...

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“La Bibliothèque ” by Lee Disco

Submitted to Contest #96

There is a place that is significant to every person, a place that they know as home; For Jonathan’s mother it was her flower bed; she sewed her own comfort along with the seeds, tended to the bruising of her heart with the gentle drops of a copper watering can. For his father, it was his armchair, gaze distorted by the bottom of a brown beer bottle, washing his sorrows down with whatever alcohol he could get his greasy hands on. For his brother it was his car; his companion, his partner for running away from reality when Jonathan refused to...

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“Temor” by 𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙠𝙞 ☾

Submitted to Contest #96

As I glanced back one last time at the empty room, tears flooded my eyes. The room that once used to be used when my parents had childish arguments was now empty. The guest bedroom was probably the one we used the least, but probably the closest to our hearts. The deep red suitcases distracted from the once pastel blue walls which looked like a gloomy sky. We had to move houses after my dad left us… It’s been tough but I think I’m getting the hang of this.“¿Listo para ir?” My mum said.“Io penso di essere”We put all the cardboard storage boxe...

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“The Masterpiece” by Silver Pen: Temporarily Inactive

Submitted to Contest #96

TW: PTSD, suicidal thoughts. The bedroom is white. Empty, lonely, and white. The color of absence. I hate it. Have you ever felt alone? I certainly do, even as Winnie walks in, her maroon sweater sharply contrasting against the stifling walls. “How are you?” She asks softly. I clench my fists. She doesn’t understand. They never understand. I don’t need her hospitality. I don’t need the people and their sympathetic apologies. I don’t need the white walls as they stare, shifting into the walls of the hospital, echoing the horrid beeps ...

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“Sojourners” by David Brown

Submitted to Contest #96

“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”Hebrews 13:2It had been exactly one year, and if her mission had gone perfectly to plan, Lieutenant Barbara Brooks would be arriving with Captain Noah Wilder at Waypoint Tranquility on Luna. Instead, she was stranded on Mars with no companions, no comestibles, and no confidence for her salvation.The plan had been to traverse the distance between Earth’s moon and the Red Planet in five to six months and drop off the habitat modules along with ...

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“The four of us” by Chandra Vamshi Meeni

Submitted to Contest #96

“Well, I was sent away. Just like the other kids.”, said Ajay to the interviewer, “It was the floods. They became more frequent. My parents lost whatever little savings they had to those floods. I don’t know whether they didn’t have the money to bring me up or they didn’t have the money to come along but, they sent me away.” “I was about 11 years old. It was the summer of 2051”- It was pouring down heavily. There were people running in a hurry everywhere on the train station. “It’s going to be okay, Ajay”, said Shivani , her tears indi...

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“But for the Grace, of Grace” by Carson Craig

Submitted to Contest #96

The fog was so thick that I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. My head and the hole in my shoulder was excruciatingly painful. I'd been shot before but not like this, never like this. Sitting in the saddle, with my one good arm and blood oozing down my face, I managed to tie myself tight. I had to get help. I could feel myself slipping, falling, losing my grip. The good book said that death rides a pale horse, or was it a pale rider on a horse and his name was death. I can’t remember anymore; it was so long ago. I have to get help, so...

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“home of the brave” by Ellie Yu

Submitted to Contest #96

//tw: racismThere are only three words running through my head as I shuffle toward my bathroom: hair, teeth, face.My feet are bare as I flit down the hallway, barely making contact with the dirty carpet. Recently, this house has felt stifling, faintly reminiscent of a loudly distant aunt who demands a hug and holds on for far too long. When I look up at the dingy walls, the cloudy windows, I feel my lungs squeezing. Or maybe that’s the constant knot of anxiety in my stomach, tied tightly enough that it sits there like a rock all day, every d...

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“You Are....Not Welcome” by Lulis Stare

Submitted to Contest #96

I knock on the mahogany door, the last remnants of their holiday spirit in flickering light bulbs buried in slush, and plaster on a charming smile, dimples armed and ready. The uniform is rough against my skin and I adjust the white, starched sleeves of my button-up, shifting the bible to one arm. Clearing my throat, I straighten my back and tidy my tie, but it seems no one is planning on greeting me.But, that's fine.Oftentimes, I have to ring the doorbell multiple times. However, in the end, someone always comes out due to my persisten...

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“Mythology” by The Manticore

Submitted to Contest #96

cw: murder, implied abuse, mentions of suicideEidos had been left alone before but this was probably the first time there was a locked door involved. And she didn’t know when she could unlock it. She didn’t know when she could be safe.She stood stricken in the middle of the floor, damp from the last time it had been mopped, hands by her side. Her hands were stinging, the fingernails close to the quick and beaded with pearled blood. Eidos finally moved. She took two steps backward, hit the wall, and slid down into a crouched, defensive s...

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“Prophecy” by Kira Krieger

Submitted to Contest #96

It was a time of Kings and Queens. Of full harvests and lavish parties. And, most importantly, of magic, abundantly. Or at least to my story. My mother was always proud of me, even when I broke something. My father, on the other hand, never wanted to see me doing anything other than housework with my physical two hands. Living in two different worlds was more comfortable than living my father’s standards of a daughter, at least until a sickness hit our small village. Mother and Father came home from the market, and by...

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“Didi” by Diya M

Submitted to Contest #96

The sounds will just never stop. The sound of the leaves dancing to the wind’s rhythm, the sound of various birds chirping, the sound of the cold wind rushing its way, and the sound of the mighty Alakananda flowing at her own pace. Nature has made a pact with us to always keep the richness of her important presence alive, why would the sounds stop?I breathe in the fresh, crisp air; with each breath I take I realize the essence of simplicity. I realize the need to connect with nature. I can feel the air go in from my nasal cavity, creating a ...

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Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jun 04, 2021 EST

Won by R E 🏆

Title: unoccupied

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.

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