Set your story in an oracle or a fortune teller’s parlor.

Posted in Fantasy on Jun 24, 2022

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✍️ 66 stories

“Foretold in Smoke” by Aeris Walker

🏆 Winner of Contest #152

Content Warning: Mild foul languageMarie S. 5/5 Stars Vivienne is incredible! My life has completely changed since my visit. It’s like a light came on and she’s somehow unlocked all this hidden potential. She’s the best, seriously just go. Call today!Bradley J. 5/5Worth every penny. Highly recommend.Kevin R. 5/5 StarsI never thought I’d come to a place like this, but when I was at an all-time low, I just needed someone to tell me if life was worth sticking around for. I wanted to know if it ever got better. Vivienne made me believe that it w...

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“A Mother's Future” by Kathleen Fine

Submitted to Contest #152

Nicola scurries down Cedar Street, glancing behind her to ensure she’s alone. If word gets back to anyone where she’s headed, especially to her Catholic mother, she’ll never hear the end of it.“Six months along after years of trying. Can you believe it?” the pregnant woman at the coffee shop had exclaimed to her friend earlier that morning. Nicola’s ears had perked up as she finished her Monday crossword puzzle and sipped the foam from the bottom of her matcha latte. She’d peered over at the expectant mother, trying not to judge her for drin...

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“Malefic Machinations” by Michał Przywara

Submitted to Contest #152

Juanita raised the crystal ball above her head, the bangles on both her arms tch-king, and then spiked it at the floor with a primal scream. It slammed into the scuffed linoleum with a doof, neither bouncing nor breaking. It just rolled an inch and stopped, a dead eye glaring up at her.“No!” she wailed. She tore at her bandana, at her hair. “You can’t!” Her raw voice cracked. “Not him!” She sunk to her knees, her bead necklaces clacking a riot. “Not Andrew!” She drowned her face in her hands, overtaken by airless sobbing. Through a forest of...

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“Portents of Doom” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #152

“You predicted death and you were right. Four times.” I hold her hands on her glass orb. When she tries to pull them back, I grip them tighter. “You told them to get their affairs in order. You told them to write their wills. They listened. When you had their wills out in the open, you killed them. You switched the wills. Four murders.” Her blue eyes bulge. “You’re crazy,” she says. She’s about to shout when I start to use my gift. The fortune teller is silenced when my ...

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“Viviana” by Betty Gilgoff

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #152

Holding both of the young woman’s hands, Viviana focuses on slowing her breathing with the hope that Claire’s too will calm. She keeps her eyes closed, her head erect. She can feel Claire’s pain radiating up her arms as she breathes deeply, forcing herself to stay steady. “You’re going to be okay,” she assures Claire, “but you need somewhere you can go. You can’t continue on like this.” “But the girls?” Claire’s eyes fly open and she yanks her hands away, the heat of Viviana’s touch suddenly too much, breaking the trance. She mops ...

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“An Idiots Guide to Fortune Telling” by CoCo Lee

Submitted to Contest #152

Hello, I'm glad you've taken this book off the shelf (I'm not surprised or anything that you took it, I can see the type of character you are and why you would choose this book with such a title) welcome. DISCLAIMER: If whatever I mention as tips and tricks doesn't work for your personal experience, please don't sue, I'm running low on cash and I can no longer afford Diet Coke every week, thanks. Now, it may come off as I have no idea what I'm doing, but I know you're only thinking that because you have no idea what your doing, and you ...

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“The Teller's Tall Tale” by Justin Chalifoux

Submitted to Contest #152

The door hits the hanging bell, warning of her entry with a chime she’d have preferred muffled. She shuts the door, careful to hold the bell out of its way. Glancing through the window, she notices a few heads turned, some fingers pointing. I’ll pay for that later, she thinks, her back to the doorframe. If word gets out, those leeches will be here before I can bug out. She shrugs the thought away, drawn by the plethora of colors around her. Candles lit in every corner, flickering still from the breeze let it, cushions laying haphazard acros...

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“Spheres of Fortune” by Sharon Hancock

Submitted to Contest #152

“The winds have changed, Valdor.” The girl reentered the wagon, squinting until her eyes adjusted to the darkness. “We must go.” His rumbling growl, barely audible, prickled the hairs on the back of Dove’s neck. A gnarled, tree-like finger popped and cracked out from the shadow. It uncurled, jittered and gestured toward the crystal ball. Dove sucked air through pursed lips, trying to conceal the dread. She did not want to touch that ball again. &nbs...

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“Asimov's Madness” by Jared Lenover

Submitted to Contest #152

Many years ago the oracle at Fadelfea made a prophecy. The artificial intelligence there analyzed a collection of badly damaged artifacts found during construction at the station. The oracle then broadcast a single short message before going silent: When the skies are streaked with fire, beware creatures which swarmed like ants upon the earth, for madness follows. Having no supporting evidence to substantiate or interpret the oracle’s obtuse claim, the system filed the message with no consequence. *** I was with the rabbits when I saw th...

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“Delphie” by Nicholas Arin

Submitted to Contest #152

Beep Beep Beep Beep!Delphie slowly peeled her eyes open despite the incessant noise coming from that spanking new digital alarm clock, her sight adjusted in the near pitch dark room and with a mixture of disgust and pride she glanced at the time: 5:00 am.This was the sacred time of rising for success she assured herself, any entrepreneur worth their salt or high powered CEO did the same and reaped the rewards and so would Delphie, she would take the business of fortune telling to new heights and make a fortune unlike the rest of her ancestor...

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“The Fortune Teller” by Ashley Brandt

Submitted to Contest #152

Mr. Leery’s hot dog stand greeted the visitors of Chameleon’s Circus with the mouth-watering smell of hot dogs and the eye-catching and colorful disarray of a dozen flags, all hung haphazardly along the cart. Mr. Leery was as colorful as his props, with a dazzling shock of white hair, mismatched socks, a protruding belly, and parachute pants that looked as though they might carry him away. Beyond him, Madam Cyris’ Fortune Telling Tent lay closed against the summer heat, occupied by Madame Cyris herself and one paying guest. I watched as the ...

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“First Time Fortune Teller” by Vicky Graham

Submitted to Contest #152

Hands shaking, she smoothed and folded the velvet bag, then opened the drawer to assure everything was ready. Murmurs from behind the curtain stirred Frieda’s regurgitating fear. Breathing in courage, she stood and caught the globe before it rolled off the table. Calm down. Spirits flashed and spun around The Client’s aura, a tie-dyed blue, purple and white. Mouth tight with a small nod, his triceps flexed under a black hoodie as he pushed the heavy drapery aside to enter the small room. His guides came. A worthy reading, but...

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“What You Seek Is Seeking You” by Mathilde Oumraou

Submitted to Contest #152

Three realms lived at the top of the Wonnak mountain: the Realm of the Sun, the Realm of the Deads and the Realm of the Moon. Crown Prince Amedeo sought the help of the first one. Even though as a human he was forbidden the entrance to this land, he dared to climb the mountain. He did not want to harm anyone or to see the Queen. He had to see one person. He heard that this woman could have answers to questions he did not he was asking. After what seemed to be hours of walking, Amedeo saw a small house in the middle of the forest. An...

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“The Fortune Teller” by Steve Rogers

Submitted to Contest #152

Dad and his three kids, the youngest holding a very sad-looking and forgotten brown fluffy teddy bear by one of its stuffed legs, stand in front of a sideshow fairground tent. The date is 30 September 1973 and they are at the Bridgewater Country Fair. Bridgewater is an old but unremarkable town in the middle of Somerset in the South West of England. However, it does have the distinction of hosting the largest annual country fair in the South West and every Autumn the crowds descend on Bridgewater from as far afield as Bristol and Exeter.&nbs...

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“DJ True Love” by Avery Mossop

Submitted to Contest #152

I have told exactly one person about my talent. My sister, Thea. She wasn’t always someone who you would think to trust with a secret. She made a game when we were kids of trailing me and my friends just so she could rat me out to our mom if (when) I broke any family rules. But we’ve both grown up, and these days I would trust her with my life. So, back to this secret talent. Actually first, maybe I’ll explain my not-secret talent. I’m a DJ. Disc jockey. A complete oversimplification of what I do. Like I’m just wrangling up old CDs to s...

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Title: Foretold in Smoke

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Set your story in an oracle or a fortune teller’s parlor.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 66 stories

“Foretold in Smoke” by Aeris Walker

“A Mother's Future” by Kathleen Fine

“Malefic Machinations” by Michał Przywara

“Portents of Doom” by Graham Kinross

“Viviana” by Betty Gilgoff

“An Idiots Guide to Fortune Telling” by CoCo Lee

“The Teller's Tall Tale” by Justin Chalifoux

“Spheres of Fortune” by Sharon Hancock

“Asimov's Madness” by Jared Lenover

“Delphie” by Nicholas Arin

“The Fortune Teller” by Ashley Brandt

“First Time Fortune Teller” by Vicky Graham

“What You Seek Is Seeking You” by Mathilde Oumraou

“The Fortune Teller” by Steve Rogers

“DJ True Love” by Avery Mossop

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story in which a miracle happens — or everyone thinks it did.

Start your story with a character saying “I can see it now.”

Write about a character whose life changes for the better.

Write a story about someone whose job is to make miracles happen, literally or figuratively.

Contest #152

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

237

Contest entries

101

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: