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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story where a character is exploring their religious or spiritual identity.

Posted in Fiction on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 62 stories

“Inshallah” by Adam El Nabli

04/02/2022Mama has been to the hospital quite a few times before, but she always comes back home eventually. So, when she went to the hospital this morning I thought this time won’t be different. Baba even insisted that I go to football practice today as well. I’ve been playing for the Shooting Club in El Dokki, Giza, for almost 6 years now, so when Mama went to the hospital, Baba called the coach, captain Abdallah, and told him that she was ill. Captain Abdallah apparent...

98 comments 98 WINNER 🏆
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“The Gospel of Tea” by Hannah P. Simmons

My daughter’s house smells like a cup of London Fog. Black tea leaves and orange bergamot kissed with vanilla. The scent permeates everything, even her clothes, so she carries it everywhere. When people ask, she excitedly explains that it’s her favorite tea. My husband and I joke that she has been called to preach her doctrines to the coffee drinkers of the world. She’s already had a number of successful conversions....

79 comments 79 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“Flamewalker” by Alex Sultan

Emrys could do nothing but run in the aftermath of warfare. Broken homes and bloodied weapons left him an orphan. A lone child roaming the vast lands of Ashal. He ate what berries he could scavenge in the forests, drank the clear water from streams, and spent nights mourning the loss of his home. Tears would blur the moonlight at dark. He couldn’t run from the black bear that singled him out. A nearby monk heard his cries—a man dressed in a maroon robe rushed to his aid. The bear swiped, tearing into Emrys’ arm a...

34 comments 34
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“Our Father” by J.C. Lovero

(Note: Lola = grandmother)“Peace be with you.”“And also with you.”The cold water lingered on my forehead, traveling slowly before settling on the lines in between my eyebrows. Even though it had been over thirty years, stepping foot into the church was like riding a bicycle—you stumbled and swerved at the beginning until you got your bearings again. I looked down at the open casket, taking in a cleansing breath as I stared at your face, pale and peaceful. A stark contrast to how I’d describe you when you were...

28 comments 28 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“He Took His Wings, And Fled” by James Miller

It was in an impassioned service of worship at Water's Edge Evangelical Church, sitting at the far end of a packed pew, that Mateo decided he did not want to believe in God. He didn’t disbelieve. Rather, he didn’t want to affirm belief. If it came his turn to profess, he intended, like a nervous freshman on the first day of class, to answer, “Pass.” A sweating, invigorated preacher stalked the stage in pr...

12 comments 12 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“10-year anniversary” by Danny G

Jack pushed the door open, stumbling in. He drunkenly fumbled for the lights, then he gave up. What did it matter anyway?It was dark in the apartment but even in his drunken haze he knew the way. Five steps forward and you’re in the kitchen. Five more and you’re in the lounge. Two steps left, three more forward and…“Ouch!”Maybe drunken steps are different. Longer maybe? Or maybe it’s the wrong apartment. Jack fumbled around, found a switch and flipped it.The lights flickered on.“Hmm” he mumbled. He was i...

16 comments 16
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“COVID Tutors Rescue a Student” by Bruce Friedman

Warning: Some sexual patter and innuendos.The day started off in a normal way. I was scheduled to tutor Michelle at her usual time of 10 o’clock in the morning. She logged on and I was waiting for her. We began our session with our usual greeting. Everything seemed normal with her at that time but events quickly deteriorated.“Good morning, Michelle,” I said. “Are you ready to get to work, starting with our math drill? We are a little behind but don’t get discouraged. We can easily catch up...

11 comments 11
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“Are You Ready?” by Amanda Fox

Age 8“Welcome back, Child,” the old gods whispered through the leaves.Maddie flopped into the grass just short of the forest’s tree line and held her arms out with a grin.  The trees were impossibly tall, towering over her and casting their shade over the village. At their bases, the shadows condensed themselves into a tiny kitten that bounded into Maddie’s open arms.“Hi, friends,” Maddie cooed, rubbing her cheek against the kitten’s cool darkn...

16 comments 16
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“Dead Things” by Elizabeth Luce

Dead ThingsBy Elizabeth LuceZelda was born with the glorious dream of creating a zoo filled with rare animals, and by age eight, was well on her way with three long-haired hamsters, a nest of baby mice, a chinchilla, a cat, two newts, two parakeets, an aquarium of fish, a bowl of turtles, an iguana, and a box of dirt containing pill bugs. It baffled her parents as to how this had happened. If asked in advance if they would have allowed it, the answer would have been an emphatic “no.” And yet there...

5 comments 5
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“Freedom” by John K Adams

Paula met Stephen outside the ER on his release. “Hey Sis…” He walked stiffly and groaned when they embraced. “You okay?” “Fine. A little sore from the fall, but… nothing broken…” They walked to her car. His clothes hung loosely. “You’re too skinny, Stephen. Don’t you eat?” “All the time. You cook for me. My metabolism’s efficient. So sue me.” “You can’t...

6 comments 6
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“Aberystwyth” by Beth Walley

I had been entirely alone in the carriage when the clunking electric mechanism of the hissing door alerted me that someone else was entering. I looked up from my book and read the broad sign on the platform – Bow Street. Beyond the sign, in giant, ugly letters on the side of a pretty little white farmhouse, someone had scrawled in black paint, WELCOME TO HELL. The sentiment was so far displaced that I laugh...

16 comments 16
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“The Man he Becomes” by James Grasham

The sword was dull, almost black. Luthar passed it from hand to hand, trying to make sense of it. He’d not had the time after his promotion to inspect it properly, let alone practice with it. As soon as he’d retrieved his gear from his new quarters the party had set off at a blistering pace. The guild was a pack of angry wolves, bearing down on their prey. Now he sat in their hastily prepared bivouac in the freezing cold...

6 comments 6
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“The Journey Home” by Patrick Samuel

“Are you a believer?” asked the monk who showed him to his room. Before Thomas could answer, the little man added hastily: “I’m sorry, it’s none of my business.”Thomas smiled thinly. “Actually,” he said, “I’m mostly here for the peace and quiet.”The monk nodded: “A good thing. Even mealtimes are silent here. You are of course welcome to talk outside of the monastery’s walls. But overall you’ll find silence a welcome break from the world.”Thomas couldn’t have agreed more.*“You won’t ...

18 comments 18
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“Strawberries & Milk in Paradise” by Ryan A.

“…he’s just a drunk poet, floating through life, totally enlightened.” Oliver Ahmed’s brown ears, faded by the fog of winter, perked up at this, the rosiest corpuscles of his upper cartilage obeying normative physics – heat rising and rising. The wooden bar looked like the bow of a ship, the oak bending where his chest rested. He had just finished a professional drag of a Belgian blonde – the kind of sip ...

2 comments 2
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“Dew Drops on Peonies ” by Michelle Colpo

(Warning: Contains Death related to Holocaust) “Our Father…who…which art in Heaven…hallowed be thy name—”            “Start again, without stuttering.”            Ruth could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as her mother’s lack of patience thinned.            “Our Father which art in Heaven…hallowed be thy name….”            Her tongue tried to grasp the slippery words but they ke...

2 comments 2
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Contest #132

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This week's theme: Time to Blume

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Ended on 23:59 - Feb 11, 2022 EST

Won by Adam El Nabli 🏆

Title: Inshallah

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