Okay, the contest is over and thanks so much to everyone who participated. Now, it’s time to pick a winner. Everyone can vote, whether you submitted or not. You can vote anonymously, or you can be a man and put your John Henry on your post. Whatever. We totally won’t make fun of the chickens.
So here are the stories you’re voting on. Remember, we’re looking for Best overall, Funniest, and a random pick so feel free to vote for three if you like but remember to tell us why you voted for them. Writers need stroking now and then and we’re an accomodating bunch here at the Edge.
Now, the stories:
First Prize: Best Story $25 Amazon Gift Card And your story featured on my blog
Second Prize: Funniest Story Book of your choice And your story featured on my blog
Third Prize: Random pick Mystery Prize
Untitled
by Lauren
He looked so beautiful in the moonlight. The strange pallor of his skin always seems luminous at this hour. Sirens draw closer, the bright halogens flick on. Our perfect dark world thrust out of the shadows into this sterile light. They take my love away from me zipping him into a plastic bag. My love preserved in the shadows.
“If Only”
By Milo James Fowler
She wondered how things might have turned out differently, if she hadn’t majored in that, followed this career path, married him, had those children, lived there and there along the way. When given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to step through the cosmic membrane between realities, she jumped at the chance. She had to know. Was she happy, this alternate version of herself? Did she love her life?
No more than should have been expected.
“Magic Eyes”
by JM Prescott
Magic is just another word for a wish. Asha’s wishes always came true except for one; Asha wished she had my eyes. She said blue was her favourite color and she hated brown. “When the flowers die they always turn brown,” she said.
She grew up happy, having everything she ever wished for, until I got sick. The cancer bit and chipped at my body until I was nothing but empty bones and blue eyes.
She wished for healing, but her magic never worked on me. I died the day before the flowers bloomed. Every one of them was blue.
Kerfluffled
by Katrina
Anna chomped down on the end of the pickle that came with her deli sandwich. Sour, green juice launched forward, splattering on her friend, Liz’s, blouse. Liz didn’t notice. Her focus centered on the French fries she constructed into a hut and the conversation spoken in hushed tones into her cell phone.
Anna chewed, loudly, as she waited. Liz had been in the middle of a bitch-fest about her chauvinistic boss when her phone rang. Whatever name showed up on the caller ID morphed Liz’s expression from disgust to a red-cheeked grin.
Anna had no doubt it was a man. She watched Liz twist her fingers in her hair in between intermittent, girlish giggles. Definitely a man.
Finally, Liz hung up and leaned over to put her phone in her bag.
“So who was that?”
“Huh?” Liz shot up, wide eyed. “Who was who?”
Anna smirked. “Who do you think? The mysterious caller who has you all… kerfluffled.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Liz studied the soda in her glass as she sipped from her straw.
“Yes you do. You’re fidgety, your face is like a tomato, and you’re playing stupid.” Anna took another bite of her pickle. “Spill.”
Liz looked down at her fry hut. She slowly disassembled it, pushing the fries over with her fork. “I don’t know…”
“We’ve been best friends for almost ten years. You can tell me. Who is he?”
Liz took a deep breath. “There is no ‘he.’”
“Bullshit. What’s his name?”
“Her name…” Liz folded her hands to keep them from shaking, “… is Lucy.”
No Peace
By Susan Griscom
Shelby went to window and slammed it down. Locked it just to make sure it was tight. When was it going to end? Her head ached from the pounding and sawing. What were they building over there anyway?
She was all for improving the neighborhood, but damnit, it was her day off. Her first one in two weeks and all she wanted was a little peace and quiet. Was that too much to ask?
Even with the window closed, the raucous still clamored throughout the house. There was no escape. She went upstairs, grabbed her iPod off her nightstand, stuck the little headset around her ears, and cranked up the volume. Plopping down on the bed, she twirled the knob, searching for something to drown out the racket next door.
“Let’s see, something lively, some rap? No. Bon Jovi… that should do it.”
She closed her eyes and sang along. “Wanted, dead or alive, I’m a cowboy…”
Life was, once again, blissful.
A deafening kerfluffle jostled Shelby and she bolted up, yanked the earplugs from her ears and ran down the stairs.
The roar happened again, sounding like walls tumbling down. The house shook around her as if the world was coming to an end. Shelby grabbed on to the newel at the bottom of the stairs for support. After several seconds, the shaking stopped and men’s shouting replaced the kerfluffle.
“What in the name of Christ was that?”
Shelby wobbled toward the horrifying sound, stopped at the kitchen door and gasped. Her quivering jaw hung open as her shoulder slumped against the frame. A huge yellow bulldozer sat in the middle of the floor, the man inside wiped at his brow shaking his head looking befuddled. He looked at Shelby, scrunched his shoulders and raised his hands.
The wall and bay window she loved, crumbled around the gigantic machine. It smashed the refrigerator, toppling it over on its side, the door smashed and propped open. A carton of milk pooled out over the floor among the cheese, butter, and a chocolate cake with a pickle sticking out of the top. Broken glass and pickle juice mixed in with the milk and seeped its way toward the antique Oriental rug, once owned by the late Marilyn Monroe.
Shelby sunk down in the middle of the mess and cried.
A present from Mao Tse-Tung
by Cath Barton
He would show you round his country house, the elder statesman, wave airily at a hideous vase, sigh, and say in a world-weary way – “A present from Mao-Tse Tung…..”
The stateman never married and had no children. He left all his money for his house to be kept as a museum. If the vase is some day broken by a coat carelessly swished by one of the few who visit, it will not be reported, even in the local press. Of course, there are many such vases. Like a child’s goldfish, it can be replaced and no-one will know.
Flashback
by Janet Richards
As revellers gathered to celebrate a nation’s birthday, Margaret sat in her small living room nursing a cup of tea. The arthritis in her fingers made it difficult to hold the cup.
Too often now she would find herself suddenly old after slipping back in time. It had become harder to hide the confusion and she saw the concern loved ones tried to conceal.
At dusk the sky exploded with the flash of bombs. Margret cowered paralyzed with fear. The London of her youth already stolen, she braced herself as the Blitz continued wondering if she would survive this attack.
Voting will go until July 20th and I’ll announce the winners shortly after that. Deal? Cool. Get voting.
Dangling on the Edge of Insanity 
My vote: "If Only" – thought-provoking and a wee bit convicting for such a short piece"Kerfluffled" – a close second
Best: FlashbackFunniest: KerfluffledRandom Pick: *Closes my eyes and points* A Present from Mao Tse-Tung
Oops forgot to put why.Flashback is thoughtful and realistic. There was no description of the woman, but I saw her.Kerfluffled, well, I wrote it.And the random pick – self explanatory.
So we have one for 'Flashback' as best story.Milo has two votes for 'If only', one for best and one for 'random' and 'Kerfluffled' has two votes for funniest. Interesting. So Janet, Milo and Katrina are so far in the lead. Thanks for your votes guys.
Greetings! I am Terri, and am dropping by via Maria's blog party. Fun to walk into the middle of a contest!I would like to make two votes:Best Overall: "Magic Eyes"Random Pick: "Flashback"Nicely done on all the tales, but I am a big fan of flash fiction and those to conveyed the best sense of story in a few words. My best to all the contestants and I will be back to see who wins!Terriwww.whyifearclowns.com
Thanks for stopping by Terri and welcome to The Edge. Good choices. I love flash fiction too. Writing it and reading it. Now, off to check out your blog there. The title has me intrigued, as I am not crazy about clowns either. Damn Stephen King, ruining clowns for me.
Hi ReneeMy vote for overall winner goes to "Magic Eyes" – powerful and moving.Random pick: " No peace"All bestCath
Thanks Cath. Good picks.
For Best, I picked Lauren's. I liked the line, "He looked so beautiful in the moonlight. The strange pallor of his skin always seems luminous at this hour." When you think about the ending and the fact that he's dead, these sentences seem very powerful. She seems to be standing outside herself as she watches him.For funniest, I pick Katrina's. I liked this line: "Anna smirked. “Who do you think? The mysterious caller who has you all… kerfluffled.”" I also like how she staged the scene and the dialog.For random pick, "No Peace" by Susan.
Like all contests, someone has to win. But there aren't any losers in this bunch either.For Best Overall Entry, I vote for Janet Richard's "Flashback." For Funniest, I vote for Katriana's "Kerfluffled"… (Best overall use of the word 'Pickle'?)Random Pick: Susan Griscom's "No Peace." I love the imagery of the visual interaction between the protagonist and the operator of the wrecking crane.
Oooh, it's close. Thanks for your votes guys. I can't wait to see how they tally up at the end. So far it looks like Katrina is in the lead for funniest and Janet and Milo are neck and neck for best over all. Random pick is too close to tell right now, and since it's random we'll never know until the end anyway. We still have nine days of voting left. Thanks for participating everyone!
May we invite our friends to vote? Or is this competition strictly "in-house" (for lack of a better term)?As far as my vote goes: 1. "If Only" (because I'm a big fan of Amazon.com) 2. "Kerfluffled"3. "Flashback"
Of course you can invite friends to vote, Milo. The more the merrier on The Edge. Good choices and I'd vote for my story too if I entered. I mean, of course our own should be the favorite. Katrina's hanging on tightly to that funniest lead.
Best: "If Only"Funniest: "Kerfluffled"Random: "Magic Eyes"It is so nice to see so many writers from the 6S community on here. Good luck to all of you!
Thanks for the vote Jen. I miss 6S, one of these days I'm going to get back over there. Glad you stopped by. 🙂
Here's my vote, and I'm sticking to it:A Present from Mao Tse-Tung, Kerfluffled, and If Only for first, funniest, random
Well thanks, Just Another Sixer. We won't try to persuade you to change your mind. Well, I won't. Good picks.
I liked "If Only." It really grabbed my attention and provoked a lot of interesting thoughts.
I vote for "If Only" as the best story overall. In just a few sentences, it reveals truth about human nature. Made me go hmmm and remember that old saying… "wherever you go there you are."
First place: "If Only": because Milo is the bomb.
This is tough they are all so good. I'll come back later and vote.
Best First Place: "If Only" because it's awesome, thought provoking, and awesome. 😛
My vote's for "Flashback" for best overall — it feels like a real, complete story even though it's very short and more of a vignette. I can feel the character. "No Peace" is my pick for funniest because it just is funny, with the character trying to shut out the noise. It's not a complete story to me, and I'm not sure if it was supposed to be. I would have liked it just a tad tighter and tied up a bit at the end, but it's still the funniest of the bunch. "Kerfluffled" is funny, too, and will probably win for funniest, but I felt like I knew how it was going to end as soon as the friend answered the phone. The description was great. Was it coincidence that two stories used that word, but in such different ways? Made me smile.Then for random I like "If Only." I didn't fit either of the other categories, but it makes you think. I wanted more specificity, stronger nouns, but maybe the lack of that is what makes it work. I am not sure. Maybe naming the character would make it even better.
I think I'd have to pick If Only for first place. It reminds me of a game I used to play in addition to scifi stories I used to read. And you can't forget about the proverbial greener grass.I couldn't really tell if Kerfluffled was supposed to be funny, but it did make me laugh at the end so I'd have to vote for that as the most funny.Random, I'm going to go with No Peace. I enjoyed how the story steadily built up to the ending which kind of came right out of left field, and was indeed quite random.Overall, I enjoyed most of the stories and thought they were definitely worth the read, and time voting. It's unfortunate that there can only be one per category.-Pierson
I wish I could give them all a prize, but sadly, I am a writer and funds are, well, limited. Duk Tape, excellent critiques and spot on. Thank you.Kerfluffled and Pickle had to be included if the writer chose to write a ten minute flash, that's why they used it in different ways.Pierson and all you sixers, thank you for your votes and for stopping by The Edge. I'm going to have some fun tallying the votes. I will definitely do another contest soon, so this won't be the only opportunity to win.
Best: If Only because it makes a good point of the uselessness of wondering so succinctly.Random Pick: Flashback — also succinctly makes a good point of the terror of war even 65 years after the war is over.Funniest: Renee Miller saying we should put our "John Henry on our post." John Henry drove steel rods into rock with a nine-pound hammer to make holes for dynamite. John Hancock, on the other hand signed his name on the Declaration of Independence. I will sign my name. I will NOT hit my computer screen with a nine-pound hammer!Jill Carper
Best: If Only2nd Best: Kerfluffed..made me laugh!Angela
Haha! You, Jill, should win a prize for catching that. My dad says 'John Henry' and we always make fun of him and he says, "Well that's what we call it in Canada. Where the hell are you from?" So, that's why I posted it that way. I'll show him your post so he knows it's not just a Canadian saying, it's wrong. Thanks.
Best – "If Only"…well, because the author is a genius!!!!Funniest – "Kerfluffled"…that scenario pretty much is hillarious!Random – "Magic Eyes" its so morbid but seems so real. I related to the girl with brown eyes.I hope I voted right…I also dont have an account but dont want to go anonymous, so my name is Jessica.
I am going to pound my computer with a nine-pound hammer and say…Best – "If Only"Second – "Kerfluffed"Great stories everyone!!Peggy
The best one is "If Only", that deserves first place!
Best: "If Only" the author made the whole story flow so nicely! "If Only" should win!
"If Only" has my vote for first place, I've been following the author and he has got some good stuff out there!
My votes are as follows: (1) "Magic Eyes" – beautiful and sad. (2) The obvious choice: "Kerfluffled". (3) "Untitled" – short, sweet, sad. Guess I'm a sucker for the sad ones!And about these "anonymous" votes: grow a pair and leave your names, people!(Now stepping off my soap box…)
#1 Milo's "If only" was a work of genious.#2 I have to say that Janet Richards "Flashback" story tugged at my heart.
Thanks guys. Margaret…I love you. But you messed up the feathers on my soapbox. This always happens. Sigh.
Milo's "If Only" is both thought provoking and quite possibly true…it gets my vote for #1.
My vote goes to Cath Barton, for "A Present From Mao Tse-tung". I like her exploration of the idea that the value of a gift is in the eyes of the receiver.
"If only" by Milo for first place because he was my english teacher.
Okay, since I can't bring myself to vote for myself…1. Magic Eyes2. kerfuffled 3. If Only
Oh Janet, I'd totally vote for myself. But I understand. Those are excellent choices.
Best Overall = "If Only" because the writing drew me in. Funniest = "Kerfluffled" because is was funny. Random Pick = "Untitled" because of the understanding about death.