The Ink Well Highlights Magazine #18 - And TOP COMMENTER Recognition - August 22, 2021

[theinkwell]

_{Image modified using a picture by Becca Clark from Pixabay}

This periodic magazine highlights a small selection of short stories posted to The Ink Well community that stood out and were awarded a Curie vote. The stories that stand out and deserve highlighting are always difficult to choose, because there are so many!

Important Note
We are showcasing authors who have contributed well-written and edited stories, have read and commented on the work of other authors and comply with all of the community rules posted on our home page. These activities help our community thrive and grow!

TOP COMMENTERS OF THE WEEK!
As you know, we value engagement and mutual suppport in our community. We would like to acknowledge the following community members, who each read and commented on 5 or more other stories published in The Ink Well in the past week: @hillarypowers, @ubani1, @kaerpediem, @deeanndmathews, @mrnightmare.net, @kemmyb, @wrestlingdesires and @justclickindiva. Thank you, and great work!

The following are some of our top curated stories from August 16 - 22, 2021.

Featured Author: @amirtheawesome1
On the Other Side of the Mirror

Image source: Pixabay

As years went by, I have felt closer to him. I no longer needed a mirror to see him. His dates out with his wife, Lina, were keeping me warm as I had one of my many dinners alone. He made good friends with his older brother as my brother and I grew more estranged. The nights he made love to his wife helped me sleep as I closed the final porn tab of the night. I was grateful that he was living for both of us. But that all changed. -@amirtheawesome1

Wow, this story captured my heart, @amirtheawesome1. I'm still wiping away the tears! You've examined the life of someone in extreme pain through a very intriguing lens: what if the person you could have been moves forward in life, gets the job, the car, the wife and the life you might have had, if your dreams had not been cut short by a tragedy?

The resolution is just perfect. The older self, wiser and ready to overcome the obstacles of pain and self-loathing, takes pity on that young boy he once was and at last feels ready to reclaim his life. It really did bring me to tears. -@jayna

Featured Author: @joseph1956
The Tomb

Image source: Pixabay

Suddenly the bar turns a greenish and luminous color, a fact that scares everyone but accelerates the adrenaline of the archaeologist, who instinctively touches it and receives a shock that without being electric paralyzes him and instantly makes him close his eyes without losing consciousness -@joseph1956

It is certain Pietro will die and his skeleton will join those of other adventurers who discovered the chamber. An interesting idea about why cultures across the world share features (for example: the foundational myth of a baby floating down the river and being rescued). Thought provoking.

I do wonder though, what happens to Pietro's colleagues. Surely they cannot guess his fate, that merely touching the paint will transport them. Will not others join him soon? -@agmoore

Featured Author: @hillarypowers
The Heist

Image source: Unsplash

The community bank had no security guards, no mantrap doors, and not even a vault to keep cash and other valuables safe from burglars. The bank's only personnel was a couple in their late fifties, Dan and Eleanor Sanders. What was more amazing about it all was that there had been no record of bank robbery in the history of the bank. -@hillarypowers

You brought a smile to my face @hillarypowers. I should have suspected that the characteristics of that bench indicated I was reading a mystery story. Fortunately I didn't come away from the reading without understanding it. It was in the last line, but I got it. -@gracielaacedev

Featured Author: @ubani1
In Search for a Greener Pasture

Image source: Unsplash

Growing up as a child in a place where everyone was happy, the morning sweet breeze, the early crow of a cock, and the bright blue sky, even though we were poor that didn't stop our happiness. -@ubani1

What a lovely story of a young man wanting to better himself for the sake of his family so he can assist his ailing mother. His thought are with his sister as well to ensure she has adequate education to take care of herself. His reasons for leaving are valid, as in some countries, stronger than others. Doubts about whether he can accomplish his goal are never far from his mind. But he has to try. -@justclickindiva

Featured Author: @katleya
The Mysterious Mirrors of the Cappelletti Family

Image source: Pixabay

They visited several houses, but only one they all liked. Unfortunately that one had a condition for the sale: all the mirrors had to be kept in the house. That seemed strange to them, but they all decided that it was a great investment, so they decided to accept that condition and buy it. They put up 25% of its cost, that was all the money from Albert's promotion. They had faith that they would be able to pay the rest in monthly installments. -@katleya

This is almost a saga. You take us through the family history and acquaint us with the different members of the Morrison family and the Cappelletti family. The families are almost mirror images of each other. It is surprising and satisfying to find that the Morrisons are descendants of the Cappellettis. Great use of the prompt. -@theinkwell

Featured Author: @justclickindiva
In Search Of

Image source: Canva

Besides the clutter, the apartment appeared looted. The open refrigerator smelled abandoned of care and looked devoid of anything edible. In the bedroom, drawers were pulled out of their rails. A broken lamp lay hanging off the bed table. Clothes were scattered around the room. -@justclickindiva

The fight between father and son in your story was regrettable, but familiar. The Greeks wrote about tension between fathers and sons. Turgenev's most acclaimed novel was called Fathers and Sons. It is hard to defy a dynamic that seems to be hard-wired into our species. But in my life, I have defied it. Doesn't matter what happens between father and son. Mom is always there :)

I admire your skill in incoporating three prompts. There should be some kind of trifecta prize for that. -@agmoore

Thank you for reading our short story highlights magazine!

@jayna, @agmoore, and @gracielaacevedo

p.s. You can see the past magazines here: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17

We would like to invite lovers of creative writing to visit The Ink Well, a Hive community started by @raj808 and @stormlight24 and run by @jayna, @agmoore and @gracielaacevedo.

We also invite you to follow The Ink Well curation trail on the Hive blockchain, at https://hive.vote/. Simply navigate to the curation trail section and search for theinkwell (all one word with no @ symbol) and our trail will pop up as an option.

Similarly delegations are possible on Hive using the fantastic https://peakd.com/ Hive Blockchain front end. If you wish to delegate to @theinkwell, you can do this from the wallet section of https://peakd.com/

A big thank you to all of our delegators:
@jayna, @agmoore, @gracielaacevedo, @iamraincrystal, @generikat, @marlyncabrera, @owasco, @preparedwombat, @marcybetancourt, @zeurich, @barge, @lacrucita, @stormcharmer, @adncabrera, @vision-of-esca, @josemalavem, @morey-lezama, @sayury, @rypo01, @evagavilan2 and @bertrayo.

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Comments

[wrestlingdesires]

Thanks so much for this :) There are a couple of them that I missed that caught my attention :) ❗

[jayna]

Great! That is one of the goals of our highlights magazine, @wrestlingdesires.

[agmoore]

Hello @wrestlingdesires,
I want to congratulate you on being one of the top commenters. Engagement is the glue that holds the community together. Thank you!

[wrestlingdesires]

Thank you , it's a joy to read good stories :) The least we can do is show the authors some love!

[sunnyag]

Congratulations to all the winners. I read most of them and posted my comment on some of them. They are good at fiction and worthy winners!

[justclickindiva]

Thank you so much for your support. I appreciate it.

[jayna]

Thank you for sharing your work in The Ink Well!

[justclickindiva]

You're welcome. Happy to be a part of the Community

!LUV

[luvshares]

^<><

<><

^LUV

^Connect

^Trade

@jayna, you've been given LUV from @justclickindiva.

Check the LUV in your H-E wallet. _(1/10)

[jayna]

Yes, those stories are wonderful. But of course they are just a sampling of all the great fiction that is posted in our community each week. It is nearly impossible to pick just 6 to highlight!

And of course this is not a contest, so they are not winners. Each week we just choose some highlights from all the great stories of the week so visitors to our community can see at a glance that there is fantastic work being produced here. 😁

[sunnyag]

For me, even a mention is like winning a contest. After all, I do it all for recognition, and I promise to learn it all :)

[agmoore]

🌼🌟🌼

[jayna]

I'm amazed at how far you've come already, @sunnyag!

[justclickindiva]

Hello. I'd like to thank you for highlighting my story this week. I appreciate the support of the Community. I'd also like to thank everyone who toke the time to stop by and read my story. I appreciate the comments and engagement.

I'd like to make sure I'm adhering to the rules of comment and support. To be counted as participating, should I only comment/support posts for the current weekly prompt?

I wish I had time to spend on everyone's post in the Community last week. Awesome stories of interest and imagination that I encountered. Keep up the good work everyone.

Take care.

[jayna]

Good questions, @justclickindiva. Each week when I write up our highlights post, I open every story posted that week (not just those that were posted for the prompt), and record a list of everyone who provided feedback on the stories of the week. Those who have commented on at least two stories are eligible to have their story highlighted. And I mention those who really go above and beyond in commenting on stories that week as a thank you for their curation and community support. Does that help?

The process is time consuming, of course, but I love doing that review and seeing all of the great comments from the week. Needless to say, I do not have time to review more than one week's worth of stories.

[justclickindiva]

Thank you so much for your explanation. I know it's time consuming with the limited staff. I was just wondering because I had commented on ten stories during the week and left my list under Prompt #27, but my comments were for different prompts. The stories may have been for the week before, but still hadn't reached payout, so I was able to support them.

I understand the procedure now and your dedication to trying to read all the comments.

I appreciate you taking the time to respond. Take care.

[jayna]

Oh my, 10 stories! That is fantastic, @justclickindiva. I'm sorry to have missed the list that you provided. You are right, we are limited in our abilities with our tiny staff. But I will add you to the recognition list for the week. I appreciate that you let us know!

[justclickindiva]

Hello. You're welcome. And thank you. The reason I was asking wasn't just to make sure my name was added to the list, but to clarify that we can support all members' posts during the week, no matter which prompt was responded to. You answered this. I think I surely did dip back into last week, especially if the title or image of the post caught my attention.

Thanks for your response. I appreciate your support.

[katleya]

Thank you @theinkwell Inwell for the mention.

It is always nice that what we do is of value to our readers.

Every week we try to do our best.

Sometimes we don't have enough time to read you all and comment.

To this wonderful community I thank you for all the comments and suggestions; they help me to improve. Although sometimes we depend a lot on inspiration and how to execute it and make it interesting for your reading......

[jayna]

We are all learning and growing, @katleya. I'm so glad you find value in the community and feedback on your stories!