The Ink Well Highlights Magazine #16 - And Weekly Top Commenters

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

This weekly magazine highlights a small selection of short stories posted to The Ink Well community that stood out and were awarded a Curie vote.

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!

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 4 or more other stories published in The Ink Well:

Hive account@aimharryianne,

Hive account@ubani, and

Hive account@wrestlingdesires. Thank you, and great work!

The following are some of our top curated stories from July 5 - July 11, 2021.

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Featured Author: Hive account@rakushasu
The Mysterious Key

Image source: Unsplash

My heart was beating hard in my chest, and I could feel my blood rushing through my veins. My eyes darted left and right, almost expecting a door to open or someone to storm at me. When nothing happened, I hurried over to the cupboard and picked up the first of the golden figurines, then another, and finally an ornate, golden candle holder as well. -Hive account@rakushasu

Hi, Hive account@rakushasu! What a great story, how in a reiterative dream greed takes us to unspeakable depths, we are capable of risking everything for gold. That key must have been rolling around the earth for millennia. How we dream of possessing it and gaining access, without much effort, to great riches. -Hive account@gracielaacevedo

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Featured Author: Hive account@ricardo993
Magical deals

Image source: Canva

At the end of the fourth week, my father's old man appeared. He was dressed in one of his finest robes, an electric purple robe with very high lapels and a ridiculous likeness of an emperor, and the robe was so short that his underpants were visible. He was also carrying a cane instead of his rudimentary wand. While I was wearing my jersey, ready for the battle that was to come. -Hive account@ricardo993

Superb story, Hive account@ricardo993! This is so fun and imaginative. I love the character building. The narrator is wonderful, and the depiction of the aging, highly skilled, yet silly wizard father is hilarious. And the story arc is just perfect. Well done! -Hive account@jayna

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Featured Author: Hive account@diebitch
Love at first sight?

Image source: Pixabay

The office people however wanted to talk. They wanted to know more about me. I gave a few vague answers, but they were not taking the hint. As I excused myself to go to the ladies’ room, I saw a flash of blue. It couldn't be! but it was the mystery man standing in line to get into the restaurant. I got excited but then felt this strange feeling in my stomach. Was he stalking me? -Hive account@diebitch

This is a great interpretation of the prompt. Stalker? Lost sibling? Coincidence? No. Process server :)) The last line is delivered with flourish. Very entertaining and well written story! -Hive account@agmoore

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Featured Author: Hive account@bruno-kema
In Memoriam

Image source: Unsplash

The carpet grass was sparkling and clean, freshly mowed this morning. It smelled of clean grass and the fragrance of the hibiscus flower by the fence was also in the air. The combination of the two gave a homey atmosphere. -Hive account@bruno-kema

Wow. This is beautifully written. You are a fantastic writer, Hive account@bruno-kema. The emotions of a family who dearly missed one of their own are vividly portrayed in this story. Nicely done. -Hive account@kemmyb

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Featured Author: Hive account@aimharryianne
Under the Moonlight

Image source: Unsplash

"I have been following you, Noel, you were talking and walking alone. I thought you were talking with someone on your phone using a headset..but no. I saw you were moving and walking as if you were carrying something heavy in your hand..while talking as if someone was with you. -Hive account@aimharryianne

Mystery, romance and a delicious picnic menu. You describe details well. In the end, you do not leave the reader hanging, but let us understand something supernatural has happened. You save the secret till the end, though, so that we believe in Noel's infatuation. Great names: Noel Gutierrez and Anita Villareal. They sound real and lend credence to the story. -Hive account@theinkwell

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Featured Author: Hive account@zellypearl
Kelly's Letter

Image source: Pixabay

Little Kelly kept telling his mom that he was old enough to take care of himself but Mrs. Claudia just couldn't give into his son's demand. She couldn't watch Kelly getting hurt ever again, not while she was still alive. -Hive account@zellypearl

Hello Hive account@zellypearl, You describe this dilemma so well. And you describe the confusion and sorrow of the child with great sensitivity. As a reader, I will respond personally. This is not an editor or curator talking. It is a reader :)

The mother is making a tragic mistake. If she wants her son protected, then she should go outside and supervise the play. She should have rescue medication at hand. She is making a very bad choice, I believe. There is danger everywhere, for children and adults. We cannot stop living because of what might happen.

Perhaps my response is so heartfelt because I had two brothers who were invalids, one for part of his childhood and the other all his life. So, this story really touched me.

The magic of writing well is to touch readers and make characters seem real. You did that here. Great job. -Hive account@agmoore

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Thank you for reading our weekly magazine!

Hive account@jayna, Hive account@agmoore, and Hive account@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

We would like to invite lovers of creative writing to visit The Ink Well, a Hive community started by Hive account@raj808 and Hive account@stormlight24 and run by Hive account@jayna, Hive account@agmoore and Hive account@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 Hive account@theinkwell, you can do this from the wallet section of https://peakd.com/

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