In May, we challenged you to submit a 300 word flash fiction story containing the words spider, rainbow, and cake. From over 1,100 stupendous entries, we chose two Grand Prize Winners and three Runners-Up. We hope you enjoy reading them as much as we did! (For more excerpts, check out this forum thread.)

I had given myself a nearly impossible goal. Headlines all across the world would read, “Pakistani girl becomes youngest person to climb Nepal’s Ama Dablam.” But things had gotten weird. There had been an unexpected blizzard. Separated from the group, I found myself scaling the 22,000 foot peak alone. I would not give up. I had just climbed a large ice wall, and made it to a ledge. Exhausted, I began trying to take deep breaths. That’s when I heard her angelic voice saying. “Just relax, you can float to the top.”

“What?”

“I’ll let you in on a secret. Perfectly at peace, you simply drift to the top. Try it.”

Tired, I thought it couldn’t hurt. Just as I began to close my eyes, I felt the first icy prick. I looked down to find my legs covered in tiny, crystalline spiders. Each blue spider appeared to be made of ice, with legs like prisms, reflecting every color of the rainbow. They felt like needles crawling over my hands and feet. I couldn’t move. They were taking me to him. As they brought me through large, ice doors into his palace, he said, “I’m so glad I found you.” He was dressed in white and wore a golden crown. “I need you to stay with me.” Why did I smell cake?

“I need to go.” I said. “The spiders hurt.”

“I can make them go away.” He waved his hand, and they disappeared.

“Please let me go.” I pleaded.

He answered harshly, “I need you to WAKE UP!”

I slowly opened my eyes. I heard the thumping of helicopter blades. “Thank God. I thought I lost you.” He said. I read the word “MEDIC” on his white coat and gold hat. The oxygen mask smelled like cake. 

Special guest judge Amy Spalding said this about "Ama Dablam": “This story sparkled with vibrant details, rich hints of backstory, and a twisty conclusion."

Lana B. is a sixth grader at Woodlawn Middle School who is passionate about her writing. She loves to play hockey with her brother and teammates. Lana also enjoys playing electric guitar, and changing the lyrics of any song she hears so it becomes an ode to her dog. She feels compelled to do this because her dog is better than everyone else's. Lana also has a hobby of making up words and convincing her unsuspecting family and friends to use them. She thinks it's the nerp thing to do.