And the winner is...

Hey guys! These are the results for my 50 followers Writing Challenge. I had so many beautiful entries, but sadly I had to choose. :( I have given a 3rd, 2nd and 1st place along with a few honourable mentions. Please know that, even if I haven't chosen your entry as a winner, I loved all of them. You are all extremely talented writers! I narrowed 1st, 2nd and 3rd down to a few entries and then used a random name picker to pick a name. I will be giving the names of the runners up to each position as well.

I'm so sorry for this being late - I know I said they would be posted on Thursday but I kept on putting it off because they were all amazing and I didn't want to pick!
Let's get started.

Okay, in 3rd place is.......

Ella!

Congratulations Ella. Here's her entry:

The air around me hung suspended, frozen. The tips of my fingers were unfeeling, crammed into my jacket pockets in hopes that the numbness would melt away. Winter pressed itself against me, squeezing the oxygen from my lungs and drawing tears that pricked like needles on my skin.

I could hear the trees murmuring to each other, great oaks whispering back and forth.

"Do you see her down there?"

"Yes. She's standing by my trunk."

"Where is she going?"

"Where do you think? The same place they all go, in the end."

A breath escaped between my lips, and a pearly mist materialized before me, melting away as quickly as it had come.

But why not? This was the place where nothing stayed.

I heard it before I saw it. The sputtering and grinding of the engine, the tires crunching on the hard-packed snow. The headlights illuminated my figure, huddled by the curb, eyes too dark even to reflect the light.

The bus rolled towards me, its rusty doors already squeaking open before it lurched to a stop.

"You coming?" The driver had gray eyes. Ancient hands clutched the wheel like the branches of a gnarled tree.

I nodded, and stepped gingerly aboard. The smell of grease and ashes overwhelmed me. But there was something else there, too. Something familiar.

Three people. Three others like me. Stationed in their hard plastic seats, bent over and staring at the floor, clutching a backpack and looking stonily ahead.

I slowly lowered myself down. I could feel the aching in my knees, stiff and rusted and begging for relief. My hands found each other, and managed to fold onto my lap. They were still numb.

The doors scraped closed. The engine groaned but obediently sputtered on. Outside the dirt-streaked window, the oak trees did their best to wave goodbye.

"So, where are you headed?" The voice from beside me, quiet, tired.

I looked over. Raven hair. Ivory skin. A stranger. I turned back to the window.

"Home."

Well done Ella. Check out her blog Simply Scribbles. Here's a little picture thing. :)

The runners up for 3rd place were:

Lauren - Pretty Things and Polka Dots

Tane - Fifth out of Ten

Check out Lauren's entry here and Tane's entry here. Here's a button for you two lovely girls. :)

In second place is.......

Kat!

Congratulations Kat. Here's her entry:

It's time to wake up. To see the world properly. You're getting older now. You can't keep living in your dream.

It's time to wake up. It's time to see the trouble that's going on around you. To notice that not everyone is as lucky as you.

It's time to wake up. It's time to take your life into your own hands. To stop relying on others.

It's time to wake up. To decide what you're going to do. To be serious. It's time to stop playing around, getting into trouble.

It's time to wake up. It's time to notice who you are and what you're doing on this planet.

Well done Kat. Check out her blog (Almost) Completely Mad. Here's your picture:

The runners up for second place were:

Beth - Thoughts of a Long-Winded Lady

Eve - Eve of Womanhood

Click here for Eve's entry. Beth emailed me her entry, so it's below:

We're all just jesters dancing on an empty stage

Miming on tiptoe, pretending the act isn't going to end

But when the curtain falls, we all start to weep

Because we knew they were never ours to keep

We still rehearse, but we'll never perform

We make desperate acts in an attempt to hold on

The prices we all pay to not be alone

Remind me of the good things when I cannot share the throne

And if one little white lie is exposed,

We find ourselves forever alone.

And if one tiny little piece comes tumbling down,

We find that our whole world has been spun around.

The flowers that were thrown have withered away,

Their petals falling on an empty stage

The final performance is nothing but motions

Since there were never any emotions

And if all it ever was was a lie

What’s the point in us even claiming we tried?

The stage is destroyed, wasn't it all an act?

Our hearts in our throats, we don’t know how to react

Subtlety shooting the pitch-black sky,

Who’s fault is it, we can never decide,

Always taking sides in a nonexistent war,

Our lives are never the same as before.

The perfect fairy tale had fallen out of place,

Its bitter flavor is fading away.

The lies it’s so clear that we've all told,

Are nothing but false dreams outlined in gold.

The games that we all so willingly played

Always ended with a blackened page

The whispers from the crowd are rumors and lies

Unwittingly, we've planned our own demise.

Here's a thing for you guys:

And the winner is...........

~(•-•)~

JOLLYGIRL!

Congratulations Jollygirl! Here is her beautiful entry:

You were always there

Until you were not

You disappeared

You were gone

Your realness hidden away

Lost in a circle of taunting fears

Of nonacceptance

Caged by the veil

You laid upon yourself

Concealing

You,

Your beautiful self

Your strong emotions,

Your deep thoughts.

I used to admire you

But how can I now

When you've changed everything about yourself?

Well done, Jollygirl. Check out her blog, Reflections of a Jollygirl.

It was so hard to choose a winner. The runners up were:

MorningTime4 - The Ups and Downs of my Not-So-Average Life

Madeline - In the Wind

Sammie - Sammie the Stargirl

Click here for MorningTime4's entry, here for Madeline's entry and here for Sammie's entry.

Here are everybody else's entries:

Paige - The Joys of Being Paige - Entry

Rachel - Writing Half Alive - Entry

Chloee - The Secret Ghost Caller - Entry

Yasmine - Cloudy Dreams - Entry

Nabeela - Ridawkward-and-Hyperbubbly - Entry

Janice - The Other Version of Me - Entry

Emily - Lynde Avenue - Entry

Livy - Little Livys - Entry

Go read them all because they're all amazing! 

Right, that's it for a post today. I'm going to be posting again on Wednesday with a birthday book haul/general haul thing - I'm so excited for my birthday! 1 more full day! - and something for Creative Thursday because you don't need 3 posts in the space of a few days!

Thanks for reading guys. And thank you all so much for entering my writing competition!