When I proposed this contest, I was honestly expecting to be blown away — socks-knocked-off, wide-eyed, “wow, what even is this!” kind of amazed. The theme was Can’t Sleep, the prompt was:

She murmured, “Mama, I can’t sleep. Can I sleep beside you?”
Half-awake, she replied, “Yes, darling…”—
then froze,
for who had been lying beside her since the earlier half of the night?

I imagined mystery, strange happenings, something out of the world, maybe a little unsettling, something funny or comical even...

But turns out, I’m not quite the visionary I thought I was. 😅

We ended up with 10 entries (11 if you include mine) — which is a pretty solid number — and I have to admit, a few of them really do stand out. Still, what I had in mind was something totally different. But then again, why should my mind be the gold standard? Creativity takes its own course, and maybe that’s the real beauty of it.

Without further ado, let’s get to the results!

Two entries that, in my opinion, brought a different take to the contest and stood out are:

• @joslud : https://steemit.com/hive-107855/@joslud/twilight-states-contest-cant-sleep-es-en

• @johnmitchel : https://steemit.com/hive-107855/@johnmitchel/contest-can-t-sleep

Now, I’m not announcing winners in the conventional sense. Instead, these two will each receive 5 STEEM.

As for everyone else who submitted — you’ll each get 2 STEEM. That’s actually 1 STEEM extra than what was originally offered in total.

Why this format and not the announced 15 and 10 split between the top two?

Well, as I mentioned earlier, while I’m impressed with the entries, I didn’t quite get what I had in mind when I first imagined this contest. So my conscience doesn’t allow me to just highlight two people and leave it at that. In my eyes, everyone who took on this rather odd prompt is a winner.

I will do the transfers shortly after this post and include the screenshots in the comments.

Now, coming to more important things…

Through this result announcement post, I want to once again emphasize:

Please, please don’t let yourself get discouraged or demotivated by the lack of votes.

After almost two years here, I can say this with confidence: your work speaks for you, whether you are a writer, a developer, or anything else in this world of Steem.

If you put in your sweat and, most importantly, enjoy the process, this platform has the potential to change your life. It can reshape your way of thinking, broaden your outlook, and make you a more reflective person.

But if you keep using shortcuts and AI to replace your own creativity, people can see through it. Believe me, sooner or later, you will lose your worth.

One last thing before I close.

You may have noticed that I specifically added microfiction in the tags. That was both a clue and a marker of the category I had in mind for this contest. Now, since I didn’t clearly mention it in the requirements, you were not bound to stay within that lane. The sky was the limit.

But that is exactly the point I want to underline. Tags are not just for visibility; they also guide the reader, set expectations, and sometimes even hint at the direction of a post. That is the importance of using tags thoughtfully. You see what I mean?

So keep writing, keep experimenting, and keep shining. The votes will follow.