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Write a story about someone looking to make amends for a mistake.

Posted in Adults on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 222 stories

Where the Water Meets the Sand

Winner of Contest #54 🏆

My mother almost drowned me once. My pudgy fingers were wrapped around a sapphire, a blue glass jewel caressed to smoothness by a century of waves. I had spied it resting on a dimple in the sand. I wondered at the shard’s origin; perhaps a pirate’s goblet or the perfume bottle of an exotic, sunken princess. The slap rang in my ear before I felt the heat spread. I raised my hand to my face, too late to shield my stinging cheek. She snatched my treasure from the sand where it had dropped and hurled it in a high arc back into the waves. My moth...

632 likes 196 comments 196
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Bright Yellow

Submitted to Contest #54

Red. The strawberries you hand-picked from your garden. I always pick the not-quite-ripe ones, but you have a sixth sense for the perfect fruit. You'd wanted to grow your own strawberries since you were a teenager and learned about all the chemicals that are put into mass-produced ones. You decide to eat just one while you wait for me. It's delicious. You've read all the books on gardening. You know all the tips and tricks. The strawberry melts in your mouth and blends perfectly with the hot summer's day. Yellow. The blanket you're lyi...

148 likes 58 comments 58
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Grey Clouds

Submitted to Contest #54

To Bella, Did you remember the sunset that we last saw together, the sunset that caused your death? Did you know that the dazzling orange colour changed to a night filled with grey clouds, just a moment after you breathed your last breath? Yeah, of course, you wouldn’t know that. You would’ve been dead by then. Anyone who had seen the scene would know that you died right away. Your blood formed a huge puddle that filled up the ground. The blood continued to flow from the back of your head, even when you already closed your eyes. ...

148 likes 251 comments 251
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The Brightest Stars

Submitted to Contest #54

“Maybe we just lived between hurting and healing-” Benjamin Alire SáenzPeople do bad things, but some people make one mistake that changes everything. The mistake consumes them. I am some people.Scars were a sign that you had been hurt, but you had healed. Scars fade, but they remind you of what had happened. She didn’t have scars because her wound was fresh. It never got time to heal. Three years had passed, but it didn’t matter how much time had passed when her wound was cut open so frequently.…….“Davina, would you like to explain the assi...

118 likes 108 comments 108
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Julian Fairthorn

Submitted to Contest #54

Hi guys! Batool here. For those of you who haven't read "You and the train" and "Zita" already, go and read those two first and then read this one. I'll gladly wait:)Monster. Monster. Monster. You are a monster. What else can you be? A person who lost his parents, his siblings, his family, his wife, his relations, all because of his vicious nature. What else can he be called? There is blood, a lot of it. And, then there is Zita. Despite being bruised all over, a weak smile blossoms over her face as she whispers, "Jules, it isn't...over." And...

116 likes 56 comments 56
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Lies

Submitted to Contest #54

Lies. The little monsters that haunt us every night. Keep us away from feeling good. Induce guilt in our hearts. Once they are released, you can never take them back. Lies are like bullets. When you pull the trigger, the bullet will fire. You cannot reverse your action. The bullet will strike your adversary. But sometimes, our hand slips, and we pull the trigger by mistake. Instead of hitting our foe, we hurt a companion. I didn't mean to do it. I really didn't. I told myself these words every night in hopes of pacifying the pain. But...

99 likes 25 comments 25
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Her Beautiful Hands

Shortlisted for Contest #54 ⭐️

Her hands were pitch-black now, but they had not always been.The bus lurched on the iron bridge crumbling apart. It stumbled on the bumps of the road like an infant learning to walk. She would have clutched the armrest to reassure herself that she would survive the journey, but between the residual dirt and sweat left like a legacy by previous passengers, and the old man subtly trying to shift closer to her, she remained indecisive.“Going to work?” an old lady enquired, elbowing the old man as she spoke. He smiled sheepishly and shifted away...

96 likes 78 comments 78
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Good Friends Are Important

Submitted to Contest #54

Present day. I messed up. I messed up so badly.Alexandra Maffindale was locked in her room. She was sitting on her bed, desperately trying to figure out her life. I can’t go back. She thought. I’ve made too many mistakes. A knock on her door made her start up quickly.“Alex?” A voice asked. “You there?” There was silence for a moment.“Yeah.” Alex whispered. Then she said louder. “Yeah. I’m here.”“Olivia is on the phone. You wanna talk to her?”“No!” Alex yelled.“Whoa, okay. Dinner’s in 10 minutes.”Alex heard footsteps walking down the stairs. ...

93 likes 71 comments 71
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A Familiar Tale

Submitted to Contest #54

Failing his final year at Harlington’s Magical Academy was the worst thing that had ever happened to Jon. His entire family, from his parents to his eighth cousin twice removed, were magicians. At this point, it wasn’t a hope he would qualify; it was a base expectation. The moment his father found out that he would not be graduating was a moment that would be forever burned into the corners of his mind.He was, however, uniquely privileged in that his father was a High Sorcerer and a golf buddy of the headmaster. Where hard work and determina...

77 likes 59 comments 59
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Desert Mistakes (part two to Ash Called Oscar, Lina, Beba Maria)

Submitted to Contest #54

The sun was back with a vendetta, only it held rays like fire over the earth instead of a machete. It wore a mask of radiating, pulsating heat and Beba Maria felt like she was going to pass out.  The day had been long, the road hard, and the undertaking of their task was proving more difficult than they had expected. They’d missed the boat because Oscar had fallen down, scraped a knee, chipped a tooth, cried for ages.  There was now a stretch of desert between them and the spaceships that would shoot them towards a literal new ...

76 likes 25 comments 25
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Am I...? (Part 1)

Submitted to Contest #54

I inhaled deeply and looked up at the starlit night.I was running away from home.The deep sky, the shivering wind, the vast, empty forest welcomed me as if I was one of them. Well, I really was one of them.Hi, I am Iris, the daughter of the leader of the most influential werewolf clan in the city. The forests are our home during the nights. All nights are dangerous for the common humans, because we tend to turn occasionally into werewolves, although it is mostly at our own will. But we have to tuck ourselves away from sight into the deep woo...

73 likes 30 comments 30
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Scars

Submitted to Contest #54

Brian had lived in Fairbanks for less than a month when the “accident” happened and, just like most accidents caused by 13 year old boys, this one was never intended to hurt anyone. He called it an accident because it was the only way to ease the guilt he was feeling. He couldn’t say he was sorry, not without admitting he was responsible. He couldn’t do anything but wallow in his self induced misery. Brian’s dad, Brian Sr, was a sergeant in the Army who was now stationed at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. The elder Brian ha...

68 likes 77 comments 77
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Guilt Trip

Submitted to Contest #54

Guilt is a curious thing, isn't it? I think so. I watch it on the television every night. Yesterday it was the millionaire who touched kids. The day before yesterday was the politician who took money that wasn't his. Before that—was it a murderer? Or another rapist? I forget. There are just too many faces. I change the channel and watch a person on a unicycle get the big shiny buzzer. I clap.Tonight I walk through the streets. It's dark and everything is very still. I see a bird flying overhead. Alone, while the whole world is asleep. I feel...

60 likes 38 comments 38
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A Tale of Two Faeries

Submitted to Contest #54

Once upon a time, in a forest by a river that always shone with the most promising of sparkles, there dwelled the faeries. Now, you cannot see them during the day, for they are secretive creatures; they hide amongst the leaves, disguising themselves as flowers. They are a quiet and graceful people who like to speak in riddles. The next time you are walking through a forest, close your eyes and listen carefully, you might just hear the light fluttering of a faerie’s wings… Fynn perched on the branch, eavesdropping upon the travellers’ conv...

59 likes 38 comments 38
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Ups And Downs 2

Submitted to Contest #54

“Sissy?!” I looked at the woman in front of me with my eyes wide. After all of these years. There she was. “Hey, Sabrina. Long time no see, am I right?” She laughed and I stood up. Walking around the counter, I adjusted my mask before giving her a long hug. “How are you here? You’ve been gone for so long!” I released her and looked at her, up and down. “I know, I know. I didn’t want to be. But work kept me in California. I would’ve come back sooner, but I couldn’t catch a break. I’m so sorry.” Aleea wrapped me in another hug and I sighed....

58 likes 31 comments 31
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