Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog

Menu

✕
CONNECT
Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites
BLOG
Success Stories
APPS
TOOLS
Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships
ABOUT
About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story where someone finds comfort in an unexpected event, place, or person.

Posted in Adults on Oct 31, 2022

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 56 stories

“A Mother's Love” by Pene Worth

Submitted to Contest #161

I saw Mother today, across the street. Our street. She looked at me, I am sure she saw me. Her eyes connected to mine before executing a barely discernible flicker to her grandchild at my side.  The word ‘Mother’ began to form on my tongue, a ridiculous surge of hope flared hot in my chest. She turned away and walked on as if we did not exist. I think I saw one of those small rises in the corner of her mouth, her semblance of a smile that was not a smile. Resentment and anger pushed deep over the years now rose in a suffocating s...

7 comments 7
Read story

“End of a Dream” by Lucy Gardner

Submitted to Contest #161

I stared at the celestial body of Mars, burning orange against the dark-blue sky of Earth. The night was dead and the moon was hidden. A cloudless sky. A silent world. The city of skyscrapers had never before been so bare of all its monotone.It was irony and a chuckle was the only remedy. People wondered if global warming would end us or perhaps nuclear decimation would do the trick. We liked to imagine the end of the world as something that could be stopped if only we all took great pains to care, and yet? The world was ending and there was...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Juniper Kima III” by Lavender Marigold

Submitted to Contest #161

Something was wrong. I knew it the instant I planted my foot onto the arena’s glass floor. I knew as the feeling of chill dread strung itself through my spine and anticipation paralyzed me. Something was very wrong. I checked the tattoo on my arm. The glistening black ink read ‘3’—as it should. A wave of panic surged and my finger tapped against the side of my leg. I’d done that—no, she’d done that. Juniper Kima Prime had begun this habit as early as high school. And so, I did it too. With a clenched jaw and restless fingers, I f...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Good Old Man” by Caleb Lekki

Submitted to Contest #161

Every day, Shauna walked to school, she would pass his house. Every day she would see him peering through the window. His eyes were piercing like a hawk. His nose was pointed like a beak. His skin was wrinkled and pale. Sometimes, Shauna would see him come out of his house to tend his garden. He was a thin tall man. His house was a large, brick house with an oddly sharp and pointy roof. His lawn was well kept, but mysteriously so. You could see the man tending his garden from time to time, but no one ever saw him cut the grass, which one c...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Open Mic Night” by Yuri D

Submitted to Contest #161

“Seriously?” She widens her eyes as her head follows his every move, “That’s how you want to start off?” “Absolutely, I am taking it back a few years. To when I realized that I enjoyed writing jokes.” He smiles as she rolls her eyes. She folds her arms across her chest, “Jake, that was also the time that your family stopped talking to you.” She questions him as he lets out a chuckle. “Not the point of the story Naomi. Just sit back and enjoy the show.” Jake replies as he walks away to the stage.      &nbsp...

0 comments 0
Read story

“A Late Evening Snack” by Katie Edie

Submitted to Contest #161

The stinging pitch of singing steam rang over the soft music and the hum of mumbled words. The dark, thick smell conquering the fading smell of wet floor cleaner clinging in the cracks of the floor. The bight yellow sign stuck out with warning. Warning. Did she need a warning? There was so much noise in her head, it was hard to tell if she was a danger or not. The knife of the mornings memories up to the hilt in her mind. The anxious tightness in her neck that just wouldn't fade. She hadn't mean to let the bastard escape. If he knew better, ...

1 comment 1
Read story

“It’s All Gray Now” by Will Lianti

Submitted to Contest #161

It was a cold morning outside his cabin that nestled between the pines and the snow.  The glow of the wood stove lit up the dim room while it heated the coffee and baked beans atop it.  Both the beans and the coffee had a little bit of sugar added to them to get him through the day.  It was everything he ever wanted; the boards beneath his feet, the wind through the trees, the smell of cedar and smoke.  The right man could live a very happy life here, all alone in the northern wilderness. He thought back to when he was m...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Night Terror” by Nick Doutney

Submitted to Contest #161

1 John woke up, turned over and looked at the clock beside him. 2:06 am. He sat up in a groggy daze and stretched his arms. He caressed the lump on the side of his head which felt like a hornets bite. The room around him was vibrating as he slipped into his jeans and pulled the hood of his black sweatshirt over his head. He blinked and was then standing in the kitchen. The linoleum floor was cold on his bare feet. He blinked again and found that he was now sitting on the floor with his muddy sneakers on. He tied the laces, got up, and wal...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Lucky Charms” by Julia Genord

Submitted to Contest #161

One foot in front of the other.  I stepped carefully on the scratched linoleum that spanned for miles ahead. The shelves on either side of me towered like cliffs. The items they held seemed to only exist above my head, only available for the people at the top. I’d been stuck in the gorge below them since I was born and I had never learned how to climb.  I leaned against the handlebars of the cart I was pushing, absorbing its stability. The squeaky wheel screamed as we traveled forward, seeming to imitate the monologue in my head....

1 comment 1
Read story

“Peace in Passing” by J.J Park

Submitted to Contest #161

The corpse laid about ten feet away from Remy, and he intended to keep it that way for as long as possible. The line of people waiting to greet him and his mother with their potentially genuine condolences were stretched outside of the door and lingered down the hallway. He noticed how most of the people were pleasantly chatting while exchanging smiles and muffled giggles just before approaching the altar and then suddenly donned their impressive looks of despair. They would bend down to his eye-level, making it feel like they were trying to...

0 comments 0
Read story

“The Stone” by Urooj Aslam

Submitted to Contest #161

Birds and their beautiful chirping. The whispers of the light breeze. The silence of the tall trees. And among them stands a mystic stone. It can’t be called a monument as nothing seems written on it. It’s just a stone. A rock perhaps. Amid a beautiful forest on the Margalla hills of Islamabad. People usually use the track for hiking which runs alongside the stone. Often being ignored by the hikers. Yet to Mia, this stone has always fascinated her. Nature itself has a soothing effect on the soul. This place holds something extraordinary. ...

5 comments 5
Read story

“IT'S AN AGE THING” by Brian Bywater

Submitted to Contest #161

IT”S AN AGE THING 7pm August 13th 2022 Mission Beach State School Have I forgotten anything I ask myself, for the umpteenth time? Umpteenth, how many is that? Does it really matter? I just wish I could stop shaking. “Poachie, time to get the night started. You are on!”  I hear Penny’s voice coming from up on the stage. If I have forgotten something, it is too late. I already regret being here. I could not have a sound check done before tonight. A compere’s worst nightmare is sound breakdown. I climb the short stairs to the stage. Why...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Life and Lemons” by Amy Ingram

Submitted to Contest #161

“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” -Modern proverbial phrase.I should not have been using a paper bag for the lemons I was picking, after the morning's deluge. They were irresistible; large, plump, and waxy, an outrageous shade of yellow, like little suns peeping through the green foliage. I picked too many, and inevitably the dampened paper gave way, sending lemons tumbling over the lawn. Just then Sophie came around the corner of the house, and she knelt and helped me gather them up and place them in a pile on the step.‘I’m ready...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Not As Advertised ” by Troy Chavez

Submitted to Contest #161

As I, Martin Hernandez, look up from my morning-after shower… I see a spider (daddy long legs) spinning an ant in its web. The morning-after wasn’t rough, it was horrifically whimsical. Like getting beautifully drunk, but spending the night with a ghost everyone can see, hear, and fear.  I met Shelly online: Tinder. But I was spun in like that ant on the web. Her pictures showed a vibrant and smiling girl. Skin and makeup doused in beauty, and her dress sunnier then El Sol. I was lonely and so was she. I rolled the dice.  Nowad...

4 comments 4
Read story

“Love Is A Blank Space” by Ajahni Crenshaw

Submitted to Contest #161

TW: Sexual Abuse, Substance AddictionI walked through life carrying a person on my back. Every day since that day was a heavy, dark feeling in my chest. I had panic attacks, anxiety, and stress ever since the shadow people latched onto my back. ‘Why don’t you believe me?’ as I screamed and sobbed. I woke up from nightmares dripping in sweat. I’ve been smoking weed to soothe the pain. It worked. I never had to think about it while I felt at a high. I woke up to smoke weed, I had a panic attack and smoked weed, and every night before I went to...

1 comment 1
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with someone sharing a secret that has a big impact on everyone.

High School – 39 stories

Write about a character who lives a seemingly charmed life.

Teens – 25 stories

Write a story where a character has to take on heavy responsibilities (perhaps beyond their age).

Kids – 48 stories

Write about someone who needs to face their past in order to move forward.

Adults – 73 stories

Contest #161

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Digging Deep

$250

Prize money

241

Contest entries

125

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 02, 2022 EST

Won by Marty B 🏆

Title: Long Distance Phone Call

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

NEW VIDEO COURSE 🎉

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢