Start or finish your story with a speaker unable to finish their sentence, perhaps overcome by emotion.

Posted in Angst on Feb 16, 2024

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✍️ 93 stories

“Just Big Brother Stuff” by K.A. Murray

Submitted to Contest #238

Every year on Christmas Eve, I book a room in a hotel ten minutes from my parents’ house in suburban Maryland. It’s been my routine for a while now, which is why it was unusual that I forgot this year.Delilah and I were twenty minutes into our drive down I-95 when I realized it, so it became her job to frantically look online to see if any hotels had availability for that night.“I don’t get it,” she said as she scrolled and clicked. She was annoyed, I could tell; Delilah didn’t like doing anything at the last minute. “Is it so bad with your ...

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“Of Moon Rabbits and Secrets” by Kristina Aziz

Submitted to Contest #238

"Never do your thieving when the rabbit can see you, munchkin." Tara looked up from her barely-won handful of berries, meant to be fated for tomorrow's pie, and saw the full moon shining behind her mother. It may as well have been a flashlight. "I was only trying to hide from you, mama, not the rabbit." Her mother shook her head and picked up the bowl from the counter, gesturing at Tara to return her ill-gotten snack. "If you hide from one, you hide from all Tarinka. Even the moon won't keep your secrets." Tara pouted and gave one last yearn...

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“The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth” by Shana Fox

Submitted to Contest #238

Don’t interrupt, it’s not polite. Wait your turn. Stop fidgeting. Make eye contact. Are you even listening? Speak when spoken to. Children are seen and not heard.Chicka-chicka-chicka. The plastic blades on the oscillating desk fan perched in the kitchen corner awkwardly rubbed the slightly dented cage while it continued to push air. The hardwood dining table was covered with a vinyl tablecloth decorated with vibrant summer flowers. It was the kind that when you rest upon it for a bit too long, especially when it was as warm as it was today, ...

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“"It"” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #238

“It”Tormented by the thought, dreading the moment, awaiting the inevitable, peace evades me. Morning, noon, and night, here, there, and everywhere, the specter haunts me. I’ve always known the Why. It was the What, When, and Where that disrupt my life’s journey, and of course, the fear of the great unknown, a/k/a “it”.“It”- used with many verbs as a direct object with little or no meaning- Merriam-Webster.“Timmy! If you do that again, I’m going to… well, you’re really going to get it!”“When your Father gets home, he will… well, you’ll see. Y...

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“Choices” by Nicole Ashcraft

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #238

“I’m just too tired to…” Her eyes landed on his face as she rolled over. She saw the expectation that lingered there in the lines between his furrowed brows. It traveled up into the creases of his forehead, pointedly asking, ‘Well?’“Either way, I might die,” she said quietly, flipping the pillow to lay on her back. She stared at the spot where the ceiling met the tattered rosebud-patterned wallpaper she once loved. They picked it out for their wedding registry at that little shop on South Houston St. while arguing playfully in the tiny aisle...

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“Smoke on the Water” by Trudy Jas

Submitted to Contest #238

It's only late summer but the air is cool this morning. The lake, still holding the summer warmth, allows the mist to drift like smoke over its surface, making it look ethereal and enchanted. Soon the sun will burn away the smoke and bring the lake in sharp focus. It won't be long before the trees will change to yellow and gold, russet and red.The summer people have left. They have closed their cottages and pulled their boats out of the water. Some may return for the odd weekend. Some may return for cross-country skiing; other will bring the...

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“Fated.” by Lara Deppe

Submitted to Contest #238

Lily is the woman I have been looking for my entire life. She thinks we met two years ago. Almost four years ago, I saw her from the window of a tiny café, across from her gym, as she burst out the door with workout bag in hand, another day bag thrown over her shoulder, hair thrown up in a partial bun with trailing strands of hair (curling by her ears in tiny sweaty ringlets), phone in hand trying to plug an earbud in her ear with her right hand, fumbling for her keys with her left hand in the side of her bag while trying to hydrate from ...

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“The Good Samaritan (Western Remix)” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #238

Overbearing sun; excessive heat and blinding light reflecting off the yellow and red baked earth. A plateau in the distance, weary lizards laying on rusty boulders in the foreground, cactuses reaching for the sky. The essence of burnt dirt fills the air that does not move. The snake rattles it’s warning as a black horse, foaming at the mouth, stumbles along the rocky terrain. A stranger in black and a Navajo covering hangs limp in the saddle. He doesn’t remember the last time his face saw a razor, or his belly a meal, but his most desperate ...

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“Expiration Date” by Kristina Hopper

Submitted to Contest #238

The sky was pitch black. The air was still. There was no distinguishing reason foreseen. It was a vast desert land; the lack of life was not visibly suspicious. The only oddity was the time of day. The watch on Cassidy’s wrist read three in the afternoon. The flashlight, that normally resided in her backpack, was in her hand, lighting the way. She had also shone the light on her watch, to determine the time. She trudged through the desert land, step by step. It did strike her for a second that the sky being pitch black was a concerning event...

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“Are You On Instagram?” by Hannah Lynn

Submitted to Contest #238

Biting into my sandwich, I began to chew, despite the choking sensation I was feeling. I should have made it lighter, less slices of cheese perhaps, but then again how sparse can a sandwich be before it’s just bread on bread? I forced it down with a small sip of the bottled water brought from home. Watching my coworkers casually chat at the Keurig, I heard the whoosh of the machine as the aroma swirled around the room, trying its best to tempt me. The journey across the small room through the mingling employees kept me se...

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“Nature's the Bomb” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #238

Landan’s phone pinged again, disturbing the peaceful mountain hiking path.Woodrow Alfredsone’s right eye twitched from the tension building up in his body. It grew like static electricity in the air. ‘Will you turn that damn thing off? This is a relaxing father-son hike. It’s hard to enjoy the beauty of nature with your mobile beeping like a bomb.’‘Shh, this is important. Tensions are escalating in—’He acted without thinking. He’d been absent for most of Landan’s upbringing – gone in the mornings and evenings. He was missing most weekends, a...

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“Cold” by William Simon

Submitted to Contest #238

The research station existed as a tiny speck of humanity in a screaming white wasteland. The temperatures were relentlessly inhospitable, regularly hitting fifty degrees Celsius below freezing, gale force winds shifted constantly trying to find some purchase on the station to blow it away. At this time of year, the darkness was never ending. I arrived seven months, three weeks, and two days ago. Life before felt like a fading dream of warmth and abundance. The isolation was acute and would have been completely overwhelming if it wasn’t for ...

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“Lucy” by Vid Weeks

Submitted to Contest #238

“So, what’s going on? Helen told me you were going to the middle east or something.” “Yes, I’ve been called,” she said, with that warm but shy smile as if she was admitting a crush. Its Lucy’s smile I remember. She wasn’t beautiful really but her face drew your eyes to it. Strong straight eyebrows and a pixie nose. Her mouth was a bit crooked and more so when she smiled. “Called, what do you mean?” “I’ve been called by God.” “Are you ready to order.” I absent mindedly waved the waitress away. “Oh, sorry, could we have a couple of minutes pl...

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“Perfect Timing” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #238

As John Jordan turned over the first shovelful of soil at the groundbreaking ceremony for his new insurance office in the Rehobeth Beach Coastal Mall he struck an unusually hard object. As he reached down to retrieve what felt like hardened cardboard he said, “It looks like a book, maybe a journal or diary.” When he turned the first page his hands shook as badly-smeared ink scrawls revealed the entries on sheets stuck together by “dried blood...

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“Unfinished Business” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #238

Don’t worry! It’s not..! That was when it all started. There was an end that heralded a beginning. The circle of life. Only this circle was broken and there was no fixing it. Problem was that Don could not discern the meaning in any of it. And meaning was required whenever the circle broke and threatened to stutter into an eternity of chaos and pain. Gary was the punchline, he was sure of that much. But Don didn’t get the joke and he certainly wasn’t laughing. No one was laughing. The timing was all wrong, and the punchline did not fit...

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Start or finish your story with a speaker unable to finish their sentence, perhaps overcome by emotion.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 93 stories

“Just Big Brother Stuff” by K.A. Murray

“Of Moon Rabbits and Secrets” by Kristina Aziz

“The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth” by Shana Fox

“"It"” by Murray Burns

“Choices” by Nicole Ashcraft

“Smoke on the Water” by Trudy Jas

“Fated.” by Lara Deppe

“The Good Samaritan (Western Remix)” by Ty Warmbrodt

“Expiration Date” by Kristina Hopper

“Are You On Instagram?” by Hannah Lynn

“Nature's the Bomb” by Joshua G. J. Insole

“Cold” by William Simon

“Lucy” by Vid Weeks

“Perfect Timing” by Bob Faszczewski

“Unfinished Business” by Jed Cope

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story in which a conversation takes place where the true subject is only implied.

Write a story including the line “I can’t say it.”

Write a story in which an important message is cut off, leaving characters to wonder or puzzle out what was left unsaid.

Set your story at a silent retreat.

Contest #238

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

285

Contest entries

98

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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