Write a story about someone successfully — or unsuccessfully — escaping their fate.

Posted in Angst on May 5, 2023

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✍️ 107 stories

“The Unread Book” by Anthea Harris

Submitted to Contest #197

The Unread Book Agonising boredom savaged her whole being like a pit bull. Geraldine looked at her client across the desk, banging on about “that bastard Gordon”, and his deficiencies as a husband. Leaving his clothes on the floor like roadkill was hardly ‘unreasonable behaviour’. Get a grip woman, at least you have a husband. She tried to picture Gordon, but those thoughts were displaced by the announcement that ‘he farts in the car’. Geraldine fought to suppress a smirk, as this glimmer of mirth bounced across the desk into her vacant brai...

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“A Gift” by E Gauvin

Submitted to Contest #197

“Yea sure fine we can escape fate” the words leave my breath in a hot labored way. I am so sick of having this conversation with my wife who read the prompt on some writing website. I am not a writer and so for the life of me I just can’t bring myself to grapple with these ideas she brings to my attention at least weekly. “But honey you don’t seem to be too convinced” she coos at me. I just don’t understand how she can see how worked up I am and still poke and prod me for a different answer than the one I just gave her. I mostly just answer ...

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“Those Delicate Moments” by Paola Andriotaki

Submitted to Contest #197

I had never seen a dead person up close before. Let alone someone I knew, someone who had shaped my life. I stood over her for half an hour since she took her last breath, meticulously observing the colors fading away one by one from the garment that had dressed her soul for seventy-six years.Everyone around me thinks I am calm and composed. That's how I appear, I suppose. However, no one can feel the beats of my heart and the swirling fear provoked by her image. It's a fear that extends far beyond the present moment. As I look at her, I see...

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“Escape!” by Freedom Leigh

Submitted to Contest #197

The day was hot and dusty, but Johnny knew that it would cool down during the night. Southern Arizona’s nights could freeze a body’s bones sometimes, but he would be moving. Moving as he never had before. Just twenty minutes more. Twenty more minutes and most of the guards would turn in for the night. Only Hopkins would be lift on duty, and Johnny had observed Hopkins for two nights. He was lazy. Why they used him for guard duty Johnny had no idea, but no matter. He was glad they did. With Hopkins on guard, Johnny could escape the prison cel...

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“The Cardinal's Fortuity” by William Gabrenya

Submitted to Contest #197

The Cardinal’s FortuityCONTENT WARNING: violence, terminal illness, suicide mentions.What are you so afraid of?Battles are fought in classic legends of good and evil. In movies in a compact theater, filled with the smell of popcorn and sweaty feet. Battles are sword fights and fire-breathing dragons.Battles are fiction.I shouldn’t have been sitting in a hospital bed at nineteen years old, my life barely begun — I shouldn’t have been paralyzed out of fear from the inside out. Absolutely terrified for the doctor’s return, where I would receive...

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“Fit for Purpose” by Chris Savage

Submitted to Contest #197

Your death has been scheduled for 3 P.M. Eastern Standard Time today. Damn, and I haven’t even gotten to my morning coffee yet. My AI generated life algorithm, or The Thread as social media lovingly dubbed it, hadn’t scheduled it for me yet. Glancing at the time I noted it wouldn’t be for another 30 minutes as The Thread had deemed that the optimal time for my body to make use of the caffeine. The suddenness of my expected death invaded my thoughts so deeply I didn’t realize it was time for my scheduled shower until my watch buzzed. I found ...

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“A Letters Calling” by Andrew Spangler

Submitted to Contest #197

The council chambers feel small as I pace the length of the podium. I was unprepared for the revelation that came this morning, as a rider knocked on my cabin door, bearing a letter with the personal seal of the late Queen…of my true Mother. I look to the chambers high rafters, seeking a sign from above. My whole life has been a lie, from my earliest memories until this day. I draw the letter from my tunic pocket, reading the words once more… I pray this letter is never read, for my greatest secret should be free to live a life of freedom,...

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“Blowing out the torch” by Alisher Kulzhabayev

Submitted to Contest #197

I bend my knees to lower myself onto the concrete floor, hearing the squeaking of my joints as I descend. I’d need to fix those if I plan on moving later. On my right lie the skeletal remains of an adult human male. I forget about my joints as I ease onto the floor and relax my frame. “I suppose you would not know this information, but they safeguarded a capsule for you,” I say, nudging the shoulder of the deceased human. “It is held in a bunker similar to this one-” I look at the walls of the room, lined with shelves filled with an asso...

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“Another Brick In The Wall” by Patricia Merewether

Submitted to Contest #197

Katy looked around her ugly gray cubical, and the walls started to grow taller, then they turned to brick. She closed her eyes; the twelve-hour work days, caring for her dying father, and being dumped by her fiance made her edgy and tired, or like a machine. Four people worked with her in the advertising department of a city newspaper, and companies paying for the operation by buying ad space dwindled more daily. Her staff was laid off permanently, and Katy had to tell them. She had to look into their shocked sad eyes and listen to the co...

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“'ICKY MADE ME DO IT'” by Kajsa Ohman

Submitted to Contest #197

“ICKY MADE ME DO IT” When Danny saw the starburst of forks strewn across the floor, he mumbled, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” And knew he was lying. Of course he had meant to. How could you accidentally knock over a heavy metal container with a cast-iron bottom? But the truth—Icky made me do it—was one truth he was never going to tell. “That was just plain stupid,” Mrs. Mommy was informing him, as if he were in fact stupid. “You need to stop making these messes, Danny! What are we going to do with a bad boy who won’t ...

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“The Cycle of Hope and Despair” by Madeline Honig

Submitted to Contest #197

Warning: miscarriage and struggles with pregnancy “I don’t know why we keep trying,” Yolanda said. “We keep trying because it’s something we deeply want,” Thomas replied. “But is it something we deeply want anymore? I am so sick of this whole thing being so prescriptive and failing every time.” Yolanda put her face in her hands. Her red curls seemed to swallow her finger tips. “It wasn’t always so prescriptive, you know?” “I know,” Thomas laid a thick hand on his wife's back. “We had fun in the beginning.&nb...

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“Jane's Escape” by Hollie T

Submitted to Contest #197

“Well, fuck you in the eye with a skewer then,” Jane quietly muttered. Whether her comment was heard or not wasn’t totally apparent, but the conversation continued. “I’m just reminding you that it’s always been this way. Every being has a purpose and this is yours. We all have to come to terms with our lot in life, although you do seem to have more trouble than most accepting this.” The priestess looked at Jane for what seemed like a long time, and then when there was no response, she went on. “You can call it Fate, or Destiny, or whatever y...

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“In Evils We Hide” by Heron Pluvio

Submitted to Contest #197

NOTE: My take on fate has been the way we have organised society to push everyone into the same life (school, college, work, retire, die) We, as humans, always seem to be looking for something to blame. We tell stories, create worlds, and in many of the most popular instances, the evil is not human. We wish to convince ourselves that there is something worse than us, that commits atrocities we would never be able to overlook, but when you look to the real world, and look for those evils that we wish to blame for all that hurts us, it is ou...

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“To Rolling Hills of Wildflowers” by T Joy Fink

Submitted to Contest #197

[Trigger warnings: ideas of death, gun use]It was a bright day when I was born, or at least that’s what Darla told me. The first sunny day after a long bout of rain. Mud puddles everywhere, but luckily lush patches of grass, too.I have a faint memory of my mother. Beautiful, shiny black hair, but crooked ears. A hefty broad, who held her weight in all the right places. Nice wide hips and an outspoken demeanor. What I remember most distinctly were her eyes. Big and brown, like they knew what I was thinking. Always knew when I needed a snack o...

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“A Message from A Time Past” by Esteban Illanez

Submitted to Contest #197

The year is 2052… The day played out exactly as the one before it, and that one also played out as the day that preceded it, which also was exactly the same as the day before it. Darcel was tired. Not even exploring the carefully crafted worlds of the virtual simulations satisfied him anymore. He wanted a real experience. He looked at the window. Outside a vibrant forest with tall green grass and enormous trees expanded into the horizon. Darcel yearned to get lost in its woods, exploring every little detail hidden underneath the tall grass...

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Write a story about someone successfully — or unsuccessfully — escaping their fate.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 107 stories

“The Unread Book” by Anthea Harris

“A Gift” by E Gauvin

“Those Delicate Moments” by Paola Andriotaki

“Escape!” by Freedom Leigh

“The Cardinal's Fortuity” by William Gabrenya

“Fit for Purpose” by Chris Savage

“A Letters Calling” by Andrew Spangler

“Blowing out the torch” by Alisher Kulzhabayev

“Another Brick In The Wall” by Patricia Merewether

“'ICKY MADE ME DO IT'” by Kajsa Ohman

“The Cycle of Hope and Despair” by Madeline Honig

“Jane's Escape” by Hollie T

“In Evils We Hide” by Heron Pluvio

“To Rolling Hills of Wildflowers” by T Joy Fink

“A Message from A Time Past” by Esteban Illanez

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a god desperately trying to get their chosen hero to follow the path they set out for them.

Write a story that includes the phrase “I’m free!”

Write about somebody who wholeheartedly believes in fate, and views every little thing through the lens of predestiny.

Set your story in a world where everyone’s decisions are made for them. One morning, your character wakes up, and chooses not to go to work. Wait…chooses?!

Contest #197

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

268

Contest entries

100

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: