Write a story about someone whose time is running out.

Posted in Angst on Jan 19, 2024

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✍️ 112 stories

“The Symbiosis” by Lynn Lidstone

Submitted to Contest #234

In the dim light of pre-dawn, the air was chilly and wet. Tall evergreens rose into the brightening purple-gray sky while the mists swirled around the understory as if alive. Magdalene ran along the path, her long braid swinging, her footfalls quieted by moss and humus. There was no other sound besides her regular breathing and the call of an occasional bird. The woods were awakening. Magdalene came to a stop by a huge pine tree just before the path began to ascend a steep hill. This would be t...

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“Red Dress” by Joe Smallwood

Submitted to Contest #234

That coffee. Was the first thing on my mind. Tall café mocha with a fudge bar or not?I couldn't make up my mind until I realized I already had. Again.Exactly as planned.Then, it's onto the elevator to the 33rd floor. With what's his name? Got it. Not speaking.Cruise by Helen, who winks and is flirtatious. Done.Hmm, is the boss here or not? Here. Time to be A+? In T minus 10 nine 8 seven 6 five...We're live! Too early. Recovery? Nah! Hardly matters. It's a snooze.You really should dress for success more. That’s something. Everyone dresses dow...

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“Trip to Tomales” by Webb Johnson

Submitted to Contest #234

Trip to Tomales My clangy calendar alarm clock jars me out of a restless dream into an extraordinary reality. It's 8:00 AM, July 3, 2008 – my birthday - I'm one hundred years old. I toss off my quilted coverlet, swing out my legs, and put both feet on my oriental carpet. I’ll sit on the bed with my hands on my knees for a moment while I draw a long breath of the honey-suckle-scented air that's breezing through my veranda doors and ponder about the coming day. My ranch-style home will be filled with family and friends, just what I had in m...

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“A Fare to Forget” by Drew Winston

Submitted to Contest #234

The frigid air bit into Lawrence Hastings' skin as he hurriedly flagged down a taxi outside his office. He was running out of time to make his flight. His briefcase clutched in one hand, he flung open the door and slid into the backseat, only sparing a quick glance at the driver before burying his face in his notes. He was scheduled to give a presentation on estate planning at a conference in Chicago and needed every minute he could get to review his notes. The taxi pulled away from the curb, and that's when he first heard it – a jovial v...

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“Little Deaths by Chocolate” by Kevin Robertson

Submitted to Contest #234

Brittany slid three cake pans into the waiting oven. Each filled to exact level, and shaken before to settle and lessen the air bubbles, the chocolate batter bakes for 90 minutes each before setting and cooling and construction. She already beat two different mousses, one dark and one light. Only two components remained, the ganache, which consisted of melted chocolate and cream, and the meringue, which she would pipe into shapes on the top of this spectacular dessert. To turn the other moms at the Girl Scout meeting green with envy, that’s ...

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“When The Toad Sings (And Other Tales of Love)” by Liz Kimberlin

Submitted to Contest #234

The robust aroma furled up from her cup of just served cappuccino. And just like she remembered it. She inhaled deeply. Steamed milk floating on top, murky cosmos of cinnamon sprinkles swirling into a golden spiral. The second inhale made her cough, forcing her to remember where she was and open her eyes. Her mind had wandered once again into a world that no longer existed. She quickly put down the cup and wiped away the spilled coffee dripping from her fingers, wondering if anyone around her had noticed this nameless woman sitting alone, ...

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“Tick Tock” by Maysan Segueni

Submitted to Contest #234

Life is a game of chase. You’re the mouse being chased by death. The cat. You’re able to outrun the cat for a little while, but as you get older, weaker, and slower, the cat gets faster and stronger. But there are some things worse than death. Tick Tock Tick Tock -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- The room glows a soft blue as the screen of my phone blinks on. I roll over, squinting to see the name written on the white text notification. Victor I instantly sit up, all traces of sleep disappearing. I s...

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“A Polo Field” by Nick Baldino

Submitted to Contest #234

You push your husband’s chair across the grass, the wheels wearing tracks over bent green blades. The lawn is cut proper and square. You can tell because there are stripes that run up and down the lawn, stripes of lime and forest, two shades that are almost the same. “It’s a sign of health,” Frederick used to say. “Polo is best played on plaid.” And then he would jostle the belly of his horse, a crème-colored Arabian he’d imported from a Yemenite he rolled craps with, and gallop down the field. Bits of wind would grab at his graying black...

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“We Made It” by Cassandra K.

Submitted to Contest #234

It is the long-awaited end of the year, when the festive holidays have come to a close and the only one left is the bittersweet day of resolution-writing, ball-dropping, and party-attending. The year has left us all tired and battered, war heroes dragged through a battle, only to be left unsung. To have made it out of the year itself is an impressive feat. Of course, that can only truly be said of someone who faced the mildew yellow sign plastered onto their door, screaming out “EVICTION NOTICE” for all the passersby to see; though naturally...

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“Alottment” by Tara Carey

Submitted to Contest #234

Time is the one true treasure. Einstein said time is relative. His theory of the universe and time painted two landscapes - solvency depended on one's frame of reference, and the direction of her gaze, and depending on this time might be moving very slow, warping sound to low octaves and words to unrecognizable garble, or to fast screeching speeds that stung the ears. It boggled the mind, I understood only my place in the continuum, but I could acknowledge such brilliant appreciation of time. Until the United Federation of Earth began...

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“Colette's End” by Robert Hart

Submitted to Contest #234

I remember it all: the incessant questions sometimes yelled, others whispered into my ear, the beatings, the suffocations, the rapes. But the details don’t matter. What matters is … I held my silence. During each session, I drifted from my body to watch and not speak. The interrogation was days long – two, three … four? I lost count. In the grey dawn of a morning, the cell door crashed open. A guard threw down beside my naked body striped pants and a jacket with a large red X on the back. “Dress.” The material was coarse and grated acr...

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“I Don't Have Time For This” by Nicole Ortiz

Submitted to Contest #234

I have five minutes. Just five minutes. Two to find what I need, two to ring up at self checkout. And one as a buffer. That’s enough time, right? I turn a corner. Blood. It was actively dripping as she held her hand tightly to her stomach. Active shooter? And were they still active or had they already left? The other question was would she live without some hospitable interference from every member of the audience. I’m sorry, but I just don’t have the time for it right now. And besides, I’m not medically certified in anything at ...

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“Out of Time” by Katherine Macy

Submitted to Contest #234

I place my hand on my smooth, barely rounded belly. I know you’re swimming in there, a little warrior in a dark ocean of abyss. I know you’re fragile. I wonder if you’ll survive the deep waves that come crashing down on you. None of the others survived. I’m afraid to love you. I fell in love with the others before you so many times, always believing that God in Heaven had His arms around them and that everything would be just fine. I would love them, and then time would run out. And then one day, I was out of time. My husband had decided...

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“ODD Place For Water” by Diane Sew

Submitted to Contest #234

Disclaimer: This story has topics of euthanization. PLease be advised. It looks like water, but it is not coming from what I usually drink out of, and I have drunk out of some real doozies let me tell you. Have you ever been so thirsty for water that you will drink it out of anything, well, almost anything. I am not sure I should drink it from where its coming from now. I am not sure it is really safe. Although, it is the third time I have seen water flow like this. Let me tell you about the first time it happened. I was in the b...

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“Grand Old Time” by Marc Wilks

Submitted to Contest #234

The truck’s engine roared as Brent pushed the accelerator to the floorboard. He looked in the rearview mirror, and although he could no longer see the vehicle pursuing him, the cloud of dust made it clear that the chase was still on. I can’t believe this is happening, he thought. Brent looked at the flatscreen in the dashboard. The GPS told him that the border was eleven miles away. He should be crossing back into the US in thirteen minutes. What was supposed to be a simple exchange turned into a disaster. Bre...

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Write a story about someone whose time is running out.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 112 stories

“The Symbiosis” by Lynn Lidstone

“Red Dress” by Joe Smallwood

“Trip to Tomales” by Webb Johnson

“A Fare to Forget” by Drew Winston

“Little Deaths by Chocolate” by Kevin Robertson

“When The Toad Sings (And Other Tales of Love)” by Liz Kimberlin

“Tick Tock” by Maysan Segueni

“A Polo Field” by Nick Baldino

“We Made It” by Cassandra K.

“Alottment” by Tara Carey

“Colette's End” by Robert Hart

“I Don't Have Time For This” by Nicole Ortiz

“Out of Time” by Katherine Macy

“ODD Place For Water” by Diane Sew

“Grand Old Time” by Marc Wilks

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about someone who wishes they could turn back time.

Write about someone taking advantage of some unexpected free time.

Start or end your story with someone saying, “We have all the time in the world.”

Set your story in a place that’s frozen in time — literally or metaphorically.

Contest #234

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

340

Contest entries

132

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: