Write a story including the phrase “Better late than never”.

Posted in Angst on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 67 stories

“Clearview Mall” by Blair Law

Submitted to Contest #125

Candles, coat, picture frame. Candles, coat, picture frame. I know it’s last minute but I completely forgot gifts for my cousins. They aren’t close family anyways, how can I be expected to remember them? But, they’re coming to dinner at Mom’s house so I have to be polite. I mean, I guess I should put some effort in. It’s a little late to make that effort but better late than never, right? I bet they won’t even get me anything. It’d be perfectly typical, them forgetting about me. But, I can’t blame them. Even I forget about myself some...

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“Try Again” by Juptie Vhix

Submitted to Contest #125

Noticing she was at a stoplight, Raven reapplied her lipgloss and attempted to touch up her hair right before being honked at. “I know you like to move at your own pace, but you know you can’t do all this while driving.” The voice coming from her car weakly sighed before continuing. “Speaking of moving at your own pace, what made you decide to slow down for today too? I thought you were excited about this.” “Of course I’m excited! I just got a little nervous, it’s been a while since I’ve seen them.” Raven lightly chuckled. “I could bare...

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“‘Twas the night before, the night before Christmas...” by Raymond Cummings

Submitted to Contest #125

Seeing my wife in tears did it: her sheer, heartbroken disappointment. Misery had chiselled despair into her face. That look pressed me to insist on her taking a bath so that I could do something I had sworn I would never do again: make a phone call of complaint. I thought about starting with sure footing: an email: my preferred method. I am a teacher of English by vocation; writing to complain always makes me feel like I possessed an advantage. However, it was Christmas. Despite my wife’s disappo...

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“Missing Out” by Annette Rey

Submitted to Contest #125

Today would be a turning point. She promised herself to stick to the drudge work of completing necessary errands. Still, Missy broke her lovely ceramic dancing girl as she rushed around her apartment. Always rushing. Always late. Head in the stars her mother used to say. No, she’d rejoin, not the stars but in my books, mom, with my friends like the great detective Holmes and Miss Marple. Stories transported her from the misty moors to quaint English villages, meeting the least suspected villains and understanding their sensitivities. Grabb...

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“Eleven Minutes Past Nine” by Michael Van Citters

Submitted to Contest #125

Four minutes past nine. “Would you stand over here, Mr. Paige? That’s right, just here, thank you, Mr. Paige.” It had never occurred to Andrew Paige that his wife would give birth as late in the day as past nine o’clock at night and, until Lisa, his wife, had gone into labor only several hours prior, he had always thought of childbirth as the sort of thing that happens only in the morning, or perhaps in the middle of the day, leaving plenty of time for tea and supper after the baby had been delivered. At odds with this strange notion, th...

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“And yet he waits ” by TONI IKHILE

Submitted to Contest #125

She was an elusive one. It had been almost 10 years and yet Ben couldn't get a hold of her. The her in question was, of course, his mother. His beloved and yet spitefully hated mother. She had left when Ben was just a boy, around 8 in age, and left him with his father. A timid man who couldn’t protest over the leaving of his wife even if he wanted to. Ben’s attitude had always juxtaposed the influence that his single father had on him growing up. Whereas his father was humble and bashful, Ben was unashamed and proud. It led to more than a fe...

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“The Game” by Christopher Linehan

Submitted to Contest #125

The invitation had come very late. Two weeks? Not even, he thought to himself. It was Wednesday and Mark was getting married on the following Saturday. That was just like Mark – impulsive and last minute – even his nuptials were not immune to his wanton and lackadaisical approach to time. Luckily for Mark, he had the charm to overcome his perpetual tardiness. Thomas, though not repellent, lacked the charisma necessary to live free of the omnipresence of time. Unluckily for Thomas, Mark had consistently made them both late for more than half ...

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Write a story including the phrase “Better late than never”.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 67 stories

“Clearview Mall” by Blair Law

“Try Again” by Juptie Vhix

“‘Twas the night before, the night before Christmas...” by Raymond Cummings

“Missing Out” by Annette Rey

“Eleven Minutes Past Nine” by Michael Van Citters

“And yet he waits ” by TONI IKHILE

“The Game” by Christopher Linehan

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with a character who is always running late arriving somewhere just as it closes.

Write a story about a late bloomer.

All clocks suddenly stop. Write about what happens next.

Set your story in an airport, as someone rushes for a flight.

Contest #125

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

164

Contest entries

113

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: