Write about a character seeking forgiveness for something that happened in the past.

Posted in Angst on Oct 26, 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.

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 67 stories

“Straw, Sticks, and Brick” by Story Time

🏆 Winner of Contest #116

First and foremost, I just need to assert what was right and what was wrong. I think, before you can apologize for things you’ve done, you need to really isolate and evaluate exactly what you did wrong, and it’s very rare that you, uh, you know, haven’t done anything right in the midst of all you did wrong. So, I would like to assert that, yes, I made mistakes. I made many mistakes. I hurt people. Well, not people, but, you know, living things. I hurt living things and I hurt them by damaging their property and terrorizing them, and for that...

241 comments 241

Read story

“Flowers in gravity” by Abigail Airuedomwinya

Submitted to Contest #116

I was sixteen when I had my first boyfriend although boyfriend isn't quite the right word. We were like flies, nothing, wearing ourselves thin with cigarettes and stronger drugs and sex and broken record players. His name was Amac. He was one of those foreigner boys who fidgeted with their hairs when we went out for school excursions; those boys who were strong and yet so soft, so cowardly. Still, I loved him. Amac and I barely talked but when we did, it was mostly about his friends' skydiving and how much he too wanted that. He said we did ...

21 comments 21

Read story

“An Unspoken Loss, or Self Proclaimed Truth.” by Michelle B Sullivan

Submitted to Contest #116

This story isn’t one that requires your ‘deepest condolences’, no, this story is just here for anyone craving to know how something or someone can go from being an average person, the normal girl she’s always been, to the mess she now is. My story has been built upon loss but I refuse to halt construction here. There are things in life that cannot be lost, for instance, my name, Alexis, whereas the person behind the name, she’s been lost for a while, or as long as that ridiculous bracelet’s appearance. Every second, ...

6 comments 6

Read story

“Sit and Stare” by Katharine Widdows

Submitted to Contest #116

Trigger Warning: grief, regret, death, disfigurement.The sun is drawing away, slowly at first, like an evening steam train. It takes the daylight with it and leaves my room in semi-shadow.‘Your mum, she left these for you, to open on your sixteenth birthday. I don’t know what they are, I promised I wouldn’t look. I never have.’I sit and stare at the white envelope and the red velvet box that Dad has placed before me on the dressing table. They lie in front of the mirror I covered eight years ago, half a lifetime back. A blue silk scarf is dr...

40 comments 40

Read story

“A Futile Apology” by R. B. Leyland

Submitted to Contest #116

The crestfallen face of my best friend is stained to my memory, as the click of the door handle indicates the doctor leaving the room after announcing his dire news. I try to murmur words of consolation to him, but he closes his eyes with a huff of breath laced with resignation. This, more than anything, worried me. Always a ball of hope amidst any sorrow we encountered, to see him like this broke my heart. Once more, I attempt to regain the friend that I knew, but was totally ignored for my efforts. As though the world realised I ...

17 comments 17

Read story

“Of Ashe & Aether” by Vince Salamone

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #116

Emelyn tugged on her shackles—a feeble effort, she knew, but one despair demanded of her. The idonsteel bit into her flesh, and a scab peeled away as the restraints added another gouge to the red-rubbed mess of her wrists. Blood trickled down her arm, striking the floor below, the once-pristine tiles sullied in a rorschach of dried blood; a pitiful reminder of her struggles. She raised her head, despite the protests of her weathered body; gazed past the armored sister-sentries to the door they protected. A threshold to freedom. +It is your...

8 comments 8

Read story

“MIXTAPE” by Andrea Rabinal

Submitted to Contest #116

TW // HomophobiaSounds from the street came in through the rolled down window, his black curls blowing in the wind. Jamie had open it so that the cigarette smoke would not flood the interior of the vehicle, but it bothered him that the car horns and the murmur of the people outside wouldn’t let him properly hear the music coming from the speakers. His radio was so old that it could only play tapes. Finally, he decided to throw away the half-smoked cigarette and roll up the window. Music over vice.A reunion with former high school classmates....

2 comments 2

Read story

“Letters for Delores ” by Dave Bolin

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #116

Hannah opened another cardboard box and began unpacking dishes in her new kitchen. The boxes seemed to multiply in the moving van, and Hannah was starting to lose motivation. She poured herself a cup of coffee, wandered out of the kitchen, down the hall, and opened her front door. Hannah stepped out onto the stoop and, cradling her coffee mug in both hands, watched Philadelphia parade down her street. An elderly couple holding hands and walking their golden retriever made her smile. Give Max and her another fifty years, and that would be t...

4 comments 4

Read story

“With Love From Above” by Kate Winchester

Submitted to Contest #116

Amanda startled awake. She panicked before realizing that she was safe in her bedroom. Someone had tapped her shoulder, or so she thought. Her eyes darted around the room. Even though it was dark, she saw neither shadows nor any evidence that someone was there. She listened for any noises, but all was quiet. When her body calmed down and she came to her senses, she figured she must have been dreaming. Her phone was on the night stand next to her, and she reached for it. As she did, she felt something o...

8 comments 8

Read story

“Remorse” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #116

Julius had an uneasy feeling that he was being followed. It churned in his stomach like a bad burrito, but he had no evidence to back up his suspicions. Julius was frequently on edge, always aware of his surroundings. He had lived his early years in foster care after his parents were gunned down while on vacation in Peru. Julius was only six at the time, and was in the care of his babysitter, while his parents h...

2 comments 2

Read story

“HE WHO IS IN A HURRY ALWAYS ARRIVES LATE” by Nancy Malcolm

Submitted to Contest #116

He Who Is In A Hurry Always Arrives Late Georgian Proverb I was running, clutching my purse and holding my powder blue Samsonite train case. My dad was saying, “Hurry, Nan! We’re so late! I’m afraid you’ll miss your flight.” We rounded the corner of the parking garage and headed down the stairs. Six foot two, sixty years old, and still in good shape, my dad was ahead of me, flying down the stairwell when I tripped. I felt the air go out of me, and when I opened my eyes he was peering down at me and as...

14 comments 14

Read story

“Chlorine and Salt” by Kyla Stan

Submitted to Contest #116

Chlorine and Salt By Kyla Stan I don’t consider myself a genius, but I know I'm not dumb either. I just know I learned a lesson, one of the most important lessons that all humans need to learn— and I mean real quick. Wild creatures need to be free. Sure, mankind loves to take things that don’t belong to them and shove them in boxes full of chlorine. But you don’t understand. They need the salt. They need freedom. I'm an old man, so you gon’ be patient, ya hear? I’ll tell you from what I remember. I got so caught up in my selfishne...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Coffee” by Emily Lavender

Submitted to Contest #116

She walked down the gloomy street, wondering where it all went wrong. The car, the woods, the yelling. How did she get here? Just a month ago, she was laughing with her ardent lover, feeling the wind blow in her hair, unworried. Maybe it all started at the gas station when she dropped her cup of coffee, or maybe it started when they missed the turn. It is impossible to trace back to the source because everything is interconnected. She needs to learn this. She’s overthinking. Overwhelmed, trying to place the blame on someone. She’s so lost i...

2 comments 2

Read story

“The Things I Wrote” by Jennifer Kiefer

Submitted to Contest #116

The Things I Wrote By Jennifer Leigh Kiefer In sixth grade, you stopped me in the hall by our lockers. You had noticed I was reading a book you liked. I was new to the school; you were my first friend. By seventh grade we had a friend group that was inseparable. Bonded by books, bonded by the written word. We spent our time writing stories and acting out the ones we read in the woods by your house. Out there we could do and be anything....

2 comments 2

Read story

“Heaven Scent” by Mariah Heller

Submitted to Contest #116

Heaven Scent Marcus pored over the books one more time, not registering the evidence before him. The numbers were all a blur at this point. He didn’t want to believe his restaurant was hemorrhaging money. Slamming the books shut, he swore. After four years of living his dream and running his bistro, Marcus may need to hang up his apron. “Are you sure there’s nothing we can do?” He looked at Steven, his accountant, who looked just as deflated as Marcus ...

4 comments 4

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a character breaking a rule, but for good reason.

Teens – 38 stories

Start your story with someone being forbidden from doing something.

Dark – 44 stories

Write about a character who is being asked for their blessing, but is reluctant to give it.

Angst – 14 stories

Write a story that centers around a parking permit.

Fluff – 11 stories

Contest #116

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Permission vs Forgiveness

$250

Prize money

174

Contest entries

112

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Oct 22, 2021 EST

Won by Story Time 🏆

Title: Straw, Sticks, and Brick

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!

Menu

CONNECT

BLOG

APPS

TOOLS

ABOUT

Write about a character seeking forgiveness for something that happened in the past.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 67 stories

“Straw, Sticks, and Brick” by Story Time

“Flowers in gravity” by Abigail Airuedomwinya

“An Unspoken Loss, or Self Proclaimed Truth.” by Michelle B Sullivan

“Sit and Stare” by Katharine Widdows

“A Futile Apology” by R. B. Leyland

“Of Ashe & Aether” by Vince Salamone

“MIXTAPE” by Andrea Rabinal

“Letters for Delores ” by Dave Bolin

“With Love From Above” by Kate Winchester

“Remorse” by Greg Gillis

“HE WHO IS IN A HURRY ALWAYS ARRIVES LATE” by Nancy Malcolm

“Chlorine and Salt” by Kyla Stan

“Coffee” by Emily Lavender

“The Things I Wrote” by Jennifer Kiefer

“Heaven Scent” by Mariah Heller

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a character breaking a rule, but for good reason.

Start your story with someone being forbidden from doing something.

Write about a character who is being asked for their blessing, but is reluctant to give it.

Write a story that centers around a parking permit.

Contest #116

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

174

Contest entries

112

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: