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

“A Knock at the Door” by Marcia Harris

Submitted to Contest #116

The chill filled the air and traveled through her bones. The bed whined slightly as she turned over. She couldn’t bear to look at the ceiling one second more on this sleepless night. Her current view, her nightstand, was not much better. As she stared at the picture of an elated bride and groom, she could not help but to notice the hopeful gleam in their eyes shone brightly. Their smiles stretched across their faces to an almost painful degree. She could no longer recognize those people in that...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Too Late To Forgive Now” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #116

I pulled back the curtains an inch or so and peeped out into the darkness. I then ran quickly to the front door and checked it again. The silence of the night was broken only by Bobby snoring on the couch. Kneeling down I stroked his brown coat and he shook his head, opened one eye and then the other. “Hello boy. Come on out the back”. I rued the fact that I gave him so many titbits because he was now too fat to get in and out through the dog flap – ‘I really must get a bigger one soon ‘I thought. Before going outside I looked furtively out ...

1 comment 1

Read story

“If I could go back... I would.” by Luna Lionheart

Submitted to Contest #116

I can’t stop. No matter how hard I try. It’s everywhere. Taunting me. Like a fly you can’t get rid of. A sleep paralysis demon to an insomniac. A destroyed book to a bookworm. And I can't seem to stop thinking about it. It haunts me. It won't leave me alone. Every second of it replays in my head, tormenting me. Reminding me of how I screwed everything up. Reminding me how awful I am as a person. How I fucked up my relationship with him. Ruined everything we had built from childhood. Ruined everything to the point where we don’t speak as much...

1 comment 1

Read story

“The secret” by Marilena Alexandra Socol

Submitted to Contest #116

Vivian was 13 years old, a playful and full of energy little girl, living with his parents and grandparents in the countryside. It was a sunny day when, playing in the yard, she heard a scream coming from inside the house. Fastly, she threw up the ball and rushed in, where she would've found out that a disaster had just happened. She found her mother screaming terrified near her father’s moveless body. She couldn’t believe her eyes what a scene she was assisting at. She started to shake her father’s body which seemed lifeless. Then, she g...

2 comments 2

Read story

“All Is Forgiven” by Brenda Butler

Submitted to Contest #116

It wasn’t like Larry to worry but more than often he had to catch his mind from wondering. He’d lived with what he did for such a long time. He more than not had convinced himself all was forgiven, at least he thought so. He had never gotten up the nerves to ask. In his summation, time heals all wounds, but he wasn’t sure of that. Larry at the age of eighteen did the unthinkable, however for him it was because of fear. He and three of his school friends the summer before graduating high school went on s summer vacation. The...

0 comments 0

Read story

“BRINGING HOME, THE PRODIGAL SON” by William Snesrud

Submitted to Contest #116

By William Snesrud Driving along Interstate 80, heading east toward Iowa, I was thinking about how it is possible that someone could just walk away from family and friends for most of the past thirty years. After five weeks of tracking him down, it had now been three days since I located my old high school friend Charlie, who was currently sitting very quietly in the passenger seat of my Chevy S-10 pickup. Sitting quietly because he was either mad at me for making him come back to Iowa or he was just outright nervous or scared about faci...

0 comments 0

Read story

“What if...” by Eimantas Brundza

Submitted to Contest #116

I don't even remember the last time I had the pleasure of being blinded by the sun, no one does at this point. It's been fifty years of us traveling over this wasteland we used to call home... and it's all my fault. When I first joined the institute I was just a lad, spending nights playing lol, chasing girls and illegally speeding with my mom's Nissan. They took me as an apprentice, as an intern, which means shit money and shit hours and well...more realistically, I lived there and didn't get paid, but the food was free and...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Poor-Little-Girl (Non)Sense” by Elisabeth Radke

Submitted to Contest #116

I was sitting on the edge of the bathtub. Some white mucous stains were shimmering at the bottom of the tub. I tried throwing up, but that was all I came up with. It was some time after midnight on new years eve. “They shoot at us”, Michelle burst out, laughing hysterical. I knew what she meant, and just moments ago I shared her hysterical mood about us pretending to be shoot by the fireworks. For hours we have been running around the city center of our small town, drinking cheep champagne, partying with the crowd, dancing and kissing u...

1 comment 1

Read story

“How mother died” by Nik Lacolere

Submitted to Contest #116

Her general manner, at first, was a brutal mix of willed-efficiency and hasted-love. She was walking on the edge of a precipice, she said often, verging on the great escape. You must, she told me, Do things fully or not do them at all. There is no half-measure to living. No pause. No break or two-star-motel vacations. I’d asked her, once, where she’d categorise ‘napping’. Don’t be such a child, she said, We are not children. Are you a child, she said, Of course, no, of course, you aren't. Of course, I wasn't. So I killed my naps. My mother...

0 comments 0

Read story

“To You, the One Who Forgot to Grow Up” by John Mockince

Submitted to Contest #116

I sunk into the cushioned leather seat as I sighed, exhaling the musty air that encompassed us. I looked out the window, the outside world blurred from the foggy condensation that had formed on the frigid glass. A luminous orange glow came from the dancing flames of a fire, people sat around it to protect themselves from the bitter winter air. I turned towards you, tears streamed down your face, like rain falling into your lap. You looked at me, your eyes glossy like polished gems. Through sobs, you opened your mouth to speak to me “I’m so ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Letters to the lives I destroyed” by Thomas Poldervaart

Submitted to Contest #116

To: chrisreiner@ymail.com From: jakenreiner@ymail.com Subject: February 11th Hi dad, The one thought that doesn’t leave me is that all would have been different if it had been you behind the wheel. I know Ronan, mom and I used to tease you about how careful you were, but well, we needed used it. You’d have driven slower across the snow. You’d have stopped earlier. And perhaps the car wouldn’t have slipped. Right before I lost control I told you how weird it was that you were always cautious except for when you were skiing. Really, how ...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Forgive me father” by Jaime Metcalf

Submitted to Contest #116

Around the altar of the votive candles hung a rich flowery aroma as Leonard knelt to give prayer after lighting one of the candles, his five-dollar donation was placed in the collection box that was off to the side. “O merciful God! I beg your forgiveness. I am a sinner, have mercy on me, O Lord. Amen,” Leonard finishes his prayer with the sign of the cross before he gets up and heads towards the confessional where he is supposed to be meeting Father Barry Stevens. I hate these things. Leonard thinks as he sits in the confessional while wait...

4 comments 4

Read story

“Loch of the Island” by Ryan Smith

Submitted to Contest #116

Driving through the lush pine forest along what felt like a back road really did feel heavenly. The bright sunlight shining through the trees, the occasional view of a great mountain to his right, crossing rivers with mossy stones breaking up the calm clear water, seeing hikers and cyclists everywhere, exploring the beautiful countryside in their brightly coloured clothing. But Harry knew he couldn’t enjoy the surroundings, he wasn’t here for a holiday, he was here for something else. Getting closer to the Loch, he saw a great lake with larg...

1 comment 1

Read story

“A Church for the Holidays” by Elizabeth McInnis

Submitted to Contest #116

He finishes reading the passage and we look up at each other. The circular seating arrangement makes it difficult to keep from staring at the person directly across for me: a twenty-year-old man named Curtis who I have already deduced is too young for me to date. I hate that I keep track in my head of who I could date and who I couldn’t. “So, what do we think of that passage? Any first impressions?” Tom asks. He’s the leader of the Bible study, although he’s already admitted t...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Ink's Sorrow” by Carson Johnson

Submitted to Contest #116

Ink’s Sorrow October 21st, 2021. Month 12 Week 52 Day 365 9:37 AM “Claire, today is the day… I heard you’re getting that promotion at the diner you’ve been trying at?! Head chef! Congratulations! You really do” No, he shook his head as he made a line through the word, “did deserve it. I bet ya Shawn Sean wasn’t too happy to hear that. He’d been cooking there for a few years and you surpassed him in three months! Your dad called yesterday just to check on how things were going with school and the new move. He’s He was really proud of y...

0 comments 0

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

“A Knock at the Door” by Marcia Harris

“Too Late To Forgive Now” by Valerie Preston

“If I could go back... I would.” by Luna Lionheart

“The secret” by Marilena Alexandra Socol

“All Is Forgiven” by Brenda Butler

“BRINGING HOME, THE PRODIGAL SON” by William Snesrud

“What if...” by Eimantas Brundza

“Poor-Little-Girl (Non)Sense” by Elisabeth Radke

“How mother died” by Nik Lacolere

“To You, the One Who Forgot to Grow Up” by John Mockince

“Letters to the lives I destroyed” by Thomas Poldervaart

“Forgive me father” by Jaime Metcalf

“Loch of the Island” by Ryan Smith

“A Church for the Holidays” by Elizabeth McInnis

“Ink's Sorrow” by Carson Johnson

🌟 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: