Write about a character who struggles to express their thanks.

Posted in Angst on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 16 stories

“Summoned” by John K Adams

Tom said, “Thank you.” He shook his head. “No. Not sarcastic. How do I make it sincere…? I thank you!” He stamped his foot. “To what can I… Keep it simple. How can I thank you…? Too tentative. Mean it. I’m honored…” He hissed in frustration. “This is a one shot deal. Thank YOU. THANK you. THANK YOU… No! No!” He stopped walking and looked about. The road stretched for miles. Tom Legato couldn’t afford transportati...

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“The Thanks I never Gave” by Debito INC.

I lay awoken, just before the dawn of the day rises from its comfortable corners, my gaze fixed on the bedroom’s ceiling for what it felt like an eternity. My name is Alexander Cornway and I have a problem. A tremendous, paramount of a problem. In just a few very short hours, I will have to get out of this bed and stare at the woman slumbering beside me. As she always does every single morning, she will yawn as loud as s...

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“Death Did Us Part” by Alexander Blanc

This story is a retelling of the tale of Echo from Ovid’s Metamorphosis book III.Not even the withered roses could understand my anguish, not even did the forlorn rain begin to fathom out how unloved I felt, and neither did the forsaken Juno begin to grasp my melancholy. I am of the echoing voice, who cannot be silent when others have spoken, nor learn how to speak first myself. I speak of myself in the past tense, for I am dead. My sleepless thoughts waste my sad form, and my body’s strength vanished into the a...

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“Earthly Delights” by Michelle Colpo

“But moooom, I don’t want to!” Jessica cried out as she obediently held out her arms. Her mother placed a large dish of casserole carefully covered in tin foil in them. Jessica let out an annoyed huff of air. “I don’t care what you want, Jessica. Mr. Flowers is in need and our duty is to be good neighbors and help.” “What, so we’re like State Farm now? Like a good neighb...

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“Thankfulness Died in Vietnam” by Deborah Elliott

Thankfulness Died in Vietnam Deborah Elliott Dirk Graham didn’t have an iota of anything to be thankful for; it just wasn’t in him anymore. Two tours in Vietnam and two of his best friends had been killed, and a third had been listed as an MIA. Pete Blackwell had stepped on a land mine, Carl Winter’s parachute failed, and Steven Archer – the unknown made him the hardest kind of lo...

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“Fading Lights” by Sinai Botha

(trigger warning: literary insinuation of abandonment and death)When the world was new, there was a lone god that loved the stars.The god had hung each and every one of those same stars in the sky with its own divine hands, carefully constructing artworks of great beauty that could be seen no matter where it turned its gaze.For thousands of years, the god wandered the earth beneath its feet with its eyes trained to the sky, too enamored by its own creation in the heavens to no...

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“A Quiet Time” by Chris Charleston

The sun dips behind the snowy mountain peaks of a wild, untamed America. Great plains go dim, and the forest becomes a shapeless mass of silent trees. As the sun leaves this landscape, a bright moon and thousands of stars takes it’s place. Crickets and coyotes fill the soundscape with their songs. A lone campfire flickers and cracks on a plateau overlooking the train track; one of humankind’s greatest new technological achievements. Theo, the old cowboy, scratches his grey beard and kindles the fire with twigs and dry leaves. H...

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“"New beginnings" ” by Serena S

In pain, grieving, love, hurt, and every emotion imaginable, he has been the one to stick beside me. Zane is single-handedly the reason I was able to get through the period of self-loathing I was in, for he stayed when no one else did. He listened. It was entirely unfamiliar to have someone to talk to, someone whom around, I was able to let down the walls guarding my heart. Of course, I am partly the reason I began to heal emotionally as well, for I did take that step to grow; however, it remains as clear as the sun on a peaceful afternoo...

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“Gentle Droplets” by Dannel Evans

The tenacious dewdrop has traveled solemnly across the foliage and is prepared to make a final descension; contemplating its dive into the pond, it anticipates leaping towards that glorious impact and initiating the most illustrious ripple. But it never comes. The droplet only gets as far as the brink of the leaf, never achieving the climactic finish it desired. This is the image I see when this wave of apprehension take...

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“Grace to the small things” by Stella Martin

“Marcus!” God, give me strength. The piercing wail echoes through my eardrums in enough vibrations to both assault and effectively deconstruct my hearing for a second. Not that I need it. Most days I think being deaf would be a blessing if it meant having an excuse to feign ignorance to the world. The source of such auditory assault is coming from my mother, the woman who birthed...

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“All The King's Men” by Bernice Cabral

Mary Ellen caught her breath sharply while making her way down the stairwell from the tenth story of the shabby apartment building. Her left shoulder rubbed against the hard plaster wall, as her left hand grasped the wooden banister. With each descending step, her short halting breaths became deeper and more relaxed. By the time she reached street level, her breath was normal and the butterflies that caused waves of disc...

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“Peaks and Valleys” by Omar Alvarez

“Thanks a lot… Mohammad...” “You’re welcome, ma’am… Have a blessed day and a Happy Thanksgiving!” The angry customer gave him a cursed and confused look as she walked out of the store. “I think you made a friend, Raymond.” Quipped Alan. “I’m not even Middle Eastern! I’m Cherokee!” “What was she so mad about?” <...

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“Seeing Love ” by Cree Jarman

My life has been a series of mishaps and misfortunes. At least, it has been in my eyes. It seems that everywhere I go I run into trouble or find myself feeling pain. I just wish there was something that I could be thankful for. But it seems that I'm to selfish to even try. My childhood was, let's just say, less than good. I refuse to remember most of it, but what I do remember seems to make me feel like a ...

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“Mourning of Freedom” by Ruby Seniva

Thanks a lot. Thanks for nothing. No, really. I am not happy about what you have given me. You have given me an opportunity to look for new friendships. You have removed my obligation of friendship where I would have literally walked the ends of the earth for you. But now, instead of embracing the new and holding to the open door, I sit saddened at your rejection. What was it that turned you away from me? Who kept you ...

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“The Lovely Things that Heaven Holds ” by Michele Cohen

The Lovely Things that Heaven Holds I could remember nine times when he said thank-you during our twenty-year marriage. I counted them the day he left me when I needed reasons to rejoice instead of despair. The last time he thanked me was the day I had deep cleaned his study and made a delicious feast of roast beef, scallope...

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Write about a character who struggles to express their thanks.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 16 stories

“Summoned” by John K Adams

“The Thanks I never Gave” by Debito INC.

“Death Did Us Part” by Alexander Blanc

“Earthly Delights” by Michelle Colpo

“Thankfulness Died in Vietnam” by Deborah Elliott

“Fading Lights” by Sinai Botha

“A Quiet Time” by Chris Charleston

“"New beginnings" ” by Serena S

“Gentle Droplets” by Dannel Evans

“Grace to the small things” by Stella Martin

“All The King's Men” by Bernice Cabral

“Peaks and Valleys” by Omar Alvarez

“Seeing Love ” by Cree Jarman

“Mourning of Freedom” by Ruby Seniva

“The Lovely Things that Heaven Holds ” by Michele Cohen

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with someone saying “Thanks a lot” (sarcastically or sincerely).

Write about someone giving or receiving a gift.

Write a story in which someone gets credit for something they didn’t do.

Write about someone in a thankless job.

Contest #121

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

156

Contest entries

114

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Tired of MS Word?

Explore more writing prompt ideas: