Write about someone trying to atone for a mistake they’ll never be able to fix.

Posted in Angst on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 192 stories

“The crash.” by Adrien Spoklie

Submitted to Contest #70

The night still rang fresh in his mind. Three years and the smell of burning rubber still came to him. He could see it too playing out for him. He took another swig from the vodka bottle to his left. He twiddled the small ring around on his finger. He could still smell her lavender perfume. The keyring jingled in his hands as he fumbled through it looking for the one that fit the door of his car. Genavieve had looked so beautiful in her sparkling dress. Her makeup was a little smudged and it made him think of what she would look like af...

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“The Reptilian Conflict” by Stan Allen

Submitted to Contest #70

“Mr. Daley, put the focal point on that main building.”“General, I just can’t obey that order. I’m sorry. Do you realize how many people that will kill?”“Mr. Daley, you’re relieved and confined to quarters until further notice.”“Yes sir.” He slowly left the control room and made his way to his quarters. The general sat down at the vacant console.“Sir, do you want me to take it?”“No, Mr. Cooper. This is something I must do. I was wrong to give him that order. I shouldn’t have put him in that position. Mr. James, full power, please”“Full ...

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“That's When The Light Died In Her Eyes.” by Blue Bird

Submitted to Contest #70

We fill our minds with fear then get surprised when our hearts get broken, our bodies get beaten and our souls gets bruised. Where am I? I got out of my car, parked on the side of a random street. It was almost 4am and I could barely stand up straight let alone drive. Jesus, I hope I have some clothes in the back. Despite how drunk I was, I could vividly remember how I ended up here with vomit on my dress. I don't know what got over me, I don't know what drove me to say what I said to her. I didn't mean it. I swear I didn't mean it. I foun...

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“For God's Sake” by Joe Swanson

Submitted to Contest #70

For God’s Sake “Well, what do you think? I know it’s a difficult question, but then the answer is even more difficult. I don’t think it’s any reason to procrastinate though. You’ll have all eternity to do that. You do believe in eternity, don’t you?” His questions, they seem to intensify with His every appearance. The first one I remember as though it were tattooed on the inside of my eyelids. “Do I exist?” Who asks questions like that. It tends to set the atmosphere on fire with speculation that n...

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“Redemption” by Myriam Bell

Submitted to Contest #70

‘Stay.’ That’s all she would have needed to say. One word. But she hadn’t. ‘Stay.’ So he hadn’t. How much she wanted to tell Nick about it. How much she wanted him to understand there were some words — or lack thereof — that you could not recover from. How much it hurt. Still. Always. Debilitatingly so. For evermore. But Nick... Nick had to learn for himself. She could have explained it to him, in many eloquent words. She was good with words. Some lessons though, you had to figure out and learn for yourself or they didn’t stick. Sometimes ...

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“Can You Hear Me?” by Heather Ann Martinez

Submitted to Contest #70

Can You Hear Me? By Heather Ann Martinez The waves kept pulling me further away from him. I knew he had stopped breathing and there was not anything I could do. I eventually let go of the thought that someone or something was going to save him. I asked God to keep him safe until we meet again in heaven. I knew our parents will see me coming home. I know my mother will cry and my father will not speak to me for some time. I murdered their favorite son. I did not intend to when we stole the fishing boat. I didn’t mean to fight with him o...

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“Humble Endings” by Lydi B

Submitted to Contest #70

A smile pushed through my somber expression upon sight of the image. Displayed on my monitor was a photo of two men, one of which I used to know in much younger form. The crinkles of thirties scrunched their eyes into the most genuine exuberance as they held up two fish of varying sizes. The caption read: Bram’s is bigger. Bram. Was that the name of the man he had chosen? Had he found his joy in the aftermath of what may have been the most traumatic event in his life? For nearly two decades, I had hoped and prayed for happiness for my dear,...

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“Ten Generations” by Hermione Reynolds

Submitted to Contest #70

A guard pulled Osiris and me into a throne room, throwing us down in front of the king. He looked over at the two of us and then to the guard. "Why are they here?" The guard, as swiftly as possible, knelt down in a bow and stood again. "These two have broken the most important rule to you sire." The king thought for a moment, staring at the two of us, then standing and walking over, circling Osiris. "This one with the almond skin and bright sun-bleached hair, and the blue eyes of the sea. Obviously one of my council members, but," He said, w...

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“The Long Arm of Karma*” by Chandrika R Krishnan

Submitted to Contest #70

For Madhav Rao, the former minister of roads and transport, the day began after a night of excesses- a veritable feast with the best that could be brewed with the young nubile lass served as the dessert. His wife was away and most men who had the power and money and less worry about doing right by the spouse or society, spent the night in his palatial farm house. The girl, a quarter of his age, was seen off by the secretary after paying her some money for both her efforts and for her silence. For the poverty stricken villagers, morality...

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“When the bough breaks” by Mercy Me

Submitted to Contest #70

She looked at her children and cried. She wasn’t sure how she was going to pick up the pieces again. How was she supposed to move on? Start again? Raise the children? But deep down she knew this was her bed and so, she had to lie in it. *Wambui was sixteen when she married her husband *Wanjau. She was head over heels, smitten by his charm. The smooth talker knew just the words to lure her and she fell-deeply. They lived in the same village in Kiambu County with tree canopies separating their homes. Wanjau was forced to wake up very early, ...

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“walk” by Niké A.

Submitted to Contest #70

His eyes fly open. The first thing he registers is the warmth against his arm; it takes a minute for him to realize that it’s actually hot, scorching, roasting. Instincts kick in and he immediately yanks his left shoulder back, but then his vision is white and his breathing is way too fast and holy shit that hurt so much. His vision slowly fades from white to black and it takes him another moment to realize that his eyes are closed again. He tries to blink them back open, but the attempt alone exhausts him and he can only slump down further....

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“Is He Still There?” by Bernadette Beauchamp

Submitted to Contest #70

Alexandria drove up to the senior apartment complex that her parents were living at now. It was a perfect fit because it was one of the few places with an elevator, which was necessary for her dad now, and it was close to the hospital, another necessity for her dad now. She sat in the car for a moment, dreading the visit and wondering if these visits were even doing any good. Could she ever undo the pain she had caused? She was beyond angry now, she guessed, anger still seemed to creep in once in a while. However, right now she was jus...

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“The second wife of Rafael” by Sarah Gallego

Submitted to Contest #70

Rafael watched as Maya rose from the ruffled bedsheets, walking barefoot across the room in the murky morning light. He sat up and rested his chin upon his knees, delighting in the way her dark hair spilled over her bare back, the way her skin glowed like burnished copper. She turned to glance at him over her shoulder, a shy smile upon her rosy lips as she grabbed a shawl and wrapped it around her. “Morning, my beautiful little Senora,” he said, pushing his ebony hair from his deep brown eyes. Maya smiled back, took the woode...

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“Unanswered Prayers ” by Oshin Wong

Submitted to Contest #70

When you pray at night what do you ask forgiveness for? I was 17 years old when I made the worst mistake of my life. I was young stupid and naïve, just a dumb kid who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. I remember it like it was just yesterday. I was high that night, tweaking out of my mind but like an all too familiar itch, I needed more to quench the fire that was burring inside me. I had no money so I had to think fast, I made a split second decision that would haunt me forever. Growing up in foster care I was always abused by other ...

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“Tyler Bardot and Vagteren” by Z Osborne

Submitted to Contest #70

“It happened about two years ago, the worst day of my life…” I explained. I could see him shift in the darkness. He sat back in his throne and folded all four of his arms. “Tell me what happened on that day, Tyler.” he asked. I shifted my stance and took a deep breath. His name was Vagteren, a cosmic being that had control of the multiverse. Most people referred to him as the “Governor of the Multiverse”. I knew him well, but he had no memory of me. He had sent me from the future to this point in time, before we had met. This meant I ...

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Write about someone trying to atone for a mistake they’ll never be able to fix.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 192 stories

“The crash.” by Adrien Spoklie

“The Reptilian Conflict” by Stan Allen

“That's When The Light Died In Her Eyes.” by Blue Bird

“For God's Sake” by Joe Swanson

“Redemption” by Myriam Bell

“Can You Hear Me?” by Heather Ann Martinez

“Humble Endings” by Lydi B

“Ten Generations” by Hermione Reynolds

“The Long Arm of Karma*” by Chandrika R Krishnan

“When the bough breaks” by Mercy Me

“walk” by Niké A.

“Is He Still There?” by Bernadette Beauchamp

“The second wife of Rafael” by Sarah Gallego

“Unanswered Prayers ” by Oshin Wong

“Tyler Bardot and Vagteren” by Z Osborne

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone who’s so obsessed with a goal that it leads to the destruction of their closest relationship.

Write about a character who everyone thinks is guilty of something terrible, but isn’t.

Write about two people who know they’ve made a mistake, and one of them wants to tell the truth but the other wants to lie about it.

Write about a character who’s so afraid of making the wrong choice that their indecision ruins the very thing they were hoping to keep safe.

Contest #70

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

731

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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