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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

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

Posted in Angst on Oct 26, 2022

Submissions are closed

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✍️ 192 stories

“Rewind Please” by Kelly Tedford

Submitted to Contest #70

 Misty air hits my face as I make my exit from my favorite pub. I deeply inhale my Pall-Mall and a cloud surrounds my already foggy head. Slowly I stagger to my car and plop against the drivers side to dig out my keys.  I finally find the keyhole to my beat up Honda and hear the click as she allows me to fall inside. Boom! Damn, sorry girl didn't mean to slam ya. Whew what a night. Racked up in that dart tourney I proudly tell myself. Off to pick up my daughter. We hafta go to school and work after all. Or maybe we can skip to...

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“Forever.” by Christine Hungerford

Submitted to Contest #70

The crackling fire popped in its square box of a fireplace behind the dreary stone hearth. Its flames reached upwards—like it desired to escape but tortuously knew its sparks were the only escapees. But why? It hadn’t done anything wrong. It was just a substance once lit and then snuffed out. Its smoke left to drift away to voice its epiphany. If it had any.          “But there isn’t. For any of us.” The speaker would be a silhouette if the living room was a little darker. She lay on a scarlet cushione...

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“Lost” by Joey Snell

Submitted to Contest #70

"Forgive me Father, for I have sinned." The words echoed around my head like a squash ball ricocheting off the walls. "Forgive me Father, for I have sinned." "Forgive me Father, for I have sinned." "Jacqui? Jacqui?" A gentle shake to my shoulder. "Forgive me Father, for I have sinned." "Jacqui?" more insistent this time. The rosary beads threaded between my fingers and the candles cast gentle shadows around the church. "Forgive me Father, for I have sinned." "Jacqui?" "You shouldn't shout in church," I rebuked the person behind me, who, for...

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“Face to face” by Melodie England

Submitted to Contest #70

It was a cold and stormy September night, 14 year old Jillian Debero crouched low in her hiding place in the kitchen pantry. Her father, Roger Debero, was on a particularly brutal rampage that night. He always drank too much and got too rough with her and her mom but tonight was different, her mom was scared. Her father was yelling and breaking things, her mom, Noreen, told her to hide in the pantry and stay quiet. Little did Jillian know, those would be the last words her mother would ever say to her.She heard glass brea...

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“Whatever It Takes” by Scarlette Ash

Submitted to Contest #70

My reflection in the window shakes me to my core, but I refuse to tear my eyes away. My once womanly shape is now shapeless, my clothes baggy. My dark eyes with heavily layered dark circles underneath, my filthy disheveled clothes, my trembling hand that reaches out to touch the glass.  A startled woman inside the coffee shop jumps back and I quickly turn away and hustle down the sidewalk, still rattled by the sight of myself. I inwardly reprimand myself. I need to find them, not stare at myself.  I remind myself that I deserve to ...

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“Loved and Lost” by Pema Yangchen

Submitted to Contest #70

My heartbeat lubed and duped faster that chill summer morning when I was running towards the balcony of the auditorium in Thimphu High School.In her cozy red dress, pony-tailed hair, and a dimpled smile came rushing in. We were lucky at that moment since we got to watch the sunrise together for the last time.The bright rays of the sun rose from the eastern side of the mountains to her rosy cheeks. Her closed eyes kissing its warmth. It was hard for me to say goodbye to my love at first sight. Just like the sun rises new hopes and dreams...

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“We'll Get There Eventually” by F Dalton

Submitted to Contest #70

When you do something irreparable, it changes you. You push aside every little problem in your life to make room for the regret. Because it’s all you’ve got left. And it’s huge, it’s fucking huge, it invades every space and every crevice and every single thought. It’s inescapable. But, the thing is, you have to accept it. Because you deserve the regret. You deserve every single ounce of hatred you have for yourself. And that’s the worst of it. That’s how you know you’ve changed. Because there’s no possible way you could ever be the same agai...

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“Father” by Patriarch Okoroafo

Submitted to Contest #70

" I was just a little girl, so tender and innocent", I screamed to the tall man standing in front of me. A baby abandoned at the age of 2 for reasons she never could comprehend. I yearned for my father and protector when I was sad and afraid but he was never there to comfort me. I always thought, somehow, I was an unwanted child that would have been aborted. I already began having traumas at a very young age. My primary schoolmates would be picked up from school by their fathers and would be comforted in their loving arms. I would be so envi...

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“The Crimes You Commit ” by Coral Winterstrom

Submitted to Contest #70

“You are saying to me that you are guilty of your crimes. Do you understand the punishment for what you have done is, Rowan Hart?”  asked the judge. “Yes... I do.”  “I am very sorry, Rowan. But according to the evidence from our witnesses, our only option left is” he paused.  “is to sentence you to death.” Rowan sat in a chair, head in his cuffed hands, shoulders shaking. He knew now that what he had done was wrong, that this was what he deserved. He’d known that eventually this day would come. But he never thought it woul...

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“What We Left Behind” by Piper Barrington

Submitted to Contest #70

The Florida sun gently kissed the exposed shoulders of Elena Galanis as she walked toward her grandmother’s home. She held the handlebars of her bike tightly in her hands, repeating the same words she had been silently telling herself on the ride over. Don’t get too emotional with her, you know the second you break down in front of her she won’t be able to handle it. Tell her you’re doing great! Never better, actually. The job is great, your boss Beverly has been totally understanding of this whole situation, she doesn’t even question the te...

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“The Horrible Mistake” by Perry Terrell

Submitted to Contest #70

The Horrible Mistake By Perry Terrell The plane was scheduled to leave on time, but Callie was running late. She was a last minute person anyway and things always worked out in her favor. So she thought by the time she get to the check in and screening site, there shouldn’t be a line. This was a very small airport and there were not many people flying out of it anyway.            Callie only had a carry-on bag and a covered cage with her cat.        ...

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“Lost Wallet” by Danny Boyle

Submitted to Contest #70

I wake from a drunken stupor. The past hours of my life are lost. For a moment, I don’t know where I am, and then my surroundings comfort me. I’m home. I stand, slowly, and shuffle towards my living room window. A place I usually find myself after a night doused in liquor.  The world is silent. It’s a time for reflection. A time to think about life in way that I seem to neglect. Deep thoughts, heavy in their subject matter, floating to the surface, uncovering themselves for the masses. I stand, mentally tiptoeing around these thoughts,...

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“The Dragon and The Mouse” by Shaelyn Bradle

Submitted to Contest #70

Long ago, according to our legend, there lived a great dragon. He was the mightiest of creatures - as tall as a tree and as strong as a mountain. He could breathe fire, and though he did not have wings, he could run on the wind. He was also kind, offering his wisdom and protection to any who asked. But while the great dragon considered himself a friend to all, his best friend was the mouse. The unlikely pair had always been close and could be found together most every day. Except for the winter. As the winter months came, the air carryi...

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“Anaida” by Arathi Raghuveer

Submitted to Contest #70

She was a woman of substance, a pretty looking, admired by all, a flawless beauty, a special person who stood out in a crowd of thousands. A noble being from her childhood was a bit shy and had all the features of a perfect woman. The best a man could’ve got to be a life partner. Her motto was doing good to others and lending a helping hand to the needy. She had a whole lot of followers who admired her for her beauty and her goodness. She was a woman of character, an untarnished life, un- perturbed by any external influence. She was a specia...

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“We All Need A Little Grace” by Chardae D

Submitted to Contest #70

   I sit in the bay window of my room, mourning the loss of the life the girl I once knew. Her spirit had left me long ago, but I am just now feeling the effects of her absence. I made a big mistake that I only made because the girl I once knew fled from me with reckless abandon. Without an ounce of consideration for who I'd be without her. She left me because she didn't like being ignored. And I can't say for certain that that's not what I've been doing to her. Not since he steamrolled back into my life. She's never liked tha...

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