End your story with someone finding themselves.

Posted in Character on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 39 stories

“Birth Mother” by Amanda Lieser

🏆 Winner of Contest #124

I stand in a perfectly pristine kitchen. The counter tops are covered in flour. She stands at them, waiting for me. She’s rolling out the cookie dough in deep, even strokes, like the ocean kissing the beach. Her soft humming fills the kitchen with love. Her hands lift me up; I'm in a navy blue sundress with little yellow sunflowers on it. “Here, sweetie,” she hands me an apron and I lift my little arms obediently to her. She ties it around my waist. A little teddy bear clutching a rolling pin in one soft, brown paw is splashed across my tumm...

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“Envy” by Zaara Rajaji

Submitted to Contest #124

The king was dead. Kai’s eyes trailed from the king’s lifeless body to me. Disdain filled his gaze, but barely a second later his expression flickered. Like a button, a mischievous smile spread across his face, “All that blood looks great on you, really brings out your eyes.”The door burst open and Reina was plunged out of her world. The world where anything could exist, where she was someone with an important title destined to battle kingdoms. She talked about books with so much passion, hoping one day the character sh...

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“Lightless” by Anoush Hovnanian

Submitted to Contest #124

I 4:00 am I can’t sleep. Sometimes sleep won’t come to you. No matter what you do to catch it. No matter how hard you try. Sleep won’t come. If Luna was there, she would probably tell me sleep is not something you can order around. She would tell me this, in that soothing voice of hers. That sleep never comes to the ones who wish to catch it. But Luna is not here. 4:05 am Still can’t sleep. She would surely tell me a tale never to forget, which would instantly fade away. She would tell me about a flock of birds, flying far away from it a...

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“A Meeting of the Minds. ” by Eric Falvey

Submitted to Contest #124

*TW* LanguageIt was a dreary Saturday. Of course, everyday had become a bit dreary for me these days. Stuck in the mundane, a spectacular waste of braincells and potential. Wasted away and living the life of a settler. That's what I call them, the people who build their life on repetition and consistency. The kind who work at the same job for 50 years, thinking that their hard work and servitude ACTUALLY means something to the rich pricks who own the company. The kind of people that live their entire lives with the goal of getting married to...

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“Helper of Mankind” by Jamie Gregory

Submitted to Contest #124

On the morning of my sixteenth birthday, I was jolted awake by the discordant sounds of a car horn blaring outside and my mom’s fists banging on my bedroom door. I rolled over in bed with the agility of a sloth. 5:53 am — my birth minute. Happy birthday to me, I thought grudgingly. Mom’s voice, teetering between stern and panicky tones, shouted at me through the door, “Sasha, are you awake? The taxi is here to take you to your HCTA. Sasha? C’mon, hurry up. You know what happens if you don’t show up for the HCTA.” I was all too fami...

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“A Journey of a Single Miles” by Zach Martz

Submitted to Contest #124

Logbook Entry 06-001First off, to anyone who is reading this, I would just like to say that whoever came up with the phrase, “that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” can go screw himself.I almost just died. And I’m not any stronger than I was before.Also, I am NOT a morning person. Mornings are the worst. Especially this one. Well, if it was morning at all. There was no alarm clock, no angry beeping, no workday for me to get up for. Where I woke up the concept of night...

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“River Rat” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #124

What is a River Rat? Realistically, it is a four legged rodent that lives near waterways and is one of God's ickiest creatures. Being known as a rat is not very complimentary, but it does carry a connotation for fierceness of a beast that would never back down from a confrontation even in the face of certain death. After living a life where compliance was expected and predictability was the payoff, I knew it had come time to find myself. Fear of the unknown had frozen me in place for over ten years, time had come to b...

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“Her” by Jamie Kleppestø

Submitted to Contest #124

note; this story contains mental health problems and mentions self harm.Who am I? Am I important? Or am I just a nobody? My head hurt, i couldn’t think, but at the same time, a flow of thoughts was streaming into my head. Who am I really? Am I the boy I portray myself as, or am I faking it all? What if I’m faking it?! What if no one really knows me, what if I’ve been lying to everyone I know?!Oh god, I’m a terrible person, aren’t I? Why can’t I just be happy with who I am? I should be happy, there’s nothing that's stopping me from being happ...

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“A Summer Rain” by Miriam Esessien

Submitted to Contest #124

It was a lonely drive from work. My booming radio and thoughts, my only company. I shuddered a little in my white woolen sweater. The air was unusually chilly. I mindlessly switched from one station to another as I was beginning to lose signal and then little by little, my warm serenade turned to the sizzle of a pan. I let out a sigh of annoyance and turned off my radio. The only sound that could be heard was the lonely howl of the wind, just like my sick heart. The weather forecast did announce that it would rain later but how odd though, i...

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“Surrender” by Fatima Jawaid

Submitted to Contest #124

[CW: strong language, violence, and death]He looked happy. The worst part was it seemed to be genuine. Not that familiar, fake over-the-top happiness you always saw in Hallmark movies. Not that plaster-on-a-smile, surface level, type happiness. No, the man appeared genuinely happy; even doing something as menial as unloading groceries from the trunk of his car.The very sight of it infuriated Ayla. This man was the cause of her current predicament. You don’t get to blow up my whole existence, and walk away from it happy, she t...

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“Tinsel” by Jeff Ventura

Submitted to Contest #124

Although it was December, he had both windows down. He tried not to think about the unusually warm weather, a week before Christmas, as a symptom of the planet's long, tortured farewell, but rather as a hint of the weekend's celebratory potential. Midlife had been marked by the predictable and planned, and so something so out of the blue — an invitation to a bayside Christmas party from a friend he hadn't seen in twenty years — seemed in mysterious agreement with a fortune cookie he opened in his hotel room the night before: "Get ready for a...

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“Princess Numptyllocks Finds Herself” by Elle Avrak

Submitted to Contest #124

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess who was the favorite of her father, the king. As a little girl she brought him such joy, with her rosy countenance and golden curls that bounced as she played. Over the years, the king watched his daughter grow into a beautiful young lady, and while she still brought him great joy, her golden curls no longer bounced about her shoulders for she spent many quiet hours reading of the kingdoms of others, and sighing deeply. One day, she went to her father with a request. “Father, m...

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“Identity is Confusing and Involves Losing” by Daniel Brown

Submitted to Contest #124

“Heavenly Father, I pray that no one in this restaurant gets Covid. I pray that no one gets Covid from me. I believe me winning my battle and walking and breathing right now is a sign of good health and fortune for me and everyone. Amen” prayed Rhonda“Amen. But you didn’t have to bring up Covid, Rhonda. People are looking at us strange now.” responded Jharell.“Let them look Jharell. I am exhibiting no signs of Covid. All is well.” assured Rhonda.Jharell bore a sheepish look on his face as he turned his head to the stares of M...

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“The Weevil” by Ellen O

Submitted to Contest #124

Amelia sighed. It seemed that she was always sighing these days. She rolled her eyes in frustration and cupped her head in her hands. Taking a deep breath she looked up with seeming indifference and glanced around the minimally decorated office. Her face had a nonchalant expression but her head felt like a lightning storm. She wished she could be anywhere but here right now but she still had 35 minutes left. How long could she be silent and stare at the ground before the shrink started to judge her? After all, therapists are just people and ...

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“Working for the Weekday” by John Xavier

Submitted to Contest #124

Brett arrived late to work. “Why rush?” he thought as he parked in the furthest spot from the building. Looking down he saw that only four minutes remained of his podcast. He decided to stay in his car and enjoy four more minutes of his day as he took a slow sip of his coffee, the reason he was late. He hated his job and felt strongly that most everyone at his company hated their jobs too. Brett breathed heavily from his nose at the thought of the robots loving their jobs. Half of the warehouse workers had been laid off in the past ...

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Title: Birth Mother

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End your story with someone finding themselves.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 39 stories

“Birth Mother” by Amanda Lieser

“Envy” by Zaara Rajaji

“Lightless” by Anoush Hovnanian

“A Meeting of the Minds. ” by Eric Falvey

“Helper of Mankind” by Jamie Gregory

“A Journey of a Single Miles” by Zach Martz

“River Rat” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

“Her” by Jamie Kleppestø

“A Summer Rain” by Miriam Esessien

“Surrender” by Fatima Jawaid

“Tinsel” by Jeff Ventura

“Princess Numptyllocks Finds Herself” by Elle Avrak

“Identity is Confusing and Involves Losing” by Daniel Brown

“The Weevil” by Ellen O

“Working for the Weekday” by John Xavier

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about a character in search of something or someone.

Start your story with someone trying to read a map.

Write a story where two characters are playing hide and seek, literally or metaphorically.

Set your story in a labyrinth that holds a secret.

Contest #124

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

226

Contest entries

147

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: