Write a story about a someone who's in denial.

Posted in Character on Jun 14, 2024

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✍️ 68 stories

“She's okay, she loves me” by Julia Buzdygan

Submitted to Contest #255

The plans I had today were important to me, but I knew I couldn’t go until I cleaned up a little in the flat first. I started with the bathroom - the shower had sick in it from last night, so I rinsed it with water first and then sprayed with bathroom cleaner. It was lucky I still had a face mask in one of the drawers that I could put on, as the smell was awful in there.I quickly wiped the toilet and squeezed the last bits of bleach inside. Then moved onto the sink, wiped the limescale as much as I could, and rinsed the cloth.As I walked out...

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“My Father's Words” by Daniel R. Hayes

Submitted to Contest #255

“When life throws you crackers, you have to deal with the crumbs.” Straight from my father’s lips to my inner soul, I never understood the meaning of those words until now. He first said them to me on the banks of the Tygart Valley River on a cool summer morning just before the humid heat had a chance to bake the day. The fish weren’t biting, and I remember icy daggers stabbing my heart. Somehow, he knew how I felt. “It’s okay,” he would say. “It’s not about the fish.” I remember those long walks home after a hectic day at Jennings ...

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“The Pi Day Pie Baking Contest” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #255

If pi is an irrational number, does that make pie bakers irrational too? Jasmine certainly believed so, as she eyed the other bakers swirling around the church auditorium. Irrational maybe, but not ghosts, though somehow her dead Grandma had come back from the grave to enter her famous strawberry rhubarb pie.The Pi Day Pie Baking contest didn’t have many rules, the entries just had to be round, homemade and with a pastry bottom. Jasmine Dumas walked along the long tables looking at the competition, the entries glowing under the fluorescent l...

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“Why Can't He Remember?” by Katelynn Seavey

Submitted to Contest #255

“Why?” Ashley looked into her Mom’s eyes from the passenger seat of the blue car. They are pulled over on the side of the road, after driving for hours the tension that seemed to echo throughout the whole car, suffocating them to the point of pulling over. Her Mom glances up from the steering wheel that she has been staring at for ten minutes in silence. She turns to the side slightly in her seat and looks at her young teenage daughter next to her. “Why what?” “Why are you so for sending Gramps away from us?” Ashley's lower...

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“The Sidewalk” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #255

It doesn’t blame her for thinking this is what’s best. When presented with a bad situation, you consider the aspects of the situation to try and see what about it is making it so unbearable. She decided that what was so unbearable about living in a house with two children who had just lost their father was the house itself. To her, it represented something that was no longer present. A mother, a father, and two children living in a house. The father dies. The house is the problem. This is not logic, but it is grief logic. It’s the logic that...

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“Narcisse” by Alexandra Noir

Submitted to Contest #255

"I adore you, under these myrtles, oh uncertain Flesh sadly bloomed for solitudeWhich mirrors itself in the mirror of the sleeping woods.I can't free myself from your sweet presence,The lying hour is soft on the limbs on the mossAnd a dark delight swells the deep wind." Paul Valéry's "Le Cantique de Narcisse" *** The kisses of the mind began to fade, and you started dreaming of your forest, dreaming of your freedom! And you began to run towards a mirage, an illusion of lost time! You began to become grand, hoping that your greatness wo...

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“I am Perfectly Healthy” by Leah Billings

Submitted to Contest #255

Sensitive Content: The story could contain graphic descriptions of burns, injuries, or death.----------------------------------------------------------------I am perfectly healthy.I don’t understand why my family seems to think otherwise. Despite my age, I still lead an active life. Every day, I cook, make my bed, and run errands without any assistance. I am fully capable of taking care of myself, but this didn’t stop her.The strong smell of disinfectant and stale air filled my nostrils as I entered this dreary place. My daughter had insiste...

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“Folding for Leon” by Nan Qu

Submitted to Contest #255

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Eight. Nine. And ten. Sarah laid out the origami stars on the cream-colored table top in one line, equal distance apart. The paper strips were galaxy-themed. Leon’s favorite. The stars, the size of Sarah’s thumbnail, glistened in different shades of blue, from dawn to dusk. Sarah scooped them up and placed them in a mason jar with a hinged glass lid. She picked out the jar because she liked how unobstructed it was. There was no metal lid. No embossing on the body. It was completely see-thr...

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“Percy Smart in Denial” by Kaitlyn Wadsworth

Submitted to Contest #255

Percival Smart, Percy for short, lives alone in a palatial house left to him by his deceased parents – not that fellow humans can confirm this. It is no ordinary home. The security resembles that of Fort Knox. The entire property is surrounded by high, spike-topped walls; it has a security gate and camera surveillance. Percy likes his privacy. As no one can get in to check the extent of his precautions, rumor has it that there are electrical devices and mines to eliminate the uninvited. This is reckoned by neighborhood children who are ...

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“Don't Forget Me” by Daniel Legare

Submitted to Contest #255

Bernie comes out of the kitchen and puts the plate down in front of me. An itch swells up on my skin.“I don’t want tomatoes.”“You love tomatoes.”“Don’t tell me what I love or don’t love.”“Fine, I’ll take them.” Bernie moves the tomato slices onto his plate and starts to eat. He periodically looks out the window. He’s usually so chatty. I don’t feel like talking right now though, so that’s good. I pick at my eggs.“What are you doing today,” I say to my plate of quickly cooling food.Bernie keeps looking out the window, chewing slowly.“I think ...

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“The Naked Truth” by Martin Maynard

Submitted to Contest #255

The Naked TruthGinny got out of her 1978 Ford Fairmont and opened the front door. As she stepped inside, the sound of classical music greeted her, its soft strains emanating from the far side of the house. The dim glow of candles flickered from the living room, casting dancing shadows on the walls. She knew exactly what that meant. She took off her coat and walked down the entry hall, removing her shoes and blouse before stepping into the living room. There, on the area rug, lay her husband, Dane, naked with his eyes closed. Ginny's nerves b...

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“F.I.N.E.” by Cindy Thompson

Submitted to Contest #255

©TRT….FINE61624 F. I. N. E. She sat in the circle, her sunglasses and hat covering most of her face. Her makeup and outfit were impeccable. With her mind racing, she sat as still as possible using all her energy to shield any discomfort. Life has the woman taught many lessons, she whispered ‘Guard your heart!’. Something was different today. “If any of you are wearing sunglasses or hats, please remove them,” the group counselor asked before the session began. She was the sole person in the...

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“It's Not Like That” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #255

Vicky was still there. That was the kicker. That was the cause of a perpetual limbo that wore a different outfit every time John blinked. So many thoughts. And they whirled around and around in his head leaving a trail of sticky candy floss in the stead of a coherent mind. It hurt. But he loved her. He loved her and that was all that mattered. John had never stopped loving Vicky. He didn’t know how. He knew all about love. After all, he’d been practicing it since he was born. He’d read about it too. There were many stories about love. And th...

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“Low Functioning Happiness” by Anat Kalinski

Submitted to Contest #255

Rita can’t leave her apartment. It weighs on her to the point where she can’t bear it and starts to cry. I visit her almost every day, when she’s capable of having me. Sometimes she’s too wasted from Xanax and Ketamine. Other times, she really wants me to come over but can’t bring herself to ask. She doesn’t want to burden me, but it hurts her deeply if I don’t make the effort to insert myself.I should insist on visiting her when she’s at risk, even when she says no. We both know I can turn that no into a yes, and that that’s what’s expected...

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“Feathers” by Carol Stewart

Submitted to Contest #255

*** Sexual references, including hints of abuse***Betty woke face-down in starfish position, hands gripping the sides of the double bed, feet similarly hooked. Morning, evening, night or afternoon? She hadn’t a clue. Nor did she know what day it was, although something told her Monday – the blueish tinge on the pillow perhaps – deeply shadowed or white gone grey? No matter, the washing of bedclothes was overrated. She sunk back down, inhaled her own scent. Sex and sweat weren’t so bad when the window was open to cool the sheets, when she’d s...

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Write a story about a someone who's in denial.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 68 stories

“She's okay, she loves me” by Julia Buzdygan

“My Father's Words” by Daniel R. Hayes

“The Pi Day Pie Baking Contest” by Marty B

“Why Can't He Remember?” by Katelynn Seavey

“The Sidewalk” by Story Time

“Narcisse” by Alexandra Noir

“I am Perfectly Healthy” by Leah Billings

“Folding for Leon” by Nan Qu

“Percy Smart in Denial” by Kaitlyn Wadsworth

“Don't Forget Me” by Daniel Legare

“The Naked Truth” by Martin Maynard

“F.I.N.E.” by Cindy Thompson

“It's Not Like That” by Jed Cope

“Low Functioning Happiness” by Anat Kalinski

“Feathers” by Carol Stewart

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about anger.

Center your story around a character bargaining for something that's important to them.

Start your story with a character in despair.

Write a story about someone finding acceptance.

Contest #255

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

365

Contest entries

142

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: