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

Posted in Character on Jun 14, 2024

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✍️ 68 stories

“"Mourning into Morning"” by Hashini Rajbabu

Submitted to Contest #255

Talia sat in the dimly lit hospital room, her eyes fixed on her mother's frail form lying still on the bed. She clasped her mother's hand, feeling the slight rise and fall of her chest as she struggled to maintain her composure. The steady beep of the heart monitor echoed in the quiet room, a constant reminder of her mother's weakening condition. The reality was almost too much for her to bear. Her mother's battle with cancer had taken a heavy toll, and the doctors had delivered a devastating prognosis - just a few weeks left to live. Talia ...

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“23 missed calls” by Joey Madden

Submitted to Contest #255

I call her, the phone rings, and rings, and then suddenly, voicemail. "Weird." I mutter to myself. I check her location and once again the technology of Apple has failed me. Why does this thing always seem to glitch out when I get worried? I tend not to bother her with multiple calls at a time, but this time I am just really worried. I know that she doesn't like it when I blow up her phone, but I need to know she's okay. If anything, at least maybe she will appreciate how much I care about her. I call her again. The phone rings, and ring...

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“Excuse these Gentlemen” by Sophia Csulak

Submitted to Contest #255

By July, summer was known to have the promise of torn dresses, damp feet, and knotted hair that stuck to the back of your neck. Dottie and Rosie lay on the grassy knoll among the magnolia trees while counting the clouds that passed slowly across the cotton candy sky. “Rosie?”“Yes?”“What do you think of that boy from the market?”“Who? Johnny Smalls?”“No, Scotty Cunningham,” Dottie sat up on her elbows, “who always gives my Mama extra rice.”“Gag me with a spoon,” Rosie snorted, “He’s a dog, you know.”Dottie stared out to the green grass b...

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“And the Future Will Be Gravy” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #255

Joyce Gleason spins in circles in front of a full-length mirror. “Think President Madrid and the First Lady will be impressed?” Colonel Benjamin Hotspur, late of the First Northern Army, turns and winks at his fiancé, who is resplendent in a sparkling coral dress. A stocky 5’ 5” with wavy black hair and a bushy mustache, Benjamin, a nationally ranked wrestler during his college days, is affectionately called “Benny the Bull” because of his tenaciousness. Benjamin began his career as a bodyguard for Birmingham Madrid, then a Northern Province...

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“ Blinded by a smile” by Tiffany Davis

Submitted to Contest #255

Have you ever heard the saying the truth shall set you free? This phrase is no longer just a saying. It's a hard reality for me. Hi, my name is Katt, and life has been good for a while. I have thrived in my career. Soon, the pandemic hit, and life started to slow down. The birds that were chirping started to have no sound. The internet soon became the only way to interact with others. It started with a message saying I saw you on my page as someone I might know. A woman as beautiful as you, I definitely would...

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“The Halton Mine Incident” by Teng Rong

Submitted to Contest #255

This past weekend, I found a Spectator article from 1955. Supposedly 6 teenagers disappeared in the woods behind the mine, never to be seen again. Later that year, the Halton Copper Company declared bankruptcy. I am hoping you will know something about this mine. Articles, stories, rumors. Anything at all. Attached is a copy of Janet’s therapy journal I got from the OPP. I don’t expect it to be much help, but just in case. Please keep this between us. Dr. Anders Svenssen, M.D.[Start of Journal]September 23rd, 1988Sleep: 8 hours, refreshedMoo...

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“The Might of Magic” by Lily Lloyd

Submitted to Contest #255

*crude language throughout*"For the last time, Mom, I don't want you to read my future!"Hyde loved his mom very much. He could take or leave his twin brother Axel but that's just the nature of being related to a douchebag. What he did not love was his mom's insistence upon meddling with his life in any kind of magical or mystical way. Occult meddling was how the woman made her living, he knew, but it still irked him."Why can't you keep your work life and your home life separate like a normal person? I appreciate that you want to help me unde...

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“Grandma” by Rachel Rosen

Submitted to Contest #255

“He’s in denial.” “I know, but what am I supposed to do about it now? I’m already late.” Lucas couldn’t take listening to his parents fighting anymore, especially when it involved constantly worrying about him. There were more pressing matters at hand. He munched quietly on his morning cereal and tried to shut it all out. His dad swiftly shuffled past them, wishing them all a good day in spite of the heated argument earlier, but Lucas could only mutter a grunt in response. He glanced over at his grandma, who was sitting in the chair next to ...

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“The Homecoming” by Sarah W

Submitted to Contest #255

Rex has gone to get her from the airport. I was supposed to go with him, but slept in. He left a note saying he didn’t want to wake me, but really, it was my punishment for last night. Sunlight hits the windscreen, flashing in my eyes for a moment. The winter sun hangs low in the cold blue sky, not a cloud in sight. Surely, it's a sign of the occasion: my baby girl, back home. Gosh, I haven't seen her for over three years. How will she have changed, my beautiful girl? Will Time have marked her? Will she bear traces of the life she's lived wi...

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“Waiting” by Nancy Richards

Submitted to Contest #255

WaitingBy Nancy Richards My son is so angry, screaming at me. He doesn’t realize I’ve shut him out, I can't hear what he is saying. Whatever I have done, I don’t deserve this reaction from him. I’m his mother. I’ve wondered what he must have said to me over the last two years because he is still upset about it. I’ve asked him what I did, but he refuses to discuss it. This hurts my heart. By the time cancer final...

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“The Second Coming of Cody” by Bill Richter

Submitted to Contest #255

Holly, I’m over here! Thank you for coming on such short notice, I know you’ve been really busy. And I know I’ve been hard to reach. I’ve been having a really hard time getting out of my head for a while now. It’s been for more than three years now, ever since March 2020. Just when things mostly felt normal again I heard there’s another new variant. That’s really messed me up, and I’d just started feeling optimistic again. Sorry I haven’t been answering your calls or texts. It’s been hard, especially since Matt dumped me. I needed some ...

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“Deirdre's Denial” by William Riling

Submitted to Contest #255

“Twenty-three years of wedded bliss, things couldn’t be better if we had won the lottery.” That’s how Deirdre Efram would describe the current state of her marriage to the clutch of housewives and recently divorced lady friends gathered for their quarterly Girl’s Nite Out at the patio bar of Westlake’s Four Season’s Hotel. This was before her third Appletini. By her fourth and fifth, you’d have thought she was Donna Reed married to David Beckham. Who could blame her? Her best friend Freda Dinkins recently regaled the table with tales of her ...

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“Looking Forward” by Anya Wu

Submitted to Contest #255

The sound of slamming car doors. Bright lights flashing, people surrounding me on all sides, white lights probing into my brain-I woke with a start. Looking around me with drowsy eyes, I glanced at the alarm clock. 6:49 A.M. Too early for me to be awake. I laid down on the bed with a sigh. I'd been having nightmares everyday for the past week. I didn't remember much from them except for a car, and someone laying on the floor beside me. But whenever I got close enough to see their face, I woke up again. Shaking off the feeling that something ...

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“The Young Mother” by Dakota Dunston

Submitted to Contest #255

**TW** This story contains alcohol abuse, suicide, and mental health issues A young mother stood in her kitchen of her and her son's house. A house she worked her ass off for. All the late night had payed off when she was about to get this little house they call home. "Mommy" called out a little boy sitting in another room then his mother. The young women known as "mommy" was spreading peanut butter on some bread to make a pb and j for her little boy. "One second baby. I'm getting your lunch." she said in response. "mommy"...

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“Spiral” by S.C Sanborn

Submitted to Contest #255

I knew it was broken right off the bat. But it couldn’t be. Not here. Not now. I was sprawled haphazardly on the ground, my right leg caught between two rocks that had slid along with me in an awful version of a baseball slide. Right into first base, I guess. I had been hurrying, which I did a lot those days, trying to catch up to the rest of the group; jumping from rock to rock like I had done so nimbly in my twenties. I was in rehab. Well, we all called it that off hand. Really it was a shamanistic treatment center for PTSD and other inten...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 68 stories

“"Mourning into Morning"” by Hashini Rajbabu

“23 missed calls” by Joey Madden

“Excuse these Gentlemen” by Sophia Csulak

“And the Future Will Be Gravy” by Michael Jefferson

“ Blinded by a smile” by Tiffany Davis

“The Halton Mine Incident” by Teng Rong

“The Might of Magic” by Lily Lloyd

“Grandma” by Rachel Rosen

“The Homecoming” by Sarah W

“Waiting” by Nancy Richards

“The Second Coming of Cody” by Bill Richter

“Deirdre's Denial” by William Riling

“Looking Forward” by Anya Wu

“The Young Mother” by Dakota Dunston

“Spiral” by S.C Sanborn

🌟 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

363

Contest entries

142

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: