Write a story about someone living vicariously through someone else.

Posted in Character on Jul 21, 2023

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✍️ 32 stories

“Dreams of the Father” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #208

Dreams of the Father“It is a wise man who knows his own son.” - William Shakespeare, Merchant of VeniceIt was one of the first things imprinted in Charlie’s mind as a child, an integral part of the foundation of his memory and a guidepost for the path to be followed…followed, not blazed. The picture that hung above the desk in his father’s stu...

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“The Final Petition of the Beast” by Harmonious Pierce

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #208

I trust that your patience and historically-proven aptitude for distilling the truth of events from the muddled fog of contentious viewpoints will inhibit you from leaping to a firm and resolute condemnation of my actions until you hear me out to the full. Let us see if I cannot, in time, convince you of my benevolence by offering another perspective on the events which preceded my downfall and which led me to assume this sorrowful state in which you now observe me, a perspective which, I hasten to warn you, runs contrary on many points to t...

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“Pretty Like Pimmy” by Ashlynn Altman

Submitted to Contest #208

Seven bright vanity bulbs nearly blind me as I stare into the mirror, Mom beginning to unravel the big curlers from my bangs. My age group is up in fifteen minutes and no matter how many times I do this, my mind still slips into a different world as soon as the opening music for the toddler’s evening wear category plays. I can feel the wisps of hair fall just right across my forehead. Feeling even a single hair out of place is the biggest OCD tick my lifestyle has given me, because even before I can remember: I did pageants. I would honestly...

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“Greener On the Other Side” by Zyn Marlin

Submitted to Contest #208

Sensitive content warning: Self-harm/suicide, abuse, mental illness. Once upon a time, there was a girl named Bea. Bea was rather a horrid girl, and all through middle school and high school, she and her friends picked on a very nice girl named Katie. Katie and Bea were as different as different could be. Where Bea was self-centered and vain, Katie was generous and humble - and Bea teased her for it. Where Bea was loud and fashionable, Katie was meek and wore outdated clothes - and Bea teased her for that, too. Bea...

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“Miranda and Samantha” by Alexandra Huron

Submitted to Contest #208

The disco lights were blinking in beat to the soundtrack of Michael Jacksons’ “Beat It”. The large colorful space of the roller rink was speckled with people sharing laughs, some wobbling back and forth fighting the glide of their skates, and some passing by with speed and skill that made one “ooh!” and “ahh!”. The room swirled into a shaded rainbow for a couple of revolutions until the only sight to be seen was a girl named Daisy, who was in hysterics from her whirlwind spins with whoever was out of frame. “ Oh my god! Did you see that Sam?...

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“Looking Toward Offspring” by Christa Fletcher

Submitted to Contest #208

As I sit at my computer, I await results. The cursor on my screen blinks like the numbers flitting by on the timer for my pregnancy test. Expectantly, I start to write. Who will she be? What will I name her? A lawyer, a teacher – will she want to be a mother just like me? I begin to type. She awakens in my mind, with blue eyes, creative and confident, bolder than me. Unafraid to have a voice. She’ll never apologize out of habit. She will build a full life. Tap, tap, tap. I feel time tick by and an ache in my lower back as I type. She is ...

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“Crunch Time” by Gregg Voss

Submitted to Contest #208

The god said, Here. – A man who hunts with care May often find what other men will miss. -Oedipus the King There was a voice behind me, familiar, yet somehow suspended in the ether, drowning everything else, as if it were trying to break through some sort of protoplasm. I had heard the inflection before; the sloppy, pedestrian choice of words, usually in the most signature of moments. The disembodied voice would persist unless, or until, satisfaction was achieved. &nbs...

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“Life Takes Over When You Have Other Plans” by Kaitlyn Wadsworth

Submitted to Contest #208

(This story has an indirect mention of child abuse) Lynda had brought up three girls. One loved sport, running, art, and calligraphy; the middle daughter loved her friends, reading, sewing clothes, and staying at home; the youngest daughter loved to be at home but attended Art Classes with a lady just down their street. Lynda, as a 6-year-old, attended Jazz-dancing once a week with the daughter of a family friend. Her father took her in the early evening each week. Not long after this, she changed to Ballet dancing which she preferred. ...

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“Red flows in both” by Graham Lee

Submitted to Contest #208

Once there was a daughter of a mother and a mother of a daughter. As the daughter I was taught the same as she was. To live for my parents as my actions bear bigger consequences for them. To listen to her advice to become a proper woman, and to perform for the world to see and praise my mother for it. One day my mother came home to my self-bleached hair. She hollered and yelled at me with the fury of desperation. By bleaching my hair I had just washed away all of her teachings and her worth. I did not understand at the time. I started ...

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“Escaping to Another Place” by David Fernandez

Submitted to Contest #208

If you had asked fourteen year old Hannah where she thought she’d be at twenty-five years old, you likely would have received a number of answers; each more idyllic than the last. Of all the possible futures she had thought up for herself, she never would’ve imagined working an office job as her eventual destination. Her parents had always said what a bright imagination she had growing up. Now she couldn’t help but wonder if bright was another substitution for unrealistic. A drone of corporate America, slaving away for a...

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“Hitchers” by Janis Cannon-Bowers

Submitted to Contest #208

As she barreled down the harrowing slope hitched weightlessly to the back of her latest target—a virile young skier with a great ass--Jane realized how exhilarating it was to be dead.This was what was called a “temp hitch”; one where the Hitcher made only a very temporary connection with a target. Unlike a “full hitch”, the Hitcher attached to the target just enough to experience the world through the target’s eyes and body, but not enough to influence the target’s behavior or feel their emotions. Temp hitches were the way Hitchers...

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“The dolls” by Gennadii Seliverstov

Submitted to Contest #208

The dolls Mr. Eddie Todd was a man of average intellect, a kind family man, one of those who married late because he had never shown the necessary determination in this matter. To be honest, he had never considered the institution of marriage to be something so significant as to invest time in. A diligent student in high school, one of the few who didn't try smoking weed in college, he quickly lost his drive for life and career ambitions, replacing them with leisurely lunches and hanging out with friends. In the last years of his family li...

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“Aspirations of a Young Girl” by Karin Eriksson

Submitted to Contest #208

What had I done? Should I even be here? I sat down and clicked my metal seat belt clasp into place. From my economy class window seat aboard the Qatar Airways B77W aircraft, I saw ground personnel signaling with their bright orange batons for surrounding planes to reverse from the terminal. Their beacon wing and underbelly lights all aglow under the night sky. Each taxied down the tarmac, preparing for takeoff. My aircraft would eventually follow. Boarding had just commenced for my flight. We weren't airborne yet, but I felt sick. I wan...

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“Sirénes” by Ayesha Ahmed

Submitted to Contest #208

Hunger. She feels it thicken the air around her, pulse with anticipation, fix its gaze exactly where she stands. Tokyo salivates behind the curtain, ravenous and eager, a dog with wild appetite and wilder eyes. Behind her, a ghost tries its best to disappear.Yulia Sorensi. The star of tonight’s show. A famed pianist, born for nothing else, hailing from further up North to grant Japan the honour of being home to her Asian debut. And…her daughter.Olena fidgets, not for the first time this evening. Tonight’s show must be perfect. It cannot...

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“Across the Cove” by Taylor Petska

Submitted to Contest #208

Fear has always been too close a friend. Always lingering, gripping my hand tightly, whispering into my ear. But there are moments in time where I must shove Fear away and make room for more welcomed friends--Inspiration and Courage. And here is the moment. Because across the cove, a party is happening. I park my car as I always do and quickly step out into the early evening breeze. Instantly, a wave of noise crashes into me–one that sends my head turning and my eyes focused on the scene I have stumbled upon happening across the cove. ...

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Write a story about someone living vicariously through someone else.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 32 stories

“Dreams of the Father” by Murray Burns

“The Final Petition of the Beast” by Harmonious Pierce

“Pretty Like Pimmy” by Ashlynn Altman

“Greener On the Other Side” by Zyn Marlin

“Miranda and Samantha” by Alexandra Huron

“Looking Toward Offspring” by Christa Fletcher

“Crunch Time” by Gregg Voss

“Life Takes Over When You Have Other Plans” by Kaitlyn Wadsworth

“Red flows in both” by Graham Lee

“Escaping to Another Place” by David Fernandez

“Hitchers” by Janis Cannon-Bowers

“The dolls” by Gennadii Seliverstov

“Aspirations of a Young Girl” by Karin Eriksson

“Sirénes” by Ayesha Ahmed

“Across the Cove” by Taylor Petska

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story where the characters start to realize that they are, in fact, just characters.

Write a story about a character who finds a childhood toy that brings back memories.

Write a story about someone who is constantly being put into a box by others.

Set your story in a rosy-pink world where everything is rainbows and unicorns… until it isn’t.

Contest #208

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

238

Contest entries

85

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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