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Write a story that features an ensemble cast of characters.

Posted in Character on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 20 stories

Annual Reunion

Winner of Contest #12 🏆

The last rays of the sun faded on the horizon, and darkness began to creep over the streets. “They’re late.” Diligence picked a speck of lint from the lapel of his immaculate, tailored suit. “They’re always late,” Kindness answered, fiddling with the radio. It crackled to life, playing soft, easy listening piano, and she turned around, beaming, in a bright rainbow tie dye t-shirt and jeans. “And they always come.” “Don’t be anxious,” Patience was sitting on the chaise, legs together and strung up in a complicated, periwinkle dress and corset...

55 likes 25 comments 25
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Family Dinner

Submitted to Contest #12

Tania cooked the potatoes, heavily greased. She used peanut oil, an article in the health column of a local newspaper was about the benefits of peanut oils. She had cut them out and pasted it on the wall of her bedroom. Her bedroom walls are filled with newspaper and magazines cuttings, with both relevant and bogus information. It was her mother’s birthday and the only thing her mother cared about was potatoes. Aarav sat in his room, drowsy and bored. The clock ticked, the sound as if caught on a loop, echoing through his ear. He had to...

14 likes 0 comments 0
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Five Times the Trouble

Submitted to Contest #12

“I’m Limmy!” “Timmy!” “Tammy!” “Sammy!” “WHAMMY!” Each one of the Harrison quintuples posed on stage with their first initial spelled out in their arms as Timmy and Tammy both glared at each other for having the same first initial. “And this is our show!” They shouted in sync. The audience was small that night. Despite having the whole school auditorium, no one except their father and a woman showed up. It was obvious to all that no one trying cared about the quintuples’ play but the quintuples. Especially Tammy who had written the entire th...

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This must be the place

Shortlisted for Contest #12 ⭐️

 Cathy’s breath caused a fog on the window, she was standing that close. It was something she did as a child, intentionally back then. Breathe, write, rub, breathe, write, rub, much to her mother’s annoyance. Is it you, Cathy who cleans those windows? No it is not. Stop, please. Causing the fog wasn’t helping her see into the place, that was for sure. Cathy took a step back, then able to make out some shapes inside the erstwhile cafe – chairs, tables, maybe the counter there at the back no longer covered in a white cloth? Hope rose for ...

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Not One of Us A Hero.

Submitted to Contest #12

We were born in Communist Poland, when everyone was the same. Across thirty-seven years we were raised to blend in, not one of us a hero. From the buildings we lived in to the food that we ate, not a thing stood out. But the truth was that people were not the same despite appearances and despite the underlying rule of Communism. Some people had less, others more and many had nothing at all. The suffering had made many generous and many kind, but it had not made them heroes. That was the point. _________“Rysiek! Jak sie czujesz? How is everyt...

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My Error

Submitted to Contest #12

The thing about working in a drug dispensary day in, day out, is that you get to know the small ensemble of staff pretty well. And another thing is, because you’re dealing with medication that can harm people, there is a fairly high level of stress. One mistake can cause a lot of damage. But I think it’s quite difficult for any group of humans, working in a small space, perhaps getting on each other’s nerves, not to make any mistakes. When I joined the pharmacy that first day, the staff  told me that the other regular pharmacist wa...

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Ever Since I Was a Little Girl

Submitted to Contest #12

The first to arrive is Julia, I know her, she wears bright red lipstick and her hair is the color of the night sky. She looks like a porcelain doll, like the ones in the glass cabinets at my friend Beth's house. One that will never crack is what my mom says. Julia comes from what my mother calls hill billies. I don't know what those are but Julia sometimes talks real slow, and her words have a funny accent. One night after a couple of glasses of the bitter juice my mom always serves, she said, "I ahm a prohhhper Holly go Lightly, I left my s...

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A Minor Murder

Submitted to Contest #12

The Green Room backstage at Apollo’s Theater was overcrowded. Karen, a young vila, was trapped on a red velvet couch, wedged between Jimathy, a smiling pixie who fortunately was quite small, and Manuel del Toro, a sullen bicha who unfortunately was quite large. "I have a friend who also is also a minotaur,” Karen said, “He can sing so beautifully." "I am Manuel. I am not minotaur. I am Spanish," the bicha said. His nostrils flared and his eyes burned red. Dinny Mare, the stage manager, stood in the middle of the room. "Can I have your att...

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KARUNA AND MOHAN

Submitted to Contest #12

   Tara’s happiness knew no bounds. She was overwhelmed with joy. Reason --- she could hereafter be called by her original name, Nayantara. Thanks to Karuna who made it possible. Nayantara lost her ‘nayan’ that is, eyesight in her childhood due to a minor accident. Now after about fourteen years, she got her vision back. Her parents wanted that once she could see, after the successful operation she must open her eyes first upon the image of Lord MURUGA, their family deity. But Nayantara flatly refused. Instead, she insisted sh...

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A Visitor

Submitted to Contest #12

Hundreds of years from now, on the other side of our galaxy, aboard Deep Space Probe Sixty-nine, the Captain and Navigator are arguing about their orders: “What’s the name of this star again?” the Captain inquires. “I don’t know,” the Navigator responds quickly enough. “It hasn’t been cataloged yet.” “But our position is correct, yes?” the Captain persists. “These are the coordinates we were given,” the Navigator explains through clenched teeth. “What are we doing out here?” the Captain rhetorically exclaims in frustration. “This whole thin...

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Inspector Goodstone and the Case of the missing Necklace

Submitted to Contest #12

Mr. Frots moved his long rabbit ears away from his face. The costume itched. He sighed. It was the only costume left when he went to Mr. Kilshings to purchase one for the museum event. He looked at Inspector Goodstone. His grumpy mood made Mr. Frots smile. "I dread Halloween," The Inspector commented. He was dressed in his normal work attire. "Yes, Inspector, I know. However, it is good for you to get away from that desk." Mr. Frots studied the crowd. Several people attending the museum's fundraising event were dressed in costumes ranging fr...

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The story of tonight

Submitted to Contest #12

“Everyone give it up for America’s favorite fighting French Man, LAFAYETTE!”    “Benjamin go to sleep,” yells my mother from the hallway, “Tomorrow is a big day.”Grumbling I turn off my speaker, silencing Lafayette’s Iconic rap. A quiet knock echoes throughout my room and when I look, my mother is in my doorway smiling softly at me with her arms stretched out. Accepting her embrace, I melt into the comforting feeling of my mother’s arms, all of my stress flying right out the window.  “I have no idea how Dahlila agreed to ...

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Directions to the End

Submitted to Contest #12

Amy opens her eyes and has no idea where she is. She sees the sky. She sits up to see she is sitting in an empty field, nothing but weeds for miles. She doesn’t remember where she was earlier that day. She certainly doesn’t remember how she got here. This has to be a dream. From behind her, an older gentleman approaches her. He is wearing an old, tattered robe wrapped around his slender figure. His dark skin wrinkled from the sun. He holds a gnarled walking stick. “Are you feeling okay, honey?” he says.  Amy turns around to face him.&nb...

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The Day We Met, Again

Submitted to Contest #12

Hi! Nice to meet you again. Let me get myself a mug of tea, and I’ll tell you a short story about a couple I knew from college. Sociable people, they just made some wrong turns but found their way back recently.  Now, where did my wife put that tea? She always puts things away somewhere else from where I left them last, drives me nuts sometimes. She’s not home now, went shopping with her friend Lucy, they just can’t let a clothing sale go by, even in this rainy weather. Ah, there it is, behind a can of cannelloni beans. The kettle just ...

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Hold my Hands

Submitted to Contest #12

‘I’m sorry I have to drop you guys from the squad.’This revelation hits us like a bullet to the chest. Everyone is too dazed to say a word, but the look in our eyes says everything. Fancy a man who’s had his marriage proposal turned down by his dream woman in the last minute. For my part, it feels like someone has pulled my intestines from the inside out. The FIFA U20 World Cup is only weeks away. What haven’t we done just so we can earn a place on the team?Picture four young men, who wake up as early as 4 or 5a.m. each day and go jogging. C...

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