Write a story that includes someone saying, “Be careful what you wish for.”

Posted in Character on May 24, 2024

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✍️ 55 stories

“Don’t You Wish” by Jack Karolewski

Submitted to Contest #252

DON'T YOU WISH Owen Matmor was an ardent, dedicated walker. Naturally, he enjoyed other activities -- such as bicycling and swimming -- but hiking was his favorite pastime. A native of Dubuque, Iowa, Owen was single and twenty-six years old. He worked ...

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“Going Round in Circles” by Lindsay Burns

Submitted to Contest #252

‘So, tell me, doctor, what is the difference between obsession and addiction? Because I’m not sure.’Dr Edmond put his finger to his mouth. He always did that when he was struggling for an answer.‘Well,’ he said, crossing his legs, ‘why don’t you tell me what you think the difference is, Francis?’He always did that as well. Sometimes Frankie wondered why she was paying for these therapy sessions when the doctor had her doing all the work.‘I’ll have to mull it over it and get back to you,’ she said, looking at her watch. ‘My time’s up.’***It t...

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“The Shape of the Leaves” by Carol Stewart

Submitted to Contest #252

***mentions of murder, suicide and sexual abuse***I do hope Arthur’s going to put those pellets down. It’s all very well his not wanting to poison the birds, but picking out slugs one by one, and in this rain, I ask you!With a hand on the edge of the brown velvet drapes, and her slender, mouse-like body concealed behind them, Amelia Entwistle, sixty-two years of age, addressed her lifetime companion, the slightly older, taller and stouter Christine Borthwick, without once taking her eyes off the scene outside. Her gaze was fixed, as it...

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“The Wish, The Clock and Time” by Emilia Tarah Roberts

Submitted to Contest #252

In the quiet town of Eldridge, nestled among rolling hills and dense forests, lived an old clockmaker named Elias. His shop, "Tick Tock Treasures," was a haven of gears, springs, and pendulums, where the steady tick-tick-tick of clocks created a comforting rhythm. Elias was known far and wide for his craftsmanship, but more so for a peculiar legend: it was said he could build clocks that could manipulate time itself. One crisp autumn morning, a stranger walked into Elias's shop. Dressed in a dark overcoat and wearing a wide-brimmed hat that ...

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“Ruby Red Wishes” by L. D.

Submitted to Contest #252

“Life would be simpler if people behaved the way they do in books,” I lament, hiding behind my hands. This afternoon’s “meet up” turned out to be a “meet not”, and rejection letter #2 for the week greeted me when I returned home. I peel back one finger and rail at the sunny kitchen window. “The weather could be more sympathetic, too. Instead of gouging my eyes, the sky today could gush in one interminable sob.” My aunt walks over and drops my messenger bag onto my foot. “Be careful what you wish for, Ruby,” she parries tartly. “Someone might...

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“Resolutions” by Peaky Progger

Submitted to Contest #252

Resolutions are like assholes he sighs. His distinctive voice burnt ash ground under a boot toe. The inevitable outcome is shit. He pulls a pack of Marlboro reds from his chest pocket, extracts one and snaps his thumb on the knurled wheel of a weathered, chrome Zippo igniting a stubby flame. New Years Day brings out the curmudgeon in him. "What'll you have, Unc?" I ask spinning a cardboard coaster down on the bar before him. The zippo snaps closed with a satisfying metallic clink and he pulls long on the cigarette, the answer on hold as he ...

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“Dear Santa…” by Renee In North Carolina

Submitted to Contest #252

Is this how I die? What a traumatizing thought. One moment, I’m drinking cocoa in the snow and the next I’m feeling cold. It happened so fast, I couldn’t process the color of blood, and wondered if that were snow. I bled out, yet I pondered; who would’ve thought that a blade, sharp and sizable would be the end of my story? Not me.I used to want a partner more than anything in this world. For someone like me, however, the odds were as good as a man walking on water. But growing up, I never got any attention from women. I would talk for hours ...

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“A Different Kind of Ruler” by Anastasia E French

Submitted to Contest #252

I look up at the clock and it is ten minutes after five; a quiet dinner time in the middle of a busy week. I can’t wait for dinner. I hope they are having salmon tonight.The kitchen is empty, except for Foodie and Freddie, Tears and Splash, our food and water dishes. For some reason, the empty dishes have migrated to a strange alignment on our red paw print placemat. At least I can have a drink of water.“Come here Tears, let me have a sip.”Tears wanders closer.As I stoop into drinking position my front paw gets wet. Ugh! Reckl...

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“Madam Soroya`s Curse” by Fred McIlmoyle

Submitted to Contest #252

Madam Soroya`s Curse The following events are generally felt to belong in the world of superstition and fantasy. Sometimes, however, that world veers off course and impacts on our world of today with terrifying consequences.As the numbing grey haze began to filter out of my mind I became aware of vague shapes hovering on the periphery of my world. I struggled to bring them into focus but they continued to elude me. Brief snatches of a conversation drifted through the mists of my consciousness.“He obviously believes it happened” a voice...

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“When I Needed You Most” by Iwara Jason

Submitted to Contest #252

I’ve always said that I grew up with only half of my heart. The other half was crushed in a car accident.“David, you said that you could never hear a response, no matter how many times you asked. Why do you think that is?”I just sat there, with my fingers interlocked and my head facing the floor. I looked at her shoes, they were a nice navy blue. My focus shifted to the floor. The incisions in the floor perfectly aligned, to the point where you couldn’t notice a mistake even staring at it. I looked at my shoes. They were a dark brown, but yo...

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“The Cracked Mirror” by Alisonn Rose

Submitted to Contest #252

Lucy James stared into the mirror at the mess that she was. She had lost weight – 10 pounds, 2 ounces, according to her journal – but every time she saw her body in the mirror, she winced slightly. The weight changed, the shape didn’t. She knew her thinking was faulty. She could tick off all the twisted knots in her thinking: weight had nothing to do with being a good person, or being happy. It had nothing to do with being loved. She repeated these logical facts to herself as if a part of her was a professor with a long stick, pointing out a...

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“The Lonely Wish” by Bethany Walters

Submitted to Contest #252

Prologue To an outsider, Lucy’s life looked boring, but Lucy didn’t see it that way. She was a normal person, who just lived her life without all the frills and fancies everyone else chased. Lucy knew what she was doing today, tomorrow, next week, next month, and even next year, and none of what she was doing included any adventure. That was the plan, but life had other plans for her. It all began on her birthday, of all days when she humored a coworker and made a wish. What had possessed her to make that wish? She hadn’t made a wish since s...

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“Be Careful What You Wish For” by Sharon Schoneveld

Submitted to Contest #252

Be Careful What You Wish For Clara stumbles into the sanctuary of the girl’s bathroom. A respite from the taunts, the bullying. Gripping the sides of the hand basin she gazes through tear-filled eyes at the image that confronts her. Hits her as hard as the spiteful, hurtful words from the other girls. The chosen ones, those with perfect skin and shiny blonde hair. Those with perky breasts, still surging into womanhood beneath the school uniform but obvious enough to those who choose to look, to notice, to ogle. She s...

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“Prey” by Paula Mulroy

Submitted to Contest #252

Trigger warning: Sexual violence, mental health, physical violence, gore, abusive language, suicide, murder.My face was lit up by the screen of the telephone. I quickly found the app and switched off the alarm to the house. How silly, to have a security system that is controlled by phone. It’s even more silly to install electronic locks that you can open with – again – your phone. I closed the door behind me as softly as I could. I’d seen the floor plan of the house, and I knew where to go, but I also knew she’d had a panic room installed, ...

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“In The Garden” by Beth Cohen

Submitted to Contest #252

Sam was elbow-deep in freshly churned soil when they spotted a glimmer out of the corner of their eye. As they turned, the fairy froze and stared back at the gardener.When the fairy realized it had been caught, its wings drooped. “Oh… puff.” Sam blinked. Their eyes were still bleary from a midday nap, and they itched for a smoke, but neither of those things could trick Sam into believing there was a fairy when there wasn’t. The little sprite had a mop of mushroom-colored hair and a defeated expression. “Oh,” the gardener said under their bre...

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Write a story that includes someone saying, “Be careful what you wish for.”

Submissions are closed

✍️ 55 stories

“Don’t You Wish” by Jack Karolewski

“Going Round in Circles” by Lindsay Burns

“The Shape of the Leaves” by Carol Stewart

“The Wish, The Clock and Time” by Emilia Tarah Roberts

“Ruby Red Wishes” by L. D.

“Resolutions” by Peaky Progger

“Dear Santa…” by Renee In North Carolina

“A Different Kind of Ruler” by Anastasia E French

“Madam Soroya`s Curse” by Fred McIlmoyle

“When I Needed You Most” by Iwara Jason

“The Cracked Mirror” by Alisonn Rose

“The Lonely Wish” by Bethany Walters

“Be Careful What You Wish For” by Sharon Schoneveld

“Prey” by Paula Mulroy

“In The Garden” by Beth Cohen

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with a character being followed.

Write about a character who struggles to do the right thing.

Write a story in which one of the characters is a narcissist.

Make a character’s obsession or addiction an important element of your story.

Contest #252

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

360

Contest entries

143

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: