Write a story that starts with two characters saying goodbye.

Posted in Character on Oct 26, 2022

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 248 stories

“It's Ok to Forget Sometimes” by Elaina Goodnough

Submitted to Contest #44

I might be crazy. In fact, I most likely am. Who else works with the dying? Who else creates relationships with families in the hardest time of their lives? I met my husband on the day I came to care for him before his death, six months later we were married, and six months after that he died. My best friend also is currently dying, and I have to watch it. All in the hospice line of work. I guess it isn't recommended that we create intimate relationships with the ones passing, but I think they are ones who need it most, and boy, do I have an...

6 comments 6

Read story

“An Unusual Source of a Story of a Goodbye” by Julius Robin Murallon

Submitted to Contest #44

Tears fell as hands disconnect. “I’m leaving,” she said. “We can’t be together anymore. Goodbye.” “Goodbye. Goodbye? But… I don’t want you to leave. I need you to stay.” These are words I wanted to say but I cannot. It hurts deep inside that I am being left behind. Before I can ask why, she uttered, “We have to move on. We need to grow up. I can’t keep you forever.” “Please don’t say that,” I thought. “They say I’m crazy for still keeping you all these years,” she continued. “Maybe, they’re right. I mean, I am marrie...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Soulmates ” by Neomi Shah

Submitted to Contest #44

Their eyes met across the room. The air between them was heavy with unspoken words. Emma had never been a fan of goodbyes but she knew she had to face this one. The suitcases were packed and gathered in the room. The letter from Yale felt heavier in her bag. There was no turning back now. “So,” said Charlotte, “this is it, huh?”“It is,” Emma replied.These two simple words were not so simple to these girls but held a deeper meaning. It will be these words that they both will keep replaying in their head for endless nights to come. The words t...

5 comments 5

Read story

“One Last Goodbye” by Jasper Hutchings

Submitted to Contest #44

It couldn't be. It was too soon. I felt tears roll down my face. "Goodbye," I said, my voice cracking. I stared at Jamie's peaceful face, he had just passed away from an accident. A car crash. It looked like he was only asleep in the rosewood coffin. It didn't seem real until today. Today was his funeral. I wiped the tears away. I hated crying in public but I couldn't seem to hold the tears back. I felt my mom squeeze my shoulders. We walked slowly over to our seats. I felt unsteady. The seat was hard but few things felt soft since...

3 comments 3

Read story

“Goodbye, Rabeya” by Ellita Styles

Submitted to Contest #44

Isn’t it spectacular how the tributaries flow from different areas and drain in the same estuary?This was the last sentence of the last email from Rabeya. A clear, loud, echoing goodbye which I just realized a few moments back. The sky was awfully pale, the breezes awfully chilling. Drops of water dripped from the leaves on the shrubs and trees, and the soil smelled of petrichor. Occasionally a magpie or two would perch on the railing of the veranda and sing short notes. A peaceful aura is cruel when you bear a heavy burden of pain...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Missed Opportunity” by Steve McKenney

Submitted to Contest #44

“Goodbye Eric, see you next time.” “Bye Dad. Yeah, see you next time. Hopefully it won’t be as long between visits now” Eric said as he climbed into his 4-Runner for the long drive home. Arriving home early that evening, Eric found a State Police car parked in front of his house. That certainly was not the kind of welcome home present he had envisioned. Truthfully, he had expected Jennifer, his girlfriend of several years, to have let herself into h...

6 comments 6

Read story

“Good morning. Goodbye.” by Elena S. Kodermaz

Submitted to Contest #44

“Good Morning. Goodbye.” he whispers and lets Wild Horses by Rolling Stones take his place. For a moment he stops, closes his eyes, and lets music cuddle him. Afterward, he hangs the headphones on the microphone in front of him and winks at the sound supervisor behind the fingerprinted glass.“Great job as usual Dan.” Says the young new lever as Dan walks out of the recording area.“Bye Jack.” Dan smiles warmly, the boy always greets him this way out of politeness. In reality, he only listens to his radio show for the last half-hour,...

4 comments 4

Read story

“Bridges Burnt” by Abigail O

Submitted to Contest #44

Bye was the last thing she said, It was more than crying, it was the kind of desolate sobbing that came from a person drained of all hope. I sank to my knees at the tiny grave, not caring for the damp mud that dirtied my dress. My tears mingled with the rain and her gasping wails echoed around the gravestones. The pain that flowed from me was as palpable was the frigid fall wind and soon the only person at my side was Ceaser, hadn't he did enough damage. I yelled, ''leave me alone you have did enough for one day.'' Struggling to keep his tea...

4 comments 4

Read story

“The Love Encounter ” by Lizzie Hall

Submitted to Contest #44

“It was nice to see you again,” I say, with my hands folded in my pocket, nervously waiting for something to happen. It’s been six months, and I’m still trying to put the puzzle pieces together to reveal one clear picture of what went wrong. I’d like to say it was the distance that put a wedge between us, as we both drove off in two separate directions with the promise of staying in touch. Standing here now, both back for just a few weeks, it’s clear to see that some promises are created just to be broken.“Yes, of course. Goodnight,” he says...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Summers with Pete” by Jeni Conrad

Submitted to Contest #44

“We never did catch crawdads,” Pete said as we sat on the bridge, our arms resting on the wooden rails, feet dangling above a flowing creek. “We'll have to do it next year." The water flowed steadily, shallow enough in the late summer months that I could see the creek bed, stones wet with moss. I was familiar with that water, knew it was cool and smooth. Had it been midday, I’d have been jumping in it, soaking my shirt and shorts. It was evening, though, and the shadows stretched long as darkness pulled them away from the sun and into the co...

2 comments 2

Read story

“A Few More Red Lights” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #44

“See you round then.”“Yeah. Goodbye.”It feels so formal to say that, but I can’t bear to say it any other way. ‘See you’ or ‘laters’ are more natural, but that would just be lying. I can’t have the last thing I say to Alex be a lie.He smiles at me and turns to head home, waving over his shoulder as he goes. And just like that he’s gone. I can’t help wonder if he’s the last person I’ll ever see.The walk home is quiet, as it always is this time of night. The plan had been to take in all the scenery, to fix the memories of my home-town in my mi...

6 comments 6

Read story

“Goodbyes and Cheap Wine” by Angie M

Submitted to Contest #44

“Goodbye,” She said, gulping down a dry vacuum, which felt like a million hairballs stuck down her throat.“Goodbye ma’am,” The man smiled. Although a full smile, it was a practiced one; flashed for every stranger that paid him for a bag of Merlot Wine at ‘Vineyard Creek, A collection of Chelan’s finest’. “Mom, what did Jose used to look like?”Catherine remembered her eight-year old self asking her mother. Her mother, stooped over their crammed grey scullery, had turned around and slapped Catherine across the face, leaving a wet sting that sm...

7 comments 7

Read story

“It's never the end” by Ayra Rafiq

Submitted to Contest #44

The wind whipped through the air, a lingering chill as its only confirmation of existence. The scent of nature engulfing the inhabitants of the woods.A young woman walked along the cobblestone trail, her scarlet red hair dancing along with the breeze, tangling into an unruly knotted mass, her small and flushed red face set and determined, her back facing a little cottage, her home.She moved quickly and clutched her thin oversized sweater, shaking, moving fast to forget the cold penetrating her jeans. "I should have never have worn this ...

6 comments 6

Read story

“Sunshine” by Taryn Holmes

Submitted to Contest #44

“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.” Charlie softly sang, his forehead rested against mine. My hand clenched his as a train whistle cut through our connection. I felt tears rush to my eyes as I finished the song we shared through childhood, “You make me happy when skies are gray.” Charlie pulled away, shouldering a duffle bag and stepping on the train. He turned to look at me and grinned, his trademark smile unable to cover the regret glowing in his eyes. Was it only yesterday that things were perfect?Yesterday I had watched the rippling...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Gone and Back” by ℤ ℍ☮️

Submitted to Contest #44

Her sweet embrace is like the last thing I'd ever see of her. It leaves this ghostly feeling, of a warm palm on my back as I jump into the cherry red train, and grip the handle on the side for my life. I feel my skin tingle as I leave the misty cloudy air.I'd walked into the coffee shop; gotten a latte like most people do. It was a bright day; the sun was shining with a September laziness. And then my brain just stopped going through its monotonous cycle. It was a break from reality. Her boots were worn, they were hatched on to tight, acid-w...

5 comments 5

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story that starts with a life-changing event.

Novel – 175 stories

Write a story that starts with someone returning from a trip.

Character – 111 stories

Write a story that starts with a character-revealing something unusual about themselves.

Character – 142 stories

Write a story that starts by establishing its setting in a different time period — without explicitly stating what that period is.

Historical Fiction – 114 stories

Contest #44

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Just the Beginning

$50

Prize money

790

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jun 05, 2020 EST

Won by D. Holmes 🏆

Title: A Gamble

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

Menu

CONNECT

BLOG

APPS

TOOLS

ABOUT

Write a story that starts with two characters saying goodbye.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 248 stories

“It's Ok to Forget Sometimes” by Elaina Goodnough

“An Unusual Source of a Story of a Goodbye” by Julius Robin Murallon

“Soulmates ” by Neomi Shah

“One Last Goodbye” by Jasper Hutchings

“Goodbye, Rabeya” by Ellita Styles

“Missed Opportunity” by Steve McKenney

“Good morning. Goodbye.” by Elena S. Kodermaz

“Bridges Burnt” by Abigail O

“The Love Encounter ” by Lizzie Hall

“Summers with Pete” by Jeni Conrad

“A Few More Red Lights” by Iona Cottle

“Goodbyes and Cheap Wine” by Angie M

“It's never the end” by Ayra Rafiq

“Sunshine” by Taryn Holmes

“Gone and Back” by ℤ ℍ☮️

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story that starts with a life-changing event.

Write a story that starts with someone returning from a trip.

Write a story that starts with a character-revealing something unusual about themselves.

Write a story that starts by establishing its setting in a different time period — without explicitly stating what that period is.

Contest #44

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

790

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: