Write about a character who is starting to open up to life again.

Posted in Character on Mar 24, 2023

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?

✍️ 68 stories

“Under the cherry blossom” by Amy May

Submitted to Contest #191

(Sensitive content: Contains mentions of substance abuse, suicide and mental health) She will never forget the day her world changed forever. It had happened on a warm spring day as she was on her way to the hospital to pick up the methadone that stopped her from pummelling back into her painkiller addiction. She trudged along dragging her feet, too self absorbed to lift her face and look out at the beautiful nature. Her mind was filled with horror of the past 12 months. Sometimes she couldn't believe all the events that had unfolded in suc...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Fields of Renewal: Seeds of Change” by Noelle Wojnar

Submitted to Contest #191

**DISCLAIMER/TRIGGER WARNING: death, loss, mental health issues, alcoholism, mention of suicide, grief** There is duality in the spring. The pink bursts of the cherry blossoms are all around us, the wind becomes much kinder, warmer. The sun decides in its infinite power to embrace us yet again. The dark is kept at bay, and indecision dissolves. But, spring welcomes change, and all who know, realize that the wheel continues to turn. … I came here as a person stuck between two worlds. A part of me, still, is left in the city, alone in th...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Walking Through the Storm” by Jennifer Fremon

Submitted to Contest #191

“I’m Alison”, the women said, offering Brianna her hand. “Please have a seat.”She gestured towards the chair across from her desk and Brianna sat, her eyes scanning the office. The decor in the room was simple: desk, two office chairs, a few potted plants on the windowsill, a few scattered books on a table in the corner. A large poster hung on the far wall, a silhouette of a muscled woman with the caption “Strong women aren’t simply born. They are made by the storms they walk through.”“So Brianna, tell me about yourself.”Brianna smiled “I am...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Out of the Rock” by Raquel Smith

Submitted to Contest #191

Last summer, exactly a year ago today I survived on nothing alone but potato chips. What a time to be alive now that Snapchat is around to remind you of how far you've came. "Lara?" I hear my colleague calling me from behind me. I am at my lunch break at my job, it is nothing fancy; it's a fast food restaurant and it's to be expected to be someone's first job on their CV. Except, I'm twenty-two and I still haven't worked out a professional excuse for me to have such a large gap in starting my career. I hope it will come with my work exper...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Pale Ring of Flesh” by Jeffery Young

Submitted to Contest #191

I closed my eyes. “I’m so, so sorry . . .”“I forgive you.”“Wh-what?!”“You heard me. I forgive you.”“But-but I was so cruel to you . . .”“And I forgive you.”“And I cheated on you! After five years!”“I forgive you.”“I betrayed you . . . and I didn’t even regret it.”“Do you regret it now?”“I do!” She sobbed. “Then I forgive you.”“I hurt you so, so badly . . .”“What did I say? I forgive you.”“All those things I said . . .”“I forgive you.”She paused for a long while, sobbing into her shirt sleeve. “You– you can’t possibly mean that. I k...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Old Lady Backflips” by Michael Nguyen

Submitted to Contest #191

Me, Nathan, and my two friends, Enid and Wilson, arrived at the swimming pool together. I asked them what they have been up to since we haven't seen each other in a couple days.“All I do is watch movies and read shitty books. What have you been up to Wilson?”, said Enid.“I programmed my door to open when I wave at it,” said Wilson.“That’s lame,” I replied.“Wow that’s kind of cool.”“You’re such a nerd,” I said.“I know I am and I like it,” Wilson proudly exclaimed.We split up to change clothes and then met back up with Enid in the pool. We got...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Starting over by Amanda Mthembu” by Amanda Mthembu

Submitted to Contest #191

STARTING OVER BY AMANDA MTHEMBU John never had an easy life growing up, in fact he had wished he never existed. Growing up with a single mother and being a chubby child, means things were quite difficult for him. John was not a talkative person, always kept to himself and never had issues with anyone. It was quite difficult for him at home because his mother was hardly a “mother” to him, John was basically taking care of himself and he matured quicker as he realised, he needed to do things for himself. Going to school was more of a drag fo...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Her Turtle Shell” by Joseph Padilla

Submitted to Contest #191

The small bedside lamp gave off just enough light for April to knit without disturbing her boyfriend's sleep. It was a little past three o'clock in the morning as he snored the night away. But his guttural sounds could not pierce through her earbuds as she listened to her stories. Night after night she nursed an empty void of suppressed emotions, as they mixed with insomnia inside of her. But she got through it with the voice of the same author. His name was Charles Aplomb, which was clearly a nom de plume. Charles wrote and gav...

2 comments 2

Read story

“The New Planet, The New Life” by Odile Glatz

Submitted to Contest #191

Marcia woke up with a heaviness of having come out of a deep dream state. She had actually been asleep for many days. Someone had sedated her after she had become hysterical by the trauma of leaving earth with the remnant of human beings who escaped. The rest of her family had perished by the fire caused by the enormous asteroid upsetting the very molten core of the earth. The earth had actually moved off of its axis. She had escaped because she had had an interview with NASA minutes before the disaster happ...

6 comments 6

Read story

“Agoraphobic” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #191

It was the middle of Spring, and William sat in the backseat of his parents’ Buick Rendezvous gazing out over the lush green meadows and fields of colorful flowers as they passed by. The sky was baby blue with a few hints of white from the wisps of clouds that hovered gracefully above. The sun shined brightly through the tinted glass of the SUV causing William to shade his eyes. It was a perfect day to begin the...

0 comments 0

Read story

“An Orderly with Flowers” by S. P.

Submitted to Contest #191

Hidden in the back of a cabinet. I kept the bottle of pills the doctor had prescribed me. The prescription was discontinued long ago – finding out I was allergic to the medicine saw to that. Everyone had thought I’d flushed the damned things down the toilet, but in reality I’d kept the bottle hidden away for a rainy day.I did a good enough job of hiding how bad things were. Eight hours a day, I patrolled the hallways of the convalescent home. The Diocese maintained a carefully put together care home for old nuns who’d grown too sick for thei...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Smiles of Stars” by Elisheva L

Submitted to Contest #191

Hey! This story contains mentions of panic attacks, depression, and death. If those are sensitive topics for you, I'd recommend skipping this one. Katherine is being stared at. They are subtle enough, but not quite so that she can’t tell. She takes a sip from her red solo cup- it’s just water, but she hadn’t wanted to draw attention to herself. Yet she’d still managed. Not for her choice of drink, but for something she hadn’t anticipated. She was smiling. Katherine Langhart was smiling. She didn’t remember the last time she’d don...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Moving Forward: A Journey Through Grief and Healing” by Tyler P

Submitted to Contest #191

Katie sat in her living room, gazing out the window as the sun slowly set beyond the horizon. It had been six months since she lost her husband in a tragic accident, and she had been struggling to come to terms with his sudden death ever since. Her world had been turned upside down, and she had retreated into herself, shutting out the world and everything in it. But today was different. Today, something had shifted within her, and she felt a glimmer of hope that she hadn't felt in months. It had started earlier that day, when she had gone ...

2 comments 2

Read story

“FINDING JOY” by Julia Corliss

Submitted to Contest #191

Shondra dragged herself out of her disheveled bed after another sleepless night. She stumbled to the bathroom not looking in the mirror because she knew what she would see—a hollow-eyed, bedraggled woman with tangled curls and without a spark of life. She didn’t want to see this version of herself. It was bad enough feeling like this, so she wouldn’t look. After relieving herself, she washed her hands, the one act of caring for her body she still enacted due to engrained habit. She shuffled to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator and gr...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Traveler” by Max Moyer

Submitted to Contest #191

1The Traveler recognized this place, as one does when the past has imprinted geography on memory. The curve of the dusty road lined with pecan trees a dozen feet tall tugged on the edge of his mind like a child testing a kite string. A child. Yes. The corner of a dim recollection tore open, and memory flooded through. He had walked in this very spot many years before.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~“Lars, drop it here,” said the Traveler, planting the shovel blade in the soft soil and reflexively drawing his shirt cuff across his forehe...

0 comments 0

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with your character(s) going to buy some flowers.

Spring – 78 stories

Write a story about a character who’s late to witness a special event.

Funny – 25 stories

Make Japan (or Japanese culture) an element of your story.

Narrative – 37 stories

Write a story that includes someone saying, “I feel alive.”

Dialogue – 68 stories

Contest #191

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Sakura

$250

Prize money

276

Contest entries

170

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Mar 31, 2023 EST

Won by Pari Ghodsi 🏆

Title: Lilies

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 about a character who is starting to open up to life again.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 68 stories

“Under the cherry blossom” by Amy May

“The Fields of Renewal: Seeds of Change” by Noelle Wojnar

“Walking Through the Storm” by Jennifer Fremon

“Out of the Rock” by Raquel Smith

“Pale Ring of Flesh” by Jeffery Young

“Old Lady Backflips” by Michael Nguyen

“Starting over by Amanda Mthembu” by Amanda Mthembu

“Her Turtle Shell” by Joseph Padilla

“The New Planet, The New Life” by Odile Glatz

“Agoraphobic” by Greg Gillis

“An Orderly with Flowers” by S. P.

“Smiles of Stars” by Elisheva L

“Moving Forward: A Journey Through Grief and Healing” by Tyler P

“FINDING JOY” by Julia Corliss

“The Traveler” by Max Moyer

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with your character(s) going to buy some flowers.

Write a story about a character who’s late to witness a special event.

Make Japan (or Japanese culture) an element of your story.

Write a story that includes someone saying, “I feel alive.”

Contest #191

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

276

Contest entries

170

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: