Write about a character who would have complete happiness, if it weren’t for that one thing.

Posted in Character on Mar 3, 2023

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✍️ 63 stories

“One Love” by Lexi Holliday

Submitted to Contest #188

You have always been my one. I say ‘my’, not ‘the’, because you are not a character, not an idea. You are not a concept people dream about, nor are you someone that is hard to find. You are simply it, my one in existence, my only option. My life. But that’s not to say I don’t ponder what would be if you weren’t. What would it be? If I hadn’t chosen you? If I let myself go, let go of these ties that wrap themselves around our every limb, constraining them under the mask of protection and adoration? What would be, if I had made just on...

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“An (Annotated) Guide to Finding Happiness ” by Miriam Culy

Submitted to Contest #188

Step 1: Spend time doing something you enjoy I wouldn’t have thought it would be so difficult for me to find something that I enjoy. For some people, this is a straightforward task: they find this pleasure in baking or gardening; painting or drawing; music or books. Since first reading this guide, I have waded through an ocean of half-finished cross stitches and unsolved sudokus to find the thing I truly enjoy. My guilty pleasure.The key word there being guilty.Step 2: Do some exercise This newfound hobby of mine requires surprisingly m...

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“My long-distance lover from Leghorn” by Sharon Walker

Submitted to Contest #188

You were buying a birthday cake for your mother from the pasticceria on the corner of Via Venti Settembre. Pretty garish really, lots of gold. Bling. They soak the sponge in some kind of syrup and liqueur - even the ones for kids. It's supposed to keep it moist. Weird that word, 'moist'. But me, being me, I think it's to make the damned things heavier. You pay by weight you see. Ha ha. I'm not daft. 'Still got my wits about me.And that was it. Boom. Struck by lightning - love at first sight. At least on your part, or so you say. It took me a...

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“Divergence ” by Jaye Hunter

Submitted to Contest #188

Content warning—mental health, drug/alcohol abuse, suicide. My life is perfect. My life is beautiful, and more than I could ever have known I wanted. My life is long enough to know what happiness means. My partner and I never marry—we are always better off as friends. We consider it, when we find out she is pregnant at nineteen just after I turn twenty, a product of the leftover teenage lust we never truly wasted from our systems during years of on-off foolish dating. We never decide if we make a mistake, or ...

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“Detection Division” by K. Boyer

Submitted to Contest #188

Breathing in deeply the brisk filtered air filled my lungs. Chin up and arms stretching wide greeting the day. The artificial sun had yet to warm up the new dawn. Morning is my favorite part of my day. I return inside from the balcony, dark metal clanging under my boots. Murmurs of my wife and daughter getting ready down the hall following me to the kitchen. With a few mental commands to my interface, the kitchen hums to life. The kettle clicks on, the pantry door opens, and Admin Sphere News lazily scrolls across the nearest wall. D...

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“Rectangled” by Karen McDermott

Submitted to Contest #188

I met Vernon at University. He taught Astrophysics. I was one of three female students taking his class. I’d love to say it was because I was determined to help up the numbers of women in STEM, but truth is I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life and hoped if I learned the laws of the universe they might guide me as to my place in it. I still don’t know what to do with myself, but I can explain synchrotron radiation and gravitational lensing and you’ll want me on your pub quiz team. I can also entertain your child for an hour using ...

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“The Woman of His Dreams” by Steven Lente

Submitted to Contest #188

The Woman of His Dreams Alex Ferber woke at his usual time, conducted his usual morning ritual, ate his usual breakfast, and then dressed in his usual non-descript uniform: white shirt, green slacks, brown shoes. Alex walked to work along the same route he had taken for ten years; the scenery was always the same, the weather was always nice. Even when it rained it was gentle, just light enough to water the flowers and clear the dust. Mostly the sun shined, but it was not so br...

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“The Game” by Jessica Stone

Submitted to Contest #188

tw- violence, reference to suicide - I found it on the dark web. That should have been my first indication that there would be a catch. Like a lot of similarly minded weirdos I have a drab sense of curiosity and was avoiding real feelings in my corporeal life by perusing the extreme oddities of others. Sounds healthy, right? I was submerged in some bizarre auction, where the auctioneer was called “COMPUTER” and those participating in the bidding had screen names made of only numbers. My user was called “Jamesy6...

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“Cure of a Monster ” by J. E. Sanchez

Submitted to Contest #188

Liam was snuggled up on his bed, piles of blankets on him, with a sudoku problem, he finished with ease. He sneezed, making him colder than he already was, and then he put the clipboard with the puzzle on it on the wooden nightstand. The doorknob rattled and his mother opened the door. She was holding a framed photo and a glass of water in the other hand. She replaced the picture hanging before on the wooden wall with the new one. This week's photo was of a blue bird on a tree, the sun beaming in the background. As she walked over to...

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“I AM HAPPY” by Pier Paolo Vittone

Submitted to Contest #188

I am HAPPY! How many of you can say the same? How many people can say to be completely, uncontrovertibly, happy all the damn time? I can. … … … I mean... Maybe there is a thing. But who doesn’t have at least one thing, am I right? I mean, it’s basically nothing, something completely forgettable and of no importance whatsoever. Actually, now that I think of it, you can forget I said anything. I AM 100% HAPPY and that’s the end of it! It wasn’t always like that, but I’m proud to say that through hard work, commitment, and a...

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“If I weren't eighteen” by Vita K.

Submitted to Contest #188

cw: use of alcohol, mention of death Last night I was arrested. For the first time. And I am unusually relaxed. Happy? I don’t know. Perhaps surprised. I spent the night here. I didn’t sleep. The smell of metal bars would make me frown almost every time I would take a breath. I turned eighteen a year ago on today’s day. Prison smell is the perfect way to end, and describe the past year. I heard people are looking forward to their eighteenth birthday. Legally they can drink, go to clubs, marry. On my eighteenth birthday, my grandma asked ...

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“Forget Me Not” by Wendy Rogers

Submitted to Contest #188

I was out of breath, sweat was dripping in my eye, and I could feel a damp, squishing sensation in one of my cheap shoes from the puddle I stepped into trying to get here.The doors shut behind me, and I walked down the narrow bus isle to my seat. At least I made it, I guess that was a small accomplishment.Why couldn’t I keep things straight? Was it Wednesday, or Tuesday? When was that interview 9? Or 9:30? I could set timers and alarms on my phone as a reminder, but then I would forget to charge it. I could ask my mo...

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“Overheard at the Bar” by K.E. MacPhie

Submitted to Contest #188

Happy? Yeah, why wouldn’t I be? I have a perfect life. Maybe the ideal of the average Gen-X man in America. I can grow a beard in a week, my voice is low and commanding with real confidence and authority behind it, guys wanna be me and girls wanna do me. I’m a Lumberjack by trade, and I guess most people think that’s pretty impressive. Can I get a beer? I live in a cabin on 20 acres of land. I have four boys who all inherited my impressive height, hairline, and headstrong attitude. I can build or fix anything around the house or that drive...

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“The Nature of Sunflowers” by Eric D.

Submitted to Contest #188

It was an early Summer morning when Maialen decided to visit her favorite spot by the beach to spy on the local boys playing soccer. She hoisted herself to a well positioned rock and brushed the algae accumulating around her gills. She noticed the laughter and chatters of the boys playing turned to cursing and shouting. Their game was interrupted by a single long board that had slid across their field, with a shaggy-haired boy chasing close behind. One boy playing soccer tossed the ball at the skateboarder's head before they all laughed wild...

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“A Thing For Happiness” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #188

I could be happy. I could be so happy. I really could. I know this with every fibre of my bloody being. There is a hole where the happiness should be. And that happiness is so very close, it awaits me in the next room. Happiness is so tantalisingly close. So bloody achievable, and yet it is locked away and kept from me, in a travesty of fate. I have found happiness, and yet I am no closer to attaining it than were it to be a world away from me. Having strived and laboured, I have found where happiness resides. I have discovered i...

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Write about a character who would have complete happiness, if it weren’t for that one thing.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 63 stories

“One Love” by Lexi Holliday

“An (Annotated) Guide to Finding Happiness ” by Miriam Culy

“My long-distance lover from Leghorn” by Sharon Walker

“Divergence ” by Jaye Hunter

“Detection Division” by K. Boyer

“Rectangled” by Karen McDermott

“The Woman of His Dreams” by Steven Lente

“The Game” by Jessica Stone

“Cure of a Monster ” by J. E. Sanchez

“I AM HAPPY” by Pier Paolo Vittone

“If I weren't eighteen” by Vita K.

“Forget Me Not” by Wendy Rogers

“Overheard at the Bar” by K.E. MacPhie

“The Nature of Sunflowers” by Eric D.

“A Thing For Happiness” by Jed Cope

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story that starts with the line “So, what’s the catch?”

Write a story about someone who is determined to not have their day spoiled — but the universe is trying their patience.

Write about someone who thinks they just got a great deal on something, only for them to realize…

Write about a character who’s attending a dinner thrown in their honor, but deeply embarrasses themself during their speech.

Contest #188

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

258

Contest entries

134

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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