Write about a character with an unreliable memory.

Posted in Character on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 46 stories

“One Missed Call” by Michał Przywara

Submitted to Contest #140

Will ran for his cellphone and bailed when he hit the smooth spot of floor outside his bedroom. Time had worn it to the bone and his socks had long lost their grip, but luckily his body took the brunt of the fall so at least his security deposit was still safe. He missed the phone call though. He hurt, and spent a couple moments just lying on the ground whimpering. The muted swears of his downstairs neighbour thumped through the floor. No doubt something along the lines of “noise complaint!” or “calling the super!” or “questionable observati...

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“Hoodwinked” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #140

The only thing worse than tracing a witness five years after is to find out he has forgotten all about the crime.Or at least the bits that matter.But detective Syed was no greenhorn. He smiled at the 19-year-old who was sitting across the table devouring his second plate of chicken cafreal.“So, is the chicken tangy enough?”“Yes, detective. Thank you for buying me lunch,” Daniel D’Souza grinned, his cheeks still plump with the spicy treat tucked in.“Not at all, thanks for agreeing to meet me here,” Detective Sayed swirled the sparkling water,...

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“A Hare” by Hen Neralany

Submitted to Contest #140

C/TW: Mention of Death.~It’s peculiar, isn’t it? How some distance can make everything seem so small?For example, we have the sprawled stars that have kept men company from the very beginning.What about a hare per se?. . .They might not seem so interesting, especially in comparison to other incredible beings such as eagles, dolphins, and elephants but maybe after this story, you might have something to say. Just take a second, closer glance and tell me if you maintain the same stance. . .Our story begins in a loud, silent night where fo...

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“Siren Song” by Tanja Riley

Submitted to Contest #140

“I would sell my soul just to make something different happen,” Eleanor said loudly to herself. She had been talking to herself more and more lately. With each new gray hair she found in the mirror, with every new wrinkly on her husband’s face, with every bang echoing in the hall when their teenage daughter slammed the door, she became more vocal. Sometimes she cried out during simple chores, like a drowning woman, the sheer mundanity of life filling up her lungs. She was getting old and had little to show f...

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“The Inside Pockets” by Gabriela D. Martin

Submitted to Contest #140

The patient sized up the doctor, unsure if to step forward in the office or turn around and run.“Come in and have a seat, the doctor said with a calm, easygoing smile, pointing to the light-blue armchairs in the middle of the room. She sat down herself and crossed her legs at the ankles. Middle-aged, shoulder-length auburn hair, black frame glasses, dressed in a white silk blouse and charcoal grey trousers.The patient, a young woman in her early twenties, short, corpulent followed the doctor in the seating area."Are we waiting for your frien...

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“A Comedy of Rx’s” by Jacob Monroe

Submitted to Contest #140

“Are you sure you’re okay?” My therapist asked. She knows I’m not but she’s more interested in how I answer. “I have been a bit ‘off,’ at work lately. Nothing too serious,” I tacked on so she didn’t overreact. “I think I’m just over-tired. I’ve just been distracted, is all.” She jotted something in her notepad. “Just at work? Or have these difficulties extended to other aspects of your life?” “Just at work, I don’t want to point fingers but most of this is Julia’s fault.” “Who’s Julia?” She wondered at the name she didn’t recognize. ...

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“The Day Her Memory Changed” by Adrienne Sharp

Submitted to Contest #140

The Day Her Memory Changed (Word Count 1489) Time and temperature seemed suspended as my sister, and I stood in the parking lot watching the air ambulance take off. Looking at each other from behind solemn matter of fact masks, there was a feeling of being in the wrong place. We were usually faceless bystanders wondering who the patient was. This time all we could think about was how at 71, our mother probably wouldn’t remember her first helicopter ride. Just a few hours before, she had left her apartment building to pic...

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“a good thing” by Joi W

Submitted to Contest #140

Two hours ago, a man drowned in a shallow body of water known as dithery lake. This man, my brother, though in good health and of sound mind, will be found dead and abandoned soon in a lake no more than 5 feet deep. So maybe he didn’t drown. Maybe he commited suicide. Maybe sirens lured him from land with their enticing voices. Maybe he was murdered. Well, it doesn’t matter, it's not for me to say. This man went by Frederick Morrison, a 6’5 giant with the biggest heart you could possibly imagine. At 46 Frederick was a college professor...

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“Teacups” by Gordon Allan

Submitted to Contest #140

It is good to be back in the old neighbourhood. As much as the suburbs are quieter and safer for raising the kids, I have to admit I sometimes miss the city. Even the incessant sirens, constant sound of traffic and the general hustle and bustle of people I've started collecting porcelain teacups which gives me an excuse to visit more often. The kids are staying with my parents for the weekend, so Jason and I have taken the opportunity to tour the neighbourhood’s antique shops, in search of new additions to my fledgling collection.We walk lei...

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“Margaret Brown” by Allya Nosmada

Submitted to Contest #140

Charlotte Schaefer, the youngest granddaughter of Michael and Margaret Schaefer tip toed into her grandparent’s den and climbed up onto the sofa beside her granddad. She held her breath as she stared at the old man who sat erect in an arm chair in a quiet repose. “Papa?” she whispered. “Yes?” inquired the old man as he adjusted in the chair, still keeping his eyes closed as he clung to the remnants of his afternoon nap. “What is it, child?”“How did you and g-ma meet?”The old man opened one eye then the other, and shifted again in h...

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“A Meaningful Contribution ” by Talulah Pellon

Submitted to Contest #140

When Zyra's family had been allocated the land and the house for free, they did not mistake it for a gift. It was, however, an opportunity for the family to rise above the unfortunate circumstances that had displaced them all. Zyra's mother had lost her Singaporean citizenship as they'd been on public assistance for far too many generations. Nevertheless, her skills had kept them afloat in the early years that the family had settled on the wet Florida coastal town.She opened a chili crab restaurant under their stilt house. People ate her foo...

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“A Fantasy Foreign” by Justin Briggs

Submitted to Contest #140

I wish for a fantasy. And so it goes… In a far distant land, I find myself lost. What I search for, I do not know. Where I have been will remain a mystery. The air has electricity. There is much the same that is familiar, only nothing seems domestic. This is foreign land. I find myself walking amongst some bushes and so I extend my palm to them, welcoming a new experience. What I find is consistent surprise. It appears as even the clouds are new to me, though surely clouds are the same everywhere. This place, as the clouds, is an expanse. ...

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“tick, tick...BOOM!” by Okashi Kashi

Submitted to Contest #140

Present DayDrew Zolta unlocked the door to his father’s home. He’d just returned to Arizona coming from New York, where he went to college, majoring in Film Studies. The 21-year-old aspired to one day break his way into the ranks of Hollywood’s elite directors.It was a luxurious house, double in size compared to average, drenched in copper paint that was complemented by the dusty desert valley. Drew unloaded his luggage onto the floor. Camera? Check. Tripod? Check. Light? Lens? Microphone? Check, check, and check. He yanked off his shoes and...

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“Everything is Water” by Mark Majcher

Submitted to Contest #140

Julie was flustered, again. She walked stiffly along the bustling city street looking for the store. She swore it was just down Brook street, past the Golden Dragon. That gleaming golden sign of a writhing dragon, then the Target bullseyeright? She stopped. Traffic piled up against the swinging red lights. She stood, waiting for the walking sign to flash, mulling over what sort of dinner to make for herself and Diane. "Ma'am," a sandy-haired young man tapped her on the shoulder."Excuse me," he gestured across the walkway. The red h...

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“Little White Mercies” by Rebecca Lefkoff

Submitted to Contest #140

Maureen McConnell lay awake but kept her eyes tightly closed. Maybe, she thought, Maybe, everything will be normal again. Maybe, I will open my eyes and see my white bedroom curtains dancing in the warm morning breeze. But when Maureen finally let her lashes flutter open, all she saw was cheap commercial grade pleated drapes in muted shades of green and yellow. The window could not even be opened. Maureen knew this was not her home. This was not her bed. Those were not her vomit-colored curtains. As she cast about trying to orient herself,...

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Write about a character with an unreliable memory.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 46 stories

“One Missed Call” by Michał Przywara

“Hoodwinked” by Suma Jayachandar

“A Hare” by Hen Neralany

“Siren Song” by Tanja Riley

“The Inside Pockets” by Gabriela D. Martin

“A Comedy of Rx’s” by Jacob Monroe

“The Day Her Memory Changed” by Adrienne Sharp

“a good thing” by Joi W

“Teacups” by Gordon Allan

“Margaret Brown” by Allya Nosmada

“A Meaningful Contribution ” by Talulah Pellon

“A Fantasy Foreign” by Justin Briggs

“tick, tick...BOOM!” by Okashi Kashi

“Everything is Water” by Mark Majcher

“Little White Mercies” by Rebecca Lefkoff

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with the narrator or a character saying “I remember…”

End your story with total oblivion.

Write a story that involves a flashback.

Write a story inspired by a memory of yours.

Contest #140

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

333

Contest entries

170

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: