Write a story in which a cynical character gets amnesia on Christmas Eve.

Posted in Christmas on Dec 15, 2023

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✍️ 28 stories

“The Night Before” by Martin Ross

Submitted to Contest #229

Disclaimer: This story does not reflect my spiritual or cultural views. It attempts merely to examine the pull of faith when Man gets involved. “Merry Christmas,” John grunted. The doctor looked up from the man’s chart, and did a half-turn back into the room. “Excuse me?” John analyzed the man’s dark face for signs of offense, belligerence. He didn’t know the physician – or for that matter, at this moment, anyone in the conceivable world -- but he realized now his sarcasm was misdirected. “I’m, ah, I’m sorry,” John offered, waving the p...

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“Happy Holiday Headaches” by Dave Stanley

Submitted to Contest #229

Tom wakes up with a headache. The stubborn alarm clock and the morning sun don’t help matters, either. Normally, this would make a random Tuesday in August a bad day. Yet malaise is compounded by the fact that this is Christmas Eve. The holiday ringer awaits—a big party with fake smiles, pretending to enjoy the company of others, trying not to drink too much, and coming up with superlatives about gifts that he doesn’t care for. And he hasn’t made one purchase towards his Christmas shopping yet. He does, however, have an engagement ring...

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“forgetting.” by Lara Deppe

Submitted to Contest #229

Derel couldn’t wait for the weekend to be over. Christmas mocks the lonely with its promises of joy and peace on earth. The blinking lights remind her of the flashing ambulance lights the night they came for her mom and never brought her back. She stood in the large family room window and watched the policemen load her father into their car with those same flashing red lights on the top of their cars. Derel balanced the fourth plate on her arm near her shoulder so she could get the entire order out in one trip. The floor of the diner was p...

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“Angel in a Red Dress” by Curtis Doucette

Submitted to Contest #229

The office buildings towered over him, a frozen tidal wave of glass and metal threatening to crash down. A herd of vehicles left clouding fumes in their wake, their passing lights unveiling sacred crystal structures. Alone, with a naked vulnerability, he was a dust mote floating at the mercy of the frigid wind, flowing with the breath of the city. A tall woman wearing a tight evening dress, the colour of blood, sashayed over and yanked him into existence. Her smile triggered a sugar sweet sensation that trickled down hi...

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“Christmas Blessings” by Victorya Adams

Submitted to Contest #229

The Christmas lights could be seen all along Lewis and Clark Street. Fresh snow coated the ground. Twas the night before Christmas and everyone was inside their house. Everyone except Mrs. Whitman who scattered the fresh snow as she ambled down the street with her head down. She didn’t look at the Christmas lights. She didn’t marvel at the fresh snow. And she wasn’t in any hurry to be all snug in her bed. She held a package under her arm but it wasn’t a Christmas present, for Mrs. Whitman did not have anyone to give Christmas presents to. It...

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“‘Twas the Night Blitz Saved Christmas” by Edward Roberts

Submitted to Contest #229

Blitz watched the digital clock placed above a sign that read International Date Line as it changed from 11:59:59 PM to 12:00:00 AM. An alarm, both musical and jarring, sounded throughout the facility. Another twenty-four straight hours of living hell, he thought to himself. Last minute updates to the naughty list, ensuring the correct type of batteries go in each stocking and updating weather reports in real time. Maybe this year Christmas can go smoothly. He moped over to the wall phone then punched in a code to make an announ...

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“Ep 4 - A Christmas to Forget to Remember! - SERIES: Adventures of A&J” by Mary Black Rose

Submitted to Contest #229

Did I ever tell you about the time I got amnesia on Christmas Eve?The Christmas of 1952 was a doozy. It stormed for three days straight. The adults thought we’d be snowed in for the season. Then, by some holiday miracle of nature, the storm lifted on December 23rd.My cousin Jeremy and I were only thirteen years old.Jeremy, in all his excitement for the grandest holiday of the year, combined with his propensity for shenanigans on any given day, was going to convince me that we had to go down to Tellers Pond and spend the whole day having outd...

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“Remembering You” by Isla Iversen

Submitted to Contest #229

Christmas was never the same after the year I turned fifteen. Of course, I was nearing the end of puberty. Like other boys my age, I had a dark air around me. The storm of it washed away the naivete of my childhood. My mother, a crude and cold woman called it, "finally growing a pair". She wasn't the same after that year either. Not when my father had the nerve to die the day before Christmas Eve. I was a quiet child. My mother was loud. She and her girlfriends were like catbirds fighting with crows at all hours of the day. Now that my fath...

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“Winter Wonderland” by Tatiana Samokhina

Submitted to Contest #229

Scene 1. Hospital.“Mum, is uncle Albert dead?”Alex knocks on his uncle's forehead, knock-knock-knock. Maybe a bird will fly out? Or a ghost. A ghost is better, Alex likes ghosts. Not that he's ever met one, but he'll definitely like them once they meet. But no birds, no ghosts - uncle doesn't move. He sits on the bed, his legs hanging down like two helpless sausages. He stares at Alex, his eyes round, his gaze empty and mouth ajar.“No, sweety, he's just a little sick.” Mum is a bit dismissive.“Uncle, are you dead?” Alex asks, curiously peepi...

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“Henry Cromwell's Christmas Epiphany” by Samuel Lees

Submitted to Contest #229

Henry Cromwell was a man who did not like Christmas. Well, I wouldn't say that he didn't like Christmas, I think it would be more accurate to say that Henry Cromwell despised Christmas. He hated anything and everything related to Christmas. He looked down on the notions of gift giving and feasting during the Christmas period as 'just some money grabbing ploy by big business to rob people of their hard earned wages.' Also, he specifically despised and detested the cheer and jollity people would wear along with their naff Christmas clothing. D...

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“Bah Humbug” by Kyra Arrington

Submitted to Contest #229

Bah humbug. It’s cold, wet and snowy. Why do people like this holiday? There’s too many lights, so many Christmas songs on repeat. How many Christmases will Mariah Carey want ”you.” I hope she finally gets that this year so it can stop. It’s so expensive, so many subliminal messages for people to buy the most expensive, trendy things. Christmas Eve in New York is terrible. Christmas is terrible. So many shoppers, so many carols, it’s my least favorite holiday. I just want to get home and sleep. The days are getting longer because of the holi...

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“House of Light and Dark” by Edward Brown

Submitted to Contest #229

No one called him Carter. He was Mr. Cash, if anyone spoke to him, a rarity. When passed on Main Street, he didn’t even grunt a hello or nod. He had been a high school biology teacher, the kind who the students hated until they left his class – or even later, graduated – and realized they’d learned from him. About biology, and more importantly about life, how to carry oneself. He didn’t repeat that hokey parental stuff students were used to. He rarely answered their questions, forcing them to search for answers themselves. He announced ea...

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“Glowing Balloons” by Jelly Fish

Submitted to Contest #229

A man stirs in his sleep, covered in layers of faded, plaid blankets to shield him from the cold air. Slowly, he opens his eyes, feeling the fatigue of oversleeping creeping up onto his back. He rolls to his side in his blankets, and using his arm, lifts his heavy body from the bed. He looks around. His room is just enough to squeeze in a full-sized bed and a dresser. The walls are painted white besides the single brick wall behind the bed – and the slight chip near the two-paneled door across the bed. He knows it’s always been there. This...

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Write a story in which a cynical character gets amnesia on Christmas Eve.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 28 stories

“The Night Before” by Martin Ross

“Happy Holiday Headaches” by Dave Stanley

“forgetting.” by Lara Deppe

“Angel in a Red Dress” by Curtis Doucette

“Christmas Blessings” by Victorya Adams

“‘Twas the Night Blitz Saved Christmas” by Edward Roberts

“Ep 4 - A Christmas to Forget to Remember! - SERIES: Adventures of A&J” by Mary Black Rose

“Remembering You” by Isla Iversen

“Winter Wonderland” by Tatiana Samokhina

“Henry Cromwell's Christmas Epiphany” by Samuel Lees

“Bah Humbug” by Kyra Arrington

“House of Light and Dark” by Edward Brown

“Glowing Balloons” by Jelly Fish

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a festive party gone wrong that’s saved by some holiday magic.

Write about a character who visits their hometown for the holidays and reconnects with a former love interest.

Start or end your story with a character finding out the love of their life is actually royalty.

Write a story in which a character is stuck reliving their worst Christmas ever, over and over again.

Contest #229

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

171

Contest entries

64

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: