Start your story with a character in despair.

Posted in Dark on Jun 14, 2024

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✍️ 91 stories

“Last Train To Hope” by Stefan Sofiski

Submitted to Contest #255

Screams echoed through the carriage. Most passengers suffered stoically. A few exchanged silent judgments. A desperate mother was trying to soothe the crying baby. She stood up from her seat with the infant in her arms. Walking along the aisle, she shook and hushed the child. George looked discreetly at the woman. She avoided eye contact with other passengers. Small drops of sweat shone on her forehead. “She misses the chugging”, George’s companion said. “Chugging soothes them. She started crying when we got held up here.” George followed Bo...

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“She's Going To Be Okay, Right?” by Ellie Northrop

Submitted to Contest #255

'She's going to be okay, right?' That question has been echoing in my mind as I stared numbly into the hospital room. Doctors and nurses are hovering over my mother as she struggles to breathe. They unbutton her blouse and stick adhesive pads to see her heartbeat. The ambient noise is drowning in my ears as I struggle to comprehend what is happening. 'She was fine just an hour ago.' I thought as I pressed my back against the wall. Slowly, I slide down the wall and sit on the hard linoleum floor. My lower lip quivers as tears peak at the corn...

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“Despair to Success” by Nadhira Dinesh

Submitted to Contest #255

Crash! There right before Iman’s very own eyes a delivery truck rammed into the car’s side sending it flying…with Arthur, his father, in it. He raced to the car while a ring of people gathered around the car. The truck driver smirked and drove away speedily. Haruko, his friend, dashed to the nearest telephone booth and called an ambulance. Iman threw the car door open and dragged his father out. All noise was muffled, tears were falling from his eyes. Iman’s mother with Lily, his little sister, raced out to see what all the commotion wa...

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“Rumination” by Habit Theory

Submitted to Contest #255

Disclaimer - this will have content surrounding substance abuse, depression and hints at suicide. Please feel free to skip if this offends you in anyway. Everyone is happy to read what they are comfortable with and avoid what they don't like.----------------------------------------------------------------Driving down the 401 N.C highway is a nightly ritual at this point. Racing thoughts usually plagued my mind, leaving me with restless sleep. But over the past year I've become a borderline insomniac, waiting for a contender to cross the fini...

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“Memento Mori” by Joseph Cillo Jr

Submitted to Contest #255

So, this was death. Not far from the nothingness I anticipated—no bliss of heaven, which I had no right to expect, no fires of hell which I, perhaps, deserved. But to be conscious of the nothingness? Who knew? All that was, was no more, except me. I was, in the nothingness. There were no others. There were no other things. Nothing lived in the nothingness, but me. But was I actually alive?And yet, I remembered all that I used to be. Those I imagined I loved, those I hated, those I ignored, all that was evil, all the evil I had done and what ...

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“Not goodbye” by Hannah Wall

Submitted to Contest #255

I’m supposed to be focusing on here and now, respecting dear Benjamin, my father-in-law at his funeral. Yet, I can’t help but be remembering all the moments that proved his death wasn’t just a dream up until now. Ben died three nearly four weeks ago, he’d been in bad shape for a few months, but we still thought we had more time. Then, at three in the morning, my husband got the call. His mum, Jenny video called to reveal the news that Ben, age sixty-seven died. I’ll never forget the look of pure despair on Jenny’s face. Her face crumpling up...

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“I Don't Remember” by M D Smith

Submitted to Contest #255

Amidst the steady beep of the machines in his hospital room, “John! John, can you hear me? Can you open your eyes?” Nurse Ratcliff squeezed the patient’s hand and watched the eye movement from beneath his closed lids. Then a fluttering, and finally his lids opened, and he tried to focus on the uniformed nurse in front of him. “Uhhh… yuhh…yeah,” he mumbled. “Wh…where…” “Where are you?” the Nurse said. “You’re at Memorial Hospital downtown. You were hit by a car and brought here unconscious two days ago. You had a bad blow to your head from no...

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“Tears and Crashes” by Charlie Byrne

Submitted to Contest #255

“I hate all of you!” Sasha shouts, her voice cracking. Salt starts to stain her cheeks.“Oh Sasha, what’s wrong darling?” Margie asks sweetly.“Drama, drama, drama” Quinnie whispers for everyone to hear.“Argh!” Sasha shouts and she storms out, back down the hall and slams her door. Billy pushes food around his plate, his eyes fixed on the peas wiggling in gravy, getting cold. Sasha couldn’t get a word in sideways and looked to Billy for help more than once. He tried to intercept, find a break in the chaos: “Did anyone notice- ” wait… wa...

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“Missing” by LeeAnne Edwards

Submitted to Contest #255

The silence is deafening. Tears stream down Maggie’s face, her breath shallow and ragged. She knows she needs to move but the fear is paralyzing. Her thoughts scatter and drift. Quietly cursing herself. It didn’t have to be this way. Why had she been so determined about this trip begging her friends to come? # Maggie rushes around her room throwing bug spray, sweats, and earplugs into her duffel bag when her mom yells “They are here”. This camping trip with her three best...

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“It's Time!” by Noted Moments

Submitted to Contest #255

Jane had been trapped in a never-ending cycle of terror for what felt like an eternity. Every night, the same recurring nightmare haunted her, leaving her afraid and exhausted. The dream was always the same: a dark figure chasing her– relentlessly pursuing her, only adding a few extra moments to each dream going forward. Every night, Jane ran and ran; never being able to escape the dark figure that followed. That's when she saw it; a wall. It was high, so high you couldn't see the sky continue. "I need to get away!" Jane whispered with tears...

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“A Line Reconnected” by Meher Khimani

Submitted to Contest #255

Would you ever make a call if you knew no one would answer?Amber stood inside the telephone booth, the rain drumming a melancholic rhythm on the glass panes. London’s usual cacophony was drowned out by the steady downpour, leaving only a bitter silence in the booth. Her long, chestnut hair clung to her cheeks, dampened by the ruthless rain. The city seemed to hold its breath, waiting for her to make a decision that could…hopefully, change everything, and nothing at the same time.Inside, Amber’s hands trembled as she gripped the receiver, her...

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“In the Family” by Joey Madden

Submitted to Contest #255

She carries me into my room. She lies me down in the bed, and gives me a warm kiss upon my forehead. A small tear runs down her cheek as she just stands above me for a moment. She doesn’t bother to say much, she knows I can hardly respond at this point in time. Maybe in the future, if I make it that far. “I love you so much my baby.” She tells me one more time. I want to follow her, but I can’t even walk. I feel safe, warm, comforted in her presence. I wish I could open my mouth and put together the words to tell her how much I love her...

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“Eclipse” by Kaito Ikari

Submitted to Contest #255

He should have known that happiness wasn’t in his cards. Whenever it finds its way to him, it is ripped away from him. Figuratively…and literally.The knight who gave him his name laid on the grass, just like how he and she used to do. The green mixed with the red still seeping from her armor, barely visible in the midnight rain. Her eyes were dim, a far cry from the sun they once were. He breathed heavily, his hands still on her wounds. He knew she was gone, but if he stopped, he didn’t know what would happen to him. His back was turned...

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“My Heart Belongs to You--How Sad” by Susan Jenkins

Submitted to Contest #255

“You remember him throwing the ketchup bottle against the wall but don’t remember what their argument was about? You expect us to believe that?”“That did stand out in my mind. Yes, sir.”Some lawyer he’s turning out to be. Where did they find this guy? Cindy pictured the bottle whizzing past, not far above her head, then blood and glass going everywhere—like it was happening now.OK, it wasn’t real blood, but what splattered on her mama, the floor, and the ceiling sure looked like it. And it could have been, with a different twist of Daddy’s w...

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“The Stranger” by Amber Medina

Submitted to Contest #255

Presley gripped the railing of the bridge, trying to calm the firestorm roiling in her head. 5-4-3-2-1. It was a grounding technique her therapist had taught her. Five things she could see. She closed her eyes and saw Kelly's face, eyes wide with surprise, her lips forming a little O. Then Tommy's, his eyebrows low and angry, his normally handsome features contorted in rage. She snapped her eyes open, emerald green irises sparkling with tears, fingers squeezing the railing even more tightly. &nb...

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Start your story with a character in despair.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 91 stories

“Last Train To Hope” by Stefan Sofiski

“She's Going To Be Okay, Right?” by Ellie Northrop

“Despair to Success” by Nadhira Dinesh

“Rumination” by Habit Theory

“Memento Mori” by Joseph Cillo Jr

“Not goodbye” by Hannah Wall

“I Don't Remember” by M D Smith

“Tears and Crashes” by Charlie Byrne

“Missing” by LeeAnne Edwards

“It's Time!” by Noted Moments

“A Line Reconnected” by Meher Khimani

“In the Family” by Joey Madden

“Eclipse” by Kaito Ikari

“My Heart Belongs to You--How Sad” by Susan Jenkins

“The Stranger” by Amber Medina

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about a someone who's in denial.

Write a story about anger.

Center your story around a character bargaining for something that's important to them.

Write a story about someone finding acceptance.

Contest #255

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

365

Contest entries

142

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: