Start your story with a character struggling to remember the date, because every day is like the last one.

Posted in Dark on Oct 25, 2022

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?

✍️ 177 stories

“Never Enough Time:” by Daisy Clark

Submitted to Contest #84

The date was the 22nd of July. It was Monday. The worst day of the week. Monday meant the start of the 5-day cycle of school, and it all felt the same. Every second of every day, every small moment, was rolling into the other until she swore she was consumed by the feeling of nothingness. Eat, sleep, school, repeat. The cycle. Expect, now, there was no school. There was no walking to school at 8am sharp. There was no laughing with her friends because of something that happened at lunch. There was no gossip. School was over, for the tim...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Deja vu” by Carol Keefer

Submitted to Contest #84

Monday morning, the 15th, Becky cross’ the date off with a red marker, keeping track of the days of the week. ‘Monday, Tuesday, yeah, that’s it, today is Monday, right?” Becky muses to herself, gulping down the coffee before grabbing her keys from the bathroom counter. “Simple,” Becky said to herself, trudging down the steps from her one-room flat to the hotel’s lobby. ‘Hope, there has to be hope,’ seeing the clientele that’s now calling the hotel their home as more people lost their jobs because of the pandemic. Becky, her e...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Project Zero” by Sophia Newell

Submitted to Contest #84

The girl opened her eyes to her white room. No windows, no decorations, just a stark white room. She didn't know the time or date, but she knew that the man would come soon. She didn't know his name, she didn't think he ever told her. All she had was a vague idea of what she's doing and a faint memory of a colorful scene. "Are you ready, Project Zero?" The man called from the seemingly open doorway. The girl nodded and followed the man down the stark white hall and to a white lab room. The man had two vials ready, just like he had for every ...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Blurrsdays” by Laurence Tryon

Submitted to Contest #84

The clicking of the knitting needles and the creaking of the wooden rocker were the only sounds in the room. The grandfather clock had ceased ticking on March 22nd, 1961, the day Henri had died. It seemed like centuries ago that Adeline’s beloved had died of a stroke while working in their vegetable garden. She had, as tradition warranted in her border town of Crespin, in Northern France, stopped the pendulum in his favorite clock. Never again would Henri wind the mechanism that gave life to the mahogany clock he had bought...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Everybody needs a Jigsaw” by Anyta Freeman

Submitted to Contest #84

Is today Monday 6th or is it Tuesday? No, it has to be Monday. Yesterday was definitely Sunday because my son rang me. I pondered this big question as I lay in bed waiting to face yet another day. Was that my doorbell ringing? I hadn't heard it for weeks. It was only 10.30 in the morning and I wasn't dressed yet. Who can be calling to my house, especially at this hour? Don't they realise I'm in Lockdown and may not be ready to face the world? After all, I can get dressed at any time now, some days I don't bother. I better get up and answer ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Eve” by Trinity Niemyer

Submitted to Contest #84

AUTHORS NOTE: This story’s protagonist is non-binary, meaning they use they/them pronouns. I wanted to explain in case some readers are not aware of how these pronouns work within this context.He/Him/His are male pronouns. She/Her/Hers are female pronouns. They/Them/Theirs are non-binary pronouns. There are several other pronouns that can be used for non-binary people, but in my story, Eve uses They/Them/Theirs. For instance: Eve goes to their school, where they teach English. Thanks!Trigger warning: mentions of depression, suicide, self-har...

1 comment 1

Read story

“The White Room” by Kenneth Li

Submitted to Contest #84

I awoke in a room of splendid white. My back ached and I strained against the rough padding of the bed I lay on. A faint ringing noise resonated throughout my head. I tried to remember the date but my thoughts raced past me. Only one memory remained: four walls painted dastardly pale. I had awoken in this room yesterday. And the day before that. And the day prior. I dreaded waking up; the same confines of a room that was not my own acted as my only greeting. Halia had loved the mornings. She laughed and cheered along with the birds singin...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Wipeout” by Saanvi Puri

Submitted to Contest #84

It all started on a snowy Sunday, a day before my mother died from pneumonia. Now don't go feeling all pity and upset for me because that is what everyone in town does and I hate it! But let's rewind a little. My mom died the day before my second birthday from pneumonia. We obviously knew that she had it before she died from it. She was diagnosed with it 3 months before my second birthday and every month it got worse. We all hoped and prayed that she would survive but when she left my touch forever, I never got my hopes up again. It was also...

1 comment 1

Read story

“The W.A.S.P. Factory” by Nikita Linivenko

Submitted to Contest #84

Taking my eyes off the page, I pluck my house key from my pocket and scratch another notch into the desk. I then stare across the room for a while at a wall calendar taped up between two floor-to-ceiling windows, searching for a clue as to which of those squares this morning falls on. Somewhere around the middle of that grid. That much I can say. I poke my head into the next cubicle and ask Hollis: what day is it? He says he doesn’t know either. I plop back down into my swivel chair. The screensaver pops up and I quickly move my mouse so ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Yellow Tinted Hue of Youth” by Rebecca Cole

Submitted to Contest #84

Wake up. Get out of bed.Get dressed.Go to the job you hate.Work.Come home.Eat.Sleep.Wake up.This is all Steve does nowadays, gone are the times of spontaneity and fun, his world is devoid of colour. Each day passes, a grey blur of routine nothing.“I hate this.” Steve sighs as he sits down in his tiny cubicle. He is one of the many inmates at James and Sons’ Accounting, the place where dreams go to die. He can't even remember what day it is, but then again, he doesn't really care.“Morning sunshine. ” Dave pats Steve on the back, the...

2 comments 2

Read story

“This Is Yesterday?” by Cacti Rivera

Submitted to Contest #84

I slowly sit up and yawn, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes as I look at my alarm. Reaching over to turn it off, I swing my feet over the edge of my bed, knocking a pillow onto the floor. The pillow, it's pink? Didn't I move that pillow off my bed after I kicked it off yesterday? I shrug and gently pick up the pillow, tossing it in my desk chair as I then let out another loud yawn, stretching. Walking to my closet I glance into the bathroom, thinking of taking a shower. I grumble and grab a jacket from my closet, lazily putting it on myself. ...

3 comments 3

Read story

“Escapade” by Jess Friday

Submitted to Contest #84

Iris glared at the senescent tower’s plain ceiling in frustration, and the isolated, dry, oak bedframe creaked under her weight as she got out of bed. She couldn’t remember what day it was, or even the time for that matter.The monitor orb floating inches below the conical spire and her ankle monitor flickered occasionally to update her status in the prison tower. Iris guessed that it sent reports on her every hour or so, but she couldn’t bother to calculate the exact time it took to update. Iris spent every night watching the sun set and kee...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Scared to Death to Live” by Melissa Källström

Submitted to Contest #84

You wake up, thankful it was just a dream. No, wait, it wasn’t. This is reality now. This has been reality for a year. Yet it’s still not right. It’s still not normal. It never will be. You try to stop thinking about it, try to push it from your mind. You have homework to do. You sit down at your desk, open your laptop like you do every day, check email and browse a few websites like you do every day, then go to do your homework online, like you do, every single day. You write your name, then you come to the date. What was the date...

4 comments 4

Read story

“THE DOWNS OF LIFE” by Sivaram Govindaraj

Submitted to Contest #84

The next day would be my wife’s birthday and I had almost forgotten to buy her a gift due to the problems I face in life. I will list some of the downs in my life to tell you about my forgetfulness. That evening while I was taking my usual walk, I reached the open ground where political parties held rallies and meetings. Loud speakers blared the speech by a party stalwart - a female - which was being translated into the vernacular by someone. I listened and found the speaker was promising the sky which would transform the country into ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“All You Have To Do Is Read” by Mickie Royce

Submitted to Contest #84

The alarm rang.He stopped it and dragged himself out of bed, preparing himself for his day.He straightened up his bed, neatly fluffing and placing the pillows.He showered, letting the soap cleanse his body, the water going down the drain.He got dressed, buttoning down his white-collar shirt, tying his tie around his neck.He walked into the kitchen and sat at the counter.He heard toast pop out of the toaster.His wife, Cassie, spread jam on the toast, put it on a small saucer and handed it to her husband.He took a bite of the toast. It was bur...

1 comment 1

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story that spans exactly a year and takes place in a single room.

Winter – 210 stories

Write about someone who grew up in a bunker, and lockdown life is all they’ve ever known.

Sad – 82 stories

Set your story in a post-pandemic world, where the effects are still felt even as your character attempts to move on.

Narrative – 115 stories

Write about someone who’s trying to accomplish a task that used to be easy but is now made complicated by a pandemic.

Narrative – 80 stories

Contest #84

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: A Year In

$50

Prize money

664

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Mar 12, 2021 EST

Won by Evelyn Kill 🏆

Title: How the Fish Survive

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

Start your story with a character struggling to remember the date, because every day is like the last one.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 177 stories

“Never Enough Time:” by Daisy Clark

“Deja vu” by Carol Keefer

“Project Zero” by Sophia Newell

“Blurrsdays” by Laurence Tryon

“Everybody needs a Jigsaw” by Anyta Freeman

“Eve” by Trinity Niemyer

“The White Room” by Kenneth Li

“Wipeout” by Saanvi Puri

“The W.A.S.P. Factory” by Nikita Linivenko

“The Yellow Tinted Hue of Youth” by Rebecca Cole

“This Is Yesterday?” by Cacti Rivera

“Escapade” by Jess Friday

“Scared to Death to Live” by Melissa Källström

“THE DOWNS OF LIFE” by Sivaram Govindaraj

“All You Have To Do Is Read” by Mickie Royce

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story that spans exactly a year and takes place in a single room.

Write about someone who grew up in a bunker, and lockdown life is all they’ve ever known.

Set your story in a post-pandemic world, where the effects are still felt even as your character attempts to move on.

Write about someone who’s trying to accomplish a task that used to be easy but is now made complicated by a pandemic.

Contest #84

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

664

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: