Write a story about someone who is cursed to always say the opposite of what they mean.

Posted in Dialogue on Jan 27, 2023

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✍️ 26 stories

“Confounding Outcome” by Laurie Rice

Submitted to Contest #183

The e-mail arrived from the nursing board of review. Dear Ms. Davis, As was recently discussed, your unprofessional behavior of January 25th, 2023 has been brought before the board. Please know that the board takes these concerns very seriously and, given the code of conduct signed by each employee upon hire, it is the expectation of this board that said code will be honored. It has been noted that you have had an exemplary career as a Registered Nurse for 41 years to include nomination for Nurse of the year 201...

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“Reversed Fate” by Noon Moon

Submitted to Contest #183

Content Warning: Topics of drug and alcohol use, as well as profanity. Woah, I am so buzzed right now… actually, she stumbled, feeling the room spin, and realized she had too much to drink. The next thing she knew, she was running for the bathroom, and then she was vomiting into the toilet. Yea, I am definitely wasted.Someone bursts in the door, “Vega-Lynn, Vega-Lynn, were doing shots!!! Come on!”She sits up from ...

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“All Blunders” by Esme Rose

Submitted to Contest #183

"Where are you going?" The taxi driver asks. Downtown. "Uptown." I mutter as he starts to drive. Uptown. "Downtown..." I correct myself. The taxi driver nods and goes downtown. "Doing anything special?" The driver asks. I sigh, I've always hated small talk. You're avoiding your ex-boyfriend. "I'm meeting my boyfriend." I think over these eighteen years that I could talk. I've gotten the hang of my curse. Then again just a few minutes ago I said uptown because I thought I'd say downtown. My thoughts and sentences don't form the way th...

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“Contrary” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #183

“I’ve not had enough! You’ve not had your fun yet! You absolutely must keep me imprisoned here!” I laugh and that laughter is joyful and it is merry. Even my laughter? No! It is not my laughter. Inside I am wailing and gnashing my teeth and crying out for a release from this hell, but increasingly I feel those words that are not my own, the very opposite of my own, exerting an awful power over me. Those words are changing me and I don’t know whether I can stop that. Words are my prison and I don’t know how much more...

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“Double Minus ” by Tom Merison

Submitted to Contest #183

“Jesus Hannah, You’re looking fat” Jakob comments as he passes her in the lift. “You what?” She replies with appalled shock. Suddenly, to break the silence, he pushes out a forced laugh, to gesture as if he was joking. He signs to her that she is looking better than fine in-fact. Hannah laughs with recognition to his supposed joke, as the lift doors closed abruptly on her, eliminating the awkwardness. ‘Poor Hannah’, Jakob thought to himself, he actually believed post pregnancy had gone well for her body. He slaps himself with ir...

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“You Have it Backward” by Al Cassidy

Submitted to Contest #183

She said: “I’m still in love with you and I’m staying for good.” It hurt. More than anything I’d ever felt before. This backward speak had worn us both down to nothing, emotionally and physically. What made it even more painful was the look. She hides her emotions as well as a billboard on the highway, and this billboard advertised exhaustion and a tinge of frustration, but mostly defeat. It wasn’t that long ago that things were normal as could be. Alarm once. Snooze once. Pull the covers off at the second alarm beeping incessantly. For...

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“The Careful Curse” by Julia Urrutia

Submitted to Contest #183

The Careful Curse In a town of the Californian Central Valley located at the base of a dense forest system, there lived a young man named Jake. Jake was a kind and honest person, but he had a curse placed upon him right before his twentieth birthday that changed his life--twice. It so happened Jake liked to go fishing at a lake up in the forest. One day, when he was walking towards the small fishing boat he had stashed under a pile of branches, he saw an old woman gathering firewood. A donkey was tied to a tree near her, its back heaped wi...

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“The Grasp” by Steve Rogers

Submitted to Contest #183

King Leo, sat gloomily in his Palace’s long breakfast room waiting to start breakfast. He always liked to have breakfast with his only son and heir, Prince Chris, who finally slouched in at the far end of the room. King Leo noted that Prince Chris’s finely embroidered clothes, made of the best cloth with impressive puffy shoulders, were crumpled and stained. The King said. “This is late, even for you.” Standing, now at the walnut sideboard, helping himself to generous portions of bacon, eggs, sausage and tomatoes, the prince mumbled. “You kn...

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“The Duchess and The Knight” by Tyhesia Watson

Submitted to Contest #183

The townspeople bustling around the town try to make a living modestly and are content with not being able to grow their stature. They are content with the Northern Autumn winds keeping the burglars and bad people away. They are content with Duchess Zahra looking over the land and its people for she is wise, strong, and capable. That is what this Knight is telling me as we ride through the capital to get to the Northern Lands. “Her grace is also a very understanding and kind person.” I cut off the older knight, “I mean no disrespect but if h...

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“A STRANGE GUY” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #183

A STRANGE GUY “ Yes, in my opinion, Maggie should wear the yellow dress. It suits her more than the green one” Even on that festive, cheerful, relaxed occasion Peter couldn’t help but say exactly the opposite of what he thought. Whenever it happened to him, and it happened to him regularly, to say the opposite of what he thought he felt like he was two people in one: one for the others, who he knew so much were never sincere, and one for himself, who had to remain hidden, unknown to others. So it was when he had asserted that the most ap...

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“I’m Looking for You” by David B Fraser

Submitted to Contest #183

Marta drove up to the house. She looked around the neighborhood that was neither wealthy nor poor. She checked the map on her phone, and rifled through the computer printouts on her passenger seat. She checked herself in the mirror. She got out of the car and went to the door and knocked. After a moment the door opened and a man in his pajamas with a coffee answered. Marta looked him over carefully. “Sorry, no solicitors, no religion, no energy saving programs, no uninvite...

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Write a story about someone who is cursed to always say the opposite of what they mean.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 26 stories

“Confounding Outcome” by Laurie Rice

“Reversed Fate” by Noon Moon

“All Blunders” by Esme Rose

“Contrary” by Jed Cope

“Double Minus ” by Tom Merison

“You Have it Backward” by Al Cassidy

“The Careful Curse” by Julia Urrutia

“The Grasp” by Steve Rogers

“The Duchess and The Knight” by Tyhesia Watson

“A STRANGE GUY” by Mara Masolini

“I’m Looking for You” by David B Fraser

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about two opposites finding themselves surprisingly attracted to one another.

Write about a character who uses sarcasm as a defense mechanism.

Write a story that includes the line “We’re just too different.”

Write a story about two characters whose paths briefly cross, but are actually going in opposite directions — whether literally or figuratively.

Contest #183

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

249

Contest entries

125

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: