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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story about two strangers chatting while waiting for something.

Posted in Dialogue on Oct 26, 2022

Submissions are closed

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✍️ 196 stories

“Adventures and Alliances” by Jessica Tomaselli

Submitted to Contest #49

This was the least exciting thing to happen to Alicia in the past 48 hours. If she hadn’t just woken up from a nap, she probably would have fallen asleep. She was sitting in the store waiting for the customer service representative to activate her new cell phone, or whatever it was they do when you get a new phone. This was her first errand since crossing the ocean and it was just as mundane as the process back in the United States. The upside was that it was giving her time to mentally process everything. The downside was that she had prom...

4 comments 4
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“WAITING FOR A MOMENT” by Mae Charlette Bulias

Submitted to Contest #49

“Excuse me, is this seat available?“Yeah, sure. I’m not waiting for someone.”Never had in my life I feel the same way as today. Well, I just meet a stranger. The cold breeze under the moonlit night gives me such goose bumps. I have to cover my shoulders from my shawl thinking about the bad looks of the stranger too. He sits alone, something so curious to see. The passengers are looking at me as I sit beside him.Today is in the fourth of July. It is Friday night so I travel back home from my work in the city. My Mom and my little sister are w...

1 comment 1
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“November Chill” by Marc Hayot

Submitted to Contest #49

The two men stood on the overpass on a bright November day. The wind howled around them as they watched police block off the road below. “So,” the first man said with a slight drawl. “Hell, of a morning for a job like this?” The second man tilted his hat up, his brown crew cut peeking out and looked at the craggy face of the first man. “What’d you say?” “I said it’s a hell of a morning to be out here working. You think they could have set this up in the summer or something.” The second man paused for a moment his blue eyes watching the excit...

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“Pocket watch” by Phil Manders

Submitted to Contest #49

“Hi!” said the girl, eagerly. She was dressed from head to toe in white linen, enthusiastically hugging her white clipboard, bouncing from one foot to the other. She reminded me instantly of a puppy I once had, only he licked his genitals continuously, and at that moment, she showed no sign of doing anything similar. Man I felt weird.“I’m sooo excited, I love showing new people around it’s just my fav thing to do ever!” she squealed, her voice escalating to a pitch that ended at a point that made me cover my ears.Was I dreaming? No. I’v...

6 comments 6
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“Sunny Day” by Alana Nagy

Submitted to Contest #49

“It’s pretty sunny today, don’t you think?”  She looked up from her phone, a tall man was staring at her. The first thought she had was that he couldn’t be here to look at the art gallery that was opening up right across the street. But there he was, waiting in line next to her.  He was scruffy, tall, and lanky looking. His shirt was wrinkled and undone, his boots were slightly covered in mud. He had a polite smile across his face.  She didn’t want to talk to him.  She looked up at the sky. It was sunny. “I guess,...

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“It Was Me” by Kathryn D

Submitted to Contest #49

Dear Lord, up there above, if you’re listening. Please give him strength and power and everything you can. Please let me take him home tonight.  “What’re you in for?” The man beside me murmured. We were the only two left, standing in the otherwise empty police station. I sat in my chair, hands clasped to my chest to keep it from shaking with worry. I knew my face was still, perhaps looking even expressionless, but it said nothing of the rampaging emotions in my mind.  “I’m waiting for someone.” I responded in a raspy voice, rubbi...

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“Upside Down” by 16 Shades Of Irony

Submitted to Contest #49

I puff out smoke from my cigarette. My partner nudges me in the direction of the men holding the guns. They are staring avidly at us. I shake my head in dismissal. He’s a new partner, doesn’t know how to loosen up. The slight, fidgety movements of his shaking hands and the rapid blinking reminded me of myself when I joined ten years ago. And maybe that’s why I told him things that I never had told anyone. “We’ll be standing around and waiting for a while. The other side always does that. Makes them think they are superior or something. I swe...

3 comments 3
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“Mr. Foster” by Farrah Leone

Submitted to Contest #49

An elderly man sits in the waiting room of Boston Hospital’s Oncological Unit with no one but the secretary. He stares blankly at the news that has been playing on loop for the entire day, but he has only gone through one cycle. He still squints at the television even through his corrective lenses, emphasizing the years seen through his wrinkles. His mouth is slightly ajar as if he was going to say something, but he never does. The door opens to enter a younger man, routinely squeezes some hand sanitizer into his hand, and s...

2 comments 2
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“Known Strangers” by Sahil Islam

Submitted to Contest #49

It's a certain station. A pretty girl just entered the ticket counter. She saw that there is a huge line of people in the counter. She was feeling sick as she just discharged from the hospital yesterday. She had an minor operation last week. There was a man in the last of the line. She fervently requested him to book a ticket for her as she is not feeling well. She told him the destination and gave him the money for the ticket. He said her to sit in the bench. After few minutes, the man came to her and handed her the ticket. The m...

2 comments 2
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“Gallows Humor” by Blisters Wournos

Submitted to Contest #49

They call it Gallows Humor.What do you call a man with minutes left to live?Condemned.What do you call a man with a rope around his neck and nothing under his feet?Executed.What do you call traitors awaiting execution in a small cell?In those last moments, friends.“Do you think we’ll win the war?” “Do you think reinforcements ever came?”How little the answers to these questions matter when nobody asking them will live to see the final battle.It is odd and feels insincere how one can mourn somebody who was a stranger only hours ago, but ...

1 comment 1
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“Waiting on a Dream” by Cara H

Submitted to Contest #49

Waiting on a Dream I The old house on the outskirts of the tiny town of Eagle, Vermont was a dream come true for Sabella Laaksonen. The seventy-year-old newly retired long-term care nurse had spent most of her life assisting others. She was now ready to take time for herself. Although the house had not been lived in since 1960, it had been kept in good condition by the family of the previous owner. The attic was full of wonderful old things, including books, dolls, and record albums. “You should take this crap over to that doll hospital and ...

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“Secret cuts” by Anuradha Dev

Submitted to Contest #49

I don't understand why these adults don't mind their own business. I mean, I know I should not have let a stupid kid pull me into an outrageous bet. But at the end of the day, it is my life that is on line, not theirs. Why do they care? Now I have been dragged to the school Headmistress office. As if she would magically fix everything wrong in my mind.  Sometimes I think, why is it so difficult for me to deal with these people, talk to them, let them speak to me as if I am retarded? Other kids do it just fine. And in the end, you ha...

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“Tiny Dancer” by Bruce Charles

Submitted to Contest #49

"Do you have what I told you to bring?" the magician asked. I nodded and handed him my phone. Playing on the device was a video of a little boy, laughing and smiling like he was having the time of his life. After all, it was his very own birthday party, and what can be more exciting as a kid? The magician nodded and handed the phone back to me. He closed his eyes and began muttering something under his breath, what I assumed was incantations. When he was done, his eyes suddenly opened, and I saw that they were glowing. As the glow faded,...

2 comments 2
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“Waiting For (GOD)ot” by Kelli Green

Submitted to Contest #49

Nora traded her pale yellow chiffon dress and white kitten heels for a pair of loose-fitting blue pants, and a pink t-shirt with little daisies around the collar. She slid her feet into a pair of slides and headed to the kitchen to grab her lunch and take it out on the porch. Once she got outside she took a minute to pull up the music library on her phone and press shuffle before settling in and unwrapping her sub. Nora ate and embraced the soft breeze as Nancy Wilson serenaded her with songs about love. As she finished her last few bites s...

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“Arriving” by Shawn Bills

Submitted to Contest #49

Susan suddenly opened her eyes and drew a deep breath. She quickly sat up and looked around. Nothing was familiar to her. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead. Her palms were clammy. She felt like it was the first time in a long time that she had inhaled, almost like it felt after diving into the deep end of a swim pool, then finally coming up for air. ‘When did I fall asleep? Where am I now? Why do I feel like I'm moving?’ her thoughts came in a quick succession. She was panicked. Her brain wanted answers now! She inhaled deeply....

3 comments 3
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