Write a story including the line “I can’t say it.”

Posted in Dialogue on Feb 16, 2024

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✍️ 56 stories

“The screamer” by Claire Trbovic

Submitted to Contest #238

Trains can be romantic, but not when the tit across from you is eating an egg sandwich. It’s part of an unwritten set of rules, you don’t talk, you don’t move, you certainly don’t bring fish or egg onboard for crying out loud. It’s like a church you know, if you wouldn’t do it in the Vatican you shouldn’t do it on a train. Think of it like a big metal confessional, trundling along the tracks of conformity to keep us all in our place.You know on average carriages have 66 seats? That’s 66 individuals who always seem to represent the careful mi...

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“The Boy with Frozen Wings” by Robert Egan

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #238

"You have my attention," says the Grand Assassin. "Who?" "He…" The boy drops his gaze to the Varos gold coin on the tavern's backroom table, his guarantee of safe audience, then looks back up at the man. The Grand Assassin's wrinkles and white hair may or may not be real, but the eyes are. Pinprick pupils caught in stillwater stare back at the boy. "I can't say it." "Have you heard the story of the little bird with the frozen wings?" the Grand Assassin asks. "Are there two birds and a stone in it?" "No, lad, it's the one about th...

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“Hammer Down” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #238

Warning: Sex, sex and more sexMay want to read "Alyce's Restaurant" firstUnabashed likeness to well-known plotHammer Down“Damn, that woman is pretty...”Drifter thought as he sipped his strong coffee and nibbled at his buttered toast. “Well, more like runway gorgeous...”He was hungrier but opted not to eat any of the fare offered at pudgy Alyce's greasy spoon after seeing his grimy apron. “No, much more wholesome and natural than that.” The coy waitress, Cassie, he was watching side-eyed him as she waited on another table. He sneaked a quick ...

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“Cece Spills ” by Chelsey B

Submitted to Contest #238

Cece rose with the sun. She bounded into her parents’ bedroom and leaped up on the bed. “Hi, Mommy!” she chirped. Cece pulled back the covers. She was confused to find that the bed was empty. Dad was probably at work, but where was Mom? “Mommy?” she called out. Cece jumped off the mattress and landed with a thud on the floor. She ran down the hallway. “Mom? MOOOOM!” she cried. Cece kicked the bathroom door open and peeked inside. “Mom?” she shouted again. Her voice echoed in the empty room. Cece heard a door open behind her. ...

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“A BAD CASE OF APOSIOPESIS” by Viga Boland

Submitted to Contest #238

What’s more confusing than Abbott and Costello with “Who’s on first.”? The Banters of course, especially when Martha comes down with a bad case of APOSIOPESIS! Matthew! It’s happened again!What’s happened again?I’m…er…stuck.Stuck? Stuck where? In traffic?In my…ah…In your car? In a …Bar?No…I can’t say it!Say what?What I’m trying to say.What are you trying to say?I don’t…um…For heavens sake, spit it out woman. What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?I wish…I wish…Wish what? I wish I had more…um…more…Money? We don’t need more money.No,...

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“The Biggest Shoes to Fill ” by Jubilee Forbess

Submitted to Contest #238

Maritza had quite the reputation around the taco truck, Tacos Andrés, that she frequented after work. It was hard not to, when her work uniform consisted of a brilliant pink pigtail wig, a multicolored tulle tutu, bright red nose, pink cheeks and eyelids, sparkling shirt, and a smile that lasted for hours as she beamed and twirled amidst children. As a clown, she had the opportunity to make many children (and their parents) smile and laugh at her silliness. Her bag was full of prizes and tricks, little blooming feather flowers and magic foam...

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“A Funny Romance” by David Newcombe

Submitted to Contest #238

A Funny Romance The coffee was by now too cold to drink. The scone seemed to be shrinking before his eyes, as it too, cooled rapidly whilst the jam and cream had developed a discernible patina after being exposed to the air for so long. How long had he sat here feeling so lost? He knew exactly where he was of course, it was the same café he visited at the same time every Saturday afternoon. Yet he felt as though his life had somehow reached an impasse, an insurmountable barrier. He was lost within himself. This was not his real self that sat...

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“Undying Devotion” by Karen Hope

Submitted to Contest #238

Lori plopped down in her desk chair, looking around at the walls of her cubicle. She remembered when she was first assigned this space three years ago. How excited she was to be hired as an investigative journalist at The Herald. Fresh out of journalism school, she’d had visions of solving great mysteries, changing the world, but that’s not how it worked. Much of her work was mundane stuff like investigating why a store was inflating its prices or why so many kids were suddenly absent from a school. Viral outbreak or something more sini...

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“Blue is your colour” by Lakshmy Bhaskar

Submitted to Contest #238

“It’s been three years.”He raises his eye-brows.“We started work on the same day - 3rd January 2021.”He nods.“Hey, thanks for the coffee, man,” I toss him an off-hand gratitude.Another nod. And a grunt.It has been this way for three years. Verbal versus non-verbal. I have not seen a young man in his mid-twenties look so ‘old’; if you know what I mean. His demeanour accentuates his overall looks. His baggy, crumpled shirt falls over his loose pants. I don’t think his pants have seen soap ever. I itch to tell him off. If I were his father I wo...

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“Between the Water and the Sand” by Maya Fremon

Submitted to Contest #238

The first thing I noticed about him was his name. Our first names started the same way. Our last names went off into two different directions as if they never even met. I never wanted his name like I wanted his haircut, but I wanted his approval as much as I wanted to dance with him. We were on a beach somewhere, he wouldn’t tell me what part of the country we were in, even though I didn’t like the sand. “Just take your shoes off,” he told me.“That doesn’t help”.He often had advice that sounded simpler than it was, as if my pr...

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“Sex in a Cup” by Rebecca Pearson

Submitted to Contest #238

Rosie and I agreed John Gray was so wrong. That’s because the best-selling author of ‘Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus’ had never met Ron. “Wait, he does your laundry for you?” Rosie squealed with wide-eyed disbelief while I whipped a cup of heavy cream with the confectioner’s sugar into stiff peaks. “He hates the way I fold clothes. Says I just wad them up.” Rosie had an incredulous look on her face, and, really, who could blame her? “I know, sounds cringey, like I ought to be ashamed of myself for no...

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“Georgia's Lies” by Charlie Waters

Submitted to Contest #238

Georgia was in the middle of her homeroom when the text came in... "Don't bother coming home, your stuff is on the curb."-Dad.Georgia already knew this was coming. Her father saw the story she submitted to her high school’s online newspaper and the feedback it got. She had written about an instance between them that didn’t exactly paint him in the best light. “Lanie’s FatherBy: Georgia WaltersLanie’s father had been pressuring her to move out and in with her high school boyfriend. Her stepmother’s sist...

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“Remnants ” by Isabella Zeman

Submitted to Contest #238

The boat scuffed the sandbar, ripples coiling under the moonlight. “This is it?” I asked as I took in the island in front of us. “This is it,” my best friend, Hesperos, confirmed, his golden hair appearing silvery in the darkness. “The cavern is up the mountain pass, we’ll have to walk a bit.” I dropped the anchor into the sapphire ocean as Hesperos jumped the short distance from the small boat to the sand below. I followed him, landing in the shallows of the beach, water reaching my ankles. This island was one of countless...

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“Commitment” by Ralph Aldrich

Submitted to Contest #238

Oscar is in his fishing boat on his favorite lake, watching his bobber bob up and down in the sun’s glare. Light dapples across his face as a soft breeze tosses the few strands of his balding head. Suddenly, he feels a sharp pain in his side. He is snapped awake. Dolores’s bony elbow has hit him hard in the ribs. She hisses, “Oscar, wake up! You’re in church!”Oscar grumbles back, “I’m not sleeping. I’m listening.”“Yeah? Well, your eyes were closed!” Oscar lifts his chin defiantly, “...

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“The Golden Apple.......” by Julie Grenness

Submitted to Contest #238

In his nostalgic moments, as his life passed by, Marty often looked back on some of his life-changing moments. One golden memory was when Marty first told anyone he was gay. Directed by their mother, who had said, "You're reading too many books, go for a walk," Marty and his older sister had walked for a sunny afternoon of fresh air. Taking their library books under their arms, Marty and Louisa had sauntered into a neighboring orchard. There were no fences, the fruit trees overladen with ripened apples had all been earmarked for a housing de...

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Write a story including the line “I can’t say it.”

Submissions are closed

✍️ 56 stories

“The screamer” by Claire Trbovic

“The Boy with Frozen Wings” by Robert Egan

“Hammer Down” by Mary Bendickson

“Cece Spills ” by Chelsey B

“A BAD CASE OF APOSIOPESIS” by Viga Boland

“The Biggest Shoes to Fill ” by Jubilee Forbess

“A Funny Romance” by David Newcombe

“Undying Devotion” by Karen Hope

“Blue is your colour” by Lakshmy Bhaskar

“Between the Water and the Sand” by Maya Fremon

“Sex in a Cup” by Rebecca Pearson

“Georgia's Lies” by Charlie Waters

“Remnants ” by Isabella Zeman

“Commitment” by Ralph Aldrich

“The Golden Apple.......” by Julie Grenness

🌟 Similar prompts

Start or finish your story with a speaker unable to finish their sentence, perhaps overcome by emotion.

Write a story in which a conversation takes place where the true subject is only implied.

Write a story in which an important message is cut off, leaving characters to wonder or puzzle out what was left unsaid.

Set your story at a silent retreat.

Contest #238

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

280

Contest entries

98

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: