Menu

Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog
Directory
Contests
Magazine
FAQ

Write a story that includes the line, "Is nobody going to say it?".

Posted in Dialogue on Jul 12, 2024

Submissions are closed

Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy account.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or use an email address:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 81 stories

Where's the Elephant?

Submitted to Contest #259

Where's the Elephant?Barry ambled across the park-like grounds of the facility and pulled on the long brass handle to the double doors of the low stacked stone building with the thick columns to make his entrance. He was met by a uniformed personnel member bustling about performing her duties. “Excuse me, I'm look...” “About time you got here. You're running late. If you want to work here you gotta learn to be on time.“ The worker, 'Buffy' according to her name tag, chastised the new hire. “Grab a bucket and mop from that closet and join in....

35 likes 45 comments 45
Read story

Miracle for a Horse Named Ginger at the Mystical Coast

Submitted to Contest #259

The ocean was flat and calm. The sun was down. The afterglow was orange. The air was still.It was a beautiful evening. It was a terrible evening. It was the day of the accident. It was the day of the miracles.The lighthouse beacon rotated across the shores and the sea, flashing on the scene at the lighthouse keeper's barn near the house. Twelve-year-old Elsie kneeled next to the little red filly, Ginger. Still only a five-month-old foal, Ginger was sprawled on the ground with her long legs folded, in the corral near the lighthouse....

29 likes 35 comments 35
Read story

Team Meeting | 10 AM - 1hr

Shortlisted for Contest #259 ⭐️

“Happy Monday everyone,” Suzanne burbled. Emma used a good deal of restraint and avoided rolling her eyes. A small victory. Her poker face was getting better.  “Now, everyone got the agenda. So first up, we have some housekeeping items. First, congratulations to Melinda, on her six-year work anniversary!”Emma dutifully hit the applause reaction button. Then the “celebration” reaction button. Then, finally, the “heart” reaction button. She watched as everyone else hit various reaction buttons.  Poor Melinda. Six years was a long tim...

27 likes 22 comments 22
Read story

An Inconvenient Grief

Submitted to Contest #259

December 24, 2003She draws me to her small chest, her sinewy arms closing around me, wrapping us in faux seclusion. I’m drowning in the scent of her cloying perfume. “Would it kill you to be a little more social? People are going to think you are rude!” She says with a smile that could shatter teeth. She takes another sip from her flute of water. For her, “water” consists of one part water, and three parts gin.Oh no, I might appear rude!? As if that would be the most horrific thing ever! ...

23 likes 23 comments 23
Read story

Hey, Valerie!

Submitted to Contest #259

If you could say only one word for the rest of your life, what would it be?Months after the car accident, Martha came up with a story to help explain my condition. She said that the day I fell into a coma, Death announced itself to me in dreams. Death stood up close to my face. His hollow eyes stared right into my soul and said “Beg for your pathetic life, human,” to which I replied with a shivering voice:“Hey”A greeting, afraid of causing the wrong first impression on such an esteemed, omnipotent being. Death, frustrated by my politeness to...

18 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

The Runaway

Submitted to Contest #259

I wasn’t thinking straight, but I didn’t much care. I had been up all night and was beyond exhausted. My body craved for sleep as I boarded the early morning train. As much as my body yearned - no, ached - for slumber, I dared not give in to it. For then, yesterday would come back to haunt me. That was a nightmare I wasn’t willing to have, at least not yet. My muscles, my joints screamed at me, begging me to utilize one of the vacant seats. But I stood. Every bump on the train stabbed me in the back. Every ...

17 likes 9 comments 9
Read story

The Things We Cannot Say

Shortlisted for Contest #259 ⭐️

Is nobody going to say it? But I’m not brave enough to let the words pounding in my head cross my lips. My mom puffs on her cigarette, oxygen cannulas shoved upher nose, while her brand-new concentrator hums along with the cicadas. A monthin the hospital—four long touch and go weeks, one emergency surgery and thewords “stage four lung cancer.”  Yet, here she sits, as if nothing has changed. Old habits die hard, I guess. Her nightgown hangs loose around her from the weight she lost during her hospital stay. She blames it on the quality o...

14 likes 6 comments 6
Read story

Elephant Party

Submitted to Contest #259

Dylan loved baby elephants. I try to keep this in mind as I picture my old roommate Miles bursting through the door, then making everything about him. I’ll focus on the elephants. We’ve all had that friend–the one we were inseparable from in school, but as the years go past, find ourselves drifting away from, until one day, we wonder why we were ever friends in the first place. For me, that friend is Miles. I feel a gentle squeeze on my arm and turn to see Clara, my wife. “It’s Dylan's day today,” she murmurs. Her eyes sparkle...

14 likes 10 comments 10
Read story

Anything but Evident

Submitted to Contest #259

Author’s note: This story is a sequel to Anything but Elementary.***Trigger Warning*** contains discussion about eating disorders Rhett watched as Tricia pushed her food around on her plate. Every now and then she would bring a minuscule bite to her mouth. “Tricia, stop playing with your food and eat it.” He nudged her. His lightheartedness masked his concern. “I am eating.” Tricia said rolling her eyes. She took a forkful of food and shoved it into her mouth.     In contrast to Tricia, Rhett cou...

13 likes 12 comments 12
Read story

Moon Mad

Submitted to Contest #259

Vivian Caninus stomped forward. Her eyes were ravenous. Jamie trembled in her chair, dropped the iPhone on the table, and raised her hands above her head. She did this because that’s what she saw people in Netflix shows do. She’d also seen actors put their phones on silent and hit the emergency button, calling out to 911.  “Think you can just waltz into my home and make a fool of me and my boy?!” Vivian yelled at Jamie, who was eyeing her iPhone on the table.  “Is nobody going say it?” Jamie asked, seeing that Vivian was sta...

11 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Formosa: Only White, No Red

Submitted to Contest #259

08.08.1949 (Mon) A stranger was in our living room when I came home from school today. Auntie A-Mei told me he is the youngest son of a government official, “Your Father owe his Father big time, that why he here now.” She told me. I didn't understand what she meant until dinner time when Father announced at the table that Shi-Xing, the stranger's name, was going to stay with us for a while. He is taking a break from university, and his Father has decided that he needs some time to unwind and relax in the countryside. “A-Xing,” Father seemed...

10 likes 12 comments 12
Read story

The Fates

Submitted to Contest #259

Death was a long suffering individual. To most of humanity that was probably thought well deserved: the longer the better in their undoubtedly biassed opinion. Death was acutely aware of this and it didn’t do much for his mien. Even an immortal with a soul as dark as Death has feelings. He also had sisters, which went a long way towards explaining his black moods. Anyone who has triplet siblings who not only look alike but finish each other’s sentences - and all too often his own - can be excused for feeling a tad liverish at times.He took o...

10 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

Sunset Whispers

Submitted to Contest #259

 As the sun dipped below the horizon, I leaned back on the warm sand, my head nestled against Alex's shoulder. Stars twinkled above us, and the ocean rippled softly under the moonlight. Silence had become a soothing presence between us.  "Is nobody going to say it?" I broke the tranquil quiet, my voice barely more than a whisper.  Alex chuckled softly, his breath warm in the cooling air. He glanced down at me, eyebrows arched in curiosity. "Say what, Maya?" he asked gently.  A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips ...

10 likes 6 comments 6
Read story

That Night

Submitted to Contest #259

I wake up in an argument between my boyfriend (Camden) and my bestie (Cassandra), aka Cassy or Cass.  “This is all your fault; if you wouldn’t let her go out when she is mad at you, she does stupid stuff, like leave the apartment mad.” “My fault! This is so stupid; it's your fault. You are always with her; she goes to you when we fight.”.  "This is so dumb. I’m tired of you always saying I’m always with her. But you should have yelled, and she would have gotten hurt.”.  “THIS IS SO DUMB, THAT’S WHAT YOU THINK!”! “Guys, will y...

10 likes 3 comments 3
Read story

I Really Thought I Didn’t Have A Choice

Submitted to Contest #259

This story contains mentions of mental illness, suicide. and homosexuality. Walter sat slumped in his seat, not very aware of anyone. He kept thinking about his uncle, his uncle who he was named for. The uncle he'd told twenty years ago that he would never again have any contact with him. He smiled as the picture of his uncle's supposed sorrow as he'd told him that he'd never again acknowledge him came to mind. Clearly, he either didn't understand why or did and chose to ignore the validity of his nephew's decision. Why then, he asked himsel...

9 likes 9 comments 9
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about two people who aren't admitting their true feelings for one another, despite it being obvious to outsiders.

Romance – 57 stories

Place your characters in a tough situation, where nobody wants to acknowledge the reality of what's happening.

Angst – 82 stories

In a small town, a powerful family have a dark secret that nobody wants to discuss. One day, an outsider arrives, who's not happy to simply drop it.

Mystery – 46 stories

Set your story in a world where conversation about one particular topic is banned — but there are ways to get around the rule.

Dystopian – 25 stories

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

How to Write a Novel