Center your story around a character who’s afraid of being forgotten.

Posted in Dramatic on Jan 17, 2025

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✍️ 77 stories

“The Big Black Void” by Reese Blaise

Submitted to Contest #286

“Do things look any different to you?” I asked Charlotte, but she ignored me. Adam, our twelve-year-old, had a diorama due the next day, and Charlotte was busy gluing plastic dinosaurs into a shoebox. I didn’t realize kids still made dioramas, I thought it was only something you see in movies. Adam for his part was busy in the family room playing video games. “Do things look any different to you?” I asked again, picking up a blue stegosaurus. It was wet. “I just painted that,” Charlotte snapped, snatching it out of my hand. “Don’t forget we ...

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“Dandelion Girl” by Hal Perry

Submitted to Contest #286

West 7th street stretched off Hoover, a block north of where the Stratford Hotel held court over the Koreatown neighborhood, right before the Winchell’s, which anchored the shopping plaza on the corner and welcomed motorists and pedestrians alike to Heidi’s Los Angeles ‘ville, a canvas of black asphalt, faded green and blue buildings, and worn red, yellow, and orange tarps over decrepit tents baking in the harsh sun as a single cloud hovered overhead, mocking the glare with it’s promise of paltry shade. Heidi sighed while waiting for an oppo...

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“The City That Never Sleeps” by CRX SSXS

Submitted to Contest #286

TW: Alcohol Use, Some Profanity, BloodManhattan.Dark tenements loom like jagged teeth, tattooed with gang affiliations. Hollow-eyed black windows reflect the void. Garbage and urine scented air, with a whiff of street food—greasy and burnt—fills my nose. Sirens of emergency vehicles, honking from taxis, footsteps and disputes, hollow laughter, and the occasional gunfire filter through my ears. A harmonious cacophony. A tang of rot and copper lingers on the back of my tongue, like a green penny. The sharp wind cuts at my skin like a thousand ...

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“In Time” by Bella F

Submitted to Contest #286

I try every day not to lag behind, get lost, left out, or forgotten. For my whole life, I have searched for more, something grander than my current existence in this world. I attend school every day, waiting for some greatness to happen. Daydreams of every possibility, such as being captured from school for a great adventure, reclaiming the land for my people, and being written into the history books as a hero. I envision this as a reality through my writing. I am a soon-to-be-famous writer. I can see thousands reading my words, ...

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“Forget me not” by Lou Jayne

Submitted to Contest #286

Forget Me Not “I believe you have Athazagoraphobia Latisha”“What does that mean?”“You have an irrational fear of being forgotten, ignored or overlooked”“Oh, so why does it have such a strange name? Wouldn’t ‘forget me not’ phobia be a better one?” “Well it originates from the Greek words "athazagoros," which means "forgotten," and "Phobos," meaning fear. Therefore its literal translation is ‘forgotten fear’, so it is a perfectly correct name for your extreme fear”“I see, so how do I get rid of it?”“It will take a 3 pronged approach of ...

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“The Death of Dave’s Father” by Ian Walker

Submitted to Contest #286

“I’ll never forget the days in the backyard playing catch with him, or the times we spent in the car on the way to school. It was such a long drive, but we always found a way to fill the time,” the speaker, a moderately tall man in an ill-fitted black suit, took a painfully deep breath to try and hide the shakiness in his voice. Oh, Dave. I can feel the pangs of sadness in my chest as I watch you suffer through this. The pain entered and left my husband’s eyes as he mustered up the courage to continue speaking at his father’s funeral. “...

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“Let Me Get What I Want ” by Lewis Mc Cahill

Submitted to Contest #286

-> We don’t have much time left, Maisie. Sitting in the cold glow of her laptop screen, Maisie wiped the tears from her eyes as she raced to think of what to say to Tommy. It had started months ago. As a teaching assistant, she’d been overwhelmed by the number of assignments and reports she needed to grade, give feedback on, and critique for all of her students. Her tenured supervisor was next to useless, knowing that Maisie would pick up all the work in the hope of keeping her job and reaching the same position of safety and comfor...

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“The songs of the rainforest” by Catalina Felix

Submitted to Contest #286

I had to see it again. I had to see my home one more time, its beauty and splendor, without having the noises of those I love around me, without explaining every little detail or answering every question I may or may not have an answer to. Don't get me wrong, I love them. I love them so much that I call them my home, but this is my true land: "Mi Tierra" mi "Borinquen." I continued sneaking off through the rainforest. A few minutes would not hurt. There were so many people on this excursion that they would not notice I was gone for jus...

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“Gundle's Joy” by Steve Mowles

Submitted to Contest #286

My friend, Gundle, was real/not real but still more fun than anyone else I knew. We met when Dad and I moved to Westside. On our first day in the new house dad saw me crying in my bedroom and sat down next to me.“What’s the matter, Jamie?”“I miss mom, I wish she was here with us.”Dad stared at the picture of the three of us that was next to my bed.“I miss her too, keep praying she will get better and join us. She is doing the right thing getting help. When she comes back we can have some more adventures. Meanwhile, it’s me and you, and ...

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“The Lady in the Attic” by Caitlyn Cavanaugh

Submitted to Contest #286

This story contains sensitive content: antiquated discussion of mental health, confinement, emotional abuse and allusions to self harm. Dear friend, I have been given a treasure. Grace left a stub of pencil for me. I admit it may have fallen from her pocket, but I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. It has been so long since I have written that I’m half surprised I remember how. You may wonder at this, a gentlewoman who has almost forgotten to write, but I promise I am not such a poor correspondent intentionally. It is a matter of ...

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“Island” by Henry Ramos Acosta

Submitted to Contest #286

The sand on my face burned, the sounds of the waves pierced my ears and the desperation in my heart by the second grew stronger while my hope faded away. When I was lost at sea, I was hopeful that having found an island I would have a sliver of a chance to be found. I’ve been here 13 years now. Nobody was ever going to come looking for me. Not my ex-wife. Not my kids. My mother hated me. My father, the only man who could have empathized, was long gone. As I wish I was. Make my family’s–what’s left of them–dreams come true. It’d be bett...

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“Messages for Tomorrow” by Kaeyllane Dias

Submitted to Contest #286

The diagnosis paper trembled in Eduardo Ruiz's hands as he pressed record on his phone in his small Phoenix apartment. Since moving from Guadalajara five years ago to be closer to his family, he'd never quite adjusted to the Arizona nights. "Number three-hundred and forty-two," he whispered, the digital clock burning 3:47 AM into the darkness. Six months, the doctor had said. Maybe less. Each recording now felt like a race against time. "Mis queridos nietos, today I will teach you how your abuela made her famous churros..." His voice cracked...

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“The "Second Home"” by Randy Rose

Submitted to Contest #286

There's a heavy feeling in my chest as I dream about memories that have now dented my shoulders and have ridden me with back pain. I finally make myself open my eyes, as they adjust onto the empty ceiling. Sunlight seeps through my thin curtains as if the sun wants me to keep going. So, I roll over in a heave and pry myself up as the bed creaks. I slowly scoot over to the edge and my eyes stay glued to the floor. I slowly move my head up to face the wall in front of me and then to my nightstand where my glasses sit on top of. I go to pick th...

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“The forgotten keys” by Noel Guru

Submitted to Contest #286

The house was dark. The silence was deafening. The darkness slowly faded as the sun rose and let its ray peek through the window curtains and lit the room up. And the silence was replaced with birds chirping outside as the study room door creaked open. Another day came by, and I was hoping that today might be the day someone would come and take care of me.“Good morning,” I heard a voice call out. It was the husband as he walked into the room.“Good morning, baby,” a voice replied. It was his wife as she headed into the kitchen. He sat on his ...

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“To Die For” by Chloe T

Submitted to Contest #286

Skin. From the epidermis, all the way to the glands, oils, and nerves. Elasticity was a must, which can only be achieved by splurging on $400 caviar-based creams, formulated with collagen and vitamin C for a fuller look. Being a New York socialite meant massaging and rolling and icing and doing everything humanly possible to escape an inevitable death—aging. The passing of a woman could either be marked by having her firstborn, the first silver strand in a once luscious mane, or when her ruddy complexion starts to mutilate and droop into a m...

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Center your story around a character who’s afraid of being forgotten.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 77 stories

“The Big Black Void” by Reese Blaise

“Dandelion Girl” by Hal Perry

“The City That Never Sleeps” by CRX SSXS

“In Time” by Bella F

“Forget me not” by Lou Jayne

“The Death of Dave’s Father” by Ian Walker

“Let Me Get What I Want ” by Lewis Mc Cahill

“The songs of the rainforest” by Catalina Felix

“Gundle's Joy” by Steve Mowles

“The Lady in the Attic” by Caitlyn Cavanaugh

“Island” by Henry Ramos Acosta

“Messages for Tomorrow” by Kaeyllane Dias

“The "Second Home"” by Randy Rose

“The forgotten keys” by Noel Guru

“To Die For” by Chloe T

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about someone who must fit their entire life in a single suitcase.

Center your story around a character who’s struggling to let go.

Write a story about a cherished heirloom that has journeyed through multiple generations.

Write a story with the line “You never know a good thing until it’s gone.”

Contest #286

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

368

Contest entries

146

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: