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Start or end your story with someone receiving a strange — and possibly sinister — gift.

Posted in Dramatic on Dec 13, 2024

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✍️ 53 stories

Christmas Chameleon

Submitted to Contest #281

I hung my keys on the third hook, my coat on the third peg, and plopped my tushy on the third sofa cushion from the door, like always. That's my life - pathetically predictable.I wouldn't want there to be any misunderstanding. I have no problem with predictability. I'd be happy as long as it gave me enough to pay bills, rent a larger apartment, and occasionally buy something nice. But, no! Unfortunately, it turned out to be more like a deadbeat dad. But what can I do? I don't have any control over it.I hadn't realized it was Christmas E...

54 likes 41 comments 41
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A Rare Gift for Christmas

Submitted to Contest #281

My six-year-old daughter, Mandy, and I were doing some last-minute Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve. She had been well behaved all day as we gal-palled around the mall. I just had one last stop to make before leaving. I wanted to check a department store for a shirt for my mom.I only looked away long enough to compare two articles of clothing. That’s all the time it took for her to disappear. I knew better. I knew how she was, just as all kids are. The ornate tree, the twinkling lights, a toy train delivering presents around the bottom of...

51 likes 24 comments 24
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Dark Black Stone

Submitted to Contest #281

In April of 1919, shortly after the end of World War One, Colonel James Forrest Cain of the Royal West African Frontier Force was stationed in Cameroon for a period of one year, which might be extended depending on the prevailing conditions in the territory at that time. He was to serve as the commanding officer of a garrison of 200 soldiers stationed at Douala, a port city where the river Wourri pours out into the Atlantic Ocean. There was some social unrest but no major uprisings during Cain’s term there so he was able to spend much o...

26 likes 33 comments 33
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Onset

Submitted to Contest #281

“Creepy.” EmilieCoggins’ tone was flat, which means little in isolation. But as our “eyes” met, I registered an incongruity. I was new at this, indeed new at everything, and I logged it for further consideration as I developed a viable baseline. Incongruities may signal systemic anomalies, anomalies systemic dysfunction, and dysfunction the potential for systemwide malfunction and, without intervention, eventual breakdown.Until you factor in adolescence. Or onset adolescence.“I think it’s adorable.” SherylCoggins’ voice, on the other hand, w...

21 likes 12 comments 12
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Globe

Submitted to Contest #281

Please, please come in. You can put your coat on the stand by the door.Would you like some coffee or tea? I have a kettle that is electric and they tell me that things are better when life goes faster. I'm not sure.Okay, I was expecting you earlier, but that does not matter. I seem to have more than a day to finish everything before they pack up my life and forget about me.No, I don’t mean you. I called you for a reason.They are not taking everything, you know. I decided a long time ago to make sure that certain things would not just disappe...

21 likes 20 comments 20
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History Thaws

Submitted to Contest #281

Nils stared uncomprehending at the hide-wrapped bundle at his feet.He could feel a part of him – the cold, rational pilot that sat behind his monkey brain – noting that the tip of his nose and the ends of his fingers were already getting frost-nipped. He knew exactly, exactly ¸what he should be doing: close the door, seal the thermal edges, get in front of one of the great heaters, or better yet the central furnace, and warm his core and his extremities. He should get help from one of the others – he could hear Katinka in the kitchen, never ...

12 likes 3 comments 3
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Tambourines

Submitted to Contest #281

"I am trying to get myself to a place of ease and a working environment that benefits everyone here, but I can only look, at my face in the mirror and say," "who is that?" Knocking on the door, there was a pause in the room, the conversation stopped, and all eyes were on the door."Uh", there was a brief shuffling of papers and the women's group dismantled, all eyes peering, hoping for a chance to glimpse the 'intruder' through the peephole. The guilty party was hooded, had a knapsack, a mystery box, and looked to be about 12 years old!Brady,...

11 likes 4 comments 4
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Secret Santa

Submitted to Contest #281

The gift looked innocent enough, wrapped in shiny red paper with a gold bow. But Kyle had been working at the Bureau long enough to be alarmed by the sight of it when he stepped out of the elevator on Monday morning. “This office doesn’t happen to have a Secret Santa program, does it?” he joked hopefully to his desk mate Rose, who had happened to be walking into the building at the same time as him that day.  “No,” she said. “And this place is on lockdown over the weekend. There’s no way someone could have gotten in to leave something l...

11 likes 6 comments 6
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The Sweater of Shadows

Submitted to Contest #281

Paige Turner sat alone in her dimly lit living room, the flickering light of a single lamp casting long shadows that danced across the walls. Outside, the wind howled like a banshee, rattling the windows and echoing the emptiness she felt deep within her heart. The holidays were a time for joy, laughter, and togetherness, but for Paige, they were a reminder of her solitude. Friends had drifted away, family gatherings had become a distant memory, and the cheerful festivities felt like a cruel joke. As she curled up on the worn couch, wrapped ...

11 likes 2 comments 2
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Sleigh bells ring, Are ya listenin'?

Submitted to Contest #281

The gift sat under the tree like a goddamn joke. Daniel hadn’t expected anything, not really. The last few months had been a string of increasingly petty fights, the final one a bitter, drawn-out thing that ended with Megan packing a suitcase and walking out. She said she needed space, but Daniel knew what it meant. She was done. He was a wreck, and he knew it. And yet, there it was—this box, wrapped in thick red paper, a festive bow tied haphazardly at the top, like some cruel prank. “From Megan,” it said, scrawled in hurried black marker....

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Christmas Craving

Submitted to Contest #281

TW: Physical violence, gore, drugs, self-harm, adult themes, sexual situationsDetective Harding arrived at Sam Bristletons house three weeks after Christmas. He got a call from Sam’s ex-wife, Dawn, that she hasn’t seen Sam in weeks and that she isn’t answering her phone calls, and Dawn is a mess.Being Dawn’s friend for years, Harding agreed to check in on Sam for her. He knew tye problems they had, Sam's drinking, so checking on her felt like the least he could do for them.Harding had to bash the door in with his foot. When he stepped inside...

10 likes 3 comments 3
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Technomancer 3: The Gift of a Life

Submitted to Contest #281

Will we make it? Was this really the best idea? Leron wondered, wiping thick beads of sweat from his brow. The sandy, grass-covered mountains towered above him on either side and the sun beat down from the sky, causing the people around him to stumble on the asphalt while they worked their way through the pass towards Texas. Far behind him, the squeak of roughly constructed carts and the occasional cry from someone who had decided to give up, before someone else encouraged them onwards.The gift of life his parents had given many of these peo...

10 likes 3 comments 3
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What Constitutes a Christmas Trifle

Submitted to Contest #281

*** A continuation of the Talk of the Devil series. Like the others, it can also be read as a standalone piece ***Come on, stop it now, Sue and sit down. You’re doing yourself no favours, all frazzle and fluster…Frazzle and fluster? Oh, frazzle and fluster alright… Frazzle and fluster like a cartoon caper, Frazzle and Fluster and Stuff It Up Sue Strikes Again…Sue, please… I said I’ll help you clean up in a bit, once all the kids are away.Alright, Helen, I hear you, but would you just take a look at this… This pigsty… Three mince pies on one ...

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The Sweet Spot

Submitted to Contest #281

"Happy Birthday, Mack.""Thanks, Dad.""Since you're 21, I wanted to give you something you'd enjoy. I rented a cabin for you on a lake where there may or may not be other campers for a week.""No way! That's awesome. Thanks, Dad.""It's just for you. Nobody else. Understand?""Sure. Got it.""Okay. The map and the keys are in the glove box of the Jeep. I've also packed some groceries and drinks.""What? I'm leaving now.""Yup. See you next week; bye and enjoy.""Okay then. Thanks again, bye."Mack blasted his music to Lake Wannogonkin, which must hav...

9 likes 2 comments 2
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the box

Submitted to Contest #281

It was a dreary Tuesday afternoon when the mysterious package appeared on my porch. I had just returned from running errands and I was so puzzled when I saw the package sitting on my doorstep waiting for me. I picked it up and examined it closely. There was no name, no label, only a note that read, "Do not open for 14 days. "  I scrunched up my forehead, feeling totally puzzled. Who could have left this package for me? And why did I have to wait two weeks to open it? My curiosity piqued, I brought the box inside and set it on my dining...

9 likes 1 comment 1
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