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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✍️ 54 stories

“The Missing pieces” by Natacha Neves

Submitted to Contest #281

Title: The Missing Pieces The package arrived on a gloomy Tuesday. It was small enough to fit in her mailbox.Rain streaked the windowpane as Clara turned the cardboard box over in her hands. There was no return address, just her name in a tidy, cursive script that felt unnervingly familiar. Inside, hidden in white tissue paper, a lock of daek brown hair, with ashy blonde hughlights was tied with a red ribbon. She froze, her breath caught somewhere between disbelief and dread. The color, the texture. it was unmistakably hers. She ran her fing...

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“Murder Mayhem” by Aubrey Gabriel

Submitted to Contest #281

“There’s Mr. Garza. I wonder what he’s doing out so late at night.” David spoke in barely a whisper, but a chill still ran down my spine. Stacy shivered deeper into her coat. Even though it was only thirty-one degrees inside the open-walled tree house and our breaths puffed in the air, I knew the weather wasn’t the cause of our discomfort. It was the man. His name was Fernando Garza, and he’d lived next door to m...

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“WATCH OUT” by Robyn Little

Submitted to Contest #281

Only one person gets into the grotto, every year. The village of Kringle looked forward to The Toymaker’s visit every year. His generosity, talent, and encouragement to the young urged them to demonstrate their inventions, with one selected to visit the Toymaker’s workshop. The whole of Kringle turned out to witness the event, stands selling hot cider and warm mash, hawking tree ornaments and nutcrackers, a bonfire was set up and the mayor would give a speech about Kringle and The Toymaker’s history. The children who were not sel...

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“Mail Order Bride” by Tom Mollica

Submitted to Contest #281

Tom Mollicatom@studiotommy.com 414-383-3886 Mail Order Bride Bob put a Hungry Harold Salisbury Steak dinner in the microwave and set the timer for three minutes. Ten seconds later, the doorbell rang. Bob sighed and hoped it wasn’t any of his friends showing up unexpectedly and interrupt his lunch. Opening the front door, a female ITS (International Trucking Service) delivery driver stood outside with a big box on a wheeled dolly. “I have a delivery for Bob Gronkle.” “I don’t remember ordering anything – especially something this big.” The d...

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“White Elephant” by Levi Michael

Submitted to Contest #281

white elephant/,(h)wīd ‘elaf(ə)nt/ nounA possession that is useless or troublesome, especially one that is expensive to maintain or difficult to dispose of. They both stared down at the box, the snow scrolling uncannily to the ground as if in a vacuum, falling on the shallow drifts that glowed iridescently under a cloudless sky and full moon beyond the rails of the porch. The box, a nearly perfect cube about the size of a big basketball, was neatly wrapped in red and gold and white paper, an ornate Damascus pattern. The lid independen...

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“Beneath the Bitter Roots” by Laya Alix

Submitted to Contest #281

Nico stared in confusion at the small vial of black powder in his trembling hand, turning it over in the dim light. Then he looked at the crumpled sheet of paper shoved in his other hand. “It is the gift of life. You must keep it safe, especially from the doctor.” He nodded slowly as he looked up, meeting the Herbalist’s gaze. She smiled back at him with a hint of sadness on her face. “They will come for it. When the others need it, you will know what to do. Now go! There is no time.” With a final, lingering glance Nico slipped into the d...

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“DON'T TOUCH THAT BOX!” by Frances Goulart

Submitted to Contest #281

DON’T TOUCH THAT BOX! It just appeared there yesterday. That was the morning I got up and found “it” on my doorstep. Lets call it “it”. Let’s not allow “ it “ to get away with sounding innocuous or provocative or inviting or anything like that, by my calling it “the box”, or worse, “my box” ’. It is not my box! To my way of thinking, the Unknown is often synonymous with the unsavoryMaybe that is the case here. Okay, it isn’t like it is a corpse or a dead skunk or strewn garbage lhying there. No...

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“Timeminders” by Julija Veljkovic

Submitted to Contest #281

You know that feeling when one thought opens a door, leading into a maze of rooms and side doors until you’re in an echo chamber, sifting through the muck of time and brain matter? Kind of like when you do crack. Your mind spins and whines like tangled-up bedsheets in a washing machine. This is that moment. I am spiralling and stop to catch my breath. The roar and splash of the waves bring me back to my skin, and I suck in a lungful of brine and sea salt particles. I am the Ocean itself, a raging mass of energy that smashes its way through l...

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“Sticks and Stones” by Rado Randriamamonjy

Submitted to Contest #281

When Leika was a girl, her mother used to call Leika her "Baby Barnacle". Everywhere her mother went, there was Leika, attached like a fifth appendage, a bouncing shadow in her mother's wake.Before Leika was old enough to enter school, she and her mother would go out to the yard, with Leika draped around her mother's back, like a tiny turtle shell, and they would while away warm, summer days chasing Monarchs, as the insects migrated south across Western Massachusetts.The "Moppy Game" was also a favorite, as she would sometimes recall, a past...

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“The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Cassandra Hohm

Submitted to Contest #281

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. The music played over the loudspeaker as she ran her hand over the pre-packaged gift sets that lined the shelves of the retail shop. A few of her fingertips showed through her worn red and green patterned gloves. With the kids jingle-belling, and everyone telling you, “Be of good cheer!” She reached the end of the aisle and peered around the corner, letting her red and white striped scarf swing forward from her dark brown corduroy coat. Despite its worn appearance and the navy ...

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“Box” by Karen Gregory

Submitted to Contest #281

It arrived amongst the junk mail and bank statements. It arrived unmarked and unassuming four days before Christmas. It’s been sitting on my kitchen table for three days. I haven’t opened it. There’s no postage on the brown packaging. It doesn’t even bear my name. I’m still not sure its meant for me. The package was surprisingly heavy, and when I picked it up off my front step, it felt as if it was unwilling to be suspended. As if gravity refused to let this particular item go airborne without a fight. I heaved it onto the table and put my ...

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“The Second Sleigh” by S. L. Potts

Submitted to Contest #281

“Get a move on, pipsqueak.” The hoarse voice came from Belsnickel, towering over me. He grabbed the sack and threw it over his shoulder like it was filled with stuffed animals. I could barely drag it from where I’d been dropped off at the outskirts of the village. The shallow gully formed from dragging the sack faded in the white of the landscape only a few feet behind me. Belsnickel could have helped me and I’d have been set to go in a fraction of the time, but he never would do that. “Time’s a wastin’.”From the comfort of the workshop, we ...

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“What’s Your Type?” by Artemis Montgomary

Submitted to Contest #281

The following story makes references to drugs and alcohol use. It was the shiver that made her eyes focus on the woman. It was just before midnight, and the drinks had been flowing for hours. The harsh stench of alcohol permeated the room. Naomi was past the line of being buzzed. The warmth was coursing through her body. The majority of the party had moved into the garage, which doubled as a smoking area, and the few stragglers who remained in the living room were caught in circling stories about other nights o...

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“Mia & Mistletoe ” by Miguel Vazquez

Submitted to Contest #281

Mia was examining herself in the bathroom mirror of her high school. Rearranging her plaid headband till she was sure no hair stuck out. Tightening her belt so that her skirt and shirt didn’t feel too loose. ‘Loose clothes are baggy clothes and baggy clothes never look good.’ After several minutes, nearly half an hour, Mia looked to the mirror content with herself. Smiling at how beautiful she was. How lovely she made herself. The illusion broke with the sound of approaching small chatter. Mia flinched and found herself looking around ...

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“The Perfumery” by Salacious Salamander

Submitted to Contest #281

When I was young, it always amazed me how effortless my Dad’s life seemed. I remember we’d go for long hikes in the woods, on those mornings I’d walk downstairs to see him making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the trail. I never saw him pack anything else, but somehow our bags were always ready for us. Dad loved adventures, and that meant going off path. When we inevitably got lost, I’d miraculously find homemade trail mix, a flashlight, and a map in my kit. On our way back Dad would pick wildflowers for...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 54 stories

“The Missing pieces” by Natacha Neves

“Murder Mayhem” by Aubrey Gabriel

“WATCH OUT” by Robyn Little

“Mail Order Bride” by Tom Mollica

“White Elephant” by Levi Michael

“Beneath the Bitter Roots” by Laya Alix

“DON'T TOUCH THAT BOX!” by Frances Goulart

“Timeminders” by Julija Veljkovic

“Sticks and Stones” by Rado Randriamamonjy

“The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Cassandra Hohm

“Box” by Karen Gregory

“The Second Sleigh” by S. L. Potts

“What’s Your Type?” by Artemis Montgomary

“Mia & Mistletoe ” by Miguel Vazquez

“The Perfumery” by Salacious Salamander

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a mysterious guest who arrives at a party — but no one knows who they are.

Write a story from the POV of a non-human character.

Set your story during the coldest day of the year.

Write a story that includes the line “Be careful what you wish for.”

Contest #281

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

309

Contest entries

154

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: