Start your story with someone admitting a secret and end it with someone telling a lie.

Posted in Dramatic on May 1, 2021

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 180 stories

“So It Goes” by Liza Anne

Submitted to Contest #68

“I’m terrified that I failed as a mother.”She doesn’t look me in the eye. Instead, she looks slightly off to the side at my mini, indoor, water fountain. I find the constant rhythm of babbling water to be soothing and comforting. Perhaps she finds the sight of it does the same for her.“That is an exceptionally common fear.” I smile at her reassuringly. She briefly meets my eyes. “I might even say the fear of failure is the most common fear.”“But it’s more than that.”“Oh?”“If I failed my kid, I ruined his life.” Her hazel eyes shine with unsh...

80 comments 80

Read story

“Afra and Gervassi: Two Truths and A Lie ” by Jubilee Forbess

Submitted to Contest #68

Gervassi unlocked the door to his apartment and stepped in. The place smelled just as he left it, proof that either his roommate hadn’t cleaned in the week he’d been gone, or that he hadn’t been back to the apartment in seven days. Either way, Gervassi didn’t want to waste energy on worrying about that guy. He was exhausted and he wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for seventeen hours. It had been a wild week and the rest would be received so, so well. Only Gervassi was halted by a ringing phone seconds before he could sink into ...

158 comments 158

Read story

“"I'm Okay"” by Janetra Waters

Submitted to Contest #68

"Mom, I have a secret to tell you," I state, watching her hesitate at the front door. She turns to me, waiting for me to speak. "I'm okay." "Lexi," she sighs, honey brown eyes filled with worry as she grabs my hand. "I'm okay," I tell her again before she can say anything. Her dark brows scrunch as she searches my face. "I just want to make sure. Colton's... situatio-" "You can say it, mom. His death." A small grimace flits across her face. Everyone has been so careful around me since he died. Walking on eggshells, afraid to even say his nam...

31 comments 31

Read story

“The Equals (Part 1 of the Flawless Imperfection series)” by Kate Reynolds

Submitted to Contest #68

I’m Different. And in the Union, being Different is bad. Deadly, even.All the females had straight, brown, shoulder length hair that had a difference margin of less than 0.01 millimeters, brown eyes, and olive skin. The males also had the same features, except their hair was shorter. But the thing that really kept everyone the same was a small, metallic device, called the Chip, that was implanted inside every person’s mind at birth, controlling their thoughts.But it doesn’t have an affect on me.Even before I learned to talk, to wal...

45 comments 45

Read story

“Surprise Birthday... or not?” by ✯𝐋𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫✯

Submitted to Contest #68

Title: Surprise Birthday... or not? Author: Haripriya Authors Note: Hello everyone!! I hope you all are having a safe and happy Saturday! This story is about three sisters. The eldest and the youngest are planning a birthday party for the middle sister...or are they? Read to find out! I hope you enjoy it! "Can I tell you a secret?" asked Isabelle looking excited towards her elder sister, Mirabelle. "Sure!" she replied curiously. "But you have to promise to not tell Annabelle about this," Isabelle warned, looking serious. "Umm.....

23 comments 23

Read story

“Pants on Fire ” by A.Dot Ram

Submitted to Contest #68

It was during our wedding scene that Logan slipped me the note. I felt the crumpled paper between us as our fingers interlaced, Hermia and Lysander. I held it, willing my hand not to sweat through the message, not to sweat into his hand.I usually liked this scene, my lines all said and nothing to do but hold hands and dance and make googly eyes in the background as Pyramus and Thisbe made asses of themselves. The looks we would give, Logan Hansen and I silently vying to out-lovey-dovey each other! Tonight I raised my eyebrow in a wordless qu...

11 comments 11

Read story

“Emily's Grace” by Mollie Rodgers

Submitted to Contest #68

The water below is murky and green. Dark shadows of fish move beneath the surface.My elbows are looped around the railing behind me and my toes dangle over open air.“Do it,” says Emily. “Do it, Gracie.”I shake my head. “There could be brain eating amoebas in there.”She, on the safe side of the bridge's railing, rests her elbows on the ledge and leans close. “Chickenshit,” she whispers.I can feel a flush creep up my neck. She smells like sunblock and oranges.She stretches out one of my curls then lets it go. It boings back into its spiral. “Y...

18 comments 18

Read story

“Mrs. Ryan Miller” by Mustang Patty

Submitted to Contest #68

Josephine Louise Miller wrote her name over and over across the page. Partly because she loved the weight and feel of the pen she was using, partly because she wanted to practice writing her name as it would be by the end of the week. “Josie, are you up there?” “Yeah, Mom. I’m just hanging out.” Josie hurried to hide the paper she’d written on. It would be awful if her mother saw it. Josie hadn’t told her mother anything about Ryan Miller and their plans. If her mother did know, she would put an end to everything. Josie knew her mom woul...

17 comments 17

Read story

“You Said You Loved Me all the Way to Space” by Jasey Lovegood

Submitted to Contest #68

You Said Loved Me all the Way to Space9th of September 2019Hey Ty,I can’t stop thinking about yesterday, and the secret you told me. I know you meant it, I saw the way your eyes lit up, and you always tell the truth when you do that. What was going through your head, when you admitted it to me? Were you nervous? I bet on our nine-year friendship that you were. Your words continue to run through my head, much like your grandfather’s gramophone. It made my day, you know? I’m sure it would make any person’s day, maybe even someone’s week, if it...

12 comments 12

Read story

“The Letter Man” by Molly Leasure

Submitted to Contest #68

Atkin,An accident. A mistake. I struggle to find the difference. And so, what does that make an accidental mistake? Is it redundant, or does it take on a new meaning? As I'm about to give you a chance to discern for yourself… I suppose I'll leave it to you. Because by accidental mistake,I love you.A bent elder unfolds the letter, flattens it to a journal page, and then paper clips it in place. Below it, he writes:Number forty-two, to Atkin Arthur. Too Shakespearean for him to take notice.With the letter stowed, he reaches for another en...

33 comments 33

Read story

“They Called It Home” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #68

Phillip backed away from the counter into one of the kitchen chairs. “Um, honey, there’s something you should know.” The tone of his voice made Donna glance up from the box she’d begun to unpack. Styrofoam and newspapers scattered across the floor. She held a mug in each hand. One with a cartoon dog on it, another with the phrase ‘FEW HAVE SPOKEN TO ME BEFORE COFFEE AND LIVED TO TELL THE TALE’.“What?” Images flashed in her mind. Infidelities. Murder. A criminal past. A horde of secret lovers. Drug smuggling. Gangsters and mafiosos. Kingpins,...

7 comments 7

Read story

“Peaches and “Honey”” by Lauren Sarney

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #68

“I once ate a grasshopper in a restaurant in France.” It’s a still day and we’re lying on the grass in Shepard’s Park. It’s not quite spring so it's not all green yet and I’m certain when we get up brown splotches will stain our backs from the drying mud. She forgot our blanket but I’m still in my work clothes so to hell with it. The sky is getting softer around the edges as night begins to fall, and on the horizon I can just barely make out gentle ribbons of apricot and coral. It’s romantic, to say the least, this date of ours. Somehow,...

5 comments 5

Read story

“Just Another Nameless Victim” by Mishty Bansal

Submitted to Contest #68

"I just spent the entire evening in the library reading romance books with him, wanting nothing more but to feel his lips against mine." In shock, I quickly turned my head to face her. Her black hair was flowing with the wind, as she leaned against the bridge, staring out at the ocean. It was beyond beautiful. "Wh-what?" I managed to get out. "Yep. It was you the entire time." She turned her head slightly, meeting her alluring hazel eyes with mine. We've been best friends for over three years now. We've gone from rivals to classmates...

14 comments 14

Read story

“Better to Lie” by L M

Submitted to Contest #68

I clasped the stranger’s hands over the wooden table, and I sat across from him. His face fell immediately, no longer smiling. Most people reacted the same way when I didn't pull out the crystal ball, the tarot cards, or try to read their palms. I have never been one for gimmicks. I was the modern day prophet sent to this Earth to shed the light and show the truth. Such people did not experiment with schemes and tricks. I did not lie.His chubby hands were hot and sweaty in mine. His excitement dimmed, as he realized his visit to the psychic ...

4 comments 4

Read story

“When I Cracked” by Antonio Jimenez

Submitted to Contest #68

I cracked. After twenty-seven hours of near non-stop torture, I cracked, and the biggest secret of my life slowly slipped from between my lips. I was strapped to a chair in the middle of an empty, windowless room. A single lightbulb dangled from the ceiling and shed its harsh light upon me and my torturer who was preparing to rip the fingernail off of my right index finger. “Are you a member of the CIA?” Screamed the wild-eyed, bearded jihadist as the pliers he was clenching in his right hand began to rock back-and-forth, loosening the n...

24 comments 24

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with two characters watching a sunrise and end it with one of them seeing the moon reflecting off a lake.

Adults – 301 stories

Start your story with someone robbing a bank and end it with two people driving on an interstate.

Dramatic – 86 stories

Start your story with the line, “This was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives,” and end it with, “By then it was too late.”

Sad – 132 stories

Start your story with the line, “It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same,” and end it with, “[…] and that was all that mattered.”

Adults – 178 stories

Contest #68

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Meet in the Middle

$50

Prize money

877

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Nov 20, 2020 EST

Won by FJC Montenegro 🏆

Title: Silence

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

Menu

CONNECT

BLOG

APPS

TOOLS

ABOUT

Start your story with someone admitting a secret and end it with someone telling a lie.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 180 stories

“So It Goes” by Liza Anne

“Afra and Gervassi: Two Truths and A Lie ” by Jubilee Forbess

“"I'm Okay"” by Janetra Waters

“The Equals (Part 1 of the Flawless Imperfection series)” by Kate Reynolds

“Surprise Birthday... or not?” by ✯𝐋𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫✯

“Pants on Fire ” by A.Dot Ram

“Emily's Grace” by Mollie Rodgers

“Mrs. Ryan Miller” by Mustang Patty

“You Said You Loved Me all the Way to Space” by Jasey Lovegood

“The Letter Man” by Molly Leasure

“They Called It Home” by Joshua G. J. Insole

“Peaches and “Honey”” by Lauren Sarney

“Just Another Nameless Victim” by Mishty Bansal

“Better to Lie” by L M

“When I Cracked” by Antonio Jimenez

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with two characters watching a sunrise and end it with one of them seeing the moon reflecting off a lake.

Start your story with someone robbing a bank and end it with two people driving on an interstate.

Start your story with the line, “This was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives,” and end it with, “By then it was too late.”

Start your story with the line, “It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same,” and end it with, “[…] and that was all that mattered.”

Contest #68

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

877

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: