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Write a story about a tragic hero.

Posted in Dramatic on Jun 28, 2024

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✍️ 56 stories

Being Her

Submitted to Contest #257

Mason Campbell, reporter with the Atlanta Constitution, feels frustrated. For the past fifteen minutes he’s been trying to interview Miss Chancey Jarvis. Though Miss Jarvis is patiently answering his questions, her answers are vague.“Miss Jarvis, you have lived here for more than sixty years, Is that right?” He asks.“Yes, it is my home.”“But people don’t live permanently in homeless shelters, do they?”“So, I’ve been told.”“How come you have?”“This is where I live. Will you be much longer? I need to put the towels in the dryer.” She fidg...

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The Hero Train

Submitted to Contest #257

***discussion of suicide****You have to be completely dead to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, not just mostly dead.  But I went anyway, figuring I could kill off the rest of me easy enough on the cross country trip with whiskey, or if desperate, my Sig Sauer.  What had been saved after the surgeries, the best bits, I had secured in a box. Army hospitals don’t have much in the way of ceremonial boxes, so I used what I could find. I thought about using my Silver Star presentation box, or the Purple ...

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Top of the Class

Submitted to Contest #257

Marcia looks at her watch for the 10th time that morning. The carpool will be here soon, and Josh wasn’t anywhere near ready for school. So typical. That boy lives in his own world. Janie, her pride and joy, Sat eating her fruit and yogurt at the kitchen table as she reviewed the notes for her history exam.“You ready for your test?” Marcia doesn’t even need to ask. Janie is always prepared, and consistently earns straight A’s .“I think so,” she sighs. “This class has been really hard.”She walks over and squeezes her daughter’s shoulder. Jani...

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Opposition

Submitted to Contest #257

Some references to incarceration, death and/or execution.Charity Chambers involuntarily shuddered as she walked toward the imposing edifice. She took a deep breath and forced her gait to be strong and steady as she approached the guard tower. With her head held high, she glared at the guard, her eyes piercing his, looking for any sign of life in his blank stare. He stood at attention, stoically acknowledging her presence as she scowled.“Here,” she said, her voice firm as she gave him her paperwork. The slight tremble of her hand wa...

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The Calvaryman

Submitted to Contest #257

Wisconsin 1861It was several months before Grace received her first letter from Joseph. She knew that it was hard for letters to get through, however. It was one of the many problems of war. She was ashamed to admit that she didn’t know if she had forgiven him for enlisting in the Union Army. While they both agreed that slavery was inherently wrong, it seemed like it happened so far away that it didn’t affect her or anyone she knew. Still, she knew Joseph was a moral, upright man and in good conscience, he couldn’t allow the South to secede ...

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A Tragic Hero Remembers

Shortlisted for Contest #257 ⭐️

It was a lot like being in jail. Some people called him a hero, but he sure didn’t feel like one. He just did what seemed like the right thing to do at the time. That’s all. The worst part is that he could remember it all in startling detail. Stuart was born with a surprisingly good memory. It was a help when he played card games, but it made the games too easy for him. It helped him in school, all the way through college. He didn’t need to study much. Information just stayed with him. He was pretty sure he didn’t have an eidetic memory, li...

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Spilled Dreams

Submitted to Contest #257

I’m not a very honest person, and I’m not a very open person, so I’ve put off the telling of this story for far too long. I don’t know how many times I’ve considered opening up, but every time, fear gripped my heart like an ice-cold vice. Every boy, at some point, wants that feeling of being a hero, of doing something important, of being powerful. As I got older, that feeling faded with many others and passed like the seasons fade into each other. “I’ll miss you, Andre. I’ll miss you so much.”“Aw, Mom, I’ll see you every break I get.”“Promis...

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An Elegant Evening in Mount Miffsberg

Submitted to Contest #257

Three of my balloons look like they're ready to fall off. We had a group crafting party just to glue them all on and I think some of the participants were a little too high to get each adhesion completely right. Luckily, I brought some chewing gum to paste things on again. There will be a lot of that tonight, lemme tell you. Chewing gum and safety pins. The Spruce & Stone is having their first annual “An Elegant Evening in Mount Miffsberg.” Nobody knows what to think about it, except the farmers, and they just complain about everything. ...

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For what?

Submitted to Contest #257

The sound of gunfire echoed across the battlefield, as Gavin led the charge to the next point of cover.‘Forward, forward! To me!’ He cried, rushing past the wall where his unit was taking shelter. The rest of the motley crew of armed students and other men ran with him, some not fated to last the day, as they fell screaming, riddled with bullets. Beyond them, the imposing building of parliament house stood preceding over the events. Before them, the military were holed up behind a wall in front of the house, the last...

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The Pawn becomes a Knight.

Submitted to Contest #257

For Hundreds of years, the White Kingdom, and the Red Realm have been locked in battle. The White Royals, have fought to keep their land, and on several occasions had nearly been wiped out. It was for this cause, three generations ago, the White King made a decree for all his people, every man woman and child would be trained for battle, and were divided by rank. The highest rank of course being the royal family, then there were the defenders, an elite force that closely guarded the royals, and kept the walls heavily fortified, next the...

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Seraphina: The Knight of Alaric

Submitted to Contest #257

In a realm where magic flowed like rivers through the ancient forests and dragons soared across the skies, a young knight named Seraphina lived. She was known throughout the kingdom for her courage and unwavering sense of justice. Seraphina had been trained since childhood in the arts of combat and magic, a rare combination that marked her as a prodigy among her peers. But Seraphina carried a burden that weighed heavily on her heart. Long ago, her father, Sir Alaric, had ventured into the cursed depths of the Blackwood Forest to confront a d...

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Simone

Submitted to Contest #257

“Simone?”  The Reverend looked at her, and she looked up from her tissues. Jerome practically lifted her up from the pew. It seemed like she had lost muscle along with her mind that day. Nobody in Savannah expected the valedictorian to show up this way - a crumpled version of a once hailed future leader of this town. The last time she took the podium was a lesson in strength and grace. She made the paper that day. Six months later, her mom would be in it, too. “Simone?” Jerome placed his arm on the small of her back this time, gently pu...

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Greetings, Old Hoss

Submitted to Contest #257

Utica, Wyoming1891 Seneca Welch reaches under the bar for his shotgun, pointing it at Buck Savage, the acknowledged leader of the quartet of saddle tramps harassing him. A former boxer, the burly bartender with the handlebar mustache still has an intimidating physique that ripples with muscles, and he can still wipe the floor with any man brave enough to challenge him. Tall with curly hair and mysterious dark eyes, forty-two-year-old Buck Savage’s swarthy looks belie his quick, felonious mind. He keeps company with twenty-four-year-old Swed...

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To Brave Him when He Takes Thee Hence

Submitted to Contest #257

I have always yearned for the sky, and the freedom it has brought. It’s not an original dream, I know. The sparkling blue and green wings with which I fly are evidence of that, the collected work of hundreds, thousands, perhaps even millions before me desperately reaching for the sun before the arms of their children grew them closer to that grand finishing line. No, I am not the only pigeon to have dreamt of the wonders past the stratosphere. But still my whole life, I have chased it as if the first to become mad with curiosity and wonder, ...

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Reluctant Happiness, Resilient Joy

Submitted to Contest #257

I didn’t want to save you, Papa, I hope you know that. On that beautiful summer day, August bursting into September with all the fanfare of goldenrod, I was truly happy. I ran up your cracked steps, skipping the silver lines like a child mindful of my mother’s back, feeling lighter than I had in years.I was about to tell you that you were going to be a grandfather, that Julian and I were going to move to your neighborhood, that you would be able to come over for barbecues and pool days and first toddling steps. I was about to tell you t...

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