Write a story about someone who doesn’t know how to let go.

Posted in Dramatic on Sep 16, 2024

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✍️ 121 stories

“Don” by V. S. Rose

Submitted to Contest #185

Session 1I walked into Don’s quaint Victorian bungalow on that first day and immediately felt my skin crawl.The man staring back at me from across the room was a horrid nightmare. His eyes were two stones of obsidian, penetrating and full of malice. A flaccid black mohawk splayed across his head in a mass of hysteria. His face was skeletal and sallow, cheekbones high and prominent. Twisting tattoos crawled from head to toe; assorted piercings studding his nose, lips, and eyebrows. The black vest hanging on his bony shoulders was patterned wi...

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“Saint Anthony Frankenstein” by Henri Porritt

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #185

3:00 am, three sharp bursts of noise break into the thick comfort of sleep. They tell me you’re gone.She disappeared.It’s a tragedy. Nothing to be done. I sit, body numb, as the echoes of some old wives tale about the ‘witching hour’ rattle in the quiet fear of my skull. Painful anticipation and shock crawling up my spine. In some sick spite - I wonder whether to pray, the sour taste of initial grief coating my tongue and twisting my mouth into some begging incantation.No, I decide. I am not a believer.Not in God, and his mysterious (random)...

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“Everything In Its Place” by V Joyce Lott

Submitted to Contest #185

There was a place for everything, but it was all out of place. Forty-six years, two wives, three kids, and four grands all stuffed into that dusty two-bedroom shack, filled with memories. Robert Goast was a miser. A miserable old man who slept in an armchair because his bed was filled with—memories. His two wives were dead. His children had been excommunicated for their lifestyles. He had no one but his things. His hoard made him proud. The city officials posted a notice, calling his residence unlivable. They threatened to evict him. He woul...

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“Droplets of Rain” by Sejal Narkhede

Submitted to Contest #185

Walking alone in a lonely alleyway isn’t the safest way for a casual nineteen-year-old to spend her weekend. She should be at a party, hanging out with her friends, or watching a movie with a loved one. But this is the only shortcut to where I buried my heart. My sweetest and bitterest bittersweet childhood memories. My whole life was buried in the lone treehouse in the Merehill woods. The place where I made those bittersweet memories that I miss making so, so bad. No one spotted it, nor claimed it. So lonely it was. The path on wh...

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“The Quiet Struggle of Squirreling” by KT George

Submitted to Contest #185

My mother doesn’t know how to let anything go. And I mean anything: objects, people, animals, even thoughts and feelings. When I first noticed this condition, I was six years old. I had a new friend over after school, and as soon as he entered our house, I knew something was off. “It smells like my great-aunt Sarah’s house. Old,” he said, stretching out the ‘L’ sound while wrinkling his nose. “I smelled it on your clothes, but only a little, so it didn’t bother me. But this is icky,” he continued, walking through the house, ...

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“Post” by Jamie Campbell

Submitted to Contest #185

Post August 18 My dearest Cora, I don’t know how to begin. I’ve been staring at this blank page for the better part of an hour, I think. I tried everything to reach you and Rebecca before finally coming down here. I’m in the Jolesons’ old fallout shelter, under the hatch in the floor of their garage. You remember, don’t you? I suppose that if you’re reading this, you’ve reached the house and you already know all that. Please hurry. God, I pray that you’re both safe. I don’t know how I imagine this will reach you. I’m writing for the sa...

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“Metro Station Call” by Elaina F

Submitted to Contest #185

The groans of the trains in the metro station are rivaled only by the trill of a man speaking rapid Spanish to his wife across the tracks. The red line roars through the metro station, heading to a destination somewhere outside the city. The cement bench under me is cold. I do not mind. My remorseful suitcase sits on the bench next to me. The process of packing felt like a dissociation, someone else, a hopeful lover, folding the clothes instead of me. My phone balances in my hand, and this call has been short. A voice inside me pus...

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“Daddy Was A Saver” by Nancy Malcolm

Submitted to Contest #185

Daddy Was A Saver My Daddy was a “saver.” A procurer of particulars...a frugal forager. It was probably because he was a product of the Depression, but for whatever reason, if you needed ‘it,’ he had it, at least one and an alternate. When Daddy passed away we found boxes full of souvenirs, balls of twine, ink pens, jars of nails and business cards. We found his report cards, measuring tapes, hundreds of bank statements and thousands of photographs labeled neatly into chronological albums. There were boxes, bags, and ...

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“The Faith Of Thelma Faye” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #185

The Faith of Thelma Faye I remember feeling protected as I snuggled in the warmth of my mother's strong arms. My bed was veiled in a green canopy. She spread her warmth so wide it encompassed our whole world as we could see it. And there were a lot of us. She was like the old women who lived in a shoe. So many children... Except she knew. She sheltered and nurtured us and taught us everything she could before setting us free out into a world unknown. She taught our family history and mysteries of what could be. When gentle breezes rustled ...

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“Boxed” by Angie Brocker

Submitted to Contest #185

Doran was a latchkey kid before it became popular, walking alone to and from school as though danger didn’t follow her everywhere. An only child, she grew accustomed to herself quickly. By the age of seven, many of her summer afternoons were spent twirling in circles until her brain became muddled with thoughts of her existence and who she truly was underneath her skin and bones. The dizzying thoughts she felt separate from her tiny body were a relief from feeling lonely. Always wanting to connect with what was inside, Doran embraced uncomfo...

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“"Let Go,My Love. Let Go."” by Sharon Farnsworth

Submitted to Contest #185

Dave built the potting shed out back the summer they moved into their new home. He shingled the roof to match the house and built flower boxes for the windows. He planted a Rose of Sharon bush nearby and put in a winding brick path. Dave wanted to make a special place for the love of his life.He was on his way home from work the night the tractor trailer ran a red light and hit his car broadside sending it across the intersection onto the front lawn and into the living room of the owner’s home.Luckily, they weren’t home so there were no...

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“White Sand” by Charlotte Aston

Submitted to Contest #185

Looking in the mirror, ‘’God, I hope they can’t tell..’’, she thinks.Topping up her make-up, Anna wonders how soon into the night someone will point out her black eye. Of course Miriam will have something to say, when doesn’t she?She put some effort in to her appearance tonight. Perhaps foolishly, she hopes that dressing well will give the impression that she is stronger than she feels right now.Anna knows that they will pity her - she has attended many functions alone recently. She says Paul is busy, but she’s not naïve enough to think that...

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“After School” by Calvin Jones

Submitted to Contest #185

On a Tuesday afternoon, two teenagers returned home like never before. Eddy Gousse, a 16-year-old Sophomore at Waywood High School, and his sister, Alese Gousse, a 14-year-old Freshman attending the same school, returned home distraught after their day at school. The two enter their home and are greeted by their father, whose face shifts from welcoming to deeply concerned and worried. Their father, Clark Gousee, noticed his daughter’s clothes had been badly torn and was wearing her brother’s hoodie to hide the fact. Before being able to ask ...

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“Holding on to Thin Air ” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #185

Trent Obertson was a private pilot who flew among the towering Chugach Mountains in Alaska. He loved bobbing in and around the fluffy white clouds that hung like overripe melons among the snow covered peaks. There was an expression for pilots who flew the Monomee Pass through the Nelchina into Talkeetna called, “Hanging on to thin air.” When flying this route, Trent noticed how much the cold and warm air would struggle for control that resulted in his plane being buffet during the flight. His Cessna 206 was versatil...

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“Leave It Be, Em” by Jessica Bashar

Submitted to Contest #185

"What about this thing?" I hold up a round, yellowed appliance with a bulky wire wrapped around it like a hazardous umbilical cord. I have no idea what it is, but there's some sort of food hardened to the side that's probably been stuck there for years. Gross. Mom takes the thing from my hands. "That's a rice cooker, darling. I just picked that up at a yardsale." She sets it in (or rather atop) a full basket of kitchen relics in the "keep" pile, which, as I expected, dwarfs the little "toss" heap. So far, that modest mound only...

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Write a story about someone who doesn’t know how to let go.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 121 stories

“Don” by V. S. Rose

“Saint Anthony Frankenstein” by Henri Porritt

“Everything In Its Place” by V Joyce Lott

“Droplets of Rain” by Sejal Narkhede

“The Quiet Struggle of Squirreling” by KT George

“Post” by Jamie Campbell

“Metro Station Call” by Elaina F

“Daddy Was A Saver” by Nancy Malcolm

“The Faith Of Thelma Faye” by Mary Bendickson

“Boxed” by Angie Brocker

“"Let Go,My Love. Let Go."” by Sharon Farnsworth

“White Sand” by Charlotte Aston

“After School” by Calvin Jones

“Holding on to Thin Air ” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

“Leave It Be, Em” by Jessica Bashar

🌟 Similar prompts

Someone’s beloved collection is destroyed. How do they react?

Start a story with someone saying, “It’s mine, and you can’t have it!”

Write about a dragon who doesn’t know what to do with their hoard anymore.

Set all or part of your story in a jam-packed storage unit.

Contest #185

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

280

Contest entries

138

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: