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

“The Monkey's Fist” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #185

He knows the story of the monkey trapped by the bushman. Of course he knows that story, he knows a lot of stories. Stories are something he indulges himself in. The ebb and the flow of the words sooth him and for a while he forgets where he is. Just for a while. The words are sounds and little more. They make their music and then they are gone. He has access to stories from this room, and he has access to much more, but none of it has any substance, there is no meaning to be had. Nothing matters, none of it is real. That’s fine by him. O...

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“Collection of a Young Life” by Ana Palacio

Submitted to Contest #185

Another year had come and gone. I sobbed as I looked around the empty room. The bright pink room that was once filled to the brim with toys, books, and clothes, a perfect preservation of a 7 year old’s life, now blankly stared back at me. I turned to the corner of the room, where a bulging trash bag lay. I didn’t need to actually look, and I really couldn’t, with my vision blurred by the fat teardrops I hadn’t let fall the whole year. Yet I could imagine the contents of the trash bag: the fidget Hello Kitty...

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“Spic and span...” by F.O. Morier

Submitted to Contest #185

If you look for things you will never find them. Especially if you keep looking. The trick is not to look for them, and then you will find them. Sounds deep, doesn't it? I am always looking for wisdom. And that may sound banal, but at least less banal than saying that everyone must do their bit to save the planet, but that it won't look pretty. I do not understand such a sentence. I spend my days writing stories. Well, what am I saying, days? I mean my free time. And I intend to write children's stories, but I don't think my stories are suit...

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“Henry” by Lauren Bird

Submitted to Contest #185

I’m alive like a pirate, and god is a bird on my shoulder! Finally, I’ve accepted that this road must be traveled alone, like a doctor’s visit, like a dream you enter in your own mind. [2 HOURS PRIOR] In the sunlight the door looked almost white, not the lavender it was described as in the email. It reminded me of the first place I had in Eastie with Marina. The two toned purple duplex, with the purple trim and steps that led to – “Welcome! come in, in!” A woman, probably mid fifties, swung the door, and held it open with...

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“Mother’s Love” by Paul Leonard

Submitted to Contest #185

“Mum, please, I’m begging you,” I bawl at the control panel. “If you’re in there, you’ve got to let me out!” My yell reverberates around the kitchen, thin and shrill as it bounces off those expensive cabinets, tiles and stone countertops that Dad’s paying for but will never see, let alone use. The tiny camera lens just stares back, unblinking. Like some kind of one-eyed psychopath. “I’m not sure what you mean, Cindy,” the house’s AI system says in its infuriatingly calm, soothing voice. “If you can be more specific with your query, I’ll...

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“Hold my hand” by Lisa Cornell

Submitted to Contest #185

Sherry grasped onto his hand a sweaty and uncomfortable hold easy to let go off and right now in this moment she couldn’t let him go.They first met in what she would consider the typical boy meets girl way. She was out with her friends and he had caught her eye and she had caught his. He was exactly her type tall, thick dark hair that fell naturally messy, dark eyes under thick dark eyelashes, not overly fit but a naturally broad and muscular build. She was surprised he didn’t already have a girl hanging off his muscular arm. She took one la...

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“Mr. Halpern’s Puzzle” by David B Fraser

Submitted to Contest #185

“Mr. Halpern, let go of the table.” Nessa said, trying to pull him back in his wheelchair. “My puzzle.” Pieces began to slide off as the table tipped under his grip. “Mr. Halpern, it is time for your lunch.” As more pieces slid off, Nessa stopped pulling on the wheelchair to pick them up off the floor. As she put the pieces on the table again, Mr. Halpern turned the ones over that were showing their cardboard side so they all showed their picture sides again. Nessa returne...

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“A Roomful of Dragons” by TJ Samek

Submitted to Contest #185

Asha takes a deep breath as she enters the room. The heavy oak door has been expertly fitted on its hinges; it glides open with only the softest whisper. Golden sunlight streams from the high windows, catching the dust motes that dance in its radiance. The paneling on the walls still fills the room with the scent of cut wood, all these years later. She used to love this room, her sanctuary. She carefully does not look to the center of the room, to the circle traced on the floor or the statuette within it. She knows she has a job to do ...

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“Forever Yours” by Marion Morris

Submitted to Contest #185

Forever Yours,Breakfast is ready but there's not a sound from my little brother's room. I'd thrown some refrigerator biscuits in the oven and the smell of biscuits and eggs wafted upstairs. I stuck my ear onto the painted surface of the bedroom door. Nothing. I knock softly. Nothing. I haven't seen Jimmy for two days and I gotta say it's getting a little bit weird.Almost whispering, "Jimmy? Are you coming down for breakfast? You should eat."No answer.I sigh and start to make my way quietly down the carpeted stairs. At the landing, I stop. Pe...

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“Letting Go Saved My Life” by Victoria Davidson

Submitted to Contest #185

Until recently, I’d never really considered myself to be a hoarder or collector of things. In fact, in the past I could have been mistaken as a minimalist living a mediocre lifestyle. By nature, I am very free-spirited and have a worldview that easily adapts to the cycle of beginnings and endings that occur in life. Of course, like any other human being I have normal reactions that range from excitement to sadness depending on the situation. I don’t avoid the emotional labor of transition altogether. I simply prefer to expedite the process i...

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“Unit of Memory and Love” by Kathy Trevelyan

Submitted to Contest #185

Units of Memory and Love Rita carefully squeezed past the first towering row of boxes and precariously stacked furniture, eager to reach the centre of the storage unit. She picked up a small basket that had toppled over and threaded her way to her sanctuary, the place she came to think and remember. The overhead lighting in the unit was glaring, and Rita reminded herself to get it changed for something more soothing, to get an extension lead and plug in a couple of her lamps. The old hatstand almost fell as she squeezed by, but it had no...

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“To Kill Or Not ” by Kudzaishe Muvirimi

Submitted to Contest #185

Revenge – the action of hurting or harming someone in return for an injury or wrong suffered at their handsRevenge at its finest is meant to be pure. It’s meant to be something beautiful and peaceful. Revenge is the act of you undoing something that has been done. It’s the act of you finding closure and finally coming to peace with terms. Revenge was never meant to be this boastful thing of getting an upper hand on someone. It was merely you finding peace with the situation. Truth be told how can I just let a murderer go unpunished? when eve...

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“From Nothing They Came” by Jill Tetherow

Submitted to Contest #185

From nothing we came, and to nothing we will return. What a depressing thought. I walked from room to room. It was time to say goodbye—to my house, my dreams, and to myself. Every step hurt worse than the one before, but I kept going. I remember when we moved into town, my husband and I. He, a new banker, and myself, an eager homemaker. The rundown colonial home we purchased had beckoned me. Everything about it seemed big, important, and impressive—adjectives not used for ranch kids. With a little polish, it could be the most...

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“Conversations on Watch” by Jocelyn Parkhurst

Submitted to Contest #185

“What?” Raff exclaimed, taking his eye off the scope and staring at me. “You had to tell me this now?” “Why not?” I responded, keeping my focus on the landing pad through the lens of the charged pulse rifle. “Not a whole lot going on until the Captain and the Ambassador get back.” “It’s a little bit of a bomb to drop on a guy.” “Well, it’s not about you, now is it.” “Come on Syl, you know whatever you decide we’ll support. But we work with you, and you know...” “I’ve just been holding on to some shit, ...

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“The Ties That Bind” by Beth Rae

Submitted to Contest #185

Everything Joss Ackles did annoyed me. From the way he ran his fingers through his dark hair when he was deep in thought to the way he chewed his food with precise, intense concentration. But that was only because I had been in love with him since I was sixteen and he eighteen. He had gone away to college and came back three years later with his beautiful wife Charlotte in tow, breaking my heart and shattering my dreams – even if I hadn't had any reason for hope that he would even remember my name. And then, two years into their marriage, Ch...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 121 stories

“The Monkey's Fist” by Jed Cope

“Collection of a Young Life” by Ana Palacio

“Spic and span...” by F.O. Morier

“Henry” by Lauren Bird

“Mother’s Love” by Paul Leonard

“Hold my hand” by Lisa Cornell

“Mr. Halpern’s Puzzle” by David B Fraser

“A Roomful of Dragons” by TJ Samek

“Forever Yours” by Marion Morris

“Letting Go Saved My Life” by Victoria Davidson

“Unit of Memory and Love” by Kathy Trevelyan

“To Kill Or Not ” by Kudzaishe Muvirimi

“From Nothing They Came” by Jill Tetherow

“Conversations on Watch” by Jocelyn Parkhurst

“The Ties That Bind” by Beth Rae

🌟 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: