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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story that begins with an apology.

Posted in Dramatic on Dec 20, 2024

Submissions are closed

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✍️ 81 stories

“Different After 30 Minutes” by O 2

Submitted to Contest #282

The story contains graphic depictions of a fatal accident, and emotional trauma.“I’m sorry.”11:32 PM.My eyes can’t move away from the scene as a high school boy stands in shock, unblinking.“What have you done!” screams a man in the middle of the road, grabbing the root of his brown hair, letting out a cry so loud with anger and loss—I can never forget a voice like that, even if I wanted to.“I am sorry,” repeats The Boy.“What have you done! What have you done!” repeats The Man.“I am sorry,” The Boy repeats again.The horror continues in a loo...

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“A Paper Cut” by Ben Wright

Submitted to Contest #282

Trigger Warning: This story contains themes of child death, grief, psychological manipulation, and revenge. It also includes references to corruption, injustice, and emotional trauma. Reader discretion is advised. Marie, I’m sorry for what followed you home and what you lost.– T. It’s the simple things in life that are the scariest, I say as I place the letter inside the envelope and seal it shut. The creak of a staircase when no one else is home, the flicker of a lightbulb in the corner of a dark room. It’s these moments, the ones that don...

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“Forgive Me?” by Ashley D. Gilyard

Submitted to Contest #282

"I'm sorry," Miriam whispered, the words tasting bitter on her tongue. The room, dimly lit by the pale morning sun streaming through tattered curtains, felt heavier for her admission. She sat across from Clara, her sister, whose expression wavered between anger and heartbreak. The table between them held the remnants of last night’s dinner, untouched and cold. Clara leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. "Sorry doesn’t cut it this time, Miriam," she replied, her voice low and tight. "You lied. Again." The accusation hung...

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“I'm Sorry...But” by Andra Patterson

Submitted to Contest #282

“I’m sorry, Isaiah, I promise this is the last time,” I said with such confidence and certainty, knowing it wasn’t the least bit true. I looked him dead in his eyes, and lied to him, yet again. “I believe you,” was his gracious answer, with his warm smile, and I knew in my heart that he meant it. I knew that was supposed to mean something, the genuine warmth to him was supposed to be enough to make me hold on. But it just wasn't.  Even after he’s accepted me back time and time again, after the way I’ve hurt him so deeply it’s almost ine...

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“It's Not Like it Was” by Katie Sayers

Submitted to Contest #282

“Hey Ash, can we talk for a second?” I nearly whisper. He registers the look on his face, mirroring it on his own as he registers my tone combined with what I said. No one in a relationship wants to hear their partner ask, “Can we talk?” It never ends well, usually with both parties in tears or rage.“Yeah… What’s up?” I can see that he doesn’t know what to do, and the panic that’s setting in. He looks how I feel, maybe he knows what I’m going to say, maybe he doesn’t.“I can’t keep doing this. I'm so sorry." I look towards the ceiling, willin...

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“I'm Sorry” by Jennifer Burrell

Submitted to Contest #282

I’m sorry. It is as simple and as complicated as that. I’m sorry that after two years I still can’t speak about you without getting choked up. I’m sorry because I want to keep the memory of you alive, but remembering you opens the wound of losing you causing heartache and grief to pour out. What if I am not able to close that wound? I fear what will happen if that proves true. What if all of that pain floods out draining my life force? That there will be nothing left but a shell that once held my soul. ...

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“"...would you cry at my funeral?"” by Callan Fitzgerald

Submitted to Contest #282

Dear Liam, You made looking back miserable, but I am sorry, all the same. When I was four, I watched a chipmunk run under our car. I heard a thump. This was my first introduction to Death. When I was five, my bird died. I didn’t know how, only that when the sun rose, he fell. I buried him in my backyard; my brother dug the hole for me. That was the year I drew on my walls, spending many grueling hours attempting to clear the long scratches of color. When I was seven, my great-aunt died. I didn’t know the woman, having only met her once. She ...

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“Ivan Off” by Dan Morris

Submitted to Contest #282

‘. . . Sorry, Randy . . . I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.’            Thus began his Uncle’s Donny’s letter. The letter he had found slipped mysteriously under the door of the 3rd floor apartment he currently shared with his girlfriend. The lettering was very flowery and ornate, and done by hand and in cursive with what looked like some sort of ink dipped pen. It had come in a brittle envelope that had seen better days.           ...

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“Your Tenant” by Aditi Arun

Submitted to Contest #282

Trigger warning: Emotional Abuse, Family Conflict, Grief/Loss, Neglect, Abandonment, Mental Trauma, Parental Expectations. Your TenantBy Aditi Arun “Nothing breaks like a heart….the heart of a child that knows only love without knowing what it is. Nothing sullies like a mind of a child, like a white pure cloth sewed with the threads of innocence, that cannot spell or write trauma, let alone comprehend it. There is nothing as tragic as a childhood lost. There is nothing sadder than a little one living on survival instincts and not dreams...

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“My Apologies. (Pt. 1)” by Deric Behm

Submitted to Contest #282

“I'm just so fucking sorry.” It should have been since before college. Likely in a past life I should also apologize. Let's be honest. It was likely I screwed this up more than once. Yet we still keep coming back to one another smiling, making each other cry, and getting mad at one another. At the end of the day we hug, kiss, and say, “See you next time?”“Of course.” We connect with one another. We feel one another. We smell each other to comfort ourselves. We use our past experiences to make excuses as to why we're lazy. We slowly unders...

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“Radio Edit” by Izzy Turner

Submitted to Contest #282

It started with rain but most things don’t, most things just start smack in the middle or at the end or after six suns already blew the fuck up—whatever’s most interesting, I guess. That’s how they wanna play it. No. Here…here we just start at the rain.No idea what day it was. Couldn’t tell what year or what time or what color…couldn’t tell, period. You can only tell one story so many times until… but it would all be a waste of money. That’s what they sell me: don’t bother. Don’t go back.Well I wouldn’t be here if I had any ch...

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“Annexation ” by Joshua Doyle

Submitted to Contest #282

“I’m…sorry? What was that?” The woman, Melissa asked. “Hard of hearin’ ain’t ya?” A man with a black cowboy hat, Bill Jones, sneered. Although she didn’t see it now, his presence likely explained the banjo she heard echoing from the woods earlier on this languid Sunday. The one day of the week that the construction crew wasn’t busy building the rest of this new neighborhood. “This land miss. You stole it.” “I…don’t understand? I just bought this house recently after it was built. From…whoever owns this property now. I’m sorry if it affect...

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“Father's Day Card” by Kristina B

Submitted to Contest #282

(Please be advised that this story contains topics that may be harmful or triggering to those who are affected by loss, grief, mental health, mentions of suicide and hospitalizations. Proceed with caution.)“I’m sorry, I didn’t get you a Father’s Day card this year.”When I said this to my father, back in June of 2019, I felt nothing but disappointed in myself. I had been so busy as a nineteen-year-old college student, navigating the financial aid office of the local community college that it had completely slipped my mind. My mother wasn’t we...

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“"The Power of a Friend” by Mary Ann Ford

Submitted to Contest #282

(This story contains mention of suicide) Richard slowly chewed his lunch while he watched other college kids move about the cafeteria. He was exhausted from staying up late the night before and hadn’t really thought much at all today. Gradually he became conscious of the fact that his friend, Matthew, wasn’t at his usual booth in the corner. Come to think of it, he hadn't been here all day. Unlike Richard, who lived in a dorm room, Matthew lived with his mother in an apartment building just across the street. It wasn’t often that he didn’...

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“Can't This Be Over” by Shadiah Haynes

Submitted to Contest #282

Can’t This Be OverBy: Shadiah Haynes “I’m sorry, I love you, Toni. I love you more than anyone in this world, but I can’t do this anymore.” Vic said, his voice full of sorrow as he walked past his wife of five years to the nightstand in their oversized bedroom where a pile of paperwork lay.“Vic, what do you mean?” Toni asked as a sense of foreboding washed over her like a tidal wave. Vic said nothing as he walked towards Toni and then handed her the paperwork. The words Divorce Agreement were written boldly at the top of the page, and Vic ha...

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