Write a story that ends with a huge twist.

Posted in Dramatic on Dec 27, 2024

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✍️ 84 stories

“Nowhere to hide” by Charlotte Hall

Submitted to Contest #283

She turned the car to the right, gravel cracking under the tires, and her headlights spotlighted on her new house.‘Oh my goodness,’ she gasped.She’d never seen her uncle’s summer house before, but it certainly had an appeal in the wintertime too. The front garden was neat and tidy with a stone patio linking the driveway she finally owned to the curved black front door. She parked the car just in front of the garage door and got out, admiring the hedges lining her pathway and enclosing the house and garden to its surrounding road, stopping an...

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“I'll Be Home For Christmas” by Jerry Ackerman

Submitted to Contest #283

INT. HOME - DAY AARON BACKSON(15) drenches his bed in sweat, his sheets cling to his pale body. The fabric rubs against his skin, leaving red streaks as the young boy wrestles with his nightmares. The dark room enhances his dreams. He can’t escape. He will not escape. He twists and turns as the sheets morph into leather straps of a straitjacket. The bed creaks and whines, protesting under his weight. Aaron grips his damp sheets, his wrists straining as he pulls at the fibres. The ripping sound snaps him awake. His eyes lock on the shadowed ...

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“The Truth in the Shadows” by Cynethea Cunningham

Submitted to Contest #283

The rain poured relentlessly, drumming against the windows of the old Victorian house. Inside, Candace sat by the fireplace, flipping through an album of photographs that chronicled the life she once knew. Each picture captured a moment of joy, now tinged with the ache of loss. It had been a year since her husband, Alex, disappeared without a trace, leaving behind a wake of unanswered questions and lingering doubts.The police investigation had yielded no results, and the townspeople whispered their theories, each more outlandish than the las...

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“Santa Claus Came to Town” by Al Griffin

Submitted to Contest #283

SANTA CLAUS CAME TO TOWNAl Griffin It was Christmas Day, and Tom had been sitting in the hard, folding chair for hours. At his age, the chair became both blessing and curse. Tom had volunteered at this Christmas event every year since Mildred passed in the spring of ‘09. Before that year, before that stage in her disease, they had attended this gala without fail for the last 18 of their 64 years together. Mildred remained strong until the end. For that he was grateful. He couldn’t stand the idea of watching her suffer endlessly.That first y...

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“The Christmas Date” by Annie Chibesakunda

Submitted to Contest #283

It all started with a phone introduction from a mutual friend. I agreed to go on a date with a tall, young man from my department. He was my senior but not directly in my team, so I didn’t have any HR concerns. I had heard that he was a Christian, and as a practising Catholic, I didn’t see any issue in dating a Pentecostal man. This was our first date— a Christmas date, to be exact. On Christmas Day 2015, I slipped into my white V-neck shirt, which hugged my chest just right, and paired it with a jean skirt that clung to my hips before...

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“Christmas: The Snowstorm of Family and Truth” by Tim Wu

Submitted to Contest #283

I looked up ahead, my feet aching, my chest heaving, and a thousand thoughts racing through my mind. Still, I summoned every ounce of strength to push onward. This was my golden ticket—a matter of life or death. If they caught me, it would all end.THE DAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS“Almost there,” I whispered as I delicately cut and shaped my beautiful clay reindeer. I carved and scooped, made delts and smoothed the coarse spots. Using my precise tools and soft hands, I was almost finished with creating the head of the animal when suddenly, thunderous ...

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“A Day to Remember” by Sarah Adewolu

Submitted to Contest #283

Francina Tuttiliogi sat up in bed, holding onto dear life the photo of the man who melted her heart: Troy Edwards. It was the night before the big day, the biggest day in her life, where she was going to walk down that aisle and say, “I do”, officially becoming Mrs. Troy Edwards. It was the moment her family had been awaiting, including all her cousins–distant and close–from all over the town. As she glanced at the photo of the striking young man–his golden hair that was slicked back, and ocean blue eyes that possessed serenity in them–with...

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“Asteroid Mining” by Ralph Straub

Submitted to Contest #283

It's always difficult to decide which asteroid to Harvest. Too much iron or ice and it's worth less than one with some specific metals that are needed. I have been able to scan the common asteroids and register heavier elements. I Explored this cluster of rocks for a while, scanning, and the elements that are now coming up that don't make sense. I want to find out more, but it's a bit crowded for my ship to get in close. My ship is a typical Asteroid harvester. It's big and round, like a giant basketball with clamps and directional thruster...

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“When The Ball Drops” by Gabby Spindle

Submitted to Contest #283

Tick. Tick. Tick. If the clock took any longer to change hours, Liam was going to throw it from his thirty-seventh-floor window. Besides, who had to work on New Year’s Eve anyway? It was completely ridiculous. He peeked over his cubicle to see who else was stuck in the office for the evening. From the looks of it, it was only him and three other unlucky souls. Tick. Tick. Tick. He groaned and shoved his keyboard aside, staring up at the clock again. It felt like he was back in high school waiting for the last class of the day to ...

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“Tapeworm” by Mariusz Marciniak

Submitted to Contest #283

'Starter' – crossed my mind. "Bzzz... dzzzz... tzzz" came from above. A sign of the end. Tiny flies and mourners buzzing around, taking turns in their vigil for the dying. The flickering light cast shadows of the thick cable—or rather, an attempt to hide it. The ceiling morphed into a wall at a strange angle, drawing the eye to the top edge of a cabinet. From its white surface, I slid down to a neglected wall, where dingy white paint met tired green. This border rushed left until it stopped at the pale pink hue of a balding man bent over a s...

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“NOA AND HER FAMILY” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #283

Christmas week is in full swing at my parent's house. The entire Rios family is coming. I'm excited to see my family I haven't seen in years. This is not just the Rios family Christmas but also the Rios family reunion. The Christmas week started early Monday morning with me and my sisters helping mom fix the house while the men folk my dad and brothers set up the decorations. Once me and my sisters finished fixing the house, we went to help mom prepare dinner for the next day. Then we helped mom bake. Baking is my favorite thing to do. Plus,...

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“Lean Greetings” by Steven Baker

Submitted to Contest #283

Carter had arrived early to dinner and already taken his seat. He wanted to get the end of the table that was towards the kitchen doors and away from the doors to the entryway. He would have more room to get in and out that way and less people trying to shuffle behind his chair to get to the bathroom. Plus, if he arrived early, leaving earlier would be more appropriate. He loved his family, but they were a bit much. Not obnoxious in the traditional sense, but they could be rude with an eyebrow raise or a sharp exhale timed just well enough t...

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“HOME IS A CEMETERY.” by Madison Porter

Submitted to Contest #283

Content warning: This story contains themes of grief and self-harm.My brittle bones tremble as I trudge through the cold chill of the supposed summer which never seems to form. My hands cling to the warmth of my pockets and my heart thumps along as I breathe in shaky gulps of air. It was supposed to be a dry summer. The kind of summer which you feel deep within your soul. That you taste in the strawberries that stain your skin and teeth. The kind of summer where you could meet someone and fall down the rabbit hole of the back seat of their c...

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“One year, one month, one week, one day, one hour, one minute, one second” by David Nutt

Submitted to Contest #283

One year of tragedy, one month, one week, one day, one hour, one minute, one second. I was born into a military household. My father was a well known and respected General. My mother was the chief administrative officer for pensions concerning officers above the grade of Major. I was their only child. The household was run like a well oiled Swiss watch. Attention to discipline, high standard of moral and ethical behavior with a sense of duty and respect for your parents and the common good. After a first class education at West Point I was d...

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“The Postman did it!” by RHONDA ADAMSAM

Submitted to Contest #283

The retirement village was nestled amongst rambling gardens and native trees with winding paths throughout. It was a pretty village with many facilities for use by residents and had the added bonus of being a secure village – which meant it was surrounding by walls and gates all of which blended in with the garden. There were security guards too, tho they didn’t really need the extra security, but it made the residents feel safe.Until the robberies that is. Seven houses were robbed of all their jewellery, homeowners were aghast. How could th...

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Write a story that ends with a huge twist.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 84 stories

“Nowhere to hide” by Charlotte Hall

“I'll Be Home For Christmas” by Jerry Ackerman

“The Truth in the Shadows” by Cynethea Cunningham

“Santa Claus Came to Town” by Al Griffin

“The Christmas Date” by Annie Chibesakunda

“Christmas: The Snowstorm of Family and Truth” by Tim Wu

“A Day to Remember” by Sarah Adewolu

“Asteroid Mining” by Ralph Straub

“When The Ball Drops” by Gabby Spindle

“Tapeworm” by Mariusz Marciniak

“NOA AND HER FAMILY” by Melinda Madrigal

“Lean Greetings” by Steven Baker

“HOME IS A CEMETERY.” by Madison Porter

“One year, one month, one week, one day, one hour, one minute, one second” by David Nutt

“The Postman did it!” by RHONDA ADAMSAM

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about two characters who surprisingly end up spending a holiday or event together.

Write a story about someone’s first Christmas after a major life change.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year — except your character can’t shake the feeling that something’s off.

Write a story with the line “I wasn’t expecting that.”

Contest #283

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

293

Contest entries

123

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: