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Write a story that has a big twist.

Posted in Dramatic on Sep 19, 2025

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✍️ 134 stories

ASHA AND THE POISONED FOREST

Submitted to Contest #321

The Root that Refused to DieAs told by Asha, Forest Goddess and keeper of the Verdant SilenceThey call me protector. Goddess. Warden of the green hush. I do not mind the names, though none are mine. I am not named-I am known. By the moss that curls around the bones of fallen deer. By the wind that forgets its direction when it enters my woods. By the roots that whisper secrets too old for language. I have stood here since before the first axe was carved. Before the first fire was begged to stay. My forest is not large, not famous, not mapped...

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0701

Submitted to Contest #321

Sweat beads penetrated Charlie's athlete t-shirt, attached to his skin like a clingy child. He bought up statistical data on his health watch. Swiped the data into oblivion as he teased his burnt calves to walk in an orderly fashion. He smiled internally with a sense of gratification for his task. Running helped to clear his mind of the ills of the world and the intensity of his role as CEO of Unicorn INC, his child cancer start-up that he'd started with his partner Bryce Camp. They were two ambitious students at Whitehall Medical, but neith...

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The Final Examination

Submitted to Contest #321

The room is a stark and sterile morgue designed for the meticulous work of a forensic pathologist. Stainless steel tables dominate the space, shining under soft overhead lights that create a calm, almost ethereal glow. The air is cool and carries a faint antiseptic smell, adding to the clinical atmosphere. A quiet hum reverberates softly, a reminder of the machines and equipment that assist in the autopsies. Shadows dance gently on the walls, creating an ambiance that feels detached yet strangely comforting to Dr. Samuel Grayson. This enviro...

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Safety Lies Within The Home

Submitted to Contest #321

I have always enjoyed being at home. When I think of being at home, a warmth grows inside of me and spreads out to the tips of my fingers until I feel like jelly, unable to move from my bed. Plenty of other people feel the same, that’s why they can’t wait to go home or get work from home jobs or become recluses. Safety lies within the home. Never in my life have I liked the thought of living alone, all by myself, left raw and exposed for the world around me to beat, batter, and break. I was content with my life, the one I have always lived,...

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the crazy clothing store

Submitted to Contest #321

Sam groaned as his wife excitedly pulled him into the clothing store. He dreaded these shopping trips with her – the endless aisles and racks of clothing seemed to stretch on for miles. It always took hours, his feet aching from following her around as she sifted through each item with meticulous care. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting an artificial glow on everything. He longed for the comfort of his couch at home, where he could relax and watch TV instead of being dragged through store after stores, they had to go to every si...

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Mr Skinner

Submitted to Contest #321

Prologue Keyla sat in the backseat of the car, her phone buzzing with notifications as she chatted with her friends. The afternoon sun cast a golden light through the windows, and their laughter filled the small space. “Can you believe those people out near the woods still believe in that skin-stealer cult?” Keyla scoffed, shaking her head as she texted. Beatrice, sitting next to her, sighed, glancing out the window as if something unseen might be listening. “Keyla, stop it. I don’t think we should be making fun of them. Even though they’...

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Hairy Situation

Submitted to Contest #321

Today was a good day. Today was a really, really fucking good, good day. A new client came into the salon this morning. Pretty young thing. Thick hair to her waist. The hair was black. Coal black. But unlike coal it was shiny, healthy, glimmering underneath the lights. She sat down in the chair and swivelled to face the mirror. “I’m looking for a drastic change,” she told Mark, looking up to his reflection. “A girlfriend suggested a bob to me a few months back and it’s taken all that time to work up the courage to get it done but I’ve made u...

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Of Actions and Consequences

Submitted to Contest #321

“What the hell?”I hear my coworker, Jimmy, whisper over my shoulder. “I thought we were supposed to be at the courthouse; isn’t that where the murder took place?” I say nothing for now. Our car arrives outside of the public library. The engine turns off, and a sharp January wind makes my eyes water. I pull my scarf tighter around my nose. I like winter, but even I have my limits. But winter is murder season. People falling left and right. Poison here, a gunshot there. This is the fifth case within a month; all bodies left with a mark from th...

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PETRUSHKA

Submitted to Contest #321

An explosion of color! A blast of joyful musicks! There looked to be hundreds of tents and kiosks set up for the Shrovetide Fair—the last chance to laugh, dance, and simply just enjoy life before the forty terrible prayer and fasting days of Lent (but don't let a priest here you tell that truth!)Today, from the highest to the lowest, there was no separation between the people. Had Tsar Nicky left the Alexander Palace he would not have found it inappropriate to join the khorovod circle with the lowest of his serfs and gladden their hearts.The...

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Love Story

Submitted to Contest #321

I have always been a fan of the enemy to lovers trope. The Pride and Prejudice structure of going from I Despise You to Marry Me Now. It’s sexy. It is undeniably sexy. There is an established heat from the beginning. A very thin line between seething hatred and lust, and then the sweet transition into something softer. Something lovely. When I was younger, I didn’t really believe in love. But I read about it. Oh, did I read about it. Most of the books I read were romance. The same story told over and over again, in different ways, with a hap...

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A Mother's Day surprise

Submitted to Contest #321

Disclaimer: Extremely graphic and disturbing content A Mother’s Day surprise Sarah couldn't believe how incredibly beautiful the woman still was. Her face was pale and crinkled. She had olive green eyes. And she kept brushing away the silvery strands of hair that blew across her face from the old fashioned circular standing fan.Mrs Marek was a second-generation Polish immigrant. She was half-Irish and her father was a metalworker in Warsaw who sailed to Staten Island in 1911 just before the war. Her mother, Henrietta, was a lacemaker who als...

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Stop 8

Submitted to Contest #321

Virgil was very, very tired. Each morning, he rolled over, groped for the button on the alarm clock, sat up in bed, stretched his arms toward the sky, and let out a yawn that did not sound like a lion's roar. The sounds that came from his mouth while he yawned were a moan. This moan was a lifetime's worth of dissatisfaction jettisoned each morning into the ether, and no one beyond Virgil would ever hear his unhappy braying. No one would ever rush to his side to offer to make things better, to make him better, to make his existence on this pl...

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A Fishy Tale

Submitted to Contest #321

Wind-surfing the gnarly waves at Gazos Creek Beach had me amped up, stress-free, and hungry as a wolf. Driving back to The City, I veered off the Coast Highway towards Duarte’s Tavern & Restaurant in the tiny town of Pescadero.I stepped off the street into the near-empty barroom and got a welcoming hello from the bartender, a proper old-timer in a white shirt and vest with “Tom” neatly stenciled on a brass name tag.I asked if the restaurant was open yet. He said, Twenty minutes so I slid onto a stool and ordered a draft beer to pass the ...

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The Familiar

Submitted to Contest #321

“Are you sure this is it?” I asked, pacing beside Thomas. My yellow eyes narrowed at the house peeking over the brick wall. “Doesn’t exactly scream murder mansion.”“Yes,” Thomas said. His hands stayed tucked into his trench coat pockets as he studied the façade beneath the brim of his fedora. “The Ghost House of Baker Street. Six deaths in the past six years. All human.” His tone was idle, but his gaze didn’t leave the house.The building was an eighteenth-century Georgian, its multistory brick façade looming behind a weathered wall. Trees st...

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The Truth of Darkness

Submitted to Contest #321

On a silent night, Anamika was walking alone on a deserted road. Darkness surrounded her, with only a pale-yellow bulb flickering on an electric pole. The echo of her footsteps grew louder, and her heart filled with an unknown fear… as if someone was following her.Suddenly, a voice called from behind: “Stop!”Anamika froze. She turned and saw a man dressed in black, his eyes gleaming strangely. Terrified, she ran as fast as she could.The road ended, and an old appeared before her. Without thinking, she pushed the door open and rushed inside.T...

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