Write a story that includes the line “I should’ve known better.”

Posted in Dramatic on Jan 3, 2025

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✍️ 90 stories

“Christmas is a Busy Season for the Necromancer ” by Audrey Knox

Submitted to Contest #284

When Karen Joy first heard rumors about a real, practicing necromancer in her city, she hadn’t realized it would be so difficult to book her services. Apparently, like most merchants, Ella Parker was busiest during the holiday season. Karen Joy was surprised to hear this. She assumed that Ella would be most in demand around Halloween. But Ella told her that was only the second busiest day of the year for her services. The veil was even thinner on the night of the winter solstice. Plus, it was easier for a necromancer to contact someone on th...

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“Emma Goes Outside” by Andrew Elliott

Submitted to Contest #284

“Emma Goes Outside”Short Story by Andrew Elliott Emma lay sprawled on her bright blue bed, her fingers absently tracing the soft fabric beneath her, a great imitation of silk, she had been told by her mother long ago. Above her, holographic stars swirled in mesmerizing patterns, casting a dim glow across her futuristic room. The walls vibrated with light, reflecting her mood, their current muted blue in synch with her simmering frustration. Surrounding her, a cocoon of gadgets...

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“The Next Chapter...” by Julie Grenness

Submitted to Contest #284

Her past was a different land of no regrets, no turning back. Annamarie was not gaining too much maternal support in this quest. Once when younger, she had thought love was a sign, but it was all going cactus now. She supposed she had to ski the angst from her young daughter, coming home from her first year of secondary school.The big issue was now that Annalie had no dad's name on her birth certificate. Annamarie had loved to party when not much older tban Annalie. Unfortunately, she was still quite sure which of those hotty hornbugers was ...

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“The Last Guest” by Terry Horton

Submitted to Contest #284

The wind howled fiercely outside, a mournful wail reminiscent of a banshee suffering from a sinus infection, as it pounded against the weathered walls of the old Bexley Manor. Inside, the grand hall was alive with the clamor of the annual Bexley family reunion, a chaotic blend of laughter and strained conversations. The air smelled strongly of overcooked ham, covered in a thick, sweet glaze that shone under the dim chandelier light. Beneath the cheerful conversations, there was a hidden tension—a sense of resentment visible in the eyes of th...

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“Axel” by Mason Bordes

Submitted to Contest #284

He doesn’t sit as much as his legs give out underneath him, his ears are filled with cotton and a weight has seemingly decided to make his guts a home. He’s pretty sure his heart isn’t working anymore due to the boiling gaping empty hole he feels in his chest. There are voices around him, he can’t quite understand what they’re saying, logically he knows they’re close, he can decipher two vaguely human shaped shadows on the ground before him, though they’re slightly misshapen and terribly blurry due to the tears drowning his eyes. H...

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“The Last One ” by Alexea Walls

Submitted to Contest #284

Tears trickled down his cheek and landed on my lifeless body.“I’m sorry” He whispered. “I’m sorry this happened to you. They’ll find whoever did this.” “Do you have any leads?” he asked the detectives, tears still pooling in his eyes. “None so far, but we’re doing everything we can.” The cop closest to me reassured him; like he meant it. Like there weren’t millions of cases of dead woman just like me piling up on desks all over the country. He and the cop stood next to the autopsy table on my right, while the second cop stood further back,...

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“If Only” by Tony Jones

Submitted to Contest #284

It’s Friday afternoon and it’s time for Brenda Marsh to head to the grocery store on the way home from work. Brenda is a retired schoolteacher who now works part-time for a local insurance agency on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons. But, on Fridays she gets off at 4:00, which is perfect for beating the 5:00 crowd at the store. However, on this particular Friday, she had to stop for an oil change on her car before going to the store. She still arrived ahead of the afternoon crowd, but just barely. She could see the additional customers...

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“Door” by Abbey Ryan

Submitted to Contest #284

It appeared on Thursday around 1:30 PM. Maybe 2. Maren wasn’t entirely sure. She only noticed because it wasn’t supposed to be there. It had entirely replaced the south wall of her apartment. What used to be a flat expanse of beige with nothing but a broken clock, a collection of nail holes without any nails or pictures hanging from them, and a few black scuff marks… was a door. A large, ornate door. It was dark wood with swirling carvings that lacked any logical pattern, leaving Maren stricken. It didn’t match the original apartment because...

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“Preparing for Harpo” by Shawanna Hall

Submitted to Contest #284

As Shawna awoke early one morning she noticed that the sky was still dark. She rolled over and saw that the clock on the nightstand read 5:25am. She had nearly overslept, as her mate's alarm was set to go off in five minutes. She had grown accustomed to getting up at least twenty minutes before her mate's alarm. He was accustomed and insisted that she have breakfast ready for him when he awoke each morning for work. Her heart started to pound thinking about what happened when he didn't wake up to breakfast on the table. Harpo, her true mate ...

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“What could go wrong?” by Scarlett Bailey

Submitted to Contest #284

What could go wrong? The Choice It was dark. The type of darkness that sent men running. A darkness that was impenetrable. A darkness that made Mother Happy....It was 2100 when Mother first introduced her laws, the world was euphoric. No more crimes, no more unnecessary punishment. With poverty gone the world would be free. You could go out into crowded markets and not have to worry about having your money stolen so other poor, disgraceful souls could benefit from your loss. You could leave your doors unlocked overnight and have no chanc...

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“Technomancer 6: A Change of Expectations” by KC Foster

Submitted to Contest #284

**Mature content, mentions of violence***The clouds drifted above Masa, their puffy white edges haloed by the orange light edging over the wall of the canteena. She squinted, wiping the sleep from her eyes, and stretched. Behind her, Leron grunted, pulling her back towards him. “Stay,” he whispered, kissing her cheek and resting his head beside hers. It had all happened so fast. One kiss had led to more and before she knew it they were lying together beneath the blanket she kept in her pack on the roof. She felt a twinge of guilt. Her father...

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“The Me Without the You” by Billy Edaem

Submitted to Contest #284

My cellphone chirped from the other end of my office. I was always getting distracted from my work, so my girlfriend, erhm ex-girlfriend got me an apple charging station to leave in the corner of the room. Once every hour an alarm would go off prompting me to take my five-minute walk about in the apartment and check my messages, twitter, Facebook, Instagram, the news and my fantasy baseball team. It was easy to see how and why I got so distracted. I became so viciously connected to my phone that I would...

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“Down the Proverbial Rabbit Hole” by Pete Gautchier

Submitted to Contest #284

Prompt: Write a story that includes the line “I should have known better.”Down the Proverbial Rabbit HoleI consider myself to be a passionate person reveling in the opportunities to express my inner self. Right away one may think I am a painter, or a sculptor, or a musician. Frankly, it is none of those because my paintings look like stick figures made by preschoolers. Certainly not a sculptor because my objects end up as masses of clay as though they were formed by a ninety-five-year old with arthritic hands. And by...

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“Wavering Faith” by Christina Cooper

Submitted to Contest #284

Wavering FaithChristina Cooper I should’ve known better. The moment I walked down the stairs to see that the living room was empty, and he wasn’t there, my gut hit the floor. How could this have happened to me? Everyone told me the truth, but I didn’t believe them. I have no idea why, I just didn’t. For some reason, I just wanted the fantasy to be real.I had spent weeks altering my behavior so he would be happy. I changed my habits, tried to get out more and speak to people more; I tried to be more social when all I really wanted to do was ...

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“An Imperfectly Perfect Christmas” by Rachael Colby

Submitted to Contest #284

Although I was heading out of the country for ten days, I determined Christmas 2024 would be stress free—not the usual last-minute mad dash. My sweet potato casserole and other side dishes lay stacked in the freezer. Likewise, the dough for honey-spice ginger snaps, rolled and ready to slide in the oven. Cheery holiday tins filled with fresh-baked anise and almond shortbread adorned the buffet, most of my shopping was complete, and the house clean when I departed. There’d be plenty of time to complete the few tasks left on my list to prepare...

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Write a story that includes the line “I should’ve known better.”

Submissions are closed

✍️ 90 stories

“Christmas is a Busy Season for the Necromancer ” by Audrey Knox

“Emma Goes Outside” by Andrew Elliott

“The Next Chapter...” by Julie Grenness

“The Last Guest” by Terry Horton

“Axel” by Mason Bordes

“The Last One ” by Alexea Walls

“If Only” by Tony Jones

“Door” by Abbey Ryan

“Preparing for Harpo” by Shawanna Hall

“What could go wrong?” by Scarlett Bailey

“Technomancer 6: A Change of Expectations” by KC Foster

“The Me Without the You” by Billy Edaem

“Down the Proverbial Rabbit Hole” by Pete Gautchier

“Wavering Faith” by Christina Cooper

“An Imperfectly Perfect Christmas” by Rachael Colby

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone who receives a gift or message that changes their life forever.

Center your story around a character spending their first holiday alone.

Center your story around an unexpected guest who changes a traditional get-together.

Set your story in a place where everything should be familiar to your character(s), but isn’t.

Contest #284

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

347

Contest entries

145

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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