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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story where a character must continue to tell their tale to a listener to avoid unsavory consequences.

Posted in Dramatic on Mar 10, 2023

Submissions are closed

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✍️ 41 stories

“Once Upon All Times” by Laurel Hanson

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #189

The grandmother had finally rounded up the children and marshaled them through their bedtime routine like a military operation: brushing teeth, scrubbing hands and faces, changing into pjs, locating stuffed animals that had gotten lost in the excitement of the day. But going to sleep itself, that was another matter for three small children in beds that were not their own. A summer with their grandparents was going to take some getting used to. The children squirmed anxiously beneath their blankets. A request for a nightlight came from the ...

39 comments 39
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“Simply Sympathy” by Michał Przywara

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #189

Who’s the stupid bitch now, Ma? Christine wonders. Her heart flutters as her prospect and neighbour, Mrs. Martinez, holds the jar of Crystal Dreams in her palms, rotating it with her calloused fingers, squinting at the label. At 25 mL it fits in one hand, like an old fashioned ink jar.I’m helping people.“How many can I put you down for?” Christine puts on her biggest smile and takes out an order form and pen. She hopes it’s a big number. At just over $50 a unit, she imagines a big payday – finally something to dent the debt.She hopes it...

51 comments 51
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“The Tale of The Two-Headed Whale” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #189

“I am Cap’n Cutlass of the ship Golden Plunderer, an’ I’m in the mood for mischief.” The ale house fell suddenly silent at the large, bearded pirate blocking the only exit from the building. “I have conquered the seven seas, outfought the English Navy, and outrun the fastest of Spanish galleons. Who here can challenge my prowess of the sea?” Drinking, eating, cavorting suddenly ground to a nervous halt. Cutlass was notoriously unpredictable. Rumoured to have once cut a man’s ear off for not listening to what he had to say, added to the pira...

24 comments 24
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“SHOWDOWN INTERRUPTED” by Susan Catucci

Submitted to Contest #189

Messenger angels and demons throughout Heaven and Hell had begun spreading the word about an upcoming event that would determine, once and for all, the fate of the world. The polarization of life forms had proven to be a disastrous experiment. God and Satan had watched from their respective vantages and come to the same conclusion. The mortal realm simply could not figure things out on their own and it was time for drastic measures before Planet Earth was reduced to a fading memory, a blip on the radar of what once was.The two...

18 comments 18
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“Whispers in the Halls” by Micah Zarin

Submitted to Contest #189

I never thought I'd be sitting here, spilling my secrets to someone I hardly know, but life has a funny way of turning your world upside down. You see, I've found myself in a rather precarious situation. If I don't keep my story going, "they" won't be happy, and trust me, you don't want to see them unhappy. It all began on a stormy night, the kind that makes you want to curl up with a good book and a cup of tea. Little did I know, the dark clouds overhead mirrored the sinister events that would soon unfold. I had just wrapped up my job as ...

3 comments 3
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“The Storyteller and the Keeper of Words” by Beth Peterson

Submitted to Contest #189

As long as I kept my eyes closed, I could pretend everything was okay. I could ignore the rocking of the wooden cart beneath me. The straw poking through my pajamas. The cold nipping at my fingers and toes. The pounding headache that came from having too much to drink the night before.It was the sound of goats bleating in my ear that finally convinced me to open my eyes.There were six of them tied to the cart. Each took turns snatching mouthfuls of straw from my makeshift bed. They stared me down as they chewed. Their rectangular pupils gave...

6 comments 6
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“Raymond's Regret” by Raeghan Holland

Submitted to Contest #189

CW: gore (abuse, murder, infant death); mental health Maybe more people like me are out there, but who knows for sure. I spend my days lurking local garage and estate sales, looking for old journals and anything that looks like it's lived a life. Whenever I leave my cold, quiet home, I feel this surge of energy to go find something worth learning more about. Whether it's an old book, a name and date written in the front and children's scribblings covering every page. An old camcorder or computer hard drive the last owner forgot to wipe. Ev...

2 comments 2
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“How Many Milligrams? ” by Maria Lewytzkyj-Milligan

Submitted to Contest #189

How Many Milligrams?by Maria Lewytzkyj-Milligan1937Popeye would never admit he was wrong. And he absolutely hated that some journalists had appealed to data rather than authority and found out that in fact, the idea that spinach was so nutritious, and the only reason he was even empowered in his cartoon strip, was a misprint. What? he asked.He held the newspaper inches from his face before he threw it to the ground in front of his boss Elzie Segar’s office. How could intelligent people who had helped him get his job in the first place forget...

4 comments 4
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“The Odahists” by Andra Patterson

Submitted to Contest #189

“When you stop speaking, you stop living. Are we clear you wretched fool?” Perhaps those vile words will never stop spinning in my head, ringing endlessly to remind me of my entrapment and pure torture. Although I mustn’t break the character to which I have been assigned, I’ve become ridiculously talented at speaking of one subject and thinking of an entirely other. Although this may seem terribly easy, and something as familiar as tying your shoes, it has become the biggest ultimatum of life. I am only permitted a short four-hour rest pe...

2 comments 2
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“Date Night” by Ben Lages

Submitted to Contest #189

Content Warning: This story contains violence and references to mental health problems.The following is an excerpt from the interrogation of Salvatore Jordan by detective Jeannette McBride, Thursday, January 21, 1993. Transcript courtesy of the Farnsworth Police Department.JEANNETTE MCBRIDE: Sal, you need to give me something, or I’m not going to be able to help you.SALVATORE JORDAN: I’ve told you: I have nothing to give you. I wasn’t in Matty’s apartment Monday night.JM: That was a lie when you said it four hours ago, and it’s a lie now. Yo...

2 comments 2
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“The Penpal” by Mandy Cole

Submitted to Contest #189

The Penpal An actress has been kidnapped by a long-time friend; can she write her way out of trouble? Dear Kyle,            In yesterday’s letter, I wrote a little bit about one of the classes I took in my freshman year at Northwestern. You seemed to really like it, because when you slipped my breakfast, sanitary items, and stationary through the flap in my door this morning, you asked me to write more about school in today’s letter. Actually, if I’m being perfectly honest, it ...

1 comment 1
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“The Last Rites - or, How Father Goodman Became The Most Hated Man in America” by Sam Joyce

Submitted to Contest #189

The SS Fullbody, as a rule, operated on a skeleton crew. No shortage of able-bodied men would leap at the chance to earn their daily bread in those days. And yet, there were only ten crewmen aboard, not counting the captain – who didn't count for much – on a vessel that called for thirty. The captain was a man of fierce black hair and even fiercer temperament, and, as his crew knew well and his passengers always came to know, he was never found without a bottle close at hand. The Fullbody was a small cargo liner. The best-known secret ...

2 comments 2
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“Quillons and Honour” by David Foster

Submitted to Contest #189

Henri Castelmagne, the young Comte de Bastignone and one of the officers of the city watch, strode into the small tavern, doffed his plumed hat to shake the cold February dampness off and swept his cloak away from his sword hilt. He’d just come off from the four ‘til midnight shift and wanted his usual glass of wine prior to going back to the guard’s quarters for the night.  He’d discovered the modest tavern and inn quite by accident. It was clean and quiet, with a friendly atmosphere about it and its cellar was surprisingly w...

4 comments 4
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“Suspended Sublimation” by Cay Macres

Submitted to Contest #189

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t pull the trigger.”  Cool steel pressed against Chronos’ hot forehead. “I have blasting jelly on me! Enough to blow the whole ship up if you shoot me.” “I don’t believe you.”  “You haven’t shot me yet, so I think you know I’m not bluffing.” Chronos sighed as Basu’s pistol dropped from their face. She still held onto it with two hands. “So what if you’ve got jelly? I’ll just shoot you once we dock.” “I don’t think you want to do that.” “No?” “I’m valuable to you.” Basu laughed, eyes still i...

1 comment 1
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“The Choice” by Kimberly Neuhausel

Submitted to Contest #189

I always envisioned planning my wedding and baby shower as a joyous and momentous occasion. But as I sat in my perfectly painted bubblegum pink room, realizing the stress of planning them simultaneously, I began questioning my life decisions and how the color on the walls was my only sign of hope. I did not imagine being 21, pregnant, and forced to spend the rest of my life with a man who abuses me physically and mentally. Not to mention, my weight had skyrocketed well in the 200s, and any white dress would make me look like the Stay Puft Ma...

0 comments 0
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Title: Decomposition Sits with You

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