Write about a character unknowingly experiencing a “sliding doors” moment. Write your story in two halves; what could have been, and what actually happened.

Posted in Dramatic on Apr 28, 2023

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 63 stories

“The Bullet that Esther Stopped” by Delbert Griffith

🏆 Winner of Contest #196

II shot papa square in the heart but he didn’t die. That damn bible he carried with him saved his life. I was considerable lucky that papa had his axe at hand, and that he kept it sharp. I picked it up. It was a heavy thing, so I swung with all my might and put it right through his head. Seein’ his brains made me throw up. I moved away so it wouldn’t get on papa. That would be disrespectful.Papa was a big man. I couldn’t bury him like that, so I started choppin’ off his arms and legs with the axe. I was down to the right leg when Sheriff Cul...

208 comments 208

Read story

“Night Music” by Michał Przywara

Submitted to Contest #196

TW: violence, sexual violence, suicide.Tyler stands at the edge of the roof and stares into the alley far below, as the cold night wind ruffles his t-shirt. And he remembers the last chat he had with Matt, and he hears the refrain to his life’s theme song crescendo in his mind: Oh how quickly things can change. His worn boots scrape another inch over the ledge. When the wind suddenly dies down, the silence brings with it a different song, a warm song, words felt and not heard.What if?What if he took a step back, right now? What if he turned ...

50 comments 50

Read story

“PRETTY LOOKIN' PEOPLE ” by Susan Catucci

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #196

PART 1: PRETTY LOOKIN’ PEOPLEBonnie stood staring into her closet. She was still wearing the worn slip she’d slept in. Since she’d broken her arm a few days earlier, dressing herself had become a challenge. She was quickly running out of garments she could fit over the plaster cast and washing her clothes was almost impossible with one functioning arm. Elsie, a nearby friend who lived alone, had offered to pick her up and have her come and stay for a spell, until Bonnie could manage to do more on her own.Bonnie...

36 comments 36

Read story

“What’s Going On?” by Michelle Oliver

Submitted to Contest #196

The train grinds to a halt midway between stations and you look out the window onto a freeway that better resembles a car park. It is as if the entire world has been forced to a stand-still. All about you, in the cramped carriage, there are chaotic bubbles of conversation and exclamations of dismay, and your heart staggers within your chest. You really should have taken the earlier train, you’re going to be late.You check your watch for the time, then cross check that against your mobile phone. Late. The minutes are ticking closer and closer...

35 comments 35

Read story

“In the Shadow” by Kelsey H

Submitted to Contest #196

I have relived this day a thousand times, and it always starts the same way: with the hiss of the coffee machine piercing the silence.At 5.45AM in summer the kitchen was already light. Since returning to work after maternity leave, I’d been getting up increasingly earlier each morning, in an attempt to grab a moment of stillness before the day began and everyone else’s needs started pulling at me.Sun filtered through the curtains, illuminating the living room and the debris left from our children sweeping through.Beside the couch was Thomas’...

36 comments 36

Read story

“Crossed Paths” by John Rutherford

Submitted to Contest #196

He was rummaging around in the box, trying to find the piece of paper that contained her address. The box contained many possessions from a previous life, artifacts, pictures, memorabilia, left behind when they moved abroad. There was the uniform cap, scrap books of sojourns and travels, it was a time capsule of sorts. He found it, a scrap of paper with her address. His Dad appeared at his side, stood beside him, and then asked, “What are you looking for?” Then he added, “What’s that?”, as he saw the scrap of paper take so much interest fr...

10 comments 10

Read story

“Click” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #196

A good photograph tells the truth, but slant, a trick of light and shadow, at times telling what could be or, could have been. Cory scuffled at the envelope, his thick fingers unable to release the simple tabs tucked into the slots, until he gave up and ripped it open. Once a professional photographer, he knew the power of photographs, and still in his suit jacket and dress shirt sat down at his kitchen table, anxious to see what was on these photos. Did his son Ethan take the pictures? Maybe, when he was younger, before…...

20 comments 20

Read story

“Folding Clothes in the Baby Department” by Shauni Cardenas

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #196

Trigger warning: miscarriage, griefI am folding clothes in the baby department for my dumb retail job. The music is god-awful garbage, mind numbing, and offensively inoffensive. I detest that I have been stationed here in this tiny little corner surrounded by such tiny little things. How do you fold miniature pants that are only even inches long? Somehow, I doubt the babies will be impressed by the neat creases and color-coded shelves. I know their mothers don’t care since they’re the ones who mess it all up for me again as they search thoro...

4 comments 4

Read story

“Chat To Me (Emily's Story)” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #196

My toddler has been crying since yesterday. I really need to turn this thing off soon.“Emily, You can’t go offline now,” my teammate Zeke says, always pushing the mission as usual.“He’s right.” Freya’s face appears, looking concerned. “You promised to stay with us until the trial.” She is the easy-going one, so when she gets serious, that's a sign something is important.We are on our way to the trial of Copernicus to present arguments for clemency. If we don’t reach Rome by 1616 and petition the Pope, the timeline will see Galileo hange...

22 comments 22

Read story

“In Another Life” by Miljana Djuric

Submitted to Contest #196

The dinner was finally over. John and I were picking up the dishes in the kitchen. Not a word was spoken by him and I could feel his anger boiling up inside him. He avoided even looking at me, which made me feel worse. I didn’t know what to say, so I kept my mouth shut and focused on the task at hand. I placed a stack of plates in the sink and turned on the water. The moment I turned away from him, I could feel his eyes on me, burning holes in my back. I hated when we went to bed like this, with him angry and not talking abou...

5 comments 5

Read story

“Lydia” by Kylah Adams

Submitted to Contest #196

The sounds of keys hitting the table and pipes groaning as the faucet pours water into the basin wake me from what was already fitful sleep. The water cuts off and the door hinges creak. I hear the window squeak open and smile to myself as the other side of the bed dips down. A draft cools me for a moment when she pulls the blankets back but just as quickly as the warmth fled, it comes flooding back with her body heat. I hear the steady rhythm of her breathing as she falls into a deep sleep, I soon follow. The smell of bacon and pan...

8 comments 8

Read story

“The Reflection of the Water” by Aliza Palmer

Submitted to Contest #196

February 2014: I stood there. I felt ill. I looked over and saw all these people counting on me. I saw Bea waving at me from the millions of spectators, I saw Anna, my coach, her eyes hopeful but calm, and then- I looked down, the blue water waiting. Waiting for me to take that leap, to jump. It sparkled, and I felt like I was about to pass out. I shouldn’t jump, something inside of me was saying ‘don’t do it’. But…I couldn’t let them down. Everyone was counting on me. So even though my legs felt like jelly, and I couldn’t stop shaking, I ju...

5 comments 5

Read story

“Little Choices” by John Werner

Submitted to Contest #196

Little Choices The alarm. The groan of the day's first effort. The shuffling scrape of bare feet against the hardwood floor. The flush of the toilet. The washing of hands. The brushing of teeth. This was the easy part. The routine. These small comforting steps I take towards motivation. When I say motivation, I mean coffee. But there is a lot to do between this and coffee. The squeal of the sliding closet door upon its old and dry paint clogged tracks comes to the predictable thumping halt as I push it har...

10 comments 10

Read story

“Passing Trains” by August Norton

Submitted to Contest #196

Beep beep beep I open one eye just enough to hit “snooze” on my phone before falling back asleep, hoping that I could stay in my dream. I was sitting on fluffy green grass while elevator music played around me. Sitting across from me was Thayer, the boy with the beautiful hazel eyes, the boy I had loved for a decade, the boy who broke my heart. It’s pathetic how often I still dream about him, sometimes I feel like my brain is trying to sabotage me. Even though we are only sitting a few feet away from each other I can’t hear what he is saying...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Lucky Penny” by Kathleen Kralowec

Submitted to Contest #196

Gabriel bent down to take the penny off the street, ignoring the old warnings in his mind. “You don’t know where it’s been,” came the voices of his teachers, discouraging kids from picking up coins, feathers, shiny things from the ground. But there was something about this penny, how it sparkled on the cement, that overrode all these voices, and he bento to pick it up. Tthat was the moment everything changed, though Gabriel didn't know it. Not ten minutes before this, Gabriel was walking down the street, complaining to his friend Char...

1 comment 1

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story that includes the phrase “Maybe in another life.”

Dialogue – 74 stories

You’re walking down the street, when you spot a familiar figure. It’s another you. And they’ve come from an alternate reality to warn you about something.

Thriller and Suspense – 32 stories

Write a story involving a portal into a parallel universe.

Science Fiction – 61 stories

Set your story in a world where time travel has been perfected, and people can use it to hop between alternate timelines — but at a cost.

Dystopian – 50 stories

Contest #196

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: In Another Life

$250

Prize money

280

Contest entries

149

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - May 05, 2023 EST

Won by Delbert Griffith 🏆

Title: The Bullet that Esther Stopped

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

Menu

CONNECT

BLOG

APPS

TOOLS

ABOUT

Write about a character unknowingly experiencing a “sliding doors” moment. Write your story in two halves; what could have been, and what actually happened.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 63 stories

“The Bullet that Esther Stopped” by Delbert Griffith

“Night Music” by Michał Przywara

“PRETTY LOOKIN' PEOPLE ” by Susan Catucci

“What’s Going On?” by Michelle Oliver

“In the Shadow” by Kelsey H

“Crossed Paths” by John Rutherford

“Click” by Marty B

“Folding Clothes in the Baby Department” by Shauni Cardenas

“Chat To Me (Emily's Story)” by Scott Christenson

“In Another Life” by Miljana Djuric

“Lydia” by Kylah Adams

“The Reflection of the Water” by Aliza Palmer

“Little Choices” by John Werner

“Passing Trains” by August Norton

“Lucky Penny” by Kathleen Kralowec

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story that includes the phrase “Maybe in another life.”

You’re walking down the street, when you spot a familiar figure. It’s another you. And they’ve come from an alternate reality to warn you about something.

Write a story involving a portal into a parallel universe.

Set your story in a world where time travel has been perfected, and people can use it to hop between alternate timelines — but at a cost.

Contest #196

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

280

Contest entries

149

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: