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

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✍️ 62 stories

“San Francisco Run” by Jill Gallin

Submitted to Contest #196

My throbbing feet tell me I’ve been standing still, staring at the Departures screen too long. It’s decision time. Savannah or San Francisco? That’s the question. I should join the girls, but the City by the Bay keeps flashing at me—each blinding letter a lightsaber piercing my heart. I could go to the ticket counter, pay the change penalty and show up on his doorstep, ending this story -telling nonsense for good. If necessary, I could tolerate the pain of rejection. I stall instead, scour the gate area for a seat, open my laptop, and...

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“What if” by Rya Johnson

Submitted to Contest #196

‘Where did you get this!’ Rya squeals as she inspects the immaculate antique oil lamp. The copper metal reflecting the overhead office lights as she turns it slowly. ‘At a street market in Egypt. A vendor there had them and was selling all different kinds. That one made me think of you, so here we are.’ Sawyer beams as she watch’s her sister marvel at the petite metal lamp. ‘The vendor guy said that there’s an old wives tale about the lamp and how it can gra...

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“Nicotine Dream” by Marshall Chapman

Submitted to Contest #196

CW: Mature Themes Maryanne awoke entangled in her silk white sheets, the sun shining through the open bay window at the edge of her studio apartment, landing its rays and accentuating her golden mop of hair. Ever present and then non present was the dull agitation she felt when she wanted a cigarette, or was on her period. Right now it was both. She grabbed her phone off the bedside table and began scrolling through the daily rabble, syphoning the dopamine from likes and comments tha...

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“Something” by Vicki Myers

Submitted to Contest #196

Friday, 11:07 "How could you say that?" Emma yells, storming out of the room toward the front door. "I can't with you. I just fucking can't." She turns back to look at Ethan who is following her. "Well, what do you fucking expect? When you come home and act like this!" he yells back, arms flailing like everything she had said was in the air between them. "I don't know, maybe I expect a fucking partner. Someone who won't jump down my throat at any moment. I'm done. I have to get out of here." She ...

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“It Only Takes a Moment to Open or Close a Door” by Christine Richardson

Submitted to Contest #196

Gavin J. Hubbard Junior, lately of London, Ontario, Canada, grunted with exasperation as his insubstantial astral body began to ooze through the chair he was sitting on. If he had known how annoying life after death could be, he would have taken better care of himself. Not that it would have changed anything. There wasn’t much wrong with his forty-two-year-old body until the sixteen-wheeler flattened his car.It was all that stupid therapist’s fault. “Take a little detour to a pretty place, sit quietly and unwind instead o...

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“Riding the Struggle Bus” by Ali Anthony Bell

Submitted to Contest #196

It’s a hot summer day in Casablanca, and I’m riding the bus home from work, standing room only. I had a seat when I got on at the terminus, but I soon gave it up to an old lady, something that most of the local men would never think of doing. It irritates me to no end. Sometimes, when I see a big hulk of a man sitting thoughtlessly while an old man or woman, a pregnant woman, or a mother with infants is standing right next to him, I want to go up and say “Hey, if that was your mother you’d be standing! There’s no difference. Get your ass up!...

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“Blessed” by David Nesbit

Submitted to Contest #196

Oh, think twice. It’s just another day in paradise’. The wafting sounds of Phil Collins’ hit from a few years ago were cutting into the mid-day sun as Bobby made his way down to the beach to while away another few hours of his well-earned holiday. Although just 23 years of age, Bobby sometimes felt much older. He had been working full-time since he left school seven years earlier and in that time had applied himself to such a degree in that he already felt on the verge of burnout. It wasn’t a good feeling, and so pretty much at the insis...

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“A Major Decision” by Madeline Honig

Submitted to Contest #196

“I couldn't put it off any longer. I had to choose,” Victoria said into the phone. Victoria had called to tell her mother the exciting news. It took her a long time and many pros and cons lists to decide. But now she was sure, she had finally chosen a major to study in college. The decision of picking a major had been weighing on her for two years and she couldn’t put it off any longer. She took classes in as many subjects that interested her. That is how she knew she didn’t want to study Chemistry, Anthro...

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“In Another Turn” by Catherine Hudson

Submitted to Contest #196

Kali Sometimes the goddess Parvati and I argue over who has more power, she or I. Parvati, as one of the goddesses of love, of course claims that love is the most powerful of phenomenon. Particularly as it relates to motherhood since the love of motherhood embodies the power of instinct and survival as well. My argument is that as the goddess of destruction, I have more power, as love can only do so much in the face of the various destructive forces that humans seem to bring upon themselves in their ...

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“What Could Have Been” by Amber Medina

Submitted to Contest #196

Amber wiped the tears from her face and turned the AC vent towards her. She closed her cerise, puffy eyes, rested her temple against the cool glass of the truck window, and welcomed the blast of frigid air against her torrid face. Zoe, quite astute for her 15 years, and could always tell when she'd been crying, and she did not want to talk about it yet. She hadn't been able to convince him to come back home. He hadn't come right out and admitted the affair, but she knew. She wasn't stupid. Nor was she desperate. She wasn't going to be...

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“Fated Rain” by Vaishnavi Katta

Submitted to Contest #196

Elliot was nervous, beyond nervous, beyond anxious. Was there even a word for how fast his heart was beating? He supposed if it existed, it could be found in a medical school textbook. With a few sprays of cologne and a little gel in his hair, he decided he was ready, or at least as ready as he could be. He clenched his fist to his chest and took a few deep breaths. This was it, a date with the girl of his dreams. Elliot met Lola in class two months ago and sat next to her every day since. It was a small discussion about the philoso...

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“That's a Terrible Idea...What Time?” by Jedediah Laub-Klein

Submitted to Contest #196

That’s a Terrible Idea…What Time? What Could Have Happened Helen pulled out of her racist gynecologist’s office parking lot. There was a red truck in front of her. OnThat the back of the truck were a set of metal testicles and a “my body my choice” bumper sticker. She glanced at the clock on the dashboard; it read 5:57 pm. She knew it was going to take her a half-hour to get to Lupe’s house. They were leaving at 6:45 p.m. The guy in the truck seemed to be trying to get the parking attendant’s number. She was giggling, but...

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“Annie's Rules (Les Regles d'Anni)” by Nancy Weber

Submitted to Contest #196

Annie’s Rules Annie’s Yellow Cab Rule #4: If her hail attracts a minivan with a duck bill snout and sliding doors, she must shake her head and wave it on. The door is a test she always flunks. Either she doesn’t tug fast and masterfully enough to satisfy the driver and he treats her to a stream of derision, or she tugs so hard that the door slams with tinny reverb, cuing the driver to buck vengefully into traffic before she can find the goddam seatbelt. Rule #4.5: If it’s raining, and she’s not wearing a raincoat (you kno...

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“Ill Doctor” by Tiger Tanya

Submitted to Contest #196

Raindrops battered the stone-cold gravel as the tired tires tore through the ragged roads, tirelessly. My heart slammed against my chest; the leather beneath my claws blunt and the air filled with anticipation, sweat. Looking through my rearview mirror, headlights burned along the pavement, the steam smoked the surrounding air. My eyes flickered left and right, the veins in my hands blue with tension. Just then, one boot, then two boots slammed against the slippery road as tiny droplets clung onto the car door. Jet black hair, bl...

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“TWINS” by Gloria Murray

Submitted to Contest #196

1240wds TWINS Walking on legs like a zombie, eyes clouded with the film of tears, throat with a large pit stuck inside causing me to swallow over and over, I moved slowly toward the casket shrouded in white gauze...

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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

✍️ 62 stories

“San Francisco Run” by Jill Gallin

“What if” by Rya Johnson

“Nicotine Dream” by Marshall Chapman

“Something” by Vicki Myers

“It Only Takes a Moment to Open or Close a Door” by Christine Richardson

“Riding the Struggle Bus” by Ali Anthony Bell

“Blessed” by David Nesbit

“A Major Decision” by Madeline Honig

“In Another Turn” by Catherine Hudson

“What Could Have Been” by Amber Medina

“Fated Rain” by Vaishnavi Katta

“That's a Terrible Idea...What Time?” by Jedediah Laub-Klein

“Annie's Rules (Les Regles d'Anni)” by Nancy Weber

“Ill Doctor” by Tiger Tanya

“TWINS” by Gloria Murray

🌟 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

279

Contest entries

149

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: