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

Posted in Dramatic on Jan 3, 2025

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✍️ 94 stories

“So Far Away” by Summer Austin

Submitted to Contest #284

"A little bit further," the hiker said to those behind him. "Haa," a lot of exhales ensued. "Come on, keep it up." A line of hikers traveling up the snowy ridge could be seen, by a wayfaring choppy helicopter.Zoom out and there were a lot of aircraft in the skies, each headed toward their own destination. Stunt planes veered right and left, and lower, on the foaming, bright and blue sea, ocean liners steamed ahead, their direction tried and true. Earth was brimming, and on the other side of the galaxy, my planet was just getting started. "Ta...

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“The Lead Letter.” by Robin Lozano-Byrd

Submitted to Contest #284

My grandad never talked much. Not because he didn’t love us. I never got that impression at all. He just didn’t like speaking. Quiet as a mouse, he was like a ghost, sometimes seen but rarely heard. He always came to every function. He’d sit down with us all, break bread and chow down. He loved collared greens probably more than us all. He’d make the cornbread every Christmas. I made mashed potatoes just for him, his favorite thing. That and the pie. He’d pile his plates up high. At least the food did make him smile. He would always stay for...

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“Make the choice” by Bernard Davis

Submitted to Contest #284

“You’ll have to make your mind up Liz. And realise that’s the only way it can be, you have to look out for yourself.” Darren gave that harsh laugh he does so often. “It’s dog eat dog in this life, and I want to be top dog. London, that’s where it’s happening, then New York, somewhere big, alive. Stick with me Liz and we can conquer the world. Little people get trampled and I won’t let anybody trample us.” We’d had this conversation before. I’d never be classed as an idealist, never a ‘do-gooder,’ but the idea of just walking all over people,...

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“The Letter in the Locket” by Caroline Guirgis

Submitted to Contest #284

Amara never expected to inherit anything from her grandmother. The woman was a mystery, a recluse who lived in a creaky house on the city's edge. Amara only visited on holidays, conversing politely while her parents traded awkward pleasantries with their estranged relative. So, when the lawyer handed her a small, tarnished locket after the funeral, Amara was bewildered. "This belonged to your grandmother," the lawyer said, his voice grave but soft. "She left instructions that it be given to you personally." Amara turned the locket over in he...

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“Dead Hours” by Tilo Basswood

Submitted to Contest #284

I woke up to notifications. My sister is one of those people who doesn't send messages in one go. Instead, each sentence arrives in strokes. That morning, nine rings anticipated one voice message. My sister always embraced redundancy.The voice message was a guilt trip about how our aunt could no longer take care of our father. The poor thing is confused and unable to live anywhere other than his beloved beach house. The message went on to remind me that I had been away from our family for the last 15 years and hadn't set foot in our ho...

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“Half-real” by Beatrix Cea

Submitted to Contest #284

“Alev honey, there’s mail for you!........ Alev?.............. ALEV!” I sigh. No point ignoring it anymore. “What is it?” I ask, preparing for the worst. “Jeez Alev, you could answer me the first time and not make me climb all the way up here! You know I'm getting old!” I roll my eyes. Of course she’s not getting old. She’s thirty and I tell her just that. “Old!” She replies, but with a smile. Zane is my aunt’s wife, we’ve been living with her and my aunt, Amaryllis, since my mom, my brother and I moved in with them last July. “So, abou...

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“The Note” by Isabel Arner

Submitted to Contest #284

T.W. suicide/mental health/substance abuse topicsTuesday March 9th, 1987 The cramped classroom was suffocating. I glanced at the clock even though I knew the time hadn’t changed since I last looked. “Five more minutes,” I told myself, as if that made any difference. My home life was no better than school was. The worst part was that everyone knew; teachers always asked how I was doing, and peers threw me pitying glances in the halls. Of course they pitied me. My mother’s substance abuse made it very hard for her to take care of me, so ...

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“Someone who receives a gift or message that changes their life forever.” by Susie Bennett

Submitted to Contest #284

The salt-laced wind whipped Elara’s hair across her face as she trudged along the shingle beach. Another failed fishing trip. Her nets, heavy with seaweed and disappointment, dragged behind her like lead weights. At twenty, she was considered past her prime for marriage in the village of Seabrook, her days increasingly spent in the company of the gulls and the empty sea. Today, her hope had sunk lower than a drowned stone.Tired and dejected, she noticed a flicker of firelight nestled between the rocky outcroppings at the edge of the cove. Cu...

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“THE LIGHTHOUSE” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #284

Home is where the heart is. This is a saying my mother lives by. This is a saying my mother always used to tell me. My mother always believed that your heart will lead you to the place you were always meant to be. My mother still believes this. She writes to me all the time. Her writings are a lifeline to my home. In the letters my mom says to me "Jaylen, let your heart lead you home." Only if it was that simple. I lived in the most beautiful place imaginable with the most beautiful and loving family and then tragedy struck. In the blink of ...

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“Only Moments” by Sara Winter

Submitted to Contest #284

A line drawn in the sand - on it a pebble. A wave washes in, and the pebble is gone.I remember playing on the beach, building sand castles and collecting seashells. My baby brother crawling toward the water, giggling, and getting his diaper wet. It was a small beach in a conservation area, so we weren’t allowed to take anything with us when we left, but I always slipped a shiny pebble or broken seashell into my pocket when it was time to go home. Each one a memory stolen from a sacred place.Now, they lie in a little jewellery box in a b...

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“The present” by Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #284

"I don't think I can give you a promotion this year," he said. I felt a kick in my stomach. I wanted to scream and cry. Still, I did none of those things, and instead, I smiled at my manager. The year before, he had made me believe-- during the recruitment process-- I had better chances to climb the Corporate ladder by working in his department, but sitting in front of him in that tiny meeting room, I felt like a fool. Once more, I heard how difficult it was to make upper management give me an opportunity. After all, I did not behave as expe...

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“The Unexpected Gift” by Deloise Gambrell

Submitted to Contest #284

The Unexpected Gift As I lay at the bottom of the marble staircase, broken and in pain, I held onto hope, praying for someone to find me. The thought of facing death alone was daunting, and I was determined to hang on to life. For the past hour, I had drifted in and out of consciousness, but the cold marble tile against my face anchored me, reminding me that I still had to fight. It was vital for me to stay awake, so I focused on how I had arrived at this moment only a few hours ago. It was Christmas Eve, and for the first time, I found myse...

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“The daughter-in-law” by Atan Solp

Submitted to Contest #284

“Robert and Elizabeth, I now pronounce you husband and wife!” said the priest. “You may share your first married kiss!”Robert’s mother wiped away tears of happiness. *** “Mom!” Robert Ramsay jumped out of the vast, high-tech, stylized house, barely seeing his mother’s flyer descending to the parking lot. Mrs. Ramsay left the landing green flyer but did not approach yet; he raised his head, looking at the bright blue sky with thin white clouds as if smeared across the sky’s surface. Another flyer appeared from afar, this time gray. Robert gla...

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“A Fractured Mirror” by Matthew Foster

Submitted to Contest #284

Jenny sat on her filthy sofa playing her umpteenth round of Forest Fighters. The only light came from the tv screen, which was a small blessing. The mess only stressed her out. Her small apartment reeked, but she couldn’t tell. She hadn’t left in months, and she thought she never would. Why leave when she could get everything she could ever want delivered right to her door? The outside world was not her friend. It never had been. The outside world is where pain and rejection happened. No one could hurt her here. Well, except for herself...

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“The Lucky Dip” by Samantha Pope

Submitted to Contest #284

Philip Marks is my Secret Santa recipient and I don’t know what to buy him. Like thousands of other people around the world trying to buy something for someone they cannot stand. I tried to get out of it – I already missed the Christmas dinner at Ye Olde Cockrel and Wastrel – but they’re doing Secret Santa on the final work day and I cannot take the day off’ I’ve used up all my annual leave. In previous years, I always drew women as recipients. They’re easier – a bar or two of soap usually does the trick. But Philip Marks is a young, loud, ...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 94 stories

“So Far Away” by Summer Austin

“The Lead Letter.” by Robin Lozano-Byrd

“Make the choice” by Bernard Davis

“The Letter in the Locket” by Caroline Guirgis

“Dead Hours” by Tilo Basswood

“Half-real” by Beatrix Cea

“The Note” by Isabel Arner

“Someone who receives a gift or message that changes their life forever.” by Susie Bennett

“THE LIGHTHOUSE” by Melinda Madrigal

“Only Moments” by Sara Winter

“The present” by Laura Camacho Frias

“The Unexpected Gift” by Deloise Gambrell

“The daughter-in-law” by Atan Solp

“A Fractured Mirror” by Matthew Foster

“The Lucky Dip” by Samantha Pope

🌟 Similar prompts

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

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

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 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: