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

“Amy's Gift” by Jane Andrews

Submitted to Contest #284

‘Another glass of red.’ ‘We’re closing in 5 minutes. Sorry.’ Josh blinked blearily at his watch. ‘It’s only quarter to,’ he protested. ‘You’ve got time to pour me another.’ ‘Last orders are always 20 minutes or so before we start chucking people out.’ She was only a slip of a thing, but the girl behind the bar stood her ground. ‘Anyway, you haven’t finished that one yet.’ He tossed the liquid down his throat just to spite her. He didn’t enjoy the taste these days – but then he’d always had other reasons for drinking. What did that doctor kn...

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“The Family” by Mason Schuman

Submitted to Contest #284

Juan was driving home from The Reef in Los Angeles where he worked. He made this 30 minute commute every day, but Juan had no clue that this day would be different. He awoke that morning excited to go to work. Today was the day that he was getting a raise. He was a dishwasher at The Reef, a world famous restaurant in Los Angeles. When Juan was little he grew up in California City. He had always wanted to be an accountant in Los Angeles, but when that didn’t work out, he got a job at The Reef. On his way home, he received a text message with ...

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“What's In The Box?” by Stefan Lasker

Submitted to Contest #284

I came home, and there it was. A small non-descript package. It’s not Amazon; you can always tell it’s an Amazon package from the tape. It's a dead giveaway. It wasn't Walmart either. I didn't order anything, but I took the package in anyway. I looked at the box, and it was addressed to me with no return information. I didn't know who would order something for me, so I opened the box, and it was a coffee mug. I thought whoever sent this knew me because I am a crazy coffee fanatic. I wrapped my hands around it and noticed that it was curved o...

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“Shadows” by Di Alderton

Submitted to Contest #284

The purple wall seemed to glare back at Cassie as she sat on the edge of the bed. She ran her hand mindlessly over the bedspread as she wondered what she had been thinking when she had stubbornly fought for this colour in their bedroom.Luke had agreed to the feature wall colour, but he had never liked it. They had compromised on the shade of purple and it was darker than she had wanted. She had tried to get him to give in on the shade being darker, but he would not budge on it. She had accused him of being moody like the wall colour. He had ...

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“The Composer ” by Dane Andersen

Submitted to Contest #284

The composer, spinner of a weave of enchanted stories, whispered in his ear like a moth lingering perilously at a flame’s edge. Drawing closer and closer like a thought to its frenetic possible conception, James could feel her motion pulling him toward her. He held his breath as though underwater when alerted to the embodied song of her presence afraid to expel her before her words became clear. From what felt like miles away a faint hint of words unspoken could be made out. Yet these lucky syllables, a simple collection of a language yet to...

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“The Giving One” by Cee Jay

Submitted to Contest #284

She deserves it. With the little that I know, I can be sure that she deserves it. She deserves more. Maybe I've assumed too much of her, gluing together possibly imaginative qualities, wanting to mold a character that made me feel hopeful. Hopeful of an existing yet rare virtue. Exiting the dirtiest bathroom in school, I had yet to withdraw from thought. Since the senior season was over, my schedule expanded greatly, my beaten body and sensitive soul restored dramatically, my life liberated. Though it was terribly bitter, finally putti...

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“someone who turn over a new leaf” by Zhou Wx

Submitted to Contest #284

it was in secondary school when all this occurred : being a top achiever . he has always gotten good grades since schooling but everything change when he went up to secondary schools : he disrupted classes , made teachers helpless and never gotten good grades , it all seem like a broken teen . it was not all that devastating , he only realized after some time it was burn out in a student's life. he actually got burned while in higher streams during primary school , there was no reward being in a higher stream even though getting good grades ...

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“The Gathering” by Alex Marmalade

Submitted to Contest #284

The house was a crumbling fortress of whispers. Mariam sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor, her fingers brushing the coarse edge of the rug beneath her. She stared at the wooden door, its flimsy latch her only barrier against the world outside. Her breath came in shallow, uneven gasps as she pressed her hand to her stomach.The kerosene lamp flickered, casting shadows that stretched and twisted across the cracked plaster walls. The dim light accentuated the fraying threads of her worn dupatta draped over her head. Outside, the village mu...

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“Nick's Mysterious Gift” by Regina Arnold

Submitted to Contest #284

It was Christmas Eve and the snow was falling softly over our small Nebraska town, wrapping it in a white blanket. The streets were empty. All of the residents had retreated to their cozy homes to celebrate with family and friends. But for me, this Christmas was different. I sat alone in my little apartment, staring at the flickering lights of my miniature Christmas tree. I had just moved to the Midwest after a long, drawn-out bitter divorce that left me close to broke and lonely. I had no one to share this special night with, and the though...

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“Faced With Change” by Freedom Leigh

Submitted to Contest #284

“Gus! Gus, I got a telegram for you!” Thirteen year old Buckley Shawson came running up with the piece of mail in his hand. He had recently gotten the job of delivering the mail that arrived on the new train passing through their small village, and this was the first time he had been able to deliver anything to his own family. He handed the note to his older brother and held his breath expectantly.Gus carefully unfolded the note and scanned its content. He was silent for a long while.Buckley had grown very quiet beside him ...

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“Asking After Dark” by Sloane Macdonald

Submitted to Contest #284

“You mean the double exposure stuff?” he asks, and this is where it gradually begins to break down. She doesn’t know it yet, doesn’t know what those words mean. She can hardly even see him in the dark. “Double exposure?” “Yeah, you know.” He glances sideways at her, continues walking. “Like, two exposures in one picture. If you’re doing film photography.” This is what she likes about him, the boy from her chemistry class. He has an artistic air of intrigue that she’d like to command herself. They’ve been texting at night—an in...

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“Sip Of Immortality ” by Abdullah Sherpao

Submitted to Contest #284

Mr. Johnson, a widower millionaire living in Manhattan, led a simple yet stressful life. He was a generous man who found joy in helping the poor. Mr. Johnson had a kind heart but feared the possibility that upon his death, his children would have a disagreement over the distribution of his property, as they hated each other. Up in the skies, discussions of another sort of distribution were taking place in Olympus, where 12 Greek gods lived. Gods couldn't die but could fade away if forgotten, which was what had just occurred in Olympus. Olymp...

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“How to grow a pineapple plant” by Cosmas Broek

Submitted to Contest #284

The faucet finishes filling the soapless bathtub. She closes it and looks at her trembling hands. The doorbell rings again. She exits the bathroom and wipes her eyes with her purple fleece sleeve, but tears have long stopped running. Slowly she unlocks the two locks and takes a deep breath before she opens the door as far as the door chain allows. Two grayish blue eyes in an old unshaven gray face stare at her for a silent second.“You are home,” the man states while trying to straighten his back a little.“Who are you?”“Nobody else is home. I...

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“My Beloved Child ” by Cedar Moss

Submitted to Contest #284

Do you remember that story in the Bible where Jesus is getting baptized and the sky opens, a dove descends, and the voice says, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.”? Don’t you wish everyone, I mean everyone, would get to experience that? It would, of course, once and for all quell that nagging voice inside that says: “I’m not good enough, no one cares, I messed up again.” Ever wonder what else it might do? Well it happened to me. Really, it did. I Was lying in bed. So, you can call it a dream. ...

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“DO NOT TRUST HIM” by Ivana Pavićević

Submitted to Contest #284

This story contains sensitive content of mental health and physical violence, gore, or abuse.AwakeningI wake again. How long must I?Clothes lie scattered; a glass shattered, and a smear trails down the wall, like bloody fingers dragged downward.I don’t know what happened. Emptiness. Again. Just a black void where my memories should be.Damn it, the days blur and slip away.I look at my hands—yet my palms seem foreign. As though they aren’t mine. Whose are they?I assume I drank. Did I? Yes, I must have. I’ve had these “gaps” before. Blackouts. ...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 94 stories

“Amy's Gift” by Jane Andrews

“The Family” by Mason Schuman

“What's In The Box?” by Stefan Lasker

“Shadows” by Di Alderton

“The Composer ” by Dane Andersen

“The Giving One” by Cee Jay

“someone who turn over a new leaf” by Zhou Wx

“The Gathering” by Alex Marmalade

“Nick's Mysterious Gift” by Regina Arnold

“Faced With Change” by Freedom Leigh

“Asking After Dark” by Sloane Macdonald

“Sip Of Immortality ” by Abdullah Sherpao

“How to grow a pineapple plant” by Cosmas Broek

“My Beloved Child ” by Cedar Moss

“DO NOT TRUST HIM” by Ivana Pavićević

🌟 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: