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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Start your story with the line, “That’s the thing about this city…”

Posted in General on Apr 16, 2021

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✍️ 311 stories

“the city called you, they want their angst back ” by Rhondalise Mitza

That’s the thing about this city. It gets inside your head, makes you think that for once in your life, you’re gonna do something great. It makes you think that every time you walk by a stranger on the street, that they could mean something to you, so every time you leave the house you dress up and you look nice and you run those streets as though you own them, and they don’t own you. In the city, you don’t think anything owns you till it’s too late, and you’re lying in your room and looking up at a ceiling that doubles as the fl...

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“The Hidden Force of Tempered Glass” by Zilla Babbitt

That’s the thing about this city—it looks like it’s made all of glass. The city seems so big and hardy, full of stretching alleys and ever-expanding secret holes and infinite dim-lit streets. And at night the skyscrapers, glassy and poignant, are the only things marking the path to the sky. There is the big one Mom and I called the Keyhole, because there is a gap at the top that some huge god-sized key might unlock. To where we didn’t know. Narnia, probably. Heaven, Mom always said. “El cielo.” She is lik...

33 comments 33
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“Bleeding Skies with Lost Wings” by ♥ ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕠𝕥𝕚𝕔 𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕒𝕝𝕤♥

That’s the thing about this city…it was once home to flying humans. The sun was a cracked yolk-shell, spilling crusty yellow and frosted blue across the skies. Plastic bags flit along with the dully quiet interstate, shed of anything except the squat fire extinguishers and sidewalks following its path. Imani followed the road, cracking her knuckles to break the silence which often made her...

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“Hold Me” by Writer Maniac

That’s the thing about this city: it is always alive. It is like a long winding creature, always moving, always breathing, its heart always beating rapidly, fueled by the oxygen of our hopes, dreams and expectations. Our lives entangle and separate, but the city never stops for anyone. Everyone is a part of this city, and the city is a part of everyone. It is always a looming presence, sometimes a comfor...

58 comments 58
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“Enchanted, Enchanting” by Nainika Gupta

“That’s the thing about this city, angel. It never grows old.” Asmodeus said, sighing as we watched the sun sink below the skyline of Chicago. I murmured in agreement.  “Mm, even when the Fire came and roared through the city, we bounced back like nothing happened,” I replied. I saw him shift uncomfortably at the mention of the Chicago Fire and grinned to myself. He sat on the park bench for a long mom...

35 comments 35
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“An Eidolon Named Night” by Litlover 📖

** This story has lines from Edgar Allan Poe's poem Dream-Land, my favorite poem, and you can see by now that EAP is one of my favorite authors as this is the second story that has a poem of his in it. I hope you enjoy it in all of its oddness.**By a route obscure and lonelyHaunted by ill angels onlyWhere an Eidolon named NightOn a black throne reigns upright“Tha’s...

274 comments 274
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“A Saint Patrick's Day Green Snake Story” by Stevie B

That’s the thing about this city—you can meet the strangest people who’ll tell you the strangest stories…“To Seamus!” all the Irish diaspora who were drinking their heavy, dark Guinness stouts and green tinted beers on Saint Patrick’s Day at The Blarney Stone Pub, located somewhere in the West 30s neighborhood within the concrete-canyons of New York City, loudly toasted. “To Seamus O’Malley and his sorry Saint Patrick's Day snake bitten arse!...

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“sorryChild” by Abigail Airuedomwinya

"That's the thing about this city," she began, her hands sweeping the hair from his neck. "It gives a lot but it takes too. You got to learn how to balance it." He pulled away from her reach and ran outside, into the fields and the twisting trees. He didn't know it but he was running away from home and his aunt and her beautiful, soft hands.  The sun was grey in the sky, a color resembling the skin beneath ...

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“The End of Days - New Orleans” by Deidra Lovegren

“That’s the thing about this city,” said Detective McMurtagh. “It’s impossible to discern what is real—or just a Mardi Gras illusion.”Maretha shook her head. “I just don’t like the South in general. Voodoo. Fried foods. And that peculiar institution left its stink on everything. The New Orleans slave pens trafficked more people than anywhere else in America—combined. This city is cursed.” She looked out the car window. To no one’s surprise, it was raining. They drove silently from the airport to the do...

43 comments 43
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“The Distortionist” by 🦈⛰️𝔼𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 𝔸𝕧𝕒𝕔𝕒𝕤🏳️‍🌈🦈

That's the thing about this city; since father practically runs it, everyone is fake. They are mirrors to my face, reflecting what they wish for me to see. The only- "So, Jonathan..." My eyes bolt up to the woman before me, her thin curly hair piled stiffly upon her head. To perforate my thoughts is something only she could do, dastardly woman. "I was still wondering why you summoned me..." her deep,...

38 comments 38
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“Nothing Changes” by ℂ𝕒𝕣𝕠𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕒 𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕨 🏳️‍🌈

“That's the thing about this city,” Will said, looking at the two lane highway. “Nothing changes, nothing stays the same.” “Wow, Will, that was real philosophical.” I shoved him playfully on the arm. “What?” He asked. “Just because I’m a handsome skier doesn’t mean I’m a total airhead.” I giggled. “Riley Grace!” My mom called. “Young man, why are you still here?” Will Jackson, my boyfri...

35 comments 35
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“thursday night open mic” by Natalie Strawbridge

That’s the thing about this city, I thought, as I examined the business card between my thumb and forefinger. Just when you think it’s time to pack up and leave, it sends you someone offering to change your life. Cady returned from the bar, balancing a quizzical expression and two drinks – mojito for me, something bright orange for her. She carefully set the mojito on a coaster and slid ...

25 comments 25
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“The Rogue One ” by Lemon Lime

"That's the thing about this city, we can't hope to change anything without making it worse," a voice rumbled from downstairs."But Matthew, the council was supposed to meet the other day and discuss...""Oh, what do they know? A bunch of idiots. I told you, the main roads aren't functional, and the fire hydrants are still frozen.""What difference does that make? It's winter, for crying out loud! You're aware the fire station's been shuttered for three months now, aren't you? This place ...

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“The Law of the Jungle ” by K. Antonio

“That’s the thing about this city, Riley,” Juan pauses. He takes a puff from his Newport and then continues, “Shit here is never gonna change.”We’re both sitting on the ledge of his front porch. Juan’s letting me tend to his newly acquired black eye with a frozen T-bone that his mom can still hopefully marinate for dinner.“They can’t even see us talkin’ to a girl that they pounce like fuck’n jaguars.”I don’t understand why Juan is so pissed off. It’s not like he lost his life today. Us...

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“All because of a Gold Bar” by Niveeidha Palani

"That's the thing about this city," Elias sighed."What?"Dale unloaded laundry into a neon orange patterned basket. "Eli, I'm going to the launders. Do you want me to do yours?" she asked, staring at the stack of shirts and jumbled-up shorts and boxers piled up against the wall.Elias bit his lip. "Yeah, whatever. I planned to take them in next week. But, sure. Anyways, there's too much crime in the city. They just reported a rob in the bank today morn'."Dale s...

15 comments 15
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