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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story about someone looking to make amends for a mistake.

Posted in General on Oct 1, 2020

Submissions are closed!

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✍️ 245 stories

“Where the Water Meets the Sand” by Mollie Rodgers

My mother almost drowned me once. My pudgy fingers were wrapped around a sapphire, a blue glass jewel caressed to smoothness by a century of waves. I had spied it resting on a dimple in the sand. I wondered at the shard’s origin; perhaps a pirate’s goblet or the perfume bottle of an exotic, sunken princess. The slap rang in my ear before I felt the heat spread. I raised my hand to my face, too late to shield my stinging cheek. She snatched my treasure from the sand where it had dropped and hurled it in a high a...

149 comments 149
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“Bright Yellow” by Alby Carter

Red. The strawberries you hand-picked from your garden. I always pick the not-quite-ripe ones, but you have a sixth sense for the perfect fruit. You'd wanted to grow your own strawberries since you were a teenager and learned about all the chemicals that are put into mass-produced ones. You decide to eat just one while you wait for me. It's delicious. You've read all the books on gardening. You know all t...

56 comments 56
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“Grey Clouds” by Deborah Angevin

To Bella, Did you remember the sunset that we last saw together, the sunset that caused your death? Did you know that the dazzling orange colour changed to a night filled with grey clouds, just a moment after you breathed your last breath? Yeah, of course, you wouldn’t know that. You would’ve been dead by then. Anyone who had seen the scene would know that you died right aw...

248 comments 248
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“The Brightest Stars” by Doubra Akika

“Maybe we just lived between hurting and healing-” Benjamin Alire SáenzPeople do bad things, but some people make one mistake that changes everything. The mistake consumes them. I am some people.Scars were a sign that you had been hurt, but you had healed. Scars fade, but they remind you of what had happened. She didn’t have scars because her wound was fresh. It never got time to heal. Three years had passed, but it didn’t matter how much time had passed when her wound was cut open so frequently.…….“Davina, wou...

108 comments 108
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“Lamentation” by Corey Melin

With the sins of his past haunting him James rode his motorcycle back into town after ten years spent maturing.“It’s amazing how little the town has changed,” he muttered as he came to a stop at the edge of town.He couldn’t say the same for himself. Leaving town in a hurry with a rapidly fading young spirit. Now, returning much more mature, and paying for the sins of his past. James is now here to possibly release those sins, and move on with his life.“I hope I can move on w...

62 comments 62
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“Julian Fairthorn” by Batool Hussain

Hi guys! Batool here. For those of you who haven't read "You and the train" and "Zita" already, go and read those two first and then read this one. I'll gladly wait:)Monster. Monster. Monster. You are a monster. What else can you be? A person who lost his parents, his siblings, his family, his wife, his relations, all because of his vicious nature. What else can he be called? There is blood, a lot of it. And, then there is Zita. Despite being bruised all over, a weak smile blossoms over...

58 comments 58
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“Her Beautiful Hands” by Pragya Rathore

Her hands were pitch-black now, but they had not always been.The bus lurched on the iron bridge crumbling apart. It stumbled on the bumps of the road like an infant learning to walk. She would have clutched the armrest to reassure herself that she would survive the journey, but between the residual dirt and sweat left like a legacy by previous passengers, and the old man subtly trying to shift closer to her, she remained indecisive.“Going to work?” an old lady enquired, elbowing the old man as she spoke. He smiled s...

76 comments 76
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“Good Friends Are Important ” by Avery G.

Present day. I messed up. I messed up so badly.Alexandra Maffindale was locked in her room. She was sitting on her bed, desperately trying to figure out her life. I can’t go back. She thought. I’ve made too many mistakes. A knock on her door made her start up quickly.“Alex?” A voice asked. “You there?” There was silence for a moment.“Yeah.” Alex whispered. Then she said louder. “Yeah. I’m here.”“Olivia is on the phone. You wanna talk to her...

85 comments 85
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“The Running Man” by Zilla Babbitt

The man stood up, shadows falling off him like a cloak. The night wind was cool and clean, and the moon’s face was cleared of clouds by a gasp of dry wind. He was narrow and dark in the twilight of the street corner. Up the street, shops were golden and teens thronged under street lights, giggling and talking and sharing pictures on phones.

26 comments 26
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“Small Problem” by Abigail Airuedomwinya

On August 4th, he was told of the small problem with his lungs and how, consistently, every one of the results showed the blackness and fragility of it. A doctor broke the news to him just when the sun was at its peak and she did it with care and attentiveness. The four hundred cigarettes passed before his eyes and he smiled and he touched her hands. She didn't think the news would do anything to him except show him how ...

8 comments 8
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“Desert Mistakes (part two to Ash Called Oscar, Lina, Beba Maria) ” by Rhondalise Mitza

The sun was back with a vendetta, only it held rays like fire over the earth instead of a machete. It wore a mask of radiating, pulsating heat and Beba Maria felt like she was going to pass out.  The day had been long, the road hard, and the undertaking of their task was proving more difficult than they had expected. They’d missed the boat because Oscar had fallen down, scraped a knee, chipped a ...

25 comments 25
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“A Familiar Tale” by Laura Clark

Failing his final year at Harlington’s Magical Academy was the worst thing that had ever happened to Jon. His entire family, from his parents to his eighth cousin twice removed, were magicians. At this point, it wasn’t a hope he would qualify; it was a base expectation. The moment his father found out that he would not be graduating was a moment that would be forever burned into the corners of his mind.He was, however, uniquely privileged in that his father was a High Sorcerer and a golf buddy of the headmaster. Where ha...

59 comments 59
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“Am I...? (Part 1)” by Pranati chavali (temporarily inactive)

I inhaled deeply and looked up at the starlit night.I was running away from home.The deep sky, the shivering wind, the vast, empty forest welcomed me as if I was one of them. Well, I really was one of them.Hi, I am Iris, the daughter of the leader of the most influential werewolf clan in the city. The forests are our home during the nights. All nights are dangerous for the common humans, because we tend to turn occasionally into werewolves, although it is mostly at our own will. But we have to tuck ourselves ...

30 comments 30
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“Guilt Trip” by Aditya Pillai

Guilt is a curious thing, isn't it? I think so. I watch it on the television every night. Yesterday it was the millionaire who touched kids. The day before yesterday was the politician who took money that wasn't his. Before that—was it a murderer? Or another rapist? I forget. There are just too many faces. I change the channel and watch a person on a unicycle get the big shiny buzzer. I clap.Tonight I walk through the streets. It's dark and everything is very still. I see a bird flying overhead. Alone, while the whole wo...

38 comments 38
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“Scars” by Thom Brodkin

Brian had lived in Fairbanks for less than a month when the “accident” happened and, just like most accidents caused by 13 year old boys, this one was never intended to hurt anyone. He called it an accident because it was the only way to ease the guilt he was feeling. He couldn’t say he was sorry, not without admitting he was responsible. He couldn’t do anything but wallow in his self induced misery. Brian’s dad, Brian Sr, was a sergeant in the Army who was now stationed at Fort Wainwright, Alaska.&nb...

75 comments 75
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Contest #54

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This week's theme: Second Chances

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Ended on 23:59 - Aug 14, 2020 EST

Won by Mollie Rodgers 🏆

Title: Where the Water Meets the Sand

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