Write a story that includes the phrase “Thank you! It’s just what I wanted.”

Posted in Holiday on Nov 18, 2022

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✍️ 31 stories

“A Simple Heist” by M B

Submitted to Contest #173

Dark clouds blotted out the stars with the threat of an imminent downpour as wind blew across dark streets. If not for the bobbing lanterns of the watch weaving through the streets the city would have appeared to be dead. From the shadow of an alleyway, a figure leaned against the wall. The shadow stared hungrily at the manor house beyond the wall ahead and studied the hired badger thugs - armed with mean-looking spears - keeping watch outside the walls. The figure in the alley stepped forward a bit, the long lithe body concealed b...

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“PENDANT'S KNOT” by Mary Ndirangu

Submitted to Contest #173

I can barely recognize myself in the mirror. The deep scars on my once beautiful face are only what I see. Nothing more but a scarred soul, staring at its imperfect reflection. I fear that he will come back to finish what he started, like waiting for a nightmare that will never end, all over again. It was nine months ago but I can still feel his icy hands choking my neck, taste his foul breath beneath my tongue and his distant voice keeps me awake every night. He haunts me as a ghost haunts its flesh, its demons. But he is in prison still. S...

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“A Christmas Thank You” by W. Matthew Hart

Submitted to Contest #173

A Christmas Eve walk. W. Matthew Hart 11/18/22 On this day in December, my wife and I decided to walk on the beach together. Thankfully the late afternoon was clear, calm, and cold Christmas Eve. We drove to Forest Beach in South Chatham and parked the car. Then, we opened the car doors and took off our shoes to slip our feet into wader boots. We left the car on this crisp, cold, windless afternoon. We w...

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“What A Surprise!” by Donna Williams

Submitted to Contest #173

The life of a pastor's wife is interesting, to say the least. Most of the time the last thing she expected was to be a pastor's wife. Quite often, when she married the man, she married someone in a profession so far removed from ministry that the thought never occurred to her. Many times she has never known a pastor's wife personally and has only observed her from a distance at church. Then there are the women whose fathers were pastors and as a PK (pastor's kid) she declared more than once, "I will never marry a pastor." But, God seems to h...

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“Mustard Seed” by Fig Tree .

Submitted to Contest #173

Warning: the trigger warnings contain spoilers. TW: Mental Health, Miscarriage, Physical Trauma, Slight Gore Suicide. In the dark, birdsong hours of the early morning in their bed, she could feel the baby blooming inside her. Sometimes, between the sleeping and the awake, her lids still listlessly shut and grasping the last gossamer tresses of dreams, she could feel him shifting inside the swollen curve of her belly, as truthful and foretold as starlight. She knew he was a boy, she read in the shadows and sunrays that he would be born in...

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“Pelican Beach Christmas” by Tim Brostrom

Submitted to Contest #173

Pelican Beach Christmas By Tim Brostrom The elderly brothers walk slowly together along a remarkably barren public section of Pelican Beach, their destination unsure, though there is a holiday festival on the pier ahead. Jonathan, the younger of the two by a few years, is still stout and well formed with a barrel chest, wickedly strong thighs, a proclivity for tapping his fingers one against the other, and a dark black full-cheeked beard with tinges of misty shale gray. He wears a navy-blue nylon windbreaker and wide-brimmed canvas khaki-col...

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“Snowball” by Marija Rozman

Submitted to Contest #173

It is Christmas Eve, a time when children are excited about presents and slightly bigger meal they will get tomorrow, however, for me, it brings realization that I don't have a home. I would love to say I am a 5 year old girl with eyes that sparkle and hair put in braids with little bows, that sits in silence and plays with doll house. That would be a recipe to get out of here, little and beautiful children always leave first. With my 14 years, I am the oldest one here. This place is my only memory since my mother left me in front of the orp...

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“Oh, Thank You, Jeremy” by Ralph Emery Barhydt

Submitted to Contest #173

Oh, Jeremy, thank you. It’s just what I wanted!” She pulled the gleaming, steel gun, a Glock G22, from the wrapping. It really was a thing of beauty no matter what the left-wingers say. She looked it over with great appreciation. After awhile, she ejected the clip. “Jeremy! You devil, you didn’t. This clip is live. So exciting. You really were a dear.” Then, inserted the clip and she shot me three times. It hurt and as I lay dying, I had to reflect over the past year with Connie. So many good, good times. But, she met Alfred. Bummer,...

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“A Family Still” by Joseph Friesen

Submitted to Contest #173

“So do you want it?” Ethan asked. The bells on his knitted Christmas sweater jingled as he reclined on the couch. A fire crackled in the hearth and snow fluttered outside a window that was illuminated by cheap Christmas lights. The scent of baking turkey and oven-top stuffing filled the cozy room where Ethan and his sister sat on overstuffed couches. “What, your air fryer?” “Yeah, I’ll cut you a deal. Fifty bucks, just for you, Cass.” Cass pried open a pistachio and discarded the empty shell on a growin...

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“The Mezuzah Eaters ” by R. Naomí

Submitted to Contest #173

The last time Aviva Zwetschkenstiel owned a mezuzah was when she had slid a matchbox-sized one right up her long-sleeved admiral blue hoodie as she strolled down the open-air markets in Jerusalem. She had purposefully distanced herself from her peers. Eight days later, she found her mother throwing lavender seeds around the garden, and handed her the mezuzah with a slight grin.“Thank you! It’s exactly what I wanted,” screeched her mother, and then in a single motion, she flipped it over to whack the Hebrew letter shin against her palm, picke...

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“A Damn Fine Martini” by Sean Smith

Submitted to Contest #173

The night was starting to wind down and Jim was feeling the hours. He had gotten to work at 10:30am and would be wrapping up business around midnight. Most of his patrons had trickled out at this point. He was hunched over his faithful three-tiered sink, diligently cleaning and stacking glassware to dry. Once his prodigious pile of dishes was cleansed, he’d make a sweep of the tables and set to polishing. It was about an hour before last call, but the time was moving steadily. The bar stools were empty and the tables of guests had mostly b...

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“A chosen prisoner” by Corina P

Submitted to Contest #173

A chosen prisoner By C Pitt December 24th 2021. This is the happiest day of my life. After years of waiting, hoping, praying, I am now released from my cage. The procedure is typical. The crowd watches, observing the prisoners closely. The non-released prisoners watch the released prisoners (or the lucky ones as we are often referred to), slowly getting out of our cells and setting foot into life. Jealousy outlines their poor, tired faces, wondering when is it going to be their turn. I was one of them in the past. Now, my time has come to ...

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“Conquer Him With Love” by K. M. Jacobs

Submitted to Contest #173

What is most shocking, perhaps, is the silence of the room. Four grown men and a baby all occupy the same space, and yet none of them make a noise, at least for the moment. The baby does a little baby stretch in its sleep. One man–the one who has wings that glow faintly in the dim light of the room–cracks a small smile. “I cannot understand what you want us to do with it,” says another. His language is stiff and his body stiffer, although that could be discomfort from his well-pressed and extremely angular suit. He stands up a little...

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“The Smile” by Anna Frederiksen-Washington

Submitted to Contest #173

She reached for the remote control and turned the tv off after watching “Songs of Praise” which her son recommended for her. It was not that she was particularly religious but the program was usually set in an interesting place and today it came from Inverness in Scotland where she had been on a trip around Europe. It must be over 30 years ago now. It was just after her husband had passed on and her daughter in law was going back to see her father in Sweden. She decided to come with them as she feared the thought of being left alone and ther...

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“It's the Thought That Counts” by DEBORAH CLARK

Submitted to Contest #173

Christmas was just a few days away, Miles and his sister Evelyn are sitting on the porch of their childhood home in Northern California, reminiscing about Christmas celebrations from their past. Evelyn smokes her third cigarette and scans the neighbors in the cul-de-sac, putting out decorations, and visiting others with gifts and food. “What do you bet Blair is making his famous apple chutney to go with the ham dinner?” asked Miles. “I can only choke down one bite every year. ...

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Write a story that includes the phrase “Thank you! It’s just what I wanted.”

Submissions are closed

✍️ 31 stories

“A Simple Heist” by M B

“PENDANT'S KNOT” by Mary Ndirangu

“A Christmas Thank You” by W. Matthew Hart

“What A Surprise!” by Donna Williams

“Mustard Seed” by Fig Tree .

“Pelican Beach Christmas” by Tim Brostrom

“Snowball” by Marija Rozman

“Oh, Thank You, Jeremy” by Ralph Emery Barhydt

“A Family Still” by Joseph Friesen

“The Mezuzah Eaters ” by R. Naomí

“A Damn Fine Martini” by Sean Smith

“A chosen prisoner” by Corina P

“Conquer Him With Love” by K. M. Jacobs

“The Smile” by Anna Frederiksen-Washington

“It's the Thought That Counts” by DEBORAH CLARK

🌟 Similar prompts

Coming up with a gift idea was the easy part — getting your hands on it is another thing entirely.

End your story with a character receiving a deeply meaningful gift they weren’t expecting.

Write about a character going to great lengths to return an unwanted gift.

Write a story starring a store cashier, during the busy pre-holiday season.

Contest #173

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

168

Contest entries

79

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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