Write a story that takes place across ten seconds.

Posted in Kids on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 256 stories

“Right On Time” by Andrea Kepple

Submitted to Contest #74

Would knowing when you’re going to die be a blessing or a curse? I’m not talking about getting the news you have only a few weeks, or months, to live. Time to get your affairs in order, say your goodbyes, maybe settle an old score. I’m talking about just going about your everyday life. Just a regular day that would not be recalled in your declining years. Then death looms ahead, in the middle of your path. You have only a few seconds left to live. You will only breathe one, or two more times, possibly squeeze in a third, because now is the d...

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“Getting a cup of coffee ” by Thea Clover

Submitted to Contest #74

The morning sun was only peeking over the French hillsides. Slivers of light began sneaking into the Paris streets. The cafe she was seated at felt as though it was out of a story book. It’s bright red trim travels its way around the window and doors against an old brick exterior. Enormous purple wisteria flowers come tumbling over the balconies above. Seated outside the cafe near the window with a flower basket that fills the morning air with fresh carnations. She sits patiently waiting for her coffee, but the young woman is prepared. Dress...

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“Christmas Eve” by Fiona Fuentabella

Submitted to Contest #74

I was sitting on the bench near the railings of the cruise ship I am in. The breeze of cold air touches my skin. The near calendar strikes to December 24, 2020. It was nearly Christmas Eve already. I released a deep sigh as I saddened myself with the thought of my family in the Philippines. It’s been five times already that I will celebrate my Christmas away from my happiness, my family. I stood up and went to the railings to feel the coldness of the air as it fits the sadness of my heart. I took out my phone because the vibration intervenes...

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“Unfinished Business” by Em C.

Submitted to Contest #74

Music bared over the speakers that dawned the corners of the club's walls. Why they were playing this song, she didn't know, but the melody—lyrics and voice—uprooted something she had long since buried. She had to leave the room. Get away from the noise. But she didn't have time. Time. It seemed to slow as her thoughts clouded her eyes. She needed something. Her entire body craved something. But it was something she refused from everyone. Something she refused to allow herself. But every inch of her skin ached for the comfort she...

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“Ten Seconds of Confusion” by Samuel Liddicott

Submitted to Contest #74

All I heard was a steady beeping. The steady beeping of what though? I wondered. It wasn’t a bird, that was for certain, though if it were it would likely be a new species. It wasn’t a person either as far as I could tell, it was too rhythmic, too.. machine-like. Machine. Machine. It was the beeping of a machine. But what machine? One second has passed. Nine seconds remaining. One second has passed? Surely that was longer than a second. Surely. “Umm… I think there’s been a mistake. That was much longer than a second. Oh, and where am...

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“Promise Me Something” by Lyria Wales

Submitted to Contest #74

TW: Suicide, mention of bloodFloor 22. Hell. The sound of my feet slapping against the concrete stairs, thousands still in front of me. I am not fast enough. December 23, 2004 (Aged 10) Little angels gently dusted the wonderland that lay before Caric. Or at least that is what he saw as snow glided down to silently hang onto the rosy faces of ice skaters, onto the starry Christmas tree in the middle of the square, towering to the heavens, even onto the very essence of the night, it seemed.His hands warmed, with tenderness, by t...

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“An Indelicate Observation” by Ellen Salkeld

Submitted to Contest #74

Was I naked yet? I don’t think so, not at this point, not yet. That detail is lost in the fog of time, faded like words fingered onto a windshield when defrost finally kicks in. He faced away from me, inking in the spaces on the page in front of him. I brushed a long blonde hair from my double breasted, cerulean blue suit with the deeply pleated A skirt. It was one of my favorite outfits that helped to distill my meager courage. Garter and nylon stockings replaced pantyhose that were too painful to wear, but the navy and white pumps spo...

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“PreFlight” by Gary St John

Submitted to Contest #74

Sitting at the gate he noticed the time to start boarding had come and gone. Not hearing any announcement as to why for the cause of the delay, he stood walking towards the desk to ask the agents the status of his flight. While in line to ask his question to the agent, he noticed that a person stood across the concourse at the coffee shop holding a cup of brew intently fixated on observing an individual in the gate area who was seated one row over from where he was sitting.&nbs...

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“It Took Ten Seconds” by Sadie Satkamp

Submitted to Contest #74

Trigger warning: rape He was decent-looking, maybe a little boring to look at. They always were. His hair was dark, perfectly combed over. You would never see a Marine without every hair in place. The fade must have been recent because it was still fresh. He had a weak chin and dark eyes. He had eyes that said he probably crunched numbers for a living or played a lot of chess. Calculating but ultimately uninteresting. He wasn’t a pretty boy; he probably had only ever been with a handful of girls, despite being in his early 20’s. He wa...

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“The Fall” by Sienna Baker

Submitted to Contest #74

Before the fall, she had been envisioning bliss at the bottom. Now, she was simply terrified. 1 In the first moment, she remembered what her mother had said to her once about what to do if you find yourself falling off a building. She had said, don’t waste your final moments feeling terrified, or sad about your life’s imminent end. Instead, enjoy them. Imagine something good. Remember something good. You may not have control over your body any more, but you have control over your mind. These words were easier said with one’s feet safely on t...

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“ten seconds worth memories” by Batool Zehra

Submitted to Contest #74

Grandma kaneez laid on her poignant hospital bed with white bed sheets and puffed up pillows. The ventilator beeping gradually with every breath Laila took. The sun rays felt like a pain to the young adult eyes but grandma kaneez’s grey eyes shone like the diamonds. Her wrinkled skin told volumes of her hardships and family life. Laila stepped closer to the bed, as she moved forward a shadow befell on the white tiled floor, the one that makes you hate hospitals. Grandma held her hand forward towards laila’s body. The moment Laila held it, s...

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“Ten Seconds Before He Died ” by Elvia Duncan

Submitted to Contest #74

Ding, my phone rings as the old man on the bed groans. That’s my dad, Albert, a Mexican man with tattoos and burnt scars all over him. We’ve been here for the past two weeks. The old man always says he will die tomorrow or in the next hour or the next ten seconds. No, daddy, you won’t die, long live daddy Albert, I always comforted him. My dad fixed pipes for his entire life. The long hours of bending down and kneeling on the floor killed his back. Almost fully curved, he walked around with a wooden stick I bought him before all of this. Two...

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“The Gap Between Lightning and Thunder” by Kimberly Yu

Submitted to Contest #74

Levina and Tyrell sat on opposite ends of the couch, the gap between them a painful reminder of the state of their relationship. A flash of white lit up the penthouse as Levina said the same words she had been saying for the past six months: "You need to get a real job."Then, settling herself further back into the cushions, she waited for Tyrell's response. As usual, Tyrell stayed silent, and all Levina could hear was the rain falling outside. The steady tapping of the rain used to feel comforting and therapeutic. Now, its consistency was an...

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“The Right Moment for a Goodbye” by Maya Mcalester

Submitted to Contest #74

“You can’t keep doing this to me! I need you to leave! I need you to—” Bang. “Don’t do it! No!” The words barely had time to leave my mouth before the bullet made contact, burying itself in her head. She looked at me with tear-stained eyes, just once, before her body crumpled to the floor. They always say time slows down in moments like this, but that was far from the truth. I heard the shouting in the distance, the pounding footsteps. Clearly they had heard the commotion and come to investigate. But I ignored them, everything else drowne...

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“In Search of a New Life” by Sydney Bingham

Submitted to Contest #74

The countdown started with a booming voice that flooded the shuttle’s deck.“10…” My teeth were chattering. My bones were vibrating as the engine growled beneath our feet. It was loud. Too loud. I wanted to scream, but there was nowhere for the sound to go before it dissolved into nothing - the same way that I would, like so many had before me. “9…”There were a hundred of us altogether, bound for a new chapter on a new planet. Bound to our seats by plastic handcuffs. Bound to servitude in the new world, should we arrive safely. We w...

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Write a story that takes place across ten seconds.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 256 stories

“Right On Time” by Andrea Kepple

“Getting a cup of coffee ” by Thea Clover

“Christmas Eve” by Fiona Fuentabella

“Unfinished Business” by Em C.

“Ten Seconds of Confusion” by Samuel Liddicott

“Promise Me Something” by Lyria Wales

“An Indelicate Observation” by Ellen Salkeld

“PreFlight” by Gary St John

“It Took Ten Seconds” by Sadie Satkamp

“The Fall” by Sienna Baker

“ten seconds worth memories” by Batool Zehra

“Ten Seconds Before He Died ” by Elvia Duncan

“The Gap Between Lightning and Thunder” by Kimberly Yu

“The Right Moment for a Goodbye” by Maya Mcalester

“In Search of a New Life” by Sydney Bingham

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone scrambling to finish a goal in the last few hours of the year.

Write about someone keeping track of time with tally marks on a wall — until one day they discover that all the marks are gone.

Write a story that takes place across ten days.

Write a story in the form of a top-ten list.

Contest #74

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

727

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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