Write a story that takes place across ten seconds.

Posted in Kids on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 256 stories

“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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“A fly's life” by Erin Eschbacher

Submitted to Contest #74

10 Grey, depressing clouds cover the sky as the common housefly flies over a vast grass field spotted with trees. The day the fly had emerged from its hard pellet-shaped cocoon, air pumping in and out of its soft ptilinum on the top of its head to help break the hard shell surrounding it, air flowing in and out, pumping up and deflating like a balloon, that day had been clear and sunny. The sun had shown down on its little insect body, its wings softer than rice paper, folded against its back. The open pizza box laying neglected by a ...

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“Unpolished” by A Mehendale

Submitted to Contest #74

His strokes are bold and precise, and his fingertips rest cool on her hand for seconds that hold an eternity. The sensation feels foreign, though not unpleasant - a smooth pressure, passing evenly along the nail. She watches out of the corner of her eye, gaze ostensibly fixed on the tiled floor. Alex, for his part, is utterly focussed in front of her, his entire body hunched into and around her thumb. He doesn’t look at her face, and he doesn’t ask any questions, for which she is grateful. He hadn’t said anything earlier either, th...

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“The Thorn with a Rose ” by Siya Goswami

Submitted to Contest #74

Ten - You place your hand on the door, fully aware of the fact that you can lean in if you wish to, slump in defeat, and coalesce—or deform, rather—into a ball of your own pity party. The darkness around you seems to be doing just that, making the light shine dimmer than it usually does on a horrid Sunday evening when the doors close and secrets open, one year ends and the other, to your utter dismay, begins. It is not necessary to step a disheartened foot inside, but the cold, the miserable cold, does not want it any other way. You ...

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“My Last Chance” by Kira Schindler

Submitted to Contest #74

On this day, I was to be married to the King of Luxembourg. I was going to be a princess. It's everything I had ever wanted, or at least thought I wanted. I had a beautiful gown traced with sapphire gems and flower lace covering my arms. On my neck laid a white pearly necklace with a sapphire stone surrounded by gold. My crown was to have delicate golden flowers with sapphire, emerald, and pearls along it. The crown would go with my brown curly hair perfectly. My ring was even more exquisite. Gold and silver vin...

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“All Because Of A Joke” by Hailey Monnie

Submitted to Contest #74

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. The celebrations, the merrymaking, the hot chocolate, and the pumpkin pie. Every year, I go home to my parents’ house and we do all the things we used to do when we were little. Tree-decorating, cookie baking, Christmas shopping, driving around and looking at holiday lights. It is the perfect time of year. Except for in a moment. In a moment will be the worst moment. What’s about to happen, will ruin Christmas completely. The next ten seconds will change a tradition we have done, our dad did, our g...

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“Ten Seconds” by Amanda Hartwig

Submitted to Contest #74

Before the countdown, you are never fully aware of the countdown to come. We are all aware of the end but none of us know for certain how we feel at the final countdown. But when it begins it is all too present, and you are all too aware. Ten When the countdown begins, you could feel normal. You could be in the hospital, you could be walking down the street or behind the wheel of a car. Or with others. Maybe someone else's countdown has begun too. You wouldn’t know. Maybe you have been expecting this. Hopefully or with ...

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“The Drop-Off That Didn’t Go As Planned” by Jay Heltzer

Submitted to Contest #74

They say that your life flashes before your eyes in the second right before you die. Multiply that by ten, and each time, over and over again, you get to relive a mistake you can’t correct. It started when I accidentally slammed my son’s fingers in my car door while standing in a parking lot across from my ex-wife and the guy who’s banging her and wondering how much his silver Lexus cost. My son’s howling siren of pain informed me that I was focused on the wrong thing during our weekly custodial exchange, and I managed to screw somet...

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“The Stranger” by Geoff Peterson

Submitted to Contest #74

I knew the moment he walked through the door he didn’t belong. The way his eyes looked sunken and tired, he’d traveled a long way to get here, that was for sure. His clothes were not any fashion known around these parts. It was a silver, one-piece, almost jumpsuit looking outfit with bits of metal in no discernible pattern. He was short. His skin was an unfamiliar color. It was hard to tell if it was green or gray. It was unnatural, whichever it was. My aunt got jaundice once. Her skin turned a faint yellow, so I had seen discoloratio...

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“Little Moments” by Noah Young

Submitted to Contest #74

You would never imagine that every drop of rain is perfectly orchestrated and directed and yet that fact remains undisputed. Thankfully this body of mine can’t feel any of the elements. I can only sense the intangible of the tangible, the sound of the unheard if you will. The fact that I also can acutely sense the effects of things I suppose somewhat dulls the boredom of this immortal life. There is something strangely precious about each individual drop of water slipping down a windowpane. They're almost human in the uniqueness o...

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“The ten second game” by Allyssa Mina

Submitted to Contest #74

Write a story that takes place across ten seconds.Our room was nicely decorated. Golden and black balloons were almost everywhere. Streamers were hanging in the hallway. Fairy lights were around the tables. Fireworks were ready in the garage. The dining table was all set. Mom's new dinner set looked amazing. The tiny cups for tea and the big plates for mom’s famous strawberry cheesecake flapjacks. Everyone was in a rush. Dad was trying to hang a big 2021 balloon from the ceiling and my sister was bringing the warm tea. Mom wa...

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“Polly’s Broken Pieces” by Matt Keating

Submitted to Contest #74

In the time it took to unplug the old jukebox, Polly pushed her empty glass to the floor then she chased it with a shot of bourbon. -That time she made Pete walk home from the gas station because he refused to go in and buy her peanut butter cups and a pack of Camels, that time she locked Pete out of his house in a towel because he received a text from Maddy who sometimes worked banquets, and that time she tossed his wallet in the lake because the poem he read her...

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“Trump Tower” by Damien Roberts

Submitted to Contest #74

Did you know, Trump Tower is 58 stories high? I checked on the way here. I probably should have been thinking about John but the father of a young child, divorced and loss of both parents to the pandemic is pretty textbook. Political activism was a fun twist. I did look forward to using that to talk him down. I think it would have worked, but seeing as I've barely opened my car door and he's already ten stories from the roof, I guess we'll never know. I'm pretty good at my job, you know? I've talked over two dozen people down from a, somet...

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Write a story that takes place across ten seconds.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 256 stories

“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

“A fly's life” by Erin Eschbacher

“Unpolished” by A Mehendale

“The Thorn with a Rose ” by Siya Goswami

“My Last Chance” by Kira Schindler

“All Because Of A Joke” by Hailey Monnie

“Ten Seconds” by Amanda Hartwig

“The Drop-Off That Didn’t Go As Planned” by Jay Heltzer

“The Stranger” by Geoff Peterson

“Little Moments” by Noah Young

“The ten second game” by Allyssa Mina

“Polly’s Broken Pieces” by Matt Keating

“Trump Tower” by Damien Roberts

🌟 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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