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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story about someone who finds someone’s diary, and tries to reunite it with its owner. It’s up to you whether they read it or not!

Posted in Mystery on May 19, 2023

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✍️ 52 stories

“The Diary” by KG Green

Submitted to Contest #199

"The Diary'" Chapter 1: The Scout Leader's Tale The flames of the campfire danced and crackled, casting eerie shadows on the faces of the gathered scouts. It was a perfect night for a spooky story, and the scout leader, Mr. Thompson, had just the tale to send shivers down their spines. "Alright, kids," Mr. Thompson began, his voice low and mysterious. "Gather 'round, for I have a true story that will chill you to the bone. It happened not too far from here, in the darkness of a moonless night." The young scouts leaned in closer, their ey...

11 comments 11
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“The Birthday Gift” by Lynel Black

Submitted to Contest #199

When you have lived in the same house for long enough, it becomes part of you in ways that are hard to pin down. The well worn paths we take from the fridge to the lounge, the closet to the shower, my home office to my workshop. Then there are those corners that you hardly know at all. Or you know they are there, but just never think about them. Like the top shelf of that old cupboard in the basement, or the contents of the dusty boxes forgotten in the attic. The day to day shuffle around your space rarely takes you to these out of the way c...

4 comments 4
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“Tomorrow is the day after Yesterday” by Kat Alexander

Submitted to Contest #199

It shouldn’t have been a difficult decision. A no-brainer really. You kind of recognized the book itself. It was obviously a diary. One of the classic ones you could get just about anywhere. A simple baby blue, almost periwinkle color, hardcover notebook. It had two small metal plates sitting on the edge of the covers, with two small triangular pieces of metal, and one singular lock keeping the secrets the book knows away from anyone's eyes but the ones who are trusted enough to have a key. Those simple facts, that it’s locked, that you don’...

8 comments 8
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“Annabella” by Amy B

Submitted to Contest #199

Distracted. That was the best word to describe me at this moment. Struggling. I was distracted and struggling. Searching for Gate 22 in this overcrowded, hot airport. I was already 25 minutes late thanks to my uncanny ability to set off the metal detectors every single time. Part of me thinks I should just ask to be searched. Save myself the time.  Instead, here I am, distracted as I wander down Terminal A looking for Gate 22. Grasping my phone with my ticket information all pulled up. I look down for a second to make sure that the pho...

5 comments 5
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“Cosminia” by Mary Ann Ford

Submitted to Contest #199

A mix of emotions flooded William Lavenshire as he walked to what would now be his home. He had spent at least a year in Cosminia but almost no time had passed on Earth. There was happiness at the events that had happened in that world, that was almost back in time, the stress of having to keep it all to himself, and, of course, the knowledge that no one would believe him even if he did mention it.He sighed and his smile faded a little. He’d grown up over there but here he was a kid again. It was so tempting to sit down on one of the many be...

11 comments 11
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“To the Keeper of My Thoughts” by Hayley Chau

Submitted to Contest #199

To the Keeper of my thoughts, Do you know a dragonfly is extremely unique? Their four wings, working independently from each other, allow them to fly in any direction they please. Their compound, telescopic eyes enable them to view the world in a 360 degree vision. Ironically, the only blind spot is directly behind them. Hot diggity darn, I wished me a dragonfly. I never knew words could comfort me like a cozy luxe blanket until I found your diary, secretly tucked inside a birdhouse. You see, my dad asked me to clean it out, shortly afte...

7 comments 7
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“Or So I Herd...” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #199

I assumed it was a typo. But then I’m paid not to make assumptions, so I shelved that badly educated guess of mine and fiddled with something that might resemble an open mind, rereading the note that had been written in headache-inducing handwriting that was not at all helped by the gaudy red ink. The ink was from a fountain pen, smudged here and there just in case I wasn’t finding the spiderlike scrawl difficult enough to decipher as it was. We need you to find the owner of this dairy. That was what the note said. Then it gave an ad...

22 comments 22
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“He’s Here.” by Matthew Guerrero

Submitted to Contest #199

Maddy’s journal Madelyn’s entry #1 I’ve decided to use my full name instead of the goto that everyone calls me, I mean my sister did tell me I should use it at my full disposal, so why not use it. It’s the name I use in my head when talking about myself or making up conversations when I’m watching others. Trust me I’m always watching (cue the eerie violins, or maybe the X-files theme?) but yeah, Madelyn sounds so much more mature, like Madelyn has her shit together, but Maddy is pouring her feelings out in a journal because she’s havin...

0 comments 0
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“Illuminated Society” by Alessandro Dell'Anno

Submitted to Contest #199

It was a beautiful May afternoon. The sun shone and birds sang from the trees as I returned home from work one Friday evening. As I was about to turn off Wardlow Road onto my street, I noticed a battered old book on the corner. It was brown, cracked, not too thick, with a leather binding. I thought it must be important to someone, so I picked it up and went through the garden gate leading up to my house. My wife, Elly, was already home from her job and was making a start on tonight’s dinner. ‘Hello sweety.’ She kissed me on the cheek, barel...

4 comments 4
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“Finding Etherealle ” by Patrick Druid

Submitted to Contest #199

This one is basically a first draft of a chapter for a larger story. Let me know what you think. Enjoy!Finding EtherealleThe falling leaves of autumn decorated the campus of Ministry College as the students began their after mid term activities. Jennifer Hayden, a sophomore of almost 20 with wavy dark hair traveled across the campus to the science building for her morning classestrying not to think of the date she had the previous weekend.  Her roommate, Melanie had set her up on a blind date with a friend of a friend from one...

4 comments 4
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“Bad nights for strangers” by Dimitra M.

Submitted to Contest #199

What a great deal !I couldn’t believe my luck when they accepted my offer. The house had been on the market for ages and I felt the seller just wanted someone to take it off his hands.There was a lot of work to be done. It was a wonder the thing was still standing but I didn’t care. That was my job, buy old neglected houses, restore them and sell them.I wasn’t surprised when the creaking wooden door almost got out of its hinges when I opened it. The old furniture was still there under a thick layer of dust. No electricity anymore of cou...

2 comments 2
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“Now and Then” by Kirsten Wall

Submitted to Contest #199

Now and Then by Kirsten Wall It was small, and it was scarlet. Beat up in a way that testified to how much it was used and therefore, how much it was treasured. Clearly, it meant something to someone. Kathleen Bauer knew she had to return it to its rightful owner, but for the life of her, she could not figure out to whom this dusty, old diary belonged. And how had it wound up on her nightstand? She would ask her mom. Yep, Mom always seemed to know the answer to any question. What time is the milkman coming today? How much did streetcar far...

9 comments 9
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“the Diary” by J.G. Mcmillen

Submitted to Contest #199

The Diary A short story by J.G. Mcmillen Allen P. Worrel was a grounds keeper at the Withering-Woodlands park and preserve, and he delighted in his daily doings. A short and elderly man, with short gray hair beneath his official blue cap, and bushy brows above thick framed glasses which magnified his eyes in a very silly manner.  It was on a fine summer morning at about 9:00 am when the crowds had just started gathering that Allen noticed the school buses pull up and unleash a torrent of uniformed school children. They ranged in age i...

0 comments 0
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“The Signs We Seek” by Liz Solimini

Submitted to Contest #199

Hello All,Here is your trigger warning. This story contains gore, explicit language, murder, mental illness, self harm and suicide.Please continue with caution.************************************************************My feet pounded the concrete as I ran through the streets. My thoughts whirring about, my breath barely able to keep up with my lungs. I flew over a curb and landed with a stomp, my legs pumping as I kept going. His face flashed in my eyes. There we sat, nestled on our small cozy bed. The sheets an off white, a soft...

2 comments 2
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“The Stranger and the Lioness” by Halle Giannelli

Submitted to Contest #199

Nothing brings out the animal in people like a full moon during a heat wave. Katherine Jane Wright was pure feline, as she prowled along the muddy creek bank. Stockings balled tightly in her fist, she stretched out her arms for balance. The moon was glorious, and provided just enough light to tip toe from one moss-slick rock to the next. Something about the thick humid air made her feel positively feral—dangerous even. It was unlike Katherine to be out past dark. Phillip would be livid, if he knew that his newest bride was somewhere dee...

4 comments 4
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Contest #199

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