Write a story in which a character learns something unexpected about someone they thought they knew well.

Posted in Mystery on Jul 19, 2024

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✍️ 63 stories

“You Kick Really Hard For A Girl” by Daniel Rogers

Submitted to Contest #260

"They're coming!" Flimlet yelled.The forest came alive, with magical tree trunks rushing toward the north watchtower. Bells sounded. Women screamed, and children cried. The war they'd been expecting arrived.Selwyn and Jorton soldiers quickly assembled, forming a defensive line. The trunkers slammed into them with devastating effect, knocking many soldiers unconscious. Lady Nimmo and Oakaford gathered as many stumpers as possible and joined the fight. Trunkers hammered into stumpers, and stumpers banged into trunkers. The sound of magical tre...

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“Catherine Street” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #260

Oh, it’s such a nice house. It’s been a nice house ever since we moved in. I fought it at first, you know. I was going to be a city girl. I wasn’t going to wind up on some island never leaving unless I had to. Raising kids who turned out to be surfers or fisherman or anything else I thought an island created. I moved here, because Lee wanted to move here. He got a job at the hotel, and he thought we’d like a life by the water. Where I saw isolation, he saw liberation. Freedom from the rest of the world. Water on all sides. If there was crime...

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“Mistakes are not barren.” by Syed Mohammad Zahid

Submitted to Contest #260

The High Queen was expecting a child. Throughout the pregnancy, she had felt extraordinarily abnormal situations and unusual challenges. The large tummy bulge may have been the sign of a good-sized baby, which was a matter of deep concern for her. With each movement of the baby, psychogenic conflicts pained and disquieted her mind.During the previous pregnancies and deliveries, she had never been so anxious. Her children were swiftly delivered, and she would always be back on her royal duties the same day. She was not a weak or mentally frai...

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“Kind Mr. Richards” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #260

Michael decided it was the right time to visit Mr. Richards.“Mr. Richards?”He knocked on the screen door and waited. This was not a bad sign. Michael had known Mr. Richards since he was a young boy and they first moved next door to the very old home that reminded him of something from a monster movie. As they were unpacking, he noticed the man sitting on his front porch, happily rocking away in his chair with a drink in his hand and sunglasses on to block out the light of that very bright afternoon. He had waved at the family and they all sm...

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“These Hollow Bones” by Sophie Kouble

Submitted to Contest #260

Beads of sweat pool at the base of my neck in the curve between my collarbones. Even in the shade, the unrelenting sun and thick blanket of humidity seem to swell in the air. I move the hand-held battery operated fan back and forth in front of my face, its tiny motor letting out a whirring drone. Hot air blows against my cheeks, but I guess it’s better than nothing.Reaching for my glass, I recline in the patio chair and suck up the final sip of hard iced tea, the end of the straw gurgling at the bottom of an empty cup.“Time for a refill, Ste...

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“Cold” by Deborah Lysaght

Submitted to Contest #260

COLD “Don’t worry! I’ll be there! I can’t wait to see you... I’ve missed you too...” Those words. That was my ‘loving husband’ talking. Well, not talking really; more of a hurried, excited whisper. On his phone. In our year-old baby’s bedroom. Did you know Baby Monitors pick up everything? “Look, got to go now... Love you too... Yes, see you Friday... Yep! Bye... Bye.” I was so bloody angry. I was shaking. How could he? How? I went into the kitchen to calm down with a glass of something. Pouring myself a huge wine; my hands shook and ...

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“We Need To Talk” by Melanie Yorke

Submitted to Contest #260

Contains strong language“We need to talk. What the hell do you think that means?” Cassie inquired of the photo of her Mum that sat on the mantelpiece. She carried on folding her laundry into neat piles and smiled to herself as she thought that if her mum was still here she would have frowned at Cassie saying “hell”. Cheekily she grinned at the photo and said out loud “fuck it mum, they’re all just words, just letters.” She laughed as she thought that mum would have smiled at that and then given that slight disappointed sigh and shake of the ...

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“The Book (Word Count; 1,610)” by Linz Munro

Submitted to Contest #260

(Sensitive content note: mild use of expletive)I’d known Geraldine all my life. We lived on the same street. Our parents were best friends. Our mums would sit and chat over coffee or wine whilst we played Tag or Hide and Seek. Our dads drank together in the local pub on Friday nights. We went to the same school, plaited each other’s hair, were each other’s confidantes and chief bridesmaids at our respective weddings. There was nothing I didn’t know about Geraldine Jones.So why was a professional image of her st...

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“The Truth About Adrian Henson ” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #260

The Office of Special Investigations or OSI showed up at my office one day asking me what I knew about Sergeant Adrian Henson. The officer flashed a badge identifying him as an OSI agent. “What association do you have with this individual?” He asked me and my blood ran cold. “I don’t know him very well.” I lied suddenly feeling as if the weight of the world had landed on my chest. “How long have you been enlisted in the Air Force?” He asked, opening a spiral notebook. “Three years.” I answered after swallowing hard.&n...

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“Memories & Time; Love Doesn't Have a Face” by Stephen Laviera

Submitted to Contest #260

As dinner service winded down. Rocco got the attention of his Sous Chef working grill. A modern early twenties white boy. “John, I'm stepping off to do inventory, then prolly dip out. Food for thought though real quick. Point of contact is working, yes? Tonight was seamless. Every night should run this smooth.” John turned from the grill. Tonging twin filets medium rare. Placing them on a sizzler. Then tossing it into the window.“I agree Chef, your system has worked and it prove...

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“A Promise Sewn, A Promise Hewn” by Jesse Michael Berryman

Submitted to Contest #260

Bleen was a city plagued by Leviathan attacks. It fell to the Star-Shapers to tip the scales back in the favor of humanity, as they could command plasma and light from their stars, and could with a glance beguile the creatures that too called Malstray home. The city’s walls were vulnerable, stuck in a constant cycle of rebuilding its fallen sections, leaving the people within vulnerable as well. Star-Shaper Elder Hewview led three of his brightest pupils toward a nearby river called Metal Tear. Mot, Viprite, and Kartha...

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“A Butcher's Tale” by Tisheia Frazier

Submitted to Contest #260

Black umbrellas. Black suits and dresses. Black stilettos and black boots. Mourners always have a way of wearing black. They gather around like flock, from the church to the grave. All for a “good and honest man" that everyone knew to be the best butcher in town, Ole man Richie. Everything was in sync except for the one wearing a blue polka-a-dot dress. No one noticed her but Edgar, the deceased's long distant nephew. He inherited the cobwebbed butchery; little did he know that it would come with a price. Cut the meat, slice it, carve it. Ta...

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“Haunted Justice” by Felipe Barreda

Submitted to Contest #260

I thought I knew Jerry well. He owned a country inn with a pub attached to it somewhere in the New England countryside. He loved people, or so I thought because he was always at the bar or the dining room smiling, laughing and joking. He loved his inn and he loved the pub and it seems that he was happiest here, for who would not be happy coming into a warm and cozy inn where you were treated as a long-lost friend who had to come out from the cold. I thought I knew Jerry well. J...

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“Nobody Loves Babs” by Christine LW

Submitted to Contest #260

NOBODY LOVES BABS. Bab’s worked in a cake shop, her hair hung lank and greasy over her shoulders, the overall she wore was two sizes too small. Her black plimsolls had flour on them from the day before. Bab’s preferred to work in the bakery behind the shop where no one could see her. &...

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“The Lies Between Us” by Angie Lucas

Submitted to Contest #260

Laura’s mother was a drug addict. It started with alcohol, when she and her twin brother were very young, and progressed quickly. Even as a child Laura can remember thinking there was something different, something very wrong, with her mother. She wasn’t happy, though Laura couldn’t say why. She had a loving husband, two children (finally, after years of fertility treatments, Laura learned much later), a decent house. She probably didn’t feel quite fulfilled in her career, having dropped out of medical school after less than a year and takin...

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Write a story in which a character learns something unexpected about someone they thought they knew well.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 63 stories

“You Kick Really Hard For A Girl” by Daniel Rogers

“Catherine Street” by Story Time

“Mistakes are not barren.” by Syed Mohammad Zahid

“Kind Mr. Richards” by Kendall Defoe

“These Hollow Bones” by Sophie Kouble

“Cold” by Deborah Lysaght

“We Need To Talk” by Melanie Yorke

“The Book (Word Count; 1,610)” by Linz Munro

“The Truth About Adrian Henson ” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

“Memories & Time; Love Doesn't Have a Face” by Stephen Laviera

“A Promise Sewn, A Promise Hewn” by Jesse Michael Berryman

“A Butcher's Tale” by Tisheia Frazier

“Haunted Justice” by Felipe Barreda

“Nobody Loves Babs” by Christine LW

“The Lies Between Us” by Angie Lucas

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story with a big twist.

Write a story about someone who realises the story of their life has been pre-determined — until they decide to divert from the expected path.

Write a story that includes the line, "I didn't see that one coming."

Write a story using the most clichéd twist of all; it was all a dream.

Contest #260

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

431

Contest entries

132

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: