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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story in which an important message is cut off, leaving characters to wonder or puzzle out what was left unsaid.

Posted in Mystery on Feb 16, 2024

Submissions are closed

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✍️ 49 stories

“SHYAMA” by MIke JOHNSON

Submitted to Contest #238

                                                             SHYAMA Shyama walked with deliberate steps. Hard, narrow shoe heels punctuated her precise movements on the polished wooden floor. The rhythmic click-clack echoed in the small audit...

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“Prolonged Silence” by Ben Cooper

Submitted to Contest #238

Rarely do I see a warm day topping fifty degrees in the middle of January here in the northeast, but it was a perfect opportunity to check my bee hives in all three of my yards. Managing honeybee hives can be tricky in the middle of winter because the temperatures drop, and the bees will starve. Upon finishing with my bee inspections, I walked up to our side porch door. I could hear the phone ringing.I don’t carry a cell phone because the reception where we live makes it hard to get a signal, even with all the newest technology and cell towe...

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“The Team Uniform” by Stacey Cooper

Submitted to Contest #238

A group of women are on a summer sports league. During the spring, they meet once a week to practice in preparation for the games that will take place on the weekends in the summer months. After one of the practices, the team captain announces, “We need to decide our team name and uniforms for this season. Our current team name is Leading Ladies, but I think we should discuss whether or not we should change it”. One of the long-standing team members says, “I think we should change it. Although people know us for that...

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“The call back” by Elza Dayers

Submitted to Contest #238

It was just a voice on the phone. “Please call back during our business hours, from Monday to Friday, 9AM to 5PM.” Can a voice be that sinister? Evidently, it can.  A beep later, I was alone in my room, staring out at the old snow.  I glanced at the kitchen clock, it was 5:02PM. With a sigh, I sunk back a little further into my couch and held my phone at arms length. Should I call again?  Interrupted by the microwave’s beep, I stood up to turn it off. I extracted my cup of noodles—scalding hot! Nearly dropped it but managed to...

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“Hope's Haven” by J.B. Redel

Submitted to Contest #238

“Vic, you can’t seriously be considering this.”Victor didn’t respond to her, already lost to his own thoughts. Scenarios ran through his mind, each with its own outcome and list of risks, as well as possible profits.“He’s already lost in his own head. You know what that means?” The low octave of Doc’s voice reverberated off of the metal table’s surface, leaving ripples in the tin cups of water sitting forgotten before the crew. Doc sighed heavily before leaning back is his seat, his heavy boots clanking loudly on the table as he propped them...

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“A Grape in Hand” by Christopher Kooker

Submitted to Contest #238

Gallaudet raised two calloused hands to his chest and shook them, palms up and fingers splayed, as if in prayer. Then he held up two fingers by his head, flicking his wrist forward to draw attention to the gesture. Want. See. Nervously, Sawyer studied the deft forms. Then he raised his own hands to sign as he mouthed the words. I don’t understand. What do you want to see? Apparently favoring emphasis over clarity, Gallaudet repeated the gesture several more times with mounting intensity. Want! See! Want! See! Sawyer knew from ...

2 comments 2
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“Dropped” by Stanley Bordenave

Submitted to Contest #238

Warning: this story deals with death and grieving The end began at the Fraud Detection Trade Show, in Vegas. I was doing my thing, standing at DetectCo’s booth, showing off Fraud Saavy’s almost limitless capabilities. Our software was intended for banks and online businesses whose assets were constantly being targeted by fraud actors who were attempting to bilk them out of millions of dollars. This was where the fraud detection software came in. It flags unusual activity, both internal and external, and alerts the company’s security depart...

1 comment 1
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“The Last Chapter” by Emmanuella Eledu

Submitted to Contest #238

Have a cup of chamomile tea. Listen to a song on loop. Take a vitamin pill. Walk two miles. Remember a tidy desk is a tidy mind. Writing routines are meant to squeeze out your creative juices, but whatever I'm doing—whether it's fit to be a routine or not—has accomplished nothing but the complete opposite. Ideas are as elusive as creases on a perfectly-ironed shirt. Everytime I shut my eyes, I see the brilliant hues of a dreamscape I'm currently unable to capture in coherent words. When I open them, my paper remains blank and my pencils unsh...

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“Escape the Room” by Nathan Quinci Kurr

Submitted to Contest #238

Ian cracked open the cookie and pulled out the fortune trapped inside. He studied the slip with a grin as if he had uncovered a secret treasure, but his excitement was short-lived and his happy grin slowly faded as he read the words.“Well…what’s it say?” Danny asked in eager anticipation. He and Mya were standing next to Ian around the large, round table that sat in the center of the otherwise empty room. Darkness in the room gobbled up the light that beamed from their headlamps rendering them all but useless except to illuminate things near...

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“Transmission ” by Daniel Legare

Submitted to Contest #238

      “Good evening folks, I’m Anna Collins and this is 109.9 The Bear radio, the best station in the nation! It is Friday and it is 8pm, it’s raining cats and dogs, but you know what, that’s fine, because Friday’s are my favourite time of my favourite day of the week. You know why? Because every Friday I get to sit back and chat with YOU, my lovely listeners, about how you’re feeling. Maybe there’s something you want to get off your chest, or maybe you wanna break up with your boyfriend, or complain about the r...

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“Undesirables ” by HC Edwards

Submitted to Contest #238

When I was a little girl my father said I could be anything. At the age of fifteen, when I came out, he told me I could love whomever I wanted. With acceptance also came an abundance of warnings, but it was acceptance nonetheless. When I turned eighteen he told me that I could no longer be that person.That was the year Drucker was elected. We watched it on the television, me on my side of the couch, clutching the last remnant of my childhood, Mr. Pigglesmith, my father on the edge of his seat, elbows resting on his knees, hands clasped ...

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“Sanctuary” by Jordan Verner

Submitted to Contest #238

Rain thrashed the tin roof of the forsaken observatory, drowning out all other sounds. Liz and Trevor huddled around a gas lantern in a dimly lit corner, their faces smeared with grime, reflecting the weariness etched into their very bones. Once a diplomat of silver-tongued repute, Liz now carried the burden of lost lives on her slender shoulders. Her companion, a skilled engineer named Trevor, cradled the flickering hope of asylum in his calloused hands. The observatory, a serendipitous find in their flight from a world-devouring conflict, ...

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“A Romantic Interlude” by Marian Fleming

Submitted to Contest #238

The cell phone in the back pocket of Greg's faded Levi's chimed loudly. He gruffly pulled it out to answer and saw her name. Margo, the current love of his life, was supposed to be en route from the balmy coast of California to meet him at his cabin located deep in the snowy woods of Maine. Luckily, he still had a strong signal even though reception in the secluded location was spotty at best at times."Babe?""Hi," she answered somewhat out of breath. "I just landed at the airport and I'm heading down to baggage claims. From there, I'll grab ...

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“Different Pages” by Sevde Aktaş

Submitted to Contest #238

In the dimly lit room, shadows danced on the walls, mirroring the intricate choreography of emotions that unfolded between us. I took a deep breath, acutely aware of the tension in the air, as if the atmosphere itself held its breath, awaiting the next chapter of our unfolding narrative. “I consider you my notebook,” the words hung there, suspended between us like fragile threads, “because I can still come and pour my heart out to you.” His eyes, once soft pools of understanding, now sparked with a fire fueled by an unexpected anger. It wa...

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“Apophis” by Jaroslaw Brdys

Submitted to Contest #238

Apophis I am not sure what drove me to pursue a career as an astronomer and astrophysicist. As an adolescent boy, I aspired to become an athlete. I grew fast, became strong for my age, and had excellent conditions to advance my athletic skills. Taking first or top place in school competitions was the only thing that made me happy then. However, my life took a different path. Miss Mc Michael’s physics class is still well-remembered by me. Miss Mc Michael, who was middle-aged and well-read, possessed a wealth of knowledge. She taug...

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🌟 Similar prompts

Start or finish your story with a speaker unable to finish their sentence, perhaps overcome by emotion.

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Dialogue – 40 stories

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Contest #238

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This week's theme: Aposiopesis

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Ended on 23:59 - Feb 23, 2024 EST

Won by Weronika L 🏆

Title: Five Turns of the Hourglass

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