Write a story that hides something from its reader until the very end.

Posted in Mystery on Dec 22, 2023

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✍️ 101 stories

“Witness to the Wasteland” by Gary Phipps

Submitted to Contest #230

In the trenches of the Western Front, amidst a world torn asunder by war, Robin found himself an unlikely participant. The air, heavy with the stench of gunpowder and the dampness of the earth, spoke of the unending strife around him. From the onset of the conflict, Robin had been there, witnessing the serene fields devolve into a maze of mud, violence and melancholy. His presence, often unnoticed by the others, became a silent testament to the resilience of life in the face of overwhelming chaos. Each dawn, Robin would stand watch, his ga...

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“Pick Your Poison” by Charleigh Knight

Submitted to Contest #230

The young boy jerked awake as a blood-curdling scream pierced through the air. He got out of his bed with pace, adrenaline rushing through his veins. Eyes wide with terror, he sprinted across the oak wood floors of the big bedroom and found himself in the living room, the location of the awful noise.“M-mom?” The boy’s words came out in a whimper. “MOM!”The boy’s mother lay there on the floor, gaping into blank space. Lifeless.~~~“How is he?”“Not responsive…he just shakes his head every time I ask him what he saw.”“Well, the poor kid’s in sho...

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“A Royal Hall's Night” by Jorge Soto

Submitted to Contest #230

The Dutchess came whirling around the kitchen table with a plate in hand. She slid her slender frame gracefully between the two already seated members of the fort, setting the glass plate down on some pillowed furniture in front of her. She brushed some fallen crumbs rapidly off of the prized victorian cushions, which were fashioned into a makeshift flooring for the palace. “The tea will just be a moment darlings, then we’re all set.” She reported, while simultaneously tussling the coffee brown curls of the young princess by her side. T...

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“Stranger than Science Fiction” by Paul Grayson

Submitted to Contest #230

Mr. Jones could scarcely believe his eyes as his older colleague, a man who shouldn’t have been there, appeared before him in the dimly lit room. It could have been the strong drink in his hand, but he could that the man before him had no scars on his face, no broken bones and no limp in his gait as he strolled into the lounge. The time was half-past seven, and Mr. Jones was just finishing his Irish Coffee. Chris worked at a biogenetic laboratory that conducted animal testing and genetic based testing to discover ways to ma...

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“Did you hear the latest buzz?” by Eric Orihara

Submitted to Contest #230

April 12th, 1994 A lady works on Pig Street, day and night keeping her clients satisfied and helping them with their confidence and self esteem. Lately, it seems that she had taken a liking to one of her clients. She’s been seen walking all the way to Tail Avenue with said client at very late hours of the evening. The client seems to be a well-known influencer on social media, and the two must have hit it off when talking about their shared interests. This affair of theirs seems to be going steady, onlookers tell me that they’ve had d...

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“Sometimes Love Is Enough” by Billy Green

Submitted to Contest #230

Jon ‘Jon? Jon? Can you hear me, Jon?’ Someone was speaking to me, battling against the busker’s song carried on the wind off the Thames. I opened one eye then the other, but closed it again when the blood stung, and I gagged when a coppery trace reached my mouth. I panicked then, tried to sit upright. The paramedic pushed me back down flat with a single hand – I was weak, I didn’t resist. I tilted ...

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“Tragedy of the Painter” by Isaac Lovett

Submitted to Contest #230

Sam walked from the store to his home as the sun began to set, determined to make the most of the rest of his day, despite his last few months of failure. He had spent what was remaining of the little money he had on supplies and some simple meals to get him through the week. On his way through town, he was rarely stopped and spoke to no one. At times he felt maybe the strangers could sense that he was a good-for-nothing. That he had no money to beg for, or nothing useful to offer. But maybe that was his only imagination. On the last...

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“Haven't You Ever Wondered?” by Ben Battles

Submitted to Contest #230

“I’m glad we could catch up, but you said there were two questions you wanted to ask me?” He sipped his coffee, holding it in one hand, and then leaned back against the booth.“Yeah- yeah, I reached out because I have an opportunity you might be interested in,” shyly she looked down into her cup before returning his gaze. “Given our shared background I thought you might find it exciting.”“Ooo, so it’s a techy thing? Is this something from your work?”“Yeah, it's related to the project I’m on.”“Am I being vetted for a job? Do they need some dat...

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“Where's Todd?” by Shy Jenkins

Submitted to Contest #230

The air felt strange and I couldn’t figure out why. I looked around. Where was Todd? I hopped off the bed and then ran down the hall and into the bathroom. Todd would go in there every morning. But there was no Todd. I ran into the office where Todd likes to yell at his computer screen, but he wasn’t there either. Was he lost? Was he hurt somewhere? I ran back into the bedroom, because maybe I didn’t look hard enough the first time. Sometimes Todd hid behind the door just to scare me if I walked past. I slowly peaked behind the bedroom door,...

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“Adoption Day” by Danielle Azoulay

Submitted to Contest #230

Susie ignored the knock at her door at whatever ungodly time of morning it came.All she wanted to do was sleep, to drown out the sounds of the other kids crying and yelling down the hall.Of course, the knock was just courtesy; there was no privacy at the orphanage.She heard the door creak open. Light, eager footsteps danced over to the far corner of the room.“Good Morning, Susanna!”The hostile, white light marched in from the open window and instantly irritated her.“My name is Susie!” she growled, turning over to the other side of the b...

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“Murder party” by Ethan Garway

Submitted to Contest #230

Jack was sound asleep in his bed until his phone started buzzing. "Brrrr. Brrrrrr. Brrrr!" he groaned. "What do you want? It's midnight. Let me sleep," he grumbled as he checked his phone. It was Mike inviting him to a murder party and offering a cash prize of $10,000 for guessing the killer precisely. Jack agreed to join and arrived at the party 20 minutes late. "Hey Mike, I'm here for the party!" I exclaimed as I walked into the door. "Oh, here you are. Come in, come in. We've got a lot to catch up on," Mike replied warmly. "Like what? I'm...

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“84th Street ” by Gregory Mokarry

Submitted to Contest #230

The woman, Elizabeth, sat at the table by the kitchen window holding a cup of coffee that had gone cold some time ago. She was waiting for her daughter to come home with her husband and the baby. She stared out at the street without seeing the traffic passing by on 84th street, trying to remember where Alison told her she was going. Despite her young age, she was only 53, Elizabeth was beginning to worry about the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Her memory had become suspect lately, especially when Alison was out for long periods of tim...

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“Initiation ” by Heather Henderson

Submitted to Contest #230

[Contains sensitive description] They’d blindfolded me, tied a silk scarf over my eyes and promised to return. I was left alone in nothing but darkness, nothing but the black shadows of an unknown whereabouts. And, after the first few days, I had felt strong. I knew I could continue. A resilience had grown in me – a deep resilience which relied on nothing. Without my visual awareness, I had mostly lost the use of my hands and legs, too. But I’d kept the blindfold on voluntarily, veering up against the darkness and trying to claim it as...

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“WITH(OUT)” by David King

Submitted to Contest #230

My eyes widened. But only as much as anyone’s eyes could upon first waking up. A curtain must have been pulled back. Maybe two. The rays that found their way in through the large window on the left wall forced my eyes into a hard squint. My bottom eyelids pinched up by my cheek. My ears had adjusted to the silence. A sound foreign to me. It went from eerie to tranquil, holding my quavering bones still. And then the full focus of my eyes reeled in to capture my environment. There was a light atmosphere in the room. One so positive, I would’ve...

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“Keys and a Folded Sweater” by Ariana Gregovich

Submitted to Contest #230

Home at last. Work today was busier than usual, which means more complaints from ignorant customers. They most likely haven’t worked retail a day in their privileged lives. I also had to go with my dad to pick out some flowers for my mom and sister. I'm home now, but I have places to be, and can't stay too long, I only have a few minutes at best. I place my keys and wallet onto the table right next to the front door, then slide off my shoes. I rub the soles of my feet, and wince in pain. God, I hate heels. Hanging my jacket up onto the...

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Write a story that hides something from its reader until the very end.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 101 stories

“Witness to the Wasteland” by Gary Phipps

“Pick Your Poison” by Charleigh Knight

“A Royal Hall's Night” by Jorge Soto

“Stranger than Science Fiction” by Paul Grayson

“Did you hear the latest buzz?” by Eric Orihara

“Sometimes Love Is Enough” by Billy Green

“Tragedy of the Painter” by Isaac Lovett

“Haven't You Ever Wondered?” by Ben Battles

“Where's Todd?” by Shy Jenkins

“Adoption Day” by Danielle Azoulay

“Murder party” by Ethan Garway

“84th Street ” by Gregory Mokarry

“Initiation ” by Heather Henderson

“WITH(OUT)” by David King

“Keys and a Folded Sweater” by Ariana Gregovich

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story framed by a single scene: something happens, a flashback or inner monologue intervenes, and then the story ends with the rest of the original scene.

Write a story in which a character achieves a new level of clarity about how they’re really feeling.

Start your story with someone uttering a very strange sentence.

Write a story in the form of a list.

Contest #230

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

362

Contest entries

108

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: