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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write about a character who wishes they could just disappear — and then they do.

Posted in Mystery on Jan 20, 2023

Submissions are closed

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✍️ 50 stories

“Going Ghost” by KT George

Submitted to Contest #182

The unemployment rate in the United States hovers around 10 percent. It's not the highest it has ever been, but many people are out of work, short on cash, and limited with their options. There's a sense of hopelessness in the country, and it's bleeding into every corner of the world. The television news pundits are all predicting more of the same. It's a recession, and the government is out of moves to control the downward spiral. To make matters worse, a war in Eastern Europe has spilled out into neighboring countries, threatening not ju...

16 comments 16
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“See it. Say it. Sorted.” by Karen McDermott

Submitted to Contest #182

It started, unimaginatively enough, with someone looking up at the stars. That someone was Laurie Entwistle, who instead of writing up a review of up and coming ska punk ensemble The Mucus Plugs, looking for new ways of saying that they “absolutely tore the bloody roof off” of local pub Dog & Gristle (a venue which truthfully remained quite intact), was actually stuck on making tweaks to her dating profile. Female Early 30s Occupation: journalist Likes: travel, reading, her sofa, art, photography, blueberry muffins, endless scrolli...

5 comments 5
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“Wetting Evaporated” by Tom Strewler

Submitted to Contest #182

Abigail is six, with round face, deep brown eyes and black hair, she loves her dolls and storytelling. Hailey, is her best friend because the two of them collaborate in imaginative play so well. Their elaborate plots are crafted on the fly as an unscripted movie. Abigail’s room is perfect for the adventure, spacious and well-appointed with all the dolls, accessories, doll house, furnishings, and the like.            This Saturday is another play date for the two girls, and Abigail has al...

2 comments 2
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“Mystery on Mackinac ” by Deni Bee

Submitted to Contest #182

Handing her ticket to the man on the dock, Chelsea hurried after her sister who was already aboard the ferry, and was heading for the upper deck. “What’s your hurry,” she panted, grasping the handrail, and using it to pull herself up faster. With the exception of several overly eager children, most of the passengers were moving at a leisurely pace, enjoying the breezes off the lake, and craning their necks to look at its vast expanse of rippling blue, but not Jamie. Shielding her eyes from the sun she moved swiftly toward the bow, lookin...

7 comments 7
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“A Cold, Dark Night” by Irene Duchess

Submitted to Contest #182

Ivy stood at the back of the large room, wishing she could just disappear. She shuffled a little closer to the large plant next to her, which was almost as tall as she was. She was in the middle of a party, a party which she really didn’t want to be at. And she also had to dress up, which Ivy did not like at all. She was wearing a light dress down to her ankles, which was colored blue. It was plain, but it was still a dress. Ivy couldn’t run in a dress, not that she was allowed to at this party. No running there, Ivy’s parents had told her ...

2 comments 2
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“An Unexpected Disappearance” by Kelly McCluskey

Submitted to Contest #182

    Jane was never one to dwell on her feelings or seek help for feeling down or upset. Lately she could not seem to “fix” feeling like her life was meaningless, mundane, and just plain boring. She wondered if it was just her age and the fact that she had been doing the same job for twenty years at the same office working for the same boss. As an advertising executive she was somehow losing her edge, not because she wasn’t creative any longer but because there was a younger generation in the office, and her boss gave them...

2 comments 2
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“Lost & Found” by Andy Baird

Submitted to Contest #182

Stephanie pulled her car over to the side of the logging road and parked behind what she believed to be Kevin’s truck. Naturally, she’d espied the vehicle from afar—how could she not? It set her heart aflutter every time she saw it pull up in front of Bud’s Lumber, where she worked. Any time Kevin came into the hardware store to pick up whatever odds and ends for the construction outfit he worked for, Stephanie always tried to play it cool and act natural, but inside she was bursting with infatuation for the man. She hadn’t been able to stop...

2 comments 2
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“In the Seam Between ” by Eric Olson

Submitted to Contest #182

In the Seam Between by Eric Olson Sometimes we wish for things that we do not truly want to happen. But, in the moment, we feel as though that very thing would solve all the problems we may be facing. This is just the way of things, and these thoughts often fade in place of more logical ones that lead us toward thoughtful, informed decision making. But sometimes wishes can come true, and not always in the manner of which they were initially conceived. A thing like this happened to me once. It was the single most strange and unexplainab...

3 comments 3
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“The Unbearably Slow Disappearance of Josh” by Claudio Murgia

Submitted to Contest #182

When I met Josh he was all in one piece. I know this sentence doesn’t make much sense to you right now, but bear with me. I barely believe it and I was witness to it. But where do we end up if we don’t trust our own experiences? I met Josh in school. He was quite sociable, smart but, at the same time, an introvert. Maybe not exactly an introvert, but you could often find him staring at nothing in the middle of class or even when there was a group of us having a chat, he would just be in his own world. We were not really friends, but I liked ...

2 comments 2
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“Disappear” by Sylvie Cusick

Submitted to Contest #182

The vase exploded as it hit the wall beside Kaitlyn, and a piece of the debris sliced her ear. The actual cut was gone almost immediately, but Darren smirked at the blood that was left. She breathed in steadily as she made an effort to stay still, as she tried to convince him that it didn’t bother her. But beneath the hard wall she put up, she nearly shook with the need to attack it with both hands. All she wanted was to scrub at it with a rough washcloth and some fucking acid, because it was blood, it was blood and blood meant pain, blood m...

3 comments 3
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“And Now, For My Last Act, I Will Disappear” by Jethro Pili

Submitted to Contest #182

The sun rose early on the very first day of summer break and so did Dorian Peters. He freshened up, ate breakfast with his siblings and parents, brushed his teeth after the meal, and went straight to doing his chores. He was an obedient kid but he had an aversion to cleaning up. That’s why it was a surprise to his family to find him doing his chores with zeal and a tune on his lips. He was doing a better job at cleaning than his siblings. And whistling.“What’s with him?” Mr. Peters asked his wife.“He’s just excited,” Mrs. Peters answered. “L...

4 comments 4
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“The persimmon tree” by Anna Zanolli

Submitted to Contest #182

The alarm rang. I rushed out of bed to turn it off immediately because it was a nightmare of an alarm clock: my father bought it when I told him I wanted to stop oversleeping, a bad habit I had recently developed due to the fact that I could not hear anything most mornings. My mum was convinced I wouldn’t even hear bombs, if they were ever being dropped over Verona. So dad gave me the one I own now, a kind of diabolical machine which sounds like one of those old wall mounted rotary phones ringing and it doesn’t even allow you to regulate the...

2 comments 2
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“In the Blink of an Eye” by Karin Cavanagh

Submitted to Contest #182

“What the hell were you thinking, Commander?” General Haricort yelled. I stood at attention, holding every muscle as stiff as I could, the wound in my thigh aching to be released. Not daring to break my gaze at the picture of the president on the wall directly in front of me, I replied, “Sir, I was taken prisoner. There was nothing else I could do.” “You thought surrendering to the enemy was the best course of action?” the General asked, approaching me from behind his desk. “It wasn’t by choice, Sir.” The General stood before me, hi...

2 comments 2
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“A Memory in Coalescence” by 姐 姐

Submitted to Contest #182

August 20th, 2019La PalomaMy lady, Sarali:For a moment, a montage of memories came rushing through my mind. The thoughts of you, although quite lovely, were bursting through my head like that of the serrated mountain range we still live in today. And at that moment, I cried and realized I had forgotten you after so many years. When did I stop talking to you? How did you disappear from my life so quickly?Sarali. Each day was like a vast minefield. If you don't say or do the right things to the right person at the best time to do it, your word...

2 comments 2
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“Eyes” by Emma Diliberto

Submitted to Contest #182

What makes something real? Can it still be real, even if it isn’t for someone else? If you believe it, it's real, isn’t it? The stale old light from the tv glares on my skin as I sit in the darkness of my room eating chocolate ice cream. The show's cheery noises clash with the deafening silence enclosed around me. Watching it helps me keep my mind off everything, though. It also keeps me company since it's usually just me keeping myself company.  When the show ends, I try to find something else to watch. There's not much on, though,...

0 comments 0
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Contest #182

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Ended on 23:59 - Jan 27, 2023 EST

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Title: Careful—You’ll Slip, Fall, and Die on Those Slippery Slopes

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