You thought he was dead, but there he is, right in front of you on the street, smiling at you.

Posted in Mystery on Jul 15, 2021

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✍️ 412 stories

“The midnight meeting” by An Lê

Submitted to Contest #52

I couldn’t sleep. It was a perfect night to stay up. The air, the autumn breeze, the deep blue sky full of stars, and the moonlight. I was sitting on my cramped table near the window and imagining the horizon when it became morning, wondered how magnificent the breaking dawn could be. Then I detected a tall shadow moving towards me. I kept looking at the shadow until I could clarify what it was. I kept glaring at the guy, hoping he soon recognized that he wasn’t the only one who stayed up that late. But, the man stepped forward with an extra...

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“Good Brother, Bad Brakes ” by Robyn Jipp

Submitted to Contest #52

I open my eyes and glance over at the digital clock on the endstand. Two 'o' clock in the afternoon. Good, I'm getting an early start today. Still half-asleep, I make my way downstairs to the kitchen. There is a purple Post-It note stuck to the front of the coffee maker. I pull it off and read it. Have a fantastic day, my creative genius. Looking forward to coming home to you tonight. By the way, I want pork chops for dinner. Don't forget the applesauce. Kisses. As I pour French Roast grounds into the coffee maker's basket I wonder, and not ...

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“Locksley” by BiChronicler XYZ

Submitted to Contest #52

“...the Royal Guard. The rebel leader Locksley is dead. Those found harboring his cohorts will be shot on sight...”Click. Silence. Click. Static. Click.“...bask in the glory of…”Click. “...Long live the king! Long live the…”It hasn’t been our night. It hasn’t even been our week. Good men lost, blood spilled in the name of freedom: all in vain. The rising sun which once promised a new era now mocks us for our failure. “Is it true?” someone whispers across the hall. “Is he dead?” I can barely make out the words but it’s an obvi...

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“ESSENCE OF LIFE...” by Priya Sankar

Submitted to Contest #52

On a fine morning, again my day started with hearing a lot of arguments among my parents. I reached my school sadly and it was also my pre-exam revision time. So I was a little bit tense about my exams and scores. After the session over, I received my mathematics paper on that day and I scored first in my class which was never happened in the academic year. I was quite surprised and happy with my results and went back to my home. My mom and dad were waiting for my arrival as every student had reached their home. Due to my test paper distribu...

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“The Return” by Rebekah Pena

Submitted to Contest #52

“You thought he was dead, but there he is, right in front of you on the street, smiling at you.”“Why is he smiling at me?”“Isn’t it obvious he’s happy to see you. You thought he was dead, he’s not.”“Ah, that’s not how I raised him. He wouldn’t smile at me.”“Okay, he’s not smiling at you. What would he do then?”“Probably just stare back at me, all nervous as he should be.”“Were you tough on him as a kid?” “Only as strict as I should be when he got bent out of shape. But that’s not the reason.”“Is it because of your role, not as his fathe...

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“Haunting Smile” by Indrajit Vyas

Submitted to Contest #52

I was sweating profusely and the back of my shirt was completely drenched with it, as I stared at a familiar pair of perfectly aligned glistening white teeth that belonged inside the mouth of a charismatic man in his late twenties, standing across the street smiling at me. I said charismatic didn't I? scratch that, he is was not charismatic, he was a hypnotic snake who charms people and makes them dance to his tunes. Rubin Hunt, the most despicable homo sapien I ever knew. This piece of non-recyclable trash was supposed t...

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“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?” by Dolapo Omoleme

Submitted to Contest #52

I stopped in my tracks when I spotted him. He’d already seen me from where he was sitting on the edge of the street. He had his characteristic smile on his face. I stared at him with my mouth wide open and my eyes wide in shock as I decided between believing my eyes were deceiving me and believing what my heart was telling me. His death had had a big impact on my family. We’d searched for him for weeks without so much as a clue as to what happened to him. He was my best friend, and I was determined to find him and find out why he’d run awa...

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“Long Lost Love” by Eliza Vargas

Submitted to Contest #52

One night I was by myself walking home when I looked up and thought I saw a familiar face. At first, I wasn't sure, it was a fairly dark winter night and my eyes had been focused on a screen so long that I had to squint to see anything else. I tried calling out to them, asked who they were, explained my vision wasn't the greatest with them so far away. But there was no response. Surprisingly this more annoyed me then made me feel uncomfortable, but even still I didn't move toward them. The more I fixated on the figure the more I realized I d...

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“I saw a Ghost today” by Melisa Troupe

Submitted to Contest #52

Today started out just like any other warm spring day in Tulsa, Oklahoma. If you had told me Id be sitting in a coffee shop with a busted heel on my left shoe and bloody knee with a man I long since thought dead. I’d have told you, you were crazy. Yet here I am. You see some ten very long years ago when I was just sixteen years old living in Seattle Washington, I had met the man I wanted to marry. I had known him my whole life. Though before I got the nerve to inform him all of this, he went on a fishing trip with his father and grandf...

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“Him” by Jelena Gavric

Submitted to Contest #52

I never came to terms with his death. It was so sudden, fast and without much fuss. By many accounts, it is a preferable way of dying. I wasn't even there. Actually, by the time I personally comprehended the possibility of him dying, he was gone. Didn't make it to the funeral either. To fast, to far, to expensive, to late… Wasn't there when he needed me, really needed me; now that he is lying dead in the coffin in the middle of the living room… Well now he doesn't need me there for sure. The others, they can go and fuck the...

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“The Man in the Raincoat” by Roland Okili

Submitted to Contest #52

There is no rhyme or reason to any of this. No purpose to this hell I'm living. But I must leave something behind, if only a miserable account of my story. To whoever is reading this, I must warn you; it is not cheerful. I was born on November 6th, 1989 to a single woman whose name I may not divulge. I had a decent childhood. We were poor, but my mother made up for it with all the love she could give me. Be it birthday parties at pizza places, occasional trips to county fairs, or expensive gifts once every few years, she made sure I had ever...

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“Gone, but Never Forgotten” by Thawra Ali

Submitted to Contest #52

It’s been 6 years, 4 months and 16 days since he passed away, and it still hurts just like the first day, if not more. By ‘he’, I’m referring to the most loving, caring man I’ve ever known, my father.The only difference today is that we are more in control of our emotions, yet that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t cry and break down whenever he’s brought up in a conversation or whenever I get ahold of his belongings.I wake up every morning thinking of him and only him. That moment when the doctor said “We’ve done everything we could, but we coul...

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“Where Is The Body?” by Manoshi Roy

Submitted to Contest #52

Where is the body? I should have taken the underbridge. It’s very difficult to cross the road during morning rush hour. There was a long line of pedestrians, all waiting for the light to turn red. Giving them a tough competition was the equally long line of vehicles on the road. The drivers grind their teeth whenever the light turned red. In this battle between the legs and the wheels I was a liability with my crutch and a limping le...

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“The Comeback” by Amarachi Apu

Submitted to Contest #52

"Zed, get the van." Jax, the dark washed up brown-haired leader of the gang ordered. Zed responded with a slight nod and walked towards a widely spaced dark alley. "Jay, Luca! You've got the entrance" He said snapping his fingers. They nod slightly and fade into the shadows. "What about me?" Lila asked from behind Jax. "You're going with Zed... Keep it together, I can't have you messing this up" Jax replied, not moving an inch from where he stood. Right almost immediately, an all black Enzo van pulled up beside 'em. "Get in!" Jax orde...

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“It Had to be Him” by Glen Benison

Submitted to Contest #52

I saw him crossing a busy street in downtown Hamilton, Ontario. He was sauntering in his typically casual yet threatening swagger. As usual he seemed to be tempting the oncoming vehicular traffic to take him out. I knew immediately it had to be him. His gait was just as I would have expected of him. He moved slowly and gracefully as though he might have once been a ballet dancer, which he never was. His calf muscles flexed into tight sinewy balloons with every step he took. And as always, he moved into each new stride by pushing off from ...

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You thought he was dead, but there he is, right in front of you on the street, smiling at you.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 412 stories

“The midnight meeting” by An Lê

“Good Brother, Bad Brakes ” by Robyn Jipp

“Locksley” by BiChronicler XYZ

“ESSENCE OF LIFE...” by Priya Sankar

“The Return” by Rebekah Pena

“Haunting Smile” by Indrajit Vyas

“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?” by Dolapo Omoleme

“Long Lost Love” by Eliza Vargas

“I saw a Ghost today” by Melisa Troupe

“Him” by Jelena Gavric

“The Man in the Raincoat” by Roland Okili

“Gone, but Never Forgotten” by Thawra Ali

“Where Is The Body?” by Manoshi Roy

“The Comeback” by Amarachi Apu

“It Had to be Him” by Glen Benison

🌟 Similar prompts

Twenty minutes before you are about to get married, you find your mother and your fiancé kissing passionately.

Every year, one person is sent to the moon. This year, though you hid in terror, it is your turn to enter the rocket.

"Come with us,” two burly men in gray suits say, grabbing you by the arm and handcuffing you. “You know what you did.” But you have no idea.

You are the only one in the supermarket during a blizzard. Feeling creeped out, you decide to leave, when suddenly you find a baby abandoned on the floor.

Contest #52

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

958

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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