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

“White Butterflies” by Anna Mosqueda

Submitted to Contest #52

I'm paralyzed from the waist down. Everything becomes a blur. Everything except his smiling face. He's standing at least 10 feet away but my eyes have focused on him and him only. People are passing me on the busy sidewalk, yelling incoherent profanities regarding my current state. If this was happening two years ago, I would have ran to him with open arms. I would have kissed him until I needed to come up for air. But that was before he died. Before I fell victim to him. As my vision continues to fail me, white butterflies start repla...

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“''Respect your elders children''” by Tyra Johnson

Submitted to Contest #52

My name is Omazie, I am ten-year-old, I live in South Africa in a small African tribe name Patamonia, with my big brother name Kuru. My parents are dead and in African tradition the big brothers or sisters always takes care of the younger ones, if their parents die.This is my story how I learnt to respect the rules of elders. I want to share my story because,I want to encourage other children, why it is right and important to always listen and obey elders. I know, we hate listening the rules of adults, because that is how I used to feel, bef...

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“Raising the Dead” by Olivia Charlson

Submitted to Contest #52

“It’s a darn shame Bet,” Bet’s mother stood beside her as the rest of the funeral party dissolved back down the road from the old church’s graveyard. Bet stared at the fresh headstone sticking lopsided out of the ground. The Headstone read: “John Williamson 1883-1906 A man with a heart of gold” Bet closed her eyes and shook her head, “A man with a heart of gold and shoes full of lead- and eyes so full of hope that he was no better than a blind man.” It had only been two days ago when Johnny had taken a tumble down the steps...

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“Unwelcome Surprise” by Natalie Dafoe

Submitted to Contest #52

Sweat stuck to Aria’s brows, collecting into thick droplets that cascaded down her forehead. The August heat was not unfamiliar to the residents of La Princepaul, the noise of ceaselessly running air conditioners was perpetually irritating. Though, in the poor district Aria found herself plodding through, the sound of valuable chill air being created was absent.Wiping her hand across her forehead, Aria quickened her pace. The relief from the heat was incentive enough for her to rush home, nevermind the fact that she was in the highest crime ...

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“Delirium” by Ipshita Majumdar

Submitted to Contest #52

I had spent an entire afternoon weeping over Kavan Rathore’s death, for the eleventh time in a week. It was disorienting to see him outside the grocery store, that very evening, smiling his heart-wrenching, lopsided smile. It had all started with the flu. The one I caught by getting wet in the rain and jumping into puddles like a lunatic. Why did I do all of the above mentioned things? There is no dignified answer to that, I am afraid, so I’ll come out clean. It was a desperate performance of the manic-pixie dream girl, for a boyfriend who...

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“Missing - Presumed Dead” by Barbara Burgess

Submitted to Contest #52

“Jack? Is it you? Is it really you? We thought you were dead!”“It’s me alright Lisa. Alive and well, though sometimes I think I’d be better off dead.”“You can’t say that Jack. Here let me take a look at you.”Lisa placed her hands-on Jack's shoulders and looked him up and down.“You’ve lost a great deal of weight, for sure. Where on earth have you been these past five years? Why have you suddenly turned up in town? We had a funeral for you. Missing, presumed dead, they said. We had a ceremony.”“I know, Lisa”"You know? How? If you knew the...

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“It has been Three Weeks.” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #52

It Has Been Three Weeks. Lily thought to herself, almost like speaking it was so loud inside her head. “It has now been three weeks since my dear Roger died. I am walking down a familiar sidewalk alone. There’s going to be a lot of that from now on. It will certainly be a long time, maybe never that I will find his like again. Our relationship wasn’t very long, but it was so powerful, so very powerful.” That was enough for her to hear in her head at that point. She quieted her talking mind for a while as she...

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“HIM” by Marcia H.

Submitted to Contest #52

I couldn’t believe my eyes. This couldn’t be. I actually pinched myself because I thought I was dreaming. He was dead. I know because I was there when he died. But, this man across the street looks just like him. He even has the same smile as him. I ran against the light, dodging cars to get to him. I had to see him close up. I had to touch him and to hug him. In my rush to get to him I lost him. I ran as fast as I could across the street and even pushed people out the way, something I never ever do, to get to him. But, where i...

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“If I Jumped” by Robyn Barlow

Submitted to Contest #52

On November 22, 2010, just a few minutes past 3 AM, Aiden found himself standing outside of Dr. DeWolfe’s house for the fifteenth time that month. He’d paid Dr. DeWolfe a silent visit every night since it had happened, hoping to see one of the lights on as a signal for Aiden to go inside. That’s what DeWolfe had told Aiden he would do, anyway. Every night, though, the lights were off, the door was locked, the windows were shut, and the air was silent, indicating DeWolfe was asleep. Maybe he died, too, Aiden wondered. But he knew th...

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“Don't Breathe” by Daniel Paul

Submitted to Contest #52

“I saw him today.”“Who?”“Flake.” My eyes stung from the tears clinging to it. There was no doubt they were red already and swollen from the loss of sleep in the past few days. I pressed my lips together, taking time to search the words lost somewhere deep inside me. “He was standing there, just watching me, I could feel his eyes on me like—like he was there. Like he was standing right there.” I stared at him, curious about his answers. I knew how I sounded and the dread of believing I might actually be —crazy—caused my pale li...

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“Death Becomes Him” by Nanci Arvizu

Submitted to Contest #52

Between home and his usual barstool at the corner breakfast place, he ate at every morning he’d seen three people he hadn’t seen in decades. Having Paul Hill cross his path at his regular lunchtime haunt was par for the course.Today, he reminded himself, would be different. From the moment he woke up, five minutes before his alarm clock, as planned, he could feel it. He reached for the notepad with the numbered to-do list, the first two to be performed before his feet touched the ground.Two minutes of deep breathing and repeating his new man...

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“Old Friendly Visitor” by Chris Buono

Submitted to Contest #52

“Do you want to stay at my place tonight?” I asked. “Nah, man,” Matty replied. He sounded calm in his voice, but his eyes showed fear. “It’s no problem if you do, Matt, my mom will understand,” I tried to assure him, “Besides, my dad doesn’t have to work tomorrow so he can take us fishing in the morning down at Salmon Creek.” &...

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“Incubo” by Spider Baby

Submitted to Contest #52

Trigger warning: upsetting images, depictions of assault Piper hadn't slept easily since that horrid night. Images of horns and raining blood—the spine-chilling sounds of Blake's horrifying shrieks as he got incinerated—and the awful way, he curled his retractable claws—still ravaged and plagued the nine circles of hell of her brain. When she slept as much as even a compact wink—she was suddenly accosted and blinded with incandescent dreams of malignant spirits and frightful fiends. If the young Catholic priest had been r...

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“Still Got The Blues For You” by Cara H

Submitted to Contest #52

Still Got the Blues for You In the Midnight Hour “To sleep—perchance to dream. But I’m doing no sleeping, so there will be no dreaming,” Sabella Laaksonen sighed. Sabella’s insomnia was the reason that she had usually worked night shifts. Now that she was no longer a slave to a time clock, she was trying to go to bed at a more sensible hour. Midnight would do, but as the clock struck one, she realized that it would be another sleepless night. Sabella sat before the computer that she had set up in front of her couch. She had been living in th...

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“Sparky” by Cheryl H

Submitted to Contest #52

The day was April 10th. It was the first day, this year, that actually felt like spring. I was sitting on my front porch, rocking back and forth in my big, white rocking chair. Though it was raining outside, I was enjoying being out of the house and being able to take in some fresh air. The rain was subtle, mostly light showers which I liked. My Grandma used to say“Poo, the rain is just God’s way of cleaning things off.”I learned to appreciate it because of that.As I sat on the porch, I started reminiscing about my days growing up in the Sou...

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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

“White Butterflies” by Anna Mosqueda

“''Respect your elders children''” by Tyra Johnson

“Raising the Dead” by Olivia Charlson

“Unwelcome Surprise” by Natalie Dafoe

“Delirium” by Ipshita Majumdar

“Missing - Presumed Dead” by Barbara Burgess

“It has been Three Weeks.” by John Steckley

“HIM” by Marcia H.

“If I Jumped” by Robyn Barlow

“Don't Breathe” by Daniel Paul

“Death Becomes Him” by Nanci Arvizu

“Old Friendly Visitor” by Chris Buono

“Incubo” by Spider Baby

“Still Got The Blues For You” by Cara H

“Sparky” by Cheryl H

🌟 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

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Stories

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