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Set your story over the course of a few minutes; no flashbacks, no flashforwards.

Posted in Narrative on May 31, 2024

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✍️ 91 stories

Taxi

Shortlisted for Contest #253 ⭐️

"Please do not enter the vehicle." "Excuse me?" A bolt of lightning shot through Shannon's heart as she climbed into the autonomous taxi and closed the door. Immediately the locks triggered and she felt a cold sweat explode onto her forehead. The taxi's smooth, friendly computer generated voice fired up again with the tenderness of a new mother. "What is your name?" it asked. "Shannon." She said it with the rising tone of a question while she pulled at the disabled door handle. Her heart began pounding wildly in her tightening chest. "What's...

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Her Song

Submitted to Contest #253

Author's Note (1) : This story uses the lyrics of Elton John's 1971 track "Your Song". I do not own the rights to this song or its lyrics. That would be him and the brilliant Bernie Taupin.“I feel my heart beat out of time,” Ryan Bernard whispered to himself whilst he blankly stared at the beat-up, black stereo system at the other end of the marketing office he worked in.He grasped at the juniper green silk tie that hung on his neck, as if his large, muscular hands were following a rhythm only he could hear. A shrill, pervasive tone rang in ...

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Ed Bumps

Submitted to Contest #253

“Hey, Ed, could you slow down please? These country roads are lethal, you can’t see a flipping thing.”“Yeah, Edmund, headlights can barely pick out the bends before they appear on this stretch, slow it down.”“You’re going to slam us into a tree, or a herd of sheep, or a big pile of shitty manure if the smell around here is anything to go by. Put the window up, Edwin, it stinks!”“Could you all shut up? It’s fine, I do this drive all the time, you know that.”“Yep, some of us more than others. You don’t have to go so fast though. It's not like ...

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BOOOOMMM!!

Submitted to Contest #253

“Let’s bang out these deliveries as quickly as possible so we can get home and eat.” “Yeah, I’m starving. Imagine if we order this exact meal for ourselves tonight?” I looked at my husband, hoping that he would agree. “Spend our profits? No way.” “Yeah, you’re right.” I fought to hide my disappointment as my hunger pains mixed with the growing fatigue.  “It’ll be worth it, you’ll see. Just another few deliveries and we hit our goal for the day.” He smiled at me, trying to keep my spirits up. We stopped for ...

29 likes 26 comments 26
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Patchwork

Shortlisted for Contest #253 ⭐️

In my mind, I have lived one hundred different lives. I don’t quite know why that is occurring to me now, but as I reach for my lighter I can hear and see those words very clearly. I have lived one hundred different lives. My lighter is bright yellow, I probably stole it from someone at some point, I would never willingly buy something this color. The cigarette is hanging from my lips, my throat already burns more than it should, but I want to enjoy this view for a while longer before I start my car and this gives me an excuse to stay a litt...

28 likes 15 comments 15
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Nothing Happens

Submitted to Contest #253

The title tells you all you need to know: nothing happens. You could walk on by and continue with your day, and the world would keep on turning, indifferent. It doesn't matter whether you read this or not; in the grand scheme of things, nothing happens. We agreed to meet at that café in Hamburg, a place suspended in time, where minutes stretch and contract as if obeying a different logic. I sit down and check my watch.6:23. The hands, like faithful messengers of time, announce the hour with a solemnity that seems to mock my waiting.6:24. I w...

28 likes 38 comments 38
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An English Breakfast

Submitted to Contest #253

4 June 2026 8:25 amWilliam's mobile displayed his favorite minute of the day. He always knew when it was 8:25am. He was very concise about his daily schedule and when he ate his breakfast.He sat alone at Ned’s Coffee in front of a plate of scrambled eggs, fried tomatoes, baked beans, and a heap of sausages, all topped by two slices of bacon. With all the shit happening in the world, thank god he could still get a proper English breakfast. Worst of all, the plant-based food maniacs were hounding everyone with their agenda, so this style ...

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It's Just How You Left It

Submitted to Contest #253

   The loaf of ash broke off ugly and hot, settling in the ashtray with its dead brethren without so much as a prayer. The fire of the cherry again lit up a swollen face, streaked with makeup that needed touched up. The anger in her eyes had been simmering for months. What was left resembled a sullen mess of regrets and unfinished paintings. The scruffy face across from her opened his mouth.Before he could gutter a sound, she tapped an unlit filtered cig from the case and spoke, “Just have one with me. I know you quit. Trust m...

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In the Mysterious Distance

Submitted to Contest #253

The sunset makes the darkening sky blush and adds rose highlights to the emerald water. A young couple, a man and a woman, perhaps in their early twenties, tanned and trim, golden-skinned in their bathing suits, have their beach blankets spread on the white sand. They sit close together, facing the sea and the sunset.In a three-story beachfront house, an elderly couple are on the balcony outside the second floor. They are sharing a bottle of white wine, crisp and cold in the warm air.“Like Adam and Eve,” the husband says. "Don't you think?"T...

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The Rollercoaster

Submitted to Contest #253

"The Cyclone," a roller coaster renowned for its heart-stopping loops and gravity-defying turns, have the time of your life," the advertisement had read. The moment she was buckled in her seat, the cute boy who sat next to her gave her a wink. She couldn't believe her luck, she never sat next to cute boys. He was in front of her in the line, but she thought he’d go in the front row, given her usual luck. But today seemed like her lucky day. It all changed in the next couple of minutes. Now there were screams all around her. As she dangled 10...

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Little Boy Blue

Submitted to Contest #253

Every muscle was taut and the sweat that had formed four hours before dripped, like melting icicles. Her shirt soaked through, the sheets soaked through, she began to shake. Knees knocked together, teeth chattered, her heart pulsed in her ears, a hundred horses running on a cobblestone street thundered past her eardrums. Lungs that had been panting moments before gave way to gasps as her heart wretched in her chest. Panic covered her like a cold pillow pushed against her face, she fought for breath under it as her mind reached up. Her though...

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UNFILTERED WITH THE ALMIGHTY

Submitted to Contest #253

INTERVIEWER: (grumbling, visibly annoyed) Welcome, everyone, to this very special interview on WVRT Channel 7, right here in the heart of New York City. Tonight, we have an extraordinary guest—God Himself. Let's give a round of applause for the Almighty. I had to cancel my plans, so let's discuss this.(pauses) And by 'discuss,' I mean I'll ask questions, and He'll give divine answers. It's a win-win, really.GOD: (fidgeting, voice unsteady) Thank you, thank you! Wow, great to be here. You know, not every day I get invited to do a TV appearanc...

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Today

Submitted to Contest #253

I feel the smell of medicine and decay as I exit the elevator. There is movement in the corridor. People dressed in blue walk slowly. White scrubs rush their way between calls and alarms. I feel like someone forced to attend the opera while having a perforated eardrum. I have been here before and don't want to return, but they told me it might be my last opportunity, so here I am. It's funny how we react to the last chance when we should have paid more attention to all the years before today. But this is not about what happened; it's about t...

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Of Lights and Women.

Submitted to Contest #253

The customer was skeptical of my competence, I could sense as much, and I suspected it was because she was shrewd and observant. This was the kind of sign job that I had little prior experience with, but I was determined to prove her fears unfounded, and assured her I would have her sign illuminated before the end of the day. I went back outside, a touch annoyed by her acumen, and proceeded to move the bucket truck into a position to access the sign panel. By my standards, it was a large and expensive sign, double-faced, with two, 3-foot by ...

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Skylights

Submitted to Contest #253

***Contains a fair amount of Scots dialect*** The wedding reception was still in full swing when Ria found herself sitting alone – or as alone as a girl two days off her eighteenth birthday could be when backed into the corner of a snug and surrounded by a load of drunken Boomers. Aw, lass… yer pal away now, is she…? The woman next to her, squeezed into a leopard-come-zebra patchwork dress, placed a hand on the seat between them, leaning in over Ria’s jacket. Fingers heavily ringed, bronze-shimmer taloned acrylics, the upside-down, insect-...

14 likes 8 comments 8
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