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Write a story in the form of a list.

Posted in Narrative on Dec 22, 2023

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✍️ 60 stories

A Morning With ME

Submitted to Contest #230

Wake up. Stretch out your ankles, try not to scream. Hide under the duvet, assess the pain. How would you rate the pain on a scale of 1 to 10? F*ck off, you can’t give pain a number. Take the painkillers you left on your bedside. The co-codamol not the paracetamol. Scroll through social media as you wait for it to take effect. It does not. Continue scrolling through social media. Realise you should have eaten before taking painkillers. Search bedside drawer for food, eat the half-squashed oat bar hidden there. Scroll through more social medi...

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The Scar

Submitted to Contest #230

The Scar I had known Melanie for six months before ever asking her out. We both work for the same company, but in different departments and even in different buildings on the corporate campus. We met at a company picnic last summer, and I think there was an immediate, shall I say, interest on both of our parts. She was a shy girl, but sweet in many ways and something about her had always intrigued me. Our first two dates had been rather generic – out to dinner, a movie, and even a little light necking. But never anyt...

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Sammy’s Mixtape

Submitted to Contest #230

Subject: Your 13th Birthday Mixtape! Scheduled to send: 00.01 Saturday 30 December, 2023 *** Happy birthday, Sammy! 13! A teenager! So, it’s another one of my birthday emails. I hope you don’t mind them. I wish I could be there with you, but this is the best I can do. I can (just) remember what it felt like to be 13. It can be tough. Confusing. But it can (and should) also be the best time. A time to make friends. To try new things. Try it all! Give everything a go! Have fun! You’ll be an adult with a job, a credit card, a mortgage and b...

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It's the Being Unknown

Submitted to Contest #230

“Do you know I could break beneath the weight of the goodness, love, I still carry for you? That I’d walk so far just to take the injury of finally knowing you. It ain’t the being alone… It ain’t the empty home, baby… You know I’m good on my own… Baby, you know it’s more the being unknown. And there are some people, love, who are better unknown.” Unknown / Nth by Hozier Step 1: Get off the floor. This floor. The only thing that feels solid, unshakable, and unmovable in the midst of this spiraling hole. Yes, get off of that. Step 2...

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Christmas list

Submitted to Contest #230

WarningSwearing.Possible trigger relating to domestic violence and toxic family issues1. Don't think about it!That was yesterday's list. Oh shit I'm thinking about it. Maybe number 1 should have been a little more positive - like - "Think about butterflies!" Scratch that-Number 1- Think about butterflies!2. Don't Phone!Yes, that's easy, I text. I'm glad I made that number 2. I feel like I have some success, but really- I always text! Tick that!3. Only smoke in the morning! That's a hard one. It's almost lunchtime. Can tick that, too!4. Don't...

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Survival In Cat Sitting

Submitted to Contest #230

10:00 a.m.: I arrive for my pet sitting gig and I can feel the cats are wary and stand-offish. I’m sure I can remedy that but I begin by reading the multi-colored mosaic of sticky notes left all over the kitchen counter. Everything is efficiently labeled, then I see it- the notebook. As I scan the many detailed pages of instructions I can only marvel over how these animals have trained their human. I will not be dictated to by a pack of felines! 5:00 p.m.: It’s time to dish up dinner. I must use new, clean bowls with each feeding and I can’...

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A letter of welcome (to whom it may concern)

Submitted to Contest #230

We of the esteemed Society of Luxure and Beon (for the fabulously hedonistic and lavish) wish to congratulate you on your entry into our outermost circles. This is not a privilege that is given to just anybody and we hope that you can both understand and respect the gravity of this honour and act accordingly.  Your enjoyment of the finer things in life have not gone unnoticed and we offer you a platform for which to delve into whatsoever pleasures you might wish to indulge.  It is of vital importance that you heed the rules of th...

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The 15 Commandments

Submitted to Contest #230

People are impossible to pin down, but lists are black and white, no grey areas. Soon I will break out of this prison, they don’t call me a mad genius for nothing. Well, sometimes they forget the term genius. They will learn. I, Lex Luthor, shall rule over  Metropolis first and then the world. These are my commandments. God only had 10, I have 15! Thou shalt not wear thy underpants outside thy trousers.  Why do some people feel a need to overshare in public? They are deviants and should be named and shamed. Are we dealing with ...

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Just Another Manic Monday

Submitted to Contest #230

5:37 a.m.: Opened my eyes. 5:40 a.m.: Mentally created a list of things that need to get done during my waking hours. 5:45 a.m.: Started coffee maker. 5:46 a.m.: Stared into the abyss awaiting the completion of the caffeinated ambrosia that fuels me in my day to day life. 5:50 a.m.: Drank my coffee while playing on my phone absentmindedly. Playing games and scrolling through social media in silence as I prepare for “the awakening.” 6:07 a.m.: “The awakening” happened. There was a thud, slamming door, and pattering of footsteps down the ha...

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A MOST MEMORABLE CHRISTMAS

Submitted to Contest #230

Every December 25th Christmas arrives Bringing surprises and Unexpected happenings While magic reigns Supreme. With Love As fuel, It all begins The night before Christmas When families Practice Their traditions: Caroling Stocking hanging And more. With faith that Gifts will appear Under the tree On Christmas morn Carolers sing Jingle bells ring. Sometimes snow falls Sometimes not. Calls of Happy-Merry Christmas fill the air Kisses are shared Under the mistletoe And it doesn’t stop there. Santa’s sleigh Is loaded And down chimneys he go...

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To the American Republic of Mars

Submitted to Contest #230

GOVERNMENT DISPATCH: TOP SECRETFile No. 14575Coded messageEnter safe key...decoding....Subject: State of the United States of AmericaTo: The Leaders of the American Republic of Mars Today marks one week since the United States fell to the invaders. Yesterday, the former President of the United States opened the airlock without a spacesuit. As Chief Expert of the Republic (I built this place) I will take the oath of office tomorrow. All my supporters are invited.Rest assured, my administration is actively exploring ways to respond to the...

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The First Meeting

Submitted to Contest #230

“One more time, run me through it boss, real serious and focused like. Pretend I’m him.” “Are we serious with this guy?” A static disrupted voice buzzed from the flickering hologram standing beside them. ‘Boss’ pressed a button on his wristpad and the hologram flicked out. “Thanks,” winked Bolace. “Now, let me hear it.” Marzen, ‘boss,’ took a deep breath, stood up straight, and began. “The Agency is stocked bottom to top floor with equipment in every room, and I have specs on every piece. “I3s: The entire building is under surveillanc...

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A Neuroscientist's Study Break at the Christmas table

Submitted to Contest #230

A Neuroscientist's Study Break at the Christmas tableDéjà vu – already seen: If you've ever participated in one big Christmas family gathering, you know them all. You know what's coming. The only change this year is that I'm preparing for my temporal lobe exam, and different déjà-categories have been on my mind for days now. I don't just dream about the exam items; apparently I even think with them.Déjà gôuté – already tasted: The cranberry sauce’s sourness constricting my saliva and its tanginess makes my taste buds do a double take, as if ...

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MY MOTHER HAS A LIST

Submitted to Contest #230

I'm waiting in the kitchen, my Mother is making her daily list. Things she must do, people she must see. When she is done we will get into the car. It is loaded with things we might need for the trip downtown. Food, water, clothes, coats, gloves ,shoes. Even copies of the New Testament, while she is helping the homeless, she tells them about Jesus Christ and what He can do for them. Today is not a good day, it is is raining and we will get wet. We are wearing rain coats and rubber boots. My Mother and I often go downtown and do what we ca...

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How to Be My Bestie

Submitted to Contest #230

1.) Text back quickly. Yeah it sucks that we’re all supposed to be available 24/7 now, and yes, mental health crises happen, but if you have a habit of leaving me on read for three weeks, it’s a hard pass from me.  2.) Do not repeat the same stories every time we hang out. Like yes, I’m sorry you had that roommate from hell in college, but I don’t need to hear about how she threatened you over moving her clothes out of the dryer after they’d sat for four days every time we meet up for coffee. 3.) Be at least a casual fan of Taylor Swift...

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