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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story with an open ending that gives readers just enough details to draw their own conclusions.

Posted in Narrative on Sep 15, 2023

Submissions are closed

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✍️ 116 stories

“Long Live the King” by Hazel Ide

🏆 Winner of Contest #216

"I was eight years old the first time I heard his name." Shifting in the hard plastic seat, my wrists are shackled to a metal chain link at the center of the table, limiting my mobility.The officer observes my discomfort passively, already impatient and annoyed with my recollection of events."I was thinking a little more recent, Miss Clark. Like why you were caught standing outside his home with a bloody—""No, no, you d...

91 comments 91
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“Coffee, Crumbs, and Crisis” by Michał Przywara

Submitted to Contest #216

Someone had taken a bite out of his croissant. He was pretty sure he bought a whole one and there was no-one else at their usual table because Jess hadn’t arrived yet – because Jess was late, keeping her usual schedule – but he also didn’t remember taking a bite himself.But he felt crumbs on his lips, between his teeth. Could he have done it? He decided to take another bite, thinking it might jog his memory. No, nothing. He felt his teeth tear the flaky pastry, felt its dough dissolve on his tongue, but it was utterly flavourless. ...

60 comments 60
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“They Know Better” by Corey Melin

Submitted to Contest #216

I open my eyes and look over at the clock.              “Why do I continue to do so?” I ask myself.              Every single day I am scheduled to wake up at six am. Programmed into all of us, so we received the right amount of sleep. We no longer had control over the amount of sleep we take once they inserted the chip under our skin.              “We are your new gods, for there was never a tr...

37 comments 37
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“The Menagerie” by Howard Halsall

Submitted to Contest #216

Don Benway and his father were regulars at the hospital’s oncology department and on familiar terms with Gerry, the head porter. ‘Morning, handsome,’ Gerry would say as he approached. ‘How are we today?’‘A darn sight better than you,’ Walter would say, muttering behind his bandages.Walter had undergone regular surgery for over three years and during that time they’d snipped, sliced and cut away so many facial lesions he was almost unrecognisable.‘Your usual seat, sir?’ Gerry would ask, smiling as he pushed...

42 comments 42
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“Running on Fumes” by Anthony Carello

Submitted to Contest #216

“Dad, are we there yet?” Emily’s voice is soft and sweet as she asks the same question again. I don’t mind, though. “Not yet, sweetie.” Through the rear-view mirror, I can see her resign herself and shift uncomfortably. It seems like just yesterday when I held her in my arms, an innocent baby. A lot can change in eight years. The past few months haven't been easy on any of us, but as her father, I’ve tried my best to shelter her from the worst of it. It was all so sudden that I didn’t even have time to process it. ...

22 comments 22
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“Lake 40 Challenge” by Beth Connor

Submitted to Contest #216

The subsequent entries have been transcribed verbatim from a weathered journal discovered just off the Lake 40 trail in (redacted), Washington, USA. It’s contents provide a first-hand account of a series of events in the summer of 2019, detailing the author’s explorations into obscure rituals and the alleged supernatural. The authenticity of the experiences and the identity of the journal’s author remain unknown. Readers are advised to approach with an open mind, recognizing the blurred line between reality and fiction that often accompan...

15 comments 15
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“The Identity Thief” by Jonathan Page

Submitted to Contest #216

“This is the hunter's badge of glory - That he protects and tends his quarry, - Hunts with honor, as is due - And through the beast to God is true.”--Jagergmeister, by Oskar von Riesenthal (taken from the back of a Jagermeister bottle, half-full).* * *I am left to imagine the circumstances of a most unusual case, which has the Grimlace’s handiwork written all over it. The Grimlace has stolen another victim’s visage and memories, leaving her a withered amnesiac. She was wanderin...

11 comments 11
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“The Resting Place” by Kevin Marlow

Submitted to Contest #216

The site was serene. A field of bright green fescue, corralled by stately white and red oak trees, waved in ripples, like spectators at a large live music event. The late summer evening sun jabbed daggers through the forest canopy, slicing away the minutes as the gentle breeze pushed sparrows from their perches, seeking their nightly roost. One sparrow looked down at the newly dug hole, just past the edge of the pasture, concealed in the wood line. What a fine addition our new resident will make.To call it an addition wa...

10 comments 10
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“I'm Free” by Rudy Greene

Submitted to Contest #216

I stepped off the ferry to Crete and kissed the ground. I looked around me. All I could see was the azure water and white houses, snaking up the hills. I raised my hands and yelled “I’m free!” Some of the disembarking passengers turned and smiled, some shook their heads. My divorce was final, the kids were off my dime and financially independent and I had quit my job. Thirty years working for the same corporation was eno...

11 comments 11
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“Are You Alright” by Joe Smallwood

Submitted to Contest #216

“Are you alright?”“Yeah, how long was I out for?”‘A minute or so. Do you think you should see a doctor?”“Nah! I’m fine.”January 12th 2018“Why are there so many Canadian flags around these days, eh?” I wondered aloud as we drove by Walmart one day.“It’s so the Americans could know they are in Canada,” answered my wife, tongue in cheek. “And certain other people…”“Yeah, but this one is huge!”“Well, you can’t bring guns into Canada....

9 comments 9
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“ The Lilac Painting of A Silent Yearning.” by Waaa Intresting

Submitted to Contest #216

 You know wants and needs at a certain point aren't that far apart. I wonder what makes your wants become needs. Don’t know, well somehow you do. One can wonder; are we like sailors bound to the relentless pull of the moon to the tide, luring towards the spiked rocks of our obsessions. Would we surrender our soul for these cravings? I wouldn’t mind just a couple times; someone would look this way. But in the night sky there are countless stars to behold, each with its own unique flicker. “...

4 comments 4
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“A Day on the River” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #216

From the edge of her vision, Julie saw a flash of yellow, a blur of rocks. The little boy giggled as his feet slipped, splashing into the raging river. Loosened leaves and dirt caught in the current, flew like clouds before a storm, then gone.Julie yanked him up by his shirt, “Billy, watch yourself!” Her heart raced, pounding a drumbeat of what could have been. Just five years old, he laughed, kicked his feet, thinking he was indestructible. The rapids of the American river roared wild, white foam horses t...

22 comments 22
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“Alteration” by AnneMarie Miles

Submitted to Contest #216

Some Time and Somewhere, something agreed that tonight was important. Eleanor was grateful, at least, for that sliver of Knowing. It was the only thing driving her from wall to wall as she shuffled hastily, gathering a bottle from here, a jar from there, preparing. The mice scampered along with Eleanor from corner to corner, their tattling a rhythmic hum that made the cobwebs dance. The single pane windows on the front of the house rattled their response to the thunderclaps outside, each louder and more vibrative th...

14 comments 14
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“Cambions' Prey” by Anna Maeve

Submitted to Contest #216

Through the dark woods, they fled, moonlight flickering like dying embers in the hope of racing hearts. Branches reached out like gnarled, skeletal fingers, tearing at their clothes, scratching their flesh as they sprinted, gasping for breath. The relentless pursuit of survival echoed in their ears, each ragged breath drawing them closer to the dilapidated cabin that loomed ahead, a sanctuary and a prison in one. ...

2 comments 2
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“Jessica this story contains sensitive material regarding mental health” by Joan Wright

Submitted to Contest #216

Jessica heard the mewing of her tiny daughter. She rushed to the nursery. "Mommy's here," Jessica crooned. She lifted the little bundle out of the crib. "You're soaking wet!" Jessica began the ritual of changing everything from the inside out. She was used to the mewing turning into howling as the hunger pangs took over. Wet clothes disposed of, the baby was rewrapped in cozy clean blankets and the main event of n...

4 comments 4
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Contest #216

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This week's theme: Show, Don't Tell

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Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 22, 2023 EST

Won by Hazel Ide 🏆

Title: Long Live the King

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