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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write about a casual act of bravery.

Posted in Narrative on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 48 stories

“Home of the Brave” by Thom Brodkin

A mom’s job is never truly finished—Elise knew this instinctively when her son was born. For at least the hundredth time, she sat next to his bed in that chair mending his quilt. There was no way of knowing, the day she bought it at a flea market, that it would become her son’s most valued possession. To call it a quilt stretched the definition as it was nothing more than a thousand pieces of oddly shaped swatches stitched together, layer after layer, until the whole of it was thick enough to hold in the warmth...

215 comments 215 WINNER 🏆
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“The Front Line” by Howard Halsall

Bohdan Kozak had lived on the outskirts of Kyiv all his life and he’d seen Russian tanks trundle past his front door before. Thirty-five years ago, his house had trembled on its foundations as dozens of heavy old Soviet T-62’s retreated East to Moscow. He could still recall the thunderous approach and the sulphurous fumes left in their wake. His wife, Oxana, had compared them to a flight of cantankerous dragons suffering from acute halitosis. They’d laughed at the time and brushed off their home’s minor structural damage as one of life’s ...

22 comments 22
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“The girls chose Hawaii” by Francis Daisy

*Warning: mention of cancer in storyMy daughter and I sat on the hard bench. She was in her sophomore year of high school, yet she still held my hand as we sat there together. We were both lost in our own thoughts. Watching. Staring. Fascinated by the two girls in front of us who were moving so gracefully. They wore simple black dresses that seemed to make their dance appear ever more elegant as they moved to the music. I couldn’t tell you the tune. It was melancholy and peaceful and sweet. Just like the girls who were d...

43 comments 43
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“All Roads Lead to Trouble” by Robin Martin

Laura gnawed on her bottom lip. She knew better than to take the creepy, pothole-riddled, old highway. But she was already late getting home, and the dark, empty road would cut ten minutes off her travel time.Alone in her car, she could still hear her mother's voice rasping in her ear. "Come straight home after work. No dilly-dallying! And stay off that highway, young lady. That way leads to trouble."In truth, the old highway eventually led to the city, with its trendy bistros, clubs, bright lights, music, and laughing, happ...

17 comments 17
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“Pay Back” by John K Adams

Standing in the cafeteria line to pay, Sally Little hid her face when she saw the young man standing nearby. She couldn’t chance his recognizing her. She had no doubt who he was, though she hadn’t seen him for over a decade. The panic attacks had finally subsided, but she’d never forgotten Creech. Now, her nightmare stood almost in reach of her. There was no mistaking his hulking physique, and the same red...

5 comments 5
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“Oskar” by David Ader

OskarThe smiles of the small crowd on the street disappeared faster than the people who hurried away from the boys in the brown outfits. Yelling profanities despite the presence of children who’d been enjoying the man’s show, they kicked his table over before they set to kicking the man to the ground and then kicking him more. The tools of his trade, the rings, the cups, the case, weren’t so badly hurt as the man seeming to claw his way th...

5 comments 5 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“The Flower Strikes Back” by Tiombe Chappelle

It felt good to grab the last succulent out of my locker. It’s finally cleared out. Another school year is in the past. Next year will be my last year of secondary and I was glad of it. With a wistful sigh, I turned the small potted plant over in my hands. I touched a finger to the soil and got a rush when its energy ran through me. I prepared to tuck it into the allocated slot in my bag when it was smacked ou...

8 comments 8
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“LITTLE DOG TO THE RESCUE” by Debbie Curtin

   It was a long, hot Labor Day weekend. The signs had been posted all over town. On telephone poles and trees located nearest the roadways, the message was the same. It was a plea for help. “Missing: Shih Tzu dog: Needs medication. Last seen on King Arthur Drive. If found…” and the contact information. The photo was of a black and white dog with an energetic, happy face.    Amy signed after she finished ...

9 comments 9
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“Born” by Jeannette Miller Mickenham

It’s dark in here. A massive expanse of what feels like pure nothingness and yet a strangely calming sense of what is to come. It is dark here. Full of nothingness and a wasteland brimming with fear. This state of being lasts for what seems like an eternity; although, what is time in a place like this? This feeling keeps me on edge for what feels like forever. I have no concept of time...

12 comments 12
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“Jesus' First Motorcycle” by Tsvi Jolles

Peter, Andrew, Jesus, and I are sitting in one of those new eateries that have popped up like mushrooms after a rainstorm and Andrew remarks that it looks like Judith was hanging out with Abimelech.Peter takes a piece of the bread and says nothing more than: "It's good bread.""What's so good about this bread?" I ask, and he replies, "Nothing. But it's good. Taste!" and he pours some wine into my glass.“Judith, what did you say about her?" he asks his brother. "I saw her with that guy," Andrew says. 

7 comments 7
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“Teeny tiny chicken nugget” by Bradon L

Hello dear reader! The author of this conglomeration of words thanks you for taking the time (or wasting your time) to read this. Our author absolutely adores writing. He feels that the written word is so powerful. With just a pen and paper, people fall in love, declare war, invoke fear, bring comfort, joy, laughter, and sadness. Unfortunately this young man consistently fails to demonstrate any of the aforementioned power in his writing. You see, our dear author is not the sharpest spoon in the drawer, has no natural talent, a limited vo...

9 comments 9
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“Ice Girl” by Isabella Ruffatti

Mariana shivers in her Shawn Mendes hoodie as she slowly makes her way down the electric stairs. Though she does not dare to look down at first, when she finally does, she sees the other skaters who are at the rink below glide, jump, and spin effortlessly. She thinks she is going to be sick. She still feels her mother’s steely glance on her shoulder blades as it followed her out of the car and into the mall. At the time, all Mariana could feel was apprehension, but she misses it now. It would make what she’s about t...

2 comments 2
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“TAKE ME INSTEAD OF HER (Fiction) Feb 2022” by Donnie Powell

TAKE ME INSTEAD OF HER (Fiction) Feb 2022 “This is a hold up! Everybody down on the floor!” Screamed the three masked men. All of us quickly lay facedown and I for one, started saying my prayers and hoping that no one would get hurt, that the robbers would remain calm. I knew that sometimes for no reason they shot people who had not resisted or caused any problems. My heart was raci...

1 comment 1
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“The Monkey Tree” by Cal Kirby

The Monkey Tree   By Cal Kirby         Sonny Pigpen was a smelly, bratty kid and made the life of the neighborhood kids miserable, most of the time it was me in misery. His real name was Sebastian Pignall, but his nickname was Sonny and everyone called him, behind his back, Sonny Pigpen. “Leslie, Vivian, Clark, come home now,” our mother yelled from the front...

4 comments 4
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“The Tiger” by Maria Avisal

     Part of Alyssa’s brain knew she was being unreasonable, but wasn’t that her right as a fifteen-year-old girl? Wasn’t that what teenage girls for known for? She was otherwise quite mature; she simply couldn’t get past this one little thing that sometimes ended up being a big thing. Times like this coming weekend.          “For real though, you have to come. You get straight As in all of your smart girl classes...

3 comments 3
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Contest #135

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This week's theme: I Wanna See You Be Brave

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Ended on 23:59 - Mar 04, 2022 EST

Won by Thom Brodkin 🏆

Title: Home of the Brave

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