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Write a story about waiting — but don't reveal what's being waited for until the very end.

Posted in Nonfiction on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 323 stories

Patient Lee

Submitted to Contest #49

Lee’s heart was pounding. He was told to wait. There he was—sitting, silently praying. Patiently waiting. Lee wrinkled his little nose from the pungent scent of antiseptic, while people in white moved their legs in haste. Everyone in the pristine, white corridor always seemed to be rushing forward. Despite that, Lee thought they moved like turtles along the marble floor. The clock hanging on the wall before him whispered, “Tick-tock.” Maybe, just maybe, these whispers were like barks of orders to the nurses’ ears. It felt like that ...

209 likes 139 comments 139
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The Heart of the Phoenix

Submitted to Contest #49

September 1st, 2048It’s raining. I can see the droplets from my cell window, watch them fall from the sky. Whenever it rains, I press my hand to the window, believing that if I push hard enough, the glass will break, and I’ll be free. It never happens. But it’s at least comforting to know that someone is crying with me.It’s been so long since I’ve felt the drip of rain on my skin. Since the chilly wisps of wind have stroked my face. Since the scent of warm cheese pizza has tickled my nostrils. The only smell here is ...

131 likes 53 comments 53
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A River of Tears

Submitted to Contest #49

My head spins in the cold, as I sit on the steps in front of the restaurant. I refused to wear a coat, even if I died in the chilly December air. I'd come out as soon as possible, in case she came early. Maybe she'd need my jacket. I put my arm around it reassuringly. My heart pounds against my chest, as I close my eyes, shaking away the image of the last time I'd seen her. She'd be mad if I thought about it now. Rubbing my fingers against each other, I watch my breaths come out in puffs of white. She'd come today. She'd come to me. I i...

93 likes 70 comments 70
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Hope

Submitted to Contest #49

Days run past. Weeks fly by. She looks forward to the day when she will have a reason to smile. A radiant glow will appear in her eyes, and all the tears she had once wept will sink in an ocean full of happiness. The sun will once again rise in her life.   She stares out the window watching a mindless breeze wake up the trees. She sits there until the sun starts to hide under the horizon. Every day the sky is a different color. The grass sways to a different song every hour.   She spends her days waiting, and he...

76 likes 38 comments 38
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Juliet and Romeo

Submitted to Contest #49

Juliet French glanced at the clock tower as she frantically paced up and down the empty platform. It was half past one. The train was late. Or perhaps she was early? She didn't know. It didn't matter. Oh Romeo! How much longer must I wait?She nervously looked around the deserted station. Not a single soul in sight. Was that good or bad? She did not know. She had only one thing in mind. Soon he will be here.A cool breeze blew in from the west. With a shiver, she pulled her coat tighter. She was not used to the cold. To be hones...

75 likes 62 comments 62
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Death Has Had the Most Tears

Submitted to Contest #49

I can see her smiling, her two front teeth still growing in, her laughter filling the air. We plucked grapes from their vines, our mouths twisting from the sour taste. It doesn't take away her smile, though. Not many things can take away her smile. The day is still warm in my memory, pestering my thoughts like a ringing doorbell. An image of her uneven hair burns in my memory. I cut it with safety scissors, because she asked me to. For hours, she didn't say a word about her choppy hair, until I felt so bad that I took us out for ice cream, a...

74 likes 33 comments 33
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Trapped

Submitted to Contest #49

I have no idea how long I’ve been here.Long enough that I’m freezing cold, starving and exhausted. I never expected to wait for this long, but I haven’t got long left to wait. That’s good, right?Waiting can be good too. Especially when you don’t have a crosswords book or a needle and some yarn to keep you distracted. It sounds bad but it actually makes your mind wander. I have remembered things I haven’t thought about in so long, it’s hard to believe I actually lived them. And I have planned all the trips I’m going to take for at least the n...

71 likes 16 comments 16
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A lost mermaid

Submitted to Contest #49

You lightly shuffle outside in your flip flops. Why are you out in the dark, alone at 2 a.m.? No, you don’t have an answer, maybe you don’t want to. All you know is that you were waiting for this moment for a long time since you first opened your eyes finding yourself grasped in a brutal world, earth. Boy! Your heart is strong…You slowly turn your back on the large wooden door you just pushed out. Your house is small and old, painted with a tinted brown and obsidian black combination you hated. you just came home and now you are out again. Y...

63 likes 40 comments 40
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Waiting.

Submitted to Contest #49

Author’s Note: Just a fair warning, readers! This is a joke story, please don’t take it seriously. This is not how I normally write, and you know that. Hopefully you still get a laugh or such. Thanks! Stay healthy! :) I’m waiting. I’m waiting. I’m waiting. I’m waiting. I’m waiting. I’m waiting. I’m waiting. I’m waiting. I’m waiting. I’m waiting. I’m waiting. I’m waiting. I’m waiting. I’m waiting. I’m waiting. I’m waiting. I’m waiting. I’m waiting. I’m waiting. I’m waiting. I’m waiting. I’m waiting. I’m waiting. I’m waiting. I’m waiting. I’m ...

62 likes 64 comments 64
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A GLITCH IN THE MATRIX

Submitted to Contest #49

It was the day when everything began. The wind rustled the leaves and the shutters clattered. Dark clouds gathered on the sky and the chirping birds flew away as soon as the hissing sound of cold blowing air hit the doors and windows, producing a loud creaking sound. And then the weather changed and heavy down pour began. The petrichor swiftly travel through air and hit her nose and being a pluviophile, she couldn’t resist to not look at the weather and feel it. Darkness conquered everything.‘The weather forecast shows heavy rain in the foll...

62 likes 50 comments 50
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Pickles?

Submitted to Contest #49

Its night time and the boss and his wife are in the house. No noise could be heard from where I’m situated. Its cold tonight and I don’t have any fur like the persistent yet curious cat, or any hair like the bosses.I am just here.A gift past from one generation to the next, an old model standing alone through all the storms the earth has to give.Waiting…Its day time now and the soft yet cold snow of the previous night are set on my eyes. The bosses are awake I can’t sense, but I can see the lights are already on in what they call a ‘hom...

61 likes 23 comments 23
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Two Minutes and The Lifetime They Take

Submitted to Contest #49

120 seconds leftTwo minutes is barely any time at all. At the same time, it is eons and eons. Time is relative, as the great scientists have said. When she met him, it had taken her only two minutes to decide that he was the one for her. Such a short time to pivot the course of your life but his T-shirt said This is what a feminist looks like and he was blushing and awkward and stammering. He’d offered to buy her a drink and when she’d hesitated, he’d put both his hands up, told her he understood and wished her a good evening. When she caugh...

60 likes 58 comments 58
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Embrace Me Back!

Submitted to Contest #49

“He is lying still on the bed, sleeping like a baby. I love seeing him sleeping beside me— the way his lips curl up even in sleep, always makes me smile; it makes me feel complete. But when I try to embrace him in the warmth of my love, he lies there lifeless.” Alia wakes up from her sleep as she hears a loud bang outside, but does not bother to find out where it came from and sits down with her back straight against the headboard. Looking straight at the wall in front of her, she moves her quivering hand towards the other side of the bed,...

56 likes 73 comments 73
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Waiting Forever

Submitted to Contest #49

Hello guys!I am Hazel Adams, and I am proud to define myself as a human who is lazier than the laziest sloth in the world. I want to tell you a story, so come to me and listen, won't you? My backache is getting worse than ever, even though I am just in my thirties.I was lolling around on the couch like a sloth (as is my natural behavior- I should respect my animal identity) with a huge bowl of popcorn to keep me company one night. It had been a nice night until then. A huge storm began thundering down on us out of the blue in a short while.(...

51 likes 10 comments 10
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Rekha’s Waiting………………………………………………………..

Submitted to Contest #49

Rekha’s Waiting……………………………………………………….. Rekha lost her father Mr Goyal when she was 13 years old. It was a suicide as was told to her by her relatives. As she was only a teenager and was not quite aware of the perplexities of life, she didn’t knew what storms were waiting for her.   She was very close to him as he was the world for her. He was her friend , her guide and her protector. With him, she felt very secured. She thought his sole purpose of coming on the planet was to love her and take care of her. He pampered her with all...

47 likes 13 comments 13
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