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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

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

“Waiting” by Bronwyn Andrews

Submitted to Contest #49

It was with an empty hope that she waited, perched behind her desk with her heart thrumming quickly in her chest. Concentrating on that sensation alone she believed she felt her heart beat rattling her ribs. The sensation of nervousness radiated out farther than her chest, tingling danced down her arms and pooled in her palms with the slick sweat that it met there. Alone in anticipation, she felt anxiously restless, her leg bouncing as the balls of her feet pressed repeatedly against the carpeted floor. The day was only just getting started,...

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“Butter Days” by Courtney Langevin

Submitted to Contest #49

It is a classic sweltering hot afternoon in Florida. I have only been out of the air conditioning for three minutes and I already feel the sweat on my brow and, frankly, everywhere else. But as I sit and wait, I wonder if the sweat is all due to the Florida weather. My hands are shaking and I can’t stop my leg from bouncing like a basketball.  Nerves. Yet I don’t dwell on my nerves or what is causing them. I don’t dwell on the minutes passing by as I wait. I go back to a place only my mind’s eye can see. Way back to a time where cell ph...

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“Conjuring Companions” by Ahmad Rai

Submitted to Contest #49

The green fields seemed like a carpet and the wind was fresh, you could feel the freshness in the air. The driver suddenly pressed the brakes really hard and the jerk from the seat belt made him un-recline his seat. He looked at the reason as to why they had stopped, it was just some kid with his flock of goats and sheep that were crossing the road, as he got out of the jeep his shoes landed in the mud and got all messy instantly, this diverted his attention and he forgot about the seat belt or the jerk, cursing his luck he sat on a stone ne...

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“At the Other Side of the Window” by Mister Lizzy

Submitted to Contest #49

SQUEEEEAA! The plush frog toy is squeezed between two small hands, sweaty and weak, as they apply a futile pressure against the furry object. The car stereo kept on playing music with words he is either too young to understand or to know. He tuned out the noise, too busy staring at the cloudless afternoon sky. The little boy pressed his chubby cheek against the heated window and sighed. With his naive imagination keeping him occupied to remain patient, he tried to mold the boundless blue into different forms. "An ocean." But in the ...

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“The Next Step” by Becs G

Submitted to Contest #49

Opening her eyes, Kara stares at their dark bedroom. Beside her, Dylan’s soft breathing, finally slowed into a rhythmic slumber, continues steadily. Normally, the sound is enough to pull her into sleep, but not tonight. No matter what she does, she can’t settle. Her mind continues to race, anticipation bubbling in her veins.   Looking over at Dylan, she fights off the urge to brush her hand across his cheek, knowing that it will wake him up. It’s been a long emotional day; he should get some sleep. They both should, but it doe...

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“You Were Worth the Wait” by Chris Miles

Submitted to Contest #49

Our baby was born on the Fourth of July in 1976, during the United States' Bi-Centennial, much to the thrill of us all and especially to that of her WWII generation grandparents. I remember my wonderful Dr. John Brennan who gave up his holiday for us (and others), coming and going to check on me and, ultimately, almost not making it in time for the delivery.  He delivered a lot of babies in his 40 years to that date, but this one might have had a bit more at stake than he encountered every day. I was exposed to German measles during m...

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“The last wait” by What Is Life

Submitted to Contest #49

Tick…tick…tick. “I should have done something about that clock, it’s always so noisy” Chester said to himself as he coughed into a handkerchief. “first sign of madness that is, talking to yourself, then again, the world's gone mad. What good will screaming do us now?” Tick…Tick…Tick Chester Slowly lifts himself from his oak brown leather chair with the help of his cane the sounds of his joints cracking and popping under the strain of movement reverberate off the wall of the empty bungalow. Chester Sluggishly moves his charcoal black can...

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“Beck Waits.” by Ava Lasater

Submitted to Contest #49

Beck hates waiting. Everyone who knows her knows that she is not a patient person. But as she waits today, she is more stoic than she has ever been, even though she shouldn’t be. She seems untouched by the events of the day, just patiently waiting. There is no sign of her usual jitters: no bouncing leg, no useless scrolling through social media, no trying to count the number of people walking past. Today, it was useless. Today was a lot of things. Today is always a lot of things, but this today in particular is one that will not be washed a...

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“The Man They Called King” by Jonathan Piscitelli

Submitted to Contest #49

The man they called King sat in the basement of City Hall with his head down. He was waiting. It had been a long series of days and this next push would determine what direction the next chapter of his life took. His family was in the Cascades waiting for him in their cabin. It was stocked and fully sustainable off the grid with Solar Panels and rain barrels, not to mention the nearby creek which provided a perfect and nearly inexhaustible water supply. He could live up there, hunt elk and bear, fish the streams for trout and salmon, start a...

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“Lying in Wait” by Toye Eskridge

Submitted to Contest #49

Sturgis let his head rest against the driver’s side window. The glass felt cool to his temple. He shifted in his seat for a more comfortable posture. The late autumn afternoon sun had pleasantly warmed the car interior and that, combined with the cheeseburger he had recently finished, made him drowsy. He wanted to shut his eyes and rest, but he kept them open and trained on the house. Sturgis’ mind wandered. He yawned. He wondered if it might rain tomorrow, as he’d heard on the radio, and how miserable that might make things. He replayed a...

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“Philosopher and the brain chatter” by Drke Dero

Submitted to Contest #49

The average person spends 4380 hours waiting.  That is six months of 10 minute plus or minus cues added together.  Right now it feels like I am waiting those 6 months.  I feel patient, but I also feel very restless.  Waiting doesn’t give you much option to do anything but think and well wait. I take a deep breath as my mind starts to race. Why does the mind always live in the past or the future but never the present?  Maybe I should just talk to someone... I'm sure they’re just as restless if not more than I am right...

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“The Art of Waiting” by Tate King

Submitted to Contest #49

The Art of Waiting                Polly didn’t understand how the idea of waiting could be so ambiguous. Most of the world had it wrong- according to her grandparents. Everyone else thought waiting was the art of doing nothing, until the right time; or being patient until something happened to get you what you wanted.                As a little girl, Polly used to hate waiting for things sh...

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“I Can See You” by Claire Riddle

Submitted to Contest #49

One, two, three, four, five. You count the plastic toys on your bed. You feel the smooth edges on the car and long, skinny legs of the spider as you run your fingers on them. With a touch of excitement, you put them on the bedside table – later, you could look at them for hours. You could laugh as your sister runs away from the big, ugly, plastic spider. She is always scared of the bugs and insects, but never hates the kitty. All of them make you feel the same way; either it is a bug lands on your head or the kitty rubs its head on your leg,...

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“Why we wait” by Ellie Beldowicz

Submitted to Contest #49

You lie there waiting for it. What you are waiting for you don’t know, but you knew you were waiting for something. And then it hits you like an arrow being shot towards a target. You are lying there on your bed sprawled out like a starfish. The cold air surrounding you, sending chills down your spine and goosebumps up your arms. The once bright yellow walls darken from the night sky. Your lights turn off like a flicker of fire from a lighter. You hear loud booms of thunder and the rain starting to fall. It seems to never stop, ever. It was ...

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“Not Her Happily Ever After” by Mandi Maitlen

Submitted to Contest #49

The sun hung low in the sky signaling the close to another beautiful summer day. The day had been a humid one but perfect nonetheless. The smell of cut grass still clung thick in the air, from several of the homes nearby, tinged with a hint of backyard bonfires. Saturdays in August were very seldom lazy. Families trying to squeeze out every drop of summer before frost settled over the city once more. "Higher!" A gleeful girl exclaimed from the toddler swing. The rocking motion causing the entire set to sway. Blonde curls danced around the ...

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Contest #49

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