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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

Submissions are closed

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✍️ 323 stories

“The Cursor” by Solomon Sessums

Submitted to Contest #49

The menu was open. The tab was  highlighted. But he didn't dare press the button. He had to wait. This day had to be perfect. So he merely let the cursor hover over the tab, and resigned himself to sit until the time came.  Though as the minutes dragged on,  and crept into the realm of an hour, waiting became a chore in and of itself. He had to stop himself from moving around so much, because the spot on thick cushions grew less comfortable. He could deal with silence, but the ticking of that infernal clock became unbearable...

4 comments 4
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“What is life, then, but a waiting game?” by Matt Strempel

Submitted to Contest #49

No sooner had Miss Hartigan turned to write the lesson on the chalkboard, than the boy dashed through the open door. He hid in the ragged hawthorn bush—prickles and all—panting, waiting, listening. The teacher continued the lesson and he knew he was free.He‘d never been in town during school hours but he’d imagined it as a veritable showground of adult activity: men and women leaning on railings, drinking and laughing, enjoying the freedom that having their kids in school afforded them. So, when he rounded the bend of the track that led from...

1 comment 1
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“The Drowned Church” by Kevin DuPont

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #49

The water looked emerald in the subaqueous pool lightning. It felt oily, like slime, even though he couldn’t actually feel it through his dive suit.            Esme obsessively checked the O2 level of the scuba tank as he waded alone doing his best to keep his focus on the empty water above him and not what was directly below him. The Titan gave him extreme anxiety.            The Titan was approximately 33 and ¾ feet in height and w...

6 comments 6
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“Walt ” by Sandra Claros

Submitted to Contest #49

- You are two hours late, dear. I was just starting to think about leaving as I have drank one cup of coffee, ate one  doughnut, a roast beef sandwich  and smoked four extra-minted cigarettes – said a beautiful lady dressed in red high heels and some little patience ‘ by the way she used to shake her legs, looking at the watch every five seconds. - Sorry, dear, but I thought you were going to get mad at me, I know I am late – said that brilliant doctor , who just arrived at the meeting he had with...

7 comments 7
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“Charlie” by Jessie Nice

Submitted to Contest #49

It’s been two years.Two years since I saw him from the windowsill, coming through those gates.Two years since I greeted him at the front door as he dropped his bags and, if it was a blustery chilly day, removed his hat, his scarf and his coat and hung them up to dry.Two years since I sat on the old leather sofa with him watching rubbish telly as the night drew in.Two years since I stared into his old smiley eyes and smiled back.It’s been two months.Two months since I escaped and came back to his home. Two months since I ran away from my new ...

14 comments 14
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“Looking Back.” by Marsha Webb

Submitted to Contest #49

Bryan sat in the uncomfortable wooden chair, he was early, but he didn’t know what else to do or where else to go. He was alone; no one else was there, nothing to take his mind off things. He paced the narrow corridor looking at the old leaflets pinned to the wall. The familiar damp, musty smell took him back to the first time he came here. He sat back down, checked the time on his watch and closed his eyes. Unfortunately, with nothing to distract him, he started to replay the day again. This morning he had opened his eyes with a start, he r...

6 comments 6
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“The trail of life” by Palash Jhawar

Submitted to Contest #49

Sofia walked faster than before, moving around every vine and branch in her path. The forest was so dense that even during the middle of the day, she could barely make out things just a few feet ahead of her. She also kept getting scratched by the thorny vines every now and then, but that didn’t slow down her progress. After all, the life of her little brother hung in balance. Sofia was a 20-year-old sophomore at the community college. She was an introvert at heart who lived at home instead of the dorms, resulting in the fact that she had ...

2 comments 2
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“Worthy enough?” by Zahra Daya

Submitted to Contest #49

Sighing heavily, I stuff the last piece of toast into my mouth wondering when it would be over. I check my emails yet again-for what feels like the hundredth time today. Every time I open that blue mail app, my heartbeat travels to my throat and rests there till I exhale in a myriad of emotions when I see nothing. I decide a distraction would do me some good right about now. I get up and rinse my dishes, climb upstairs on all fours - I hadn’t seemed to grow out of that ritual - and lay on my bed, phone still in hand. Just as I open the calm ...

3 comments 3
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“Where did Aurora go?” by Utkarsh Srivastava

Submitted to Contest #49

“Today is not an ordinary day for me. I am thrilled. I have been waiting for something very close to my heart, and it is coming to me.” Aurora had just put on her status on her social media handle and gulped her Lemonade in a hurry as she had to run behind a robber. Her eyes were continuously flickering in excitement and glinting with joy. The sun throwing his radiating threads on her like he also wanted to be a part of her happiness. However, the thick dark cloud had departed so she couldn’t expect a delay. She imagined how it would smell l...

10 comments 10
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“Knock On The Door ” by Parul Srivastava

Submitted to Contest #49

It was a usual morning at the Sebastian’s. John was irritably looking for his glasses while he grumbled and squinted to read a new text message and Martha was arranging the table for breakfast while ranting about how the neighbor's dog again littered her walkway this morning. “Why are the words so small and why does he have to message? Can’t he pick up the phone and talk, your busy son! And why do you misplace my things always?” “You didn’t talk to Nori when I told you to, now see, every morning I have to witness this unsightly rubbish. ...

2 comments 2
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“Waiting for a life change” by Soji Asaye

Submitted to Contest #49

Mary had just arrived in an unsettled and unkempt state, hair sticking out from the bun she had styledher hair into, her make-up was just weird she was an awkward sight for all beholder her heels weren't spared one had broken off and the shoes looked worn out; She had probably been in rush for her place of work cause she wore a three piece suit and was still straightening out her clothes. All eye's on her she took her seat luckily the last one left, she looked by her side and she got a wry smile she didn't return she was there for her own in...

4 comments 4
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“Waiting For Words Unsaid” by Charm Elizabeth Merchant

Submitted to Contest #49

My life spiraled out of control because I waited… …for those words that every kid deserves to hear from the ones that brought them into this world. I often asked myself, why can’t she see me? Once in drama class, the teacher posed the question: If you could have one unusual ability, what would it be? One girl said to make herself invisible. I already knew what that was like. From a young age, my bones harbored the writing bug, starting with my first journal, then short stories, and even poetry, that by the time I transitioned to high school...

29 comments 29
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“Dusk and Dust” by Raven Quill

Submitted to Contest #49

Hazy light filters in through the thick forest trees into the dirt-spotted, westward-facing glass pane. Cracks project shadows on the peeling brown paint of the walls. The heat that stumbles into the small room is gentle, and a black tomcat with specks of gray fur basks in the dying glow.  Cushions next to the window were once a verdant green, but now their color has faded, softened as time has them worn down. Threads stick out in wayward places, trying to escape the net that holds them trapped together. Goldenrod pillows that rest at...

16 comments 16
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“THE ULTIMATE REWARD,” by P. Jean

Submitted to Contest #49

(Write a story about waiting but don’t reveal what you are waiting for until the end) I’m never sure why I have called this a vision,  as there was no visual manifestation of any sort,  I saw nothing,  just the filling of my mind and my  being with sound or knowledge that could not be denied!  And so I will continue….. The vision said: “Have faith and wait,  you will be rewarded!”   “Follow the unspoken but unerring directions exactly!”   “You will feel massively compelled,  do not...

10 comments 10
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“A Friend Arrives” by Brandon Johnson

Submitted to Contest #49

Life was full of love and laughter for me all my life. I had a loving mother and father who nearly crushed me to death with it both figuratively and literally. Birthdays were always a blast and my friends were always excited to know what I am going to do for my next.I had everything I could ever need or want but there was an empty feeling somewhere deep within. I didn't really notice it at first but the feeling began to build until it formally announced itself. I soon began to identify that feeling as "loneliness".What reason do I have to be...

4 comments 4
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Contest #49

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Title: When The Northern Lights Finally Reach You

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