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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 Honeybun Show” by Renee Padmore

Submitted to Contest #49

At 6:14 a.m. Fiona opened her dark brown eyes. She remained motionless, anticipating the nausea that plagued her every morning like clockwork and threatened to replace her daily alarm. It never came and her smile grew like slow moving molasses. She dwelt for a few moments in the peace that had eluded her for the past few weeks.  Fiona tried to roll over and grimaced as she was impeded by her fiancé’s large bicep crushing her waist length dreadlocks. She gently massaged her scalp and turned fully onto her left side to take in Caleb. Be...

3 comments 3
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“Just Wait” by Scarlet S.

Submitted to Contest #49

I'm just a typical teenage girl who resides in Chicago, U.S. my granny raised me up and I'm extremely grateful for that. I’m the kind of person who would never tell anyone what’s going on in my head, perhaps I’d elucidate my feelings with some selected individuals who are somehow like me. Greta (my granny) is an amazing Lady, How can a person stay gleeful all the time? Greta grew up in Shanghai, China. She was a successful athlete in her teenage years and I always wanted to be the very picture of Greta however I ended up as a High school ner...

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“ The Molly doll” by Tyra Johnson

Submitted to Contest #49

I sat in the big, red chair while watching the hands of the clock move around,dressed in my skinny and tight jeans waiting on my grandfather. Today is the best day in my life, my grandfather is not here yet as yet. I start counting my toes and fingers saying this little piggy went market,this little piggy went home and this little piggy went wee-wee all the way home. I really enjoyed playing that game,it was fun.I learn that game in school from my teacher name Mary; she is a pretty,kind,funny person. Miss Mary when we do good in spelling and...

3 comments 3
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“Waiting” by Sav G

Submitted to Contest #49

My entire life, I've always been waiting for something. In kindergarten, I was waiting for recess. In second grade, I was waiting to go to 3rd grade. In 5th grade, I was waiting to be a middle schooler. In 7th grade, I was waiting to get my period. In 8th grade, I was waiting to become a high schooler.  In sophomore year, I was waiting to drive. In junior year, I was waiting for the SATs to be over. In senior year, I was waiting for prom and going to college. And then I waited to become an adult, vote, get a tattoo, drink when I'm 21, ...

4 comments 4
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“Misguided Judgement” by Lyra Davi

Submitted to Contest #49

     Cora curls into herself on the uncomfortable seat and buries her head in between her knees. She feels like she's being held at the bottom of the ocean. Where there's nothing but darkness and where no one can find her. She can't get back up, the weight and pressure crushing her. Can't get that breath of oxygen until she knows. God, she just wants to know.       It's torture. She doesn't know if she can handle another minute of it, but she keeps telling herself it will be okay. Not lo...

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“Core of the matter” by Rhonda Allen

Submitted to Contest #49

The alarm rang, 6:00am. Allison rolled over and hit the snooze button, not going back to sleep she laid there thinking, Friday, the end of another week. Life was pretty routine since moving to the city, not that  life in her home town had been overly exciting, but it was worlds apart from her life now. The alarm buzzed again prompting her to get up, heading to the kitchen she made coffee and took an apple out of the refrigerator, her standard breakfast, she peeled it putting the skins in the small compost bucket on the counter, placed t...

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“Professional” by Ethernia Thiadi

Submitted to Contest #49

"...and now we play the waiting game." He took out a cigarette from his pocket, put it between his dry lips, and lighted it in the dark of the night. His right hand on the lighter, the other shielding it from the wintry wind. He sucked in the nicotine and felt heat around his belly, before letting it out in the form of smoke. He had nothing else better to do to pass the time. He had to stay, as he had an image to uphold. The image of a professional. His mental faculties strayed to the past in an attempt to pass the time faster. He thou...

4 comments 4
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“Honeycombs Of The Present” by PK Spice

Submitted to Contest #49

Like bees flying in and out of a hive, memories come and go as I wait. Some are sweet as honey, others painful as stings.Proboscises probe my mind, sucking at the nectar of my past to deposit drops of recollections here and there in the honeycombs of the present.My college roommate Geri zooms into my mind. I feel the edges of my mouth curving into a smile as I remember the night she smeared on a green algae face mask, dressed in a toga and went ding-dong ditching all over the neighborhood by herself because the rest of us were studying. The ...

2 comments 2
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“𝐹𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒” by W.S. Clyffesend

Submitted to Contest #49

Harrowing nights low on food left my men at the end of their rope. Earnest in all my intentions, but I know rationing the food is what made my men succumb to the depths. Leviathan hold strong, I prayed, hold until I can get them back home, hold until these torrential rains stop, hold until I can buy them another pint. Prayers mean nothing to the sea.  Minutes felt like hours and my eyes burned from the salty waters. Everything still felt like it would be fine, it wasn’t our first storm and I’d like to hope that some men slept through ...

1 comment 1
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“New Words” by Jacqueline Han

Submitted to Contest #49

“Daddy! Daddy! Come quick! Look what I found! What kind of bug is this?!” he squealed as he ran towards his father, insect in hand. However, with a quick misstep at the foot of the stairs, the boy fell forward with a loud “oof!” His hands that held the insect close by was now flat against the floors. He had caught himself from smashing his face onto the hard wood, but he had lost the bug in the process. Tears started to well in his eyes as he stared at the squashed bug. He was so proud to have caught it, and now he couldn’t even show his fat...

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“Just a Taste” by Kylie Gillins

Submitted to Contest #49

After countless years of uninterrupted studying, she was finally going to be done. Hours and hours of sitting and depending on books and knowledge to fight the sense of loneliness that invaded most of her thoughts. She was almost done with school. She had three days left and yet she was again waiting. Marnie was so sick of the endless cycle of hurry up to get something done only to be stuck waiting. The cycle pervaded all parts of her life, but most frustratingly was social. She didn’t want to wait anymore with ...

3 comments 3
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“Search for life - A long wait ” by POOJA SARMALKAR

Submitted to Contest #49

This was their first intimate moment since having their first child. She was quite tired. The evening party had just ended. All the guests had left. And the two had found some quite time for themselves. After bidding farewell to the last guests, she shut the door behind her, and glanced over the living room to check if all had left.He was in the kitchen cleaning up the counter. There was a lot of mess, the entire kitchen was upside-down. A lot of work had to be done to get the place tidied up. He cleared a small section of the table top and ...

4 comments 4
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“The Knitting Circle” by Cyndy Reads

Submitted to Contest #49

               Funerals really are the strangest parties.               They have all the makings of an absolute rager: food, drink, music, people you know, people you haven’t seen in years, people you don’t know from Adam, a rented pad to house everyone, paid help keeping things running in the shadows. Yet not a single funeral I’ve ever attended has turned into a real party. Everyone shuffles ...

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“Two Blessings in One” by Grace Jarvis

Submitted to Contest #49

Jack wakes up with the feeling today is a day he should be waiting for something, but he can’t remember what. As he gets ready for the day he continues thinking about what he might be forgetting, but quickly decides if it was important enough he would remember. As he looks at his reflection in the small bathroom mirror he notices a small gash on his chin. He doesn't know how it got there, but it looks bad. It looks as if glass cut his chin. He makes the choice to ignore it and leave the bathroom while grabbing his ring. He slips it onto his ...

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“Waiting for Him” by Rufai Barakat Adedayo

Submitted to Contest #49

Yesterday was indeed the D-Day, I was told I would find him there by the fortune-teller. He couldn't be wrong I was sure ,he was recommended by a good friend. The clock keeps ticking slowly tick-tock,have spent 3 hours here , to calm my anxiety and stop biting my finger nails I bought out a novel by Helon Habila.'Hi.' 'I'm Abdul,' someone said to me.'Hi, I'm Ibukun '. I replied, 'I looked at him from head to toe, he was wearing a t-shirt and jeans trouser with a lovely smile. This couldn't be who I'm waiting for I concluded.''Can I sit with...

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