Write a story about two characters who have been fighting for so long, they can’t remember what started it.

Posted in Sad on Nov 1, 2022

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✍️ 27 stories

“A Proper Feud” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #153

You must be sure to prepare the tea a few moments before she arrives. She will insist that she’s not in need of any tea, but that’s a charade. She must be served tea. On the good china. Not the plates from the back cupboards. You’ll be tempted to serve her tea in chipped and brightly colored cups, but you must resist this impulse. There is an etiquette to the feud. You must wear your finest attire. Your hair must be coiffed. Your make-up should be simple, but impactful. Your nails are to be done, and you must always wear a flat shoe. You...

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“The Longest Battle” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #153

And now she has won. At least I think she has won. Does that count? Does it matter anymore? It has to. After all this time, it has to. After everything that has happened and everything we’ve done. This is all either of us has left. Seaford sits in the dark, in the part of the house that is now his by default, but wasn’t for such a long time, and he scratches his head as he thinks his thoughts. The thoughts he thinks are different now. In the aftermath of the long awaited result he takes stock and tries to make sen...

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“Edit-Clear-Delete” by Ralph Aldrich

Submitted to Contest #153

Seventy-eight-year-old Oscar has become more convinced than ever that his wife Deloris is just one big nag. It seems that everything he does is met with criticism or correction. What happened to her? When they were first married, she was so polite. “Whatever you think is right, darling.” Or, “Thank you so much for doing that.” Now, it’s “What did you do that for! Are you stupid or something?” Or, “Why do you always have to leave your slippers by the coffee table. I’ve told you a thousand times it looks messy, an...

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“That Damn Remote” by Ilan LongSoldier

Submitted to Contest #153

Months ago, my wife and I had a heated argument over the most ridiculous thing in the world. Our remote for our television disappeared, as they tend to do, which started a domino of exhausted complaints and snarls on both our parts. We checked the recliner cushions, under the sofa, we even checked the damn cat bed at one point. After at least 30 minutes of sprawling around like wild animals, nearly tearing the place up like it too, I sat down and bared our loss. “Let’s just give it a rest and return to this later. I’m sure it’ll show up” I s...

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“The Other Side of Civil” by D.C. Reed

Submitted to Contest #153

I would say it started when we were young. Brothers. Destined to fight over anything. To compete over everything. But now, now brotherly conflict seems silly. As I sit here, hiding behind a building, as bullets whizz around me. Brother against brother, wondering how we got here. Raised on the land. That’s what my dad had always called it. Raised in the great outdoors. The farm. The life. We shot together. Ran together. Fought and squabbled together. It is what brothers do. It is what we did. There was always something to comp...

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“The Last Word” by Michael Shaw

Submitted to Contest #153

The second Jacob removed his gnarled fingers from the rook, he'd seen his fatal mistake. He silently cursed and hoped that Malcolm would miss it somehow. But he knew better, and Malcolm's hoarse cackle a few seconds later was all the confirmation he needed. If his hands had been surer, and his reflexes faster, Jacob would’ve switched off his hearing aids before Malcolm could start rubbing his face in his mistake. But they weren’t, so he was forced to subject himself to it. “Check and mate,” Malcolm exclaimed with glee. “That’...

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“The Spatula” by Catherine Walden

Submitted to Contest #153

Joan and Norman sold the old house finally and ended up in a duplex, though it took nearly two years to get there. It was a small, simple place. They'd had to give up a bedroom to afford the yard Norm wanted, so the interior was crowded and felt cluttered already. They had several truckloads less stuff in this new home, but they also had considerably less room. Even worse, to Joan's dismay, the duplex smelled like the old house already. She had loved the fresh, clean smell of the place when they first entered it, the scent of wood and fresh ...

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“Dualism” by Robert Bennett

Submitted to Contest #153

Drp. Drp. Drp. Blood dripped off of his body steadily, adding to the pool of crimson beneath him...wait...above him? Dorian arched his body this way and to try and get a better view. It was hard to really get a good angle given the dozens of large, metallic spikes that pierced his body at odd angles starting at the neck and going all the way to his feet. The giant skewers locked his body into place and made it difficult to really see anything, but given the blood was 'up' his face, ...

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“Just a Game” by Cody Olson

Submitted to Contest #153

DISCLAIMER: Crude/profane language and marijuana use.“Mom is picking you up at 8 or so -- how about no black eyes or bloody noses today, eh?” “Pshh,” my daughter laughed.“I’m talking about the other kids, Linds.”“I promise nothing,” she said in a Russian accent as she slammed the door and ran into the gym. That little goon is too much like me.I usually stay for practice, but my wife says I give her too much confidence. I mean she does get into more scuffles on the court when I’m there, but I take that as a sign of how much she loves me....

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“An Ever-decreasing Arc ” by Endi Dan

Submitted to Contest #153

Luka walked home with a dozen large eggs in a green plastic shopping bag. The name of the supermarket was emblazoned on the side of the bag in big white block letters. Luka swung the bag gently as he walked. The eggs sat safely within the bag, protected by the ridged grey cardboard carton they had been packed in. Luka’s stomach rumbled and he was impatient to get home to prepare the eggs for his dinner. Finding the money in his coat pocket had been a stroke of good luck....

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“The Duel” by Kreig Durham

Submitted to Contest #153

In a dark alley surrounded by expensive high-rises, two men stood opposite each other. Both men held flintlock pistols, and both had vengeance in their eyes. They aimed at each other in silence. Neither wanted to pull the trigger, but both knew that one of them must. For years, the two men had been at odds, locked in a struggle against one another. But once upon a time, they had been friends.As children, Albert Hoffin and Charles McKay attended the same school, a magical academy for the offspring of the city’s elite. Lestrange’s Arcane Arts ...

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“War and Propriety” by Prithviraj Suryawanshi

Submitted to Contest #153

It was called the No Man’s Land, and what it was, was the alleyway between the house gardens of Mrs. Clakes and Mrs. Milte. It was named so by one of them; exactly who named it was long forgotten. It was named a long time ago, and that it was later mutually agreed upon was all that was remembered. This story is about that alleyway and the two women who named it, and who have hated each other since long before it was given a name. “All wars are personal,” Mr. Clakes used to say when he was still alive. And he was a man of war; he knew a...

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“Reflections” by Jim Hirtle

Submitted to Contest #153

Reflections By J Hirtle He had already made up his mind. He will not look at the sorry son-of-a-bitch. Not at those eyes. Eyes the color of summer rain. Nobody knows what hides behind the eyes. Everybody knows that. The endless drivel has been going on too long. He doesn't care who is wrong or who is right. A position easily assumed when one knows he is right. And he didn’t care how long their friendship went back. Hell, could he even call it that anymore? It was an ugly misfortune of latitudes intersecting at the same place at the exact...

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“God! I Hate You” by Mariana Victoria

Submitted to Contest #153

I couldn’t believe he was doing this to me again. It wasn’t my fault he was such a jerk; I should be getting an award for putting him in his place, not a goddamned call to the principal’s office to discuss my “troubling behavior.” What about his troubling behavior of being the school’s official asshole? I mean, he’s been trouble a lot longer than me, that’s for sure. He smirked at me from his chair. He knows I’m in deep shit right now and is...

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“Lessons on the move” by Eshawnial Lowry

Submitted to Contest #153

Lessons on the moveThe sounds of nightlife in Africa's largest gaming reserve were menacing to say the least. What was even worse were the growls, and glowing eyes that lurked hunching low in the grass.As morning came and the sun began to rise we moved through a field, in the humid African plains thankful to be alive. The blend of dried dead brown and stark healthy green blades of thick grass irritated our face with annoying little cuts. We edged slowly toward t...

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Write a story about two characters who have been fighting for so long, they can’t remember what started it.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 27 stories

“A Proper Feud” by Story Time

“The Longest Battle” by Jed Cope

“Edit-Clear-Delete” by Ralph Aldrich

“That Damn Remote” by Ilan LongSoldier

“The Other Side of Civil” by D.C. Reed

“The Last Word” by Michael Shaw

“The Spatula” by Catherine Walden

“Dualism” by Robert Bennett

“Just a Game” by Cody Olson

“An Ever-decreasing Arc ” by Endi Dan

“The Duel” by Kreig Durham

“War and Propriety” by Prithviraj Suryawanshi

“Reflections” by Jim Hirtle

“God! I Hate You” by Mariana Victoria

“Lessons on the move” by Eshawnial Lowry

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about a character learning to stand up for themselves.

Write about a character trying to heal an old rift.

Write a story that includes the line “I can’t believe we’re arguing over this.”

Write about a character who settles disputes for a living (a judge, mediator, school counselor, etc).

Contest #153

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

214

Contest entries

104

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: