Write about a character reminiscing over something they should have said, and how their life would be completely different had they said it.

Posted in Sad on Nov 11, 2022

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✍️ 63 stories

“Achtung, Baby” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #172

One sentence, “Will you marry me?” might have made me a happy, responsible man. Unfortunately, at the time I should have said it, I was hardly responsible and more horndog than man. I got swept up in the false image of being a player who walked into bars with three or four stunning nannies on his arm. I wanted all of them, but I really only needed one - Ilka. Now, thirty years later, I’m alone, unable to remember the sound of her voice or the touch of her hand. The irony is we never should have met in the first place. I was forty-four...

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“The Story” by Ashley Mitcheom Leatham

Submitted to Contest #172

Asking questions can be scary. It can lead to answers you aren’t sure you want to hear. Or, in my case, I waited so long to ask it felt awkward, wrong even – like I should already know the answers. So, I didn’t. I didn’t ask, and I let everyone assume that I know, and I convinced myself that the questions weren’t important to begin with. Where did you come from? Mikael is my brother. My half-brother. He has been in my life for as long as I can remember. My first memories of him are going to visit the restaurant where he worked. I must have...

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“You Looking for Trouble?” by Douglas W. Carr

Submitted to Contest #172

*** Warning: This story contains profanity. ***I picked up the phone to call my brother and realized that I hadn’t spoken to him in many months. I’d been calling him more regularly, for the past twenty-five years, but this time was different. The last six months for me had been extraordinarily…complicated. Complicated enough for me to call him. I had the propensity to fight and had a handful of them in the last months. One encounter, about a month ago, happened to be the worst decision of my life. I messed with the wrong guy. He threatened t...

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Write about a character reminiscing over something they should have said, and how their life would be completely different had they said it.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 63 stories

“Achtung, Baby” by Michael Jefferson

“The Story” by Ashley Mitcheom Leatham

“You Looking for Trouble?” by Douglas W. Carr

🌟 Similar prompts

Set your story in a world devoid of logic, where feelings govern all decision-making.

Write about a character who must confess their true feelings by midnight, or risk losing it all.

Set your story in an unfiltered world, where people are always honest about how they feel.

Write a story about a character who acts like they ‘don’t have feelings’ — except they’re just putting up a facade.

Contest #172

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

188

Contest entries

90

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: