Write about a character who is trying to leave something or someone behind — only to realize they carry it with them.

Posted in Sad on Nov 4, 2022

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✍️ 72 stories

“The Cowboy” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #171

I got eyes in my head, and been behind this bar long enough to know when a somebody has dynamite with a lit fuse inside of them.I know I don’t look like much, my grey beard is too long and my belly too big to do much besides pour whisky for drunks. But I knew the Cowboy was trouble, though of course I couldn't tell how. Hot as a two-dollar pistol, the air was thick with the stink from the cattle yards. The street sounds were drowned out by Joe singing in the corner like he did when the drink got to him, toneless Irish songs in his stron...

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“Black Friday” by Nikki Potgieter

Submitted to Contest #171

My father is dead. When I found out, I felt nothing. Isn’t there supposed to be something? When I think back, I’d always imagined feeling relief or satisfaction or freedom or… something. Instead of pondering about what he was, what he did, who he was supposed to be, I imagined that I’d be able to think about him dispassionately, without remembering… without subconsciously touching my tongue to the inside of my lip, feeling one of the many scars he left. There were so many reminders of him around me, on me, in me. It’s more than just the face...

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“Abbadon” by Bee Khorasani

Submitted to Contest #171

I think I’m dying. It's agonizingly hot. I try to get away from it, to press myself to the metal of my ship, but that just burns my skin, leaving every inch of me shiny and pink. I can’t breathe. I can’t see. I reach blindly for my comms. Just as I grasp it, I feel a tiny glimmer of hope, but the metal burns my fingers and the ship falls away into nothing. * * * I woke up in the smoldering remains of my ship. I felt dizzy, breathing shallowly but not able to fill my aching lungs. I stumbled as I stood in a blind panic, searching the wrec...

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“The Run Away ” by Ruby Pix

Submitted to Contest #171

Have you done wrong before, and even though you thought you fixed your mistake it's still not enough to change what you did wrong? I have, and because of my stupid mistakes I'm now on the run, constantly afraid of what will happen if I'm caught. My name is Archie, and I went from accomplice to murderer. It wasn't planned, it just happened. My friend Chuck was known as a daredevil. He always did some kind of stupid stunt, or prank. He was wild. We used to hangout a lot. We lived in the countryside, plenty of meadows to play and run aroun...

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“The Lost One” by Daniel Fernandes

Submitted to Contest #171

Dear little sis a letter from me to you. 60% of people lie every 10 min yet imma spend mine spitting the truth. Millions upon millions of cells compete to create life. Yet you were chosen, alarming us like a brake light.Possibly an August baby, an arrival as slow as Internet Explorer. Love is prime yet deadly when lost like saying no to a proposal. Premonition of death is sudden to crows. Smolder a plank of dreams screaming NO! Love starts when we don't need it and ends when we do. You were mom's little dolphin. Her singing to an angel in th...

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“Eulasi v The Multiverse” by Tamarin Butcher

Submitted to Contest #171

Eulasi emerged from the swirling black and purple void, tendrils of pure reality clinging to him stubbornly as he shook himself free of the sticky portal. "Library. Check," he muttered to himself, noting the tall, red brick tower sprouting from the center of campus. "Chapel. Check," he added, turning slightly to view the familiar spire. Now that the geography was out of the way, he turned his focus to the people. He smiled. "Frightened and confused students. Check." Everywhere he turned, students had paused their poorly timed da...

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“Many Happy Returns” by Jack Bell

Submitted to Contest #171

After my breakup with Sally Stukel, I swore off love, laughter, hope, fruit and veg, basic hygiene. Pretty much in that order. What really threw me was the shock of it. I thought we were fine. Came home from work one day and found a note. “Dear Nick…” It was almost poetic. Nick, it turns out, rhymes with prick, dick, sick, thick and even, in a purple penultimate paragraph, hick. Upshot: she’d been unhappy and I’d been “smothering” her. Have to admit, my breath caught at that. Me “smothering” her? I took unpaid leave from work to sink unenc...

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“Duncan's Cure” by Olive Juuiice

Submitted to Contest #171

Jane pulled into the parking garage and quickly found a spot. Pulling down the visor, she fluffed up her raven hair before applying lip balm and smiled brightly at herself. Exiting her vehicle her cell rang. She answered, “I’m here. Just parked. Meet you at the entrance.” She moved quickly, her sundress swirling around her legs. Coming upon a fairly busy street, she stood on the sidewalk waiting to cross. “There you are,” a voice yelled out. On the other side stood a tall but stocky man with dusty brown hair and angular features. She waved...

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“Love and Ghost Stories” by Dawn Kaltenbaugh

Submitted to Contest #171

I try to escape my past, but it somehow finds a way to follow me, no matter where I go. I left my old hometown to get away from the place we once lived. Where we had all our happy memories, and the sad ones too. How foolish I was to believe I could get away from him! No matter where I go, he’s always still inside my heart and my soul. How can I get away from a ghost who insists on living inside me? Even now that he’s dead, maybe even more than before, I think about him every day. Is it grief or merely my imaginat...

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“Would Carl Sagan Be Proud?” by Jenna Williams

Submitted to Contest #171

Dear Niamh,According to Guth’s Cosmic Inflation theory, “In an eternally inflating universe, anything that can happen will happen; in fact, it will happen an infinite number of times.” The pattern will repeat, is repeating, has repeated. We - earth, humanity, me, you - will exist countless other times in countless other ways.You and I will someday be a senseless pile of ash. All of our hardships, triumphs and memories condensed into nothing but dry Calcium Phosphates, plus water and some minerals. But billions and billions, more th...

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“To Know Your Enemy and How The Enemy Unravels: Ha, Ho” by Derek Barber

Submitted to Contest #171

The reader of this short-story should be aware that the story contains themes of drug use and the issue of sexual violence. It also is intended to contain elements of tragic-comedy. Please be advised. Thank you.It wasn't until I saw the splintered glass of the Celea pod casing did I acknowledge it. So, maybe this wasn't just a vice and creative tool. My hands were shaking. Maybe this was the last place I could hide. My nails were long. Maybe I’d become what they said I’d always turn into. My bliss within inches away. Finally, my great golden...

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“Joy in the Mourning” by Mahogany Ree

Submitted to Contest #171

“Wake up Kezzi!” Maudie flew into Kezzi’s room like violent gust of wind. “I don’t wanna get up,” Kezzin growled. “Leave me alone Maudie.” “You wunt bone lone. It’us nineteen hunded and eighty. Sum oman bless her heart come long and left yuh on mah do’ step fo day in de moanin. Reckon she kudn’t ford ta keep ya and de gud lawd saw fit fer huh ta leave yuh wid me. Youse’a fresh gal, few ours ole. I swadda yuh in de woamst blanket I cud fine and youse been mines er’since. I been wid yuh all yuh life and ah ain’t leavin you lone til...

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“Memory March” by Mel Steinbrecher

Submitted to Contest #171

Contains: Minor explicit language. “You know you can’t take this with you to the dorms, right?” I was wondering how long it would take my mom to notice the box labeled him in the midst of the cardboard hell I had created over the last few weeks. I’m actually shocked it took her until the night of my departure to get her hands on it. She lifted the flaps and began sifting through old memories as she continued her advice. “Breakups are hard, I know. Especially your first one,” she said, “I held onto my first boyfriend’s jacket for ei...

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“The Ghost Of You and the Ghost of Me” by Amanda Lieser

Submitted to Contest #171

Somewhere in this restaurant is a ghost of you. I can feel it the second I walk in- with my arm linked in his like we’re school children in love. We don’t wait at the host stand; instead, he waves to the girl with the bright red lips and bottle blonde curls. She blushes. I pretend not to notice her. Instead, I see the chairs neatly lined against one wall where the ghost of me curls up next to the ghost of you. I bit your ear playfully. You gave me a kiss on the nose. We felt like real adults. The hostess doesn’t show him to ...

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“Doll Face” by Nikolas Zarate

Submitted to Contest #171

Doll Face Hello there, my dear, so I heard that you wanted to know what happened to the infamous Luna LaBelle, the mysterious and elusive woman who put Sourwater, Louisiana, on the map and was thought to be long dead. However, as you know, they never found her or her body.Now, I was young at the time, so I don’t remember everything, but this is what I know. Luna LaBelle was born on January 1, 1900. Her father, Fredrick, a wealthy club owner, gave his daughter many freedoms that not many young wo...

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Write about a character who is trying to leave something or someone behind — only to realize they carry it with them.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 72 stories

“The Cowboy” by Marty B

“Black Friday” by Nikki Potgieter

“Abbadon” by Bee Khorasani

“The Run Away ” by Ruby Pix

“The Lost One” by Daniel Fernandes

“Eulasi v The Multiverse” by Tamarin Butcher

“Many Happy Returns” by Jack Bell

“Duncan's Cure” by Olive Juuiice

“Love and Ghost Stories” by Dawn Kaltenbaugh

“Would Carl Sagan Be Proud?” by Jenna Williams

“To Know Your Enemy and How The Enemy Unravels: Ha, Ho” by Derek Barber

“Joy in the Mourning” by Mahogany Ree

“Memory March” by Mel Steinbrecher

“The Ghost Of You and the Ghost of Me” by Amanda Lieser

“Doll Face” by Nikolas Zarate

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with someone looking at a breathtaking view and getting emotional.

Write about two solo travelers who keep bumping into each other in the most unexpected of places.

Write a story where someone decides to take the long way home.

Your character is about to embark on the journey of a lifetime. The story takes place during a long-haul flight, with an open return-date. What happens?

Contest #171

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

204

Contest entries

79

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: