Write about a character who keeps ending up in the same place.

Posted in Sad on Nov 1, 2022

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✍️ 41 stories

“The Man in the Mirror” by Nic Silvestris

Submitted to Contest #151

The Man in the Mirror He saw not himself in the mirror’s reflection but the man he was afraid he’d become. From the corner of the glass pane, he could see her stirring from her sleep, grasping at the empty space in the bed. A few years earlier he would still be laying down, holding her in his arms. The vicious cycle of womanizing had built up scar tissue over his compassion and left a cold spirit in its wake. What he lacked in empathy he made up for in dry wit. A fair trade ...

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“The Smelly Old Man” by Carmen Ella

Submitted to Contest #151

There once was a Reverend. When I was little, my dad met a man by the name of Reverend Jim. Reverend Jim loved God, Jesus, Church and everything religious. Reverend Jim believed himself a preacher of truth. Reverend Jim became my dad's best friend. In reality, Reverend Jim was a liar, a cheat, a charlatan and a shyster. My dad believed everything that Reverend Jim ever told him, including the lies. Reverend Jim demanded much out of the friendship that he had with my dad. He insisted that his way was the only way. Reverend Jim took hold t...

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“Prodigal” by Kelita Sim

Submitted to Contest #151

The car is covered in plastic but the driver doesn’t address my masklessness. He reapplies his own, cordially, and through the rear-view mirror, asks me with smiling eyes where I want to go.I try to recall the address but the familiar sights of the oak-lined avenues and feeling of stiffness after a four-hour journey generate an automated answer.“Home,” I say.“Ah,” his brightness is muted by his facemask. He glances at my luggage contaminating his plastic sheets with dried mud and probably the COVID virus; must be nice to be back?“Hmm,” I rep...

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“Lawrence Lockyear's Calling” by Penelope Naym

Submitted to Contest #151

By the hour Lawrence Lockyear had reached the glittering granite base of Half Dome, the sun that once hung so lofty over the peaks of the Sierras had just begun to dip beneath an encroaching cloud bank – a surprising sight indeed to those solely familiar with the California mountain range by way of the sun-bathed and saturated photography from the latest outdoorsy Instagram influencer, or, to those most locally acquainted, an expected and welcome annual visitor. Lawrence was of the former variety, and upon seeing that cloud bank, he felt an ...

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“A Flip of The Coin” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #151

Dr. Jordan Hart and Ensign Asher Cartwright shake their heads as they look down at an unconscious Montgomery “Moose” Albertson. Short, with black-rimmed glasses, affable Ensign Cartwright hopes to have his own command someday. A twenty-five-year Navy veteran, Dr. Hart’s ever-present frown and grumpy countenance fail to hide his concern for others. “He’s the most knocked out man I’ve ever seen,” Ensign Cartwrigh...

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“None Rats on the Soup Man” by Richard A. Nads

Submitted to Contest #151

The creature’s mangled nails sunk deep into his belly. He could feel them splitting his intestines and then moving around to spread the carnage. They went deep enough to scrape some bones, creating one of the worst sounds imaginable- it was close to nails on a chalkboard, but it had more of a wet quality. Yet again, the creature had gotten him. When it decided that it had done enough internal damage, it slid its nails out. The creature smiled as the internal bleeding began to spread outside. The creature calmly went a few paces to the left o...

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“That Chair” by A.H Gilbert

Submitted to Contest #151

“You’ll sit there, young lady, and think about what you did.” Emily didn’t want to sit there, and she didn’t want to think about what she did. In fact, she wanted to go back for more. So, she slid off the little wooden chair, just her size and perpetually facing the corner of the living room and ran as fast as she could back to the huge bucket of paint. The top of the container came up to her belly button. She tried to pop off the lid again, but someone had put it on tightly. Her fingers weren’t strong enough to pry it off. She looked aroun...

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“The Woven Tablecloth” by B Littleyork

Submitted to Contest #151

There it sat, on a crowded shelf at the back of Miss Kane’s second-hand store in small, rural Truxton. Folded neatly over itself several times into the shape of a square, the warm orange and toasted butterscotch hues of the yarn sparkled in the sunlight pouring in from the window. The woven tablecloth ended up here because of the passing of the venerable Mrs. Johnson, matriarch of the Johnson Dairy Farm. Mrs. Johnson was known for her large family gatherings and overflowing tables of delicious, hearty food. Many Truxton-ites had the p...

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“Oak” by Ian Warren

Submitted to Contest #151

Oak A short story by Ian Warren As I sit in the valley and lean against the tree, by the river, next to the rock - I ponder. I’ve had a good life, a comfortable life. I’ve worked hard to achieve success in business and persevered and rolled with the punches to grow and maintain a (mostly) happy personal life. Martha may beg to differ but she eventually moved on and re-married. Fran and I still get along but I irritate her, which is natural when you’ve been together as long as we have. B...

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“Nested beans” by Erika Jonsson

Submitted to Contest #151

On the calmest of days, I go to the kitchen to make coffee. My caffeine addiction is acting up again. I think my chakra needs its daily realignment. I see the empty coffee bag on my living room table. Typical. Suddenly I remember there was a two-for-one special. I got the two different exotic blends, probably some Caribbean beans. Store-brand obviously but I still remember being impressed. I am a student after all, thus I could not pass up this golden opportunity to fuel my addictions responsibly. When I enter the kitchen, I realize that I l...

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“A Little Advice ” by Anne Marie Lavalette

Submitted to Contest #151

I don’t recommend nursing a broken heart while eating a greasy calzone in a mall cafeteria. Especially my local mall, where you’re almost always bound to be one of two people in the entire cafeteria. The other person is the janitor, whose lack of ass and boatload of keys means his pants are hanging by a belt and a prayer. He stands in place wiping a rag over the same clean table with the same dead eyes in a perpetual frozen state since the nineteen nineties. He’s like the mosquito stuck in a sad sepia resin of capitalism’s underbel...

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Write about a character who keeps ending up in the same place.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 41 stories

“The Man in the Mirror” by Nic Silvestris

“The Smelly Old Man” by Carmen Ella

“Prodigal” by Kelita Sim

“Lawrence Lockyear's Calling” by Penelope Naym

“A Flip of The Coin” by Michael Jefferson

“None Rats on the Soup Man” by Richard A. Nads

“That Chair” by A.H Gilbert

“The Woven Tablecloth” by B Littleyork

“Oak” by Ian Warren

“Nested beans” by Erika Jonsson

“A Little Advice ” by Anne Marie Lavalette

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a character who wakes up in their past life, or as a future reincarnation of themself.

Write about somebody breaking a cycle.

Repeat the same line of dialogue, from the same character, three separate times.

Write about a character who’s expected to follow in someone’s footsteps.

Contest #151

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

233

Contest entries

110

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: