Write about someone who’s so obsessed with a goal that it leads to the destruction of their closest relationship.

Posted in Sad on Oct 31, 2022

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✍️ 154 stories

“Watching Everything Fall Apart” by Libby Carter

Submitted to Contest #70

Clara left for work thirty minutes early just because she wanted to be there. Because she was excited to do her job, and that was everyone’s dream wasn’t it? With steaming coffee in her hand, she walked down the halls of the spaceship called Ajax. It wasn’t the largest one there was, but it was the one that had saved her family all those years ago when Earth had to be abandoned. She was so young when that happened that she didn’t remember the event. The windows on the ship halls looked out into the beauty that was the outer spa...

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“Krasnosamarskoe, or How I Learned to Accept the Dark Truth of My Heritage” by Randomly Arbitrary

Submitted to Contest #70

I had a dog once. I had him when he was just a very small creature, not much different from myself at the time. ___ 16:00. It was nearing the end of a rendition of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade conducted by Valery Gergiev of the Vienna Philharmonic. I sat there, quietly absorbed in my own thoughts amongst the other researchers in the cargo bay benches. After flying for about six or seven hours from Pulkovo Airport in Saint Petersburg, the Mi-26’s rotor blades hovered above a convenient spot just a few meters away f...

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“The Prodigal Son” by Godwin Efu

Submitted to Contest #70

ONE"Mama, I'll be fine," Nancy said, and as always, it made her mother cry. "I know, I know," her mother said. She wringed a weak pitiful smile that she always smiled. And again as always, she turned her face, wiping off her tears. Slowly, Nancy's mother rose from the bed and began to check on the IV, then to the screen of the system for her vitals. Michael, Nancy's eighteen years old brother sat observing them on the far corner of the room. His little sister was as sick as to require a lifetime stay in the hospital. Their father h...

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“Vitale's Final Cadence” by Ryan Lieb

Submitted to Contest #70

Murray stared at the piece of sheet music like a confused puppy. It was an absolute mess - a series of symbols populating the sets of horizontal lines that looked more like a child’s scribbles than a melody. Of course, to the trained eye, every symbol had a valid meaning, but it was far more dense than any piece Murray had ever seen, and appeared to have been written in a frenzy, completely lacking the composer’s usual elegance. The piece appeared to be atonal - the key signature contained no sharps or flats, which meant that nearly every ba...

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“Box People” by Piper H

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #70

Trigger warning: domestic abuse The streetlight casts a dismal halo above the slumped figure, catching sharp glints of light in the misting rain. His coat clings to thin shoulders, the collar flopped in damp resignation on his neck. The evening November rain is so fine as to be invisible, present as only a chilly mist, but soaking all the same. Home, always tinged in his mind with a slight tang of bitterness he feels guilty about, but couldn’t prevent, is a few blocks down, past the nice part of town, but at least out of the rain. Ber...

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“Tenacious” by Tim Law

Submitted to Contest #70

It was Ben’s inability to give up that led to the incident at the Staff Christmas Show. Tenacity was often considered a strong characteristic at Foots Sports, the sports shoe design company and Ben had tenacity in spades. Ben was picked first by managers and team mates alike when a big project was underway. It was tenacity that led (eventually) to Ben and Sally going out on their first date. As one date led to another and one big project followed on from the next Ben was sitting pretty at work and away. “I am so sure that Employee of the Y...

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“Broken Heart” by F. A.

Submitted to Contest #70

“Pam, could you come over to my house?” I pleaded.“Why?” the phone muffled back.“Just come over! Your surprise is waiting; ask no more.” I responded.“Okay, then.” Pamela hesitated, exactly as the doorbell rang.Down the stairs, I went, and to the door, I ran. “Here too soon, Ash?” my friend grinned.“What and how? Never mind! It’s freezing out there. Come in!” I panted.“Look, Ashley. You’ve got to accept the fact that I’m -”Finishing her sentence, I murmured, “More talented, more organized, more educated, and more trusted.” Pam raves abo...

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“A Hopeless Step Forward” by Cassandra Durnin

Submitted to Contest #70

“No! I can’t- I won’t let you do this to yourself!” She stared at him, some part of her brain vaguely wondering why he was so upset. They’d worked toward a cure their whole lives, hours spent in school, then university, then their lab. Every waking hour had been dedicated to finding a solution to a problem that could not be solved, and here he was, stopping her from taking the last little step. It was something so small, so insignificant, but Alec looked afraid. Terrified, even. But why? Death himself was knocking on her door, coming to r...

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“Like a Box of Chocolate” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #70

I was given no choice when you stop to think about it. The person who sold the most chocolate in the state of Idaho would receive a trip to Busch Gardens in Tampa, and once I heard what was on the line, things like “friendship” and “camaraderie” became antiquated notions of the Before Times, when you could afford kindness because chocolate was free and handed out to you by strangers on Halloween. Matty, I’m sure, disagrees, and that’s why he’s destined to be the employee and not the employer one day. He’ll most likely be my employee, sin...

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“Worthless Pride” by Phoebe DeNeve

Submitted to Contest #70

"I can't believe you!" Miriam yelled, tears streaming down her already red face. "Miriam, this job could settle up the debt we owe." Caleb argued back, slamming his fist on the counter. "Or it could could fail completely and we would have a guarantee of becoming homeless! Think about the children for once and not just about yourself!" Miriam screamed, which startled the son and daughter who were listening behind the corner wall. "Who do you think about? This is the only chance we got and I'm going to take it whether you like it or not!" Cal...

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“Cold sweat” by Eric Standlee

Submitted to Contest #70

Despite the bright sun and the cloudless day coming in through the two-story high windows, cold sweat trickled quickly as they heard said “Lord, my King, you know my loyalty. I have never stopped loving King and Kingdom. All I do brings honor and glory to my Lord. Your Majesty, I must take my leave.” As soon as the words came out, the lower stomach ached and butterflies raced up inside. What if they found out? Similar phrases rattled about silently. Surely small expressions betrayed the doubt. The heavy outer doors shut hard just after...

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“Fame and Fortune ” by Elaina Goodnough

Submitted to Contest #70

December 1st, 2019“Hello. I know you've never heard of me, that's the point of all this, isn't it? Coming from the land of the unknown into the land of fame. Mum said I should start a journal to record this journey. Maybe one day it could be published or sold for millions of dollars. Or it will remain as it is, a book of the unimportant writings of an unimportant little girl from an unimportant town.Mum has always encouraged me. I think she wants me to grasp fame's hand more than I do. She wants to tell people that she is my mother, tha...

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“Professor.” by Marsha Webb

Submitted to Contest #70

Professor Patterson was hunched over his laboratory bench scribbling numbers and figures on the page like his life depended on it, in actual fact it very much might. For weeks he had been working twelve hour shifts, forgetting to eat, struggling to sleep, cut off from friends and family and any sort of reality, but he was determined to get the answer to this. He knew he could do it, thirty years in the field of virology this thing was not going to beat him. He had total faith in himself, he knew he had the skills, he just needed the time. T...

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“Letters to Maria Rose” by Kanden Lang

Submitted to Contest #70

Sandy Perkins sank into the office chair at his desk. He pulled a box of stationery and writing utensils from the bottom drawer. He dipped his pen into the well of ink and masterfully swiped a greeting onto the heavy stationery. Dear Maria Rose Ellison… The Perkins house had been a witness to many such a letter, each with the same delicate handwriting and addressed to the same delicate woman. Sandy Perkins was a patient and determined man. As he wrote, Sandy willed himself to get lost in his most recent proclamation of love. No more ex-Mrs...

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“Aadi's Choice” by Harken Void

Submitted to Contest #70

He had to do it. Aadi Rama had been working his whole life towards this. He had not only desired it for so long and with such intensity but had also sacrificed too much to let the opportunity slip his grasp now. When it came to fulfilling one’s dreams, no cost was too steep. Not even the cost of abandoning one’s deepest values. Not if it meant getting a dream fulfilled in return. Aadi signed the project papers with his name and shipped it to his superiors. *** It was as if Aadi’s destiny had been written in the fabric of the night sky on...

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Write about someone who’s so obsessed with a goal that it leads to the destruction of their closest relationship.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 154 stories

“Watching Everything Fall Apart” by Libby Carter

“Krasnosamarskoe, or How I Learned to Accept the Dark Truth of My Heritage” by Randomly Arbitrary

“The Prodigal Son” by Godwin Efu

“Vitale's Final Cadence” by Ryan Lieb

“Box People” by Piper H

“Tenacious” by Tim Law

“Broken Heart” by F. A.

“A Hopeless Step Forward” by Cassandra Durnin

“Like a Box of Chocolate” by Story Time

“Worthless Pride” by Phoebe DeNeve

“Cold sweat” by Eric Standlee

“Fame and Fortune ” by Elaina Goodnough

“Professor.” by Marsha Webb

“Letters to Maria Rose” by Kanden Lang

“Aadi's Choice” by Harken Void

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a character who everyone thinks is guilty of something terrible, but isn’t.

Write about someone trying to atone for a mistake they’ll never be able to fix.

Write about two people who know they’ve made a mistake, and one of them wants to tell the truth but the other wants to lie about it.

Write about a character who’s so afraid of making the wrong choice that their indecision ruins the very thing they were hoping to keep safe.

Contest #70

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

731

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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