A family argument gets out of hand. Neither side will budge, requiring a mediator with unusual methods.

Posted in Short Story on Nov 22, 2024

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✍️ 49 stories

“Turkey Round-up” by Cameron Navarre

Submitted to Contest #278

“How have you been honey?”I paused, taking a deep breath before bending over to take off my winter boots. Barely across the threshold into my grandmother’s house and she was already pestering me.“I’m fine mom, no complaints.” The laces on my boots were knotted, and I gave an annoyed growl as I struggled with them. Standing up, I noticed my mother’s concerned smile. She stepped away to let me finish getting settled in.Be patient with her, she’s just being a concerned mom, I thought, reasoning that I would probably be asking the same thing of ...

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“The Great Mediation” by Heather Hagan

Submitted to Contest #278

In the cozy little town of Hollybrooke, where everyone knew everyone, and every house had a story, lived the Thompson family. The Thompson home was a cheerful place: blue shutters, a white picket fence, and a willow tree that stretched its branches towards the sun. However, today, cheer was the furthest thing from the minds of the Thompson family. The morning had started like any other, with Mr. Thompson flipping pancakes in the kitchen, Mrs. Thompson sipping her coffee, and the Thompson children—Emily, Jake, and Sophie—bickering over the TV...

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“The Thanksgiving Disaster” by Andrew Lewis

Submitted to Contest #278

Eloise slammed a fistful of potatoes across Julian's face. "There, NOW they're mashed! Happy?!" She jerked away from the table and stormed to the sink. Everyone gasped. Julian ran two fingers through his newly-decorated face as the twins murmured to each other. He shot them the look- though it had little effect with his cheek covered in goop. "El, seriously?" He staggered to his feet in a daze. "I only meant that they aren't soft enough to be pureed." "It doesn't matter. You always have to be right, don't you, Julian?" Her hands trembled i...

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“Gobble, Gobble Hullabaloo” by Pete Gautchier

Submitted to Contest #278

Prompt: A family argument gets out of hand. Neither side will budge, requiring a mediator with unusual methods.Gobble, Gobble HullabalooThanksgiving has always been a special time for our extended family year after year. Both sides of the family are invited. Uncle Ralph, Aunt Clara, Uncle Joey, Aunt Betsy, and cousin Ralphie from my dad’s side would come. From my mom’s side Uncle Bert, Aunt Dotty, and Pauly would grace us with their presence. Unfortunately, my grandparents on both sides of the family were no longer with u...

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“Fractured Family Ties” by Carol Hopkins

Submitted to Contest #278

Fractured family ties She pushed her toque back on her head. The knit cap was slightly too big for her small head. It had belonged to her father. He had died the previous fall and she missed him. Wearing it gave her a sense of connection to him. She didn’t care that it often fell over her eyes. The sixth-month anniversary of his death was bringing with it all the sad memories she’d tried so hard to bury. The funeral had been a farce with her dad’s sister causing a scene that later snowballed into an estrangement that had yet to be heale...

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“Inn The Thick Of It” by Sumaira Ahmed

Submitted to Contest #278

“Please, stay.” wasn’t said. “I’m sorry for hurting you.” wasn’t either. What started out as a pingpong of words turned into a tumultuous game of Scrabble-Padel. Both husband and wife ended up battered and bruised, as tensions reached mountain tops and neither willing to see the red in the other’s red eyes or the red drool dripping from the other’s blue and purple face. Whiplashed, both fell backwards to the ground, after a 2 hour battle neither conceded to. On the floor, they lay still and flat. Both had blacked out. When the tenuous ...

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“A shameful death” by David Nutt

Submitted to Contest #278

A shameful death We lived in a large house with a big garden next to the vicarage.The house was situated in a charming village in the south of England. My father was the local doctor and my mother ran a small business selling her imaginative and unusual sculptures. Our home was always a hive of activ...

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“Grown-Up Problems” by M P

Submitted to Contest #278

The sun was almost fully hidden behind the hills on the west side of the house. What a busy day! One of many yet to come. Jessy was trying to figure out how to manage a groceries run in the nearest future as they were running out of the basic things like bread and milk. At 15 years of age she prided herself in the fact that her mother could delegate such important tasks to her. Like right now for instance - leaving Jessy caring for her younger sister and grandma in their old grandmother’s house while she was away on one of her work trips. He...

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“Thanksgiving” by Mary Shirley Mitchell

Submitted to Contest #278

As the shattered glass rained down around Andie’s bare feet, landing with a tinkle on the kitchen floor's yellow, checkered linoleum, she wondered again if she should start looking for a therapist. The brief silence that followed was a welcome relief from the screaming and table-pounding of the past 45 minutes. “Great, do you feel better!?” Her mother screeched at her older sister, Jane. “Now Andie is covered in glass, and someone is going to have to drink wine out of a mug!” “Oh, I’ll give you the 75 cents mom!” Jane countered. ...

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“Mediating Financial Fraud: A Case of Marriage Betrayal” by Kaoli Chona

Submitted to Contest #278

The old ways had always been clear: when conflict arose in a marriage, the family was the first to intervene, guiding the couple back to a place of understanding and reconciliation. But that was before the world began to creep in—before new values, foreign influences, and the idea of a global village began to rewrite the rules. This was before gender roles were questioned, before apologies could be offered by anyone—men, women, even elders—without shame. Julie and Reagan were about to experience just what this change meant. Julie sat at...

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“A Hale family feud ” by Mari .

Submitted to Contest #278

“They will think I’m only rubbing salt into their wounds,” Maddie sighed, facing the empty seats as she stood on the edge of the stage. Sebastian didn’t know the wounds she spoke of, only that she was referring to her cousins, whom hadn’t spoken to each other in weeks, after all Maddie never shared a secret that wasn’t hers, only tiptoed around it when she needed to think out loud. Although the theater had closed for the night, it was then that Sebastian’s work began, well more of Director Catherine’s work, and him as her assistant. “Thei...

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“The Oracle” by Tom Di-Stefano

Submitted to Contest #278

(Contains - sexual violence, scenes of war, scenes of gore or violence)"MOTHER!!"His hand slammed down, making a fierce thud on the hardwood table which split the eight of them."This is lunacy, allowing them full control of the Shard Lands gifts them the very thing they want. If they get their claws on the Lumivor then we are all doomed."The man slowly rose to his feet as if to try to lord over the figures still hunched in front of him. His thick jet-black hair slicked back revealing a single snaking strand of bronze running through his grea...

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“Beastly Behavior” by 𝔊𝔲𝔞𝔡𝔞𝔩𝔲𝔭𝔢 𝔗𝔢𝔩𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔞𝔯

Submitted to Contest #278

Content warning: Brief violence Esau and Calvin are tearing around the chimp yard like furry black missiles. When one catches up with the other, he lashes out, punching, kicking, and slapping all at once. They race across the grass, scramble up the fake rock formations, and then fall off in a tangle of limbs as they scream. Every chimp in the enclosure is screaming, either in indignation or fear or anger. The females are running around, their lips pulled back in fear grins, trying to avoid the two big, angry males.Some visitors to the zoo ar...

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“Pennies in a Bowl” by Lisa Kober

Submitted to Contest #278

Pennies in a Bowl The argument began over something minor. It always does. A misplaced receipt or an offhand comment that needs to be corrected. My mother, perched on the edge of the couch, clutched an old Tupperware container filled with pennies, her thin shoulders pulled up like shutters against a storm. Her lips were pursed, and her eyes were watery and sharp. I stood across from her, half-defensive, half-desperate to connect, the space between us filled with invisible barbs."Pennies? You're serious?" I asked, incredulous but already regr...

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“Piggy in the middle” by Hannah Douce

Submitted to Contest #278

Lauren came storming down the stairs, her mother in pursuit Her arms waved and swirled like two hurricanes as she screamed through her croaky, warn-out lungs. Lauren: "I CANT BELIEVE YOU WOULD THINK FOR ONE MOMENT I WOULD ACT SO CHILDISH AND VILE." Her mother's tone was soft but harsh; she played the "victim" very well, her petty jabs, and her suggestion of an insult at the end of her sentences. If you weren't looking closely, you could mistake her mother for a loving woman. Mother: "I'm just saying you usually carry yourself in a very heads...

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A family argument gets out of hand. Neither side will budge, requiring a mediator with unusual methods.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 49 stories

“Turkey Round-up” by Cameron Navarre

“The Great Mediation” by Heather Hagan

“The Thanksgiving Disaster” by Andrew Lewis

“Gobble, Gobble Hullabaloo” by Pete Gautchier

“Fractured Family Ties” by Carol Hopkins

“Inn The Thick Of It” by Sumaira Ahmed

“A shameful death” by David Nutt

“Grown-Up Problems” by M P

“Thanksgiving” by Mary Shirley Mitchell

“Mediating Financial Fraud: A Case of Marriage Betrayal” by Kaoli Chona

“A Hale family feud ” by Mari .

“The Oracle” by Tom Di-Stefano

“Beastly Behavior” by 𝔊𝔲𝔞𝔡𝔞𝔩𝔲𝔭𝔢 𝔗𝔢𝔩𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔞𝔯

“Pennies in a Bowl” by Lisa Kober

“Piggy in the middle” by Hannah Douce

🌟 Similar prompts

A character gets caught red-handed breaking the rules, but they refuse to admit any wrongdoing. What happens next?

An apologetic letter or email from an old flame suddenly arrives — many years too late.

A court or disciplinary hearing is taking place — but the person accused does not know what they’re apologizing for.

On their deathbed, a relative/friend/partner admits to a horrible crime. Will the narrator reveal the secret or keep it hidden?

Contest #278

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

262

Contest entries

101

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: