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Begin your story with someone saying, “Are you there, God? It’s me...”

Posted in Short Story on Jul 25, 2025

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✍️ 69 stories

Dibble Dop

Winner of Contest #313 🏆

Content warning: This story includes themes of grief and the death of a child. “Are you there, God? It’s me. Help me break her heart today. And can you bring back the sun?”But the clouds burst. I breathe in earth and taste mineral tang, wet wind whipping my face. I should’ve known not to come—should’ve stopped when the steeple down the road knifed dark clouds. But she begged, and I couldn't refuse. Not today.I fumble with an umbrella before the wind yanks it, tossing it against the monkey bars. I leap from the bench. Bigger kids shriek and r...

89 likes 77 comments 77
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God's Voicemail

Submitted to Contest #313

“Are you there, God? It’s me again. Yeah, still dead. Sorry to bother you.” I tap my fingers against the rotary phone’s receiver, listening to the endless dial tone. The white room hums with fluorescent light that comes from nowhere and everywhere. No windows. No doors. Just me, this bolted-down chair, and a glass table with a vintage telephone that only dials one number. God’s voicemail. “Look, I get it. You’re busy. Running the universe, answering prayers, deciding who gets cancer and who wins the lottery. But it’s been… I don’t know how l...

33 likes 21 comments 21
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Technomancer 29: Blood & Prayers

Submitted to Contest #313

Guns, blood, guts, gore, death, faith, rape mentioned but not shown"Are you there, God? It's me..." Masa whispered, her voice wavering beneath the weight of her nervous breaths. Her handgun rested on the top of her bag. The sound of gunfire echoed in the distance at the far side of the settlement, followed by the screams of women, men and children. Using the weapon meant the possibility of saving them. It could also harm her child. Another scream, and she reached for it with her shaking hand, heart pounding at the risk she was taking. "I kno...

24 likes 6 comments 6
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Blind

Submitted to Contest #313

“Are you there, God? It’s me…” Alice whispered.Her knees pinched on the polished timber flooring of her bedroom, but the expensive linen sheets under her elbows were a soft reprieve. The rough callouses of her palms pressed together, her overused hands finding a brief recess with only each other to sense. It’s something no one ever told you about being blind, how abused your hands would become.“I’m here, Alice.” God said, his commanding voice reverberating from above.She laughed with joy, soft tears running from her clouded and broken eyes. ...

23 likes 16 comments 16
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Behavior Management

Submitted to Contest #313

Are you there, God? It’s me, Luke. Yeah me, the one who made himself your prodigal son by pulling a disappearing act the last ten years. I prefer to fly under your radar, floating through life with as minimal effort as the universe will allow me. The problem is, I’m a dad now. That’s not the problem, I love being a dad. But I now have responsibilities with a capital R, and I might be in danger of screwing up my perfect kid. Don’t get me wrong, he’s far from perfect—after all, he’s got my DNA! But he is so completely himself, with his quirks...

19 likes 7 comments 7
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The Red

Submitted to Contest #313

TW: Violence, gore, and a brief gay joke. “Are you there, God? It’s me… Vic, and I’m here to talk to you about your car’s extended warranty.” Hushed laughter flowed around the dinner table, and Vic cracked a smile before Ma’s hand could smack her across the back of the head. “Victoria!” Ma snapped. “Say grace properly.” Ma was dressed up nicely tonight—gold bracelets jingled with each motion, her lipstick fiercely bright against her skin, her hair smooth down her back, and a dress so new it was like something out of a dream. I wondered where...

16 likes 9 comments 9
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God, are you there? It's me… the one you skipped.

Submitted to Contest #313

Don't worry. I'm not here to monologue you into submission. I know you're busy - ice caps melting like forgotten popsicles, children crumbling beneath rubble, the slow apocalypse of cable news and mascara-streaked pop stars. You're fielding whole continents of agony. Me? I'm just background noise. Static. One wrong little girl who grew up into an even worse woman. A girl you, it seems, dodged with the grace of a practiced flinch. I get it. Maybe I was too small, like one of those songs nobody hears but still hurts to write. Perhaps I was too...

16 likes 13 comments 13
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The Cost of a Promise

Submitted to Contest #313

I“Are you there God? It’s me… you might not remember, it’s been a while, but I’m still here. And…and…and I… Damn it!” He yelled. “I don’t know how to do this.”The moon shone too bright for the tormented fog that encircled Ari’s mind. He stood on the edge of his balcony overlooking the finance district of Chespi and felt nothing but shame. It was his district, it was his actions that moved mountains in the market, it was his glory that made him feel so validated through years of managing the highest returning portfolios in the galaxy. His car...

15 likes 4 comments 4
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The Day the Box moved

Submitted to Contest #313

“Are you there, God? It’s me…” It’s been a while since we last spoke. I hope you’re doing well. I apologize for not being in touch lately—things have been extremely busy and stressful. As I lie on my customized velvet memory foam bed, I’m filled with guilt that I speak to you only when I genuinely need your comfort. I wish I had reached out in my moments of glory and happiness—moments when I truly appreciated the beauty of life. But here I am, at ten years of age, already living a life filled with boredom, burnout, insomnia, and stress.Life ...

14 likes 4 comments 4
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A prayer gone wrong

Submitted to Contest #313

"Are you there, God? It's me..." Her words were followed by a cloud of smoke, created by the same cold that was causing her hands to shake in flurried movements as she cupped them together and blew into them. It was a brisk winter, and all the wood she had gathered for tonight's storm had sporadically vanished the moment she needed it. It was similar to everything in her home. All the things she had needed had disappeared, such as; the wooden spoon she used for pasta, the extra bedding sheets she used when her usual were in the wash, the sto...

13 likes 11 comments 11
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She Calls Me Monster

Submitted to Contest #313

“Are you there, God? It’s me, The Monster. Or so that is what she calls me.” I am bewildered by her hatred of me. I had spent nearly a decade in preparation, studying, outlining, and training for when the time was right to strike. I lay low for years in my study and all for her. She never saw my sacrifices or effort; she simply went on living her life without acknowledging me at all. I want to scream, “How dare you?!” each time she curses my name or cries in agony. She is unaware of my power, my abilities, and, most of all, that I am saving...

13 likes 4 comments 4
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CONFESSION

Submitted to Contest #313

CONFESSION “Are you there, God? It’s me.” Those were the opening words of a letter written during a lull in a major battle in World War II. The soldier had just turned eighteen and wrote this under extreme duress, knowing he may only have a few hours to live. Yet, the penmanship was perfect, the writing arrow straight, but the attitude was one of defiance, realization, and acceptance. I am restoring this letter, which has been covered in years of dirt and grime, so it can be read and framed, but there are other watermarks and stains that I ...

10 likes 9 comments 9
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Dear Lord

Submitted to Contest #313

“Are you there, God? It’s me, Myrna Valentino Snodgrass, nee Smith. Yes, I know that’s quite a handle to my jug, but my mother loved the movies and Myrna Loy and Rudolph Valentino were her favorites. It’s a good thing she didn’t like Boris Karloff. Anyway, I’ve been meaning to get in touch. My eightieth birthday is next week, so I thought I’d better stop putting it off, seeing as what we might be meeting soon, begging pardon for my presumption. I don’t think I’ve done anything bad enough to send me to the other place. I’m in great health for...

9 likes 1 comment 1
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May The Shepherd Rest

Submitted to Contest #313

“Are you there, god? It's me... Death!” The hooded figure glances up from the stone fence he’s rested upon, looking up at the sky in silence for a moment before calling out again. “Seriously, not answering isn’t cool! I mean, If I were to go full radio silence on you I’d end up with a written warning or at least get an earful from Gabriel But you ignore me and that’s just fine!” Death shuffles the scythe in his fingers before resting the handle between his bony knees as he waits for a response that does not come. “Fine, well if you’re going...

9 likes 3 comments 3
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The Laughing Blade

Submitted to Contest #313

“Are you there, God? It’s me… Your humble servant…” The priest’s voice made me stir, slowly opening my eyes from the red nightmare that continued to plague me. Or maybe it was a dream? It was so hard to tell the difference sometimes, sometimes I was the one holding the blade and in others I was the one being carved up. “Please hear my prayer…,” the man continued muttering quietly, tied up securely in the chair that I’d used so often. It had been brown at first but the streaks of red over the years had become impossible to clean, giving it a ...

8 likes 0 comments 0
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