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Center your story around an unexpected guest who changes a traditional get-together.

Posted in Short Story on Jan 3, 2025

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✍️ 38 stories

A Story to be Told

Submitted to Contest #284

Christmas morning arrived, as it always did, with Claire buzzing about like a snow-dusted sparrow while I nursed a coffee and grumbled under my breath about the cost of everything. Our house was a swirl of tinsel and twinkling fairy lights, the air carried the scent of roasting turkey and citrus notes of mulled wine. And yet, all I could think about was the sanctity of Boxing Day football fixtures—a glimmer of normalcy amid the forced cheer.   At eight o’clock I got a call from my sister, Victoria.   “Roy,” she ...

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Angels Don't Have Wings

Submitted to Contest #284

In the bible, angels don’t have wings. In fact, the moral imperative is that we should never know they are amongst us. The presence of wings would change behaviour, much like a grovelling employee before a CEO, or a plain girl who seeks the protection and the validation of the beautiful. An angel is in all things anonymous, and you will be judged in accordance with their opinion of you, and never the other way round. Of course, I am being allegorical, but isn’t that just what life is?*****Let me tell you about my mother-in-law, my ...

24 likes 23 comments 23
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Suppertime With My Intended

Submitted to Contest #284

Mama greeted me nervously as I entered the kitchen. A quick glance showed an extra setting at the already crowded table. My heartrate quickened as I saw my mother busy herself, avoiding my eyes. Suppertime came with the arrival of the beady-eyed man whom Mama introduced with downcast eyes. “Isabel, you remember Papa’s second cousin, Elijah?” She seated him next to me as a lump formed in my throat forcing any possible reply down into my gut. I took my seat next to my obvious intended. An awkward silence enveloped us in our newl...

21 likes 11 comments 11
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The Serpent We Know: A Holiday Tale of the Arts Department

Submitted to Contest #284

“Could I get mansions covering ten thousand miles, I’d house all the poor scholars…”Du Fu “By the way, we’ve got New Year’s plans,” Wei Zhao announced as she pulled into the long drive in the campus fringe of Mulberry. Wei heard the entomologist sink into the upholstery.“I thought we were doing a peaceful evening of Huluween horror, Sichuan Palace and Papa John’s, and bringing 2025 in with a bang or maybe three,” Will sulked.“Now, that’s a Hallmark movie I’d watch,” the University’s youngest tenured prof mulled, waiting out the ailing garage...

19 likes 12 comments 12
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Uninvited Guest

Submitted to Contest #284

No one noticed him upon his arrival and nobody knew his name for good reason. You see, he had arrived at our office Christmas party uninvited, but that did not stop him from entering the Hilton ballroom where holiday lights hung from every nook and cranny and elves on the shelves peered out from every possible shelf with devious smiles painted on their plastic faces. Broderick Stoneman the CEO for our publishing company sat at the head table with the other managers from each department.  Mrs. Oliva Stoneman sat next to her husband and c...

18 likes 2 comments 2
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Year's End

Submitted to Contest #284

Every year, we invited Ben to our New Year’s get together. We’d invited him over for so many years that it was now part of the latticework of traditions that held the festive period together and held together all those who sailed in her for that matter. Every year, we asked Ben to join us. And every year he would provide a vague affirmation of his attendance. He might attend was what was said, but the vagueness was an uncrossable river that kept us separate for decades. I’d like to say that I knew what was coming, or that I at leas...

12 likes 4 comments 4
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More Than the Leaves Caught Fire

Submitted to Contest #284

        The abandoned mansion had marked the gateway to Sharpsburg, Maryland since around 1825. The well-maintained, authentic Colonial style home had served as a silent witness to many events, especially the multitude of Civil War battles fought on the 12 acres that surrounded the majestic structure.        It seemed like the perfect setting for the spring fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity’s Washington County ReStore. Event Chair Melanie Granger figured that o...

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Christmas Done Different

Submitted to Contest #284

It was Christmas Eve. While the adults ate, the kids played a game with a box of crayons Peter had taught them. It was called What If I Ruled the World? It was a simple concept but a challenging game. A crayon box could represent the countries of the world. I am sure there is a size to accommodate all those countries. Once they figure out that part, the children sort the countries based on their neighbouring countries. The team breaks down the resources into understandable items and begins the game. Once the resources are allocated, bargaini...

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It will all be over soon

Submitted to Contest #284

Askid slithered across the cracked terrain that typified planet Radynon, the glowing tendrils protruding from his prehensile scales slicing through the dried ground and his undulations gouging a permanent trail which the lesser beings of Radynon would sooner or later turn into a road. In the distance, Askid saw his eighteen parents, all early (of course) and each at the end of a lesser but nevertheless impressive gouge in the earth of their own. Beyond them he could just see his sister, Sepaj, as she made her own approach. Sepaj's undulation...

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Of Mice and Murder- A Short Story

Submitted to Contest #284

*TRIGGER WARNING* Mouse gore, mouse death, and mouse violence. Deep inside St. Joseph's cathedral, behind the organ and through a minuscule tear in the wall, the mice gathered around the table, each of their faces illuminated by the flickering candlelight. Thunder crackled ominously outside the dimly lit mouse den while they all dined together for the first time in weeks. So, Larissa-how has the sewing business been treating you? Uncle Mike asked from the head of the table, grooming his pink snout and ears with his paws. Oh, fine, dear, tha...

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Silent Night

Submitted to Contest #284

It’s hard to know where to start when all I can think about is how it ended. She was here. She was alive. Flushed, warm, and by my side. All was calm and all was bright. Until he arrived. ***I stared out the kitchen window of my cabin, watching the late afternoon snow fall with a fury. The sky was fading from grey to black and soon it would be dark. I walked into the garage and shoved the fat, orange plug into the side outlet. Suddenly, tiny blue, red, green, and yellow lights blinked on, igniting the rim of the roof...

9 likes 2 comments 2
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The Evening before the Tournament for the Ninth Diamond

Submitted to Contest #284

Whenever the Royal Weaving Expo was held in the vicinity of Astolat, Lady Charlotte-Elaine of Shalott stayed in her childhood home; and it was always an occasion for a special banquet with roasted meats and the best vintage served and minstrel entertainment provided. Bernard of Astolat missed the company of his Lily Maid, Elaine, since she had moved to The Tower on the Island of Shalott. Elaine had found a plot loophole to escape from her recurring tale of nursing Sir Lancelot du Lac for months on end, falling in love with him and then dyin...

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Aunt Carol

Submitted to Contest #284

Thanksgiving at Aunt Carol and Uncle Dean’s comes around as often as the Olympics. If the two events were to be compared, the one adjective that could apply to both is spectacle. Unlike the laid-back football focused years at Uncle Robert and Aunt Cece’s, or the understated yet budget breaking Martha Stewart cross Meghan Markle aesthetic at Aunt Janice and Uncle Logan’s, Aunt Carol stops at nothing for a memorable meal. In typical Aunt Carol fashion – always ridiculously early and fastidious in her expectations – she set the Whats App famil...

9 likes 4 comments 4
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Christmas Turkey

Submitted to Contest #284

“You can’t experiment on an old man. Especially not the Major.” Steve glanced over at his co-worker. “I think we should think this through a bit more.”"He'll be fine, I reckon he'll enjoy it," Martin eased the van from the main road into the alleyway, negotiating the turn with his usual skill. In places, there was barely a whisper of air between the narrow brick walls and the side panels of the ancient vehicle. He pulled up at the entrance to the alley. It was the moment before dawn broke, the light around them still dim, not yet g...

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Tradition Trade-up

Submitted to Contest #284

“Reasonably priced real estate along a waterfront!” the ad screamed.I scanned the ads quickly that night and decided that the waterfront property was a bargain if the remainder of the ad was accurate. Entering the address into my phone, I leapt up from my chair and grabbed a coat. It was freezing outside and would be colder by the water. November nights were always cold but this close to Thanksgiving we were lucky that we hadn’t had snow too.Although I was used to driving to properties at night to inspect them for prospective ...

8 likes 2 comments 2
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